Message from NASW-DE Executive Director John Shuford

The 2011 Social Work Awards Celebration March 22 is shaping up to be something special. 

Our keynote speaker is Phyllis Moore who worked herself up the ranks to become Supervising Classification Officer for the New Jersey Department of Corrections. The topic of her address is: “Social Work and the Criminal Justice System; the Role of Social Workers in Reentry.’ She will share with us what social workers can do to prepare inmates, their families and their communities for their release. There are over 30,000 releases every year in Delaware, some of which are the same individuals returning to prison multiple times. Social work does not have a significant role in our correctional system and this is an opportunity for us to learn from someone with excellent experience. 

The Awards Celebration will feature DJ Slim Money to set the mood and there will be great door prizes as well as giveaways for all.  If you or your agency would like to place an ad in the program, please contact me at john@naswde.org. You will soon be able to register on our website www.naswde.org. The annual meeting of the Chapter begins at 5:00. The Awards Celebration begins at 6:00 with dinner at 6:30, speaker at 7:00 and awards beginning at 8:00. Early Bird tickets are $35 by March 15th.  After that, the tickets will be $50. 

DSU Social Work Department is having open houses March 23 in Wilmington and March 24 in Dover. See their brochure.

The League of Women Voters and the Criminal Justice Council showed a very powerful movie this past Tuesday:20 Minutes. This movie, shot in Wilmington, dramatically shows the difficulty inmates have the first 20 minutes after their release; the temptations and challenge of turning their lives around. Without reentry services, it is an unbelievable struggle. This movie and the following discussion were well worth seeing; and for those who did not see it this week, it is being shown next week in Dover. DSU’s College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science in presenting the film Thursday, March 3 in the Bank of America Auditorium on DSU’s campus at 11:00 am. The film and following discussion will last until 1:00 pm.  For more information, contact Ms. Diane Scott at 302-857-6628.  You can see the movie trailer at www.iamfilmworks.com.

The New Jersey NASW Chapter’s annual conference is fast approaching.  It is an excellent opportunity to accumulate CEU’s. Delaware NASW members pay the same rate as NASW NJ members pay. To register, however, you cannot receive that rate online. This is because our membership list is not yet integrated into their list. Their Early Bird discounted deadline has been extended for our members until March 7th. You will need to fax [with credit card info] or mail [with credit card info or check] your registration postmarked no later than March 7. Send it to Kendra Hayes, NASW-NJ, 30 Silverline Drive, Suite 3, North Brunswick, NJ 08902 or to khayes@naswnj.org or fax to 800-584-1603.

                                                                                                                John

NASW Policy Statements and Program Priority Goals

Dear Membership:

NASW (National) is in the process of updating the policy statement that are in the 2009-2011 Social Work Speaks and the Program Priority Goals. This is a great opportunity to “Have Our Say” by submitting comments about those policies and priority goals. I am asking you to take a few minutes to read at least one policy statement and one priority goal that are of interest to you personally or professionally and offer your expert comments. All comments will be considered by the panels charged to offer recommendations to National. There will be two rounds of comments so you will hear from me again later in the spring. Delaware may be a small state but we have lots to say! I’m depending on you to prove me right.

Attached is the information you will need to submit comments. . Don’t forget to add the “DE” at the bottom of your comments so we can track the number of comments that come from Delaware.

Attached are three documents.

1. The first includes the directions you will need to access the NASW policy statements and Program Priority Goals.

2. The second includes a list of the 18 policy statements.

3. The third includes the list of Program Priority Goals.

I’ve walked through the directions so you should not have any trouble accessing the policies.


Thanks,
Sheridan Quarless Kingsberry, PhD
President Elect, NASW DE

Register for the NASW-NJ 2011 Annual Conference & Exhibition

Early Bird Registration for the 2011 NASW-NJ Annual Conference in now available. Click here or visit the NASW-NJ Web homepage at www.naswnj.org.

The NASW-NJ Annual Conference and Exhibition, the Meeting of the Profession, will be held on May 1-3, 2011 at the Trump Taj Majal in Atlantic City.

Child Abuse and Neglect Deaths: We Can Do Better

Background
The nation's child protection system is stretched too thin. From 2001-2007, 10,440 children died at the hands of their caretakers. In fact, there was a 35 percent increase in child maltreatment deaths during 2001-2007. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the many who have worked countless hours addressing child maltreatment, the U.S. continues to fall short of protecting its youngest citizens. The federal government needs to act.

We know a great deal about preventing abuse and neglect and related fatalities. When provided with support services (that are adequately funded) and appropriate supervision, the vast majority of potentially abusive and neglectful parents can learn to safely care for their children and families.

Tamara Tunie, actress on Law and Order SVU, has recorded a YouTube video about the issue.

Action Requested
The National Coalition to End Child Abuse Deaths, of which NASW is a member, has a petition to Congress asking them to hold public hearings on child abuse fatalities, provide emergency funds to stop state cuts to child welfare services, and adopt a national strategy to end child abuse fatalities. Please sign the petition.

More information

Findings of the National Evaluation of the Drug Free Communities Program

Administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the DFC grant program supports community coalitions in preventing and reducing youth substance use. The contributions of community coalitions constitute a critical part of the Nation’s drug prevention infrastructure. They are, in fact, a significant catalyst for creating local change where drug problems manifest and affect the citizens of this country. DFC grantees are required to provide data for the national evaluation of DFC. Click here for a summary of findings.

New Practice Perspective – Healthy People

Since 1979, Healthy People has functioned as the public health roadmap for the nation. A comprehensive set of national 10-year health objectives, Healthy People serves as a foundation for prevention and wellness activities for the federal government, states and communities, as well as public and private sector agencies and organizations throughout the U.S. 

Healthy People 2020, released by the Department of Health and Human Services in December 2010, offers many opportunities for social work action in support of health and wellness for children and adults.

Go to: http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/default.aspx. Contact Stacy Collins at scollins@naswdc.org with questions.

Online CE Institute

The Online CE Institute [click here] offers you a variety of alternative learning formats for your continuing education credits, including: Audio workshops; available for download (“CEtoGo”) or streaming on your PC (“Online Seminar”); Pre-taped video presentations  (coming soon); and Live on-line seminars (webinars/teleconferences) (coming soon).

All programs found on this website are certified for any state that accepts NASW approved courses, for those dually licensed in other states, such as Delaware, Pennsylvania, , Florida, and others.

FACES Grant Cycle Opens

The 2011 FACES (Freeman Assists Communities with Extra Support) of Sussex County grant cycle opened February 7, 2011.  The FACES program is designed to find and fund the smaller, overlooked projects in our neighborhoods - and our grants are limited to nonprofit organizations with an IRS designated 501(c)3 status and an operating budgets of $500,000 or less. Funding will be eligible for programs beginning after June 1, 2011 and completed by December 31, 2011.

The deadline for submitting a FACES grant application is March 7, 2011 at 9 am. The online grant application, and its guidelines, can be found at  www.freemanfoundation.org/carl.  For more information or questions regarding FACES of Sussex, please email Trish Schechtman at trish@freemanfoundation.org.

Longest-Serving Woman Senator Looks After The Rest

Host Liane Hansen talks with Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who is the longest serving female senator in U.S. history. When Mikulski arrived in the Senate in 1986, there wasn't even a woman's bathroom. Since then, she has become the unofficial dean of the increasing number of women serving in the Senate. MORE

News from Planned Parenthood

Delaware’s lone congressman, Rep. John Carney, voted with women’s health care and Planned Parenthood today.  He voted against stripping us of our government funding.  If you get a moment, call Rep. Carney’s office and express your thanks to him for protecting women’s health care in Delaware and voting against the Pence amendment at:  (302) 428-1902.

Good Delaware news aside, the amendment did get enough votes in the US House.  It was vital that Carney and others vote against the amendment, though, because it shows the US Senate that the House has mixed feelings about this awful proposal and helps the Senate understand the profound opposition to hurting Planned Parenthood and family planning programs.
So, we must now turn our attention to the Delaware Senator’s Carper and Coons.  The US Senate will be voting on the same measure in two weeks. 

Delaware Hospice Volunteer Training

Delaware Hospice invites you to a “New Volunteer Training Session” on March 12th in Wilmington or Dover.

Volunteers say, “I get much more from this volunteer experience than I give,” to describe the rewards of volunteering for the not-for-profit Delaware Hospice—whether helping others who are coping with a life-limiting illness, making phone calls, organizing fundraising events, or providing office support.

If you have considered volunteering for hospice but have never taken the first step, Delaware Hospice invites you to attend a New Volunteer Training Session, which will be on Saturday, March 12th, from 8:30 to 4:00 p.m., at Delaware Hospice’s Wilmington Office, 3515 Silverside Road, Wilmington, DE  19810, and at Delaware Hospice’s Dover Office, 911 S. DuPont Highway, Dover, DE  19901.

Volunteers receive a comprehensive and worthwhile orientation about the many aspects of hospice care.  Topics covered include the clinical and medical aspects of hospice care, understanding family dynamics of the terminally ill, caring for yourself while caring for others, adult and children’s grief, and specifics about Delaware Hospice’s programs and services.
Register for the New Volunteer Training by contacting:  (for New Castle County) Tina Gaffney, 302-479-2577, x1105 or tgaffney@delawarehospice.org; or (for Kent County)  Judy Knutstad, 302-678-4448, x2117 or jknutstad@delawarehospice.org.

SAMHSA Study on Adolescent Drinking

A new study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) indicates that 5.9 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 14 drank alcohol in the past month and that the vast majority of them (93.4 percent) received their alcohol for free the last time they drank. About 317,000 (44.8 percent) 12 to 14 year olds who drank in the past month received their alcohol for free from their family or at home. This includes 15.7 percent (or an estimated 111,000) who were provided alcohol for free by their parents or guardians.

"People who begin drinking alcohol before the age of 15 are six times more likely than those who start at age 21 and older to develop alcohol problems. Parents and other adults need to be aware that providing alcohol to children can expose them to an increased risk for alcohol abuse and set them on a path with increased potential for addiction," said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D.

SAMHSA Data Spotlight: Young Alcohol Users Often Get Alcohol from Family or Home is based on the combined data from SAMHSA’s 2006 to 2009 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and involves responses from more than 44,000 respondents ages 12 to 14. NSDUH is a primary source of information on national use of tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs (including non-medical use of prescription drugs) and mental health in the United States. The survey is part of the agency’s strategic initiative on behavioral health data, quality and outcomes. A copy of the report is accessible at: http://oas.samhsa.gov/spotlight/Spotlight022YouthAlcohol.pdf.

News from DE and Beyond...

Click on the bolded sections                          below for link

Teen suicide: More schools bring issue out of shadows
The paper handed to each freshman at Oak Lawn Community High School recently was filled with blunt and uncomfortable questions. Had they lost interest in everything? Did they feel they weren't as smart or good-looking as most other people? Were they thinking about killing themselves? A squad of counselors stood by to interview those who, based on their answers, might have been struggling with depression or contemplating suicide. By the end of the day, more than 50 teenagers had come to see them. MORE

Female veterans live on the streets
They served their country in time of war. Now these veterans are homeless mothers, sleeping in cars and wondering how they will get their next meal. … CNN's Barbara Starr meets veterans of America's wars who are also homeless mothers. MORE

Self-injury videos gaining popularity
Videos depicting self-injury, in which people deliberately cut or wound themselves as a coping strategy, are gaining an online audience, a new study shows. They also depict burning, hitting and biting oneself, picking at one's skin, disturbing wounds and embedding objects under the skin. Most of the injuries are inflicted on the wrists and arms and, less commonly, on the legs, torso or other parts of the body. MORE

Scientists find new link between genes and stress response, depression
Numerous studies have shown that the brain molecule neuropeptide Y (NPY) helps to restore calm after stressful events. A team of University of Michigan-led researchers has now found that people whose genes predispose them to produce lower levels of NPY are more responsive to negative stimuli in key brain circuits related to emotion–and are therefore less resilient in the face of stress and may be at higher risk for developing a major depressive disorder. MORE

The most recent version of the CESAR FAX. This issues topic: "Alcohol Use levels reach record low among high school students"

For Desperate on Staten Island, a Worker of Last Resort
“I ask how they get my name, and it's always, 'My friend told me and her friend told her,' ” said Ms. Weiss, 55, the Staten Island social work liaison for Connect to Care, an initiative of UJA-Federation of New York aimed at helping the newly needy middle class.

Munro interim report published
Family Law Week
In the view of Professor Munro, the amount of prescription and bureaucracy currently in the system has meant social workers are not able to do the jobs they came into the profession to do.

Tiger Mom's Performance Parenting? There's More to It
"That's healthy success—self-worth and resiliency in the making," confirms forty-year child psychotherapy veteran Gary M. Unruh, MSW, LCSW. "And that's just part of the story. Amie's 'I don't want to' drama did not keep her parents from insisting on three hours of grueling practice."

Former first lady Carter challenges mental-health system
Carter was the lead speaker Monday at a forum on mental health, hosted by Washington University's Brown School of Social Work at Graham Chapel.

Caseworkers are often overburdened, some experts say
Maxine Thome, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, agrees. In her organization, Thome works with many Child Protective Services caseworkers. "Because their caseloads are so huge, many are anxious to leave," she said.

Special-needs teens paired with peers to help communication
Three current clients with Asperger's syndrome -- a milder form of autism characterized by social isolation and impairments in both verbal and nonverbal communications -- are paired with three volunteers, said Hogan, a licensed clinical social worker.

Just plain mean: Bullying isn't only a boy thing
 "I probably end up seeing more of the victims of bullying (than the bullies themselves) - and it is girls bullying," said Kellie Branch-Dircks, a licensed clinical social worker at Proctor Hospital's Counseling Center.

A local woman reinvents herself with a new business that focuses on helping people
“For twenty-five years I've been working in social work and have been a trainer in social services and private practice,” Jiordano said.

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Advertising in NASW-DE newSWire is the best way to reach social workers throughout the state of Delaware and beyond. Deadline for submission is the Wednesday preceding publication (every other Friday).
       
The cost to advertise in newSWire is just $50 for 30 words AND a link to your site. 

DE newSWire is published biweekly on Fridays. Please call 1-800-932-0004 ext. 26 or email jhendryx@naswnj.org to confirm.