Jack Register is a member:
Kannapolis woman says independent living was bad fit for sick brother
The News-Observer (Raleigh, NC)
Jack Register, executive director of the North Carolina chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, a mental health advocacy group, said his organization gets steady complaints about people being discharged too soon or moved to housing that’s not good for them. The official explanation is the client wants to move, Register said. “They’ll go back to client choice even if it’s not the most expedient clinical move.”

Judith Schagrin is a member:
From Social Worker to Foster Parent and Back
The Atlantic Monthly
Judith Schagrin is the assistant director for children’s services for Baltimore County, Maryland. She oversees the county’s foster care and adoptions program, which includes the approval process for foster parents and making sure that children don’t linger in the foster-care system. I spoke with Schagrin about how she’s stayed motivated for more than 30 years in the same field, the challenges facing the foster-care system, and what families have stuck with her the most. The interview that follows has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Macie Smith is a member:
Office for the Study of Aging helps develop HUGS program training for Leeza’s Care Connection
The University of South Carolina
These ambassadors are volunteers who are certified through a collaborative partnership between Leeza’s Care Connection and Lexington Medical Center to provide virtual or in-person contact with caregivers who may feel lost, afraid or alone. “Families in need want to know that someone else has walked in their shoes and has practical resources to help support them on their caregiving journey,” says Macie Smith, who is the Program Development and Training Manager for OSA. “These volunteers are a team of hope and help who can offer an authentic lifeline for others who are called upon to serve as caregivers.”

Protesting Smith students allege racial bias
Daily Hampshire Gazette
A majority of students enrolled in Smith College’s School for Social Work gathered on campus Tuesday to protest what they described as the institution’s failure to resolve ongoing complaints of racial bias. The day before, over 80 students gathered privately to discuss what they described as racist attitudes among some faculty members, citing two letters written by full-time and adjunct faculty members. Third-year student Manuel Ortiz, who helped lead Tuesday’s noontime protest outside Seelye Hall, said the letters — copies of which were reviewed by the Gazette — come as no surprise to students who he said have been flagging issues of racism in the program for “at least eight years.”

Sacramento County struggles to keep social workers due to heavy workload
The Sacramento Bee
Sacramento County has struggled to retain social workers in its Child Protective Services agency because they face massive caseloads and too little time. More than 50 percent of caseworkers hired by CPS quit within a year due to the workload, officials told the Board of Supervisors in June. From July 1, 2015, through May 31, 2016, CPS hired 106 social workers. Eighty-three of them have since left the department, said Dr. Sherri Heller, head of the Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services.