National Professional Social Work Month in 2010 will highlight the many ways social workers answer the call to improve their communities. Celebrated each March, the theme for next year is: "Social Workers Inspire Community Action." NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark said advocacy is the cornerstone of the profession and a re-quisite part of the Code of Ethics. "Without advocacy, there would be no social work profession," she said. Social workers choose to work in health and mental health care settings despite what others may see as only setbacks. "Social workers have the capacity to prevent hopelessness, to restore hope and to chan...

Read More

The legislation has been introduced by Sen. Daniel Akaka in each Congress since 2000. Prompted by an Aug. 24 NASW Action Alert, more than 2,700 social workers nationwide have e-mailed their senators, urging them to ratify the international Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Although adopted by the U.N. in 1979 and signed by the U.S. in 1980, the Senate has failed repeatedly to approve the CEDAW treaty. However, a spokesperson for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee told NASW News that the treaty is on its to-do list and the committee hopes to take action as soon as possible. The treaty require...

Read More

NASW continues to partner with other health organizations in developing and promoting toolkits that assist clients with transitions of care between health care settings and practitioners. In October, the National Transitions of Care Coalition, of which NASW is an Advisory Task Force member, announced the release of Spanish and French translations of the client/caregiver tools "Taking Care of My Health" and "My Medicine List." NASW assisted in developing the English version of the tools, which became available to the public in 2008. The translated versions serve as a proactive step toward meeting the needs of the growing diversity in the Uni...

Read More

Social workers are being encouraged to review the latest Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act standards as a new federal breach notification rule for patients' medical data went into effect on Sept. 23. Earlier this year, the NASW Legal Defense Fund issued the report "HITECH HIPAA for Social Workers." It outlines how the latest Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act promotes the use of electronic health records while reinforcing the need to protect the privacy of personal health information. A vital component of the HITECH Act that affects health care providers such as social workers is a federal b...

Read More

NASW has begun work to develop standards of practice for social work with family caregivers. The initiative, funded by a grant from the AARP Foundation, constitutes the second phase of a three-part project to enhance social workers' and nurses' knowledge and skills in supporting family caregivers of older adults. To launch the initiative, this month NASW is surveying its aging specialty certification holders to gather information about the knowledge and skills needed for social work practice with family caregivers of older adults. In early 2010, the association will convene a panel of social work experts in aging and health to review the su...

Read More

Chris Gilchrist was interviewed on WAVY-TV in a story about the Virginia Beach, Va., "Out of the Darkness" walk, which Gilchrist organized. The story noted that the walk is intended to shed light on ways to treat and prevent suicides in the armed forces. "The No. 1 cause for suicides is untreated depression," Gilchrist said in the story. "Depression is a disease and it's a treatable disease." The story quoted U.S. Navy Command Officer Jon Greene, who lost a shipmate to suicide. "It's a tragedy that just could have been averted if we'd had the opportunity to intervene, but he [was] a proud man and wouldn't share with us," he said. Many mil...

Read More

From the President This month, the Council on Social Work Education will host its 55th Annual Program Meeting in San Antonio. With more than 3,000 participants expected, this year's meeting presents an important opportunity for many of our profession's most visible academic leaders to take stock of current circumstances and plan for a more robust future. Ideas and strategies that are discussed at the CSWE meeting, the annual National Association of Deans and Directors meeting and the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors conference in March can help set the stage for a productive Social Work Congress in April 2010. NAS...

Read More

— Heidi Sfiligoj, NASW News Staff In a number of recent Legal Issue of the Month articles, NASW's Legal Defense Fund addresses issues such as the FTC's "Red Flags" rule and the HITECH Act. Social Workers and Identity Theft: The FTC "Red Flags" Rule reviews the Federal Trade Commission's regulations that address medical identity theft. The article points out the FTC has issued guidance for health care providers, suggesting that health care providers, including clinical social workers in private practice who bill patients and insurance companies, are subject to the regulations if they allow patients to defe...

Read More

— Heidi Sfiligoj, News Staff   In June 2007, a unification transition team was charged with examining possible organization structures, identifying resources and skills needed for transition, and engaging social work members in unification. The team released its final report this summer. NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark served on the transition task force. The unification transition team was created at the conference Social Work: Future of the Profession at the Wingspread Conference Center in Wisconsin. In attendance were 33 representatives from 10 organizations, including NASW, Action Network for Social Work Education...

Read More

NASW is supporting the Third Age Professionals Initiative — also known as TAP-IN — to promote volunteer opportunities for members whose skills can greatly assist those who lack health insurance. TAP-IN is a newly formed program made possible by the American Health Initiative Ltd., a New York-based nonprofit organization devoted to initiating a national dialogue on health care reform as well as advocating accessible and affordable health care for all Americans. NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark said TAP-IN is an ideal opportunity for retired or near-retired members who are thinking of ways to utilize their skills in a vo...

Read More