Sam Hickman, executive director of the NASW West Virginia Chapter, said the recent Children’s Policy Symposium held at the West Virginia State Capitol was a success. The symposium was sponsored by the Our Children, Our Future Campaign to End Child Poverty, organized by the West Virginia Healthy Kids and Families Coalition, of which NASW-West Virginia is a member, Hickman said. “Several people, including Sabrina Shrader, an MSW student from Southern West Virginia, gave very authentic and compelling testimony about their experiences living in poverty, dealing with substance abuse, depending on social safety net programs, etc.,&rd...

Read More

Four individuals recognized for contributions to social work NASW has announced the recipients of its 2013 national awards program. The four awards, given annually, are Social Worker of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award, Public Citizen of the Year and Public Elected Official of the Year. This year’s recipients include a direct practice social worker who created a new online resource in her community; a longtime NASW member who has worked to help thousands of people find affordable housing; a conscientious citizen who helps seniors stay in their homes; and a Florida state representative with a successful track record of aiding fam...

Read More

he NASW Foundation has announced the recipients of the Knee/Wittman and the International Rhoda G. Sarnat awards for 2013. Knee/Wittman Lifetime Achievement: Charles Glisson This award recognizes a professional social worker who, over the course of his or her career, has made an exemplary contribution to health/mental health practice and who has spent at least 25 years in the field, whether currently active or retired. Glisson is the Founding Director of the Children’s Mental Health Services Research Center at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and he has been named Chancellor’s Professor, the highest honor that is given ...

Read More

NASW participated in the Council on Social Work Education’s 59th annual program meeting, held Oct. 31 to Nov. 3 in Dallas. More than 2,000 social work educators, professionals and leaders attended the conference, titled “Global Social Work—The World Is Here.” Attendees had the opportunity to network and participate in presentations, workshops and discussions on a variety of topics, including advocacy, job searching and research statement writing. NASW President Jeane Anastas, NASW Social Work Policy Institute Director Joan Levy Zlotnik and NASW Senior Governance Associate Kelsey Nepote participated in the meeting, s...

Read More

The Child Welfare: Wicked Problems/Wicked Innovations Institute held a Capitol Hill briefing in November to present the Wicked Problems concept to a congressional audience, and to remind policymakers to keep the issue in mind when drafting policies concerning child welfare. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Children’s Home Society of America partnered to create the Wicked Problems/Wicked Innovations series. It consisted of three two-day symposiums that were held in different locations over the course of a year and a half. NASW hosted the third symposium at the national office in March. The Children’s Home...

Read More

Social worker Lisa Wessan knows personally how debilitating compassion fatigue can feel — emotionally and physically. She was one of many social workers who volunteered to help the people of New York City cope with the grief and uncertainty after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Following that day, Wessan continued to work as a geriatric social worker for a senior care center in the city. On several evenings and weekends she joined her alma mater, Hunter College School of Social Work, where it mobilized social workers to help the Red Cross deliver mini grief sessions at makeshift stations within a couple of miles of Ground Zer...

Read More

As social workers across the United States work to transform practices, programs, policies and systems to better meet our 21st-century health and human service challenges, we should seek transformation through renewal of time-honored social work approaches. The NASW Press recently published “The Children’s Bureau: Shaping a Century of Child Welfare Practices, Programs and Policies,” edited by Katharine Briar-Lawson, Mary McCarthy and Nancy Dickinson. As I read through this thought-provoking publication, I could clearly see that a renewal of the social work methods and approaches introduced within the Children’s Bur...

Read More