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News Items – December 16, 2015

Explaining acts of violence: Talking to your child about terrorism
The Huffington Post
Find out what frightens them and address it. Most children will want to know the bottom line — Will I be okay, will you be okay and is this going to happen here? Their emotions will vary based on their age, personality, religious background and their connection to the attacks. Also, keep in mind that trauma is cumulative in nature. So, if your child has experienced other traumas in their life, these terrorist attacks may put them at risk for higher distress. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has a tip sheet that describes children’s varied responses to terrorism.

jahumada-image-429x600Josefina Ahumada is a member:
Arizona minority women leave exceptional contributions
Arizona Sonora News
Josefina Ahumada: Josefina Ahumada’s long line of activist work began at the Los Angeles County Health Department when she was 6-years-old. Ahumada, accompanied by her mother, volunteered at immunization clinics in the early 1950s amidst the polio epidemic.… In addition, she has served as state chapter president and national treasurer for the National Association of Social Workers.… Ahumada currently holds the position of field education coordinator at Arizona State University School of Social Work. “The beautiful thing about working with people is walking alongside people, sharing what you know, watching that person develop and find their own sense of power, find their own voice, and then they go and do what they need to do,” Ahumada said. “Activism that helps facilitate others empowerment – that’s the beauty of it.”

JoAnn Stingley is a member:
Elgin police social worker tries to help ‘with everything’
The Daily Herald [Chicago, IL]
A homeless man with a substance abuse problem. An out-of-state woman stranded in Elgin. A senior who lost money in a scam. A traumatized robbery victim. In her 24 years as a social worker for the Elgin Police Department, JoAnn Stingley has helped them all — and countless others. “People call the police department about everything, and I try to help them with everything,” Stingley said. “I want to make sure they get what they need.” Stingley coordinates the social services unit — also known as the victim’s assistance unit…. The social services unit includes Stingley, two part-time case managers and several interns, all master’s-degree students.

Miriam Wolf is a member:
Beyond silence: Confronting child sexual abuse in Jewish community
J Weekly
In the United States, about one in every three to four girls and one in every six to eight boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18, the majority of them — 90 percent — by someone their family knows and trusts, according to Miriam Wolf, a licensed clinical social worker and director of forensic interviewing for San Mateo County, who gave the day’s keynote address. The rates are similar in the Jewish community, experts agree.

Sky Westerlund is the executive director of NASW-KS:
Kansas social workers call for review of privatized child welfare system
Lawrence World-Journal
But some who have worked within the system say the problems at DCF go beyond its current policies and practices. Although conditions have become noticeably worse in recent years, they say, the root of the problem dates back to a decision made nearly 20 years ago to privatize the state’s child welfare system. “In a nutshell, I think that almost 20 years into privatization, what we’ve seen is exactly opposite of what they intended,” said Sky Westerlund, executive director of the Kansas Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. “It has not cost the state less. It has not created efficiencies. It has not created the one-child, one-social worker model.”

John David Smith is a member:
Universities join forces to advance social work
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Marshall University has joined with Concord University and West Virginia State University to advance the profession of social work and improve the well-being of West Virginia’s children and their families.  A $10,000 Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Adolescent Screening Brief Intervention Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) grant will fund this collaborative partnership among these West Virginia universities, Concord University officials said. The SBIRT grant will allow the schools of social work to prepare students to screen, provide brief interventions and conduct referrals to treatment for substance abuse issues with adolescents, according to Marshall’s undergraduate social work director, Jo Dee Gottlieb.… The social work programs of West Virginia are committed to finding ways to combat the devastation substance abuse has on our population, Dr. John David Smith, director of social work for Concord University, said. “Social workers across the state are on the front lines of the battle, and they need more evidenced-based interventions to be successful,” Smith said.

Ramona Denby-Brinson is a member:
On pediatric mental health, here’s how we can do better
Styrk.com
Ramona Denby-Brinson, a professor in UNLV’s School of Social Work who studies children’s mental health, welcomed them all. “This is a really critical time in our state with respect to mental health services, and we need to hear from you.” The Las Vegas Sun partnered with UNLV’s Lincy Institute, the Clark County Children’s Mental Health Consortium and Nevada PEP, a parent advocacy organization, to host the forum. They urged attendees to ponder this question: As a community, how can we do better?

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