NASW News

Children’s Bureau Legacy There will be many articles written during 2012 about the 100th anniversary of the United States Children’s Bureau, such as the fine article Paul R. Pace wrote in the April, 2012, issue of the NASW News. What concerns me, and the reason why I am writing this letter to the NASW News Editor, is that these articles will discuss in large part the Bureau’s programs related to child labor, child abuse, and infant mortality. What will probably not be discussed is the contribution the Bureau has made to the field of juvenile delinquency. The Bureau was the first Federal Government agency to give attentio...

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NASW’s Legal Defense Fund facilitated NASW’s participation and that of the NASW Florida Chapter in an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in a case that challenges Florida’s program of mandatory drug-testing for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families applicants. The case, Lebron v. Wilkins, was filed in federal court and is now before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The brief argues that Florida’s mandatory suspicionless drug testing of TANF applicants undermines the state’s goal of promoting self-sufficiency and supporting children. TANF applicant Luis Lebron has refused to take a drug test beca...

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NASW leaders presented at the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors’ (BPD) 29th annual conference in March, and social work professor Susan Kosche Vallem gave a memorial lecture dedicated to Ron Federico, who is known for his efforts in shaping social work education. The conference, “Sustaining Quality BSW Education in Difficult Times,” was held March 14-18 in Portland, Ore. Kosche Vallem — professor of social work at the Wartburg College in Iowa, chairwoman of the BPD Advocacy and Outreach Committee, and convener for the Action Network for Social Work Education and Research Coalition — pre...

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From the Director I love May. It’s my favorite month — a month of rebirth and sunshine. I especially like the concept of May Day where people around the world celebrate the coming of spring. But there is another meaning for May Day. Mayday is an international distress signal that derives from the French “venez m’aider” which means “come help me.” It is the equivalent of a Morse code for SOS, and it is always said three times in succession so there can be no mistaking the intent of the message. This spring, I believe we need a universal distress signal for women’s health and reproductive rig...

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Natasha Houston, a social worker certified in military sexual trauma, was one of the first people former U.S. Marine Paul Schinker went to for treatment of MST, after three decades of suffering, according to an article in the Billings Gazette. The article says Schinker came from an abusive and dysfunctional home and he saw the Marine Corps as a way to escape and create a new life that was as far away as possible from his Montana hometown. Once in the Marines, Schinker excelled in boot camp training and graduated in the top five of his group, after which he was deployed to Okinawa, Japan, on assignment. It was during his deployment that Sc...

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Students from the College of Social Work at The Ohio State University and NASW Ohio Chapter Associate Director Danielle Smith were offered the opportunity to meet with President Barack Obama and his senior staff at the White House in 2011. Young Americans Colleen Dempsey, Emily Panzeri, Sarah Tarrant and Ohio Chapter Executive Director Danielle Smith found themselves on their way to Washington, D.C., last year after receiving an invitation to participate in the White House Young Americans initiative. The program provides a starting platform for students and young people with a passion for a cause to have the opportunity to brainstorm wit...

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Social worker Paula Wilson was appointed president and CEO of The Joint Commission Resources and Joint Commission International in 2011. According to a statement from the Joint Commission, JCR is the commission’s official publisher and educator. JCI extends the commission’s goal worldwide by helping to improve the quality of patient care through international accreditation, consultation, publications and education programs. JCI assists international health care organizations, public health agencies, health ministries and others in more than 60 countries. Wilson was appointed temporary president and CEO of JCR and JCI in June 2...

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Beth Davalos raising awareness of homeless children and youth through media. Thanks to two appearances this year on the long-running news magazine 60 Minutes on CBS, Florida social worker Beth Davalos has become one of the most visible advocates of an often overlooked and invisible population in the United States — homeless children and youth. “Media is a very powerful source for change,” said Davalos, who is coordinator for the Seminole County Public Schools’ Families in Transition Program, which helps homeless children in economically struggling central Florida. “I’m going to continue using it to increa...

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NASW is proud to announce the four individuals chosen as part of its annual national awards program. The NASW 2011 National Awards were given for Lifetime Achievement, Official of the Year, Public Citizen of the Year and Social Worker of the Year. Anne Coyne received the Lifetime Achievement National award. Coyne, a professor of social work at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a consultant for the Nebraska State Foster Care Review Board, is recognized for her contributions in Nebraska and abroad. Coyne developed the Foster Care Review Board, which continues to protect children in Nebraska, and she established a sister relationship wi...

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LGBT values revisited Having been embarrassed and angry with the last two letters to the editor regarding values and LGBT families, I re-thought the issue and directed my feelings toward the real culprit: NASW. By promoting a culture of advocacy at the expense of civil discourse and scholarship, NASW has created a climate in which dogmatism flourishes on both sides of the aisle and many professional constituents become alienated. I have a solution. Embrace science, debate and philosophical discussion, and the belief that nobody has the final word on how social work values are manifested. Maybe then we can quit squabbling over who has the...

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