Irasema Coronado was on a panel about women and immigration. With the threat of losing Title X funding, this year’s Women, Money, Power Summit in Washington could not have occurred at a more critical time for attendees. NASW was a pioneer sponsor of the conference hosted by the Feminist Majority and the YWCA. It took place in early April just as federal lawmakers were pledging drastic cuts to the fiscal year 2011 budget. Adding to the drama was a midnight April 8 deadline to reach a settlement or face a government shutdown. Proposals by leading Republicans included elimination of all federal funding to Title X of the Public Health...

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The Action Network for Social Work Education and Research, or ANSWER, continues to serve as the steering committee and support the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act, HR 1106/S 584. NASW joins the Association of Baccalaureate Program Directors (BPD), Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education (GADE), National Association of Deans and Directors (NADD), Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR), National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW), and Social Work Policy Institute (SWPI) to make up the ANSWER Coalition. The group met in April and members wer...

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If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? That question dogs communications officers like Michelle Rogers of the University of North Carolina’s School of Social Work, who, as director of communications, is responsible for ensuring that if a figurative tree falls at her school, people will hear all about it. From her office in Chapel Hill, Rogers manages public relations and marketing for the school. These days, social media tools make her job a whole lot easier, and they have the potential to revolutionize social work education and practice. Wikipedia, an online social media encyclopedia that a...

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Panel participants from left: Tricia Bent-Goodley, Stacy Owens, moderator Elizabeth Laviter, Kathy Gurland, Jacki McKinney and Colleen Keenan. Social worker Kathy Gurland said Hollywood writers can skip over-the-top storylines about a character dealing with a cancer diagnosis. “The drama for people with cancer is lived every day,” Gurland said. She suggested writers for television and movies wishing to improve their characters’ authenticity should talk directly with cancer patients as well as members of their care teams and loved ones. “These people are not just their diagnosis,” she said. “Cancer ...

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Earlier this year, U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., reintroduced the National Criminal Justice Act, S.306 — legislation that seeks to review America’s criminal justice system. “I believe that it is time to bring together the best minds in America to analyze the criminal justice system in its entirety, to examine its interlocking parts, to learn what works and what does not and to make recommendations for reform,” Webb said at a press conference. The bill aims to establish a National Criminal Justice Commission to examine the system at the federal, state, local and tribal government levels, including costs, practices and po...

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NASW member Caitlin Ryan served on the IOM committee. Little is known about the health needs of the LBGT population, says the Institute of Medicine in its March 31 report, “The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People: Building a Foundation for Better Understanding.” To remedy this, the IOM recommends that sexual orientation and gender identity be treated like other demographic information — such as age, race and ethnicity — and collected in federally funded health research. This will require standardized measures for sexual orientation and gender identity, which don’t exist yet. The IOM als...

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Faith-Based Degrees Overlooked The article “Dual Degrees Open New Opportunities” (May News) was interesting and enlightening. However, it was surprising that the article made no mention of a significant dual degree available with the MSW: the MDiv (Master of Divinity), as well as other theologically grounded faith-based degrees. The dual focus on religion/ theology/spirituality has long historical roots in social work. Many significant figures recognized by social work have had a religious/theological/spiritual foundation. Today, from independent research compiled through several sources, 26 CSWE-accredited schools of social wo...

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Juliet Sternberg is a co-chair of Social Workers Advancing the Human-Animal Bond, or SWAHAB, which is hosted by the NASW New York City Chapter. Social workers may routinely help people who are dealing with the loss of a pet, but a group in New York City is working to take human-animal relationships to a deeper understanding. “When my dog died, it was a profound loss,” said Robert Schachter, executive director of NASW’s New York City Chapter. Since 2007, the chapter has hosted monthly meetings of Social Workers Advancing the Human-Animal Bond, or SWAHAB. Membership is open to social workers and related professionals who...

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Social worker Bonnie Brandl testified at the hearing. A recent hearing by the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging brought the issue of elder abuse into the national spotlight. Bonnie Brandl, who has an MSW and is director of the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life, testified at the March hearing that the federal response to elder abuse is woefully inadequate. “As the population ages, local professionals on the frontlines are struggling to meet the growing demand for intervention and victim services,” she testified. “To prevent further harm to this unique and growing population, we should be scaling up curre...

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From the President As my term ends, I want to thank everyone who has supported my efforts on behalf of our profession. I want to thank Betsy Clark, our national executive director, the national and chapter staffs, and the wonderful volunteer board members of three different boards that I have chaired during my presidency. Their wise counsel, thoughtful deliberations, and fiduciary responsibility have helped NASW continue its essential work as an advocate for the underserved and as a support system for social work professionals. I also want to thank the NASW Pioneersw for their leadership and wisdom. Finally, I wish the new NASW President, Dr...

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