NASW News

NASW, through its Legal Defense Fund, joined in filing an amicus brief with other mental health organizations in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the case Bostic v. Rainey. In a similar case, NASW, through its LDF, filed an amicus brief in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the case Obergefell, et al. v. Himes. Each brief argues the law banning recognition of same-sex marriages creates an institutional stigma for same-sex couples. The “avowed purpose and practical effect of these laws are to impose a disadvantage, a separate status and so a stigma on same-sex couples,” each brief argues. In Virginia and Ohio, the...

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NASW President Jeane Anastas delivers opening remarks at NASW’s 2012 Hope Conference. This year’s national conference will be held July 23-26 in Washington, D.C. Photo by Kea Taylor/Imagine Photography Social workers can play a vital role in informing their aging clients about the importance of HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention. There is an uptick in the number of people in the aging population — those 50 and older — with HIV, said Cynthia Harris, special assistant for academic and student advancement and assistant professor at the Howard University School of Social Work in Washington, D.C. One potential reason is...

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It’s expensive to live in New York City, especially if a salary doesn’t keep up with the cost of living. And social workers who can’t afford to live where they work could get frustrated and move on, leaving behind a deficit of qualified professionals. These are a couple of the driving forces in developing the NYC chapter’s equitable salaries campaign, said Emily Foote, program and communications associate at NASW-New York City. Through the campaign, which began in January with a petition [now closed] on Change.org, the chapter is working toward raising social work salaries so what their members earn financially matc...

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The NASW Texas Chapter has announced findings from a survey that was sent to some of its members last June to evaluate the outcome of the chapter’s Clinical Reimbursement Project, which began in 2010. Charlotte Cooper, the project’s director, said the Clinical Reimbursement Project began after chapter members who are licensed clinical social workers expressed concerns about decreasing reimbursement rates and policy issues that affected their practices. “Rates have steadily decreased since the 1990s, with an increase in overhead due to inflation and additional requirements of practice, such as computers, programs, mobile ...

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Staff members from Boston Medical Center were among the social work departments that the NASW Massachusetts Chapter honored for their service following the Boston Marathon bombings last year. Social workers played a critical role in helping the victims, their families and friends, and the community heal in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings last year. The NASW Massachusetts Chapter — during its 13th Biennial Social Work Symposium — honored the social work departments of seven trauma centers in Boston for their extraordinary service following the attacks that killed three spectators and injured more than 250 others....

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Social work students across the nation work, volunteer as navigators MSW student Katie Merrill, left, is part of the contracted navigator program at the University of Albany School of Social Welfare in New York. Students like Merrill guide people who are enrolling for health care under the ACA. — Photo by Mark Schmidt/University of Albany Talking to people about their health is all in a day’s work, according to Katie Merrill, an MSW student at the University of Albany School of Social Welfare in New York. Merrill is one of the student health care navigators for the university’s contracted navigator program, which serv...

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NASW member Doug Behan, director of continuing education for the Institute for Families at the Rutgers School of Social Work, has received a grant from New Jersey Adult Protective Services, part of the state’s Human Services Department. According to an article on myCentralJersey.com, people involved in a natural disaster can be vulnerable to fraud, as con artist scams often follow in a matter of hours after the disaster occurs. The grant Behan received will develop and deliver a curriculum to create awareness about the exploitation that follows a natural disaster. “People who have been through a disaster are in a vulnerable pl...

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Headlines announcing the latest incidents of school violence have become common, and calls for solutions have been open to debate. Rather than promote a fortress mentality to protect students from violence, social workers are urging more programs and resources that provide early mental health screenings and treatments for school children. In addition, social workers are promoting the value of a community approach to aid troubled students before they feel the need to act out in violence. “Most children spend a large portion of their waking hours within the responsibility of school systems,” said Robert Broce, assistant professor...

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As my term as NASW president comes to an end, it is a moment to reflect on the experience and to celebrate how NASW is now poised for the future. My term as president has brought me many joys, chief among them working with two different and very talented executive leaders. Dr. Betsy Clark’s 12 years of service at the national office of NASW were marked by increased financial viability, greater national visibility than in previous years, and tireless advocacy for the profession of social work. I learned an immense amount from Betsy in the years before I became president and during the 18 months we worked closely together before she r...

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Social workers and NASW played active roles in local, state and federal programs that arose from President Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty” initiative that he declared in 1964. NASW Social Work Pioneer® Jack Hansan (photo below, right) was one of these social workers. Hansan’s close association with area civil rights leaders and elected officials in the early 1960s helped him become the first executive director of the Community Action Commission of the Cincinnati area. Community action programs were at the heart of the Economic Opportunity Act, signed into law in August 1964, Hansan said. The Cincinnati Commun...

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