NASW News

Michael Petit, president of Every Child Matters: “We’re not closing the gap. Obama has launched it in the right direction, however.” NASW is cosponsoring the second annual Step Up for Kids Week, Oct. 5-9. The event, sponsored by the Every Child Matters Education Fund, brings thousands of people together across the United States to raise public awareness of the needs of children and families. NASW is participating in a Washington, D.C., rally that will include speeches from leaders of organizations that advocate for children and families. Speakers will address the priority areas of health insurance for all children; redu...

Read More

— Heidi Sfiligoj, News Staff NASW, along with its New York State and New York City chapters, filed a motion and an amicus brief before the New York Supreme Court in the case Debra H. v. Janice R. The brief supports petitioner-respondent Debra H.'s standing to obtain a hearing to determine whether she should be awarded custody and visitation of M.R., and also her motion for leave to appeal. M.R. is the child Janice gave birth to at least one year after she and Debra moved in together, and to whom Debra provided critical emotional, physical and financial support. NASW and its New York State and New York City chapters first filed an ap...

Read More

NASW's regular members soon should begin to receive e-mail invitations to participate in the 2009 NASW Salary Survey. Tracy Whitaker, director of the NASW Center for Workforce Studies and Social Work Practice, said the effort will mark the first time a survey has focused exclusively on social work compensation. "This survey will help us build upon previous social work workforce research," she noted. The salary survey will examine a variety of factors regarding compensation data, including region, areas of practice and years of experience. Results of the study will help guide workforce efforts in the future, Whitaker said. "The results wi...

Read More

NASW has new social work practice updates available. The first update focuses on ways to avoid a Medicare claim denial due to unreported changes to a group or solo practice. According to the update, "Medicare-Mandated Reportable Changes for Clinical Social Worker in Solo or Group Practice," clinical social workers are required to report to Medicare the following changes using Form CMS-8551: practice location change, any changes to business name or change in taxpayer identification number with the Internal Revenue Service; any decision to close, retire, or sell or to withdraw from Medicare; any change in the business structure of the practi...

Read More

NASW participated in an advisory council meeting for the National Patient Navigator Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. The event, cosponsored by the American Cancer Society, pulled together cancer research advocates, representatives from government-funded patient navigation programs, pharmaceutical funders and educators to discuss ways to improve the patient navigation process. The unique quality of this patient navigation meeting was the fact that all medical conditions — not just cancer — were considered, said Karyn Walsh, senior practice adviser at NASW. Walsh attended the meeting and represented social work in patient nav...

Read More

NASW member W. June Simmons, CEO of the Partners in Care Foundation, has been appointed to the National Advisory Council on Aging. The council is among several national research advisory councils reporting to the director of the National Institutes of Health concerning pertinent programs. "As a social worker, I am honored to represent the field — especially during these challenging times — on this very important advisory council," Simmons said in a statement. A major responsibility for the council is to review and make recommendations regarding grant applications to support biomedical research and research training activities. ...

Read More

— Heidi Sfiligoj, News Staff NASW's Massachusetts Chapter has surveyed social workers in its state to provide members with information about social work salaries, employment levels and working conditions. "This survey demonstrates that social service agencies in Massachusetts face ongoing challenges in providing sufficient employment opportunities, remuneration, and support for their professional social work staff," the study states. "The findings highlight the challenges faced by those entering social work practice, those approaching or moving beyond the traditional retirement age, as well as those from a variety of other professiona...

Read More

NASW is partnering with the Income-Based Repayment program to help spread the news about a new way to reduce student loan repayments. The IBR became available July 1, providing much-needed financial relief for hundreds of thousands of federal student loan borrowers, said NASW lobbyist Nancy McFall Jean. According to the Project on Student Debt, a nonprofit organization that works to make higher education more available and affordable, the IBR program also includes more money for Pell Grants and lower interest rates for some student loans. "In this tough economic climate, Income-Based Repayment will be a godsend for so many people, helping ...

Read More

NASW is looking forward to working with social work supporter Francis S. Collins, the newly appointed director of the National Institutes of Health. According to NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark, social workers have an important and growing role at NIH through clinical social services and research grants on psychosocial care, health disparities, family caregiving and innovative, community-based health, mental health and substance abuse intervention. The Senate on Aug. 7 unanimously confirmed Collins to lead the NIH, the nation's premier biomedical research agency. Prior to the confirmation, NASW sent lawmakers a letter of support ...

Read More

For many social workers employed in the private sector or working for a nonprofit, the thought of working outside these service areas may never have crossed their minds. Yet for those open to change, wanting to serve the public and looking for a professional work environment with excellent benefits that supports work/life balance, a position in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps could be a perfect fit. "I hadn't heard about the Corps when I was in school," says Kelley Smith, who has a master's degree in social work. She joined the Corps in January 2008 and holds the rank of lieutenant. "Later, when I did hear about it, people ...

Read More