How Employee Assistance Programs Can Help Your Whole Company Address Racism at Work
Harvard Business Review
As a professor and chair of the only Masters in Social Work (MSW) program with a focus on preparing graduates for careers in the field of Employee Assistance, I have received numerous calls over the past several months from employers asking for advice and consultation regarding how they can work to challenge — and dismantle — their own systems that uphold racist views and policies.

Will Francis is executive director of NASW-TX:
New Texas rule lets social workers turn away clients who are LGBTQ or have a disability
The Texas Tribune
The Texas State Board of Social Work Examiners voted unanimously Monday to change a section of its code of conduct that establishes when a social worker may refuse to serve someone. The code will no longer prohibit social workers from turning away clients on the basis of disability, sexual orientation or gender identity…. The nondiscrimination policy change drew immediate criticism from a professional association. Will Francis, executive director of the Texas chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, called it “incredibly disheartening.” He also criticized board members for removing the nondiscrimination protections without input from the social workers they license and oversee.

Patricia McIntosh is a member:
Hartford civilian crisis response team to be lead by former Connecticut Children’s social worker
The Hartford Courant
A longtime social worker will oversee the creation of a new civilian crisis response team in Hartford, an effort Mayor Luke Bronin announced in June amid calls to defund the police. Patricia A. McIntosh left Connecticut Children’s to manage the project, which will ultimately dispatch professional crisis workers to certain emergency calls instead of or alongside police officers. The mayor’s office announced her hire Tuesday when it released the names of local health experts who will serve on an advisory board for the new team.

Jerry Webber is a member:
[Audio] Lingering Pandemic Contributes to Stress
WNAX (Yankton, SD)
The lingering pandemic is contributing to ongoing stress for a lot of people. Jerry Webber is a clinical social worker in Yankton and says she is hearing and seeing it in adults and adolescents. Webber says isolation for the elderly is very concerning, and that even former “safe spaces” are sources of stress. National healthcare officials are warning of a winter surge in coronavirus infections as the weather gets cold and people retreat indoors.

Tracy Greene Mintz is a member:
Can L.A. County turn around its nursing home debacle?
Salon
A new Capital & Main investigation found a pattern of systemic problems within the HFID, including “incompetant” management at the top. Tracy Greene Mintz, a licensed clinical social worker who provides consultation to nursing home social service departments, said that “entrenched leadership” at the county health department has led to an organization mired in “bureaucratic sludge.”

Cynthia Mulder is a member:
Reconnecting After COVID-19
Psychology Today
“People may experience a type of shock if they try to return to their old schedule,” says Cynthia Mulder, LCSW, The Menninger Clinic. “By resetting what we value, we find a new appreciation for what we no longer need and what helps us cope.” While learning how to cope with isolation is important, the need to rebuild social connectivity is real. Enforced distancing measures are not only changing our work, family, and travel routines, but they’re also changing how we interact with others.

Ryan Estes is a member and on the board of NASW-NC:
Health Care Heroes: Health Care Executive
Wimington Biz
Ryan Estes is deserving of the Health Care Hero Award as he has and continues to make a significant positive impact on the quality of healthcare in Wilmington. He provides fiscal, policy and clinical oversight to Coastal’s programs in 27 counties. Ryan is a strategic thinker and is always looking for ways to meet the needs of those we serve. He was both instrumental and successful in building our Child First, Day Treatment and Intensive Family Preservation Services.