Anne Henley was quoted in a story published in The Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg, Va., about the upcoming closing of two programs that help child custody cases because of budget constraints. The programs helped calm volatile emotions during custody cases, the story stated. Family Solutions offered the programs — Safe Exchange and supervised visitation — for nearly five years. During that time, the state-licensed agency near Spotsylvania Courthouse has lost considerable money on both programs, the story stated. Director Henley said her agency lost several thousand dollars last year alone. "The programs are so valuable, you ca...

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NASW is among the cosponsors of a letter sent to all members of Congress that highlighted the urgent need to help low- and moderate-income people during a faltering economy. NASW is a member of the Coalition on Human Needs, an alliance of national organizations working together to promote public policies that address the needs of low-income and other vulnerable people. The letter went to lawmakers while they debated final details of federal budget resolutions. "We strongly urge that the final budget resolution include the highest possible domestic discretionary funding out of the choices before you," the coalition stated. "Failure to maxim...

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NASW coordinated a Capitol Hill briefing in April to help legislators understand the importance of community-based patient navigation programs and the need to fund them. NASW partnered with C-Change, a national cancer coalition composed of key national leaders from government, business and nonprofit sectors, to produce the Cancer Patient Navigation Toolkit. NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark is among the 130 members of C-Change and serves on its Access Team. "It's important social workers have a strong voice in the conversation about patient navigation because many social workers are serving as navigators with clients," she said. ...

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— Lyn Stoesen, News Staff As researchers and practitioners have explored gender roles in society, many have begun to focus on the socialization that men experience and the ways it can affect their physical, social and mental health. Social workers are among those recognizing the need to approach working with men with attention to the particular coping mechanisms they use when facing challenges. First annual conference The First Annual National Conference on Social Work With and For Men, "Caring, Sharing and Preparing to Serve," was held April 28-29 at the University of Alabama. The event drew about 100 participants. The conference wa...

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NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark submitted comments on behalf of NASW to the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) addressing proposed changes in state flexibility for Medicaid benefit packages. "NASW is concerned that the reliance on commercial benefit plans is inappropriate for Medicaid recipients," Clark said in her message. "We are especially concerned that many private insurance plans do not provide adequate mental health services; therefore, providing significant challenges to people with serious and persistent mental illness." The executive director explained that in the proposed rule, some people with mental illn...

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— Lyn Stoesen, News Staff   The NASW Foundation and NASW, working in partnership with the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, have launched a project to build the capacity, awareness and skills of social workers for responding to the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth living in foster care, juvenile justice systems and homeless shelters nationwide. The project is funded through the Out-of-Home Youth Fund of The Tides Foundation. Lambda Legal has partnered with NASW to establish a train-the-trainer initiative that will create a group of 40 "master trainers" who will commit to facilitat...

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President Bush at press time signed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) into law. NASW has been a strong supporter of the GINA (H.R. 493) (S. 358) because it protects a person from the fear of being discriminated against once his or her genetic makeup is known, said Asua Ofosu, senior government relations associate at NASW. The association is a member of the Coalition for Genetic Fairness, which has supported the federal GINA bills. Bush was expected to sign the act into law following the House's approval in early May. The Senate unanimously passed the act a week earlier. According to coalition members, every person carrie...

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Praising the "legacy of scholarship" that produced it, Editor-in-Chief Terry Mizrahi introduced the Encyclopedia of Social Work, 20th Edition at a launch event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on April 25. The new edition of the Encyclopedia is published by the NASW Press in partnership with Oxford University Press and includes more than 400 entries in four volumes. Mizrahi and Larry E. Davis served as co-editors-in-chief of the volumes, working with 16 area editors and almost 400 social workers as contributing authors. In the introduction to the Encyclopedia, Mizrahi and Davis write that "The Encyclopedia ...

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NASW was represented on a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) consumer education workshop to address low-income consumers in the upcoming switch to digital-only television reception. The issue involves the end of traditional analog television broadcasts on Feb. 17, 2009, and the switch to a digital-only service. According to the commission, consumers can learn more about the switch to digital TV reception at Digital Television or by calling the FCC at (888) 225-5322. Luisa Lopez, acting director of Social Work Practice, Human Rights and International Affairs at NASW, represented the association at the workshop and shared her opinions wi...

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NASW has launched a new, free Web education course designed to provide social workers with an overview of the differences and disparities in end-of-life care and ways to address these challenges. The course, "Achieving Cultural Competency to Reduce Health Disparities in End of Life Care," offers tools that can be used when providing services to culturally diverse individuals and their loved ones affected by dying and death, said Luisa Lopez, director of Practice, Human Rights and International Affairs at NASW. Lopez noted that the course, which offers 2.0 continuing education credits upon successful completion of a final exam, was developed...

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