From the Director This year Mother's Day falls on May 10. It has fallen on the second Sunday of May since President Woodrow Wilson declared it a national holiday in 1914. My own mother died several years ago, and I always find myself feeling just a bit cheated when I see cards and gifts acknowledging the occasion. While I can't spend the day visiting my mother, I can spend time thinking about her and the remarkable role model she was. If I had to choose one word to characterize my mother, it would be "strength." She was strong in every sense of the word. She grew up during the Great Depression. She wanted to attend college, but as a farm gi...

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John Turner was a charter member of NASW, having joined in 1955. NASW Social Work Pioneer® John B. Turner passed away on Jan. 30, 2009. He was 86. Turner was the first African American to serve as a dean at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill when he was chosen to lead the School of Social Work in 1981. He remained in the position until his retirement in 1992. His career in social work, however, spanned more than 40 years. His numerous leadership roles helped to enhance the national recognition of the School of Social Work at the university. According to UNC officials, Turner is largely credited for mapping out the ...

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— Heidi Sfiligoj, News Staff   Evolving technology is changing the way social work professionals do their jobs and sparking many questions, including: Should social workers offer telephone or Internet therapy? Should they embrace social networking sites? And what privacy and security standards should social workers adhere to when using technology? “Many emerging technologies are becoming part of the day-to-day life of clients, especially young people,” said NASW Web Designer Ebony Jackson. “Social media technology, texting via phone and e-mail messaging are revolutionizing the way people communicate.” Be...

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— Heidi Sfiligoj, News Staff   The National Institutes of Health Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) provided NASW Press with funding to publish and disseminate a special issue of Social Work Research. Those receiving free copies of the issue include deans and directors of all social work education programs in the United States as well as doctoral program directors, NIH staff and NASW sections members.   The special December 2008 issue, titled “Research Capacity and Infrastructure Development in Schools of Social Work,” contains 13 full-length articles that describe lessons learned...

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In an effort to lead America out of a deepening recession, President Obama in February signed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law. NASW and its partner organizations applauded the dozens of provisions in the new law that will provide aid to low-income individuals and families as well as give money to states to prevent cuts in vital Medicaid assistance, education and other services. NASW’s partner organization, the Coalition for Human Needs, noted that, for the most part over a two-year period, the new law will provide: $ 20 billion in increased food stamp aid $40 billion in increased unemploy...

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— Heidi Sfiligoj, News Staff   NASW joined more than 30 organizations in the Coalition for Patient Privacy in sending a letter to Congress advocating for the inclusion of privacy safeguards with any funding given to implement health IT systems in the proposed economic stimulus package. In the letter, the bipartisan coalition welcomed the renewed commitment in Congress to protecting consumers over special interests, but stressed that privacy safeguards must be in place, as Americans must trust that their health information is secure in order for a health information infrastructure (HIT) network to be successful. The coalition ask...

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— Heidi Sfiligoj, News Staff   NASW has launched a new loan forgiveness Webpage, which now boasts an area dedicated to state-specific loan forgiveness programs. The Web page has been updated to include frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to the College Cost Reduction Act and the Higher Education Act, which offer loan forgiveness for social workers. The site has also been made interactive, allowing members to take action on the most recent federal policy changes related to loan forgiveness and other NASW legislative priorities, as well as convey their own loan forgiveness stories or inform NASW about loan forgiveness progra...

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No workforce problem Again we are told that our field is facing a “workforce shortage” [February, 2009]. Every other profession limits its membership in order to keep salaries and fees high. The “workforce shortage” may be a problem for administrators of social work agencies, but it is not a problem for most social workers. Rather, the concerns of most social workers (and hence, most NASW members) are raising salaries and improving working conditions. It is very difficult for social workers to negotiate for higher salaries when there is a plentiful supply of applicants for those jobs. I would like to see NASW put the...

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NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark has written two letters to American Psychiatric Association President Jay Scully asking for the inclusion of social workers in a task force for the development of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V). “[T]he DSM is a widely used resource for clinical social workers who are trained and licensed to diagnose and treat mental illness,” Clark wrote in a Sept. 15 letter. “As one of the largest providers of mental health services in the United States, clinical social workers have clinical expertise that would be an asset in the development of th...

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A chance to take time to celebrate the many contributions made by social workers was scheduled to take place on March 17 as official World Social Work Day, as the News went to press. The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), a global organization striving for social justice, human rights and social development, decided to celebrate the day annually on the third Tuesday of March. NASW is an active member of IFSW, which represents more than 80 social work organizations around the world. NASW President James Kelly serves as president of the North American Region, which consists of NASW and the Canadian Association of Social Worker...

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