Beginning September 15 through October 22, NASW and the NASW Foundation will be accepting nominations for the 2010 National Recognition Awards. New this year, award nominations will be accepted using an online process. Instructions and forms for submitting online nominations will be posted online no later than September 15. Anyone interested in submitting a nomination may click on the links below for eligibility criteria and nomination requirements.
The awards honor social workers and other individuals who have, through their work and/or advocacy, advanced the principles and vision of the profession.

The following NASW National Awards, and those who may submit nominations for them, are:
•Social Worker of the Year – NASW Chapters only;
•Public Citizen of the Year – NASW Chapters, individuals and social welfare organizations;
•Public Elected Official – NASW chapters, members, individuals, and social welfare organizations;
•Lifetime Achievement Award – NASW Chapters and individuals.

For additional information please visit www.socialworkers.org or call 202-336-8216. E-mail inquiries may be sent to governance@naswdc.org.

The following are the NASW Foundation awards:

•International Rhoda G. Sarnat Award
•Knee/Wittman Health and Mental Health Achievement Awards

The Sarnat Award is given to an individual, group, or organization that has significantly advanced the public image of professional social work. The award recipient receives a cash award of $3,000. The Knee/Wittman Awards are given to individuals and/or groups for outstanding contributions in the field of health and mental health. NASW chapters, individuals, and social welfare organizations may nominate candidates for these awards.

For additional information, please visit www.naswfoundation.org or call 202-336-8298. E-mail inquiries may be sent to naswfoundation@naswdc.org.

The deadline for submitting a complete electronic nomination package is Friday, October 22, 2010. Late nominations will not be accepted.

The release of Narratives of Social and Economic Justice in 2009 had been awaited with much anticipation by gerontological social workers, among whom Roberta Greene’s work in the field of resiliency is widely known and admired. Coauthored with Harriet L. Cohen, John Gonzalez, and Youjung Lee, the book is a masterful addition to Dr. Greene’s impressive oeuvre. The book answers the call from social work educators for academic resources that deal with cross-cutting issues and cover a broad spectrum of domains and specializations—gerontological social work, social policy, health, mental health, and social justice.

A companion to Dr. Greene’s earlier Resiliency: An Integrated Approach to Practice, Policy, and Research, Narratives of Social and Economic Justice thoroughly elucidates the theoretical underpinnings of resiliency-based practice and makes a compelling case for its ascendancy as a model for building strong families and communities.

Given such a warm reception, it should come as no surprise that Narratives of Social and Economic Justice has been nominated for The Professor Robert W. Hamilton Book Author Award. This coveted award is presented annually to the best book-length publication by a staff or faculty member of the University of Texas at Austin.

About the Authors

Dr. Greene is professor and Louis and Ann Wolens Centennial Chair in Gerontology at the School of Social Work, University of Texas at Austin. She is the author and coauthor of numerous publications, including Foundations of Social Work Practice in the Field of Aging: A Competency-Based Approach (NASW Press, 2007), Social Work Practice: A Risk and Resilience Perspective (Brooks/Cole, 2007), Contemporary Issues of Care (Haworth Press, 2007), Resiliency: An Integrated Framework for Practice, Research, and Policy (NASW Press, 2002), and Social Work with the Aged and Their Families (Aldine de Gruyter, 2000).

Dr. Cohen is associate professor in the Department of Social Work, Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth. She has published in numerous journals and is a coauthor of Foundations of Social Work Practice in the Field of Aging: A Competency-Based Approach (NASW Press, 2007).

Dr. Gonzalez is assistant professor in the Department of Social Work, University of Texas–Pan American. A former Council on Social Work Education Minority Research Fellow, he has authored and coauthored a variety of publications on older Latinos and mental health services and older adults overcoming oppression.

Dr. Lee is visiting assistant professor, Department of Social Work, Binghamton University, State University of New York. She has published on issues of minority family caregiving and the resilience of minority older adults.

The John A. Hartford Foundation responded to this shortage by developing the Geriatric Social Work Initiative (GSWI) in 2000. GSWI uses several strategies to promote social work expertise in aging:

• Funding and career development support for junior faculty members
• Dissertation grants and professional development opportunities to doctoral students
• Infusion of gerontological content in social work curricula
• Advanced field placements for students specializing in aging

The John A. Hartford Foundation’s 2009 annual report celebrates the 10^th anniversary of GSWI and is devoted solely to this social work program. Visit www.jhartfound.org/pdf%20files/JAHF_2009_Annual_Report.pdf to read the report and www.jhartfound.org/blog/?cat=34 to view the Foundation’s blog devoted to geriatric social work.

Related Links

NASW Center for Workforce Studies
National Study of Licensed Social Workers (2006)
http://workforce.socialworkers.org/studies/natstudy.asp

Institute of Medicine
Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Healthcare Workforce (2008)
http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=12089

Join us for this informational session and chat with the authors of Narratives of Social and Economic Justice. This NASW Press book provides insight and skills that social workers need to effectively combat racial and ethnic disparities and promote optimal human development.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM ET
Free

Book excerpt

“Residences often find themselves in a double-bind—unable to access services because their homes do not meet county building codes …. Many houses have been built without indoor bathrooms or plumbing, and housing inspectors will designate these as “substandard” or “dilapidated,” so the house cannot pass inspection…(p. 137).”

Featuring:

•  Roberta Greene,PhD, MSW
•  Harriet Cohen,PhD, LCSW
•  John Gonzalez,PhD, MSW
•  Youjung Lee,PhD, MSW

This event is sponsored by NASW Specialty Practice Sections and NASW Press.

CEs will not be offered for the Meet the Authors event. *

To register please email sections@naswdc.org and provide us your name, you will be emailed a confirmation.

Phone Instructions:

· Toll free: 1-866-237-3252
Toll: 1-719-457-1018
Participant Passcode:  945159

· URL:  http://www.MyEventPartner.com/NASW26

*No CEs will be provided for this book chat.

The NASW Assurance Services, Inc. (ASI) has funded the development of this course created by the NASW Office of Ethics and Professional Review in partnership with the NASW Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and the Social Work Ethics and Law Institute, a program of the LDF. The course can be accessed at www.naswwebed.org.

Social workers practicing in rural and underserved communities often see the affect that rising levels of chronic disease have on individuals and families. Learn about and get involved in community-level initiatives to address the implications of poor health in these communities. Learn more about this webinar and register here.  NASW Specialty Practice Sections members only.

To learn about Sections membership, visit www.socialworkers.org/sections

To view the standards and submit comments, visit www.socialworkers.org/practice/aging/standards

Please consider the following questions as you review the standards:

1. How applicable are the standards to social workers across practice levels, professional roles, and practice settings?
2. How relevant are the standards to the experiences and needs of family caregivers of older adults?
3. Are the standards easy to understand? Are there any concepts that need to be clarified?

Presenter(s):

• Barbara A. Soniat, Ph.D, MSW

Moderator(s):

• Chris Herman, MSW, LICSW

Excerpts from the webinar

“Where do you draw the line, when is it more than clutter?  Hoarding is an obsession or excessive acquiring.  When you have an obsessive acquiring or excessive acquiring coupled with difficulty discarding materials, that results in inability to use the space for its intended purpose…”

“We have recently seen a lot of attention from the media, and as well as in clinical and research literature about hoarding.  The severity of hoarding behaviors range from mild to severe, at its most severe level, we’ve seen hoarding result in serious injury and in some instances death of people…”

Questions Raised:

1. What causes hoarding?
2. Is there a connection between hoarding and anxiety disorders or OCD?
3. Why does hoarding seem more prevalent in older adults?
4. What treatments have proven successful with persons that hoard?

Did You Know?
Hoarding only affects 1% of the population.

Task Force on Childhood Obesity: Request for Information – Comments must be submitted by March 26, 2010

Across the country, childhood obesity has reached epidemic rates. On February 9, 2010, President Obama signed a Presidential Memo establishing a Task Force on Childhood Obesity that directs Federal agencies to create a comprehensive interagency national action plan to solve the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation. The Presidential Memo directs the Task Force to focus on four pillars:

• Ensuring access to healthy, affordable food;
• Increasing physical activity in schools and communities;
• Providing healthier food in schools; and
• Empowering parents with information and tools to make good choices for themselves and their families.

This notice announces a request for public comments to assist the Task Force in making recommendations on public and private sector actions that can be taken to solve the problem.

Submit comments online by March 26, 2010.  More information…

NASW members are also welcomed to submit general feedback about childhood obesity to NASW Senior Practice Associate, Stacy Collins by e-mail at scollins@naswdc.org