NASW News

Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown holds an NASW Oregon Chapter-sponsored House Joint Memorial. Behind her are representatives of the chapter. From left: Debra Feammelli, chapter assistant executive director; Jesse O’Brien, student intern; Maura Roche, lobbyist; Delmar Stone, executive director; and Tera Pierce, student intern. Oregon lawmakers think highly of social workers. For instance, Arnie Roblan, a Democrat who is co-speaker of the state House, said he initially discovered the good social workers do for children and families when he was a high school principal. “They keep our country together,” he said. The r...

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Trainers included members from the Gila River Health Center, located in Sacaton, Ariz. From left: Ken Geans, social worker; Sherry Yarbrough, nurse; and Jeremy Kloss, pharmacist. As a clinical oncology social worker, Harold Dean has watched the evolution of chemotherapy delivery from a mostly intravenous form to today’s more accommodating oral method. “This shift, although sometimes more efficient for the patient, has brought many challenges to the issue of compliance. Oral chemo regimens can be complicated and confusing for patients,” he said. In an effort to improve cancer medication adherence, Dean was part of a gro...

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International Insights NASW is to be congratulated for having sent two social work delegates to Havana this past year, despite the political difficulties that have traditionally existed between the two countries. It is important for social workers in the U.S. to learn from international social work experience, including that of Cuba. The island nation, a poor country of a little over 11 million, has trained more than 40,000 social workers over the past decade. Social workers play an important role in working with vulnerable groups in marginalized communities throughout the country. The social work profession in the United States and elsewh...

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Iowa social worker Amanda Greubel laughs with Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, after a hearing with Harkin’s Senate labor committee. Gruebel had testified about financial hardships she’s endured after having her work hours reduced. Iowa social worker Amanda Greubel was invited to Capitol Hill to offer a firsthand account of how her family and the families she helps through her job are losing hope in the American dream. Greubel testified before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing hosted by Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. He said the meeting was one in a series to check the economic pulse of the middle ...

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An expert panel will discuss the latest perspectives concerning dying, death and the grieving process building on the groundbreaking book On Death and Dying, published in 1969 and written by the late Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. NASW, the Association for Death Education and Counseling, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and others are cooperating partners for the Hospice Foundation of America’s New Perspectives fall program, “Beyond Kübler-Ross: New Perspectives on Death, Dying and Grief.” Registration is now open for the DVD-only presentation, which will be available after Nov. 10. The two-hour ...

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Chapters participated in the Delegate Assembly online and by phone. Wisconsin delegates, from left: Wendy Volz-Daniels, coordinator of the Midwest Coalition; Nick Smiar, president-elect; Roberta Hanus, president and Marc Herstand, executive director. NASW’s triennial Delegate Assembly, including participation from 277 delegates, took place Aug. 5-6, marking the 24th such event and the second time it was conducted via a secured interactive website and the telephone. Members and delegates spent the past year posting and exchanging comments on 18 proposed social work policy statement revisions via NASW’s Delegate Assembly websit...

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June 2011 Board's Action Context Finances Received the financial statements as of May 31, 2011. As of May 31, NASW’s total asset position was $15.5 million. Overall, assets increased by $1.1million from the same time last year, due to an increase in cash and long-term investments. Revenue year-to-date totaled $16.4 million. Dues revenue, on an accrual basis, was $9 million, down $156,000 fr...

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Leadership changes took place recently for NASW Assurance Services Inc., the wholly owned subsidiary of NASW responsible for designing, securing and overseeing high-quality, competitive insurance, financial and other programs and services for social workers. A. Elizabeth “Betsy” Cauble, head of the department and associate professor of Social Work at Kansas State University, has served on the ASI board for three years. She was approved by the NASW National Board of Directors to serve another term on the ASI board. She was also elected by ASI’s board as president and chair for the next three years. “I have had the pri...

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Peggy Ledner-Spaulding wrote a guest opinion in the Santa Rosa's The Press Democrat about the tragedy of suicide. As a licensed clinical social worker, Ledner-Spaulding manages an intensive outpatient behavioral health program through Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. She explained that those who become suicidal are most likely suffering from major depression, mood disorder, thought disorder, substance abuse and/or an anxiety disorder. “Research and brain imaging technologies now indicate that people who have these illnesses are most likely suffering from a reduction of specific brain chemicals,” she wrote. Ledner-Spaulding said it...

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During the past year, numerous heartbreaking national and international disasters have filled news reports telling emotional stories and showing heart-wrenching images — from the tsunami in Japan to the tornadoes in Joplin, Mo., and the South, to the flooding in Minot, N.D., and beyond. Many individuals who witness these stories wonder what they can do to help — and some respond, often by making a monetary donation or participating in hands-on volunteer work. But social workers, who are both trained to support those in need as well as feel a strong inherent calling to do so, are even more likely to act on that impulse and volunt...

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