NASW’s EvelynTomaszewski is the moderator for this event.

Forum On Hiv, Human Rights And Men Who Have Sex With Men

Sponsored by UNAIDS in collaboration with

The HIV Policy Working Group on Men Who Have Sex with Men and Other Sexual Minorities

Presentations by Dr. Eric Goosby and Michel Sidibé

WHAT: To discuss the future of the AIDS response with a focus on the vulnerable population of men who have sex with men, UNAIDS, in collaboration with The HIV Policy Working Group on Men Who Have Sex with Men and Other Sexual Minorities, is convening international AIDS experts, members of Congress and senior U.S. government officials. The event is co-sponsored by AIDS Project Los Angeles, International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Global Forum on MSM & HIV, Advocates for Youth, AIDS Action, Gay Men’s Health Crisis, psi, IGLHRC, amfAR, National Association of Social Workers, and International Woman’s Health Coalition. There will be an opportunity to participate in a Q&A session with panelists at the end of the forum.

WHEN: Wednesday, September 16, 2009, 12:00-3:00 p.m.

WHO: Presentations by:

Dr. Eric Goosby, Ambassador at Large and U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, U.S. Department of State

Michel Sidibé, Executive Director, UNAIDS

Panelists:

Tudor Kovacs, Population Services International, Romania

Jaevion Nelson, Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN), Jamaica

Dr. Cheikh E. Traore, Senior Advisor, Sexual Diversity, UNDP

Other available experts:

George Ayala, Executive Officer, Global Forum on MSM and HIV

Chris Collins, Vice President and Director, Public Policy, amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research

In cooperation with:

The Honorable Congressman Howard Berman (D-CA)

The Honorable Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA)

WHERE: Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2200

Independence Avenue and South Capitol Street, Washington, DC 20003

NASW has been contacted by CDC because they would like the viewpoint of social workers to be included in an upcoming dialogue on the H1N1 Vaccination Program.

H1N1 Public Engagement WebDialogues: Aug 26-27 or Aug 31-Sept 1

The CDC invites the public to discuss, deliberate, and offer input as it considers whether to take a “full-throttle” or a “go-easy” approach to mass vaccination, or a moderate approach somewhere in-between.

Make your voice heard on a decision facing Americans about the H1N1 vaccine: Register to participate in an upcoming WebDialogue at: www.webdialogues.net/H1N1

There are uncertainties which remain and will remain about how widespread and severe H1N1 influenza will be in the US next fall, and about how much public demand there will be at the time for vaccine. Also, because of the complexities and resources required to plan for mass vaccination well in advance of the epidemic, these uncertainties and complexities pose a difficult dilemma— whether to take a “full throttle” or a “go-slow” approach to mass vaccination, or something in-between?

Each option has pros and cons and a difficult choice must be made in advance. Scaling up or scaling down during the epidemic itself will be “too little too late” to avoid cases that might otherwise have been prevented, or “too much too late” to avoid a loss of credibility for overreacting and an unnecessary use of limited resources in a period of economic hardship.

On behalf of the CDC, The Keystone Center and WestEd are engaging the public throughout August about this policy dilemma. To learn more about opportunities to offer your input visit: www.webdialogues.net/H1N1

NASW News -Vol. 54, No. 6, June 2009

From the President

Leaders and Lessons to Guide Us

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.

(more…)

For Immediate Release
May 15, 2009

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) expresses shock and sadness at the recent deaths of five soldiers at a US military counseling clinic in Baghdad, including Navy Commander Charles K. Springle, a licensed clinical social worker.  Cmdr. Springle was based out of the community counseling center at Camp Lejeune before he was deployed to Iraq in 2008.  Springle’s friend Bob Goodale told The Associated Press that Springle had dedicated his life to helping service members cope with emotional problems caused by combat stress.

Sergeant John M. Russell was charged with five counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault in the shooting.  According to the New York Times, the “killings appear to be the single deadliest episode of solider-on-soldier violence among American forces since the United States-led invasion six years ago.”  Defense Secretary Robert Gates commented that, “Such a tragic loss of life at the hands of our own forces is a cause of great and urgent concern.”

NASW urges the Department of Defense and President Obama to evaluate the impact that multiple deployments and mental health staffing levels are having on our service men and women.  As Patrick Campbell of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America told CBS News, “These are the canaries in the mine. If we don’t start addressing these issues people are getting more and more injured and it’s going to get harder to treat them.”

Deployments are longer, redeployment to combat is common, and breaks between deployments are infrequent.  Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America states that, “Since September 11, 2001, troops have regularly had their tours extended and as of June 2008, more than 638,000 troops have been deployed more than once.”  These multiple deployments are creating additional exposure to traumatic events.

According to the Army’s Mental Health Advisory Team (MHAT), soldiers deployed to Iraq for more than six months, or deployed more than once, are much more likely to be diagnosed with psychological injuries.  In surveys of troops redeploying to Iraq, 20 to 40 percent “still had symptoms of past concussions, including headaches, sleep problems, depression, and memory difficulties. Even after getting home, those who had deployed for longer periods are still at higher risk for PTSD.

According to the Department of Defense Mental Health Task Force, the military has fewer mental health professionals now than it did when the United States invaded Iraq in 2003.  The military is finding it difficult to recruit and retain mental health professionals because of the toll that all deployments have on individuals.  The same report found that the military is having trouble maintaining sufficient mental health staff levels for the same reasons that they have meeting recruiting goals.  Mental health professionals, concerned about the negative effects of protracted deployments on family life, believe they can be paid better to do more rewarding work outside of the military, and as a result, young people are no longer applying for internships within the armed forces.  Almost one in three soldiers in Iraq say it is difficult to get to a mental health specialist.

This horrific situation presents an opportunity to reevaluate the mental health needs of our service members and ensure that those needs are being met, with active-duty military members as well as our nation’s veterans.

Contact:
Elizabeth Franklin
(202) 408-8600
efranklin@naswdc.org

Immediate Release
March 27, 2009

Social Workers Celebrate 97th Birthday of Civil Rights and Women’s Rights Leader

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski introduced legislation this week that will strengthen the nation’s workforce of more than half a million professional social workers.  The goal of S. 686 is to ensure access to a range of critical social work services provided in hospitals, schools, clinics, agencies, the military, and in private businesses.   The bill is named in part for Dr. Dorothy I. Height, one of the key architects of the civil rights movement and a distinguished social work pioneer.

The Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act was introduced to address the impending shortage of trained social workers, and investigate barriers to recruiting and retaining these professionals.  The legislation calls for a Social Work Reinvestment Commission that will analyze how issues such as fair market compensation, educational debt, labor trends, social work research, workplace safety, and state-level licensure contribute to an insufficient social work labor force.

In addition, proposed demonstration programs would fund competitive grants in the areas of workplace improvements; research, education and training; and community-based programs of excellence to assess and expand best practices. The companion House bill H.R. 795 was introduced in February by U.S. Representative Edolphus “Ed” Towns.  Both Mikulski and Towns are trained social workers.

“We all came to the profession of social work to make a difference—to bring about positive social change—to better society,” says Elizabeth J. Clark, PhD, ACSW, MPH, executive director of the National Association of Social Workers. “Through this important legislation, we want to ensure that the next generation of social work students—those who are inspired by the legacies of Dorothy Height, Barbara Mikulski, Whitney Young and Ed Towns—can pursue their dreams while serving their communities.”

About Dr. Dorothy Height
Dr. Dorothy Height, President Emerita of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), began her career as a caseworker in the New York City welfare department, and held leadership positions with the YWCA and Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. In 1957, she was named president of NCNW, a position she held until 1997. During her storied career she encouraged presidents to desegregate schools, to support African American families, and to appoint women of all races to positions in government.  At the 1963 March on Washington, she was the only woman seated on the dais. Height has received numerous awards and achievements for her contributions, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.  Other noted women leaders, such as Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou, Alexis M. Herman, and Hillary Clinton, consider Dr. Height a mentor.  She is currently, at age 97, the Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the largest civil rights organization.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), in Washington, DC, is the largest membership organization of professional social workers with 150,000 members. It promotes, develops, and protects the practice of social work and social workers. NASW also seeks to enhance the well being of individuals, families, and communities through its advocacy.

Contact:
Gail Woods Waller
202-336-8236
gwaller@naswdc.org

Elizabeth Franklin
(202) 408-8600 ext. 537
efranklin@naswdc.org

On behalf of the North American Region of the International Federation of Social Workers, NASW wishes you a happy World Social Work Day 2009.

This video was created on behalf of the North American Region of IFSW of which Dr. Jim Kelly, NASW President, is president.

• Letter from the President of IFSW
  
• IFSW World Social Work Day Web Site
• WSWD 2009 Poster

The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) is the largest workplace charity campaign in the country and the only campaign authorized to solicit and collect contributions from federal employees in the workplace. Nearly four million federal employees and military personnel contribute to the charities of their choice during the annual charity drive, which runs from September 1 through December 15 at federal government agencies across the nation and overseas. Federal employees can support social work by choosing NASW Foundation #12538!

Currently, the United States spends more on health care than any other country even though we are ranked 47th in life expectancy and 43rd in child mortality. In addition, over 40 million people are without coverage, including millions of children. Eight out of ten of those uninsured are members of working families and the number continues to grow at an alarming rate.

NASW supports a national health care policy that ensures the rights to universal access to a continuum of health and mental health.” (Social Work Speaks, 7th Edition 2006-2009). Both presidential candidates have proposed enhanced health care plans. In each health care proposal there are issues of interest to social workers. These include mental health, veterans’ health, women’s health, HIV/AIDS, long term care and Medicaid and Medicare among others.

What health care related issues interest you as a social worker?