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.

Myths about the homeless
Bangor Daily News
The other way works for some people, but it hasn’t worked for the people who are chronically homeless. Meridith Bolster is a licensed clinical social worker at Penobscot Community Health Care’s Summer Street Health Center in Bangor.

Guest opinion: Preventive health programs losing out in Legislature
Billings Gazette
Kathy McGowan of Helena is executive director for Community Mental Health Centers and represents National Association of Social Workers, MT Chapter at the Legislature. She collaborated on this column with John Wilkinson, Travis Hoffman, Jill Steeley, Joan Taylor, Anita Roessmann and Stacey Anderson, all advocates for human services and prevention.

Social work a challenging field for many
Tahlequah Daily Press
Dr. Kathlyn Shahan, assistant professor of social work, is the department chair, and her focus is to train students and prepare them for the work force. “[Graduates in social work] can do all kinds of things,” said Shahan.

Let’s work to stop child abuse
GoErie.com
In 2005, I graduated from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in social work. Afterward, I began working at the Erie County Office of Children and Youth. I was excited to start my career in child welfare and truly felt I had the passion and drive to make a difference in our local community.

Britain’s child migrants
The Guardian
The scandal was discovered by social worker Margaret Humphreys Margaret Humphreys. Photograph: Fabio de Paola for the Guardian In 1986, Margaret Humphreys was a social worker in Nottingham, specialising in child protection.

Boomer Beat: Getting a nudge in the right direction
Northwest Herald
After his return to civilian life, he worked as a mental health specialist at Elgin Mental Health Center while he completed his master’s degree in social work, and then settled into a lifelong career as a social worker. After getting his feet wet as a mental health specialist at Elgin Hospital, Bennett was offered the position of deputy director of child psychiatry at the University of Illinois.

Center helps leaders learn how to change lives
Rapid City Journal
In a legal system that focuses on crime as an offense against the state – not an individual – the voices of crime victims are frequently unheard, according to Mark Umbreit, founder of the Center for Restorative Justice & Peacemaking at the University of Minnesota’s School of Social Work.

Child welfare workers second-guess stressful jobs
AP
NEW YORK — When child welfare worker Kelly Mares investigates an abuse case, she doesn’t know what’s going to greet her on the other side of the door. A ferocious dog. Or a gun. Or a meth lab, or angry parents who lash out violently.

New Coping Model Inspires Proactive Change for Survivors of Lost …
ParamusPost.com
So says Susan A. Berger, LICSW, EdD and the hundreds of bereaved loved ones she’s encountered in her career. Susan Berger, founder of the Massachusetts Center for Loss, Bereavement, and Healing , says that the survivors of loss often do not understand their own unique brand of grief; they can be misunderstood and misdiagnosed by therapists as well.

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.

Violence against social workers is common and the aftermaths of such incidents can leave social workers feeling angry, ineffective or afraid to do their work. Researchers from the Bob Shapell School of Social Work in Tel Aviv and the LaTrobe University School of Social Work and Social Policy in Australia analyzed 130 “critical incidents” reported by Israeli social workers.

Some social workers reported being punched by clients or witnessing clients do violent things to others. For instance, one saw a drug-addicted client hold a knife to his girlfriend’s throat. Others are traumatized by things they witness, such as a child being removed from an unsuitable home or listening to clients recount being sexually abused.

Besides getting training on how to handle such incidents and protect themselves, social workers also need supervision that helps them deal with such situations effectively, researchers said.

Q: Social workers have been injured and even murdered while on the job. Do you get training on how to avoid or defuse potentially violent situations or resources to handle the emotional aftermath of such scenes?

The National Association of Social Workers offers members an array of cutting-edge publications. For information on  NASW books and journals visit the NASW Press Web page by clicking here.

Saginaw phsycians, nurses collaborate closely to provide best medical care
The Saginaw News – MLive.com
Accompanying Bannon were a nurse and a social worker preparing to discuss with a patient the details of his care outside of Covenant HealthCare.

Opinion: Mental health and violence
University of Texas at Austin News
by King Davis Dr. King Davis, the Robert Lee Sutherland Endowed Chair in Mental Health and Social Policy in the School of Social Work, served as executive director of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health from 2003-2008. His current funded research focuses on the history of mental health services and policies for African American populations.

Denver World Affairs lunch a shining success
Denver Post
Everding has worked as a clinical social worker, a second-grade teacher and adjunct professor at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work.

What School Turnaround Really Takes
Huffington Post (blog)
Turnaround teams include a school coach, a social worker, and a classroom coach–the focus is systems, services, and skills. They “work with school staff to develop the systems, resources, and knowledge and skills to address the broad and intense set of needs presented by students and staff, all in the service of creating a positive school culture and a vibrant learning community dedicated to high achievement and healthy development.” The three year intervention costs about $200,000 annually with philanthropic, school and district support.

Young lives on the line
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Dr. Bill Barton, a professor at the Indiana University School of Social Work in Indianapolis, also has done extensive research on juvenile justice issues.

Community Justice Program launched in Brooklyn
EmpireStateNews.net
The Community Justice Program, which pairs Medgar Evers’ strong academic programs in social work and related disciplines with District Attorney Charles J. Hynes’ nationally recognized re-entry and diversion programs, includes an array of initiatives, internships and courses that create opportunities for students and the formerly incarcerated.

Sheriff Bill Brown paints bleak picture of Santa Barbara County Jail mental …
The Daily Sound
The jail now has a full time mental health Registered Nurse, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a Marriage and Family Therapist, and a part-time psychiatrist. Two practitioners are available during the weekdays, and one on the weekends.

‘Law and Order: SVU’ Star, Tamara Tunie Speaks Up for Kids, Asks …
PR Newswire
The Coalition, which includes the National District Attorneys Association, Every Child Matters Education Fund, the National Association of Social Workers, the National Center for Child Death Review, and the National Children’s Alliance, is working to make child maltreatment deaths a national political priority.

Gabe Zimmerman tributes:

Gabe Zimmerman lived to serve the public
Arizona Daily Star
Zimmerman, 30, will be celebrated at a public memorial this morning, organized by the local branch of the Arizona State University School of Social Work.

Social work community honors Zimmerman
KVOA Tucson News
Zimmerman was very well known in the social work community, not just as a co-worker, but as a leader. Craig LeCroy helped organize the event in Zimmerman’s honor.

Yuma native’s fiance among the slain
Yuma Sun
Gabe worked with disturbed children from difficult home lives and he proceeded to get his master of social work at Arizona State University.

Arizona shooting victim was a ‘social-work hero’
AZ Central.com
The service, attended by about 300 people, was held at Arizona State University School of Social Work’s Tucson office, his alma mater and where Zimmerman prepared for his work in public service.

A fond goodbye to Giffords’ ‘go-to guy’
Arizona Daily Star
Gabe Zimmerman was a passionate social worker with a combination of softness and maturity. A warm and gentle soul with a “Leave It to Beaver” smile that could resolve any argument, friends and colleagues said Monday during a memorial service.

Forming Your Final Health Wishes
Ridgecrest Daily Independent
“We recommend that everyone have both forms on file,” added Brenda Autobee-Bigalk, social worker at Ridgecrest Regional Hospital. “You are actually giving the patient a gift by following their wishes.

A milestone for Mikulski, the ‘dean’ of Senate women
The Washington Post
“Maybe it’s because she’s a social worker, maybe because she’s a woman – she understands relationships are everything,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). “She helps you see areas of common interest so you can find solutions.”

Judge reconsiders former Germantown youth pastor’s sex offense probation
Business Gazette
Smith recommended Dr. Ronald Weiner, of Clinical & Forensic Associates, PC, one of the only licensed mental-health professionals in Maryland who specializes in working with sexual offenders.  According to the Clinical & Forensic Associates website Weiner has a doctoral degree from the University of Maryland in social welfare and social policy, as well as a master’s degree in social work from Howard University. He is licensed in both Maryland and the District of Columbia as a clinical social worker.

County official responds to caseworkers report
Wayne Independent
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) gave Wayne County a letter grade of “D+.” However, Wayne County Commissioner Wendell Kay said the report does not tell the whole story.

Robeson County is one of most violent in state
FayObserver.com
Lead researcher Paul Smokowski, a professor in the School of Social Work at UNC-Chapel Hill, said he chose Robeson County for the grant application after comparing its crime rate with cities across the state and region.

Federal grant aimed at helping Ky. youth
NECN
(AP) — Social work faculty and researchers from three Kentucky universities will work with youth groups in hopes of reducing teen pregnancy, violence and transmitted diseases, using a $4.8 million federal grant.

Helping area veterans become adjusted to civilian life
Wilkes Barre Times-Leader
Then I took on a few more and stayed to finish those,” said Browne, who is now pursuing a degree in social work for the elderly at Misericordia University.

Fatal fire in Bucyrus: Trauma team helps students, staff cope
Bucyrus Telegraph Forum
Croneis has a masters in social work from The Ohio State University and has been a licensed social worker for 17 years.

Sponsored Post: 5 tips for a happier holiday season
The Eastsider LA
Gabrielle Forman, MSW, LCSW: Going stag to holiday events can be stressful. This stress, like most social anxiety, comes from our beliefs that others see our single status as a negative.

Chance led Ruth Morris to ‘True Grit,’ but her role isn’t a new one
Fort Worth Star Telegram
“Before orientation was even over, I had switched to a social-work major,” she says. And since then, she has focused on helping people with limb loss.

For a Father and Three Sons, Sharing the Role of Caretaker
New York Times
In late September, a social worker at Alberto’s school applied to The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund, seeking help for the Garcia family.

Coping with holiday stress: Experts give opinion
Los Angeles Times
“One thing I do is try to keep it simple,” said Judith Wolfe, licensed clinical social worker in private practice in Carmel and Salinas, Calif.

Results vary in Pa. child-welfare worker survey
Centre Daily Times
The Pennsylvania chapter of the National Association of Social Workers released the report Monday. It says it gathered the information on every child-welfare caseworker in Pennsylvania, a process that took 11 months and required requests under the state Right to Know Law.

New hope to stop violence against women
Asheville Citizen-Times
Maribel Quiala, LCSW is the Southeast Regional Coordinator for the National Latina Health Network and Field Instructor for the Florida International University School of Social Work, Nova Southeastern University and Barry University.

Pepe was addicted to PCP for two decades but went on to earn a master’s degree in social work from Widener University. She just opened Myra’s Place in a former tavern. Myra’s Place, which was named after a friend who disappeared in 1983, is a place where women can go for help dealing with addiction or violence at home.

“Everyone should have a safe place to come to,” Pepe said.

To learn more about how social workers help people grappling with drug and alcohol dependency visit the National Association of Social Workers “Help Starts Here” Addiction Web page by clicking here. Social workers also help women and men escape from domestic violence. Click here to read more on “Help Starts Here.”

Violence has Chester in critical condition
Philadelphia Daily News
“It’s a potential quick fix,” said Chad Dion Lassiter, president of Black Men at Penn School of Social Work, Inc. at the University of Pennsylvania.

Practitioners trained in needs of returning vets
Atlanticville
WEST LONG BRANCH — The School of Social Work at Monmouth University is expanding efforts to improve the mental health treatment of New Jersey’s returning veterans through its Coming Home Project.

Study of Fort Worth’s homeless plan shows ‘dramatic progress’
Fort Worth Star Telegram
Three hundred twenty-two homeless people have been housed through the plan, Directions Home, since April 2009, with many clients participating in counseling and substance abuse treatment, the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work found.

N.J. Senate panel approves Gov. Christie’s choice to run Department of Children, Families
NJ.com
The full 40-member Senate is expected to vote Thursday or Monday to approve the nomination of Allison Blake, former director of the Institute for Families at the Rutgers School of Social Work.

On screen and off, really big families are really fascinating
AJC
“I think we’re always curious about things that we’re not around,” said Dr. Jan Ligon, associate professor of social work at Georgia State University.  “In 1790, about half of all families were comprised of over six people. Now only 3 percent of families have that many.”

Sharmili Majmudar. Photo courtesy of the Windy city Times.

Cheers to the Windy City Times for this article on social worker Sharmili Majmudar, one of the recipients of the Chicago Foundation for Women 2010 Impact Awards.

Majmudar, LCSW, has won praise for her work on trauma and violence against women and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. She is executive director of Rape Victim Advocates.

Does her work with victims of violence ever get her down? “If I weren’t affected by it I shouldn’t be doing it because then I cease being present, feeling the humanity of what has happened,” Majmudar said.

Social workers are committed to equal treatment for all, including gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people. To learn more, click here to visit the NASW Diversity and Equity Web page.

Students walk down the hall at Morton Alternative High School in Chicago. Photo by Jose More/Chicago News Cooperative.

We commend the New York Times for running a Chicago News Cooperative article on the Morton Alternative High School.

A team of social workers at the Chicago school for teenagers with disciplinary problems uses individual and group therapy to help young people cope with the stress. Most come from neighborhoods where gangs, violence, and crime are rampant.

“Nobody here has a ‘Little House on the Prairie’ background,” said Matt Landa, one of the social workers. “But they are amazing to work with…when I don’t feel like pulling out my hair.”

The program at Morton may be adopted by schools in other parts of the nation. To read the full article click here.

And to learn more about how social workers help teenagers visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Youth Development Web page by clicking here.

Linda Dunphy

A California high school student was raped last month while many just stood by and watched. Many people are afraid to get involved when they see domestic violence and sexual assault occurring, believing it is not their place to step in.

Linda Dunphy MSW wrote an excellent opinion piece in Sunday’s Washington Post with advice on how to break free of the “bystander culture.” Dunphy is executive director of Doorways for Women and Families in Arlington, Va.

Q: Dunphy said people do not realize they have tremendous power to help victims of domestic violence and sexual assaults. Do you agree there should be more public education on appropriate ways to respond when you notice a family member, friend or co-worker is in trouble? Leave comments below.

Photo Courtesy of Milwaukee-Journal

St. Chad Episcopal Church in Loves Park, Ill., held a healing prayer service Nov. 6 for Dorothy “Dorrie” Carskadon, an Army Reserve social worker injured during the Fort Hood, Texas shootings. The church pastor said it is ironic Carskadon was injured because her speciality is helping clients defuse their anger. Click here to read the full Milwaukee Journal story.

The film “Precious” puts a spotlight on many issues social workers confront, including family violence, child abuse, HIV and AIDS and teen pregnancy.

Social workers also play an important role in the gut-wrenching film, which premieres Friday Nov. 6. In fact, pop singer Mariah Carey sheds her diva image to portray “Mrs. Weiss,” a social worker who tries to help the troubled teenager Claireece “Precious” Jones.

But is the film’s portrayal of social workers fair? Do you handle some of the some issues depicted in the movie? “Social Workers Speak” urges you to see “Precious” and let us know what you think. You can post your comments below.

And we can tell you how to reach out to your community and local media to let give them your opinion on “Precious” and its depiction of social work.

How to React to Film:
Are you pleased with how the film “Precious” portrayed social workers or are you upset? If you want to contact your local newspaper, radio or television station to voice your opinion about the gut-wrenching movie, contact Greg Wright at the National Association of Social Workers (GWright@naswdc.org). Greg can give you tips on how to get involved.

How to Find Film:
According to the press, Lionsgate studios will give “Precious” a limited theater release. Is the film playing near you? Go to www.precioustickets.com to find theaters showing the movie and buy tickets.