Celebrate Social Work Month – March 2010

The 2010 Social Work Month theme is “Social Workers Inspire Community Action”

Since its inception, the social work profession has worked to improve life for millions every day. Social workers operate from values that recognize each person as relevant to society and believe that, when needed, society should help each person achieve his or her fullest potential.

No Limitations. People choose careers in the social work profession because they believe they can make a significant impact in the lives of others through individual and group assistance.  But they also recognize that effective social work practice with individuals, families and communities is affected by institutions, customs and laws that may limit the success of many.

Our Legacy. A commitment to fairness, and an intense interest in seeing others succeed by removing personal and public barriers, distinguishes social workers from other like-minded helping professionals.  These values—coupled with tangible social science skills—have led social workers in history to create essential safety net programs such as unemployment insurance, health insurance, income assistance and child protection services, and to fight for a range of human and civil rights in the United States.

Our Impact. Social workers are close to the critical events that shape the quality of American life. We are on the frontlines, developing, advocating and delivering social programs that are responsive to such human needs as homelessness, poverty, family break-up, mental illness, disability, alcohol and substance abuse, domestic violence and many other issues.  Social workers help people live more rewarding lives.

This year’s Social Work Month celebration showcases the expertise and dedication of professional social workers in helping to improve community life.  We will promote the chosen theme “Social Workers Inspire Community Action” through three core strategies of the ongoing National Social Work Public Education Campaign:

• Consumer Education
• Entertainment Outreach
• Student Recruitment

While social workers are integral parts of all communities, the general public’s understanding of these contributions and services is still limited.  Using this toolkit and related campaign materials you can help ensure that more people are exposed to positive and actionable information about the social work profession.  Every social worker has a role to play, so we hope this online toolkit helps you identify and implement promotional activities that best suit your skills and interests.

SWM 2010 Toolkit Materials:

SWM 2010 Overview

• Key Messages for SWM 2010
• Community Action Hero Nomination Form

Consumer Education Overview

• 10 Things You Can Do to Educate Consumers
• Visitor’s Guide to the HelpStartsHere.org Web Site

Entertainment Outreach Overview

• 10 Things You Can Do to Change Social Work Media Portrayals
• Visitor’s Guide to the SocialWorkersSpeak.org Web Site

Student Recruitment Overview

• 10 Things You Can Do to Introduce Students to Social Work
• Visitor’s Guide to BeASocialWorker.org Web Site

Resources

• History of Social Work Month
• Who Are Social Workers? Handout

If you have any questions about Social Work Month 2010, please contact NASW Communications at 202-336-8212.

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.

Ken Lewis, author of Child Custody Evaluations: Understanding the Five Stages of Custody (NASW Press) is quoted in a recent article on the Michael Jackson Custody Case on www.lifescript.com.

From: Michael Jackson Custody Case: Who Gets the Kids?
By Fran Golden, Special to Lifescript |July 15, 2009

Honesty Is Best
Social workers are often appointed by family court judges to do custody evaluations, especially in the case of a difficult divorce or death of a sole parent. In some custody cases, the court may ask kids who they prefer to live with.

It’s a tough decision to choose between Mom and Dad, but honesty is the best policy, says Ken Lewis, author of Child Custody Evaluations: Understanding the Five Stages of Custody, (National Association of Social Workers).

Kids should be assured by their parents that the evaluator is a friend, not a foe, Lewis says.

Some parents or guardians try to cheat the system, he adds, by telling their kids what to say. That can do more emotional harm than good.

Therapist Kendrick agrees.

“Now you have people saying, ‘Come with me,’ and children don’t ever want to be put in that position,” he says, “because they can’t win.”

Whoever tries for custody in a divorce or in the Jackson case – the grandparents, biological mother or the nanny credited with raising the children – the job of an evaluator is to listen to the kids and be the impartial ears and eyes of a judge.

The Chicage Tribune recently featured a social worker and cancer survivor in St. Charles who  offers oasis to those who need moments of peace, quiet.

By Alexa Aguilar |Special to the Tribune | July 29, 2009

When Deborah Marqui of St. Charles planted the first flowers in her garden more than 30 years ago, she envisioned it as a place her family would enjoy in the years to come.

But instead it flowered into a 2-acre “healing garden” that helped her through two bouts of cancer and now offers a peaceful escape to anyone looking for a quiet place.

The shaded woods and flowering beds hidden just off a busy St. Charles street offered her so much peace that after she lost a friend to cancer, she decided to open the gardens monthly to the public. She’s seen the research that links time spent in nature and quiet with health benefits. But she also has experienced firsthand its restorative effects….”I needed to heal my body, mind and spirit,” said Marqui, a licensed clinical social worker. “Cancer has a way of waking you up. … I needed to chill and ground myself.”…full article

The Washington Post’s recent article, “The Making of an Agent” featured social worker Krista Bradford as she trains as a secret service recruit.

“Krista had just assessed a 4-year-old autistic girl. She told the girl’s mother to buy crayons and blocks, she later recalled. As a social worker, Krista was tired of rappelling into lives after they’d crumbled. She wanted to try something preemptive, such as law enforcement.Krista herself had experienced the limits of social services. She was given up at birth in an adoption that failed, and later moved into an adolescent group house where she reached for a serving bowl and was stabbed in the hand with a fork.

“I’ll be a good protector,” Krista believed. “I know how important it is to be protected.”"

We’ve received emails from social workers regarding TNT’s new show “HawthoRNe”, starring Jada Pinkett Smith.  What are your thoughts on how the social worker charater is being portrayed on that show? Leave your comment below or on Facebook.

Here is some of the buzz about the show, from around the web, that mentions social work :

Truth about Nursing : “The physician arrives, concurs with Hawthorne’s assessment, and they head to the NICU. Later, Hawthorne tries to protect Isabel from a social worker who sees it as a case of endangerment and has called Protective Services. Hawthorne argues that Isabel rescued the baby. When Isabel stops by to see Moses in the NICU, it’s clear that she has no idea what’s going on, and blames Hawthorne and the hospital for making the baby sick. Hawthorne tries to console her, and to explain that they are helping the baby. Isabel, who veers very quickly from one mood to another, takes out a dollar bill and gives it to Hawthorne “for [the baby's] future.” However, at that point the social worker shows up with the police.”

Pop Matters : “At Richmond Trinity Hospital, Christina Hawthorne (Smith) is the Chief Nursing Officer. She battles for her patients, explaining to one social worker, “I jeopardizes my job every day” for the good of her patients. Her foes include incompetent doctors who talk down to nurses, hospital administrators with their eyes on the bottom line, and the kind of bureaucratic red tape the health care system produces on a daily basis.”

Amy’s Life in Brief : “So, don’t ask me why I watch hospital-based TV shows. I know, I work in a hospital…I should have my fill. But, nevertheless, I still like them. I still like them, even when they portray social workers in a rather negative light.

So, I was intrigued by this new show, Hawthorne, on TNT. It goes at hospitals from the nurses’ perspective, with the main character being the head of nursing services. I won’t go into all the ways the show wasn’t true to what goes on in hospital. That can be said about any hospital show. Anyway…I just got done watching the pilot episode.

In the pilot episode, there was a social worker involved. Maybe I shouldn’t get all up in arms because they didn’t come right out and declare this character a social worker, but it was implied. Essentially, and I’m sorry if you have recorded this show and haven’t had a chance to watch it, a mentally ill, homeless woman (who has previously been befriended by the title character) shows up with a newborn infant at the hospital. The title character sort of convinces her to let the baby be brought into the hospital for medical evaluation.

So, they get the baby inside and the social work-y character is implying that she will be contacting CPS. Of course, the title character responds (paraphrasing here), “Why? She didn’t do anything wrong!” There is some protest from social work-y character and then agrees to wait a bit before contacting the authorities. (more…)

Video of Arizona State Legislature Representative and Social Worker Kyrsten Sinema talking about her new book with local media.

Kyrsten Sinema serves as the Assistant Leader to the Democratic Caucus in the House of Representatives and represents central Phoenix in the Arizona Legislature. Now in her third term, she is the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee and the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

Kyrsten holds both a law degree and a Master’s degree in Social Work from Arizona State University, and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in the School of Justice and Social Inquiry at ASU. She is an adjunct professor in the School of Social Work at ASU and practices law when not in session. Kyrsten also serves as faculty for the Center for Progressive Leadership, teaching tomorrow’s community leaders about the political process.

“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.””

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

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.

Social Work Reinvestment Act

• Send a Letter to Your Representative in Support
• Send a Letter to Your Senator in Support