Rep. Edolphus “Ed” Towns, second from left, joins the panel participants, from left: Richard Buery, Emma Jordan-Simpson, Vincent Guilamo-Ramos, Mary McKay and Joan Levy Zlotnik. Social workers in the New York City area must get more involved in their communities and in politics to enact policies that benefit at-risk New York City youth struggling to overcome poverty and steep budget cuts in education and social service programs, according to social workers and other experts who spoke at a Sept. 16 symposium in Brooklyn. The Symposium on the Future of New York City’s Children and Youth was sponsored by NASW and the NASW-N...

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Touro College Graduate School of Social Work Dean Steven Huberman, right, presents a check to Chapter Executive Director Robert Schachter, left, and Chapter President Susan Nayowith. The average age of those who attend the Touro College Graduate School of Social Work in New York City is 36 and most are employed. That suits Steven Huberman, the school’s dean and professor of social work administration, just fine. The graduate school — established in 2006 — aims to serve the surrounding metropolitan community by providing a welcoming program that trains its diverse population to help others in need. “We want to give...

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NASW President Jeane Anastas, center, meets with Elizabeth Lema, left, and Ramadhani Shaji Magana. The American International Health Alliance, through its HIV/AIDS Twinning Center funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), has awarded the National Association of Social Workers Foundation a grant that will allow NASW to continue partnering with the Tanzania Association of Social Workers (TASWO). TASWO is NASW’s sister organization in Tanzania. This project is part of NASW’s Social Work Across Nations (SWAN) Project, an initiative that enables U.S. social workers to collaborate and partner with...

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March is National Professional Social Work Month where the theme for 2012 is “Social Work Matters.” In an effort to spread the message to the general public about the value of the profession, promotional announcements about social workers will air on National Public Radio starting in March. “The NPR audience is comprised of more than 20 million daily listeners who are not only interested in social issues, but are also active in their communities,” said Gail Woods Waller, director of NASW Communications. “Donations to the NASW Foundation from now until March will ensure that the ‘Social Work Matters&rsquo...

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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (right) officiates the swearing-in ceremony for Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman (left) at the State Department. They are joined by Sherman’s husband, Bruce Stokes. Sherman, who holds an MSW from the University of Maryland, is the departmeant’s third-ranking official and its senior career diplomat. She is the first woman and first social worker to hold this position. According to the State Department, the under secretary serves as the day-to-day manager of overall regional and bilateral policy issues and oversees the bureaus for Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Eu...

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“Social workers have a variety of strong competencies — from networking to problem solving to listening to community organizational skills and more.” Since its inception, the Peace Corps has had more than 200,000 volunteers serve in 139 nations. Social workers have played, and continue to play, a vital role in the organization’s success. The organization has three primary goals: help people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women; promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people who are served; and help promote a better understanding of other people on the part of ...

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Children in the United States with at least one LGBT parent have to endure social stigma and unfair legal, economic, and healthcare treatment due to misguided public policies, according to a recent report. The report, “All Children Matter: How Legal and Social Inequalities Hurt LGBT Families,” was written by the Movement Advancement Project (MAP), a think tank that focuses on LGBT issues, and the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank. NASW is a partner in the report, which was released in October. “It was important for NASW to take part in this report because social workers have always advocated for equal ...

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Learn From the Past NASW President Jeane Anastas calls on us to understand the impact of the economy on the people whom we serve (“It’s the Economy ... Once Again” September News). I would like to recommend to fellow NASW members an upcoming issue of The Journal of Progressive Human Services (V. 23 No. 1). It grapples with the meaning of the Great Recession for social work, featuring articles on careers in consumer financial protection, our relationship with America’s debilitated middle class, and the 1933 statement of June Purcell Guild, a social worker who speaks to us from the depths of the Great Depression. Sam...

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NASW President Jeane Anastas and NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark will lead a People to People social work delegation to India in February. The educational trip, which is open to NASW members and their guests, will complement NASW’s Social Workers Across Nations (SWAN) initiative. The project offers opportunities for social workers to develop collaborative linkages with social workers and organizations in other countries. Clark said social work is a global profession united by a common core of values. Since social work is practiced differently in different countries, it is important that social workers increase their underst...

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Several social workers have recently received national recognition for their leadership in hospice and palliative care. Tracy Schroepfer, associate professor and director for the part-time MSW program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Social Work, was selected earlier this year to serve on the steering committee of the National Quality Forum’s Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Project. The committee will identify and endorse measures for public reporting and quality improvement for those receiving palliative care and end-of-life care services. NASW and the National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Car...

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