Message from NASW-DE Executive Director John Shuford

On September 24, our Chapter President, Dr. Sheridan Quarless Kingsberry gave the keynote address at the New Jersey NASW Chapter’s annual volunteer recognition and Board installation celebration. To read her full keynote. She references a very powerful story about a power/non-power group exercise a third grade teacher did with her all-white class just after MLK was assassinated. Many lessons for us.

 

(l to r) Dr. V. (l to r)DuWayne, President NASW NJ; Dr. Sheridan Q. Kingsberry President NASW DE; Walter Kalman, Executive Director NASW NJ.

            

(l to r) Nancy Woodson, 2010 MSW Student of the year; Mia S. Dorman, MSW Student Rep to Board; Sheridan Q. Kingsberry, President NASW DE; John A. Shuford. Executive Director NASW DE.

We had our first social work mixer last night at the Public Place on Market Street in Wilmington. It was a big success with social workers and other professionals sharing and networking. We will be having more mixers in all three Delaware counties. We need to be connecting as a professional community in order to move our profession forward and have the impact these challenging times call us to have. Please attend the mixers in your counties. It does matter.

We are holding our second Multiple Approaches to Trauma Treatment on November 4th. Last year 35 clinicians found it very valuable. We are co-sponsoring it with the Vet Center. It will be from 8:30 to 4:30 in the Community Service Building Rm 6, 100 West 10th Street near Rodney Square in downtown Wilmington. Our intention is to have 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. A description of these three approaches, all quite different and quite effective, along with their presenters, will be in the next issue of the NewSWire. 

We will be holding a Test Prep program on Saturday, October 29 in Dover. Details to follow. And it would be a great help if you could let me know what courses you would like to have offered in Delaware. The more ideas we have, the more we will offer.

There is going to be a Black Leader’s Summit in Milford Saturday, October 15 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm at the Bethel A.M. E. Community Center. The purpose for this forum is to bring Black professionals and community leaders with the expertise in the area of: Education, Health, Job Readiness, Finance, Law Enforcement and Human Service to collaborate and implement an action plan to bring effective service to the urban communities. Contact info. Dwayne Powell: dwaynepowell77@gmail.com.

                                                                                                           John

Conference to Focus on HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, Substance Abuse

“Street Level Intervention Strategies for Addiction, HIV/AIDS, and Hepatitis” conference being held in Silver Spring, Maryland on October 17-19, 2011.
 
This conference will provide cutting-edge information on issues related to HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and substance abuse. All outreach workers, substance abuse counselors, and related healthcare personnel who work with substance abuse users, HIV positive, or at risk populations are encouraged to attend. MORE

October: Domestic Violence Awareness Month

In 1995, the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV) convened several national domestic violence organizations – the Family Violence Prevention Fund, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and later the National Network to End Domestic Violence – to launch a new effort to support domestic violence programs’ awareness and education efforts for Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM), observed annually in October. MORE

Domestic Abuse Victim Shares Her Difficult Past

Rachel, A social work student, speaks to students about domestic abuse Thursday, on the TSC Patio. During the first part of her speech, Rachel wore the red and black her ex-husband forced her to wear before she ran away from him. MORE

NASW Submits Comments on State Health Insurance Exchanges

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently requested public comment on how state health exchanges – and the health plans offered within them – should operate.  NASW argued persuasively for consumer protections in the exchanges – and for the inclusion of professional social workers as providers in all health plans that are offered through the exchanges. Read NASW’s comments.

HHS announced this week that the comment period for the proposed rules on the exchanges has been extended to OCTOBER 31, 2011.   (The previous deadline was September 28, 2011.) We encourage you to review the proposed rules [http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=HHS-OS-2011-0020-0001]  and submit your own comments.

HHS Announces $224M for Evidence-Based Home Visiting Programs

US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced $224 million to help at-risk families voluntarily receive home visits from nurses and social workers to improve maternal and child health, child development, school readiness, economic self-sufficiency, and child abuse prevention.

As part of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program, these grants are funded by the Affordable Care Act and are awarded to state agencies that applied for the grants in 49 states across the country. MORE

Creativity and Aging

In recent decades, creative aging has emerged as a dynamic interdisciplinary field. Participation in the arts offers a vital avenue of self-expression and social engagement for older adults, and a
growing body of evidence supports the biopsychosocial benefits of participatory arts and aging programs. Creative aging complements
social work, and social workers can play an integral role in supporting creative expression among older adults. MORE

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News from DE and Beyond...

Click on the article                        title for link

Could world social unrest come to America's streets?
Gary Bailey, a professor of social work practice at the Simmons College School of Social Work in Boston said "draconian" austerity cuts contemplated in the US Congress could eventually spark unrest if young Americans felt their future was being taken from them through cuts to education and jobs programs.

Jobs Act has elements all can support
“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.

The main lesson from a down job market? Stay in school. As long as you can.
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.

Growing service offers help to those who struggle
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 ...
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.

Once homeless, now independent at 19
Stokes takes classes at OTC and hopes to become a social worker. Rare Breed is an offshoot of The Kitchen, a local charity dedicated to addressing poverty and homelessness in the area. Rare Breed first began in 1999 to address the issue of homeless teens who couldn't get access to needed services. At 17, teens can legally be on their own but are too young to be served by most adult outreach programs and too old to access state children's services.

NAACP leader talks of Troy Davis execution
Jealous told a group of social workers and teachers Saturday who were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the University of Maryland School of Social Work that they could use Davis' experience to shape their own life journeys.

WPATH Releases New Standards of Care for Trans Patients
Though long overdue, this condemnation of gender-conversion or gender-reparative psychotherapies sets a new ethical standard for the mental health professions. Sexual orientation conversion therapies have been rejected by the American Psychiatric Organization, the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, the National Association of Social Workers and many other professional associations for over a decade. Yet the mental health and medical professions have maintained a double standard for trans, transsexual and gender nonconforming people victimized by analogous gender-reparative therapies that are equally harmful.

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