NASW members who are thinking of moving abroad and taking their social work skills with them can maintain their U.S. social worker status and remain connected to membership through the NASW-NC Chapter International District. The International District replaces the NASW International Chapter. Kathy Boyd, the North Carolina chapter’s executive director, said the International District has about 204 members who live abroad or who have lived abroad and are now back in the U.S. “The International District can help members moving abroad with maintaining a social work license, work visa procedures, relocating and moving questions, and...

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Student members of the Social Work/Psychology Student Association at Warner University in Florida can practice social work skills while receiving some benefits from being a member, according to an article on NewsChief.com. NASW member Erica Sirrine, division chair of arts and sciences at Warner University, guides the club from time to time and offers suggestions and support for members. “It is very rewarding to teach such an amazing group of students,” she says in the article. “I am humbled and inspired by their commitment to caring for others, especially the vulnerable and oppressed in our society.” Members of t...

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About 10,000 baby boomers in the United States will turn 65 every day until the year 2030, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By 2020, one in six Americans is projected to be age 65 and older. That means up to 70,000 geriatric social workers will be needed to help address the aging needs of baby boomers. Among their many roles, social workers are an important part in helping family caregivers of older adults navigate through health and mental health networks, according to the NASW Standards for Social Work Practice with Family Caregivers of Older Adults. It notes that social workers are well-positioned in helping older adults by using a ...

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The last two years I have had the privilege of bringing a group of MSW students to Washington, D.C., in January to learn about social policy issues, the Social Work Reinvestment Act and the Social Work Caucus, and to meet with their congressional representatives to advocate for the profession and the people we serve. It happens we were in Washington on Jan. 8, the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson’s State of the Union address in which he announced the War on Poverty. That week there were articles in major newspapers reflecting on that history. Many of these stories quoted Johnson’s comment that the poor were living &l...

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NASW Foundation Director Bob Arnold, left, and Tanzania Association of Social Workers (TASWO) Chairwoman Zena Mabeyo talk during a break at the TASWO Annual General Meeting in Tanzania in October. NASW Foundation Director Bob Arnold and NASW Manager of the Department of Social Justice and Human Rights Mel Wilson traveled to Tanzania in October to participate in the Tanzania Association of Social Workers (TASWO) Annual General Meeting. The theme of the conference was “The Power of Social Work: Restoring Hope for Vulnerable Groups and Rebuilding Human Connections.” NASW has had an ongoing relationship with TASWO for the last fo...

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Social work students join the protest of the New York City Police Department’s “Stop-and-Frisk” policy in October. From left: Eleni Zimiles from the Columbia University School of Social Work and Undoing Racism Project intern; Sharielle Applewhite from Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College and Undoing Racism Project intern; and Kathleen Algire-Fedarcyk from Columbia University School of Social Work and NASW-NYC policy intern. Recent MSW graduate Mary Ruth Govindavari said she strongly opposes the New York City Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policy, which empowers officers to stop pedestrians, question...

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The Associated Press interviewed NASW member William Meyer for an article about postpartum depression as it relates to 34-year-old Miriam Carey, a Connecticut resident who was shot and killed by police after she tried to drive through White House barricades and led them on a car chase around Capitol Hill in October. Carey’s 1-year-old child remained in the backseat of the car the entire time, but survived the incident. Many sources claim that postpartum depression could have caused Carey’s erratic behavior, but the AP article says experts urge caution in assuming this and worry it could discourage women from seeking help with pr...

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The Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care honored several NASW members during its 48th annual meeting and conference award ceremony held in October. Stanley G. Remer, adjunct social work faculty at Valley Forge Christian College, won the Ida. M. Cannon Award; Virna Little, senior vice president for Psychosocial Services and Community Affairs at the Institute for Family Health, received the Health Care Social Work Leader of the Year Award; Paula Crombie, director of the Social Work Department at Yale-New Haven Hospital, won the Eleanor Clark Award; and Carolyn Messner, director of Education and Training at CancerCare, received the ...

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Discussions aim to bridge gap between social work researchers and practitioners. The NASW California Chapter hosted the second annual Translational Research/Translational Practice Roundtable in October to help social work practitioners and researchers gain a better understanding of each other. About 50 NASW members and social workers came together to participate in group discussions. Bridging the gap between social work researchers and practitioners is a little like bringing native French and German speakers together in one room and trying to have them talk to each other, said NASW-California Executive Director Janlee Wong. But having pr...

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NASW Social Work Pioneers® (photo right) pose for a group photo during their 9th annual program meeting in Washington, D.C., in October. — Photo by Patricia McDougall The NASW Social Work Pioneers® hosted their 9th annual program meeting in October in Washington, D.C., where a group of panelists discussed “Reports from the Field: Challenges for Social Workers.” The panelists, all Pioneers, were Elaine Congress, associate dean at Fordham University Graduate School of Social Work in New York City; Cudore Snell, former dean at the School of Social Work at Howard University School of Social Work in Washington, D.C.; a...

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