NASW News

Two social workers have been selected to serve as 2014 Practice Change Leaders for Aging and Health, a national program that works to develop, support and expand the influence of organizational leaders who are committed to achieving transformative improvements in care for older adults. The social workers are Cindy Tack (photo left), director of care coordination at the MMC Physician-Hospital Organization in Portland, Maine; and Amy Turk (photo right), chief program officer at the Downtown Women’s Center in Los Angeles. According to Practice Change Leaders, the program is a one-year opportunity for participants to gain enhanced leade...

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As Social Work Month approaches in March, NASW has extended the deadline for its annual Media Awards nominations to Feb. 15, and is also preparing to air NPR sponsorship ads about the value of social workers in all media markets. The third annual NASW Media Awards recognizes professionals and projects across 11 categories that have raised awareness about social work-related topics through a variety of platforms, including blogs, documentaries, news articles and television programs. “The media awards are an excellent way to reward media projects that have done a good job on recognizing social work during the previous year,” said...

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Speakers say more public policy social workers needed Photo right: U.S Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H., left, speaks during a Public Policy Roundtable discussion in Washington, D.C., in December. Stephen Gorin, executive director of the NASW New Hampshire Chapter, is at right. The discussion focused on the need for more social workers in politics. Two members of Congress who are also social workers emphasized the need for more social workers in politics at a Public Policy Roundtable discussion in Washington, D.C., in December. U.S. Reps. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H., spoke to social work leaders, including Ange...

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The Mexican Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Mexico City government, the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization organized two meetings in November during Violence Prevention Week from a Public Health Perspective. The Best Practices in Violence Prevention Meeting and the 6th Milestones in a Global Campaign for Violence Prevention were held concurrently in Mexico City. Evelyn Tomaszewski, senior policy adviser at NASW and a member of the Institute of Medicine Forum on Global Violence Prevention, was invited to participate in the event. She said the gathering was an opportunity to highlight social wor...

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Social workers urged to defend program as it faces federal cuts Social workers and Social Security have a rich history together, explains NASW-New Hampshire Executive Director Stephen Gorin, and he urges social workers to continue this history by advocating for the Social Security program, which is facing possible government cutbacks. “It’s important to keep in mind that social workers were at the forefront in helping create Social Security,” he said. Social work pioneer Frances Perkins, the first female Cabinet member as Secretary of Labor in President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration, served as chairwoman ...

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Photo right: NASW-NYC Chapter President-elect Sandra Bernabei, right, talks during the symposium with social worker Kerron Norman, vice president of community-based programs at Andrus, a New York-based organization that offers programs to children and families. NASW’s Social Work Policy Institute convened a two-day national think tank called “Achieving Racial Equity: Calling the Social Work Profession to Action” at the NASW national office in November. Sixty social work leaders, administrators and educators, as well as policymakers and racial-equity experts came together to discuss and examine the issue of racial equ...

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U.S Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., speaks during the Capitol Hill briefing (photo right), “Understanding the Intersection of Poverty and Child Abuse and Neglect,” in December on Capitol Hill. NASW sponsored the event. NASW sponsored a Capitol Hill briefing in December to discuss how child abuse and neglect and poverty often co-occur, and the importance of finding solutions to prevent both. The briefing, called “Understanding the Intersection of Poverty and Child Abuse and Neglect,” was well-timed for the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty, which was recognized in January. The panel included Angelo McClain, NASW ...

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NASW CEO and NASW Foundation President Angelo McClain, photo right, presents the NASW Foundation Knee/Wittman Lifetime Achievement Award to Kathy Ell at a ceremony held at the University of Southern California in November. The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an individual who has had a significant impact on national health or mental health public policy, professional standards or program models. Ell, who has been an NASW member for 49 years, is the senior researcher for the USC Center for Innovation and Research for Veterans and Military Families, and co-director of the Office of Community Engagement of the USC Clinical and Tran...

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The NASW National Committee on Nominations and Leadership Identification adopted the following slate for the 2014 election. Members eligible to vote must hold NASW membership in good standing as of Feb. 15, 2014. Voting will be entirely electronic, and your email address must be current in order to submit your vote. To update your email address, please contact our member call center at 800-742-4089. Candidates’ information will be published in the March issue of the NASW News and on NASW’s website, www.socialworkers.org. Campaigns must be conducted in accordance with the NASW Elections Standards and Procedures for National Lea...

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A secretary of labor in former President Bill Clinton’s administration and a chief diversity officer and divisional vice president of a major drug store chain will be among the keynote speakers at NASW’s 2014 National Conference. Social Work: Courage, Hope & Leadership, will take place in Washington, D.C., July 23-26. Keynote speaker Robert Reich, who Time magazine named one of the 10 most effective Cabinet secretaries of the 20th century, is a prolific writer whose latest book, “Beyond Outrage,” has been acclaimed for its focus on the economy and the need to give back a voice to the American people. Reich is th...

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