By Paul R. Pace Social worker Jennifer Kljajic lost her brother to suicide when he was tapered off from opioids too quickly after taking them as prescribed for years due to a chronic pain condition in 2018. It was not until a year later that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published guidelines that warned against fast tapering ... Read More »
By Alison Laurio Will Francis, LMSW, said he “saw the writing on the wall” after new laws were implemented in Texas and took action to inform NASW Texas Chapter members about how to stay safe while doing their jobs. “Freedom of Social Work: How the First Amendment Supports Safe Spaces” — his presentation at the state conference — is an ... Read More »
The U.S. leads the world in the total number of incarcerations, imprisoning Americans at a rate of 629 people per every 100,000. And even though the current rate is the lowest in 20 years, the U.S. in 2022 had more than two million people in prison, according to World Population Review. And that number “is equivalent to roughly 25% of ... Read More »
By Sue Coyle, MSW As the world nears the end of the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States is both transitioning back toward pre-pandemic life and settling into a new normal. It’s a delicate balance that continues to evolve, as does the virus. Cases of the coronavirus have not disappeared. In mid-September, two and a half years ... Read More »
By Alison Laurio Managing student debt; concerns about risk and liability; how to begin a job search; what is a social work license, and why is or isn’t it important?; and landing your dream social work job are topics many social work students and recent graduates are eager to find out more about. Now they can, thanks to a free ... Read More »
By Paul R. Pace While every election matters, the November 2022 midterms are imperative because human rights like voting, reproductive health and LGBTQIA+—issues central to social work’s mission and values—are in deep jeopardy. In some states, these rights are explicitly on the ballot, says Tanya Rhodes Smith, instructor in residence and director of the Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political ... Read More »
By Cassie Brown, MSW, LCSW For all of you who are on the Rainbow Spectrum, all of you who have known the inside of a closet, all of you who have had to tell your story and your truth again (and again, and again, and again) because of the oppressive world in which we live and the assumptions that we ... Read More »
The belief that dementia is a normal part of the aging process is familiar. But it is not true. “It is a common misconception in society that it is something we should all expect and something that happens to almost everybody,” says Natalia Shtompel, PhD, MSW. “But it’s not the case.” Dementia is not a normal part of aging, she ... Read More »
When Robin Arndt was a freshman at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, he met with a social work professor. After a one-hour conversation where Arndt discussed his interests and aspirations, he said he left knowing he was going to be a social worker. “I gained a mentor from that meeting who would help me navigate my undergraduate experience and shape ... Read More »
The NASW Specialty Practice Sections webinar, Words with Friends: The Nexus Between Grant Writing and Social Work, provides an overview of grant writing strategies and techniques with emphasis on the written narrative portion of proposals for funding. It is available on demand at the Social Work Online CE Institute. The presentation includes how grant writing fits within an agency’s larger resource development ... Read More »
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