NASW News

As president of NASW, I have many opportunities to engage with members from across our association. One way I get to do this is when I chair national board meetings. These meetings, which are an important part of our association’s governance structure, bring our elected representatives from across the country together to discuss, deliberate and act on issues of significance to the profession, our members, and ultimately our clients. As a social worker, I know how important it is to be an active listener, and this professional skill is critical in our lively, informative and impactful examination of issues relevant to NASW’s su...

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NASW had a special representative at the Voice Awards in Los Angeles on Aug. 13 — Hayden Byerly, teen actor on “The Fosters” on ABC Family. Actor Hayden Byerly, left, with past NASW President Suzanne Dworak-Peck at the SAMHSA Voice Awards in Los Angeles Byerly, 13, portrays Jude Jacob on the drama series, which is now in its second season. Jude is a foster child who fled an abusive home and is eventually adopted by the Fosters, a lesbian couple. Byerly gave NASW a special shout-out during the award ceremony, which was held at UCLA’s Royce Hall. “I would like to thank the National Association of S...

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The United Network for Organ Sharing honored social worker Barbara Lee, of Greenville, N.C., with the 2014 National Donor Memorial Award for Excellence in recognition of her work as a donation champion for more than two decades. Lee has served as a social worker at Vidant Medical Center Transplant Services for more than 20 years and as an active volunteer at Carolina Donor Services for more than 10 years, according to a statement released by UNOS. One of Lee’s first volunteer efforts was serving as a chaperone for Team North Carolina when it went to Salt Lake City for the 1996 U.S. Transplant Games, UNOS said. It was a rather modest b...

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Florida Gov. Rick Scott passed legislation in June that establishes a preference for hiring social workers as child protective investigators. According to the bill (SB 1666), the Florida Institute for Child Welfare — comprising the state’s public and private university schools of social work — will advise the state on child welfare policy, social work education and child welfare worker training. “(It’s) such vindication to all the hard work NASW-Florida put in to get SB 1666 passed into law,” said NASW-Florida Legislative Chairman David Brown. “Great moment for us, our members, and most importantly ...

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The NASW Political Action for Candidate Election board of trustees has been reviewing and endorsing federal candidates for the Nov. 4 midterm elections. All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and 34 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate will be contested. As a political action committee, PACE endorses and can choose to financially contribute to candidates from any party who support NASW’s policy agenda. At press time, the board planned to finalize its list of more than 160 endorsements in the most highly contested races. Brian Dautch, senior political action associate at NASW, researches and reviews potential candidates for...

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About 10,000 members, nonmembers and stakeholders completed an online NASW membership survey, which was distributed by email in May. NASW CEO Angelo McClain said the survey results enable the association to better tailor benefits, services, products and activities to members’ expectations. “It was very gratifying to know that the goals within our 2014-2017 strategic plan are in alignment with the survey findings,” McClain said. “We’re delighted that nearly 10,000 folks took the time to respond to the survey. It provides us with real-time information regarding what our members need from the association.” ...

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Jennifer Scott, right, recipient of the NASW Foundation Eileen Blackey Doctoral Fellowship in Welfare Policy for the 2014-15 academic year, discusses her poster presentation at the NASW National Conference with NASW member and conference attendee Helen Woodbury, from Johns Creek, Ga. Scott is a social work doctoral student at the University of Texas-Austin. The NASW Foundation has chosen the 2014-15 recipients of its scholarship, fellowship and chapter research grant programs. Social work and NASW chapter candidates were selected for the Jane Baerwald Aron Doctoral Fellowship Program; the Eileen Blackey Doctoral Fellowship; the Consuelo W...

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Committed Christian is also a committed social worker I want to thank you for the excellent article in the July 2014 NASW News, “Theology a Natural Fit for Some Social Workers.” I am a committed Christian and a committed social worker. It has been difficult to read many issues of the primary news magazine of my professional organization due to NASW’s liberal stance on so many issues. However, I have forged forward to serve both my God and my profession as a caring, committed social worker since 1985. Again, thank you. I know there are many Christians like myself who are social work professionals and committed Christians. Ric...

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NASW, through its Legal Defense Fund, signed on to amicus briefs in a number of precedent-setting cases that urge support of same-sex marriage. In Baskin v. Zoeller, an amicus brief was filed in the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in two cases joined for review, one addressing Indiana’s and the other Wisconsin’s laws banning same-sex marriage. In Latta v. Otter, NASW signed on to an amicus brief filed in the 9th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals that challenges Idaho’s same-sex marriage ban. The briefs similarly argue that the same-sex marriage bans impose a disadvantage to same-sex couples and create an institutional stigma...

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NASW Social Work Pioneer® Elaine Brody, who died on July 9 at age 91, is being remembered as one of the first social work practitioners to simultaneously conduct research of clients. Her efforts helped launch the specialization of aging studies. Brody’s research at the Philadelphia Geriatric Center in the 1950s eventually led to one of her most popular books, called “Women in the Middle: Their Parent Care Years,” in 1990, which brought to light the challenges women faced in building their careers while simultaneously caring for their children and aging parents. She explained that her in-house study of aging clients at ...

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