NASW News

Social worker and NASW member Judith Peres is urging social workers and others to read the newly released Institute of Medicine report Dying In America: Improving Quality and Honoring Individual Preferences Near the End of Life. Peres and social workers June Simmons, president and CEO of Partners in Care Foundation; Fernando Torres-Gil, professor of Social Welfare and Public Policy and director of the Center for Policy Research on Aging at the University of California, Los Angeles, Luskin School of Public Affairs; and Monsignor Charles Fahey, the Marie Ward Doty Professor of Aging Studies Emeritus at Fordham University, were part of the 21-m...

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NASW on Aug. 25 joined more than 1,300 other organizations to call for reforms to end police violence in the aftermath of a Ferguson, Mo., police officer shooting and killing Michael Brown, an unarmed African-American teenager. The letter was published in the Washington Post. Others who have signed the letter include social worker and Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Congressional Social Work Caucus; Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Ben Cohen, co-founder of the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream chain; and actress Cynthia Nixon. “In cities across America, local law enfo...

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More than 100,000 children and youth in the U.S. foster care system are awaiting permanent families. National Adoption Month is a time to raise awareness about the adoption of these children. The Children’s Bureau, in partnership with AdoptUSKids and Child Welfare Information Gateway, sponsors the initiative each November as a way to focus public attention on the urgent need for adoptive families. More information: childwelfare.gov/adoption/nam In recognition of the month, NASW offers the following resources: The NASW Foundation Social Work Policy Institute adoption page NASW Standards for Social Work Practice in Child ...

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NASW chapters continue to pressure state lawmakers about the need to adopt the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion provision. At press time, 26 states and the District of Columbia are implementing ACA’s Medicaid expansion, which opens Medicaid services to millions of people by expanding eligibility to adults under age 65 with incomes at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level. A U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2012 allowed states the option to implement the expansion. Three states have so far adopted a hybrid model. Arkansas, Iowa and Michigan have received Medicaid expansion “Section 1115 waivers,” ...

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Christian social worker espouses NASW positions I write in response to the letter of Rick Ralston (October 2014 News), in which he expresses that as a committed Christian and a committed social worker, he finds it difficult to accept NASW’s liberal stance on many issues. I respect Mr. Ralston’s position and views, and applaud him for continuing to serve both God and the social work profession. However, I also am a committed Christian and a committed social worker, and deeply appreciate and espouse NASW’s stance on many issues. I find the social justice and respect for all human beings expressed in NASW’s positions very...

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The path to social work was not an obvious one at first for NASW-Iowa Executive Director Denise Rathman. While working at Planned Parenthood of Mid-Iowa as a family planning assistant, she realized that legislation and policy did not always match the reality of what people were going through and how they behaved. She says she wanted a position that combined psychology with political science, and she explained this to a colleague. “At the time, this co-worker happened to be in social work school and she said, ‘You’re talking about social work,’” Rathman says. “She brought a social policy textbook in, and...

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Protect Our Kids: Eliminating Child Maltreatment Deaths Participation at public hearings to develop a national strategy to eliminate child maltreatment deaths has exceeded expectations, said NASW member Michael Petit, president of Every Child Matters Education Fund. Petit and social worker Marilyn Bruguier Zimmerman, director of the National Native Children’s Trauma Center, serve on the 12-member Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities, which was created by the bipartisan Protect Our Kids Act in 2012. A multitude of stakeholders in child welfare have appeared before the commission to report their challenges, succes...

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The NASW South Carolina chapter announced its support for Sen. Vincent Sheheen in South Carolina’s gubernatorial race, according to an article in ColaDaily.com. NASW member Marjorie Hammock spoke on behalf of the chapter during the announcement, saying that Sheheen supports and respects the social work profession. “As social workers, it’s our job to protect children, families and South Carolina’s most vulnerable citizens,” Hammock says in the article. “For South Carolina to be a place of just, equitable communities we need an honest governor who supports and respects our work. That’s why we back Vin...

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The NASW Foundation has selected eight new Social Work Pioneers® who it says serve as role models for future generations of social workers. Pioneers’ contributions are reflected in every aspect of the profession — such as the establishment of social policies and human services programs, according to the Foundation. They are also, of course, social workers themselves. The Foundation’s Pioneer program honors those social workers who have participated in evolving and enriching the profession. The eight new Pioneers are Kathleen Ell, Marilyn Flynn, Sol Gothard, Martha Kendall Holmes, Jessie Donaldson Hodder, Julia Norlin,...

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Social workers rolled up their collective sleeves and joined in making a difference when President Lyndon Johnson declared the War on Poverty 50 years ago. Interviews with social workers targeting poverty alleviation today make it clear that just as society evolves, so do the challenges of poverty. However, they say giving up is not an option. The widening gap It is imperative that the social work profession seeks system-level approaches to alleviating poverty, said Michal Grinstein-Weiss, a national and international expert in social and economic mobility and an associate professor at Washington University in St. Louis at the George Warre...

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