NASW's Political Action for Candidate Election (PACE) staff and volunteers were planning to reach out to members until the final days of this year's energized and historic race for the presidency. PACE is the political action arm of NASW. As a political action committee, PACE endorses and financially contributes to federal candidates from any party who support NASW's policy agenda. Earlier this year, PACE trustees endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. In an effort to assist social workers in understanding the difference in platforms between Obama and his challenger, Republican presidential candidate John McCain, NASW PAC...

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The U.S. Council on International Social Welfare hosted a steering committee meeting in honor of its lead organization, the International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW), at NASW's national office in January. The U.S. Council on International Social Welfare serves as the U.S. chapter of ICSW, a group that represents a wide range of national and international member organizations and seeks to advance social welfare, social development and social justice. ICSW works closely with its sister international organizations, the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) and the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW). Ove...

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— Lyn Stoesen, News Staff   NASW's Legal Defense Fund has filed a number of friend-of-the-court briefs that address legal issues of concern to social workers. NASW joined a brief related to the testimony of clinical social workers as sentence mitigation specialists as well as a brief related to civil rights remedies in peer sexual harassment cases. The association also filed a brief supporting gay and lesbian parents who seek court review of child custody matters. The LDF also filed a brief asking the United States Supreme Court to accept a case addressing psychotherapist-patient privilege, and another in the Ohio Supreme Court ...

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NASW's Legal Defense Fund Board of Trustees voted in November to approve a grant request for legal fees to a social worker involved in a case in which he declined to release client records without a custodial parent's consent. The board approved a grant of $2,391 to NASW Illinois Chapter member Brian Klaung. Klaung requested the funds to aid with legal fees after legal action was filed against him by the noncustodial mother of two minors who received Klaung's services. Klaung had filed a child abuse report, identifying the mother as the abuser. The mother's attorney subpoenaed Klaung's records, but Klaung did not provide the documents becau...

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NASW and the NASW Credentialing Center have teamed up with the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) to offer a new credential program designed for social workers who specialize in hospice and palliative care. The series launches this month in honor of National Hospice Month, said Stephanie Chambers, manager of the NASW Credentialing and Continuing Education Center. "This credential was designed by social work leaders in hospice and palliative care for social workers who meet certain national standards of excellence," she said. Katherine Walsh, professor at Springfield College School of Social Work, was among the selecte...

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NASW has partnered with WGBH Boston to present a national outreach campaign for the documentary Caring for Your Parents. The 90-minute documentary explores the realities of caring for elderly parents. The documentary will air on PBS on April 2 at 9 p.m. Eastern. A number of NASW chapters, including the Illinois, New Jersey, Louisiana and Nevada chapters, are hosting special premiere events for the film. Following the broadcast of the film, a 30-minute "Conversation About Caring" will air. The panel discussion will offer advice and guidance about how to start conversations about care with aging parents. "This is clearly a subject that many ...

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NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark was among a group of leaders representing organizations supporting women's rights to announce a unified endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. A press conference was held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., in September in which Clark was joined by leaders of the National Organization for Women (NOW); the Feminist Majority; Business and Professional Women; and the National Congress of Black Women to highlight the urgency of supporting Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden. Clark, representing NASW's Political Action for Candidate Election (PACE), said Sen. O...

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A new report from the NASW Center for Workforce Studies shows that many social workers are burdened with unmanageable educational debt. The report, "In the Red: Social Workers and Educational Debt," is based on data from a recent NASW membership survey. "During the past few years, media attention has increasingly focused on the growing burden facing college graduates as a result of debt accumulated from student loans and other educational costs," the report states. "While the amount of educational debt is not confined to a particular segment of the student population, the implications are vastly different for those wh...

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NASW leaders, members and staff in August attended the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) General Meeting and World Conference in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. NASW President James J. Kelly and past presidents Elvira Craig de Silva and Gary Bailey were among the attendees. IFSW prides itself as being the voice of professional social work around the world, with membership representing more than 80 countries and more than 700,000 social workers. IFSW strives for social justice, human rights and social development through a collaboration among social works and their professional organizations. Craig de Silva said this was her secon...

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— Lyn Stoesen, NASW News Staff A Spanish-language version of NASW's Code of Ethics is now available on the association's website and in print.   "We have had many requests for a Spanish version of the Code of Ethics and are very pleased to now offer this new version to social workers,"said Dawn Hobdy, manager of NASW's Office of Ethics and Professional Review. "NASW has many Spanish-speaking members, and many social workers' clients are also Spanish-speaking." The new version of the Code of Ethics was developed by DGTranslations, a company that provides professional English-Spanish translations. ...

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