Teens give their back-to-school advice for dealing with peer pressure, bullying
Bellingham Herald
Rana Hong, a clinical social worker, therapist and founder of Playful Healing Center in Des Plaines, says teens face the most peer pressure compared to any other age group. “Developmentally, teens are in the period of having rapid physical and psychological growth,” Hong said. “They start paying more attention to others’ views on themselves and searching for their sense of identity. Therefore, they get more influenced by others.”

How to deal with the loss of a pet
CNN
Licensed clinical social worker Christy Simpson facilitates the group sessions with a dose of Southern charm and plenty of compassion as attendees share their stories. Eventually, most walk away realizing that they are not alone. Even Simpson has a tale of loss — coupled with the need for help coping with pet grief.

Teacher: How to address bullying school — and how not to
Washington Post (blog)
There is only one way for a dean or social worker to combat the problems below the surface, and that is to have a working relationship with every single student in the school. School personnel should never forget that the “good kids” have problems too, and they often have information to share, because they believe in justice, fairness, and doing the right thing.

75-Year-Old Accused of Robbing Bank, Going to Casino Faces a Judge
WKBW-TV
It’s unknown if the 75-year-old has a gambling addiction, but Licensed Clinical Social Worker Matthew Jost, who specializes in treating gambling addiction says this addiction effects about 40-thousand people in the Western New York area and is more common than people think.

Newly formed Kan. group plans rally
CanadianBusiness.com
Crystal McComas, a clinical social worker in Lawrence, is organizing Kansas United along with Tamara Werth, a Lawrence psychiatrist. The two said the galvanizing issue for them was the decision to close the city’s Social and Rehabilitation Services office. After much discussion, the city and Douglas County agreed to pay a portion of the office’s rent to keep the center open.

Meeting spouse online more likely than ever
Journal and Courier
Buck Black, a licensed clinical social worker with Heartland Clinic in Lafayette, said he has noticed more people meeting people online and that they are more comfortable admitting it than they were two years ago. “I think that it is increasing simply because technology use is increasing, and people are becoming more comfortable with the technology,” he said.

Gaps in services for sexual assault victims in Texas revealed
PhysOrg.com
The study, funded by the Criminal  Justice Division of the Office of the Governor, is the first statewide needs evaluation for adult victims of sexual assault in Texas, according to Dr. Noël Busch-Armendariz, associate professor in the School of Social Work and lead investigator.

From left Roger Grape, Lucas Grape-Krueger and Steve Kreuger. Photo by David Taffet of the Dallas Voice.

Eighteen years ago National Association of Social Workers member Roger Grape, MSW, ACSW, DCSW and husband Steve Krueger in Texas were one of few gay couples who had adopted a child, according to this article in the Dallas Voice.

Now their son Lucas Grape-Krueger is leaving home for college, making Grape and Krueger one of a growing wave of gay parent empty nesters.

“I know we’ll get through it fine,” Krueger said.

“We’re having date nights again,” Grape said.

Although they joke now and Lucas has grown up to be a great young man, the road wasn’t easy. Some pediatricians refused to treat Lucas, saying they would not work with a family with gay parents. Lucas was a school athlete but the YMCA refused to give them a membership so the family joined the Jewish Community Center.

“Just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I can’t be a parent,” Grape said.

Cheers to Dallas Voice for running this piece.

Social worker are committed to equal treatment for all, including lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgendered people. To learn more visit the National Association of Social Workers Diversity and Equity Web page by clicking here. And to read profiles of GLBT social workers click here to go to NASW’s “Help Starts Here” 2011 LGBT Pride Month Celebration.

Laurel and Alex Constantinides with daughters from left Lucia, Zoe and Hannah. Photo courtesy of the Colorado Springs Gazette.

Laurel Constantinides, 38, a social worker from Colorado Springs, died along with her three adopted daughters when their van hit a flash flood on July 19 and plunged into a swollen creek in Wyoming, according to this Denver Post article. Her husband Alex, who was driving the vehicle, survived.

Laurel and Alex adopted Hannah, 8, and Zoe, 5,  from China and Lucia, 2, from South Korea. Laurel, who earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, became an adoption advocate when she went to work for Chinese Children Charities.

Laurel helped Andy Leong navigate the regulatory and legal roadblocks to adopt three children from China, according to this article in the Colorado Springs Gazette. Leong spoke at her memorial service.

“Laurel radiated safety,” he said. “She wasn’t just doing her job, she was a friend who could always identify with you.”

Our sympathies to Alex Constantinides and the Constantinides’ family and friends.

Adoption Link founder Naomi Ewald-Orme (left) and fellow social worker and staff member Patti Belliveau. Photo courtesy of Yellow Springs News.

Cheers to the Yellow Springs News in Ohio for this heart-warming article about National Association of Social Workers member Naomi Ewald-Orme, founder of Adoption Link, Inc.

Ewald Orme’s service has developed a reputation for being one of the best adoption agencies in Ohio. Ewald-Orme, MSW, LSW, tries to act as an advocate for both adoptive parents and women who are putting their children up for adoption.

“Birth mothers are not stalkers,” she said. “They are women who want the best for their children. They’re women who were strong enough to make this incredible decision, and we honor them always.”

To learn more about how social workers participate in the adoption process visit NASW’s “Help Starts Here” Adoptions and Foster Care Web pages by clicking here.

Atherton wrote the column after Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D) vetoed a $900-million budget cutting bill.

Atherton, who adopted children after he and his wife moved to Minnesota in 1999,  made a very personal and compelling case for why states should not cut child protection funding. His column praised social workers and others for helping his family adopt and for protecting children in desperate circumstances.

He wrote:

“Even if these funds were lost, I have no doubt that children who are in imminent danger or who have been hurt by their parents will be protected. Anyone who’s spent any time with a social worker or police officer knows that when a kid is in trouble, these people will move heaven and earth to get them out of harm’s way.”

To learn more about the role social workers play in protecting children, visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Kids & Families Web page by clicking here.

Jim Loach’s Debut Film Deals With Child Abuse
ABC News
In the movie, the story is told through the eyes of social worker Margaret Humphreys, played my Emily Watson, the Oscar-nominated British actress.

Become the dream mother-in-law
Shreveport Times
But for moms who want to prove that wrong, Leesa Sitter, licensed clinical social worker in Shreveport, gives some advice on becoming the ideal mom-in-law.

Woman inspired to begin support group
Morning Sentinel
Even for someone like Labul, a clinical social worker at Tri-County Mental Health whose husband is a physician, the diagnosis left her confused and unsure what to do next.

Your Child Can Control Bullies: Use Unruh’s “Stop Bullying Now …
NewsReleaseWire.com
Gary M. Unruh, MSW LCSW, forty-year veteran family and child therapist, sees the evidence every day in his practice: “School programs aren’t working parents don’t know what to do, and children are being damaged. There’s no escaping bullying; it’s 25/8, thanks to cyberspace technology,” he says.

Experts: Adoptive families need help
Florida Today
The conference at the International Palms Resort in Cocoa Beach targeted social workers who work with families in crisis and the community faith leaders whose congregation members may be considering or coping with adoptions.

Summit explores nature of poverty
Indiana Gazette
The summit, called the Community Sustainability Summit on the Effects of Poverty, brought together professors, social workers and community members from Indiana County and elsewhere in the state.

Care centers provide fun for elders, relief for family
Columbus Dispatch
Both are assistant professors in Ohio State’s College of Social Work. The centers not only give people a place to go, they also help with health concerns and can alert clients and their doctors to problems.

U. of Ill. leads in faculty Fulbright scholarships
Chicago Tribune
The (Champaign) News-Gazette reported that Illinois’ recipients included associate social work professor Susan Cole, history professor Kristin Hoganson and and education professors Richard Hunter and Christopher Lubienski.

Six-point resolution adopted for women welfare
Times of India
MANGALORE: A three-day international conference on women and mental health organized by School of Social Work, Roshni Nilaya, Mangalore, and Flinders University, Australia, adopted a six-point resolution.

Democrats see losses as bump in the road
Twin Falls Times-News
Lora Ohlensehlen, a Twin Falls social worker, said the National Association of Social Workers has been encouraging social workers to go into politics.

Natalie Newton. Photo by Mike Morones of The Free Lance-Star.

Cheers to Virginia’s Fredericksburg.com for this article on social worker Natalie Newton, who recently won an Angels in Adoption award for her work helping families adopt.

Newton joins more than 190 other honorees from across the country. The award has been given to former First Lady Laura Bush, actors Jane Seymour and Bruce Willis, musician Steven Curtis Chapman and the family that inspired the movie “The Blind Side.”

“Natalie is so amazing,” said adoptive and foster parent Robin Hosmer, who along with her husband Paul nominated Newton for the award. “She truly has children’s best interests at heart. She will do everything possible for the children.”

To learn more about how social workers help, visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Adoptions and Foster Care Web page by clicking here.

Robert Lamarche (right) and partner Donald Giustiniani with their adopted son. Photo courtesy of the Palm Beach Post.

Cheers to the Palm Beach Post for this article on National Association of Social Workers’ member and adoptive father Robert Lamarche.

Lamarche and partner Donald Giustiniani adopted a 15-year-old son and were part of the initiative to overturn Florida’s ban on same sex couples adopting children. A Miami appeals court last week ruled the 1977 law was unconstitutional.

“I know in my heart that we are wonderful parents,” Giustiniani said. “And we love him more than anything in this world. He is our son. We provide him with a safe, loving, caring home and that is the most important thing.”

NASW  supports equal treatment for all, including members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. To find out more click here to visit the association’s Diversity and Equity Web page.

Andrea Poe

Cheers to freelance writer and public relations consultant Andrea Poe for writing about how social workers help prospective parents prepare for adoptions.

Poe wrote in this Washington Times column about  her nervousness when a social worker visited her and husband Scott Jensen were before they adopted a Vietnamese girl in 2006. She discovered social workers were not on the hunt for perfect, unflawed people to be parents.

Here’s some of what she wrote:

“The social worker isn’t in search of the world’s greatest parents.  He or she is there to uncover who you are, to get to know you and ultimately prepare you for having children.  So, yes, you’d be wise to embrace the process, but that doesn’t mean you won’t also be embracing some sleepless nights.”

To learn more, visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Adoptions and Foster Care Web page by clicking here.

Coping Skills of Military Families Focus of Research
Baylor University
In a case of students inspiring the professors, two faculty members in Baylor University’s School of Social Work came to their latest area of research partially because of how they witnessed graduate students in the program who are military spouses cope with their challenges.

Parenting Questions
Metro Weekly
As early as 2002, the NASW Delegate Assembly adopted a formal policy supporting ”second-parent adoptions in same-sex households” and stating that ”[l]egislation seeking to restrict foster care and adoption by gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people should be vigorously opposed.”

Jay Noren resigns as Wayne State president
Chicago Tribune
School of Social Work Dean Phyllis Vroom will take over as acting president until an interim president is selected. Noren was hired in August 2008 as Wayne State’s 10th president.

For Domestic Violence Victims, a Little Financial Literacy Goes a Long Way
News from Rutgers
Postmus and her colleague Sara Plummer, an instructor in the School of Social Work, examined the impact of a curriculum, Moving Forward Through Money Management, created by The Allstate Foundation’s Economics Against Abuse Program.

University of Houston’s Meghan Baker named Social Work Student of …
EurekAlert
She personifies the core values in the NASW Code of Ethics, with two values in particular standing out. The first is her dedication to service, volunteering and advocating for three distinct service organizations while undertaking a rigorous full-time dual degree and working part time.

Want to keep your child drug-free? Here are five signs of possible trouble
CNN
“I don’t think most parents go running down the path that you have an emerging addict on your hands anytime they try something,” says Jan Ligon, a member of the National Association of Social Workers.

Doctors say stress over oil spill to linger for years
WWL
We found increased use of mental health services even reported physical health complaints that are more like chronic disease like diabetes and cancer,” said Dr. Larry Palinkas, a professor in the School of Social Work at USC.

State settles suit over boy’s death for $2.1 million
Seattle Times
DSHS said the social worker in charge of the case did not alert police or investigate the abuse claims — something they are required to do after abuse is reported — due to inadequate training.

Troubled times ahead for state Rep. Geoff Simpson
Seattle Post Intelligencer
A social worker for Children’s described the incident as the ex-wife did, according to the police report. The social worker said she saw Simpson “barrel” into the room, push his ex-wife out, shut the door, close the blinds and barricade himself in the room.

Summer Camp Fund: From camper to staffer and a new life
Los Angeles Times
Eddie Ramos recalls the journey from his life as ‘Wolf’ in East LA to graduate of USC’s School of Social Work. RM Pyles Boys Camp drove him along.

Grant hopes to aid teen parents
Grand Island Independent
The centerpiece of the grant is money to hire a half-time social worker, who will be employed by St. Francis Medical Center, but who will be assigned to work one-on-one with teen moms, pregnant teens, teen fathers and male teenagers at Senior High who know they will soon be fathers.

Annette Baran, author, crusader for open adoption, dies at 83
Kansas City Star
By VALERIE J. NELSON Living with a secret is psychologically destructive – that concept was nearly an anthem for Annette Baran, a clinical social worker and psychotherapist who co-wrote “The Adoption Triangle,” an influential 1978 book credited with giving early shape to the open-adoption movement.

 Woman helps North Richland Hills police with domestic incidents
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
D. Lynn Jackson, a professor of social work at the University of North Texas in Denton who works with criminal offenders, likes the Police Department’s approach.

Health care groups still lobbying for hike in Md. alcohol tax
Bizjournals.com
A coalition that includes AARP Maryland, Maryland Assembly of Family Physicians, Maryland Nurses Association, Maryland Citizen’s Health Initiative, American Academy of Pediatrics, Maryland Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and Maryland NAACP have signed on in support of the proposal.

Annette Baran. Photo courtesy of YouTube.

Social worker, psychotherapist and National Association of Social Workers member Annette Baran revolutionized the world of adoption.

Beginning in the 1950s Baran, ACSW, was director of adoptions at what was formerly called Visa Del Mar Child-Care Service in West Los Angeles. According to this obituary in the Los Angeles Times adoptions then were closed, with adoptive parents and adoptees not given information about or contact with birth parents.

However, Baran began to change her mind about this practice when a birth mother wanted to interview the adopted parents before relinquishing her child. Baran arranged the meeting without her agency knowing.

“And I sat there listening to the three of them,”  Baran said in this interview  posted on YouTube.  ”And I thought there is nothing wrong with this. This is really pretty good. Why does everything have to be this secret? What is all that nonsense about?”

Baran went on to become of the nation’s leading advocates for open adoptions and co-author of  “The Adoption Triangle,” a 1978 book that helped shaped the open adoption movement.

Baran died on July 11 at age 83 from complications from an infection. However, her legacy lives on.

The research from Baran and others proved adopted people who are connected to birth families feel more normal and whole and birth parents are relieved of lingering anxiety over what happened to the children they gave up.

“She became the Joan of Arc of open adoption,” her son Joshua said. “To the adoptees, she was their hero. At conferences, they would cheer her and weep.”

Charles Ensley, Labor Leader and Union Critic, Dies at 69
New York Times
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE Charles Ensley, who led the union representing New York City social workers for 26 years and was a forceful critic of union corruption, died on Friday in Manhattan. He was 69.

Pro-Choice and Adoption: Outside the Culture Wars
Huffington Post (blog)
The Adoption Access Network is on the cusp of launching a campaign to “make adoption a subject that patients and social workers alike feel more comfortable broaching in abortion clinics.”

Study to explore influences on women offenders
Louisville Courier-Journal
“I would go home at night and those women were staying there,” said Golder, now an associate professor at the University of Louisville’s Kent School of Social Work.

Unemployed are losing some federal assistance
Baltimore Sun
Social workers answer the phones and direct consumers to hundreds of public and private programs depending on the need, says Chuck Tildon, vice president of external affairs.

New breed of med schools may transform healthcare
MiamiHerald.com
The teams include students from four disciplines that often don’t work closely enough — medical, nursing, public health and social work.

Jourdan specializes in finding the right families to adopt children and become foster parents. She practices what she preaches. Jourdan and husband have adopted three children — 20-year-old Cynthia, Julian, aged six, and Julian’s two-year cousin Adrian.

“If you have any sort of concern or question or problem going on, and she has any way of figuring out information for you, she will go and keep hunting until she can hand you something that will help,” said Jenny Vial, a friend of Jourdan who also adopted a child.

To learn more about how social workers such as Jourdan participate in the adoption process and help foster children, visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Adoptions and Foster Care Web page by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of AskMen.com

A study done by researchers from two social work schools shows gay couples are just as fit to adopt as heterosexual ones, according to this article in the Ottawa Citizen.

Paige Averett, an assistant professor of social work at East Carolina University, Blace Nalavany also from East Carolina, and Scott Ryan, dean of the University of Texas School of Social Work Arlington and National Association of Social Workers member, interviewed 1,400 couples from around the nation, including 155 gay and lesbian parents.

They found sexual orientation had no bearing on the emotional development of adopted children. What mattered far more to the children’s well being was whether parents were satisfied with the adoption process, had a stable income and functioned well as a family.

To learn more about gay and lesbian adoptions and find out how social workers help families adopt, visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Web page on this issue by clicking here.

Suzette Martinez Standring: Adoption’s rarely revealed wounds
Lincoln Courier
Yet there are unspoken wounds for adoptees, adoptive parents and birth mothers, according to Joe Soll, LCSW, DAPA, who is a New York psychotherapist and adoption expert with more than 25 years experience.

Postpartum psychosis can be tragic when untreated
Denver Post
Postpartum depression is caused by dramatic hormonal changes after childbirth sometimes compounded by a personal or family history of depression or anxiety, said Joan Getz-Heller, a licensed clinical social worker in Denver.

Budget ax falls: DC lays off child welfare workers
Washington Post
Social worker aides, who play a vital support role at the agency, were among the hardest hit with all 57 of them losing their jobs.

DC child welfare agency lays off more than 100
Washington Post
A total of 115 jobs were eliminated, with junior social workers, known as social work associates, and facility monitors losing their jobs, along with the 57 social service assistants.

Social workers aren’t getting rich
RocNow
The Federation of Social Workers is the oldest public sector social worker union in the United States and represents 900 human service professionals in Monroe County. We have watched the endless media coverage on public employees with great interest, and we would like to share some observations from the personal perspective of our members.

Troubled system works, and three kids get a new dad
Los Angeles Times
For two years, social workers from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services guided the family toward stability. Social workers arranged counseling, helped transfer the children to smaller schools and assisted in moving the family from a Panorama City enclave so dangerous, caseworkers were scared to park on visits.

Check out this comprehensive CBS News story on the issue by clicking here.

Q: Social workers, do you think foreign adoptions should be more carefully monitored?

Tigelaar’s latest project is “Life Unexpected,” which airs Monday nights at 9 p.m. Eastern on the CW. She is creator and executive producer of the drama. “Life Unexpected” is about “Lux,” a foster child who reconnects with her birth parents and finds they have more growing up to do than she does.

Social workers are often at the forefront of helping foster children get counseling and find permanent homes. So SocialWorkersSpeak.org talked to Tigelaar about what motivated her to create “Life Unexpected,” which premiered this month and is already garnering favorable critic reviews:

Q: What prompted you to do a series on a foster child?  Were you a foster child yourself?

A: I wasn’t in foster care myself, but growing up as an adopted kid I was always kind of interested in that subject –foster care, orphanages, etc.  I really wanted to tell a story about a kid who never had a permanent home, who never felt truly settled or wanted.  I felt so wanted by my parents (my adoptive parents) and have still dealt with feelings of rejection and abandonment, of holding on to people so tightly, being fearful that they’ll leave. I can’t imagine how I would feel if I never truly felt wanted.  So that’s the story I wanted to tell: a story of a girl who didn’t feel wanted and never had parents and basically was in this world alone.

Additionally, I feel like there isn’t much of a voice for foster kids, for what they have to endure, for what they have to go through at such a young age. I know we do the TV version of it but I thought it was a group that was underrepresented.

Q: What issues and experiences will “Lux” have in the opening episodes?

I think one of the biggest things is feeling torn.  She’s been put back in the custody of great people (maybe not great parents yet but great people) while her friends have not.  Tasha is still in foster care or at a group home, while Bug and Gavin have aged out of the system but have little support.  The four of them were supposed to be a family together but now Lux has a new one.  I think she feels incredibly guilty, not wanting to pass up this opportunity but also not wanting to leave them behind.

Q: Social workers often work with foster children.  Did you consult with social workers or other professionals when developing the series?

A: Yes absolutely.  We certainly check with experts on everything but sometimes there are conflicting opinions or different states have different ways of doing things.  To me, it’s the foster care element that makes this show so unique so it’s important that we’re able to tell those stories in a way that’s palatable for a CW show and our audience while being true to reality.  I will say that the stories that involve foster care are some of the stories that touch me the most.  Look for a story in the seventh episode between Lux and Tasha that just breaks my heart.

(Photo: Inset: Liz Tigelaar, creator and executive producer of “Life Unexpected.” The program stars from left Shiri Appleby, Britt Robertson, and Kristoffer Polaha. Photo courtesy of the CW.)

For more information on how social workers help children in foster care, check out the National Association of Social Workers “Help Starts Here” Adoptions and Foster Care Web page by clicking here.

From left, Kristoffer Polaha as Baze, Britt Robertson as Lux, and Shiri Appleby as Cate. Photo by Michael Courtney / The CW.

“Lux” (actress Britt Robertson) is a 16-year-old foster child who has been moved from one “crappy” home to another and wants to be emancipated.

So she must find her birth parents “Baze” (Kristoffer Polaha), and “Cate” (Shiri Appleby) to sign the paperwork. However, Baze and Cate end up getting joint custody of Lux and Lux discovers her birth parents still have a lot of growing up to do themselves. 

“You can’t be anyone’s parent’s,” she says. “You need parents.”

That is the basic plot of “Life Unexpected,” a CW drama premiering Monday at 9 p.m. The program tackles issues social workers handle daily, including adoption and what happens to older foster children. This leads to our question:

Q: Is the plot of “Life Unexpected” is realistic? Do older foster children sometimes reconnect with their birth parents or is the program painting a fairy tale scenario?

For more information on how social workers help young people such as ”Lux” visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Adoptions and Foster Care Web page by clicking here.