We write this letter to LGBTQIA2S+ kids and youth to express deep gratitude that you exist, because our world would be incomplete without you. We honor the richness of your authenticity and openly proclaim that you are perfect exactly as you are. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you ... Read More »
The Grand Challenges for Social Work initiative, led by the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, invites social work researchers to direct their work toward society’s most pressing problems—problems for which solutions are just out of reach. The grand challenges initiative addresses concerns in the areas of individual and family wellbeing, having a stronger social fabric, and moving ... Read More »
Why are adolescents sometimes more impulsive or make poor decisions, such as drinking, hanging with wrong crowd or dropping out of school? The reason could be because of brain development. Many people do not know the brains of youth do not fully develop until they are in their mid twenties, which is why they may behave in ways that bewilder ... Read More »
Each year on March 31, the world marks International Transgender Day of Visibility as a time to raise awareness around the discrimination that people who are transgender experience and celebrate people who are transgender from around the world who courageously live their lives openly and authentically. So far in 2020, more than 200 bills in 18 states been proposed to ... Read More »
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) supports legislation introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) today that would strengthen the nation’s child welfare system and help prevent mistreatment of youth who are LGBTQ. Kaine’s Child Welfare Workforce Support Act would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to do a five-year pilot program to focus on the best ways to reduce barriers ... Read More »
By Alison Laurio, News contributor When J. David Hawkins was a probation officer in the 1980s, he thought, “Isn’t there something we should have done to prevent these kids from getting to this place?” Programs from that period like “Just Say No” and “Scared Straight” just didn’t work, he said, for one reason: There was no evidence behind them. Now ... Read More »
The conditions of the rural white working class and poor have been receiving increased attention lately. What do we really know about this demographic? Studies of their conditions could help illuminate their lives and highlight the social needs of this population. In a recent issue of the NASW Press-published journal Children & Schools featured a study done by Jill A. ... Read More »
By Maren Dale, News contributor Although progress continues to be made toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) equality in the U.S. — as evidenced by marriage equality and better recognition of and respect for people who identify as LGBTQ — this progress is not felt by all members of the LGBTQ community. For LGBTQ youth in foster care ... Read More »
The Therapeutic Role of Animals in the Lives of Children Thursday, April 6, 2017 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM ET Credit Hours: 1.5 Social Work contact hours of CEs Presenter: Philip Tedeschi, LCSW Moderator(s): Dina Kastner, MSS, MLSP What do we know about the therapeutic role that animals play in the emotional lives of children. Human-Animal Interaction (HAI) and ... Read More »
By Paul R. Pace, News staff Foster youth can experience greater challenges than their non-foster youth peers as they grow into adulthood. Besides the potential for mental stress, foster youth can face financial, transportation and housing insecurity that can impede a path to a postsecondary education. Fortunately, there are social workers, such as Maria Garin Jones, who specialize in supporting ... Read More »
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