Haitian children. Photo courtesy of the Andora Project.

Cheers to PBS for this article and TV segment on Rachel Pierre, a Haitian-born social worker who was educated in the United States but decided to set up an organization to help children in her native country.

Haiti has no child welfare system and unattached children are at risk of being sent abroad by child traffickers.

Some Haitian parents who cannot provide for their offspring also send their children to other families where they do light housework in exchange for an education.

However some children in these “restavek” arrangements end up abused or neglected by host families.

The Haitian earthquake a year ago prompted Pierre to make her program a reality. She quit her child welfare job with Washington, D.C. and founded the Andora Project, an organization that uses collaborations and programs to build a social work system in Haiti.

The U.S. State Department has already used Andora Project recommendations in its human trafficking report.

To learn more about how social workers get involved in international affairs visit the National Association of Social Workers’ International Social Work web site by clicking here.And to learn how social workers help vulnerable children visit NASW’s “Help Starts Here” Kids and Families web site by clicking here.

Anita Barbee. Photo courtesy of the Courier-Journal.

Budget cuts, staff reductions and heavy caseloads are hampering the ability of Kentucky social service workers to protect children, according to this article in the Courier-Journal.

Kentucky has about 1,300 social service workers, down from 2,000 a decade ago. At the same time workers are under increasing scrutiny over recent child death cases.

The situation has gotten so bad some workers are breaking down on the job, suffering from health problems or just quitting, observers said.

“It is a crisis,” said Anita Barbee, a professor at the University of Louisville’s Kent School of Social Work and a National Association of Social Workers member. ”It’s the constant erosion of the workforce, and cuts in services that have gotten us to this crisis.”

To learn more about how social workers help young people in crisis, visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Kids & Families Website by clicking here.

Johns Hopkins University and the University of Minnesota are helping the agency create the screening tool.

Ten to 20 percent of the nation’s children are exposed to domestic violence, according to researchers. Information social workers gather through the questionnaire could be used in court to help judges decide whether families need counseling or other treatment.

“There is no specific protocol, and particularly for the really young kids, on how you assess the level of domestic violence,” said Kathleen King, a supervisor with Child Protective Services. “Social workers now get bits and pieces of that information, but it’s not all pulled together.”

Social workers help young people overcome life’s hurdles. To learn more visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Kids & Families Website by clicking here.

Taking on bullying — on and off school grounds
Marshall Independent
“ABC started in the high school, basically with a lot of junior high kids getting on board with it,” said Deann Reese, licensed independent social worker at Minnesota Schools. “It’s totally run by them. A lot right now, is just raising awareness of bullying and what to look for and who to report to.”

Five Hot Careers for 2012
Yahoo
Career # 5 – Social Worker: If you’re eager to assist others and serve those in need, a career in social work could give you the fresh start you’re looking for in 2012.

New Report Finds That Risk of Unemployment Varies by College Major
Sacramento Bee
Median earnings among recent college graduates vary from $55000 among Engineering majors to $30000 in the Arts, as well as Psychology and Social Work. People who make technology are better off than people who use technology.

When eating healthy turns obsessive
CNN
“Body dysmorphia will make you miserable, and those with orthorexia tend not to have that,” says Alan Kaufman, a licensed clinical social worker who works with patients with eating disorders at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, in Berkeley, Calif.

How To Raise Responsible Kids
Huffington Post
“Kids need to feel that they are a part of something larger than themselves,” says Ruth Ettenberg Freeman, licensed clinical social worker and founder of Positive Parenting.

OU professor faces child sex complaints
NewsOK.com
The professor has not been charged in Cleveland County District Court, but an investigation is continuing, police say NORMAN — A University of Oklahoma social work professor has been arrested on complaints of rape and lewd acts with a child, police said Tuesday.

Docs won’t benefit from prevention cuts
The Hill
The just-released House Republicans’ payroll tax plan aims to increase doctors’ Medicare reimbursement by dramatically cutting the Prevention and Public Health Fund by more than two-thirds. We must address the rates that Medicare pays doctors, but doing so by raiding the prevention fund is a short-sighted solution that will cost money, not save it. Quality, affordable medical care and community prevention work hand-in-hand. Congress must find another way.

Gymboree Instructor’s Death Fuels Debate
Kingstowne Patch
In the book “A Good Friend for Bad Times:  Helping Others Through Grief,” by Deborah E. Bowen, MSW and Susan L. Strickler, the authors offer these tips on how to support children through grief.

Images of hungry children stick with social worker
Kansas City Star
Gina Harrison will never forget some of the images of childhood hunger she has seen in 16 years as a school social worker. Like the two young brothers stealing snacks from a cafeteria. When she reached the boys’ father, Harrison learned he was a single parent working hard to provide enough for the family.

What a difference 3 decades makes
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
As scientists and psychologists learn more about how infants’ and children’s brains and bodies work, it’s changing what parents know about bringing up baby, and often, says Beth Minick, a social worker who teaches parenting classes at the Women’s Care Center on Webster Street in Fort Wayne.

Strategies to Stay Safe from Sexual Assault
Mission Local
Chelsea Dodgen, a clinical social worker at UCSF’s Trauma Recovery Center, says that a targeted woman may help or hurt her situation by talking on the phone, depending on the situation. On one hand, the person could report the crime to whoever is on the line, but the phone is itself a distraction that could allow a predator to sneak up on their victim. The best strategy might be to stay off the phone, but pretend to call someone if you feel threatened.

We already know the reasons for child deaths
Lexington Herald Leader
Social workers, though not all employees of the department, are graduates of accredited schools of social work and are bound by a social work code of ethics that strictly prohibits the release of client information as well as those associated with the client even after the client has died.

Once-homeless Miami man earns master’s degree
msnbc.com
By Christina Hernandez After several arrests, drug addiction and being homeless, a Miami man has overcome the odds to graduate from Florida International University with a master’s degree in social work. Out of thousands of graduates, only one — 50-year-old Aaron Alvin Sr. — got a standing ovation at Tuesday night’s graduation ceremony in Miami.

Senators Ask Whether All Adults Should Be Required to Report Child Abuse
National Journal
Lawmakers asked Tuesday whether all adults—not just people who work closely with children—should be legally obligated to report incidents of child abuse to law-enforcement or child-welfare authorities.

Number of homeless vets down 12 percent
Florida Today
“They each have a case worker that helps them with problems that led to homelessness,” said Tony Ingram, a social worker supervisor at the Viera VA Outpatient Clinic. “It’s not just putting them in housing.” Ingram said there are 80 beds supported by the VA in Cocoa, 20 in Melbourne and 30 in Titusville to help the homeless transition into permanent housing.

UT Offering Online Training on Civil Rights Law for State Employees
Tennessee Today
KNOXVILLE—The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Social Work is piloting a new online learning management system that allows state employees to fulfill civil rights training requirements as well as other mandated courses and assessments.

It’s the thought that counts
Gothenburg Times
“The best gift of all is the gift of time,” says Tish Habe, social work director for Hilltop Estates. “It might mean reading devotions or playing the piano or simply sitting and holding someone’s hand. What older people want most is the gift of time.

Instead the NASW Kentucky Chapter said in this article that the public should focus on the factors that led to the childrens’ injuries or deaths.

“Our response should target what we already know — frontline workers in Kentucky carry caseloads well above the national recommended number, have low salaries and high turnover rates, and are not required to be degreed or licensed social workers,” the chapter said in statement. 

The full NASW Kentucky Chapter press release is available at the chapter’s Website. Go there by clicking here.

Gov. Steve Beshear announced in November the state would release records of children who have been killed or nearly killed due to abuse or neglect. However the records that were released were heavily censored, with the names of children who were killed redacted and the names of counties where incidents occurred deleted.

The National Association of Social Workers is part of the National Coalition to End Child Abuse Deaths. The coalition supports new bicameral legislation from Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Reps. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) and Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) that could make significant impact toward reducing fatalities from child abuse and neglect. To learn more about the coalition click here. You can also learn more about how social workers protect children by visiting NASW’s “Help Starts Here” Kids & Families Web page by clicking here.

Richard Dawahare

Cheers to Kentucky attorney Richard Dawahare for urging the state to hire more social workers in his column in the Lexington Courier-Journal.

Dawahare said part of the reason Kentucky has an absymal child fatality rate is that social workers have caseloads almost twice the recommended federal standard of 18 to 20 per worker. Dawahare said there is no way overstressed workers can protect all the children in their care.

“Social workers are Kentucky’s front line soldiers in the war against child abuse and neglect,” he wrote. “The vast majority of them are tireless servants to their calling.”

Dawahare’s column comes at a time when social workers are not getting good press in the state.

A judge recently ruled that caseworkers failed to properly protect Amythz Dye, a 9-year-old who was beaten to death by her 18-year-old adopted brother. However, news headlines mistakenly said the caseworkers were trained and licensed social workers.

Gov. Steve Beshear also ordered the release of records of children who were killed or almost killed due to abuse or neglect, an action that has raised concern among social workers.

To learn more about how social workers protect children visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Kids & Families Website by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Bee Media.

Contrary to popular belief, suicide is a problem that can occur even among elementary school-aged children, according to a new Temple University study.

University researchers surveyed more than 400 school social workers. Researchers found most suicide threats, hospitalizations, attempts and deaths happen among high school students.

However, the problem is also very apparent in elementary schools.

Forty percent of social workers in elementary schools said they had known of a suicide attempt that resulted in a hospitalization while seven percent said the suicidal child died.

“What’s true is that adolescents are more likely to make attempts, but kids at the elementary school level are making suicide attempts, and some of them are being hospitalized for suicidal behavior,” National Association of Social Workers and Temple University assistant social work professor Jonathan Singer said.

You can read a news report about the study on the WHYY Website by clicking here.

Singer developed a Website with the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program that he hopes will be a virtual support community for people who have been affected by suicide. To learn more click here. And to find out how social workers try to prevent suicide visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Suicide Prevention Website by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Home Post.

Public schools should try to help ease the burdens faced by children of military families during war, including frequent deployments and absent parents, according to a research review from the USC School of Social Work, San Diego State University and Bar-Ilan University in Israel.

“Some of the recent studies that have come out show that the deployments are really, really causing tremendous impact on the children,” said National Association of Social Workers member Ron Astor, DSW, said in this article posted on the Southern California Public Radio Website.

Astor collaborated on a video that demonstrates what military children experience. One child in the video talks about being home alone with no one to help him with homework while another speaks about moving seven or eight times as his parent took on new assignments.

Astor said the research review shows public school teachers, counselors and even classmates should give specific support to children of the military.

 Only 86,000 of 1.2 million children of military service members attend Department of Defense schools. Most attend public or charter schools.

To learn more about how social workers help people in the military visit NASW’s “Help Starts Here” Veterans Affairs Website by clicking here.

Charley Nell Llewellyn. Photo courtesy of the News-Enterprise.

Award-winning social worker Charley Nell Llewellyn died this Monday in Hardin County, Kentucky at age 84.

Llewellyn, a former county school social worker, was a champion of children and women’s rights. Before retiring in 1987 she was named Social Worker of the Year by the Kentucky chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and Kentucky School Social Worker of the Year.

“She was one of the most dedicated, compassionate people who worked with children,” said Denny Duggins, who worked with Llewellyn in the school system.

To read her full obituary in the News-Enterprise click here.

Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times.

Parent should set clear rules for trick-or-treaters, including how much candy they can collect and how much they can eat, assistant social work professor Dorian Traube said in this article in the Los Angeles Times.

“Any time you have an expectation for your child’s behavior, you need to prepare them for that,”  said Traube, who teaches at the USC School of Social Work.

Traube was one of several experts interviewed in the article about Halloween tips. The others included a nutrition specialist and a former dental hygienist.

Social workers help young people overcome life’s hurdles. To learn more visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Kids & Families Website by clicking here.

Jobs Act has elements all can support
Idaho Press-Tribune
“It is time for Idaho’s congressional delegation to come together with the Democrats in Congress and support passage of the Jobs Act.” —Delmar Stone is the executive director for the Idaho Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

Social workers laid off by Jackson Public Schools ask district not to privatize jobs
The Jackson Citizen Patriot – MLive.com
Kathryn Fortune-Gallagher, who was a social worker at Bennett Elementary School, said if the district hires social workers who work for a company the positions would become a revolving door because the workers will always be looking for something better and not be “invested in the district.”

Combat veterans invited to join new Tahlequah support group
Cherokee Phoenix
Tulsa Vet Center Social Worker Matthew Tiger works with combat veterans and their families to help these veterans readjust. He is currently forming a new combat veterans’ support group in Tahlequah and is asking veterans to contact him.

The main lesson from a down job market? Stay in school. As long as you can.
The Washington Post
Sadly, the degrees in least demand — and that pay the least — lead to jobs that help other people the most. Counseling, psychology and social work are among these.

After Abduction of 8 Children, Sense That Mother Was Desperate
The New York Times
“Imagine if someone took your children away from you,” Forestdale’s executive director, Anstiss Agnew, said Wednesday from the leafy campus where the abduction took place. “What would you do to get those children back?”

Growing service offers help to those who struggle
Bucyrus Telegraph Forum
Kenzie Klamfoth, Licensed Social Worker, front; Barb Wirebaugh, Licensed Independent Social Worker and Supervisor; and Jean Ollis, Licensed Independent Social Worker, in front of Affinity HealthWorks’ new location at 106 E. Warren St. in Bucyrus.

Social Work advisory board establishes endowment to support family violence …
CisionWire (press release)
ARLINGTON — The UT Arlington School of Social Work Advisory Council has created a new, $250000 endowed professorship focused on issues of family violence in honor of the Arlington police officer and University alumna who was killed in the line of duty last year.

UPDATE: Atlanta Hawks’ Etan Thomas, Former Mayor Wilson Goode to Serve on Juvenile Justice Panel
PRLog
With an alarming number of African American youth ensnared in the juvenile justice system, U.S. Rep. Edolphus “Ed” Towns (NY-10) has convened a diverse group of leaders to explore solutions to this growing crisis. Entitled, “An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Re-entry Programs,” the panel will explore the juvenile justice system in America at a time when critics say it neither reforms young offenders nor protects the public.

Social workers busy getting the Christmas Cheer Toy Shop ready. Photo courtesy of the Moultrie Observer.

Cheers to the Moultrie Observer in Georgia for this article about school social workers who are pushing to get a charity toy shop well stocked before the holidays.

With the economy still in poor shape and unemployment high, Colquitt County school social workers said they expect demand to be 30 percent higher this year.

“This year is going to be a hard Christmas for a lot of people,” said Sandy Hooks, a social worker at Cox Elementary School. “ Money’s going to be tight. Rent’s not going down. The price of food’s not going down. Gas is not going down. Everything is up.”

To learn more about how social workers help provide for the physical and emotional needs of  young people visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Schools and Communities Webpage by clicking here.

Turner, who lives in Pittsfield, said his Raising Heroes Group group is vital because physical and sexual abuse of young people is common. Roughly one out of four girls and one out of six girls will be sexually abused or assaulted by the time they are 18 years old,  he said.

“Though we’re always trying to find ways to empower people who have been abused or caring for someone who is abused, the best ideas of how to handle situations come from each other,” he said.

To learn more about how social workers help young people overcome life’s hurdles, visit NASW’s “Help Starts Here” Kids & Families Website by clicking here.

From left: Betty Momjian, head counselor Pete Babnis, and social worker Ben Kauffman discuss shcool discipline. Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Examiner.

Cheers to the San Francisco Examiner for this article about a program aimed at reducing the number of children suspended or expelled from school.

Using the “restorative practices” approach, schools ask troubled youth what is causing them to act out. For instance, one child who was twice suspended from school said one class made him feel dumb. So he was moved to another class and is performing well.

Not surprisingly, social worker Ben Kauffman is involved in the program.

“It’s people talking to each other; that’s all it is,” said Pete Babnis, head counselor at Herbert Hoover Middle School. “This gives voice to the person that’s been hurt as well.”

To learn more about how social workers help children get a better education, visit the National Association of Social Workers’ Schools and Communities Web page by clicking here.

Makenzie, a beauty pageant contestant featured on TLC's Toddlers and Tiaras. Photo courtesy of TLC.

What is wrong with child beauty pageants?

Vernon Wiehe, DSW, professor emeritus at the University of Kentucky College of Social Work, wrote about  why he dislikes such pagents in a critique of the TLC program “Toddlers & Tiaras” in this column in Kentucky.com.

Wiehe, who is an expert on family relationships and family violence, said the pageants are not simple dress up games for children and in fact sexualize children. It is also obvious from watching Toddlers & Tiaras that some children do not like participating and are forced to do so by parents.

“The sexualization of young children sends a conflicting message to the child and a dangerous message to adults,” Wiehe said. “To the child, a message is given that sexuality — expressed in clothing, makeup and certain postures — is appropriate and even something to exploit.”

To find out more about how social workers help young children overcome life’s hurdles, visit the National Association of Social Workers’ Help Starts Here Kids & Families Web page by clicking here.

Cavell, a student at Wayne State University, joined the board of a local charter school. ”I want to be a part of the change that I want to see,” he said.

Cavell also has a nonprofit called the Pay It Forward Initiative, which helps provide jobs for inner city kids. Although he is just 20 years old we think he is a great social worker in the making!

To learn more about how social workers help young people and communities visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Schools and Communities Web page by clicking here.

The article mentions the work social workers are doing to help children who are living in cars and have parents who are poor but still earn enough income so children cannot get free breakfast and lunches at schools. One of these students would go to the library during lunch so they would not smell food they could not afford to buy  in the cafeteria.

“It’s huge,” Dr. Ruth Crawford, director of student services at Hempfield School District, said about the county totals. “It is very different than 10 years ago. It’s insane.”

Social workers help young people overcome life’s hurdles. To learn more visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Kids & Families Web page by clicking here.

One of them was a teenager who was thriving in her foster home and did not want to return to her birth mother, who repeatedly relapsed into drug addiction. Southeastern Connecticut Center for Juvenile Justice successfully fought to keep her with foster parents.

Another person they helped was a disabled teenager who was placed in the home of his sister rather than foster parents. The lawyers and social workers proved that with his disability it was better the teen be placed with a familiar person.

Despite its successes the state-funded center closed on June 30, the victim of budget cuts.

“Going into the job you hoped things work out and people would be an ideal team but when I got there it was unbelievable how everyone meshed together,” said Kristine Johnson, a social worker who used to work at the center. “We had each other’s back. The attorneys always made themselves available for us. As corny as it sounds …I’m going to truly miss everybody, my co-workers as well as the kids. It was an ideal workplace.”

100 Things to Do This Summer
Chicago Parent
“For lots of kids, summer is just an extension of their structured, school-year routines. And that means that they are missing out on some of the opportunities that the summer break has to offer,” says Anne Byrne, a licensed clinical social worker in private practice and a counselor at St. Clements and the Alphonsus Academy and Center for the Arts in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.

Nancy Mariano, Regional Director of Friends of Karen
Patch.com
We have a part time English speaking social worker and a full time bilingual social worker. You can imagine the family that is going through the horrors of just being diagnosed with a life threatening illness and then they can’t speak to anyone in their native language.

Behind the Career: Finding her place in the nonprofit world
The Washington Post
Eventually, after social service experience in the public and private sectors, she decided the nonprofit world was where she belonged. Now she is leading an organization that serves her life’s passion: helping disadvantaged families.

Emotional scars left by tornadoes could linger; American Red Cross providing …
MassLive.com
Those who lived through the devastation of their homes and neighborhoods may just now be dealing with the accumulated stresses of their tornado-related experiences, says Dorothy A. Brier, a licensed clinical social worker who has been volunteering her services here in Western Massachusetts since June 11.

LPC? LMFT? LCSW? Making sense of some family therapy options
News Record and Sentinel
LCSW stands for Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Again, you will need to inquire as to their specific training matches your needs.

Improving Client Relationship Skills Gaining Priority For Wealth …
Registered Rep.
A licensed clinical social worker, Shunk works with individual advisors on developing listening and empathy skills. “Empathy is about entering the emotional world of the client,” he explained.

Are we so worn out from life that we’ve forgotten how to be kind …
Palm Beach Post
That brings us to Linda Lipshutz, the licensed clinical social worker who practices in Palm Beach Gardens and agreed to discuss our nation’s collective mental health in the name of freelance journalism.

A counselor and a scholar
UMN News
Six years later, she has bachelor’s degrees in child psychology and American Indian studies, and this spring she completed her master’s degree in social work. By doing so, she became the first Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Scholar to earn a degree with help from the scholarship program begun three years ago.

Creator of Comedy Central’s ‘Ugly Americans’ is sitting pretty
Kansas City Star
The show follows Department of Integration social worker Mark Lilly (voiced by Matt Oberg) and his creature cohorts as they help new citizens – both human and others – adapt to life in the Big Apple.