Richard Jones, center, former president and CEO of Chicago-based Metropolitan Family Services, stands outside one of the organization’s campus buildings, which was recently named in his honor to recognize 13 years of leadership for the organization that serves the critical needs of families in the metropolitan area. Jones is joined by his mother, Wilhelmina Manns, right, a retired social work professor at Howard University; and his sister, Shelly Johnson. Jones, who was honored in November by the NASW Illinois Chapter’s statewide conference with a Lifetime Achievement Award, has also served NASW on a national level as president ...

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The National Association of Social Workers strongly urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to include social workers in plans that will be offered in the new affordable health care insurance exchanges that will be available across the United States by Jan. 1, 2014. NASW also made recommendations to ensure these insurance exchanges better serve consumers, especially underserved populations — those with low literacy or English skills or people who live in low-income neighborhoods with limited computer and Internet access. “NASW is a strong supporter of the Affordable Care Act and we eagerly await the full implemen...

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The Council on Social Work Education held its 57th annual program meeting in Atlanta in October, with the theme “Increasing Access: Confronting Disparity and Inequality.” Over the course of the four-day conference — which included presentations, preliminaries and networking opportunities — NASW members Trudy B. Festinger and Leon H. Ginsberg were presented with the Significant Lifetime Achievement in Social Work Education award in recognition of their achievements as educators in the profession. NASW member Tricia B. Bent-Goodley received the Distinguished Recent Contributions in Social Work Education award. Rep. J...

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“Attention to the contributions, strengths, needs and goals of family caregivers of older adults are integral to social work practice.” This statement summarizes the intent of the NASW Standards for Social Work Practice with Family Caregivers of Older Adults. The document celebrated its one-year publication anniversary in November. The resource continues to be used not only by students, faculty, practitioners and aging-services organizations, but also by consumers. Sandra Edmonds Crewe, associate dean for Academic and Student Advancement and director of the Multidisciplinary Center for Gerontology at Howard University in Wa...

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Delegation co-leader Richard Jones, left, listens to one of the tour guides in Rio de Janeiro, the second-largest city in Brazil. The teeming metropolises of Rio de Janeiro and San Paulo in Brazil are saturated with people — a combined population of up to 30 million. Transitioning from a monarchy to dictatorship, the Portuguese- speaking country is now a modern democracy led by President Dilma Roussef. However, despite a growing economy and large trade export, Brazil has extreme poverty, a high crime rate and sexual trafficking. But the first thing NASW Executive Director Elizabeth Clark noticed was beauty, and being among natural...

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The Action Network for Social Work Education and Research met in October to discuss legislative, policy and organizational updates that have affected the social work profession throughout the 112th Congress. ANSWER members — including the National Association of Social Workers — discussed their continued support on the progress of the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act (H.R.1106/S. 584), which addresses workforce challenges facing the social work profession. Members at the meeting announced their commitment to more visibly advocate for the legislation. Coalition members also were briefed ...

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From the Director We all recognize that time is continuous, that the separation of time into days, months, years and centuries is artificial, an invention of society. Yet, these time boundaries take on great importance in our lives. We count our birthdays in years, our months in days and our workweek in hours. There are privileges attached to some time milestones. After 16 years you can drive. At 18 years you can vote. For several generations, we have used 65 years as the start of retirement and the beginning of Social Security benefits. There hasn’t been much attention to the fact that you actually need to be 66 now to draw full b...

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According to an article published by United Press International, Minnesota researchers have said that more than half of the residents who stay in battered women’s shelters across the United States are children. Jeffrey Edelson, professor of social work at the University of Minnesota, stated in the story that an online platform can serve as a tool to give a voice to children and allow social workers and service providers to better grasp the issues that come with being a firsthand child witness to domestic violence. The Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse along with the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare at the school o...

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“If you are a social worker with a great idea, don’t hold back.” Social workers need to be business savvy. Among the 10 imperatives for the next decade of the profession adopted by participants of the Social Work Congress in 2010 is “infusing models of sustainable business and management practice in social work education and practice.” Fortunately, there are social work entrepreneurs who have blazed the trail of using social work skills with various business models, from social entrepreneurism to corporate sector services to private practice. Social entrepreneurship Rebecca Kousky is the founder of NEST, a ...

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