Message from NASW-DE Executive Director John Shuford

We have a definite date for the LCSW Test prep course. We will have it in Dover, November 19, at DSU in the Bank of America Building, Room 309. Registration for it can be done on the New Jersey NASW website beginning Tuesday of next week. Click here. Sign-up early so we are sure we have enough to make the course. 

We are holding our second Multiple Approaches to Trauma Treatment Conference on November 4th. Last year 35 clinicians found it very valuable. We are again co-sponsoring it with the Vet Center. It will be from 8:30 to 4:30 in the Community Service Building Room 6, 100 West 10th Street near Rodney Square in downtown Wilmington. There will be descriptions and case studies of three different modalities. This year the modalities are: Cognitive Processing Therapy, The Alternatives to Violence Project and the Emotional Freedom Technique.

Cognitive Processing Therapy [CPT] will be presented by Patricia Daly, who was the Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Coordinator for the Wilmington Veteran’s Administration. CPT is currently being used with military returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. The Alternatives to Violence Project will be presented by John A. Shuford, Coordinator of AVP in Delaware. AVP has been used for 35 years in prisons with inmates [and for 15 years with prison staff] to reduce violent attitudes, anger and negative behavior, resulting in a significant reduction in recidivism. More recently it has been used internationally with highly traumatized populations with very positive results. It is a methodology easily learned, making it a very powerful tool in community settings. The third approach is the Emotional Freedom Technique presented by Robin Bilazarian, which is also easily learned and used with other techniques. EFT uses acupressure points to relieve stress associated with thoughts and past experiences. To register for this send an email to john@naswde.org. The cost is $25 which includes 6 CEU’s for social workers [we are looking into CEU’s for psychologists and licensed professional counselors]. See flier.

With the legalization of same sex unions in Delaware, there will be changes and much to learn. Next Tuesday from 6:00 to 8:00, there will be a presentation on “A Moment in Our LGBT History; Financial and Legal Implications for LGBT Couples” at the Columbus Inn, 2216 Pennsylvania Ave., Wilmington. See the flier for more information.

                                                                                                           John

DSU Social Work Department Hosts Mini Conference

The “Protecting Children, Strengthening Families” Mini Conference will be sponsored by Delaware State University’s Department of Social Work on November 10, 2011, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This mini conference will feature speakers from the Child Welfare Information Gateway, which provides access to timely, practical resources that help child welfare, adoption, and related professionals protect children and strengthen families. A service of the Children’s Bureau of DHHS, Information Gateway covers a wide range of child welfare topics, including child abuse prevention, family preservation, foster care, domestic and inter country adoption, and much more. For more information.

Helpful Tips for Hard Times

“Coping in Hard Times; Fact Sheet for Parents” from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network is an extensive document with a lot of useful information, especially helpful during these economic times. Click here for Fact Sheet.

Domestic Violence Forum: A Call to Men

The 2011 Domestic Violence Prevention Forum on November 3 will feature Tony Porter,” A Call to Men; and the Women that Love Them.” Mr. Porter is the Co-Founder of A Call to Men: the National Association of Men and Women Committed to Ending Violence Against Women. The program is from 5:00 to 8:00 at Ezion Fair Baptist Church. See flier.

FREE Caregivers Support Offered

The Claymont Counseling Center is offering a free Caregivers Support Group beginning October 25 from 5:30 to 6:30. Possible topics include: Caregiver stress management, Grieving while caregiving and the Importance of a support system. For more information.

Certified Prevention Specialist Information Session Offered

Please save the date for an upcoming information session to be held on Tuesday, November 15th from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm on becoming a Certified Prevention Specialist (CPS). This information session is being sponsored by the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health and the Delaware Certification Board. If you are interested in attending, please contact Erica Melman at Erica.Melman@state.de.us by November 8th. The location is being finalized and will be announced at a later date.

The CPS classification is for the professional who facilitates and promotes positive growth in self, specific populations (i.e. groups at risk developing drug and alcohol problems), and the community at large. This professional uses specific knowledge and skills to design, implement and evaluate programs aimed at precluding or reducing problems caused by the use of alcohol and other drugs.

Medicare Open Enrollment Available Now!

Medicare Open Enrollment is available now, offering seniors more benefits, better choices, and lower costs.

The Affordable Care Act gives seniors with Medicare cheaper prescription drugs, free preventive services, and lower costs. With more benefits, better choices and lower costs, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is encouraging people with Medicare and their families to begin reviewing drug and health plan coverage options for 2012.

The Medicare Open Enrollment Period -- which begins earlier this year on Saturday, October 15 – has been expanded to last seven weeks and will end on December 7. This will give seniors and people with disabilities more time to compare and find the best plan that meets their unique needs. Across the country, HHS officials will hold 150 events in the days leading up to Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period to inform and educate people with Medicare. For more information.

New Alcohol Abuse Guide Available

Information released from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health on a newly released guide for health care professionals to spot children and teens at risk for alcohol related problems.

“Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention for Youth: A Practitioner’s Guide” is designed to help health care professionals quickly identify youth at risk for alcohol-related problems. NIAAA developed the Guide and Pocket Guide in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics, a team of underage drinking researchers and clinical specialists, and practicing health care professionals.  

FREE Workshop for Let's Talk Month

A FREE workshop for parents, educators, and youth service providers in celebration of Let’s Talk Month: Let’s Talk! Discussing sexuality with your child: What to say and when to say it.

October is Let’s Talk Month!  Every year, sex educators and advocates use this month to encourage and empower parents to become more confident sex educators for their children and teens.  To celebrate, the Sexuality Education Training Institute (SETI) of Planned Parenthood of Delaware is excited to offer a free workshop to discuss the important role that sex education plays in the emotional and physical well-being of young people. For more information.

Libraries Help Job Seekers

There's a new library program that aids job seekers. It's called
Job Center@Delaware Libraries.

Job seekers and career changers in Delaware now have access to a full range of job-seeking services through Job Center@Delaware Libraries, a new program developed by the State Division of Libraries.

The four centers, now open at the Dover Public Library, the Georgetown Public Library, the Seaford Library & Cultural Center and the Wilmington Institute Library, are designed to empower their users by assisting them in finding the information they need and in developing skills that are essential to securing employment. For more information.

NASW News from the Hill

You can read all the social work legislative news and what’s happening in Washington in News From the Hill from NASW national. Click here.

News from DE and Beyond...

Click on the article                        title for link

Foster Kids Ask For More Encouragement To Go To College
Alixes Rosado, who has been in and out of the state's foster care system since he was 6 and is now a senior at the University of New Haven, credits his success in part to his social worker. "The kids [who] have somebody there caring for them and wanting them to succeed are going to do it," Rosado, 22, said Monday at a forum for legislators and state officials. "We all need a little push."

Lincoln Elementary School targets bullying
According to Kirsten Lyman Roberson, Social Worker at Lincoln, a Federal Counseling Grant provided funds to begin the anti-bullying programs in local schools. Goals of the program are to reduce existing bullying problems among students, to prevent the development of new bullying problems, and to achieve better peer relations at school.  All students participate.

New poll shows Latino parents still hesitant to have "THE sex talk" with their kids
LatinaLista -- A new poll released by New York University's Silver School of Social Work's Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health (CLAFH) and Planned Parenthood shows that 82 percent of parents are having a "sex talk" with their children.

UGA website helps fight addiction
By JOE VANHOOSE - joe.vanhoose@onlineathens.com Students in the University of Georgia's School of Social Work are helping drug and alcohol addicts all over the state on the road to recovery. What started as an Athens website for those who battle addiction now has expanded to Savannah, Atlanta, Macon and Augusta.

Why More Americans Suffer From Mental Disorders Than Anyone Else
But how does the U.S. compare to other nations? The World Health Organization (WHO) has spent a good amount of time and resources determining how rates of mental health disorders fluctuate across the globe. It is no small task.

Hostages of child prostitution
Las Vegas social worker Marisela Quintero tries to help girls who have all but sold their souls to pimps. Some run even when offered a way out. Others wind up dead.

University of Montana Gets Federal Grant to Treat Child Abuse in Indian Country
For this major project, NNCTC also has partnered with the Butler Institute for Children and Families at the University of Denver's School of Social Work and has assembled an advisory council of national experts to support implementation and oversight of the project.

Immigrants fearing deportation make plans for kids
Social worker Jazmin Rivera says she helps dozens of Spanish-speaking immigrants fill out paperwork each week. Many immigrants sign power of attorney forms that allow someone else to care for their children if needed. Rivera says people are scared.

Brown School launches first social work-based social entrepreneurship program
This fall, the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis will be home to the first social entrepreneurship program based in a social work setting. “There is enormous enthusiasm among our students and recent graduates, many of whom want to apply entrepreneurial thinking to social problems,” says Edward F. Lawlor, PhD, dean of the Brown School and the William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor.

The Age of "Coming Out" Is Now Dramatically Younger
The number of LGB teens who "come out" to family and friends has grown dramatically in the past two decades, says Dr. Guy Shilo of TAU's Bob Shapell School of Social Work. In 1991, the average coming-out age was 25. But as of 2010, he notes, it is 16 years old — a dramatic shift.

Occupy Wall Street protests are fighting for all of us
If it succeeds like the civil rights movement of the 60s, we'll all be better off.

Local View: Supercommittee must protect kids
Becky Gould is the Executive Director of Nebraska Appleseed, and writes on behalf of the Nebraska Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, Voices for Children Nebraska, and NAMI Nebraska - all co-sponsors of the Step Up for Kids rally.

Beyond The Battlefield: How To Help
"We wouldn't be where we are today without the nonprofits," said Cheryl Gansner, whose husband Bryan was badly injured by an IED in Iraq in 2006. Currently, she works as a program coordinator for Wounded Warrior Wives. When the VA was too backed up to provide mental health counseling, the Gasners got free counseling through Give an Hour, which links up mental health professionals who donate their time with military service members and their families.

NYer Of The Week: Social Worker Helps Pet Owners Deal With Loss, Finds Homes ...
Kittens that are up for adoption at the Hope Veterinary Clinic will give their owners years of companionship, but at some point, those owners will have to deal with losing them. That's where Juliet Sternberg comes in. She's a social worker who does grief counseling for pet owners. “It's a loss that can bring up so many other things. The decade and a half that they have spent with this animal has often been quite tumultuous, or it raises everything that has gone on in that whole time,” says Sternberg.

Mt. Hebron's Safety Net Project Aims to Prevent Bullying
[This article was written by Kristin Cole, a social worker and director of the Safety Net Project.] For last week's Anti-Bullying Program within the Montclair Public School District, a number of schools developed and delivered various activities and programs aimed at preventing bullying.

Conference inspires ideas to help military families
Anthony Raphael, a social worker at Owen Elementary School, said the conference inspired him to start a support group for military parents at his school on Raeford Road. The idea is for military families to share their concerns and suggest where to find help, from either Fort Bragg or in the civilian community, he said.

Feeding the masses, fueling a movement
Seventy-year-old Phyllis Coelho plunged her blue gloved hands into a plastic sink of gray soapy water and spent an afternoon last week cheerfully washing dishes "to support the revolution." The retired social worker had traveled from Belfast, Maine, the day before with her 78-year-old friend and fellow dishwasher, Jane Sanford. They headed directly to the protest at Zuccotti Park because, they said, it was time to "show up.

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