NASW News

Mary Raymer, a psychiatric social worker and marriage and family therapist who has served the terminally ill and their families for 29 years, was elected by her peers as a Distinguished Practitioner in the National Academies of Practice (NAP) in Social Work due to her significant and enduring contributions to health care practice. Raymer was awarded a National Academies of Practice medallion at the NAP Forum and Banquet in March. NAP is a nonprofit organization composed of elected representatives from 10 academies representing health care practices in the areas of social work, dentistry, medicine, nursing, optometry, osteopathic medicine, ph...

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From the President One-fifth of the United States population, or roughly 61 million people, is made up of veterans and their families. It is a special group with extraordinary challenges that continues to grow and which will have an increasing need for social work services in the coming years. Social workers have been serving veterans since 1926, when the first social work program in the Veterans Bureau was established. Social work involvement began with patients with psychiatric issues and tuberculosis and has expanded today to offer a variety of services to veterans and their families including resource navigation, crisis intervention, ad...

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Mental health parity advocates had reason to celebrate in early February when President Barack Obama signed the latest State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) provisions into law. NASW Senior Government Relations Associate James Finley said the newest SCHIP legislation includes a mandate that mental health treatment be on par with medical health services. More specifically, the new law prohibits SCHIP plans from setting lower treatment limitations or higher financial requirements on coverage of mental health or substance use services than they set for other health services. NASW has been a strong supporter of mental health parity ...

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NASW's Center for Workforce Studies has developed a new online toolkit to promote the use of evidence-based suicide prevention programs for adolescent girls. The NASW SHIFT Project: Suicide Prevention for Adolescent Girls: Shifting Behavior, Shifting Outcomes was developed to move research-tested evidence-based practices (EBP) into social work practice in targeted service delivery settings. The Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research (IASWR) served as the lead consultant to the project. In addition, the Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN) USA and the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Research I...

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Details about adolescent suicide and suicide intervention techniques were the focus points of NASW's Specialty Practice Sections (SPS) teleconference on Dec. 10. The teleconference was presented by Stacey Freedenthal, assistant professor at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work. She is also a clinical practice specialist whose research focuses on suicide prevention and help-seeking, especially among young people and American Indian adolescents and adults. The teleconference offered SPS members the opportunity to earn 1.0 continuing education units after successful completion of an online exam. The teleconference and other ...

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NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark, at far left, was at the White House when President Obama signed the bill into law. Photo: AP NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark was invited to the White House to witness President Barack Obama sign a bill into law that is being called a milestone victory for women's rights. NASW has been a strong supporter of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which reverses the U.S. Supreme Court decision that limited women and other workers' ability to sue for wage discrimination. The success of the bill indicates that Congress is ready to move towards the ideal of fairness in pay for women across Amer...

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— Heidi Sfiligoj, News Staff   Rep. Edolphus Towns reintroduced the act on Feb. 3 The Dorothy I. Height-Whitney Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act was reintroduced in the 111th Congress on Feb. 3 by Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.). "This is a milestone in social work history," said NASW President Jim Kelly. "It shows what NASW has accomplished as an association. This is the first time in a long time that so many groups, including educators, researchers, and practitioners, including the National Association of Black Social Workers and the Clinical Social Work Association, have united on legislation affecting our professio...

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Last fall, NASW Special Assistant for Special Projects Karyn Walsh and NASW Center for Workforce Studies Director Tracy Whitaker attended the Institute of Medicine's National Cancer Policy Forum's workshop on Ensuring Quality Cancer Care through the Oncology Workforce: Sustaining Research and Care in the 21st Century. The workshop was held Oct. 20-21 in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the workshop was to discuss the estimated shortage of professionals in the oncology workforce, and to identify possible solutions and policy changes that may alleviate the shortage. "My biggest takeaway from the forum is the shortage we are facing in oncology ...

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NASW is joining in national, statewide and local efforts to promote the second annual National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD), April 16. Since social workers are advocates for health care planning and are an excellent resource for people who are unclear or unsure about benefits of advance planning, NASW is proud to once again take part in encouraging members to create a heightened sense of awareness among Americans to make advance health care decisions, said NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark. "Advance care needs may include financial, health, future or long-term residential plans," Clark said. "Social workers can work with individ...

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Inauguration weekend was a busy one for NASW staff and members. NASW obtained a number of tickets to several inauguration events since it avidly supported Barack Obama in his campaign for the presidency and because NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark served on Obama's Women's Outreach Committee. NASW also had a strong representation at the Democratic National Convention. For NASW staff and leaders who attended the inauguration, the day's events will be deeply ingrained in their memories. NASW President Jim Kelly obtained tickets to the inauguration through Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who is also a social worker. "She offered me a ...

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