News Items – January 27, 2016
Jackie Stout is a member:
Victor Not Victim
Virginia Connection Newspapers
Despite the setbacks, [Nyrisha] Beckman continued to push forward to achieve her goals. “That seed, planted by her uncle, might have been what it took to help instill the resiliency she needed to fight to return to college,” said Jackie Stout, a licensed clinical social worker specializing in the treatment of trauma and childhood issues using EMDR therapy.
Avon School Board Plans To Bring Back Social Workers In $54.8 Million Budget Proposal
Hartford Courant
In a split vote on party lines that turned on whether to bring back school social workers, the board of education adopted a $54.8 million budget request that would be the biggest boost in school spending in several years. That action came when the board met Tuesday. The request now goes to the town council and the board of finance for consideration. Final action on the town and school spending does not come until May, when residents vote on a budget in a referendum.
Carla Damron is executive director of NASW-SC:
One book, one community: Columbia takes center stage in new novel
The State (Columbia, SC)
Clawing chest pains and a fiery car crash take one life and change the destiny of four others. The Stone Necklace braids together the stories of a grieving widow, a struggling nurse, a young mother, and a troubled homeless man, reminding us of the empowering and surprising ways our lives touch one another and how, together, we can recover from even the greatest of losses. Carla Damron weaves the stories of four people in Columbia, South Carolina, whose seemingly disparate existences intersect through tragedies realized and tragedies averted.… Damron, executive director of the S.C. Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, said she drew on her 30 years of experience as a clinical social worker to bring life to her troubled characters – like Booker, who is part of the often-ignored population of homeless and mentally ill.
Jack Register is a member:
NC task force takes broad look at mental health, criminal justice
The News & Observers (Raleigh, NC)
Jack Register, an executive director of the advocacy group for people with mental illnesses called NAMI NC and a task force member, questioned how much would be accomplished this year. Register said in an interview that his work group was told early that its proposals would have to be “cost neutral,” meaning that they should not result in higher costs for the state. And he and others were taken aback last week when they heard that they were expected to work to get the legislature to approve the task force’s proposals, Register said. The assumption was that the legislators appointed to the task force would guide the recommendations through, he said. Many of the task force members don’t have experience working to get laws passed, he said.
Jack Register is a member:
County handled 800 involuntary commitments in 2015
The Enquirer Journal (Monroe, NC)
Jack Register, executive director of North Carolina’s National Alliance on Mental Illness, said an underlying issue is how mental illness is treated in the United States. In NC, Register said the average length of stay for an involuntary commitment is three to five days, which is about the length of time it takes to get the patient stabilized. “That’s what the whole crux of the issue is,” Register said. “Serious mental illness may take longer than that to stabilize. In three to five days, we might be able to get you to a point where we can figure out what happened, but we may not be able to solve what happened to the extent to where we can get you to a place where it’s not going to happen again.”
Matthew Brittain is a member:
Legislator wants more oversight of physicians prescribing drug
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Matthew Brittain, a Hilo-based, licensed clinical social worker who works with a physician to help patients obtain certification, worries the proposed law would further discourage an already small number of doctors from prescribing medical cannabis. “Any physician in the state can certify patients right now, the thing is, most won’t because of the stigma associated with marijuana,” he said. “If this bill goes through and there’s an additional level of government scrutiny on doctors, they’re not going to want to participate at all. It will seriously restrict access to doctors who will provide this service.”
Sky Westerlund is executive director of NASW-KS:
Nearly a Quarter of DCF Social Workers Left in 2015
High Plains Public Radio
Sky Westerlund, executive director of the Kansas chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, questioned whether counselors and therapists would be able to do social work. DCF social workers have to recommend services to help a family to function or recommend removing a child if that isn’t possible, she said. “Those professions are skilled in conducting therapy and their license allows for therapy work, but (child protective services) is not a job in therapy,” she said. “Rather, child welfare work involves a great deal of assessment, engagement with reluctant families, asking questions and evaluating the very safety of a child or children.”
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