NASW-WV hosted a roundtable on addictions, access to mental health care, and school social work:
Cole, Justice outline plans for drug problems
Charleston Gazette-Mail (WV)
The need for more treatment centers in West Virginia was recognized by many of the people that participated in the National Association of Social Worker’s round-table. “It makes no sense for the state with the highest overdose rate to be sending people out of state for treatment,” said Mary Aldred Crouch, a clinical social worker and president elect of the West Virginia of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors.

Michael Connolly was a former member:
Passionate about social work, Barry professor Michael Connolly dies at 82
The Miami Herald
Seven years after a young Hillary Rodham (later Clinton) wrote her senior thesis for Wellesley College about community organizer Saul Alinsky, Michael Connolly wrote his doctoral thesis on Alinsky. Connolly, who retired from Barry University’s School of Social Work in 2002, thoroughly researched Alinksy’s life and career after his death in 1972. His doctoral dissertation was for the University of Minnesota in 1976; Rodham’s was in 1969.

Sky Westerlund is executive director of NASW-KS:
Kansans touched by KanCare fill void left by cancellation of public forums
The Topeka Capital-Journal
Sky Westerlund, who represents the Kansas chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, said KanCare was “fractured and is creating crisis at the street level” across the state. Budget cuts that trigger job losses among mental health clinicians exacerbate challenges of families struggling to find clinical assistance for children, she said. A facility might schedule an initial assessment of a child one or two months in the future, she said, but needs of that child go unaddressed and likely become worse.

Amber Burkhardt-Sidebottom is a member:
Local social worker helping others through equine therapy
WXYZ (Detroit, MI)
Amber Burkhardt-Sidebottom is a licensed clinical social worker who owns Bridgewater Support Services in Manchester, Michigan. With the help of her beloved horses, she offers services in mental health and personal growth. She grew up with horses and was also an equestrian. “At some point, I started to realize what I had learned from the horses and what a great opportunity that was as a kid… even as an adult. They still teach me things every day,” she says.

Danielle Wozniak is a member:
Wurzweiler School of Social Work Appoints Danielle Wozniak as New Dean
The Jewish Voice
Dr. Selma Botman, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Yeshiva University, announced the appointment of Danielle Wozniak as the new dean of Wurzweiler School of Social Work. “Danielle is a talented and imaginative administrator who has an inspired vision for the future of social work education,” said Botman. “She will bring expertise, intelligence, energy, and heart to Wurzweiler. Not only does she care deeply about students and the cutting-edge curriculum we should offer, she is dedicated to faculty excellence, and has a track record of collaboration with her colleagues. I am truly delighted to welcome Danielle to our community and am certain that her sparkle will light up Wurzweiler and Yeshiva University as a whole.”

Stephen Rassi is a member:
The numbers: Transgender in America
The Blade (Toledo, OH)
One study by the Williams Institute suggested 700,000, or about 0.3 percent of adults in the United States, is trans; however, clinical social worker Stephen Rassi said scientific and anecdotal estimates find that the trans community is a little more than 1 percent of the population. Using the latter percentage for Ohio, with its population of 11.6 million as reported by a July 2015 Census estimate, the state’s trans population would be about 116,000.

Mental Health In Schools: A Hidden Crisis Affecting Millions Of Students
NPR
The social worker
The role: Social workers act like a bridge. If teachers come to them with a concern — maybe a child is acting withdrawn — one of the first things they’ll do is call home. They see each child through the lens of their family, school and community. They might learn that a family is going through a divorce or homelessness.
The reality: There aren’t enough of them. According to one model, every school should have one social worker for every 250 students. The reality is that in some schools, social workers are responsible for many more.