The "Living Proof" podcast team. Back row from left: Dave Coppola, Howard Doueck, Steve Sturman and Josh Bradley. Middle row: Richard Amantia and Kathryn Clark. Front row: Adjoa Robinson and Peter Sobota.

Staff from the University at Buffalo School of Social Work staff is disproving the myth that social workers are technologically challenged.

The school has launched a “Living Proof” podcast series that uses technology to spread social work knowledge around the nation and the globe.  The series features conversations with some of the nation’s top social workers, interviews with researchers, and provides information on emerging trends in best social work practices.

“They are an important way for us to reach out to others,” said Richard Amantia, an information technology specialist for the university who was given the task of helping set up the podcasts.

A podcast is an audio file that can be played on a computer, laptop or digital music player such as an iPod or burned onto a CD.  As a result, podcasts allow interviews and lectures to be taken out of a strictly classroom environment.

 “You can listen to them anywhere,” said Kathryn Clark, a master’s of social work student at the university who works on the podcast team. “You can listen to them in a car. People can learn a lot in a little bit of time. Everybody has an iPod.”

The University at Buffalo podcasts have attracted some of the best minds in social work, including Dr. Lori Wiener from the Center for Cancer Research; Dr. Frederic Reamer, a professor at the Rhode Island College School of Social Work; and Dr. Caitlin Ryan, an expert on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues.

The podcasts have covered complex and sensitive social topics, including children living with HIV, end-of-life care for the elderly, and post traumatic stress disorder in veterans. And the university team that records programs tries to make podcast segments as topical as possible. For instance, experts were brought in to talk about trauma after a fatal plane crash in Buffalo.

The podcast Web site has attracted almost 300,000 visitors since it was launched almost two years ago and there have been about 40,000 downloads.

The segments sound pretty much like radio talk shows and even open with theme music. They are co-hosted by Professor Adjoa Robinson, who once did a radio program in Oregon.

 “We try to cast the net as broadly as possible (to find guests),” said Howard Doueck, professor and associate dean for academic affairs. “Some people don’t even realize what a podcast is.” 

Doueck said some social work schools are using the podcasts in coursework. And he said it is relatively easy for other schools of social work to get involved in making them because they are relatively easy to produce.

 “There is room out there, the profession is large enough, and the topics are varied enough that I don’t see that as competition,” he said.

Here is an excerpt:

“Currently, the public child welfare systems and agencies across the country are experiencing a severe workforce crisis. Given the expanding opportunities for professional social workers in a variety of practice areas, combined with the difficult and demanding challenges of working in child welfare, many social workers are leaving the child welfare field in record numbers and the new generation of college graduates are showing little interest in child welfare practice.”

Q: What can be done to encourage more social workers to specialize in child welfare?

TV shows such as ABC's "Find My Family" (top), the CW's "Life Unexpected" (center) and "The Locator" on WEtv touch on foster care and adoption.

May is National Foster Care Month. So SocialWorkersSpeak.org, the Web site that gets social workers talking about and influencing media, assembled a panel of social work experts to get their take on how foster care is depicted on television.

At least one drama, “Life Unexpected” on the CW, has a foster child as its main character. Other reality-based programs, including “Adoption Stories” on Discovery Health and “The Locator” on WEtv, occasionally address foster care.

The experts are:

• Jennifer Tackitt, MSW, a regional manager for the Indiana Department of Child Services.
• Matt Anderson, MSW, a Montana social worker who works with foster children and the producer of the upcoming documentary “From Place to Place” about the challenges of foster children who age out of the system.
• Elizabeth Edwards, MSW, RCSWI, a resident supervisor at Henderson Mental Health Center in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Edwards was also placed in foster care when her drug-addicted mother could no longer care for her children. Edwards, who aged out of the system, was bounced from foster home to foster home. “I stopped counting at 15,” she said.

Q: How do you feel about the recent slate of television programming that deals with foster care and adoptions? Do you think these programs are making the public more aware of adoption and more willing to become involved in foster care?

TACKITT: I do believe that putting foster care and adoption issues in the limelight can only increase public awareness and bring about additional people interested in this work and these children. It is a difficult task especially in this economy to solicit the need for foster parents. The vast majority of the public have no idea how to access this system. Having public awareness raised through television is a definite benefit.

EDWARDS: These programs are superficial and lack the underlining problems both within the system and the youth population they serve. They minimize the impact that the system plays in the core and underlining factors that the majority of foster care youth face – especially the ones aging out of the system.

ANDERSON: Any of these shows is definitely raising awareness about foster care and adoption issues. I think that’s important and a very good thing if done right — meaning that it is an accurate portrayal and a realistic portrayal. I haven’t seen any that are as raw as what I’ve experienced. They don’t show the reality that I’ve experienced. I don’t know if people want to see that or if people want to make that kind of show. Our film will put out some pretty heartbreaking stories and some pretty real and raw life experiences. But if we put the truth out there then it’s there for us to do something about. If we reveal the truth we can work toward the solution and improve the lives of kids and families.

 Q: “Life Unexpected” deals with former foster child “Lux” who is reunited with her birth parents after years of moving from one home to another. How realistic is that scenario? Do foster children often try to reconnect with birth families when they age out of foster care? In your experience are the results usually good or not so good?

ANDERSON: In my experience the majority of kids want to know about their families and most of them would want to have a relationship with their families. I think for way too many kids in the foster care system the design of our (foster care) systems — the policies and finances of the system — isolate kids from their families and I think that has to change. Our funding, our laws and our services have to support connection to family and ensure that kids have the support of people who are permanent in their lives and care about them forever.

 TACKITT: Yes. It is a natural process for children to find their birth families after spending time separated. Many times this is the plan from the get-go. We fail to prepare them for what they might encounter by not acknowledging their long-term plans. Because the system works with children aging out, it is imperative that we seek out supportive essential connections prior to their eighteenth birthday that can guide and assist them throughout their life. In the best case scenario we would have assisted them in creating positive, life-long supports that will help them navigate their search and guide them through what dysfunction or risks may still exist for them. Given the prior preparation, reuniting with birth families can be extremely positive or extremely negative. It is, however, predictable so it would behoove us not to ignore it and prepare these young adults.

EDWARDS: Unfortunately, there are several factors to consider here: race, culture, and other circumstances surrounding the separation of the child from her parents. Statistically, the probability of foster care youth locating their biological parents, having a supportive and welcoming reunification, and having biological parents who are financially, emotionally, and mentally stable and able to accept and nurture the return of a foster or adoptive child is like watching a Disney movie. But that does not mean it can’t happen. Realistically, many of the foster care and adoptive clients that I serve expressed at one point in treatment their dreams of reuniting with their family and it being this wonderful life. And because it’s so wonderful, they can’t understand why they are in foster care or why their parents gave them up. I have been privileged to undergo personal experience and those with other friends from foster care who have attempted to locate their biological parents. While I cannot speak from their point of view, I still cry. But I found closure. Whether or not I wanted to hear or see my possible life environment, it was what I needed to begin my healing process.

Q: The television show “Find My Family” helped adoptees and their birth parents find each other. Some social workers who left comments at SocialWorkersSpeak.org did not think such a sensitive scene should be televised. Do you agree? “Find My Family” was cancelled but the “The Locator” on WEtv is similar.

TACKITT: I actually do not agree that such scenes should not be televised. I believe that pain and difficult times should be transparent to this world in order to gain a better understanding. We should not shelter the community from how difficult this can be. Awareness can often bring about change and television is the best way to do that. More people may be willing to help during these situations if they are aware of how important it is to these children and families. I do believe that sensitivity should be used and all parties should be prepared. Adults need to be fully informed before allowing the world access to their emotions. I would hope that similar shows should be created. The more light shed on these issues, the more empathy our world could have.

EDWARDS: I agree with Ms. Tackitt on this.  Sensitive or not, it needs exposure. I can name several sensitive issues that continue to receive air time. If a topic arises that is an area that the client wishes to address, then it is the social worker’s responsibility to address it in the treatment plan. The Social Worker Code of Ethics clearly states this.

ANDERSON: I think if that reunification is done for the purpose of media and for the benefit of a TV show, it probably is not good. If we are doing it for the purpose of the well-being for a person of a family and they are willing to put that out there for the world to see I don’t think there is anything wrong with that.

Q: Matt, you are both a social worker and a filmmaker so we will ask you this closing question. Foster care seems like such a controversial and complete topic. Do you think screenwriters can really create a drama that addresses this issue fairly or is it better to use reality shows and documentaries to get out the word?

ANDERSON: First of all I want to say we just can’t hide from the truth. And I think we should do all of those things – dramas, documentaries and reality shows. If there is going to be real change in our child welfare system there must be a public and political will for that to happen. It’s hard to move people on an issue and inspire them do something about it. If you show real stories and allow people to see the human side of it, that’s a powerful way to effect change. Social workers say the first thing is, “do no harm.” Putting these stories out does no harm.

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

Former foster child Sokhom Mao, who graduated from San Francisco State University, talks with case manager Carla Velarde. Inset: social worker Sonja Lenz-Rashid co-founded program to help foster kids get college degrees.

Cheers to the San Francisco Chronicle for this article on Guardian Scholars, a San Francisco State University program that helps former foster children get college degrees. The program was co-founded in 2005 by social worker Sonja Lenz-Rashid, associate professor of social work at the university.

Studies indicate foster children are more likely to become incarcerated, unemployed, or single parents. Few graduate from college, partly because they do not have parental support. Guardian Scholars addresses this problem by acting as a surrogate parent.

“We check their grades. We check in with them when they seem down,” Lenz-Rashid said. “We provide that emotional support that everyone needs when they go to college, and we provide the tangible support – sheets for their bed, pots and pans for their apartment.”

May is National Foster Care Month. To learn more click here. And to find out more about how social workers such as Lenz-Rashid help foster children, click here to visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Adoptions and Foster Care Web page.

Teacher Kelly Plante tends to hang around other teachers after work because they understand her job. Photo courtesy of Chicago Business.

Social workers, police, teachers, journalists and other professions tend to socialize only with people within their profession because others don’t understand the unique pressures of their jobs, according to this article in Chicago Business.

For instance, social worker Dan Gasper found it easier and more exciting to hang around his mental health clients than “normal people.” He expanded his circle by socializing with his wife’s friends who were not social workers.

Q: Do you tend to make friends more easily with other social workers? Or do you have a more diverse social network?

Dana Plato. Photo courtesy of CNN.

Tyler Lambert, 25, son of “Diff’rent Strokes” actress Dana Plato, committed suicide this month almost 11 years to the day after his mother killed herself by drug overdose, according to this CNN article.

The death of two close family members from suicide may be more common than you think. The Johns Hopkins Children’s Center recently did a study that shows people who were children or adolescents when their parents committed sucide are more likely to commit suicide as well.

“It appears from our results that all factors — developmental, environmental and genetic — are important,” lead author Holly Wilcox said in a CNN article about the study.

Social workers often help families cope with grief. To learn more visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Grief and Loss Web page by clicking here. And to get information on how to prevent suicides visit the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA by clicking here.

Q: Social workers, when you help suicide survivors deal with grief  are you aware odds are higher other family members may commit suicide? Do  you try to address this trend in counseling?

The Huffington Post printed her entire response. Whitaker said a NASW survey, which included social workers with master’s degrees, found higher median salary levels for social workers. Still, Whitaker said the NASW is pushing for higher wages for social workers.

To read the full response click here.

Advice columnist Amy Dickinson. Photo courtesy of Chicago Tribune.

SocialWorkersSpeak.org is sending a big thank you to advice columnist Amy Dickinson (“Ask Amy”).

Amy recently advised a reader to seek help from a “mental health professional” but didn’t say social workers are also an excellent mental health resource. That prompted social workers to write in and Amy recently posted a letter from social worker Linda Plaut, MSW, LCSW in her May 10 column.

Here is the exchange:

Dear Amy: I am always heartened when you suggest that people with complicated issues consider working with a “mental health professional.”  However, I am disappointed that in your answer to “Seeking Some Help” you didn’t include licensed clinical social workers. 

Professionals with this kind of training and experience take a holistic and very pragmatic approach. 

It is also wise to make certain a therapist is licensed and has had many years working with the particular issue that is causing distress.

— Linda Plaut, LCSW

Dear Linda: I completely agree, and apologize for the omission.

But things get better. In her May 11 column Amy published a letter woman who said her life was changed for the better by a social worker.

“Professional social workers are the unsung heroes of many young lives — and they seldom get the credit they deserve,” Amy responded to that letter.

Amy, thank you for giving social workers a positive mention two days in a row! And social workers keep writing television shows and newspapers when you don’t see fair depictions of social workers. You can get results!

To find out more about how social workers help people improve their lives visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Web pages by clicking here.

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

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

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

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

The film, produced by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Bill Whiteford, looks at a diverse group of people involved in foster care in Maryland.

Social workers are featured in the documentary, including Judith Schagrin, the National Association of Social Workers 2004 Social Worker of the Year and assistant director for children’s services at the Baltimore County Department of Social Services.

Another social worker in the documentary is Lorelei Schaffhausen. Schaffhausen was also an associate producer of the film.

“We wanted to show a combination of diverse ethnic groups, and make a neighborhood, family-based film,” she said. “We wanted to do a film about permanency, the complicated situations, and multiple possibilities involved in foster care.”

To watch the film online click here. You can find out more about National Foster Care Month by visiting this Web site. And to learn more about  how social workers help foster children check out the NASW’s “Help Starts Here” Adoptions and Foster Care Web page by clicking here.

Alan Gilsenan. Photo courtesy of the Meath Chronicle.

The Irish Times recently asked award-winning filmmaker Alan Gilsenan his 10 most important rules for making a documentary.

Item No. 4 was a slap against social workers. Gilsenan wrote:

“Social workers have all sorts of notions about ‘managing the media’ (much of which is well-intentioned and understandable, as mostly the ‘media’ are mean-spirited and exploitative of the vulnerable people in their care). However, if you’re trying to make a decent documentary, truth and honesty are your only tools, and participants in that documentary are best served by being honest and true to themselves rather than spinning some politically correct platitude dreamt up by the dreaded social worker. (Other key enemies in this vein are PR consultants, media managers, spin doctors and other fraudulent professions.) And, while we’re on the subject, remember that documentary-makers are not social workers either. Their films may shine a light on an important area or even, occasionally, effect some social change, but documentary-making is not social work.”

Sorry, but we beg to differ!

Social workers make great sources in documentaries because they follow many of the social issues issues covered in these films. Social workers also make great documentary filmmakers because they often spotlight issues not generally on the public radar.

For instance, New York-based social worker Leslye Abbey has won awards for her films and Montana social worker Matt Anderson is raising funds to finish a documentary on aged-0ut foster children.  Anderson’s work has already been endorsed by well-known Hollywood writer and producer Liz Tigelaar (click here for more).

“

The campaign kicks off on Mother’s Day on May 8. Part of the campaign includes watching films that address women’s rights.

The list of 29 films is impressive. It includes movies such as “The Circle,” about the plight of Iranian women living under strict Muslim law, and “Finding Dawn,” about the murder of aboriginal women in Canada. Click here to get the full list of films and information on how to watch them.

To learn more about how social workers are pushing the improve the rights of women, visit the NASW International Women’s Rights Web pages by clicking here. To find out more about the campaign to get the United States to ratify the treaty visit the National Organization for Women CEDAW Web site by clicking here.

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

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

Rush University Medical Center in Chicago made the Thomson Reuters list of Top 100 hospitals, thanks partly to the work of social workers. To read the full article click here.

Staff from the hospital’s Older Adult Programs and Case Management Department created the Enhanced Discharged Planning Program to help vulnerable patients after they are released from the hospital. Social workers call patients to make sure they are taking medication properly, receiving food, or have access to other services.

The program keeps down medical costs by reducing the number of “frequent fliers,” or patients who have to return to the hospital frequently. Almost 20 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are readmitted to Rush within a month after release, and each older adult readmission costs the hospital an average of $7,400.

Q: Is your hospital using social workers to check up on and provide services to recently released patients?

Photo courtesy of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center.

The quality of life for breast cancer patients was consistently better over time if the patient and their mate participated in a couples-based intervention program, according to a study published in the National Association of Social Workers’ Social Work Research journal (Vol. 34, No. 1).

However, the difference in quality of life between 23 couples in a Partners in Coping Program and 24 couples who used hospital standard social work services was not significantly different, the study said.

Still, the results could guide future intervention research and give social workers guidance on providing efficient and effective ways in delivering psychosocial services to cancer patients, the authors said.

The study was done by Karen Kayser, PhD, a professor at the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work; Barry Feldman, PhD, director of psychiatry services in public safety at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center; Nancy Borstelmann, MSW, MPH, LICSW, director of patient and family support services at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; and Ann Daniels, PhD, LICSW, ACSW, executive director of social services and champlaincy at Massachusetts General Hospital Social Services.

The National Association of Social Workers offers members an array of cutting-edge publications. To subscribe to Social Work Research or purchase other NASW books and journals visit the NASW Press Web page by clicking here.

Reporter Meredith Jean Morton interviewed several social workers in the county, asking why they chose the profession and what kinds of jobs they do.

“Being a social worker, you help more than just one person,” said Nicole Beltz, one of the social workers Morton interviewed. “You help put families back together, and help improve the community by encouraging your clients.”

To learn more about the help social workers provide, visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Web site by clicking here.

Brookline students Liza McVinney, center, and Marie Fleming, right, talk with passersby about proposed social worker staff cuts. Matt Gifford in the background organized the event. Wicked Local photo by Susan Danseyar.

Jeers to the School Committee in Brookline, Mass., for proposing to cut five high school social worker positions.

The proposal raised the ire of parents and students, who staged a protest at a recent committe hearing. They wore pins labeled “SOSW,” or “Save Our Social Worker.”

Town resident Bob Gifford sent SocialWorkersSpeak.org this link to a Wicked Local.com article on the issue. Parents said laying off social workers would be the wrong thing to do since teenagers are at a critical developmental phase and  need confidential guidance social workers offer.

In fact Chris Jansky, a student who suffers from depression, said social worker Fran Kuehn probably saved his life. “If he’s not here next year, it’s not going to be a good junior year,” Jansky said.

The committee and school administration said they are confident they can provide students the same services the five social workers did. The committee will vote on the budget cuts on April 8.

Q: Are school social work positions often put on the chopping block first when schools consider budget cuts?

Betsy Clark

National Association of Social Workers Executive Director Betsy Clark recently wrote a letter-to-the-editor about a Newsweek article on First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to fight childhood obesity.

NASW supports Michelle Obama’s and Congressional efforts to end childhood obesity, which has contributed to alarming levels of “adult diseases” such as Type II diabetes, sleep apnea and high cholesterol in children.

 Click on this link to read Clark’s letter in Newsweek.

Steven Edwards.

The deep recession has increased the need for social workers to help people who are having a difficult time paying bills, putting food on the table and keeping a roof over their heads. However, state budget cuts have discouraged many states from hiring more social workers and caseworkers or replacing those who have left.

In fact, some states are furloughing or laying off workers.

“I’ve worked in this [profession] for over 30 years, and the need for our services is unbelievable. I have never seen it like this before,” said Steven Edwards, director of Cherokee County Human Services.

 “It’s a wheel, and we’re at the bottom,” he continued. “But it will turn, and we will be okay again.”

Downtown Amherst, MA. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.com.

Social workers do many things, including helping families in crisis.

But could social workers help the nation conserve energy, too?

Kevin Collins, a music teacher in Amherst, MA, is petitioning the town to spend $55,000 to hire a social worker to help residents and businesses cut energy consumption and reduce utility bills.

 Such a move would also help residents absorb an expected increase in property taxes and make the town of 36,000 a more affordable place to live, Collins said.

“This will pay for itself in the first year,” he said.

To read the full article about Collins’ petition in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, click here.

Q: President Obama has made energy efficiency a priority and supports developing sustainable energy. Do you believe social workers should help lead the push to persuade Americans to reduce energy and adopt alternative fuel?