April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, which recognizes the importance of families, providers, and communities working together to strengthen families to prevent child abuse, neglect, and abandonment. Social workers are play a key role in supporting families and helping them to access resources that help them to mitigate risks and minimize stress, creating a thriving environment where both child ... Read More »
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and 13 other organizations on January 26, 2022 participated in an amicus brief filed in the United States Supreme Court in Golan v. Saada, a child abduction case. NASW had previously participated in this case filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Courts at the lower level decided that ... Read More »
By Amber Sutton, LICSW, and Haley Beech, LMSW Social workers have a unique role in identifying and addressing intimate partner violence (IPV) as they will inevitably encounter survivors and their families in a variety of settings. One form of intimate partner violence that is often undetected and underreported is reproductive coercion. Reproductive coercion includes tactics such as birth control sabotage ... Read More »
Where should men turn when they are victims of abuse? By Tatsha Robertson Much has been written and discussed about women abused by their intimate partners. However, stories of male survivors are often ignored, partly because of the universal stigmas that hinder men from speaking out, according to Zander Keig, LCSW. Keig works with male victims of intimate partner violence ... Read More »
Abuse has immediate effects on health and, in some cases, is fatal. It has been established that exposure to abuse results in physical, mental, and behavioral health consequences. Maltreatment is a common and significant burden on the health care system that can produce residual effects, both short and long term. In fact, the negative health consequences can persist long after the ... Read More »
By Paul R. Pace, News staff The nation’s opioid crisis is creating a new threat in some of the hardest hit states: a social work workforce shortage in child welfare and addiction treatment. “The demand for social workers has always been high, but it is particularly true now,” says Michael Patchner, university dean at Indiana University School of Social Work. ... Read More »
By Alison Laurio, News contributor “It’s a problem that affects Americans in all parts of the country. It doesn’t discriminate across socio-economic lines, distinguish between urban, suburban and rural, or limit itself to the young or old.” With those words, U.S. Rep Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., addressed his constituents in an email sent May 23. Saying the country is “in the ... Read More »
By Alison Laurio, News contributor The story of Jessica Grubb’s battle with heroin addiction so touched President Obama that when he traveled to Charleston, W.Va., last fall, he invited her parents to attend his public forum on opiate addiction. “Jessica Grubb had tried several programs, and she had been successful,” said Sam Hickman, executive director of the NASW West Virginia ... Read More »
Posted June 25, 2016 At least 5 million older adults reports experiencing abuse, neglect, or exploitation every year (Administration for Community Living, 2016, 2016)—and many more cases of elder maltreatment go unreported. Such mistreatment can manifest as neglect or self-neglect; emotional (psychological), physical, or sexual abuse; financial (or material) exploitation; and abandonment. Recognizing both the magnitude of this problem and ... Read More »
By Paul R. Pace, News staff An estimated four to eight children die from abuse and neglect every day in the U.S. Approximately half of these children are less than a year old and 75 percent are less than 3 years old. These are some of the findings from “Within Our Reach: A National Strategy to Eliminate Child Abuse and ... Read More »
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