NASW News

Social worker Lisa Wessan knows personally how debilitating compassion fatigue can feel — emotionally and physically. She was one of many social workers who volunteered to help the people of New York City cope with the grief and uncertainty after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Following that day, Wessan continued to work as a geriatric social worker for a senior care center in the city. On several evenings and weekends she joined her alma mater, Hunter College School of Social Work, where it mobilized social workers to help the Red Cross deliver mini grief sessions at makeshift stations within a couple of miles of Ground Zer...

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As social workers across the United States work to transform practices, programs, policies and systems to better meet our 21st-century health and human service challenges, we should seek transformation through renewal of time-honored social work approaches. The NASW Press recently published “The Children’s Bureau: Shaping a Century of Child Welfare Practices, Programs and Policies,” edited by Katharine Briar-Lawson, Mary McCarthy and Nancy Dickinson. As I read through this thought-provoking publication, I could clearly see that a renewal of the social work methods and approaches introduced within the Children’s Bur...

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Social worker Anton J. Gunn (photo right) is the director of External Affairs in the Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. According to HHS, Gunn is the principal adviser for cultivating and maintaining relationships with external stakeholders for HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Gunn represents the secretary in direct official dealings with national, state and local external organizations. Before serving as the director of External Affairs, Gunn was the regional director in the Region IV office of the HHS, covering Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carol...

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Right is a screen shot of HelpStartsHere.org, one of two websites NASW has recently updated. NASW has updated two of its websites that allow members to blog and exchange information. Social Work Pulse SocialWorkPulse.org gives social workers an opportunity to share their perspectives and experiences of being in the social work field. Submissions are currently being accepted for the blog, which allows social workers to write about anything social work, including trends, news and day-to-day experiences. According to NASW’s Digital Media and Community Manager Ebony Jackson, this is an open way to provide a NASW resource that includes...

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NASW has chosen All People Matter as the theme for National Professional Social Work Month 2014. The theme was chosen because history has shown that the policies and programs created by social workers seek to give people, regardless of their circumstances, the opportunity to cope with and transcend obstacles. Social workers believe that each person has the right and potential to lead a productive and fulfilling life with dignity. Celebrated each March, National Professional Social Work Month encourages social workers and their fans across the country to promote the value of the profession and highlight social workers’ important co...

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NASW co-sponsored the Social Services Block Grant briefing, which took place Sept. 12 on Capitol Hill. The briefing was an appeal to Congress to keep the $1.7 billion grant going. SSBG, also known as the Title XX Social Security Act, is being targeted for elimination by the House of Representatives under bill H.R. 5652, which was passed in May 2012 as part of a budget-cutting proposal said to protect current tax reductions and the defense budget. The briefing panel included Cecile Noel, executive deputy commissioner of the New York City Human Resources Administration; Bob Suver, director of the Clark County Ohio Department of Job and Fami...

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The National Workgroup to Address the Needs of Children and Youth who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex, or Two Spirited (LGBTQI2-S) held a meeting in September to discuss current projects and provide updates. NASW Senior Policy Associate Evelyn Tomaszewski represented the association at the meeting. NASW is a member of the work group, which provides guidance for programming within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to develop policies, programs, materials, and other products to address the needs of youth who are LGBTQI2-S in SAMHSA’s Systems of Care. The meeting included an up...

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NASW President Jeane Anastas speaks during the NASW Social Work Policy Institute’s think tank symposium on advanced practice doctorates. NASW Social Work Policy Institute Symposium A collaboration of social work leaders, educators and representatives of other health professions recently met to discuss the emergence of social work advanced practice doctorate programs. The NASW Social Work Policy Institute convened an invitational think tank symposium titled “Advanced Practice Doctorates: What Do They Mean for Social Work Practice, Research and Education?” More than 60 people attended the event, which was held at NASW&rs...

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By Greg Wright, News contributor Former NASW President Suzanne Dworak-Peck, MSW, LCSW, left, and Marvin Southard, DSW, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, attend the 2013 Voice Awards in September in Los Angeles. Drew Horn experienced bouts of homelessness, long stays in psychiatric wards, and failed marriages and businesses. However, he decided to overcome his mental illness and turn these traumatic experiences into something positive. Today, Horn is a therapeutic comic and clown and founder of the Turn-A-Frown Around Foundation in Freehold, N.J. He visits nursing homes, psychiatric wards and mental health ...

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NASW is in the process of collecting comments for its triennial Delegate Assembly. The Delegate Assembly is the body responsible for setting program priorities and broad public and professional policy for NASW. The event sets program priorities for a three-year period; in this case, fiscal years 2015-18. The culminating event takes place Aug. 2, 2014. On that day, delegates will conduct final discussion and voting using a specially designed website. The discussion process for Delegate Assembly for NASW members and delegates has already begun. It serves as the primary communication center for all activities and offers the opportunity to post...

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