More than 300 people attended NASW’s second annual practice conference, “Social Work’s Critical Role in End-of-Life Care,” in Boston. “The conference was well received,” said NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark, who gave the opening address at the event. “We heard many compliments about the quality of the speakers and their topics and how well organized it turned out. We were also happy to learn we had attendees from as far away as Japan, Canada, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, and nearly 40 states were represented.” The August gathering offered the opportunity to hear from a variet...

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NASW has joined the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights in supporting efforts that ensure broadband Internet access is available to all residents. Earlier this year, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski testified at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing that the FCC’s latest national broadband plan is critical to bridging the digital divide that disproportionately affects rural communities, low-income families, minorities, seniors, tribal communities and those with disabilities. Genachowski said the plan lays out a roadmap to tackle vital inclusion challenges so that everyone can enjoy the benefits ...

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The NASW Foundation has announced six new members of its board of directors, in addition to NASW’s new president-elect, who holds a seat on the Foundation Board. The Foundation bylaws state that members include three social workers and three non-social workers. The three social work members are: Elvira Craig de Silva, a former NASW president and Foundation Board member as well as a Social Work Pioneer®. She is the associate dean of the Communication Skills, Social Sciences and Foreign Languages Department at Waukesha County Technical College in Pewaukee, Wis. Her term expires in 2013. Social Work Pioneer® Bernic...

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From the President We became social workers in an effort to help others. We chose this helping profession because we thought serving others was a cause worthy enough to devote our careers to it. However, unlike many other helping professionals, social workers often must put themselves in harm’s way in order to help their clients. We became social workers with full understanding that we would work with vulnerable and at-risk populations, and as such could be faced with difficult and even dangerous challenges. Our clients may be court-ordered to receive our services, suffering from poverty, or angry about their situation. Social worker...

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An article in The Daily American Republic in Poplar Bluff, Mo., highlighted the role of rural social work when reporting the election of Elaine Mullins (no photo) to a two-year term as an at-large, rural member of the 13-member NASW Missouri Chapter Board of Directors. Chapter Executive Director Tamitha Price was quoted as saying that Missouri is predominately rural and that Mullins will help represent and lobby on behalf of the rural Missourians. The article explained that the social work post for Mullins in Neelyville, Mo., was first created in 2001 thanks to a grant from the state’s Department of Mental Health and Senior Services....

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Chapter Executive Director Steve Karp Connecticut social workers proved this year that it pays to be persistent. NASW’s Connecticut Chapter led a successful campaign to convince lawmakers to override a governor veto of a master social worker licensure proposal. Gathering support for a veto override is a rare occurrence, noted Steve Karp, the chapter’s executive director. “It was a huge victory for social workers in Connecticut,” he said. “This helped show we can do a lot when we speak with one voice.” Getting the law on the books was no easy feat, Karp explained. The idea arose from how best to use...

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Less than six months. That’s how long Robert Carey-Hogue was expected to live when he sought the services of Kansas City Hospice and Palliative Care in the fall of 2008. Carey-Hogue, 38 at the time, had been HIV-positive for 15 years, asymptomatic thanks to antiretroviral medications that kept the virus in check. But when UnitedHealthcare, his insurer, decided to stop paying for his treatment (despite continuing to collect his $3,600 monthly premium), Carey-Hogue had to do without the medication. He and his partner, Rand Souden, simply couldn’t afford the medications that cost thousands of dollars each month, even after mortgagi...

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NASW’s political action committee, Political Action for Candidate Election, known as PACE, has endorsed 119 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and three senators who are up for reelection on Nov. 2. This year, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 36 of the 100 Senate seats are up for grabs. The winners will serve in the 112th Congress. “In this election cycle, NASW is focused on protecting those incumbents who have stood up most strongly on the issues that are important to social workers and their clients,” said Brian Dautch, an NASW senior political action associate who assists the PACE Trustees wit...

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NASW has new Lunchtime and Specialty Practice Sections webinars, as well as a new WebEd course available. “An Advanced Course in Ethics and Malpractice Risk for Social Workers” is the latest WebEd course for members. Members who successfully complete an online exam will receive 3.0 CEs. The course was funded by NASW Assurance Services Inc. and created by the NASW Office of Ethics and Professional Review with support from the NASW Legal Defense Fund. The authors explain that the 21st century has brought a renewed focus on professional ethics. “An increase in public awareness and accountability has forced licensed profess...

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  NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark and Bryan Wooden, deputy director of the Division of Behavioral Health from the federal Indian Health Service, met at the NASW national office in Washington recently. NASW and IHS staff discussed plans to help the IHS recruit and prepare more Native American social workers, as well as ways to better educate NASW members about the needs of tribal communities.

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