In the Public Eye — Fall 2024

Colorado Expands Petitioner List for ‘Extreme Risk Protection Order’ Law

Colorado implemented its “Extreme Risk Protection Order’’ law, colloquially known as the red flag law, in 2020. In 2023, lawmakers expanded the law to others, including mental health professionals, to file petitions.

Colorado now has one of the most expansive policies around red-flag petitioners, according to research, says a story posted at pagosadailypost.com. Many states with ERPO laws limit petitioners to law enforcement and household or family members.

Leanne Rupp, executive director of the NASW Colorado Chapter, said the association welcomed the law as an extension of a social worker’s tool kit to keep clients safe.

“We’ve heard far too many stories of clinicians who’ve lost clients to suicide by firearm due to the client not meeting an imminent risk threshold outlined by other laws that have existed for some time,” Rupp said in the article.

Involuntary psychiatric holds, for example, aren’t possible or appropriate in some cases, and an ERPO could be a better solution for the client’s health and safety, the story says.

At the same time, the new ability for licensed clinicians may not yet be widely known.

“Part of me speculates that it will take time for folks to learn about the expansion of the petitioner list and the process,” Rupp says in the story. “Some of this is that we just need more time.”

Jeffrey Yarvis

NASW-Texas member Jeffrey Yarvis spent 34 years in the U.S. Army, where he earned many credentials, including a doctorate. Yarvis, PhD, LCSW, ACSW, BCD, is now a retired Army colonel.

“The Army cultivates leadership,” he says in story posted at EINnews.com. “I also like to learn.”

With his credentials, he served as a social worker, helping those dealing with trauma—whether in the service or having endured it as a civilian before enlisting. His career is characterized by many firsts, all with an unwavering commitment to social justice. “It’s not a vocation, it’s a personal mandate,” said Yarvis, who is an NASW Social Work Pioneer.^®

Yarvis, CEO of Victory Leadership Consulting, said he is most proud of the fact he has positively affected the lives of so many people

Emily Dalton

Whether someone needs help applying for an ID card, navigating SNAP benefits or finding community resources, a full-time social worker is on staff to help Hoboken, N.J., residents—regardless of whether they have a library card.

The Hoboken Library board approved funding to bring in a full-time social worker. NASW-New Jersey member Emily Dalton, LMSW, serves that role. “My whole goal working here is that I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel. I’m trying to just be the connection to services that already exist for folks in the community,” Dalton said in a story posted at NJ Spotlight News.

In July, Dalton met with approximately 52 people at the library, and helped 32 people outside of the building, the story notes.

Cassidy Moreau

NASW-Kansas member Cassidy Moreau discussed her role as the first veterinary social worker at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University during an interview with KSNT-Fox 43 AM Live’s Dane Kroll.

Veterinary social work came to be around 2002 at University of Tennessee, Moreau said. While veterinarians take care of the medical needs of the animals, “I am tending to the human need in that relationship... the human end of the leash if you will,” she told Kroll.

“I have a unique position at the Veterinarian Health Center, as I am tending to the veterinarian health professionals,” Moreau said. “I am helping with the mental health support for our professionals, that’s our faculty staff and our fourth-year clinical students, even our interns (and) our house officers at the hospital.”

The school’s Veterinary Health Center prides itself in delivering top-notch veterinary care, as well as teaching the next generation of veterinarians and veterinary specialists.

Alice Kay Locklear

NASW-North Carolina member Alice Kay Locklear, PhD, MSW, ACSW, was named POWER (Professional Organization of Women of Excellence Recognized) Woman of the Month for July 2024 for her contributions and achievements in social work and education, says a story posted at PR.com. POWER is a networking organization and magazine that celebrates and supports women from various backgrounds and professions.

“Dr. Kay” recognizes and addresses the meaning of minority and oppression in her multifaceted work advocating individual and social disparities, injustices, and inequalities, the story said.

Locklear serves as director of Region V on the NASW national board of directors. In addition, she is a professor and assistant chair of the Social Work Department at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Jennifer Kelman

It’s not a surprise that air travel can be anxiety-inducing. According to a HuffPost.com story, at the most basic level, people probably check the gate at the airport when they arrive to help ease their anxiety.

NASW-Florida member Jennifer Kelman, LCSW, said some people “develop rituals to ward off nervous energy anxiety.”

“We also experience a loss of control while flying, and checking the gate, checking a boarding pass, making sure you have all of your travel documents in order may provide a feeling of control while traveling,” Kelman said in the article.

She noted that looking for your gate isn’t necessarily an unhealthy thing. However, if it becomes more of a compulsion, it might be important to look deeper to see how anxiety could be affecting your life.

To read other media stories like these, visit socialworkersspeak.org