June 30th, 2009
“Sherri Morgan, associate counsel for the National Association of Social Workers, says putting too many emotions on the table can cloud clients’ judgment. An adviser typically has complete access to client accounts; if an adviser also has access to a client’s personal weaknesses, Morgan says, “the consumer is just that much more vulnerable.””
June 26th, 2009
NASW’s brief was cited by the Supreme Court in the decision on Safford Unified School District v. Redding.
“Savana’s subjective expectation of privacy against such a search is inherent in her account of it as embarrassing,frightening, and humiliating. The reasonableness of her expectation (required by the Fourth Amendment standard) is indicated by the consistent experiences of other young people similarly searched, whose adolescent vulnerability intensifies the patent intrusiveness of the exposure. See Brief for National Association of Social Workers et al. as Amici Curiae 6–14; Hyman & Perone, The Other Side of School Violence: Educator Policies and Practices that may Contribute to Student Misbehavior, 36 J. School Psychology 7, 13 (1998) (strip search can “result in serious emotional damage”).”
Full opinion available at http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/08pdf/08-479.pdf
June 24th, 2009
National Association of Social Workers Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark, PhD, ACSW, MPH recorded this important message about the future of our profession and I hope you will take a moment to view this video.
June 15th, 2009
Carole Bowdry, social worker who confronted child abuse, dies at 71
“Carole Bowdry spent most of her career confronting a problem that some people would rather have just ignored: child abuse.”
Dallas Morning News
Social workers, psychologists to aid religious courts in divorce
“Social workers and psychologists could soon become an integral part of the country’s religious legal system, with the goal of streamlining and improving the divorce process, The Jerusalem Post was told last week.”
The Jerusalem Post
Mental-health stigma persists
By Peg Leonard-Martin, M.Div., LCSW, Director of counseling services at Belmont University.
Tennessean.com
Child Advocacy Center: Parents must overcome fear to watch for signs of abuse
By Shannon Yockey, a licensed clinical social worker at the Larimer County Advocacy Center
Coloradoan.com
Source: Google News
The opinions expressed in these articles are those of the writers, and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Association of Social Workers or its members.
June 12th, 2009
Blogger Baby Hoax Writer Beccah Beushausen is NOT a professional social worker. Social workers say she is a young woman in pain who needs professional help with her grief.
In response to a June 12 article in the Chicago Tribune and a related Associated Press story about “April’s Mom”, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-baby-hoax-12jun12,0,5601624.story, the National Association of Social Workers has confirmed that the troubled young woman who created a huge online following with a fictitious account of her pregnancy IS NOT A SOCIAL WORKER. According to sources at the NASW Illinois Chapter, Beccah Beushausen is not licensed in the State of Illinois as a social worker and is not a member of the National Association of Social Workers.
The NASW Illinois Chapter has contacted the Chicago Tribune to ask that the paper run a correction. If you would like to encourage the Tribune’s editors to publish a correction, please send an e-mail to kijanssen@tribune.com or submit comments to http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-lettertotheeditor,0,3578487.customform.
You can also post comments to the Tribune Web site at http://www.topix.net/forum/source/chicago-tribune.
June 5th, 2009
To honor Gay Pride Month we asked Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and to describe the unique challenges facing their community.
June 4th, 2009
Dear Babs: College major for a wannabe therapist? - Kansas City Star - 6/4/09
“Another way to be a therapist is to get your Masters in Social Work, or MSW. A person with a MSW can set up private practice as a therapist, but cannot prescribe medication. These therapists are often used instead of psychologists with children, families, or people with substance abuse problems.”
Lagos celebrates school Social Work Day - NEXT - 6/4/09
“Students, teachers, parents and public officers in Lagos State gathered at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa on Wednesday, to celebrate the first School Social Work Day.”
School of Social Work Plans Anniversary Celebration and Remembrance - University of Maine - 6/3/09
The UMaine School of Social Work is inviting members of the university community to an anniversary celebration for the school and a remembrance of an admired former faculty member June 18 at Wells Commons Conference Center.
Social worker helps CPS students shed light on school closings - Chi-Town Daily News - 6/3/09
So in February, when officials chose to merge Medill Elementary with a nearby West Side school, CPS social worker Aura Brickler decided to channel students’ confusion — into a documentary. She armed them with audio recorders and questions, and next week, just before the school closes, she plans to unveil the result: Medill Matters.
Obama’s auto team listens to state woes - Detroit Free Press - 6/3/09
Less than an hour later, the same officials heard heartrending stories from workers, union officials and social workers in Pontiac.”In the last 12 months, we’ve had a 30% increase in just emergency food requests,” John Ziraldo, CEO and president of the social service agency Lighthouse of Oakland County.
Source: GoogleNews
June 4th, 2009
NASW Social Work Journal - A Special Issue on Racial & Ethnic Minorities will be available for July 2009. NASW Press has not published a special issue on racial and ethnic minorities since 1982(Vol. 27, No.1). Since that issue, the theoretical knowledge base undergirding social work practice with racial and ethnic minorities has both expanded and diversified.
For information about an online subscription or a combination print and online subscription, please go to www.naswpressonline.org
Social Work is the premiere journal of the social work profession. Widely read by practitioners, faculty, and students, it is the official journal of NASW and is provided to all members as a membership benefit. Social Work is dedicated to improving practice and advancing knowledge in social work and social welfare. Its articles yield new insights into established practices, evaluate new techniques and research, examine current social problems, and bring serious critical analysis to bear on problems in the profession. Major emphasis is placed on social policy and the solutions to serious human problems.
June 3rd, 2009
By James J. Kelly, Ph.D., ACSW, LCSW
As my presidency continues, I am privileged to attend events across the country and speak to many social workers. Each time, I reflect on the vital importance of the work that you are doing and your persistence in the face of difficult work and shrinking budgets. I am also struck by the challenges that lie ahead for our profession. Social workers have always served individuals, families, and communities, with particular attention to the vulnerable and oppressed. Our current economic turmoil is creating a need for social work services that many of us have not experienced in our lifetimes.
Our economy shed 651,000 jobs in February alone, with 3.6 million total jobs eliminated since the recession began in December 2007. This is particularly detrimental to those who already were struggling. The national unemployment rate stands at 8.5 percent, while the African American unemployment rate stands at 12.6%. There are currently 3.4 million people age 65 and older living below the poverty line. These numbers translate into a need for someone to pick up the pieces of our fractured economy. President Obama has set the stage to reinvest in our nation, but it will be up to many individuals, including the 600,000 social workers in this country, to ensure that his plan is implemented effectively.
As we move forward in seeking solutions, many of us are looking to our past for answers. Luckily for social workers, our past is full of historical leaders. During the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt worked to mend our economy after the American stock market plummeted 90 percent and we faced an unemployment rate of 25 percent. President Roosevelt’s answer to the crisis was an unprecedented involvement of the federal government known as the New Deal and two of the main architects were social workers Frances Perkins and Harry Hopkins.
