US report: HIV rate down in needle-drug users
USA TODAY
A social worker collects a box of used syringes at an needle exchange spot. US health officials said Thursday the rate in America has dropped by half since the 1990s. The decline may be related to a growth in needle exchange programs.

School of Social Work conducts dropout study
LSU The Reveille
About 15000 students drop out of Louisiana public schools each year, and of that number, about 18 percent enter the Department of Corrections, according to a study by the University’s School of Social Work. The study found the annual weighted cost, on average, for each person being punished within the Department of Corrections was $4,750.

Digital Withdrawl: ‘I’m A Teenage Tech Addict!’
Huffington Post
Mark Sanders, a licensed clinical social worker and certified addiction counselor at Governors State University, categorizes this digital addiction in three stages: increased tolerance, where a teen may start with one to two hours a night on Facebook, which transforms to all night; loss of control, when teens may believe that they have a grasp on their digital addiction, but the truth is they don’t; and continuous activity in spite of adverse consequences.

Sheriff: Rancho Cordova man chased CPS worker, led deputies in pursuit
Sacramento Bee (blog)
A 42-year-old Rancho Cordova man was arrested Friday evening after he led authorities on a pursuit while chasing a social worker who had taken his children into protective custody, according to authorities. The pursuit came two days after Joseph Angel Rodriguez’s first arrest this week.

Schools combat cyberbullying; survey shows issues in Beloit
Beloit Daily News
Beloit Memorial High School social worker Faith Mattison works hard to educate students and parents on the appropriate use of social media. According to new data, cyberbullying and the soliciting and sending of sexually explicit photos is occurring among high school and middle school students.

MSU Uses Zombie Apocalypse Survival to Teach Social Welfare
Yahoo! Contributors Network
Can social work students learn about human behavior in response to catastrophe using a sci-fi zombie apocalypse? That’s what University of Michigan School of Social Work professor Glen Stutzky plans to demonstrate in his summer section undergraduate class “Surviving the Coming Zombie Apocalypse: Catastrophes & Human Behavior,” says Detroit CBS Local. Here are details about how the college will use a simulated theoretical event to teach practical applications.

VA director, shortage of psychiatrists blamed for acute psychiatric unit not …
Billings Gazette
Natasha Houston is a licensed clinical social worker at the Vet Center in Billings. Houston, a veteran, is the only person certified to treat those who have experienced military sexual trauma.