NASW News

Mark Battle never shied away from conflict. “Mark fought for what he believed in,” said longtime social work colleague Betsy Vourlekis. “He was a firm believer in the power of good information.” Battle, who led NASW as executive director from 1984 to 1992, died Oct. 26 at age 87. In addition to his role at NASW, Battle’s path in helping others included educator, consultant, businessman and government leader. During his NASW tenure, the association’s membership grew and he heightened social work’s respectability by forging close relationships with other health and behavioral health organizations ...

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The military’s loss (Re: Armed Forces See Need for Social Workers, Jan. 2012) Though I applaud the armed forces for the opportunities that they are offering newly graduated MSW’s, I am disappointed that those of us with years of experience have not been afforded the same opportunity to join the military. In 2001 (when I was 48 years old), I applied to join the Army and Navy Medical Corps with the intention of working with soldiers in the field. I had 21 years of clinical experience with PTSD and other mental health and addiction issues. I had 15 years of clinical experience and requisite social work licenses and addiction cert...

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Thousands of social workers have signed up to provide mental health counseling, drug addiction prevention and other services for company employees through the National Association of Social Workers Assurance Services’ employee assistance network, and that number is forecast to grow as more members learn about the opportunity. “A little more than 3,000 NASW members have signed up,” Assurance Services Executive Vice President Tony Benedetto said. “We expect it to go to 5,000 to 7,000 when it matures.” Employee Assistance Programs offer employees resources to help them deal with personal problems that could harm ...

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Alice Cahill draws a mural of points discussed at the symposium “Children at Risk: Optimizing Health in an Era of Reform.” The meeting was held in November at the NASW national office in Washington, D.C. NASW’s Social Work Policy Institute, in collaboration with PolicyLab of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and contributing partner the University of Southern California School of Social Work, held an interdisciplinary symposium in November to discuss ways to better meet the health care needs of children served by the child welfare system and those at risk of involvement in the system. The think-tank symposium, ca...

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At an age when many people are considering retirement, Capt. Dan Grinstead was instead leaving for his first deployment to Afghanistan, according to an article on 9news.com, a website for Denver’s local NBC affiliate. Grinstead, an Iowa native in his 60s and a social worker for 35 years, felt that his services would be best put to use helping soldiers cope with the multitude of stresses they face during combat. “I just couldn’t imagine myself sitting down talking with soldiers in anything other than a uniform,” he told 9news.com. Leaving his family and being deployed with a team of 2,800 others, Grinstead helped his...

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From the President Social work was in the news late in 2011 when stories about efforts to compensate people in North Carolina who had undergone involuntary sterilization into the 1970s aired on a “Rock Center with Brian Williams” segment called “State of Shame” and appeared in the New York Times. Uniquely in North Carolina, it was state-employed social workers who decided which people — generally poor or in care as “impaired,” often African-American and more often women — would undergo these procedures. Based on interviews conducted in 1997, the recorded voices of social workers involved in c...

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Lisa Cox, left, and Nathan Linsk, members of the NASW HIV/AIDS Spectrum Project advisory committee, join the group’s discussion at its meeting in December. The program has received a contract modification of $334,000. The HIV/AIDS Spectrum: Mental Health Training and Education of Social Workers Project has been awarded a contract modification for $334,000 to support program goals during the third, fourth and fifth years of its contract. Funding was received through the Center for Mental Health Services, of the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, and will support efforts to accelerate a federal response to HIV/AID...

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From left, NASW Fund Development and Foundation Director Robert Arnold stands with NASW members Sherri Weisenfluh, Ellen Csikai and Gretchen Marcum Brown at the FHSSA event held during the NHPCO conference in San Diego in October. Arnold presented a check on behalf of the NASW Foundation to the Bernice Catherine Harper Social Work Africa Scholarship Fund. In early October, about 1,600 people involved in the hospice and palliative care field — including social workers, nurses, physicians, volunteers, spiritual and bereavement professionals, and educators — gathered in San Diego for the 12th annual Clinical Team Conference and Pe...

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In the aftermath of the global war on terror, officials say the number of enlisted social workers within the military has gone down and the need to rebuild those ranks is greater than ever. Soldiers experiencing mental health challenges — ranging from posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety and personal problems — can face risks to their overall health, their relationships with family and friends, and their careers if the problems are left untreated. The stigma associated with seeking mental health services and assistance from professionals, including social workers, is slowly changing as efforts are being made to recruit mo...

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Encouraging newspapers, broadcast stations and online resources to help spread the word about the important role social workers play in society has been a tradition of National Professional Social Work Month, which is celebrated each March. The outreach effort relies on thousands of social workers from coast to coast to use local media resources to inform neighbors about the many ways social workers help people and their communities. Building on this year’s theme, “Social Work Matters,” NASW plans to highlight the best reporting and depictions of social work issues showcased by the media through its website, Social Worker...

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