National Association of Social Workers Celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service

NASW Encourages Mental Health Providers to Give an Hour to Serve Veterans

NASW joins the nation in honoring the ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through a national day of service. In response to the Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) conflicts, NASW encourages all licensed mental health providers to virtually sign up to volunteer their services through Give An Hour. The organization’s mission is to develop a national network of volunteers with the correct education and experience to meet the mental health needs of the troops and families affected by these engagements. The entire network of volunteers consists of social workers as well as all disciplines within the mental health community who provide treatment for anxiety, depression, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, sexual health and intimacy concerns, and loss and grieving.

The National Association of Social Workers encourages all licensed mental health providers with the expertise and available time commitment to serve our veterans and their loved ones, who may otherwise silently suffer from mental health challenges. Visit www.giveanhour.org on this important day of service and sign up to volunteer your time.

Find out where to take your career and how to get there!  The NASW Center for Workforce Studies has compiled survey results, indentified decision points, and classified the social work labor force to help you understand your place on the professional spectrum.  These reports are must haves for any social worker looking to equipt themselves for the current workforce demands.

Your feedback is needed:  Share your experiences:  Complete the survey

CLICK TO ORDER

The Results Are In: What Social Workers Say About Social Work

NASW Center for Workforce Studies, Tracy Whitaker, DSW, ACSW, Director

2009. Item #B200. 66 pages. $24.99

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Workforce Trends Affecting the Profession 2009

NASW Center for Workforce Studies, Tracy Whitaker, DSW, ACSW

2009. Item #B100. Booklet. 28 pages.  $9.99

Elizabeth J. Clark, PhD, ACSW, MPH

Our delegation was received today by the social work faculty of Helwan University. We were met by the Dean, Prof. Dr. Maher Abo Elmaate, and by the Vice Deans for Post Graduate Studies and Community Organization. Their faculty mission is “Preparing a high quality social worker able to apply the skills of dealing with social work systems and influencing them for making changes for developing the community and individuals.”

They explained their programs and that they use the CSWE standards as a guide. They also were quick to point out that they had the latest version of The Encyclopedia of social Work published by NASW.

We discussed the challenges facing social work in our respective countries. One theme in common was the need for a clearer understanding of what social workers do. We mentioned the need for tuition assistance and loan forgiveness for social work students in the USA. They do not have that problem because their university is government run and undergraduates can attend at almost no cost and MSWs pay a small sum. Doctoral students pay a bit more, perhaps $400 per year. Since they are government run, they accept only Egyptian and Palestinean students.

We toured their computer lab and library which housed all of the theses and dissertations that have been completed on their campus. It was an impressive number. They are working at building a data base for their research and community projects.

We discussed the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act that is currently pending in the US Congress. They enjoyed hearing about the legislation and thought it was a good idea.

Helwan University was established as a social work school for women in 1946. They opened admission to men in 1975. They are very active in community development and action programs.

At the conclusion of our meeting, we were interviewed by Nile Television. They were interested in knowing how we felt Egypt was progressing.

NASW was pleased to be a co-chair organization of the National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, this past week. The Family Violence Prevention Fund hosted this fifth biennial conference, which addressed domestic violence and health. Domestic violence is often seen as a public health problem, and the role health care providers can play in preventing violence and helping victims is well recognized.

At the opening session, the audience was addressed by Lynn Rosenthal, a social worker and longtime advocate, who is the White House Advisor to the President and Vice President on Violence Against Women. The keynote speaker was Eve Ensler, a playwright, performer, and activist and the author of The Vagina Monologues and the founder of V-Day, the global movement to end violence against women and girls.

Many social workers presented their research on intimate partner violence, its health and mental health consequences, and the burden placed on families, communities, and our nation. NASW staff and members were represented on the national conference steering committee and on panel and individual presentations that addressed innovative and promising practice, scientific reports, and skill building.

- Rita A. Webb, DCSW, ACSW

Mirean Coleman, MSW, LICSW, CT
September 2009

NASW would like to hear from clinical social workers and others who have encountered problems in providing mental health services to Medicare beneficiaries who are actively receiving home health care services under Medicare Part A. The association is also seeking information about the impact of situations in which Medicare beneficiaries receiving home care services were unable to acquire or continue with mental health services provided by a clinical social worker.

Under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 (OBRA’89) (P.L. 101-239) clinical social workers are currently unable to seek reimbursement for services provided in a home health care setting because they are restricted to filing claims under Medicare Part B services. NASW is advocating for a change in federal statute or regulation that would allow Medicare beneficiaries receiving home health benefits to obtain or continue with mental health services provided by a clinical social worker. The association values members’ input in this process. Comments can be submitted online at psyhomecare@naswdc.org until November 20, 2009.

Visit www.socialworkers.org/practice/clinical for more information on Clinical Social Work.

The August issue of Health & Social Work (Vol. 34, No. 3) covers a wide range of topics important to social work and social workers, with the “Viewpoint” feature article by Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (NH-1) on posttraumatic stress disorder. Below is a sampling of what’s inside the issue. Download the table of contents of the August Health & Social Work Journal here.

• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Government Initiatives to Relieve It
Carol Shea-Porter
The stressors inherent in military service in the current Iraq and Afghanistan theaters, compounded by multiple tours of duty and shrinking times between deployments, have created a mental health crisis among our military men and women—one that can be just as profound for veterans as it can be for active-duty troops. This article by Rep. Carol Shea-Porter(NH-1), member of the House Armed Services Committee, addresses what the armed services and U.S. government are doing to address this crisis—in particular the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder—and looks ahead to what more needs to be done.

• Parent Mentoring and Child Anticipatory Guidance with Latino and African American Families
Michaela L. Z. Farber
Poor child health and developmental outcomes are linked to scarcity of economic resources, barriers to health service delivery, and inadequate parenting. A preventive two-year parent mentoring project, theoretically anchored in the transactional model of child development, resulted in statistically-significant positive changes in parent and child outcomes for families receiving well-baby care at an urban primary health care center. In addition to numerous practical benefits, the intervention had implications for collaborative multidisciplinary practice.

• Sexuality and Life-Threatening Illness: Implications for Social Work and Palliative Care
John G. Cagle and Sage Bolte
Addressing sexuality with terminally ill patients and their families is frequently a social worker’s responsibility, yet little direction exists regarding how to approach this difficult subject in the context of palliative care. On the basis of a critical analysis of the literature on sexuality and terminal illness, this article addresses systemic barriers to the expression of sexuality in palliative care settings and provides numerous practical recommendations for social workers serving clients in such settings.

BusinessWeek Magazine’s health care-themed August 17th issue includes an article on eldercare, titled “A Pro in Your Corner.” Focusing on the role and expertise of geriatric care managers among the vast network of caregivers, the article’s sidebar, “Decoding the Credentials,” specifically included NASW’s Case Management credentials. The master’s level Certified Advanced Social Worker in Case Management (C-ASWCM), and the baccalaureate degree Certified Social Work Case Manager (C-SWCM) distinguish the professional social work case manager from those not specifically trained and accomplished in the case management practice model. Visit the NASW Credential Center Web page to learn more.

The FTC has announced that enforcement of the new Red Flags Identity Theft Rule, scheduled to become effective August 1, 2009, has been delayed until November 1, 2009 to give the agency additional time to develop guidance for small businesses.  Health care practitioners are subject to the new requirements.  For more information see http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/07/redflag.shtm and https://www.socialworkers.org/ldf/legal_issue/2009/200906.asp

NASW strongly encourages members who work in health care settings to take the opportunity to comment on care transitions measures which are being considered for use in transitions of care during discharges of patients from inpatient settings and Emergency Departments.  The American Medical Association/Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement (AMA/PCPI) has released for public comment a Care Transitions Performance Measurement Set. The measures were developed by a Care Transitions Work Group convened by the ABIM Foundation, the American College of Physicians, the Society of Hospital Medicine and the AMA/PCPI.  NASW is a member of the Care Transitions Work Group.

The care transition measures are an initial set of measures to address specific topics within the broader area of care coordination. They are based on evidence-based practice and address known gaps in care. The AMA/PCPI plans to address additional areas within care coordination in the future.

The draft measures with corresponding response forms are available for online comment at the following Web site: www.physicianconsortium.org. Click on the “Public Comments” link.  The public comment period for the care transitions measures  will close on March 16, 2009, at 5:00 pm Central Time.

Clinical Social Work Practice Alert

Mirean Coleman, MSW, LICSW, CT
January 2009

Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Codes for psychotherapy are being considered for review to increase the work and practice expense values associated with reimbursement rates.� Work values are based on the time and the required mental effort and judgment to perform a service, and the stress encountered due to the potential risk to the patient.� Practice expense values include direct expenses of a clinical practice including clinical labor activities, medical supplies, and equipment. The consideration for review is taking place through the American Medical Association, Relative Value Scale Update Committee and the Health Care Professional Advisory Committee and consists of presenting compelling evidence that psychotherapy codes should be revalued.

NASW would like to hear from clinical social workers who have compelling evidence that work and practice expense values of psychotherapy codes should be increased.� Compelling evidence includes, but is not limited to, factors such as

• Documentation in the literature that psychotherapy has changed
• Evidence of changes in psychotherapy due to technology
• Evidence that the patient population and types of problems have changed, resulting in increased work and stress for clinical social workers
• Flawed methodology used in previous psychotherapy surveys
• Analysis of data on time and effort measures such as clinical databases
• Misleading vignettes in previous psychotherapy surveys.
• An anomalous relationship between the code being valued and other codes.

NASW encourages clinical social workers to participate in the process to validate the need to increase the work and practice expense values of psychotherapy codes.� Compelling evidence may be submitted to the following e-mail address, psychotherapysurvey@naswdc.org, no later than February 28, 2009.

Additional information about how reimbursement rates are developed is available at the following Web site:
National Association of Social Workers, www.socialworkers.org.� Click on Managed Care Directory.� Scroll to Reimbursement Section for practice update,
“How Reimbursement Rates are Developed for Clinical Social Workers in Private Practice.”