— Lyn Stoesen, News Staff   NASW is among 13 organizations that have joined together to issue a publication called Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation and Youth: A Primer for Principals, Educators and School Personnel. The publication has been sent to 16,000 public school superintendents in the United States. The publication is designed to guide employees confronting issues involving gay, lesbian and bisexual students and to help administrators foster safe and healthy school environments. It includes up-to-date information from professional health organizations as well legal guidelines about the responsibility of school offi...

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Social workers were among the hundreds of volunteers who counseled students and staff at Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Ill., after a tragic shooting rampage occurred on campus Feb. 14. Among the 500 volunteers was NASW member Noel Lemke, a medical social worker at Good Sheppard Hospital in Barrington, Ill. NIU students hold a vigil. (Photo: NIU Media Services) The counselors helped staff and students cope with the tragedy that left six students dead, including the 27-year-old gunman who police said committed suicide before authorities arrived. Lemke said she heard about the need for volunteer counselors from an NASW Il...

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NASW has published a new practice update that provides details about changes in the Medicare Part B 2008 reimbursement rates for clinical social workers. The practice update offers information on several developments that have affected Medicare reimbursement rates. In January, a temporary 0.5 percent increase for Medicare providers went into effectand is effective through June 30. New practice-expense methodology, however, is also having an effect on Medicare reimbursement rates for clinical social workers, and social workers may increase their reimbursement through participation in the 2008 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative. The update...

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Specious Attack With all due respect to my colleague Bruce A. Birnberg, who takes our profession to task for defending ourselves from George Will's attacks ["Knee-Jerk Defensiveness," Letters, February], what possibly qualifies Mr. Will to comment on our profession? And who is next — Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Lou Dobbs? Our work is arduous enough without having to stop and defend ourselves from specious attacks. Barry Goldman-Hall, LCSW San Jose, Calif.   Next Reentry Steps The report on the NASW conference on prisoner reentry shows that the organization is moving in the right direction. What it lacked was any indication o...

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— Lyn Stoesen, News Staff   The Intercultural Cancer Council has awarded the Dr. Dorothy I. Height Lifetime Achievement Award to Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald. NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark co-chaired the jury that selected the award recipient. McDonald is a highly accomplished civil rights lawyer, law professor and federal judge who also served as president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. McDonald graduated first in her class from the Howard University School of Law in 1966, and in 1979 was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Southern Di...

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Esther Glasser, a charter member of NASW and a member of NASW's Practice Advancement Council on Social Work Services in Schools from 1983 to 1988, died on Feb. 2, 2008. She was 91. An NASW Social Work Pioneer®, Glasser worked in a range of social work practice areas, including family services, child protection, adolescent counseling and school social work programs. She also held board positions with mental health organizations, organized a national conference on school social work and served on citizens' advisory councils. Glasser was a founder of the Mental Hygiene Society of Northern Virginia in 1947. She also worked in the Detroit sc...

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— Lyn Stoesen, News Staff   The NASW Foundation Board of Directors met in February and welcomed several new members. The NASW Foundation is a charitable organization that administers a wide variety of educational and research programs in an effort to fulfill its core mission of enhancing the well-being of individuals, families, and communities through the advancement of social work policy and practice. The Foundation board is made up of nine members. In accordance with the Foundation's bylaws, three of the board members are in professions other than social work. Armin Weinberg is director of the Chronic Disease Prevention and ...

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The Second Annual World Social Work Day is slated for April 15, 2008. The general theme for the World Social Work Day is "Social Work — Making a World of Difference," and it is established by the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), a global body of social workers representing social work associations from 84 countries. This annual event is held in order to put a spotlight on social work's contributions to society and to encourage ongoing dialogue with all partners on how challenges linked to social conditions can be met by communities, according to IFSW. NASW members can download posters in English, French or Spanish. NAS...

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— Lyn Stoesen, News Staff   NASW is partnering with PBS on a new documentary series that explores "the mystery of what's stalking and killing us before our time, especially those of us who are less affluent and darker skinned." The series, Unnatural Causes, launched in late March and continues airing through April. It includes four programs that explore how work, wealth, neighborhood conditions and lack of access to power and resources affect health. NASW joined as a campaign partner to promote the series and provide information and assistance related to eliminating health disparities. NASW has also been working with chapters t...

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A delinquency-prevention program that is coordinated with the help of the School of Social Work at the University of Southern Mississippi is making positive strides in the community it serves. Michael Forster, director and professor, along with Timothy Rehner, assistant director and professor at the school, are the cofounders of the Family Network Partnership (FNP). The program is a nontraditional, community-based delinquency-prevention program operated in conjunction with the School of Social Work. The primary objective of the FNP is to prevent youth from entering the juvenile justice system by strengthening the community in which they liv...

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