NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark was a keynote speaker at the opening ceremony of the Navajo Nation Division of Social Services 25th annual conference in Arizona in late July. The conference focused on promoting health and safety for children and families for the next 25 years. The host tribe for the event was the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, which has about 1,000 members. The Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized Indian tribe in the U.S. Like other members of the more than 500 federally recognized tribes in the U.S., leaders of the Navajo Nation face serious challenges. While the national average of people living at ...

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— Lyn Stoesen, News Staff   NASW's Legal Defense Fund has issued a new law note which reviews legal issues affecting social work practice in schools and under the jurisdictions that control them. The document, Social Workers and the Legal Rights of Students, provides a history of school social work and a review of school social worker credentials. It also reviews legal rights within the public education system, issues related to the school environment, and issues related to social work services within the school. "School social workers are significant contributors to the formative years of children in America's schools," the la...

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  At left, NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark welcomed members of the Korean Association of Social Workers (KASW) at NASW's national office in August. NASW and KASW also signed a memorandum of understanding between the two organizations.

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In an effort to raise its social responsibility and help conserve the planet's natural resources, NASW's national office is launching a green program. An important step in this effort took place over the summer when the NASW Board of Directors decided that the association would host a Virtual Delegate Assembly for the first time (see related story). By reducing the number of people who would have to travel to Washington, D.C., for the event, from around 300 down to only four, numerous natural resources were saved, said NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark. "Social workers have long supported environmental justice," she said. "By exten...

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A milestone in civil rights was achieved last May when President Bush signed into law the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). NASW and dozens of other health, mental health and civil rights organizations cheered the news that individuals would soon be given federal protections against genetic discrimination in health insurance and employment. While the new law is groundbreaking, social workers and other health professionals are being encouraged to maintain vigilance in protecting their clients' rights in the complex world of genetic science. "Genetic testing is ever-evolving," said Sharon Terry, president and CEO of Genetic A...

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— Lyn Stoesen, News Staff   On July 31, Congress passed the Higher Education Reauthorization and Opportunity Act (HEA), which includes loan forgiveness for social workers and other mental health professionals, increases maximum Pell Grant funding, and enhances campus hate crime data collection, among other provisions. President George W. Bush signed the bill into law on Aug. 14. "This is a victory for social workers," said NASW Senior Government Relations Associate Nancy McFall Jean, who has lobbied on this issue. "NASW has worked for many years on loan forgiveness legislation and other initiatives which help students working to...

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Cynthia Moniz, New Hampshire Chapter Executive Director Stephen Gorin and Mary Ann Gaschnig attended the Democratic National Convention as guests of the New Hampshire delegation. (Photo: New Hampshire Chapter) NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark along with NASW staff and members attended the historic Democratic National Convention hosted in Denver, Colo., in August. NASW cosponsored the Women's Equali-tea, a feminist gathering and celebration of Women's Equality Day at the convention and an opportunity to honor women serving in public office. Clark attended two meetings with the Democratic National Convention Women's Caucus. NASW a...

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Clockwise from left: Tennessee delegates Paula Foster, Susan Gray, Bo Walker, chapter Executive Director Karen Franklin, and Vicki Williams participated in the Virtual Delegate Assembly. (Photo: Tennessee Chapter) NASW's 23rd Delegate Assembly took a milestone step with members conducting business in an electronic virtual meeting for the first time. Instead of having participants meet in Washington, D.C., the NASW Board of Directors approved a decision to have the association conduct a Virtual Delegate Assembly Aug. 8 and 9. Delegates were able to communicate with one another, vote and follow the requirements of parliamentary proced...

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— Lyn Stoesen, News Staff   Diana Ming Chan, a California social worker and NASW Social Work Pioneer® who in retirement devoted herself to increasing the number of school social workers in California public schools, died Aug. 5, 2008. She was 79. Chan and her husband Clarence donated more than $1 million over the past seven years to the NASW Foundation's Learning Springboard Endowment. The Endowment was established in 2000 to promote social work in San Francisco by placing professional social workers in the public school system. "When I first met Diana over 10 years ago, I knew there was something special and wonderful abou...

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Officials with NASW Assurance Services, Inc., announced in August that they have selected a new insurance administrator, AGIA Insurance Services, and a new group insurance company, The Hartford, an A-plus-rated carrier. Tony Benedetto, executive vice president of NASW Assurance Services, said the changes will result in newly enhanced benefits at no additional cost to insured members. Existing insured members should have or will receive new certificates of insurance reflecting the changes, he noted. "Members will not be losing any benefits because of these changes, nor will they see rate increases due to the additional benefits they will be ...

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