NASW News

Through the work of the Legal Defense Fund, NASW has joined two amicus briefs filed in the U.S. Supreme Court case Department of Health and Human Services v. the State of Florida, which challenges the provisions of the Affordable Care Act that was passed into law in 2010. The first brief addresses the issue of the individual mandate to purchase health insurance. It notes that beginning in 2014, the minimum coverage provision of the law will require nonexempted individuals to maintain a minimum level of health insurance or pay a tax penalty. NASW’s brief, filed by a large coalition of women’s rights groups led by the National Wo...

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The Hull House Museum in Chicago, shown above, was not affected by the closure of the Hull House Association in January. The museum is located in two of the original Hull House settlement buildings founded by Jane Addams (below) in 1889. The Hull House agency in Chicago made national headlines in January when it abruptly closed its doors after more than 120 years. The social services organization, founded by social work pioneer and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jane Addams, ran out of money after struggling to raise funds and reduce operating costs for several years in a down economy. About 300 employees lost their jobs and 60,000 people lost...

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Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is cheered on as he signs the Transgender Equal Rights Bill into law in January. Members of the NASW LGBT Shared Interest Group testified at state hearings in favor of the legislation. Advances for the equal rights of the LGBT community at the state and federal levels have been made in recent months, and NASW has played a role in these matters. In California, a federal appeals panel in San Francisco ruled in February that California’s ban on same-sex marriage violates the constitutional right to equal protection (Perry v. Brown, 2012). Through the work of the Legal Defense Fund, NASW and its Califor...

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The Ministry of Civil Affairs of People’s Republic of China Delegation arrived in Washington, D.C., on March 5 to visit with NASW staff in order to obtain information on the development of social work in the United States. The delegation — headed by Liu Zheng, deputy director of the personnel division of the Ministry of Civil Affairs in China — comprises 21 high-level executive delegates from China. The visit served to increase the group’s understanding of the social work system in the U.S., and to gather ideas to apply to the developing social work field in China. At center is NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clar...

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Imagine a time when children were considered the same as adults. Their shoulders carried the burdens of grown-up responsibilities. Many toiled in America’s coal mines, factories and farms. The thought of focusing attention on the well-being of the nation’s youngest citizens was a radical concept at the dawn of the 20th century. It took the vision and determination of a group of pioneering women to bring to light a simple fact: Children have unique needs from their adult counterparts. If society was to better itself, a federal approach was necessary to help children thrive into adulthood. From that idea the Children’s ...

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Participants in early stages of Alzheimer’s, related dementia learn to live in the moment Social workers and a member of a Chicago theater group say an improvisational theater program they created at Northwestern University in Illinois is helping people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia enjoy a better quality of life. The Memory Ensemble™ program is a joint effort of the university’s Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center and the Lookingglass Theatre Company, and strives to help participants learn to live in the moment. The program has already proved so promising it is...

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Social workers play a critical role in end-of-life care, said Karen Bullock, an associate professor at the North Carolina State University Department of Social Work in Raleigh, N.C. When National Healthcare Decisions Day arrives April 16, Bullock wants social workers to encourage individuals and families to have conversations with their loved ones about their health care wishes and to plan for unexpected events. Such discussions can be empowering for people, she said. This marks the fifth year of the NHDD initiative, and NASW is once again joining the campaign that encourages adults with decision-making capacity to engage in advance care ...

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The best way to gain weight is to go on a diet, says author and NASW member Judith Matz, in an blog by HuffPost. The article states that the common New Year’s resolution of going on a diet to lose weight is a direct link to overeating even more. “The mere thought of saying ‘I resolve to diet January 1st’ is enough to set you up for overeating,” Matz says. She and her sister, co-author Ellen Frankel, specialize in eating issues. They work together to offer a newer, fresher approach to losing weight and adopting a healthier lifestyle without dieting. According to Frankel, dieting is counterintuitive. Failing...

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From the President This year, the celebration of Social Work Month in the United States incorporated an international flavor. Three organizations representing social work and social development — the International Federation of Social Work, the International Association of Schools of Social Work and the International Council on Social Welfare — issued a statement on The Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development: Commitment to Action. At a reception celebrating Social Work Day on March 20, the Congressional Social Work Caucus, led by Rep. Edolphus “Ed” Towns, D-N.Y., received a copy of the statement from...

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Enola K. Proctor, left, and James R. Zabora were honored at a reception in January. In January, the NASW Foundation hosted the Knee/ Wittman Health and Mental Health Achievement Awards to recognize Enola K. Proctor and James R. Zabora for their contributions to the health and mental health fields. NASW President Jeane Anastas and NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark presented Proctor with the Knee/Wittman Lifetime Achievement Award and Zabora with the Knee/Wittman Outstanding Achievement Award at a ceremony and reception held at the NASW national office in Washington, D.C. “Enola, your accomplishments as a scientist are inc...

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