Pilot Program Offers an Innovative Strategy for Child Behavioral Health Care
The Connecticut Examiner
The Connecticut Legislature is considering a recommendation by the Connecticut chapter of the National Association of Social Workers for a pilot program of integrated health care within pediatric practices. As a state we are continuously faced with the challenge of getting behavioral health services and access to a population we hold dear – our children.  Whether it’s the inability to get into treatment in a timely manner or the missed opportunity to provide a lifesaving intervention, we are failing.

Surging behavioral health care needs for children put strain on school social workers
CT Mirror
This week, Democratic lawmakers held a press conference highlighting their top priorities for the current legislative session and acknowledging the “mental health fallout” from the pandemic.  Lawmakers plan to introduce several measures supporting children’s mental health, including increasing funding for school social workers. Stephen A. Wanczyk-Karp, executive director of Connecticut’s chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, said: “I’ve been in this field since 1977. And I’ve never seen this level of interest for social work.”

MCPS faces social worker shortage amid safety concerns, calls for mental health resources
WJLA
“Social workers are really the only employees that are certificated professionals through MSDE to provide counseling,” said Mary Beth DeMartino of the National Association of Social Workers – Maryland Chapter. She went on to tell 7News, “Social workers are looking at all of the other things that kids are dealing with, the mental health needs, the anxiety the depression, the stressors, all of those things that are going on behind the scenes.” According to DeMartino the lack of professionals gets down to pay.

Texas AG says trans healthcare is child abuse. Will Fort Worth schools have to report?
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
But the Texas Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers said in a statement that the move was nonbinding. “NASW/TX reminds licensed social workers that this is a non-binding legal opinion and they still have professional discretion on mandatory reporting,” the statement released Wednesday said. “No rules on reporting were changed through this opinion, nor through the Governor’s letter.” Alison Mohr Boleware, government relations director for the Texas chapter, told the Star-Telegram that as long as there are no changes to the law, the move is nothing more than a scare tactic.

Should there be a separate 911 system for mental health crises?
GBH News
“The ACES Act calls for something a little bit different,” said Rebekah Gewirtz, executive director at the Massachusetts chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, which spearheaded the bill. “The community-based organizations and municipalities working closely together to create a program versus community-based organizations and police departments creating a program. So, it’s an important distinction.”

Kristen Lee is a member:
Does the Term “Self-Care” Nauseate You?
Psychology Today
“Self-care” has taken on a whole new connotation in today’s culture of excess and mass marketing. Feeds are littered with workout flexes, avocado toast, chocolate cake, elaborate spa trips, and trendy hashtags like #metime, #treatyourself, and #motivation. We are peppered with messages suggesting that unless we are master boundary setters and time management ninjas, ingesting obsessive amounts of turmeric with the precise black pepper ratio in between our intermittent fasting, we will not be OK.

Tracey Sutton is a member:
Marriage rates down — but not in N. Idaho
Bonner County Daily Bee
While it is a nationwide trend that more people are choosing not to marry, Idaho has a healthy married population of 56%, higher than the national average of 49%. “We are certainly not among the highest rates of divorce or marriage,” said Tracey Sutton, a licensed clinical social worker and vice president of therapy services at Heritage Health. “We’re pretty stable,” she said. “Especially in North Idaho, we do have a large number of people coming here who are already married or partnered and are satisfied with the arrangements that they have.”

Arron Skinner-Spain is a member:
Why ‘trauma-informed’ care is spreading from the therapist’s office to yoga classes and tattoo parlors
The Washington Post
Aaron Skinner-Spain, a licensed clinical social worker who co-directs NYU’s trauma-informed program with Tosone, characterized the approach as one that asks, “What happened to you?” and not “What’s wrong with you?” Trauma awareness is especially appropriate in settings where physical contact may happen, such as a yoga class, Tosone said. “You go to the studio, you’re doing your poses. The instructor may come over and correct your pose to help you deepen it.”