Social workers changes the lives of millions people every day. The National Association of Social Workers Foundation (NASWF) is a charitable organization created to enhance the well-being of individuals, families, and communities through the advancement of social work practice

Donations to the NASW Foundation help to bring tools and resources to thousands of social workers, or makes a big difference to one individual when it is needed the most – such as Alisha Ellis, who received the Verne LaMarr Lyons Scholarship as an MSW student in 2006.

Ms. Ellis was raised in Harlem and worked as an advocate for underserved African American populations suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, mental illness and HIV/AIDS before pursuing her MSW. Today, she works in oncology and is an active NASW member.

She says, “Support from the NASW Foundation came at the start of my second summer at Smith College, enabling me to pay for books for the entire year. It was especially helpful during that time, when I frequently traveled to NYC as my father’s healthcare proxy and second caregiver. The scholarship provided some peace of mind as I juggled academic and family commitments.”

“Since 2008, I have had the privilege of working at CancerCare in New York with women diagnosed with breast and gynecologic cancer. I’m proud to be helping people at a point in their lives when support is so crucial.”

Each year, the NASW Foundation supports educational and charitable initiatives that:

* enhance social workers’ knowledge and skills
* support and honor the profession, and
* improve the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities

The Foundation is funded entirely through grants and donations, so your contribution is critical.

Your gift today of $10 or more will help bring scholarships to future social workers; research and training to current social workers; and recognition to social work leaders both current and past. Would you please consider making your gift today?

You can give  on the NASW Foundation website at
https://www.socialworkers.org/foundationcampaign/onlinegiving.asp?fund=r/efund

Thanks you for your support!

NASW has an exhaustive process to determine our public policy statements. The policy statements are compiled in Social Work Speaks, a comprehensive collection of policies adopted and revised by NASW’s key policy-making body, the Delegate Assembly. The Delegate Assembly, an elected body of 277 professional social workers representing NASW’s diverse membership, meets at regular intervals (every three years since 1981) to set broad parameters for the Association’s programs, to determine some bylaws issues, and to agree on policy statements that guide advocacy efforts in public policy. Any member can request review of a current policy statement or propose a new statement prior to the triennial meeting. All statements are automatically placed on the agenda every 9 years.

The last meeting of the Delegate Assembly occurred in 2008. The process included two comment periods for all of the new and revised policy statements by the membership prior to adoption by the delegates. Comments were reviewed by hearing panels composed of delegates who made final revisions to the statements. Delegates then voted on the final version presented to them, which appears in the book.

NASW national and chapters must advocate for policy that is in alignment with the adopted policy statements in Social Work Speaks. If a legislative proposal is consistent with the policy statement, NASW then considers additional factors, such as the overall value of the proposal, current political climate, effect on the profession and effect on our clients prior to determining support. If there is no policy statement on the issue, the Board of Directors may make a determination regarding support.

Embrace diversity. End discrimination.

Background

On December 10 the world celebrates Human Rights Day.  Every year, Human Rights Day marks the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948. This year the theme is focused on non-discrimination.

The Role of Social Workers

Social work is fundamentally a human rights profession.  When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was ratified, human rights concerns had been the bedrock of the social work profession in the United States for more than 50 years.  Discrimination and social exclusion based on racial and religious intolerance; gender inequality and violence; denial of the rights of women and children, refugees and older people – all are social justice issues that long have concerned social work. (NASW 2009)

The International Federation of Social Workers includes human rights in their definition of social work: “The social work profession promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being. Utilizing theories of human behavior and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environments. Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work.”

Take Action

• Read more about Human Rights Day and human rights and social work
• Take a look at NASW’s Policy Statement on Human Rights and the International Federation of Social Work Policy Statement on Human Rights
• Spend some time browsing the Office of the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights webpage
• Review human rights instruments that social workers may encounter in their work

References

National Association of Social Workers (2009). International Policy on Human Rights. Social Work Speaks, National Association of Social Workers Policy Statements, 2009-2012 (8th ed., pp 202-207). Washington, DC:  NASW Press.

International Federation of Social Work web page, retrieved December 2009; http://www.ifsw.org/p38000212.html

NOW AVAILABLE
Doing What Works: An Integrative System for the Treatment of Eating Disorders from Diagnosis to Recovery
By Abigail Horvitz Natenshon

Do you have clients dealing with eating disorders?  If so, Doing What Works is a great resource for treatment team professionals as they learn to treat complex cases of eating disorders through various techniques and strategies. Eating disorders, at times, leave practitioners feeling as emotionally challenged and out of control as the patients they treat. This is the first book of its kind to provide support, direction, clarity, and optimism to clinicians treating people with these disorders. Special topics include the unique aspects of diagnosis, the requirements for a versatile use of the practitioner’s self in treatment, co-morbidity, childhood eating and feeding disorders, and the significance of neuro-scientific research on the treatment of eating disorders with a focus on the impact of brain plasticity on creating remediating movement and changes toward recovery.

For more information, visit http://www.naswpress.org/publications/health/doing-what-works.html