Powell was a suspect in the disappearance of his wife Susan Cox-Powell in 2009. A judge recently gave him visitation rights to his sons Braden, 5, and Charlie, 7, who were in the custody of Susan Cox-Powell’s parents.

A social worker took the children on a supervised visit on Sunday. When the children entered Powell pushed her away and locked the door.

The social worker pounded the door, trying to enter the home. She called her supervisor and reported smelling gas. Within minutes the home exploded.

Social worker Robert Suchan dons a dress, wig and makeup and becomes Aunt Barbara to sell Tupperware. His comedic sales pitch and costume helped make him the top seller in North America. Photo courtesy of ABC News.

Robert Suchan, a former social worker, puts on makeup, a wig and a dress to become Tupperware saleswoman “Aunt Barbara,” according to this ABC article.

The schtick has worked wondrously — Suchan was the top Tupperware seller in the North America last year, moving $250,000 worth of products. In fact, Suchan, 43, has quit his social worker job to sell Tupperware full time.

“The phone rings every day,” said Suchan, who stands at six feet five inches in heels and bouffant wig. “The emails don’t stop.”

Mary Walker Baron. Photo courtesy of www.shewrites.com.

Cheers to the National Association of Social Workers member Mary Walker Baron for her blog on Huffington Post about helping her elderly father-in-law age with dignity.

John was 94 years old and blind and almost deaf when he decided to relocate to California from New Jersey to be closer to relatives after his wife died. Baron soon realized their home could not meet John’s disability needs.

So with much angst they decided to put him in a senior citizen community. And to their relief things worked out, although John complains sometimes about things, like being served coffee at the end of his lunch instead of the beginning.

“John is living his life and life lived well is full of challenges and complaints and quiet caring for others. Yes, he is declining. So am I. So are you. But in his full throttle claiming all of life’s vagaries, my father-in-law has forged dignity into his decline and that might truly be the best of all possible worlds.”

To learn more about the services social workers provide the elderly, visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Seniors and Aging web site by clicking here.

Bobbie Isaacs. Photo courtesy of Newsday.

Even after she retired, Long Island social worker Natalie “Bobbie” Isaacs continued to practice her craft, according to this article in New York’s Newsday.

Isaacs, 82, helped volunteers bring in dogs to comfort other residents at the Haverford, Pa., senior living community where she and her sports columnist husband Stan lived after they retired  six years ago.

Isaacs died on Jan. 22 from cancer. She had worked for almost 30years at Brookville’s AHRC-Nassau,  (formerly known as the Association for the Help of Retarded).

“She listened to people,” said Andy Weickert, a colleague at AHRC-Nassau. “That is what social work is all about. She exemplified what social work is.”

Isaacs is survived by her husband, daughters Nancy Reznick, Ann Isaacs Basch, and Ellen Isaac and four grandchildren.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw stars as social worker Clea Hopkins on "Touch" on Fox. Photo courtesy of TV Guide.

Social worker Clea Hopkins (actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw) will have an integral role on Fox’s new sci-fi series “Touch,” which will preview Jan. 25 at 9 p.m. Eastern on Fox, executive producer Carol Barbee said.

“Touch” stars Kiefer Sutherland as Martin Bohm, a widower who discovers his mute son Jake (actor David Mazouz), who is obsessed with numbers and cellphones, can predict the future. Martin realizes his connection with his son could help shape humanity’s destiny.

However, Clea Hopkins will keep the sci-fi series firmly rooted in reality, reminding Martin of his main mission, Barbee told SocialWorkersSpeak.org. She gets involved with the family because Jake has a habit of running away, ending up in odd places such as cellphone towers.

In fact, you could describe the relationship between between Martin, Jake and Clea as a triangle, Barbee said.

“Clea keeps bringing Martin back to, ‘You have a son, he has these issues, and the state has stepped in and no matter what happens out there we need to care of your son,’” she said.

Carol Barbee. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

“Touch” is the brainchild of television producer and screenwriter Tim Kring, creator of the “Heroes,” an NBC sci-fi series that ran from 2006-2010. Sutherland, who was taking a break after the conclusion of his wildly successful run on “24” on Fox, read the script for “Touch,” got excited about the series, and decided he wanted to return to network television to do the project, Barbee said.

Mbatha-Raw, the daughter of a South African doctor, was raised by her mother Anne Raw in Great Britain after her parents divorced.  She has played in the popular, long-running British sci-fi series “Dr. Who” and had a starring role as part of a husband-wife spy team in the cancelled NBC series “Undercovers.”

The pilot of “Touch” will air on Jan. 25 and the series will premiere on March 19. In early episodes Clea will spend a lot of time with Jake and by the second episode viewers will see more of her life outside of work and what motivates her, Barbee said.

The series is set in New York and Barbee said writers researched state child welfare laws and met with New York social workers to help shape the Clea Hopkins character. Barbee is also familiar with the social work profession because she was an executive producer, producer and writer on the CBS series “Judging Amy,” which ran on CBS from 1999-2005.

“Judging Amy” featured Tyne Daley as a child welfare social worker and mother of the main character Amy Gray (actress Amy Brenneman), a family court judge in Hartford, Conn.

Kiefer Sutherland (right) as Martin Bohm and David Mazouz as Jake in "Touch." Photo courtesy of MaxiSeries.com

“It’s serendipitous” that Kring made Clea Hopkins a social worker, Barbee said. “I have experience with the social work profession due to Tyne Daley’s character on ‘Judging Amy.’ I did a lot of research.”

However, Barbee said the staff of “Touch” is willing to consult with additional social workers as the series proceeds. She also hopes social workers take the time to watch the program.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am about the show,” Barbee said. “That’s exciting that we are able to reach (the social work) audience.”

Q: Social workers, please watch the show the preview and tell us what you think about “Touch.”

Chase Beh. Photo courtesy of the Chicago Tribune.

Chase Beh’s parents turned to drug counselor Kimberly Even to help their 20-year-old son overcome his  addiction to heroin, according to this article in the Chicago Tribune.

However, Beh died from an overdose  in 2009 and it was found Even was not licensed to be a drug counselor in Illinois. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation in 2009 had also fined her $10,000 for practicing unlicensed social work.

After Beh’s death Even continued to identify herself as a licensed clinical social worker and certified alcohol and drug counselor and  see clients, the article said.

Authorities eventually closed her North Shore clinic.

Even, 47, is now in jail, charged with depositing $75,000 in insurance company checks made out to a client’s father.

Beh’s mother said there should be a law in Illinois to make it criminal for a person to falsely claim they are a drug counselor.

“I can’t imagine how she could have been in practice and no one looked into her credentials,” Christine Beh said. “I think what she did was unconscionable. It’s a betrayal that I just think is unbelievable.”

To learn more about proper social work credentials visit the National Association of Social Workers Credentialing Center by clicking here.

Social worker Amie Eipers (inset) counseled Justin Raxter on a recent episode of MTV's "True Life." Photos courtesy of MTV and therapist-psychologist.com.

National Association of Social Workers member Amie Eipers offers encouraging advice to a young man who has run afoul of the law on “I’m a Sex Offender,” a recent episode of MTV’s “True Life” documentary series.

“True Life” covers issues teenagers and young adults face, including drug addiction, eating disorders, and sexuality.

In the episode Eipers, MSW, LCSW, who works for Gina Spielman, LCSW and Associates in Naperville, Ill., counsels Justin Raxter.

Raxter was 18 and playing in a rock band when he dated a 15-year-old girl. He was charged with child pornography for having photographs and videos of the girl, although those charges were dropped.

 However, Raxter is required to file as a sex offender for 10 years, his reputation was ruined, and he had difficulty finding work.

Eipers listened to Raxter’s problems and gave him advice on how to overcome this situation. In an earlier SocialWorkersSpeak.org interview, Eipers said she believes laws that target adult sexual predators can be unfair to young people such as Raxter.

“This is something that happened to you, not who you are,” she told Raxter in the episode, which was filmed a year ago but began airing this week.

Amie Eipers meets with Justin Raxter. Screenshot courtesy of MTV.

SocialWorkersSpeak.org caught up with Raxter this afternoon. She was in her car in a snowstorm going to pick up her child.

“The response to the episode has been all good,” she said. “Everybody has been completely supportive.”

Eipers last saw Raxter just before the Christmas holidays. She said he is doing well and attending college. In fact, he is lobbying to change sexual predator laws in Illinois so they do not unfairly impact other young people.

To watch the episode on MTV’s Website click here. And to learn more about how social workers help young people overcome life’s hurdles visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Kids & Families Website by clicking here.

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.

Tanitsha Bridgers. Photo courtesy of Black Image Magazine.

Cheers to the Black Image magazine in Las Vegas for this feature on National Association of Social Workers member Tanitsha Bridgers, who created a mobile mental healthcare service to reach vulnerable populations in her area.

Bridgers found many people who need services or support, especially African Americans, did not have transportation to get to mental health professionals. So using an inheritance left by her mother who died from breast cancer Bridgers launched Mobile Mental Health Support Services Inc.

“Customarily, African-Americans don’t seek mental health services or therapy,” Bridgers said. “Typically, we deal with our psychological issues by way of Jesus ‘I am going to pray about it.’”

Mobile Mental Health Support Services Inc. now operates in three locations and has more than 100 employees. The company offers family, couple and invidual counseling, rehabilitative mental health services and community give-back programs.

To learn more about the valuable mental health services social workers provide visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Mind & Spirit Website by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Alcohol Abuse Treatment.

What group of binge drinkers  overindulges  most often? You may be surprised to learn it’s the elderly and not college students, according to this article in Florida’s Sun Sentinel.

According to an annual report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seniors who indulge to the extreme with alcohol do so on average 5.5 times a month, compared to four times a month for people under age 45.

In the article National Association of Social Workers member Stephen Ferrante explained why. Ferrante is coordinator of a social work program on aging issues at Florida Atlantic University.

“They are typically alone and in isolation, often drinking in response to some problem in their lives,” he said.

However, Ferrante said seniors citizens in treatment have more success overcoming drug and alcohol problems than other groups.

To learn more about social workers help the elderly visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Seniors and Aging Website by clicking here. Social workers also help clients overcome drug and alcohol addictions. To learn more click here.

Azikiwe Kambule. Photo courtesy of mugshots.com.

Outgoing Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has pardoned nearly 200 people, including a South African man implicated in the 1996 carjacking death of a social worker, according to this Sentinel-Record article.

Prosecutors said Azikiwe Kambule and Santonio Berry killed social worker Pamela McGill because they wanted her red 1993 Dodge Stealth sportscar.

Kambule claimed he did not fire the shots that killed McGill. He was sentenced to 30 years for armed carjacking and five years for being accessory to a murder. Berry was sentenced to life without parole after pleading guilty to capital murder.

Photo courtesy of Fox 5 in Phoenix, AZ.

Friends and associates of slain social worker Gabe Zimmerman held a six-mile hike on South Mountain near Phoenix, Ariz. in his memory, according to this Fox 5 article and video clip.

Gabe Zimmerman

Zimmerman, an aide to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and a member of the National Association of Social Workers Arizona Chapter, was killed in a mass shooting a year ago that left the congresswoman injured. He was an avid outsdoorsman and his friends thought a hike was an ideal way to honor his memory.

“Gabe was really one of the best people I knew,” state Rep. Katie Hobbs said.

To read the National Association of Social Workers’ Jan. 10, 2011 press release concerning Zimmerman’s death click here. 

Social worker Bridgette Baker. Photo courtesy of the Deseret News.

Cheers to the Deseret News in Utah for this article about the assistance hospital social workers provide to the injured, sick, dying and their loved ones.

The article was written after a six police officers who were serving a drug-related search warrant in Ogden were shot by a former U.S. soldier. One of the officers died.

The news article covers how the team of social workers at McKay-Dee Hospital Center sprang into action to provide support the families. The team is led by Bridgette Baker, who is listed as a National Association of Social Workers member.

“Especially in a traumatic situation, sometimes the social workers are the ones trying to find the families to let them know that their loved ones are here,” Baker said. “And then they’re the ones that are greeting them at the door in the emergency department a lot of times to say ‘come with me, everything’s going to be OK.’”

To learn more about how social workers help people from all walks of life, visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Website by clicking here.

AnnMarie Walsh uses free wi-fi at a train station to check her social networking accounts. Photo courtesy of Daily Record.

AnnMarie Walsh was homeless but wanted to share her story of survival and educate the public about the plight of the homeless. So she opened up Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and blog accounts and used a computer at a public library in Chicago to update fans.

According to this article on Chicago’s WGN-TV, Walsh soon had more than 4,000 followers on Twitter. Her tweets also led her to a hospital social worker who helped Walsh find permanent housing.

Now Walsh, 41, is using social networking to help homeless people who are seeking advice.

“Most of them think that homeless people are all criminals, on drugs, alcoholics,” she told the Daily Herald. “They think we don’t try to get out of homelessness and that we aren’t successful at anything. Some (homeless people) have college degrees and because of the economy got laid off.”

To read more about Walsh click here and click here.

To learn more about how social workers help people from all walks of life visit the National Association of Social Workers “Help Starts Here” Website by clicking here.

Whitaker, MSW, DSW, who is director of NASW’s Center for Workforce Studies, said it is hard to say whether educational costs are keeping people from pursuing a master’s degree in social work, which is considered a stepping stone to getting better paying jobs in the profession.

“Social workers are really drawn to this kind of work, and so sometimes the work overrides some other factors,” Whitaker said.

To find out more about what it takes to enter the social work profession, visit NASW’s BeASocialWorker.org Website by clicking here. And to learn more about the social work labor force and salary levels visit NASW’s Center for Workforce Studies by clicking here.

Janet Kohler. Photo courtesy of The Chadron Record.

Janet Kohler was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident soon after graduating from high school in Nebraska.

Her family and friends said she never complained about her disabilities and kept a postive attitude, according to this obituary in The Chadron Record.

Kohler went on to earn a master’s degree in social work at the University of Missouri, which was more handicapped accessible.

She spent most of her professional life working at the California Mental Health Department, where she was director of patients’ rights, regional director of mental health programs and southern California director of forensics.

The California Senate also passed a resolution honoring Kohler for her service.

Kohler died from cancer last week at age 69.

“You always had a kind word and an encouraging smile. The world has one less caring soul today,” a friend posted on Kohler’s online obituary at the Orange County Register.

Crawford said there should be legislation to allow non-custodial parents in Pennsylvania to go to court and set up child support payments, something only custodial parents can now do. This would prevent custodial parents from falsely claiming the non-custodial parents are not paying child support, which can be done informally, Crawford said.

Sen. Anthony Williams, D-Philadelphia, who sponsored the contest, said he plans to introduce the bill this spring.

Book Cover

Josi was born 16 weeks prematurely to immigrants from Mexico who did not know much English. The scrawny infant was blind and had to wear an apnea monitor the size of a small laptop to monitor her breathing.

To Sue Hall, a social worker who became a doctor to help address biological problems that caused later developmental problems in children, Josi could not be saved. So she recommended her parents pull Josi off baby life support.

But her parents, despite their lack of income and English skills, decided to continue care and slowly but surely the little girl began to thrive. Three years later she was attending a school for the blind, walking, and exuberantly singing “Old MacDonald had a Farm” in Hall’s office.

“It was then I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I had been 100 percent wrong about Josi’s prognosis,” Hall said. “I could not have been happier.”

Hall writes about her experiences in the neonatal intensive care unit in “For the Love of Babies” ($8.95 at WorldMakerMedia). SocialWorkersSpeak.org talked to Hall about why she wrote the book, why social workers should read it, and the role of social workers in the healthcare profession:

Q: Why did you decide to write “For the Love of Babies”?

Hall: First, I wanted to honor the strength, courage, devotion, and resilience of the many parents I’ve had the chance to interact with.  I have learned so much about life from them.  Secondly, I wanted to focus on the emotional aspects of what has become a very technology-driven field.  At its core, medicine is about connecting with our patients and recognizing their humanity; sometimes we lose sight of this basic notion.  And finally, I wanted to draw attention to the social ills that contribute to our country’s disgraceful performance on measures such as our rates of prematurity and infant mortality, both of which are way too high.  I wanted to change the conversation from “Isn’t neonatal intensive care marvelous, the way we save all those babies?” to “What is it about our social systems that leads to our very high rates of prematurity and infant mortality, and how can we go about things differently to achieve better outcomes for all?”

 Q: Why do you think this is a good book for social workers to read?

 Hall: I think social workers can gain a broad perspective from reading my book:  They will be challenged to think about the social determinants of health including the factors creating a high risk pregnancy, the emotional trauma faced by parents whose babies are in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and some of the ethical issues that the medical team may need to discuss with parents.  I think social workers can do their best to support parents of hospitalized infants when they have  the big picture in mind, and they can also be quite helpful in interpreting parents’ behavior and responses to medical team members who don’t have the social work perspective.  The challenge for social workers is to help parents cope with the enormous stresses they encounter, using their understanding of each parent’s underlying psychological make-up as well as the realities of their social situations.  I tried to interweave all these threads into each of the stories. I also believe that social workers are integral and valued members of the hospital team, and I hope I was successful in portraying them in this light.

Q: You mentioned the role of social workers such as “Janice” several times in the book. Do you think the role social workers play in medicine has been largely overlooked, particularly in the entertainment industry that seems to focus more on doing dramas about doctors and nurses?

Hall: The role of social workers has been minimized by the entertainment industry, or perhaps it’s more accurate to say that the entertainment industry doesn’t even have a good handle on how social workers function in a medical setting.  The public needs to see social workers as being right there in the middle of things, taking the time to develop relationships with patients and families and to support them through both short-term crises and long-term, complicated hospital stays.  Doctors and nurses may breeze in and out of the picture, but it’s the social workers who are often left helping parents make sense of it all once the doctors and nurses have left the room.

Q:  What are the biggest challenges you see in the healthcare profession in years ahead? Can social workers help address any of these issues?

Hall: There are several big challenges in healthcare in the coming years.  One is that healthcare is hopefully moving more towards preventive care, with interventions to be increasingly focused on the social determinants of health.  Social workers need to be active voices in their communities, helping to identify how improving access to jobs, finding safer housing, offering better nutritional choices, and increasing access to care can be accomplished on behalf of their patients and clients.  I would also like to see social workers advocate for ensuring that healthcare is delivered in a culturally sensitive manner to all their clients.  And, as the push continues to make healthcare delivery increasingly efficient, social workers can perhaps spend time that physicians don’t have, to support patients and families and encourage their follow-through with care plans that doctors prescribe.  Social workers can bring attention to the issues of the “whole patient,” broadening the focus from simply the medical aspects of a person’s illness.

Q: Do you plan to write more books?

Hall: I hope to break into fiction with my next book, which is a novel exploring several emotional themes in the context of a medical drama, naturally centered on the topic of babies!  In this story, a delivery room disaster rips a family apart, as a woman serving as a surrogate mother to her sister’s baby gives birth.  Those left grieving struggle to come to terms with what happened, to resolve their guilt, and to heal their wounded spirits.  “Such a Special Gift” is a story of love, of loss, and of gratitude for the gifts we’ve been given.

Dr. Sue Hall

Dr. Hall earned a bachelors degree in psychology from Stanford University, a masters degree in social work from Boston University, and an M.D. degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She was a practicing social worker before beginning a 25-year career as a neonatologist. She was formerly associate clinical professor of pediatrics at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine and is now in private practice in neonatology in the Midwest.

To learn more about how social workers help clients lead healthier lives visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Health and Wellness Website by clicking here.

Women look through boxes of donated Christmas gifts at the Stark Social Workers Network. Photo courtesy of the Akron Beacon Journal.

Cheers to the Akron Beacon Journal in Ohio for this article on the Stark Social Workers Network, a nonprofit organization that helps people who are the hardest to help.

Beverly Jordan, a former social worker at the Department of Jobs and Family Services, started the network in 1989 to help people who fell through the cracks at traditional social service agencies. Jordan said these are usually people who “have hard luck all their lives.”

The network’s clients have included a woman who was illiterate and could not fill out a job applications so came to the network for reading classes. Another client was an African American man who had been in prison most of his life and had developed an intense dislike of white people.

After six months of taking classes to help him live outside of prison this man realized his anger was keeping him from getting employed. He also learned to overcome his mistrust of white people.

A factory in Canton hired him and he is now one of the company’s most valued employees.

To learn more about how social workers help people from all walks of life overcome life’s challenges, visit the National Association of Social Workers “Help Starts Here” Website by clicking here.

On "Glee" football player Dave Karofsky (actor Max Adler), left, bullied gay student Kurt Hummer (Chris Colfer) although Karofsky is secretly gay. Photo courtesy of DVD Verdict.

Commentary by David Shrank, MSW, LSW

Bullies and their victims come in every size, shape, and ethnicity and from every social and economic class.

Bullying is linked to low self-esteem on the part of both the bully and the victim. That is because a person will only be affected and become the “victim” if that person has low self-esteem and becomes mentally and/or emotionally hurt by the comments or actions of the bully.

Fox’s hit TV show, “Glee,” focuses on high school teens from a variety of social groups who come together to form a  singing club. “Glee” has made many references to bullying in a multitude of ways with several characters being bullied by others.

One of the major characters of the show, Santana Lopez, is a lesbian of Hispanic origin, who appears to have incredible difficulty accepting herself in that she refuses to identify herself as a lesbian. She is very promiscuous in ways she deems socially acceptable.

Santana also continually bullies others, but becomes highly sensitive when others point out the potential of her being a lesbian which results in her feeling hurt and saying she is being bullied.

One of the school’s football players, Dave Karofsky, is gay but refuses to accept this reality. Instead, he bullies other gay teens at the school both physically and verbally. It turns out that he has a strong crush on the gay student he bullies the most.

Lack of self-acceptance quite often leads to bullying. By the same token, not accepting oneself makes a person more susceptible to being bullied based on low self esteem. Those with low self-esteem, generally speaking, either become the target for bullying, or they become the bully in order to change the social environment and become more empowered.

And quite often, those around the bully are afraid of being bullied themselves, so they become aligned with the bully and are then in a state of being in power. Both the bully and those the bully are aligned with usually feel horrible about hurting the feelings of others, but are so relieved not to be the target that they continue on this path.

A person who doesn’t accept themself but wants to be in a powerful social status is most likely to become a bully because as the saying goes “misery loves company” and the bully will feel better about putting down the victim.

Actress Naya Rivera portrays Santana Lopez on "Glee." Photo courtesy of IMDB.com.

The strength of “Glee” is found within the characters who are being bullied who make it their job to teach the bullies a lesson that they should be “out and proud.” This reinforces the strength of self acceptance. 

Self acceptance is one of if not the most important aspect of human social development. Self-acceptance leads to being grounded as a person and leads to increased self-esteem. High self esteem usually correlates to comfort in one’s personality and strengths.

The more a person likes themselves, the more likely the person will have increased self esteem. With increased support from others, especially from support groups, one’s self-esteem most likely will increase. Particularly with the topic of bullying, self-acceptance will almost always lead to increased self-esteem and therefore a reduction and potential elimination of bullying behavior.

Shrank is a corrections case manager in Trenton, N.J. who evaluates former inmates who have persistent mental illness. He also provides them with clinical therapy, resources, and acts as their court liaison. He also is head of mental health and a board member for the Equality Project, an anti-bullying activist nonprofit agency.  In addition Shrank, who received his master’s degree in social work from Temple University, is developing a private practice working with children who have been severely bullied.

To learn more about how Shrank and other social workers help young people overcome life’s hurdles visit the National Association of Social Workers “Help Starts Here” Kids & FamiliesWebsite by clicking here.