An organ transplantation. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times.

Social Worker Richard Lanz had a tough job to do, according to this moving  Los Angeles Times article.

A 19-year-old Mexican immigrant had suffered an aneurysm while playing soccer. He was brain dead but his body was kept alive on life support.

Lanz, LCSW, knew the lives of several people could be saved if the young man’s kidney’s heart and other organs were donated.  The man’s eyes could also enable another person to see and his skin could be used to help burn victims.

However, he had to convince the father, who had not seen his son in three years, that his son could be a hero even in death.

“I explained how that worked, and he looked truly amazed,” wrote Lanz, who worked for 30 years in the emergency room at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, Calif. “I could relate. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I am still awed by the concept of organ transplantation.”

Read the full story to see what happened.

To find out more about how social worker help clients live healthier lives and deal with death and dying visit the National Association of Social Workers “Help Starts Here” Health & Wellness Website by clicking here.

Emily Watson in "Appropriate Adult." Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times.

British actress Emily Watson will again play a social worker in “Approprite Adult,” a British made-for-television that will premiere in the United States on the Sundance Channel on December 10.

The film is based on true events.

Watson portrays real-life Janet Leach, a social worker in training who becomes an “appropriate adult” for serial killer Fred West. In Great Britain, an appropriate adult is a social worker, parent or guardian who accompanies a minor or vulnerable adult to police interviews.

West told Leach  gruesome details of some of the murders he and his wife committed that she could not share with authorities due to privacy rules.

But the charming West also developed an intense relationship with Leach. In Leach maintained this friendship after the police interviews ended and even visited West in prison and did his laundry.

West committed suicide while in custody in 1995. He was charged with 12 murders as well as rape, abduction and child cruelty.

“It’s so bizarre,” Watson said about Leach’s relationship with West in this Los Angeles Times Interview. “I can’t understand it.”

Watson also starred as social work heroine Margaret Humphreys in the film “Oranges and Sunshine,” which was released in the United States this fall. SocialWorkersSpeak.org met Humphreys at the October New York City premiere of that film. To read about that click here.

Photo courtesy of SAGE.

Special intervention and prevention strategies should be developed to help elderly LGBT people, according to a study from the University of Washington School of Social Work.

According to this article in HealthCanal.com, elderly LGBT individuals are more prone to suffer from depression, disabilities and loneliness than heterosexuals of the same age group. They are also more likely to binge drink and smoke.

National Association of Social Workers member and University of Washington professor Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen, DSW, ACSW, led the study. Researchers surveyed 2,560 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people aged 50-95 across the nation. The population of this group is expected to double to more than 4 million by 2030.

“The higher rates of aging and health disparities among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender older adults is a major concern for public health,” Fredriksen-Goldsen said.

Fredriksen-Goldsen presented some of the study’s findings on Nov. 9 at a Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus in Washington, D.C.

Social workers are committed to equal treatment for all, including LGBT individuals. To learn more visit NASW’s Diversity and Equity Web page by clicking here. Social workers also advocate for better healthcare for the elderly. To learn more visit NASW’s “Help Starts Here” Seniors & Aging Website by clicking 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.

A 17-year-old jailed for prostitution reads a Danielle Steele novel in jail in Clark County where Las Vegas is located. The child allegedly had a history of abuse. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times.

Cheers to the Los Angeles Times for this profile of social worker Marisela Quintero, who does the heroic job of  saving teenagers from a life of prostitution in Las Vegas.

The job is especially hard because pimps used psychology, threats and other tricks to keep teenagers enslaved. Quintero has rescued some girls only to have them go back to the streets to sell their bodies.

And one of her clients was murdered.

The article follows Quintero’s interaction with one child prostitute in particular, 16-year-old “Maria.” Maria eventually decides to leave prostitution, opting to become a dancer to support her son.

For Quintero, the only social worker in the county assigned primarily to child prostitutes, having Maria become an exotic dancer is the lesser of two evils. At least she is not dead on the street, murdered by her pimp or some cusThanks to National Association of Social Workers member Loretta Lavine for telling us about this article.

Social workers often help young people overcome life’s challenges, including sexual abuse and neglect. To learn more visit NASW’s “Help Starts Here” Kids & Families Website by clicking here.

Municipal workers in Rio de Janeiro arrest alleged drug addicts found sleeping on the streets. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times.

To address its rampant drug addiction and homelessness problem Brazil is using teams of police and social workers to round up young people and incarcerate them in mandatory drug treatment programs, according to this Los Angeles Times article.

Critics say the program violates rights of these minors and Brazil is merely doing it to clear its streets before the World Cup soccer tournament and the Olympics. Adults who are arrested have the right to leave and soon do, leaving mostly children and teens in the program.

“It’s not easy for us to go into these communities, because of all the resistance we encounter, and because this program is new and we’re still not entirely sure what will happen to the children after they finish it,” said Daphne Braga, a social worker.

“We just really hope we’re doing the right thing for these kids.”

Q: Social workers, what do you think about Brazil’s decision to force people into drug treatment?

Pregnant women go to a dolphin treatment session in Lima, Peru. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times.

Chris Woolston looked at whether therapy with dolphins can help autistic children, pregnant women and people with stress and other mental disorders in this Los Angeles Times article.

The article said there are social workers involved in this practice, including Deena Hoagland, a licensed social worker and executive director of Island Dolphin Care in Key Largo, Fla.

Hoagland said dolphins do not have magical powers but children and adults gain confidence by doing exercises with them. She said her nonprofit organization also uses traditional treatment measures.

Q: Do you think dolphin treatment is credible?

Sheriff Lee Baca

In an unprecedented move, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca wants sheriff’s deputies to supervise parolees, a job usually done by social workers, according to this Los Angeles Times article.

Q: Is anyone following this issue? How are social workers in California responding?

Dori Keys, right, a bartender at VFW Post 1503 in Dale City, Va., helped Vietnam vet Bruce Yeager deal with a leg amputation. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times.

Could bartenders be the key to helping veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and other mental and physical ailments get treatment?

National Association of Social Workers member Keith Anderson thinks so, according to this article in the Los Angeles Times.

Anderson, an assistant professor of social work at Ohio State  University, is author of a pilot study called “Healing Tonic.” That study looked at the family-like relationships that often grow among bartenders at Veterans of Foreign Wars posts and patrons of these establishments.

Anderson said with a little training bartenders could  be able to refer troubled veterans to mental and health services.

“In social work, you try to meet the client where they are,” Anderson said. “If that happens to be a bar, then that’s where the first line of help needs to be.”

To learn more about how social workers help people in the military and their families, visit the National Association of Social Workers “Help Starts Here” Veterans Affairs Web page by clicking here.

Petty Officer Sarax, a computer simulation used to train social workers to help soldiers suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses. Photo courtesy of USC School Social Work.

The USC School of Social Work is using computer simulations to train social workers on how to interact with military personnel who may be suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, brain injury, depression and other mental health issues, according to this article in the Los Angeles Times. 

“Petty Officer Sarax,” the computer simulated soldier, says statements and uses facial expressions that can help students identify PTSD, the article said.

The article said there is a growing demand for social workers and other behavioral health professionals to treat soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army said 12 percent of these positions are vacant and the Navy, which also provides services to the Marine Corps., said 13 percent are unfilled.

However, the article also said behavioral health professionals face high burnout.

Did you know the Department of Veterans Affairs employs the greatest number of social workers with master’s degrees. To learn more about the services social workers provide the men and women in the armed forces, visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Veterans Affairs Web page by clicking here.

Contestants on The Biggest Loser, one of many weight loss reality TV shows.

Brendan Borrell, a Los Angeles Times reporter, was doing an article on weight loss reality shows and found SocialWorkersSpeak.org had already assembled a panel of social workers to talk about that issue (click here to read their discussion).

So he picked one of our panelists, National Association of Social Workers member Lorette Lavine, to talk about the pro side of weight loss reality shows.  Lavine is a social worker at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago, a nurse, adjunct instructor at the Loyola University School of Social Work, and adjunct faculty member at the university.

On the con side was Lynn Grefe, chief executive of the National Eating Disorders Association.

To read the full Los Angeles Times article click here.

Lorette Lavine

Lavine’s interview is an example of one thing NASW is trying to accomplish through SocialWorkersSpeak.org. That is to position social workers as experts who can comment on media and entertainment industry trends. Lorette, thanks for your great work on the behalf of social workers!

To learn more about how social workers help clients improve their health, click here to visit NASW’s Help Starts Here Healthy Lifestyles Web page. And did you know one of the most well known contestants on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” is social worker Shay Sorrells. To read her interview on SocialWorkersSpeak.org, click here.

Lynn Grefe is the chief executive of the National Eating Disorders Assn

Lorette Lavine is a nurse and clinical social worker who treats obese patients in the dialysis center at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood, Ill.

Ted Williams

Ted Williams, the man with the “Golden Voice,” was homeless but is now landing sports announcing and voice-over deals.

Lorette Lavine, a social worker at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago, adjunct instructor at the Loyola University School of Social Work, and adjunct faculty member at the university, wrote on Facebook that she blogged about Williams. To read Lavine’s opinion, click here.

Others weighed in on Facebook. Here are some of the comments:

“I would recommend long term involvement in drug and alcohol treatment on an outpatient basis, including 12-step meetings, a strong support system, and probably some mental health therapy to deal with the myriad of changes he’s experienced recently.” – Steve Salomonsen

“You don’t just go from homeless to home owner. Money isn’t going to solve his core issues. He isn’t Eddie Murphy and this isn’t “Trading Places” I am happy for Mr. Golden Throat but now what about the other 43,000 homeless in Tampa alone that aren’t so photogenic?” – Shaw Eberhardt

 ”I agree with Steve on plan of action. This enormous change in his life is dangerous to his alleged sobriety of 3 years. He will need people around him that are going to be honest with him because they aren’t getting something from him & his new celebrity. From what I understand he hadn’t seen his daughter for many years. In TV land, you reunite with a hug & some tears, but in real life it takes time to reconnect & work through long-term issues between family.” — Nicole Taylor James

Police this week briefly detained Ted Williams after he got into an argument with his daughter. To read more about the incident in the Los Angeles Times, click here.

Several articles have mentioned that Williams’ new found fame could cause him to relapse. To read more about these concerns click here to read a CNN article and click here to read a Woman’s Day commentary on Williams’ new found fame and continued family problems.

Social workers help people overcome addictions, mental illness and homelessness every day. To learn more about the myriad services social workers provide, visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Web page by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Times.

The Target store in the gritty Compton section of Los Angeles hired a social worker to help employees deal with problems they face when off duty, including domestic violence and homelessness.

Target now has social workers in 69 stores.

Social worker Saundra Edwards, 64, visits the Compton location at least twice weekly, walking the aisles and talking to staff, according to this article in the Los Angeles Times.

One employee who appreciates her help is Audra Menefee. Menefee’s husband was in a car accident and was hospitalized with a broken hip. The family also lost its car so Menefee has to walk two miles to get to work.

Edwards recently reminded Menefee to fill out her husband’s insurance forms and gave advice on getting a new car. Perhaps more importantly she offers encouraging words.

“I’d be sitting here crying because I wouldn’t know what else, who else…” Menefee said as Edwards handed her a tissue. “I’m glad she’s here because, boy, she’s been helping me a lot.”

Did you know Target Corp. also hired social worker Florence Chung, MSW, as a senior specialist of government and community partnerships in its assets protection division? Chung travels around the country, helping the company build relations with law enforcement agencies and nonprofit public safety organizations. To learn more about Chung click here to read an article about her in the University of South California (USC) News.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca.

In this recent Los Angeles Times  article Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca called himself a social worker because he advocates for the mentally ill in jail, the homeless, and on other social issues.

“I’m not ‘sort of a’ social worker, I am a social worker,” he said. “Helping people to be the best they can be keeps (the public) safe.”

Which leads to our SocialWorkersSpeak.org question:

Q: Are you flattered Baca considers himself a social worker? Or should the title be reserved for those who have earned it through formal education and training?

UPDATE: SocialWorkersSpeak.org contacted Los Angeles Times reporter Patt Morrison about running a letter to the editor to respond to Sheriff Paca’s comments. We were beat to the punch. The paper published a great response from social worker Robin Wilkes. Here is a link to the letter: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/letters/

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.”

Dentral Holman Smith. Photo courtesy of Smith's Facebook page.

Philadelphia social worker Dentral Holman Smith has been unemployed for more than a year and her unemployment benefits recently ran out. As of today Congress has not extended unemployment checks to about a million Americans who have come to the end of their benefit period.

The Los Angeles Times ran this story on Smith and her struggle to remain optimistic despite her dire situation. “I’m blessed it (unemployment insurance) lasted as long as it did,” said Smith, who is trying to launch her own business. “The time I received my benefits is the time I was given to grow spiritually.”

Q: Considering the state of the economy should Congress extend benefits to long-term unemployed Americans?  Or is it time to stop the checks in order to help reduce the rising national deficit?

The county has a backlog of 3,700 alleged child abuse cases to investigate that have been open 60 days or more. The cause of the backlog — too few social workers burdened with new tasks to prevent child deaths, the article said.

“The social worker staff simply cannot keep up with everything we are asking them to do,” department Director Trish Ploehn said. “All of the things that equate with quality do take time.”

Q: Is there anything social workers can do to get more resources to do their jobs?

“Social workers are often among the first to respond to disasters both nationally and abroad,” says Elizabeth Clark, PhD, ACSW, MPH, executive director of NASW. “The people of Haiti need our help now more than ever, and we are committed to providing any assistance we can to one of the world’s poorest countries during this terrible tragedy.”

To learn more about NASW’s earthquake response and how you can help click here.
Here’s a round-up of social work news related to the earthquake. Please send us more tips:

Ex-Pasco resident bringing hope to Haiti
The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA)
“(Social worker) Brittany Hilker knew from the time she was a kid growing up in Pasco that she wanted to help people in need. So after graduating last year from Eastern Washington University, the 25-year-old moved to Haiti where she found an outlet for her generous spirit — the Hope for Haiti Children’s Center.”

Not Too Soon for Mental Health Care in Port-au-Prince
Huffington Post
“Naomi Levitz, a social worker on our team, has worked closely with Mabo for several years and when we arrive, she is quickly surrounded by a swarm of joyous children.”

Quake Victims Starving
Decatur Daily
“Leslie Loyd struggled to find words to describe what she saw in Haiti two months after a devastating earthquake. ‘It looks like the Apocalypse, really,’ she said. Loyd earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from Auburn in 2009 and expects to graduate next year from University of Alabama at Birmingham with a degree in international public health, focusing on long-term hunger relief and development.”

Older Adult Specialists Travel to Haiti to Provide Needed Care to Vulnerable Nursing Home Residents
Newswise
“Two months after the devastating earthquake hit Haiti, the needs of older adults in the region remain an urgent priority. Dr. Martin Gorbien, a geriatrician, and Lauren Kessler, a licensed clinical social worker, both from Rush University Medical Center, will be among the first older adult specialists to travel to Haiti to provide care at make-shift nursing homes.”

Haiti’s Excluded
The Nation
“Ruth Derilus had seen her share of tragedy. A 33-year-old iron-willed social worker trained by Haiti’s Papay Peasant Movement, she twice helped organize relief efforts when massive floods devastated the city of Gonaïves and the surrounding countryside. But nothing would prepare her for the tribulations she would face after the earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince on January 12 of this year.”

SCCPSS School Social Workers Raise Money for Red Cross
WSAV 3  TV (Savannah, Ga. and Hilton Head, SC)
“It was an enthusiastic afternoon Thursday at the Savannah-Chatham County school district’s Bull Street offices.The school social workers hosted a silent auction complete with dinners out, hotel stays, artwork and more. All of the money raised is going to the American Red Cross for the Haiti relief efforts.”

Social workers play detective to reunite families
USA Today
“Social workers and community activists in Haiti are going to orphanages, hospitals, camps and even the medical Navy ship USNS Comfort on the trail of parents of children found alone after last month’s devastating earthquake.”

Annette Vander Ploeg: We were first responders to Haiti’s earthquake
Democracy for New Hampshire
“I, a clinical social worker by profession, assisted the nurse practitioners in numerous ways, scribing, blood pressure, weighing. Not speaking Kreole, communication was through eyes and touch and a few French words. The poverty and hard lives of these people were staggering. Their kindness and strong spirit were inspiring.”

Helping Haiti Heal
Student Life: Washington University in St. Louis
“While in Haiti conducting research, Washington University Assistant Professor of Social Work Lora Iannotti was caught in the earthquake that left an estimated 200,000 people dead…”

Local nonprofit strives to nourish infants of Haiti
The St. Louis American
“Two days before the Jan. 12 earthquake killed more than 200,000 people, Lora Iannotti, Ph.D., nutrition and public health expert from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University, traveled to Port-au-Prince and Leogane, Haiti, to collaborate with Meds and Food for Kids on research regarding undernutrition and disease prevention in young children.”

Agency needs caseworkers who speak Creole
The Tampa Tribune
“Do you speak Creole? Have a background in social work? If so, Lutheran Services Florida desperately needs you – as either an employee or a volunteer.”

Bringing Hope, and Help, to a Battered Land
The Boston College Chronicle
“Alison Quinn, a student in the Graduate School of Social Work and Connell School of Nursing joint degree program, is preparing to put her skills to work in a place where they are sorely needed. On Feb. 21, she will head off to Haiti with Circle of Hope www.circleofhopeonline.org, an organization of doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses and medical staff that regularly goes to Leogane, a city outside of Port au Prince.”

Professor tells story of traveling with Haitian Orphans
The Pitt News
“Edward Sites, a professor in Pitt’s School of Social Work (and National Association of Social Workers member), was growing weary. He had not eaten or slept since departing from Pittsburgh hours ago. His energy faded as he unloaded and arranged medical supplies for nearly five hours. He was waiting for politicians to convince the Haitian government to allow Americans Jamie and Ali McMutrie and their colleagues to take 54 orphans into the United States.”

Local efforts spur more Haiti relief
Traverse City Record-Eagle (Michigan)
“A Haiti benefit concert is scheduled for Feb. 17 at Kilkenny’s. The concert is sponsored by Phi Alpha, a social work honors society student group through Ferris State University, and Kilkenny’s Irish Pub.”

Social worker helps relief staff handle the emotional trauma of Haiti
The Baltimore Sun
“Contino, a clinical social worker, was dispatched to Haiti to address the emotional trauma of the Baltimore-based (Catholic Relief Agency’s) large staff, which includes 300 Haitians and a core group of expatriates.”

In Disaster, Tensions Ease Between an Island’s Rivals
New York Times
“Like almost anyone from Hispaniola, the island uncomfortably shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Paloma Rivera is acutely aware that the two nations distrust each other, complain about each other and cite grievances about each other going back well over a century. Yet here she was, a Dominican, clearing garbage and digging latrines in a slum in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, to help survivors of the earthquake find a place to pitch their tents.’Maybe this earthquake, even with its tragedies, can do some good by making us a little less distant from each other,’ said Ms. Rivera, 24, a social worker who joined thousands of other Dominicans in loading emergency food and medicine into their vehicles and driving here.”

Dunlap native aids Haiti
PJStar.com (Illinois)
“When Dunlap resident Kelly Scott joined Meds and Food for Kids as an intern, she did not expect her first project to be Haiti’s post-earthquake relief efforts. Scott is pursuing a dual master’s degree in business administration and social work at Washington University in St. Louis.”

Area Students Pitch In for Haiti
Louisburg Herald (Kansas)
“The student council at Louisburg High School is collecting money this week to be donated, and Sara McIntire, social worker at BES and Rockville Elementary School, came up with a plan of her own. Working through Heart to Heart International, a non-profit organization based in Olathe, McIntire is collecting care kits to be sent to Haiti. Families construct the kits themselves and package them in a one-gallon plastic storage bag, along with $1 for shipping.”

In Miami’s Little Haiti, nothing to do but work, wait, hope, pray
Los Angeles Times
“At the Haitian Relief Information Center hastily set up in the heart of Little Haiti, county social worker Shirley Sieger was, in theory, there to help …”

Local woman worries over Haitian friends as aid efforts take form
Las Cruces Sun-News
“… are in Port-au-Prince,” said Burke, who works at the Gospel Rescue Mission in Las Cruces and recently earned her master’s degree in social work. …”

Mass. student on trip to Haiti
Nashua Telegraph
“The Telegram & Gazette of Worcester reports that Gengel is a 19-year-old sophomore majoring in social work. Comments from unverified accounts will be …”

Haitian Orphans Expected Tonight in Pittsburgh
Philly.com
“A plane carrying a medical team left Pittsburgh for Haiti today, and it is expected to return tonight with a group of orphans from a facility run by two sisters from western Pennsylvania…The flight also includes Ed Sites, of the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, along with a pediatric nurse and a physician assistant from Excela Health Systems based in Westmoreland County.”

Haiti Relief effort group shifts into high gear
New Haven Register
“Mary Lou Ryder-Larkin, who works full-time in the pediatric emergency department of Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx section of New York, is medical director of Haiti Marycare, a group that since 1994 has delivered medical, educational and humanitarian relief to the poorest people of Haiti. The group was founded in 1994 by New Haven resident Sherman Cassidy Malone…These days, Malone, a licensed clinical social worker with a specialty in post-traumatic stress disorders and clinical director of the New Haven Family Alliance, is quick to answer the telephone in hopes of news, but often the connection disappears.”

Elation turns to anxiety for one Mass. family
Boston.com
“A Rutland couple’s relief and celebration that their daughter had been located alive in Haiti turned to shock and disbelief last night when they learned that a mistake had been made and she was still missing…Britney Gengel is studying social work, relatives said.”

Haiti Children Orphaned After Quake
WAAYTV.com
“Social workers say Haiti has always had a large number of children needing to be adopted, but after last week’s earthquake the number of orphaned children has surged.”

Quake’s tremors felt close to home
The Boston Globe
“It was an amazing thing for them to do, to embrace us like this,” said Exilhomme, a 33-year-old social worker who is president of A Better Tomorrow International Charities Inc., a social service agency for the Boston-area Haitian Community.

Haiti Orphan Adoption: Ensuring a Successful Transition
PR Web
“Haiti adoption interest has spiked after the disastrous earthquake and aftershocks in Haiti. In response to the crisis, you are invited to listen in on this discussion regarding the orphans being adopted out of this country. Heather T. Forbes, LCSW and Dr. Ronald Federici discuss the dynamics in transitioning these children from disaster to safety and security.”

Photo of Haitian earthquake refugees courtesy of CNN.

Ralph Fertig. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times.

The U.S. Supreme Court next week will hear arguments on whether USC social work professor Ralph Fertig should face jail time for speaking out on behalf of Turkey’s Kurdish minority.

The U.S. has designated the Kurdistan Workers Party, which represents Kurds, a terrorist organization. But Fertig says he has advised Kurdish leaders to avoid violence and he believes his communication with them is protected under the First Amendment Right to free speech.

“I am opposed to violence. It seems crazy to me that I could go to jail for trying to persuade people to engage in nonviolence,”  he said.

To read the full Los Angeles Times story on Fertig’s case, click here.