The NASW National Board of Directors’ Executive Committee approved the sanctioning of Patricia Caruana on June 25, 2010, based on a self-report and a subsequent report submitted by colleagues to the Maryland Chapter. According to the self-report, Caruana developed a personal and sexual relationship with a client participating in couples therapy. Caruana terminated services with the client and later terminated services with the client’s partner after being confronted by the partner. The National Ethics Committee (NEC) Intake Subcommittee reviewed the matter and accepted it for adjudication. The committee determined the scope of the...

Read More

David K. Mineta (no photo) was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate in June to be deputy director of demand reduction for the Office of National Drug Control Policy. NASW wrote a confirmation endorsement letter to lawmakers on behalf of Mineta earlier this year. According the ONDCP, Mineta oversees ONDCP’s Office of Demand Reduction, which focuses on promoting drug prevention and drug treatment programs, as well as the agency’s newly created programs for individuals in recovery from addiction. Richard Gil Kerlikowske, director of the ONDCP, said Mineta’s “appointment underscores this administration’s and th...

Read More

From the Director It is no secret that it has been a difficult year so far. Our nation has been struggling in a variety of ways, and individuals, families and communities have suffered as a result. Social workers are facing serious challenges that threaten our ability to serve our clients. These challenges include external forces such as the economic collapse, political issues such as reforming our health care system, and internal concerns including workforce challenges. From Frances Perkins to Dorothy Height, social workers have historically provided an important voice to overcome these problems. To address our current issues, we must r...

Read More

End-of-life care can entail numerous issues and emotions — not only for the client, but also for the client’s family and caregivers. Because of its complexity, the “timing is definitely right for social workers to collectively convene and address critical issues in end-of-life care from our own perspective,” said NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark. NASW will bring together social workers skilled in end-of-life and palliative care for its second annual practice conference, “Social Work’s Critical Role in End-of-Life Care,” Aug. 3-4 in Boston. “We are creating a platform for candid an...

Read More

In a ruling last month on the constitutionality of life imprisonment for juveniles, the U.S. Supreme Court cited an amicus brief filed by NASW and others arguing that “condemning an immature, vulnerable, and not-yet-fully-formed adolescent to die in prison is a constitutionally disproportionate punishment.” The court ruled that it is unconstitutional to sentence juvenile offenders to life in prison without parole for crimes that don’t involve homicide. Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wrote the majority opinion, said the categorical practice of sentencing offenders under age 18 to life without parole violates the ban on cruel a...

Read More

Ruth Knee’s niece, Elizabeth Rasmussen (left) accepted the award on behalf of the family. Beatrice Harper (right) nominated Knee for the honor. The University of Oklahoma posthumously honored Ruth Knee, who was an NASW Social Work Pioneer®, with its Regents Alumni Award for her dedication and service to the school. The university says the Regents’ Alumni Award “is a testament to the important roles OU alumni and supporters play” at the school. Bernice Harper, an NASW Social Work Pioneer® who is chair of the program’s planning committee, submitted Knee’s nomination letter and was invited to att...

Read More

Simmons College School of Social Work Associate Professor and former NASW President Gary Bailey recently brought students from his social policy class to the nation’s capital to see firsthand where and how national policy is made. The trip ended with a tour of the NASW national office near Capitol Hill, where students got to meet Federal Labor Relations Authority Chairperson Carol Waller Pope (left), a trustee of Simmons College and an alumnus of its School of Social Work in Boston. Pope explained how her skills as a social worker are assets in her current work. Students also heard from Simmons alumnus Kathy Lopes (right), the one-tim...

Read More

NASW submitted public comments for the interim final rules, or IFR, implementing the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. The association offered praise for the IFR’s “groundbreaking measures to improve patient access to mental health and substance use disorders coverage.” The IFR aims to align health plan benefits in mental health and substance use disorders with health plan coverage for medical/surgical benefits. At press time, the IFR was expected to be effective for insurance plans that begin on or after July 1 of this year. The IFR provides specific examples of acceptable an...

Read More

NASW was among a coalition of organizations represented at a March 17 meeting to discuss federal priorities for improving access to health care for individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). Ahead of the meeting with Howard Koh, assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, and Amy Hall, director of the Office of Legislation at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the coalition provided Koh and Hall a list of actions the administration and Congress should take. The list included translating all Medicare and Medicaid beneficiary-related notices and information into the 15 most commonly spoken non-E...

Read More

“Child welfare is at the heart of the social work profession,” said Joan Levy Zlotnik of the Social Work Policy Institute. NASW was among the presenters at a Capitol Hill briefing that called for greater attention to the rise in child abuse fatalities. Michael Petit, president of Every Child Matters Education Fund and an NASW member, said that despite the best efforts to stop child maltreatment, the U.S. continues to fall short of protecting its youngest citizens. Citing federal data, he said 10,440 children are known to have died from abuse and neglect between 2000 and 2007. The 2009 National Incidence Study of Child Abuse an...

Read More