— Lyn Stoesen, News Staff   NASW Senior Government Relations Associate Jim Finley moderated and presented information at a congressional briefing held in May to address the mental health needs of older adults. The event, "Meeting the Mental Health Needs of an Aging America: Opportunities and Challenges for Federal Policy," was sponsored by NASW, the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, the American Psychological Association and the Older Women's League. Sens. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Olympia Snow (R-Me.) supported the event. Finley's presentation focused on mental health parity in Medicare. He explained that Medic...

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— Lyn Stoesen, News Staff   In May, the California Supreme Court, in a precedent-setting case, ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry in the state of California. The decision, coming from the nation's largest state, was expected to have an enormous impact on the ongoing fight for equal marriage rights. NASW and its California Chapter had joined a brief in the case, In re Marriage Cases, which supported the right of same-sex couples to marry. "This is a historic decision," said NASW California Chapter Executive Director Janlee Wong. "It reflects how the people of California feel — a recent poll sh...

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Helping Iowa The State of Iowa has been hard hit with an ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] raid and detention of undocumented immigrant workers and their families, a devastating EF5 tornado and most recently record-breaking floods. These all occurred within the span of 2 months. Local social workers, Red Cross social workers and social workers from across the country have come to Iowa to help. As an Iowa resident, I want to express my personal and professional thanks. I continue to be impressed with how social workers can meet the various challenges and are willing to "jump right in" to meet people's needs. Those of us who are soci...

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NASW is endorsing a new program that provides free mental health services to U.S. troops and their families. Give an Hour is a national nonprofit organization with the mission of developing a national network of volunteers capable of responding to both acute and chronic conditions that arise within society. According to Give an Hour founder and president Barbara V. Romberg, at least one-third of the nearly 1,400 providers participating in the network are social workers. The organization's first target population is U.S. troops and families who are being affected by the military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. As its name implies, menta...

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Irena Sendler, a Polish social worker who helped lead a smuggling operation that rescued thousands of children from Warsaw's Jewish ghetto during World War II, died May 12 at a hospital in that city. She was 98. In 2007, NASW submitted a letter of recommendation to the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Olso, Norway, in support of nominating Sendler for the Nobel Peace Prize. Signed by NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark on behalf of NASW, the letter stated that Sendler's effort to save more than 2,000 children during World War II was an inspiration to social workers everywhere. While Sendler was not nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize tha...

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Prison Pregnancies I am writing concerning your article "Courts Hear Cases on Pregnancy in Prison" [March]. Everything is not as black and white as the article implied. I have been treating addicted criminal offenders for over 30 years. I agree that prison is not the ideal place to be pregnant and that treatment should be a first resort. However, what do you do when a woman is pregnant, on community supervision, and refuses to (or cannot) stop using illegal substances? Do you simply keep trying to engage in treatment while she uses the drugs? Should we ever consider what those substances are doing to the unborn child? There is also the iss...

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NASW and the NASW Foundation were among the sponsors of the Voice Awards held in Hollywood in May. Award-winning actors, writers and producers joined the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) at the event to honor individuals who have shown leadership in their communities to promote understanding and support for those with mental health problems. Suzanne Dworak-Peck (second from right) and other NASW California Chapter members with actress Ruta Lee (center) at awards. (Photo: Suzanne Dworak-Peck) The ceremony included honoring those in the entertainment industry who incorporate dignified, respectful and accu...

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Social workers were among the child welfare specialists invited to testify at a U.S. House of Representatives hearing in February on ways to improve America's child welfare system. Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, called the hearing to review legislative proposals. "We have no greater responsibility than ensuring the well-being of America's most vulnerable children," McDermott said in a statement. He recently introduced the Invest in Kids Act (H.R. 5466). The proposed legislation would: Create a new federal-state partnership to provide services aimed at reducing the nee...

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— Lyn Stoesen, News Staff   The NASW Foundation is presenting the 2008 Ruth Fizdale Program grant to the NASW Iowa Chapter to support the chapter's research project focusing on recruitment and retention in the social work profession. The Ruth Fizdale Program underwrites research projects that link practice and policy issues with relevant social issues in order to facilitate effective service delivery and supports chapters in conducting research targeted at specific emerging issues. The program was created in 1987 to honor Ruth Fizdale's contributions to social work. It was founded by Helen K. Rehr and other friends of Fizdale t...

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Efforts to curb the high rate of high school dropouts in the U.S. have been discussed for decades. However, new rallying cries from national leaders and organizations to address the problem have been broadcast nationwide in recent months. Social workers and school social workers point out that their roles are critical in any efforts to keep children from becoming dropout statistics. Media reports highlighted a study prepared for the America's Promise Alliance earlier this year. It warned that 17 of the nation's 50 largest cities had high school graduation rates lower than 50 percent when analyzing 2003-2004 school district data. The study ...

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