Tonya Ricklefs (left), president of the NASW Kansas Chapter, and NASW Kansas Chapter Executive Director Becky Fast (below, right) wrote an editorial that appeared in the Topeka Capitol-Journal, calling for passage of the Social Work Interstate Licensing Compact. The article also appeared in the Yahoo news feed to a wider audience.
In April, Kansas became the seventh state to pass compact legislation, reaching the threshold needed for creation of the national compact.
The editorial noted that this year, Kansas social workers celebrate a historic landmark with the 50th anniversary of the state’s Social Work Practice Act. The pair wrote that social workers, including NASW-Kansas, are championing the state House bill that will facilitate multistate practice through a social work licensure compact.
“The compact will allow social workers to provide continuity of care across state lines, including through telehealth platforms, without the cost and burden of seeking additional state-specific licenses,” they wrote.
“During a time in our state and our nation where social workers are needed in nationwide shortages, eliminating regulatory hoops to allow our Kansas social workers the ability to practice in multiple states is critical. Social work multistate licensure must be solved to increase access to professional licensure and address the increasing need for mental health services.”
At press time, 22 states had passed legislation to join the compact. Learn more at swcompact.org
Carmen Reese Foster
New research shows Black social workers experience higher rates of depression and anxiety.
NASW-Tennessee member and assistant professor Carmen Reese Foster, DSW, LMSW, LSSW, of the University of Tennessee, noted her research team conducted a study to assess social workers’ symptoms of depression, anxiety, discrimination-related trauma and quality of life in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the systemic racism that led up to 2020.
The results showed a significant increase in depression and anxiety among the 113 Black social work professionals surveyed. Arguably, a more surprising finding was that 85% of Black social workers were deeply disappointed in the lack of empathy shown to them from their white social work colleagues, Reese Foster said in an article she wrote for The Conversation. The article was also picked up by Yahoo and presented to a wider audience.
Tchernavia Montgomery
Statistics show it is all too common for Black women to face pregnancy-related deaths and severe maternal morbidities. In fact, Black women in the U.S. are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To tackle stark maternal health disparities, NASW-North Carolina member Tchernavia Montgomery, LCSW, executive director at Care Ring, said it will take interdisciplinary collaboration, a concept that was the theme at the Black Maternal Health Conference in Charlotte, N.C.
“There are so many different disciplines, some of which are growing in North Carolina—doulas, midwives, community health workers,” Montgomery said in a story about the conference posted at northcarolinahealthnews.org. “Everyone has something of value to add to the journey of a woman, both preconception and postpartum,” Montgomery said. “We all have to work together.”
Nancy Kusmaul
As co-chair of the Committee on Aging for the NASW Maryland Chapter, Nancy Kusmaul helps advance programming for seniors, professional development for social workers in the aging field, and inform policy and legislation, according to an article posted at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County website.
Kusmaul, PhD, MSW, associate professor in the Baccalaureate Social Work program at UMBC, received the “Outstanding Individual in Academia” award from the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy (CRISP) at a ceremony on Capitol Hill this year, the article noted.
In 2019, Kusmaul served as a Health and Aging Policy Fellow at the office of U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services learning how Congress and the executive branch create policies that affect care for frail older adults.
Reuben Brody
Parenting plays a role in an individual’s ability to self-actualize and transition to adulthood with self-confidence, says NASW-North Carolina member Reuben Brody, in a column Brody wrote for Psychology Today.
A recent study in the Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review identified the role of parenting as a key environmental element in the presentation of those with Extreme Social Withdrawal (ESW).
“I have yet to treat a patient with this presentation who has parents who clearly communicated their expectations, rules and boundaries and reinforced that stuff with positivity, compassion, and meaningful rewards and consequences,” says Brody, LCSWA, a behavioral mental health therapist at Matone Counseling and Testing.
Gina Rossi
Social workers can work in many different fields, from mental health to policy and administration, says Louisiana Chapter member Gina Rossi, LCSW, who was interviewed for a story posted at nola.com.
Rossi, who was named the NASW Louisiana Chapter Social Worker of the Year, is an adjunct instructor for the Master of Social Work program in the Louisiana State University School of Social Work. In her private practice, she said she guides her clients in an honest and direct approach to reframe their thought processes so they recognize their strengths—enabling them to live their best life potential. In addition, her work and research of mid-older life stages led to her signature workshop “Ageism: Call it Out,” along with three weekly support groups.
“I'm doing work with Alzheimer's services,” Rossi said. “I do private practice with people going through life transitions, adult children with their older adult parents, and people going through gray divorce.”
To read other media stories like these, visit socialworkersspeak.org