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Message from NASW-DE Executive Director John Shuford

I hope everyone had a pleasant, restful and peaceful Thanksgiving. These holidays are important for us to rejuvenate ourselves as most of us experience a fair amount of stress. Research tells us that it is not so much the stress that hurts us, but the lack of time we have to rejuvenate. I like the Spanish saying, “It is good to do nothing and after doing nothing to rest.”

This week is exciting for NASW. We are rolling out our new Web site (see item below) with many resources that will be valuable to you and other social workers. This is our Web site, so your feedback and contributions are important. If you have any resources that might be useful to other social workers, please send them to me. I know I have some resources I will be uploading in the future, and I know many of you do as well. Significant articles, manuals, PowerPoint presentations, training documents, research and useful Web sites are some of the types of documents/information that would be good.

A also, please keep the Web site in mind for inexpensive advertising for job opportunities, office space, or programs. You can reach hundred of Delaware Social Workers who will be visiting the site on a regular basis. So now you have two places to advertise: the new NASW-DE Web site and newSWire.

I want to share some information with you that I shared with those who attended the Multiple Modalities of Trauma Treatment Conference we held last month. The Alternatives to Violence Project [AVP] is an all volunteer program that works with groups. This therapeutic process has been shown to be very effective in changing attitudes and, therefore transforming lives. The program has been in Delaware for 20 years, but almost exclusively in prisons. The program is being brought into the community in the Wilmington area. The first community workshop was in September and the second will be January 14-16. If you would like to learn more about this program and its relationship to trauma healing, click here.
                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                        John

Pay Us a Visit @ Our New Website

Click on the image above to visit us at: www.naswde.org

Online CEs Available Now!

In an ongoing partnership with the New Jersey Chapter of NASW, we now have 14 workshops available that DE social workers can access on the NASW-NJ website (including 5 ethics CEs). Click on the banner below to see what's available.

Dementia Measures Available for Public Comment - Until Dec 15th

NASW has helped to develop several dementia quality measures through the Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement. These measures were developed for use by Medicare providers and other health plan providers who perform services with geriatric patients. The measures are now available for public comment until December 15, 2010.

NASW encourages its members to share their dementia expertise by submitting comments online at the following link:
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/clinical-practice-improvement/clinical-quality/physician-consortium-performance-improvement/public-comments.shtml.

The Alternatives to Violence Project and Trauma Healing

Trauma, and especially early childhood trauma, is at the root of many, if not most pathologies. A vast majority [over 90%] of our prison inmates have suffered significant trauma in their life. In order to help traumatized people heal, it is important to deal with the trauma and not just the symptoms. Unfortunately, in today’s world, individual trauma therapy is not possible for many if not most of these people. This does not mean help is not available.

The Alternatives to Violence Project [AVP] came to Delaware in 1990 and since then has been primarily in the adult prisons. It is an intensive 18 hour cognitive restructuring therapeutic process, which has proven to have a high impact on anger reduction, reduced inmate behavior write-ups by 60% and reduced recidivism by 46%.

AVP has also been very effective in building teamwork [changing the working culture] in government agencies and transforming the attitudes, and therefore the lives of individual participants. It is a fun and engaging process that increases self-awareness and inter-personal skill building and it begins by creating a container of safety. The process is simple and anyone with an average level of self-awareness and interpersonal skills can easily learn to facilitate it.

AVP was established in 1975 in New York and is now in over 45 countries and most states. It is used in a variety of settings: schools, universities, prisons, businesses and for community and individual healing from genocide and civil war, to name a few. It has been widely used in central Africa where civil war and genocide has plagued that part of the world for years.

AVP is coming out of prison in Delaware on January 14 – 16. A Basic level workshop is being offered in Centerville, Delaware [20 minutes from downtown Wilmington]. Anyone interested in taking the training can contact AVP/Delaware. For the first time in our region, an Advanced level workshop on Trauma will be offered January 27-29. A requirement for the Trauma workshop is completion of the Basic. We hope to be introducing the Trauma workshop in the prisons beginning in the Spring.

If you are interested in how AVP facilitates change, see the Friends Journal article. Although AVP is effective as a stand-alone intervention, it is very effective in conjunction with other programs and often augments the impact of other interventions.

HIV/AIDS Information Day December 4th in Wilmington

AIDS Delaware announced, in conjunction with World AIDS Day, they will be providing youth with an informational day surrounding HIV/AIDS. The forum will take place on December 4th, 2010 at Bancroft Elementary School. 700 N. Lombard Street, Wilmington DE. Doors will open at 12:00pm. The event will begin at 1:00 pm.

This year’s forum will feature a panel of youth living with HIV telling their story about living with HIV. Our guest speaker is 16-year-old HIV positive Paige Rawl. The message is: IGNORING HIV DOES NOT MAKE ITGO AWAY! The event is free and open to the public. We are encouraging parents to bring their children. There will be a question and answer session.

AIDS continues to affect our youth worldwide. The City of Wilmington has the highest HIV/AIDS cases in the state of Delaware. Our goal, in addition to increasing awareness, is to encourage safer behaviors and to have youth seek HIV counseling and testing early. Half of all new HIV infections occur in youth between the ages of 13-24 years old. According to the Delaware Comprehensive Prevention Plan for 2005-2009: 3% of clients testing positive in 2001 through Counseling and Testing were between the ages of 13-19 years old.

AIDS Delaware, founded in 1984, is Delaware’s oldest and largest statewide AIDS service organization. It works for health in the human family by providing: social and support services to clients and their families, prevention and education programs to halt the spread of HIV and other STDs, and advocates for compassionate public policy.

For more information contact Frank Hawkins at 302-652-6776.

APA Seeks Volunteers for DSM-5 Field Trials

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is seeking clinicians to evaluate "the feasibility and clinical usefulness of the proposed diagnostic criteria and diagnostic-specific measures" in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), as described in the National Association of Psychiatric Health System's CEO Forecast (November 22, 2010). Click here for details and to volunteer.

Senate Passes TANF Extension

On Friday, November 19, the U.S. Senate passed a year-long  extension of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The bill extends TANF, the basic federal welfare  program, through September 30, 2011, and extends for six months a supplemental  TANF grant program for states with high population growth or historically  below-average welfare grants. The House would need to pass legislation for this  to be put into effect. Click here for more information.

Drug Related Hospital Admissions Up for 45 and Older

The number of hospital admissions among Americans ages 45 and older for medication and drug-related conditions doubled between 1997 and 2008, according to a new report released today by the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Medication and drug-related conditions include effects of both prescription and over-the-counter medications as well as illicit drugs. For more information.

Teen Brain More Prone to Drug, Alcohol Damage

Teens may act invincible, but when it comes to drugs and alcohol, they're actually more vulnerable than adults to harmful effects on the brain, researchers said at Neuroscience 2010, the Society for Neuroscience conference in San Diego, California, on Nov 15.

"Brain development is actively transpiring even in the teen brain, and [if] you throw in a drug on top of that, you could change the trajectory of brain development." said Dr. Frances Jensen of Children's Hospital Boston. MORE.

National Survey: 45.1 million Adults in U.S. Experienced Mental Illness in the Past Year

Study shows that nearly 1 in 5 people suffering from mental illness also have a substance use disorder According to new results from a national survey, 19.9 percent of American adults in the United States (45.1 million) have experienced mental illness over the past year. The survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) indicates that 11 million adults (4.8 percent) in the U.S. suffered serious mental illness in the past year -- a diagnosable mental disorder has substantially interfered with, or limited one or more major life activities. MORE.

For Teen Boys, Heavy Drinking & Impulsivity May Be Vicious Circle

Bouts of heavy drinking can increase male teens' levels of impulsive behavior over time, including their propensity for more heavy drinking, a new study finds.

The study included more than 500 boys in Pittsburgh who were assessed each year from first-grade until they were 20 years old, with another follow-up four to five years later. MORE.

New "Be a Social Worker" Website

There's a new website in town, called Be A Social Worker. The site covers an array of information about a choosing a career in social work, and provides inspiring stories and ways to connect with real social workers.

Developed by NASW in collaboration with the nation’s schools of social work, this website was created to educate prospective social workers about the scope and vitality of the profession. By highlighting real stories accomplished social workers, the site provides an up close and personal look at the profession’s diverse people, opportunities and contributions. In addition to the social worker profiles, there is a range of helpful information and resources for making an informed career choice.

You can find the new site at: http://www.beasocialworker.org.

News from DE and Beyond...

Click on an article's heading for the link

Peace Corps, UM School of Social Work Enter New Partnership
Giving students the option of serving abroad while working toward a graduate degree at home, the School of Social Work (SSW) has entered into a new partnership with the Peace Corps.

Expo connects veterans with resources
Also sponsoring the expo were the National Association of Social Workers, New Hartford American Legion Post No. 1376, The Fallen Stars Fund and Olinsky Shurtliff Disability Law.

Gay Couples to Sue Over U.S. Marriage Law
Joanne Pedersen tried to add her spouse to her federal health insurance on Monday. She was rejected. Again. The problem is that while Ms. Pedersen is legally married to Ann Meitzen under Connecticut law, federal law does not recognize same-sex unions.

 The New Old Age: Families Struggle to Care for Veterans
“That first year, I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, asking the social worker for a support group, some help, anything,” she said.

Foreclosure takes toll on increasing number of children
Mindy Thiel, a private therapist in Rockville, said she's seen more and more families in the same situation over the past two years. Their kids often express a "feeling of powerlessness," she said.

Sexual abuse victims see TSA pat downs as traumatic
He is a clinical social worker and says many patients could be traumatized by the TSA's intrusive search. "Anxiety, fear, panic-attacks, any number of things, and also it might be very difficult for them (victims) to express it," said Kafes.

Seasonal Affective Disorder Nothing to Take Lightly
Kristin Seaman, a licensed clinical social worker, agrees with Camillbri. "Seasonal affective disorder can also be complicated by the holiday effect," Seaman said. "The holidays are often painted to be this beautiful picture, but others regret it."

BMC designates ER grieving area
Boston Globe
“At a hospital, we see lots of people who die, unfortunately,'' said Lisa Allee, a clinical social worker at BMC who is scheduled to testify today before the council. “But a family who has lost someone to homicide has different needs than someone who died in a car accident.’’

Save Our Schools: Black Men at Penn Reach Out to South Philly High
PW-Philadelphia Weekly (blog)
Social workers and academics, Lassiter and Toliver are co-founders of The Black Men at Penn School of Social Work, Inc., a group that focuses on violence prevention, education advocacy and efforts to fight racism.

Needle Exchange Program in Delaware
Erica Melman (DHSS) sent an email describing the needle exchange program in Delaware, which is taking place through the efforts of Brandywine Counseling and Community Services (BCCS) and the Division of Public Health (DPH).  Click here for more information. 

Underage Drinking Program – Step-Up
The upcoming Underage Drinking prevention initiative, “Step Up” is sponsored by the Department of Services for Children, Youth, and their Families' Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services (DSCYF/DPBHS).

The “Step Up” campaign encourages parents – and all adults – to stop facilitating or ignoring youth alcohol consumption and to take responsibility for their role in underage drinking. The campaign, which will kick off on November 21st, in time for the holidays, presents parents with steps they can take to have an active role in discouraging  underage drinking.

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