Jobs Act has elements all can support
Idaho Press-Tribune
“It is time for Idaho’s congressional delegation to come together with the Democrats in Congress and support passage of the Jobs Act.” —Delmar Stone is the executive director for the Idaho Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

Social workers laid off by Jackson Public Schools ask district not to privatize jobs
The Jackson Citizen Patriot – MLive.com
Kathryn Fortune-Gallagher, who was a social worker at Bennett Elementary School, said if the district hires social workers who work for a company the positions would become a revolving door because the workers will always be looking for something better and not be “invested in the district.”

Combat veterans invited to join new Tahlequah support group
Cherokee Phoenix
Tulsa Vet Center Social Worker Matthew Tiger works with combat veterans and their families to help these veterans readjust. He is currently forming a new combat veterans’ support group in Tahlequah and is asking veterans to contact him.

The main lesson from a down job market? Stay in school. As long as you can.
The Washington Post
Sadly, the degrees in least demand — and that pay the least — lead to jobs that help other people the most. Counseling, psychology and social work are among these.

After Abduction of 8 Children, Sense That Mother Was Desperate
The New York Times
“Imagine if someone took your children away from you,” Forestdale’s executive director, Anstiss Agnew, said Wednesday from the leafy campus where the abduction took place. “What would you do to get those children back?”

Growing service offers help to those who struggle
Bucyrus Telegraph Forum
Kenzie Klamfoth, Licensed Social Worker, front; Barb Wirebaugh, Licensed Independent Social Worker and Supervisor; and Jean Ollis, Licensed Independent Social Worker, in front of Affinity HealthWorks’ new location at 106 E. Warren St. in Bucyrus.

Social Work advisory board establishes endowment to support family violence …
CisionWire (press release)
ARLINGTON — The UT Arlington School of Social Work Advisory Council has created a new, $250000 endowed professorship focused on issues of family violence in honor of the Arlington police officer and University alumna who was killed in the line of duty last year.

UPDATE: Atlanta Hawks’ Etan Thomas, Former Mayor Wilson Goode to Serve on Juvenile Justice Panel
PRLog
With an alarming number of African American youth ensnared in the juvenile justice system, U.S. Rep. Edolphus “Ed” Towns (NY-10) has convened a diverse group of leaders to explore solutions to this growing crisis. Entitled, “An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Re-entry Programs,” the panel will explore the juvenile justice system in America at a time when critics say it neither reforms young offenders nor protects the public.

The Knock at the Door
New York Magazine
The last thing child-welfare supervisor Chereece Bell wanted to see was what happened to 4-year-old Marchella Pierce. The last thing she expected was to go to jail for it.

Outside attorneys cost state millions in 5 years
DesMoinesRegister.com
“I am concerned,” said Kelli Soyer, executive director of the Iowa chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. “They continue to say we don’t have money for essential services for families in need, but we have money for outside legal fees?”

Health Notes: 5 Alzheimer’s behaviors — and how to cope with them
Daily Press (blog)
By Prue Salasky Nataly Rubinstein, a licensed clinical social worker and geriatric care manager, has over 25 years experience with Alzheimer’s patients, including with her own mother. She has written a book, “Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias.

Chandler teen suicides bring increased vigilance
Arizona Republic
Students who are hurting often drop hints while in high-school guidance counselors’ offices or in essays for their English classes, said Dia Mundle, a social worker at Hamilton High School and the only social worker in the Chandler Unified School District.

Vt. governor picks panel for single-payer health plan
Boston.com
Anya Rader Wallack of Calais will be chairwoman of the five-member board. Wallack has served as Shumlin’s special assistant for health care reform since shortly after he took office January. “In putting together this team, I looked for five really smart people who are fully committed to the goal of controlling health care costs, achieving universal coverage, and who can work as a team,” Shumlin said.

Adjusting your child to the new school year
WALA-TV FOX10
Tabitha Olzinski is a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in child development. She’s also a mom of two. She said it can be tough to tell sometimes how our kids are doing when they’re at school. We don’t get to see their social interaction or how they’re doing following directions or even getting their work done.

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.

South Dakota social work pioneer dies
KCAU
Late in her life she was named a Social Work Pioneer by the National Association of Social Workers Foundation. South Dakota State University professor Ann Wilson says Chamberlain was “an advocate of the poorest of the poor.”

Cruz wants youth to become social workers
KUAM.com
I congratulate the Guam Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and all organizations that advance social services, social justice and social consciousness. I want to encourage our young people to become social workers.

Social Work Students Get To Know the Capitol
KFYR-TV
The UND students and the National Association of Social Workers are soaking in the legislative process because they say there`s no better way to make change for North Dakota`s most vulnerable citizens. “Building up our knowledge by being on the floor, going to different committees. Being here on a regular basis and trying to work within the system to make some changes,” says David Bialik with the National Association of Social Workers.

Union debate really about who’s ethical
Idaho Press-Tribune
If we are going to hold people accountable and dismantle organizations, why not start with the culprits who decimated the economy? • Delmar Stone is the executive director for the Idaho Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

Food Stamps are a SNAP
The Faster Times
So, I had to hunt down a social worker here in our new community to help us with that. While I was pursuing the Medicaid reinstatement, I inquired about food stamps. “Food stamps are harder to get than Medicaid,” said Mr. Bill[1], my gruff, brusque/garrulous (depending on his mood) social worker who I met over the phone. You never actually see any of these people.

Mom faces court
Stockton Record
Armstead is accused of torturing and killing the baby, who died Christmas Day, two weeks after a San Joaquin County social worker visited her home to investigate abuse allegations. The death has raised questions over whether social worker case loads are too high to ensure reports of abuse are investigated thoroughly.

Caregivers of wounded vets hold conference in Tampa
Tbo.com
Veronica Thomas talks with Adam Kijanski, a Veterans Affairs social work case manager. Thomas takes care of her son, a veteran who was severely wounded in Iraq.

Social Work Conference Talks about Helping People
KAUM News Extra
Video of NASW-Guam Executive Director

USF celebrates Social Work Month with launch of forensic social work program
TribLocal
According the National Association of Social Workers, Social Work Month is designed to bring awareness to the 640000 professional social workers across the country who have dedicated their careers to helping others overcome adversity to transform their lives or to improve environments to make such transformations possible.

Youth develop character while snowboarding with Shred Love group
NJ.com
By Barbara Milton, Ph.D., LCSW Doug Bauman/The Jersey JournalThirteen-year-old Edward Miles Fowlkes of Jersey City shows the certificate he received after participating in a Shred Love snowboarding trip.

An Education in Compassion
Durango Telegraph
To help address these problems in the 1930s, the University of Denver launched the Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW), the first such program in the Rocky Mountain Region. Today, it is the region’s top-ranked graduate social work program and and nationally ranked in the top 17 percent.

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.

The writing workshop program has now spread from the San Francisco Bay area to as far away as Miami and Washington, D.C.

“The Beat Within” is the brainchild of social worker David Inocencio.

“Our job is to help these kids tell their stories and realize they have choices in their lives,” he said. “I’ve watched them grow up from 14-year-olds who think it’s a rite of passage to be in the hall to young adults who want to go to college and might get a second chance.”

To learn more about how social workers such David Inocencio help young people visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Youth Development Web page by clicking here.

The program helps youth build confidence and learn a skill they can show off. And before we forget to mention school social worker and National Association of Social Workers member Michael Czerwonka came up with the idea to link students with the Woodchucks woodworking club.

“A lot of the kids were, ‘You didn’t make that! You’re in seventh grade like me,’” Czerwonka said. “You can just see the pride they take in the work they do.”

To read the full story, click here.

And to learn more about how social workers such as Czerwonka help young people, visit NASW’s “Help Starts Here” youth Development Web page by clicking here.

Photo: Eighth grader Nick Templeton works on a book case. Photo by Dan Lassiter.

Photo courtesy of the Redwood Times.

Hats off to the Redwood Times for its profile of Melissa Reynolds, a social worker who serves homeless youth in southern Humboldt County, California.

Reynolds said these youth don’t fall under the traditional homeless definition. Many are “couch surfers” who drift from home to home, seeking food and shelter where they can find it. Most are children of economically challenged or drug addicted parents who cannot care for them, she said.

Q: Are you serving more teen clients who are “couch surfers.” Do you think more social work programs should be targeted at such youth, who are often difficult to identify and serve?

Brad Whipple, courtesy of the Des Moines Register.

Thanks to the Des Moines Register for its wonderful profile of Brad Whipple, director of the Iowa Homeless Youth Centers.  Brad is also a National Association of Social Workers member.

The article not only talked about how the center helps homeless youth transition to adulthood, but also educated the public on the life-affirming work social workers do each day.

For more information on how social workers help young people visit the NASW’s Children and Families section and “Help Starts Here” section on Kids and Families.

Mark Goldsmith

Goldsmith’s Getting Out and Staying Out program uses social workers:

“Staff members and “coaches” help the young men with basic life skills, as well as setting up job interviews, getting their GED, signing up for vocational training and entering substance-abuse programs if necessary. A director of social services and several social-work interns help the men navigate psychological and family issues as well.”

Photo Courtesy of ABC

Pop Star Rihanna recently appeared in an  interview on ABC’s “20-20″ and ”Good Morning America” to discuss the violence she experienced at the hands of fellow singer and ex-boyfriend Chris Brown. Click here to watch the interview.

Social workers are at the forefront in helping domestic violence victims and educating the public about  the issue.

Question: Do you think Rihanna’ s willingness to speak out will help other domestic violence victims come forward, especially teenagers and young adults? Please leave your comments below.