While the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr., Social Work Reinvestment Act (H.R. 5447) was introduced to Congress in February, NASW chapters continue to do their part with Social Work Reinvestment Initiative (SWRI) efforts at the state level. Following are several examples: Mississippi The Mississippi Chapter in February organized a "social worker salary rally" at the state capitol. The effort brought out 256 social workers, social work students and faculty who met with legislators and participated in a press conference to encourage better pay for social workers in the state. Among those attending were NASW Executive Director El...

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— Lyn Stoesen, News Staff   Case management is an integral part of the jobs of many social workers in many areas of practice. While social workers have always looked beyond isolated problems toward a more holistic approach, case management provides a specific approach to providing services. Recently, NASW has been working on a number of projects related to case management, and several new products will be released in coming months to enhance case managers' effectiveness. NASW has worked closely with the Case Management Society of America (CMSA) to develop several products and publications, including a matrix that examines eleme...

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— Lyn Stoesen, News Staff   NASW has filed a brief in a case before the United States Supreme Court addressing the imposition of the death penalty for child rape in Louisiana. NASW has also filed a brief in a U.S. Court of Appeals regarding the strip-search of a 13-year-old student in Arizona. Death penalty In the case Patrick Kennedy v. State of Louisiana, Kennedy has been sentenced to death after being convicted of raping his eight-year-old stepdaughter. The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled in May 2007 that the U.S. Supreme Court's 1977 decision barring capital punishment for rape does not apply when the victim is under age 12. ...

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— Elvira Craig de Silva, DSW, ACSW From the President April 15, 2008, will mark the second annual World Social Work Day celebrated and recognized by NASW and coordinated by the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW). We invite social work professionals everywhere to take pride in the important contributions the profession makes worldwide. This year's theme, "Making a World of Difference," continues a promotion IFSW launched on its 50th anniversary in 2006. IFSW established the annual observance to showcase the goals and accomplishments of diverse social work professionals in all countries and to raise awareness about the p...

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NASW has joined the America Votes organization, which combines the power of more than 40 large membership-based groups to take full advantage of their electoral impact. America Votes works to increase voter registration, education and participation in electoral politics. According to America Votes officials, the partnership represents more than 20 million Americans in every state in the country. Groups that are a part of America Votes work on a broad range of issues including the environment, civil and human rights, choice, education and labor. Becky Myers, special assistant to NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark, said NASW is encou...

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— Lyn Stoesen, News Staff   The NASW Foundation held a reception and ceremony on Feb. 1 to honor the recipients of the 2007 Knee/Wittman Achievement Awards as well as the recipient of the 2007 NASW National Lifetime Achievement Award. Betsy S. Vourlekis was recognized with the Knee/Wittman Lifetime Achievement in Health and Mental Health Practice award, Teresa DeCrescenzo (upper right) received the Outstanding Achievement in Health and Mental Health Policy Award, and Dorothy V. Harris was honored with the NASW National Lifetime Achievement Award during the event, held at the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C. The evening opened wi...

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NASW member Terry L. Cross, executive director of the National Indian Child Welfare Association based in Portland, Ore., has been appointed to the National Advisory Council of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The National Advisory Council is a 12-member panel of experts that meets regularly to advise the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and SAMHSA's administrator on a wide range of public health matters related to prevention, treatment and recovery support services. Cross is an adjunct assistant professor at Portland State University School of Social Work and an enrolled me...

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— Lyn Stoesen, News Staff   NASW and its chapters have been working to ensure the rights of gay and lesbian parents to adopt and foster children. The association's Arkansas Chapter is involved in efforts to defeat a ballot initiative related to fostering and adoption in that state, and NASW Policy Adviser Rita Webb was part of a recent meeting to address restrictions against adoption and foster parenting by gay and lesbian people. In Arkansas, previous ballot proposals to bar gay people from being foster parents or adopting have failed, but a revised version of the proposal is being attempted and may be on the November 2008 ball...

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From the Director Each March, we celebrate Social Work Month. We develop a unifying theme for two purposes. We use it to help the public better understand the contributions that social workers make to our society, and we use it to celebrate our profession, our workplaces and our social work colleagues. The Social Work Month theme for 2008 is "Building on Strengths." It is drawn from a major tenet of social work practice — that we assess and begin with our clients' strengths and build on those to help clients achieve their goals. In this column, I want to celebrate three social work luminaries and describe how we are building on their...

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