Tag Archives: children and families

In May, we updated you on the Senate’s reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).  Now, there is a possibility of the bill failing if the House and Senate are unable to reconcile differences between their two bills.  The House bill excludes members of the LGBT community and reduces protections for Native American women as well as immigrants.  It ... Read More »

While women constitute 51 percent of the population of the United States, they experience disparate treatment.  There continues to be a gender gap in earnings between men and women.  Household income varies dramatically and women, and women-headed households, are more likely to live in poverty.  Social work is a female-majority profession and women are the majority of clients served by ... Read More »

Each year on Mother’s Day the US Department of Health and Human Services kicks off National Women’s Health Week. Starting on Sunday, May 13, individuals, communities, and health agencies, among others, will unite in an effort to advocate for women to take control of their health. The 2012 theme is, It’s Your Time. According to the campaign website, organizations will ... Read More »

April 17 is Equal Pay Day. That date marks the amount of time women must work each year before their pay catches up with men’s compensation for the same job. The signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Act in 2009 helped, as that legislation provided victims of discrimination a broader timeframe in which to seek legal remedies. However, it did not ... Read More »

Two years ago, President Obama signed the historic health care bill, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law. Social workers strongly support the law because it makes vital improvements to health care access, quality and services for millions of Americans with health and behavioral health needs. In particular, the ACA addresses many issues for women in improving access to coverage and ... Read More »

On February 17, Congress passed the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, H.R. 3630 which includes a provision to extend the TANF program through September 30, 2012. This was not a clean extension, meaning there were changes to the program included. The first change requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to set (by ... Read More »

NASW is a member of a global Social Service Workforce Strengthening Alliance that was formed following the November 2010 Conference in Cape Town.  The Alliance advocates for and coordinates support to country level initiatives that help to develop the workforce that provides critical services to vulnerable children and families.  The Alliance is currently seeking a Senior Advisor, SWWS Alliance to further ... Read More »

Recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ruled that contraceptive services must be covered by most forms of insurance without a co-pay or deductible.  Houses of worship are not required to provide birth control in their health coverage. The Obama administration declined the bishops push to exempt religiously affiliated organizations whose primary mission isn’t worship. Now, the Catholic Church has ... Read More »

The Violence Against Women Act, or VAWA, has played a crucial role in the lives of women and families since its original passage in 1994.  We have seen both a sharp increase in the reporting of domestic violence, and significant decrease in the number of people harmed by an intimate partner.  Additionally, an increase in legal services has helped women ... Read More »

When school beckons after the lazy days of summer, how can parents help their children adjust to the change in a healthy way? WALA-TV-FOX10 in Mobile, Ala., sought the advice of Tabitha Olzinski, a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in child development. Olzinski noted the difficulties parents face in gauging how their children deal with school issues. “We don’t ... Read More »