From April 29 to May 3, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will be hosting state-based teleconference conversations regarding the health insurance exchanges (aka the “health insurance marketplaces”) in the Federally-Facilitated and State Partnership states. These calls are part of the ongoing commitment by CMS to encourage public participation as it builds the health insurance exchanges.

On the conference calls, CMS regional officials will update participants on policies and the operation of the exchanges. There will be time for stakeholder comments, questions and answers. CMS will use the information and feedback provided by stakeholders in the development of the exchanges.

NASW encourages social workers to participate on the calls and express their thoughts on how exchanges can best serve low and moderate-income populations.

Registration is required. Please visit the CMS Open Door Forum (ODF) page for call and registration details.

http://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Outreach/OpenDoorForums/ODF_HealthInsuranceMarketplace.html

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has filed a base package that includes provisions designed to combat gun trafficking, require universal background checks, and improve school safety. The Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 will be considered with two amendments, one that reflects the full regulations cited in the act and another that bans large-capacity ammunition magazines.

This week will be a crucial time to contact Senators and advocate for stricter gun regulations and tell them to vote for these two amendments.

NASW has also supported a number of other legislative initiatives aimed at addressing the challenges surrounding gun violence. These include Senator Debbie Stabenow’s (D-MI) Excellence in Mental Health Act, Senator Al Franken’s (D-MN) Mental Health in Schools Act, and Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s (CA-13) Student Support Act. Furthermore, NASW CEO Dr. Betsy Clark submitted testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on reducing gun violence with an emphasis on addressing mental health in the United States. Dr. Clark also provided remarks at a staff meeting of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to educate Congressional staff members on the importance and need for mental health services.

Louise Proehl Shoemaker

Her teaching was not only national but international in such schools as the Unitarian Service Committee, United States State Department, University of West Virginia, University of Hamburg, West Germany, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and the School of Social Work, University of Pennsylvania, where she was assistant professor, associate professor, acting dean, and dean.

She was concerned throughout her career in working within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America about issues related to social justice and equality of women in the church as well as minority ministry. She has also been active and concerned about international matters and while Dean of the School of Social Work, University of Pennsylvania she worked to attract more African American students and faculty and while Dean of the Pennsylvania School of Social Work boasted the University’s highest percentage of African American faculty members.

She traveled widely and  taught in schools of social work in Africa on many occasions. She adopted two orphans from Sudan who had previously spent 13 years in refugee camps.

Louise was a charter member of NASW, having belonged to the predecessors of such organizations as AASW and AAGW. She is highly thought of throughout the Lutheran Church of America, international circles, by the field of group workers and social work education.

She graduated from the University of Illinois, cum laude, received her MSW from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work, an ABD from the University of Edinburgh, and a DSW from the University of Pennsylvania. She conducted and wrote over three hundred institutes, lectures, and papers given in the United States, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Memorial Page

Pioneer Bio

Helen Rehr‘s work touched the lives of many thousands of the sick and frail. The programs she developed and administered provided superb services for a large number of clients. Her research demonstrated the effectiveness of her programs and thus enabled readers of many of her published articles to implement these programs around the country. Her teaching of social workers and medical students further extended her impact as she enabled others to meet the needs of the people they serve. Indeed she was a pioneer in health related social services through her practice examples, her teaching, and her research. She extended the reach of her knowledge from the United States by developing and implementing an innovative exchange program with Israeli and Australian social workers.

Helen Rehr was born in New York City. She received her bachelor’s degree from Hunter College in 1940 and a Master in Social Work from Columbia University in 1945, and her Doctor of Social Work in 1970 also from Columbia University.

Dr. Rehr was in the field of health and mental health beginning in 1943 and spent 50 years with the Social Work Department at Mt. Sinai Medical Center. In her work she developed innovative pace setting social work programs and effectively demonstrated the essential role that social work plays in health and mental health settings. Her career was dedicated not to just serving client populations but also to demonstrating to social workers and to other health professionals just how vital an ingredient social work is in the delivery of effective quality health care. The chairman of the Mt. Sinai Community Medicine Department credited her with creating a Department of Social Work that “was the most effective division of social work in the nation. The research, education, and training productivity has been distinguished and unequaled in quality and excellence.”

Upon her retirement from Mt. Sinai, she became one of NASW’s National Center for Social Policy and Practice’s founding members and served as its first treasurer. She assumed these positions with a goal that her efforts would enable the center to contribute innovatively to the health and mental health fields. She was active, prior to this, in a number of NASW committees.

Helen served as chair of the New York City Social Work Pioneers® and member of the National Social Work Pioneer® Steering Committee. She was generous with her time serving as a volunteer and also played an important role in fundraising efforts. Her personal donations helped stimulate others to give donations which resulted in several endowed funds that continue to fund programs in the NASW Foundation.

Dr. Rehr’s recognitions and awards included the Ida M. Cannon award from the Society for Hospital Social Work Directors (1975), election to the Hunter College Hall of Fame (1978), election as a distinguished practitioner to the National Academy of Practice, a commendation from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations, a commendation from the Community Mental Health Journal, election as a fellow at the Brookdale Center on Aging at Hunter College, appointment as Dozor Visiting Professorship at Ben Gurion University in Beer-Sheva, Israel (1986), and in 1990 she received the first NASW Foundation Knee/Wittman Lifetime Achievement Award in Health and Mental Health.

Rehr’s retirement was most active as she continued her affiliation with Mt. Sinai Medical Center as a consultant and actively worked with the exchange program which she developed and with other health and mental health organizations.

Presentations included research showing that violence can manifest and spread through various means including collective violence, interpersonal violence, and self-directed violence, and result in transmission of acceptability of the same or similar type of violence to which an individual was exposed.  Historical trauma, noted as the impact of cumulative emotional, psychological, and physical insult on individuals and communities, can also increase a person or community’s vulnerability to violence.   The majority of presentations highlighted the impact of contextual factors, such as gender inequality, poverty, or living in an unsafe community; noting that place or environment can support the spread of violence as well as influence the availability and effectiveness of interventions.

Speakers also noted that the contagion of violence is dependent on social norms that support violence.   That is, while social norms can increase susceptibility to violence, changing social norms can be a tool for interrupting the use of violence.   Interventions that focus on changing norms can work to interrupt and ultimately prevent violence.  It was stressed that interventions must address protective factors and recognizes the role of cultural resilience.  Throughout the two-day workshop, presenters highlighted a variety of interventions that have been demonstrated to successfully reduce violence.

Social workers are trained to understanding the role of protective factors and cultural resilience, the importance of context and environment, and respect culture and cultural context.  As the largest provider of mental health and behavioral health services, social workers around the globe are working in partnership to provide the interventions necessary to make change at the individual, community, and societal levels.     As a profession, social workers advocate for laws and regulations that ensure safety within our homes, our schools, and the larger communities.   Supported by the growing practice-based research on violence prevention, social workers are critical to the renewed efforts to recognize, address, interrupt and prevent violence.

NASW Senior Policy Advisor, Evelyn Tomaszewski, is a member of the Forum on Global Violence Prevention and served as a member of the workshop Planning Committee.   Learn more about the research and discussions that occurred during the Contagion of Violence Workshop.

The next workshop convened by the Forum on Global Violence Prevention will address Evidence for Violence Prevention Across the Lifespan and Around the World – A Workshop  Scheduled for January 23 – 24, 2013 in Washington, DC, the workshop can also be viewed via live webcast.

• National Board of Directors which is responsible for governing the Association by establishing board policies and objectives, protecting assets and providing financial oversight, and approving and ensuring annual programmatic goals of the Association are accomplished; and
• National Committee on Nominations and Leadership Identification (NCNLI) which is charged with building the slate and providing oversight for the Association’s national elections in addition to developing and maintaining the Election Standards and Procedures for National Leadership.

After the application period closes, the current NCNLI will meet in December to develop the slate for the national elections based on submitted applications. It is crucial that the committee has a diverse, well qualified pool of applicants to choose from which is why we are asking members, who are interested, to submit an application today.

Being a member of the NASW Board of Directors or NCNLI is a rewarding experience that will enhance your professional résumé and provide opportunities for professional growth.  If elected to the Board or NCNLI, you can contribute your valuable leadership skills to the Association as a way of giving back to the profession and demonstrating your level of commitment to social work. 

NASW is currently seeking applications for the following positions, which will be vacant on June 30, 2013:

Board of Directors positions include (click on the position to access the description):

• President-Elect (2013-2014 and three-year term as President)
• Secretary (2013-2016)
• Regional Representatives (2013-2016):
1. V (DE, MD, DC, VA, NC)
2. VI (AL, FL, GA, SC, VI, PR)
3. XI (AZ, LA, TX)
4. XII (AK, CO, GU, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY)
• Member-at-Large (2013-2016)
• BSW student member (2013-2015)

NCNLI positions include:

• Regional Representatives (2013-2016):
1. II (CT, NYC)
2. VI (AL, FL, GA, SC, VI, PR)
3. VII (IN, OH, TN, WV, MS)
4. XII (AK, CO, GU, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY)

The deadline date for receipt of all nominations for elected positions is close of business (5:30pm EST) on Friday, November 2, 2012.

If you have any qustions, contact governance@naswdc.org.

Topic: Foundations of Disaster Mental Health

To Register: Go to https://americanredcross.webex.com enter the session number and click “Join” to register.  Once you are approved by the host, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the session.  Session Number: 746 540 134 / Password: fdmh

For assistance, contact DMH Senior Associate Valerie Cole at valerie.cole@redcross.org

Participants must be licensed for independent mental health practice (e.g., LMFT, LPC, LCSW, RN, Psychologist, Psychiatrist) or have State certification as a school counselor or school psychologist.

Reminder:  All volunteer work with the American Red Cross begins at the local chapter.  Enter your zip code under “Find your local Red Cross” at www.redcross.org to find the chapter closest to you.

Social workers and allied health and behavioral health care providers –  click here to learn why HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C is an emerging health issue.

To get tested for Hepatitis C – talk to your health professional or call your health department.  Or go to the CDC website for more information

 “You don’t have to be perfect to be a perfect parent.”  You may be familiar with this public service campaign promoting adoption from foster care, which was produced by The Advertising Council, the leading producer of public service campaigns in the country. The Council is looking for individuals who will share compelling stories about the way public service advertising (like commercials or public service announcements, print or internet ads, bus stop ads or billboards) have played a role in their decision to adopt from foster care.

They are interested in anyone who saw a PSA that made them think more seriously about becoming a parent through adoption.  They want to find families who would like to be profiled no later than July 1, 2012.

Here’s a description of the campaign: http://www.adcouncil.org/Our-Work/Current-Work/Family-Community/Adoption-from-Foster-Care. With permission, some stories will be captured on film and used to support the work of The Ad Council in their efforts to produce effective public service campaigns.

Interested parties should email: stories@humaninterestfilms.com

The National Association of Social Workers is committed to advancing policies and practices that will improve the status and wellbeing of all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.      NASW has long held the position that persons of same gender sexual orientation should be afforded all the same rights as persons of other-gender orientation; recently affirming support for same-sex marriage and support for expansion of the Violence Against Women Act to extend to LGBT persons.

NASW and its chapters participate in coalition with other human rights, social action, and professional associations to lobby for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender person.  PRIDE Month provides an opportunity to learn more about the diversity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender communities.

TAKE ACTION and support the Employment Non Discrimination Act  (ENDA) which prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.