NASW member Terri Lynn Flebotte wrote a guest editorial published in the Montana Standard about how the state’s pending budget cuts to mental health and substance use disorder services for Medicaid recipients “will hamstring those of us who are social workers, case managers, addiction treatment specialists, and medical professionals.” Terri Lynn Flebotte “These cuts and rule changes will prevent Montanans from accessing resources to live stable, healthy, and productive lives,” she wrote about the cuts that were to go into effect in April. “From my professional perspective, these c...

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On Jan. 21, 2017, Kathy Ellis met a woman at the Women’s March on Washington who planted a seed that grew into a run for the U.S. House of Representatives. Steve Friday, right, talks to constituents at a coffee shop in Dundee, Mich. NASW PACE has endorsed Friday. Ellis was walking toward the main stage when she saw a young woman wearing a surgical mask and dragging a sign because she was having difficulty walking. The sign said: “I have a terminal illness. What’s going to happen if they take away my health care?” She went over to the woman, thanked her for being there and asked if she needed as...

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As the nation struggles with the heartbreaking reality that the opioid crisis has reached epidemic proportions, the search for effective treatment of opioid use disorders (OUD) has been identified as a national priority. Angelo McClain, PhD, LICSW NASW Chief Executive Officer Social workers are at the forefront in the fight to reduce the rates of individual disability associated with OUD and the escalating rates of accidental opioid overdose deaths. Health and human service organizations are increasingly turning to evidence-based treatments such as medication-assisted treatment (MAT). Medications such as methadone and ...

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From the President After the horrific shooting deaths on Feb. 14, in Parkland, Fla., just about everyone knows the name of the school where it occurred. But many may not know about the woman for whom the school was named. Marjory Stoneman Douglas was a journalist, an advocate of the women’s suffrage movement and a conservationist. She successfully advocated for the protection of the Florida Everglades when a proposed Army Corps of Engineers project threatened to damage it. I cannot imagine Douglas would have been any less active in the cause of the students who are currently enrolled at the school that bears her name. I have no doubt s...

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During a field placement at a hospital, a social work student became concerned after a mother with a young girl gave birth to a premature baby and had to remain in the hospital. The hospital would not let the girl on the floor, and the mother had no one to care for her. Keri Neblett, clinical assistant professor and field education director at the University of Iowa School of Social Work in Iowa City, said the student became concerned when different ideas were discussed and someone said the girl should be put in foster care. “She said the child should not be separated from her mother,” Neblett said. “In the end, the child ...

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More member-only content in this month's issue: Student scholars travel to D.C. for HEALS summit Pre-conference workshop to focus on assault survivors Social worker conceives veterinary ethics committee Research focuses on LGBTQ foster care youth Maine Chapter director testifies at legislative hearing in state NASW members, read the full digital edition of the April 2018 NASW News.

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Linda Szmulewitz NASW member Linda Szmulewitz, a licensed clinical social worker and certified gentle sleep coach, offered her insight for an article posted at Romper.com concerning the seven myths about sleep regression in babies and toddlers. Sleep regressions are “a period of time (anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks) when a baby or toddler who has been sleeping well suddenly starts waking at night, for no apparent reason,” the article points out, citing information from Babysleepsite.com. Szmulewitz says sleep regressions typically happen right before a baby meets a new developmental milestone, like crawling or walking...

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More member-only content in this month's issue: Social Work Month 2018: Social workers, students will visit Capitol Hill this month Chapters fight state efforts to restructure licensing boards Panelists examine social work’s past, present, future Pre-conference workshop will focus on disaster policies And more. NASW members, read the full digital edition of the March 2018 NASW News.

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Social Work Grand Challenge Damon Smith had been suspended from school more than 15 times. “You start thinking it’s cool,” he said. “You think you’re going to come back to school and catch up, but unless you’re a genius you won’t. It made me want to mess up even more.” After Ralph J. Bunche High School in Oakland, Calif., expanded the restorative justice program it had been testing, the overall suspension rate dropped from 12 percent to 8 percent from 2011 to 2012, an April 2013 story in The New York Times states. Smith became an “A” student because of it, saying &ldqu...

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NASW member Leah Headings, a licensed clinical social worker who works with children and families, was quoted in a story published in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal about compulsive cell phone use. Leah Headings While there is debate about whether people can be addicted to cell phones in the same way they are addicted to drugs, alcohol or tobacco, some mental health advocates see an overlap in behaviors, the story says.  In many families, parents are already using cell phones to guide behavior, Headings noted. “The phone has become the number one reinforcer/motivator for parents,” she said. ...

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