Front row, from left: Kim Strom-Gottfried, Elizabeth DuMez, Allan Barsky, Ruth Lipschutz and Frederic Reamer receive the Excellence in Ethics Award during NASW’s 60th anniversary forum in October. Not pictured: Award recipient Natalie Holzman. Back row, from left: NASW CEO Angelo McClain and Dawn Hobdy, director of NASW’s Office of Ethics and Professional Review. NASW held a daylong leadership forum in October to culminate the association’s 60th anniversary celebration in 2015, and to discuss ways NASW and its partners can address important issues and advance significant initiatives within the social work profession. T...

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Homelessness in Los Angeles has increased more than 12 percent since 2013, according to an article in the Daily Bruin, a publication serving the University of California, Los Angeles, community. A city council plan that discusses spending $100 million to eliminate homelessness in the city has received criticism from several UCLA experts, including NASW member Toby Hur, a UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs faculty member who studies homelessness. Critics of the plan say the funding cannot provide a permanent solution, the article says. Part of the $100 million is to be used to provide homeless people with suitable housing through a vouch...

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Our relationship with food — from eating habits to having reliable access to healthier options — affects not only our physical health, but also our mental well-being. Social work has a long history of helping prevent food insecurity by supporting programs that supplement diet and nutritional needs of low-income families and single adults. However, growing research shows an important connection food security and nutrition play not only in physical health, but also mental health, social workers say. One example is the significant role nutrition plays in both brain and mental health function, particularly in the treatment of eat...

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We live in a nation established by the people, of the people, for the people to secure the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. During the last few years, there has been profuse evidence that, for many, the American dream still remains incredibly elusive, especially for the poor and for people of color. From Charleston to Baltimore to Missouri, people are demanding that America live up to its creed and irrevocably secure their right to live in social and economic freedom. In 2015, advocates for social justice celebrated a number of important social justice victories. Consider the milestones achieved on June ...

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