Human Services By the Batch
Governing
Back in quainter days, human services casework was handled by one person managing the entire process. A staffer would meet prospective clients face-to-face, assess needs versus assets, figure out what benefits that client was eligible for and then manage the case through its lifetime, including tending to changes in income, address or family status. Those days could soon be over, if they’re not gone already.

Gary Sinise On Music, Marriage, and His Work On Behalf Of Our Armed Forces
Parade
Q: Last year you launched your foundation (GarySiniseFoundation.org). What’s going on with it now? A: The University of Southern California has a wonderful social work department, and I was thrilled to find out that they have a whole veterans initiative program there. They approached me, and I set up a scholarship that would go to a military-oriented person, to learn techniques and skills to better help veterans. We hope to do it on a broader scale around the country.

Group asks FirstEnergy for energy-efficiency measures
Charleston Gazette
“Our neighboring states hold companies to more efficient standards,” said Sam Hickman, executive director of the West Virginia chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. “In West Virginia, we have among the highest rates of home ownership. But many elderly and low-income folks have no access to loans or equity” on their homes, Hickman said. “We need a more robust plan.”

Time for West Virginia to Improve Social Workers’ Safety?
Public News Service
Sam Hickman, executive director of the Association’s West Virginia Chapter, says lawmakers should create one central place in state government with the job of protecting the 1000 or so field employees and contractors at the various agencies. He says, without that, the issue falls through the cracks and the people going out in the field will tend to take too many risks.

Bleak Portrait of Poverty Is Off the Mark, Experts Say
The New York Times
“The official measure no longer corresponds to reality,” said Jane Waldfogel, a professor of social work at Columbia University. “It doesn’t get either side of the equation right — how much the poor have or how much they need. No one really trusts the data.”

Aggie soldier dies in combat
Texas A&M The Battalion
The life of David E. Cabrera, class of 1992, was taken on Oct. 29. The Lieutenant Colonel, who was a licensed clinical social worker and assistant professor of family medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, was stationed in Afghanistan’s capitol city, Kabul, when his NATO convoy was attacked.

Wealthier age more slowly, are more mobile
UPI.com
Study co-author Virginia Richardson, a professor of social work at Ohio State University, said the disadvantage for the poor in walking, bathing, eating, dressing and getting in and out of bed snowballs over time and determines when someone elderly needs to be institutionalized.

Victims speak out about North Carolina sterilization program, which targeted women, young girls and blacks
Rock Center
Despite the state social workers who declared Riddick was “mentally retarded” and “promiscuous”, she went to college and raised the son born moments before she was sterilized.  Her son is devoted to his mother and a successful entrepreneur.

Updated Handbook of Health Social Work reflects changes in health care
Washington University in St. Louis News
By Jessica Martin Increased complexity in health care demands a greater body of knowledge for health social workers. The newly released Handbook of Health Social Work, Second Edition is a key resource for social workers, offering a comprehensive and evidence-based overview of social work practice in health care.

Progress, but Still a Race Gap
New York Times
Sandra Edmonds Crewe, a professor of social work at Howard University, is the director of the Multidisciplinary Center for Social Gerontology. There are credible signs that older people are faring better than younger cohorts, in part because the recent recession has often hit young people hardest.

Sandusky case shows where Pa. child protective services law fails
Patriot-News
Today, I am a licensed clinical social worker and also a state-mandated reporter of suspected child abuse. So were/are the staff at Penn State. Pa. law should be changed to require all child abuse allegations to be reported straight to the Department of Public Welfare.

Responsibility means reporting abuse
Lebanon Daily News
While strangers do abduct children, the rate of stranger abductions is only about .0017 per 1,000 children. The real danger for children comes from neighbors, relatives, coaches, priests and teachers.

Penn State scandal triggers worries, numbness
Ventura County Star
The scandal has focused attention on the adequacy of laws protecting children and mandating teachers and others to report the abuse. But that’s not the issue, said Ferol Mennen, a social worker and USC professor who researches child abuse and neglect.

Robert Moulton (left), father of slain social worker Stephanie Moulton; Stephanie Moulton's mother Kimberly Flynn and Ryan Papazian, Stepanie's fiance, at a Salem Park and Recreation Board meeting. Photo courtesy of the Salem News.

Kimberly Flynn,mother of slain social worker Stephanie Moulton, is seeking a law in Massachusetts that would require mental health workers and counselors get emergency alert or panic buttons, according to this article in the Salem News.

The buttons would be monitored 24 hours and trigger a police response.

Flynn has the support of Massachusetts Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry (D), who introduced the bill.

Moulton was alone in a group home in January when she was beaten and stabbed to death by a resident with a history of mental illness and violent offenses. Deshawn Chappell will be put on trial for her murder next April.

“She can’t die for no reason,” Flynn said. “No other family can go through this.”

NASW’s Center for Workforce Studies and the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University at Albany did a survey that found that four out of 10 social workers face personal safety issues on the job. To learn more about that study, click here. NASW is also committed to improving social worker safety. To learn more click here. And the National Association of Social Workers Massachusetts Chapter Committee for the Study and Prevention of Violence against Social Workers created a general guideline to improve safety. To read the guide click here.

Rosie. Photo courtesy of ABC.

Cheers to ABC for this article about a Golden Retriever named Rosie, who became the first service dog to help a witness testify in a New York State court.

Rosie calmed a 15-year-old girl in Poughkeepsie, allowing her to testify about being sexually abused for four years. Her testimony persuaded jurors to find a male perpetrator guilty. The main was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Licensed clinical social worker Lori Stell cared for the young victim and testified for permission to allow Rosie to be with her on the witness stand.

“A lot of time when children have been exposed to trauma or sexual abuse, they have a hard time expressing themselves,” Stella said.

To learn more about how social workers help victims of violence and disasters visit the National Association of Social Workers “Help Starts Here” Family Safety Web page by clicking here.

Sherry Saturno

Social worker Sherry Saturno, LCSW, DCSW, wrote a letter to the New York Times in response to its recent article on the death of Massachusetts social worker Stephanie Moulton.

Moulton was allegedly murdered by a schizophrenic client who had committed violent crimes in the past. She was the only staffer on duty at the group home when the crime occurred.

The New York Times article (to read it click here) looked at how budget cuts have adversely affected mental health care and social work staffing and likely contributed to Moulton’s death.

Here is Saturno’s response (you can read online along with other letters to the editor by clicking here).

The violence against social workers has become a risk of the profession, and one that needs to be addressed nationally. Social workers are frequently sent to dangerous situations, alone and unarmed, in neighborhoods that the police do not enter without a partner and a gun. We lack legislation at the federal level to protect social workers, and despite advocacy efforts, the Teri Zenner Social Worker Safety Act has yet to become law.

Detailed safety training for social workers who make home visits is desperately needed. The day before Stephanie Moulton was murdered in Massachusetts, another social worker, Frances Mortenson, was stabbed by a client during a home visit in New York.

Stephanie Moulton’s death provokes questions about the value we as a society place on social workers’ lives.

NASW’s Center for Workforce Studies and the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University at Albany did a survey that found that four out of 10 social workers face personal safety issues on the job. To learn more about that study, click here. NASW is also committed to improving social worker safety. To learn more click here. And the National Association of Social Workers Massachusetts Chapter Committee for the Study and Prevention of Violence against Social Workers created a general guideline to improve safety. To read the guide click here.

Stephanie Moulton. Photo courtesy of the New York Times.

The New York Times ran this in-depth article on Stephanie Moulton, 25, a Massachusetts social worker who was murdered on Jan. 20 by a mentally ill man in a group home she worked for.

The article points out how state budget cuts have harmed care for people with severe mental illnesses. Stephanie was the only residential counselor working at the group home that day.

Deshawn James Chappell, 27, who had been suffering from schizophrenia for years and committed several violent crimes, was charged with Stephanie’s murder.

There have been several reports in recent months of social workers assaulted or even killed on the job. The National Association of Social Workers’ Center for Workforce Studies and the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University at Albany did a survey that found that four out of 10 social workers face personal safety issues on the job. To learn more about that study, click here. NASW is also committed to improving the safety of social workers on the job. To learn more click here.

Sherry Saturno

Social worker Sherry Saturno, LCSW, DCSW, wrote this very informative column for Examiner.com New York about efforts to improve safety for social workers.

Her article cites recent studies on the issue and cites what the National Association of Social Workers and at least one of its chapters is doing to keep social workers safe.

For instance, NASW is pushing for more social work safety laws. And the Massachusetts NASW Chapter’s Committee for the Study and Prevention of Violence against Social Workers created a general guideline to improve safety .

This guidelines include recognizing signs a client is becoming agitated and formulating secret code words to get help. To learn more click here.

There have been a number of reports about social workers assaulted and even murdered on the job. These include Terri Zenner, a social worker who was brutally murdered in Kansas, and Frances Mortensen, who was stabbed by a client during an in-home visit in White Plains, N.Y. and had to undergo surgery.

“Violence against social workers has become an inherent risk of the profession, and undeniably one that needs to be addressed on a national scope,”  wrote Saturno, who lives in Westchester, New York and was the 2010 NASW-New York State/Westchester Division Social Worker of the Year.

“Social workers are frequently sent to dangerous situations in neighborhoods, alone and unarmed, that police do not enter without a partner and a gun.”

NASW’s Center for Workforce Studies and the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University at Albany did a survey that found that four out of 10 social workers face personal safety issues on the job. To learn more about that study, click here.

Photo of Terri Zenner care of Teri Zenner Memorial Web site (www.terizenner.com)

Kansas passed a new law requiring social workers take personal safety training.

The law was created in response to the murder of Teri Zenner, who was stabbed by 17-year-old client Andrew Ellmaker during a home visit. Ellmaker is now serving a 50-year sentence.

To learn more, click here to read Kansas City Star online article.

Q: Teri Zenner’s widower Matt Zenner pressed for the new law, saying it would prevent future social worker deaths. Do you agree?

Here’s an excerpt from that article:

“This is, in a word, irresponsible. OMRDD should have a fully qualified person dedicated to inspecting its facilities, or hire qualified private inspectors. Even in a hiring freeze, the state allows the filling of jobs essential to public safety.”

Q: Are you being required to do more duties than social work due to budget cuts?

Victoria Johannes, courtesy of the St. Cloud Times.

Kudos to the St. Cloud Times for its story on an innovative approach social workers in some Minnesota counties are using to keep children in homes. Instead of removing mistreated children from homes, social workers develop a plan with the family to keep their offspring safe. Social workers also recruit a network of relatives, friends, neighbors and acquaintances to support the families and ensure they are following the plan.

“We’re seeing that by involving parents and their extended support early in the case that we’re able to allow the family to make the important ongoing decisions for the kids, rather than having judges make decisions for the kids.” — Social Service Supervisor Victoria Johannes

Q: Should social service departments in other parts of the country adopt a similar strategy to reduce the number of children placed in foster care? Please leave your comments below.

WLKY.com – FRANKFORT, KY — Wednesday, Kentucky social workers told legislators in Frankfort the promises of a law meant to keep social workers safe have been broken.

The law was set up after social worker, Boni Frederick, was stabbed and bludgeoned to death three years ago after taking an infant for what was supposed to be a final home visit.

The Boni Bill was born as a result, but social workers told legislators budget cuts are killing its purpose.

Several social workers shared their stories of doing their jobs in fear as they tried to convince the joint House-Senate Health and Welfare committee more needs to be done to protect them. [full article]