NASW News Watch

NASW continuously reviews news and media outlets for social work and social work-related stories. The Association also refers social work experts to hundreds of journalists every year. Below is a sample of recently published stories about NASW members and the profession.

To read bi-weekly news item lists go to the Media Watch section of SocialWorkersSpeak.org. Visit SocialWorkersSpeak.org to learn more about how social workers are portrayed in the news, in movies, and on television.

SEPTEMBER 2014 MEDIA WATCH

Work and Worth
Huffington Post
Robert Reich— What’s the worth to society of social workers who put in long and difficult hours dealing with patients suffering from mental illness or substance abuse? Probably higher than their average pay of $18.14 an hour, which translates into less than $38,000 a year… But I can think of a better way for taxpayers to subsidize occupations with more social merit: Forgive the student debts of graduates who choose social work, child care, elder care, nursing, and teaching. [Professor Reich was a keynote speaker at the 2014 NASW Conference.]

Behavioral-Health Help Could Be Coming to Your Doctor’s Office

Public News Service
Stacy Collins, senior practice associate for health care with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), says good preventive care includes dealing with behavioral health issues such as depression and anxiety. She notes health care providers are beginning to realize the best way to treat behavioral health issues is to integrate treatment into the places where people already receive care. “It’s behavioral health professionals, clinical social workers and psychologists based in your doctor’s office,” says Collins. “This is health care looking at your needs holistically.”
Judy Postmus is a member.

Study: Financial literacy can help abused women
USAToday
Improved financial literacy training for domestic violence victims can help eliminate the dependency that often keeps victims trapped in dangerous relationships, a study released Thursday shows. Ninety-four percent of women who received financial training with traditional domestic abuse services said they learned how to identify signs of economic abuse, said Judy Postmus, a Rutgers University School of Social Work associate professor and a co-author of the study. 
Terry Singer is a member.

Why Do 27 Percent of Kentucky’s Kids Live in Poverty?
WKMS (Murray State University, Murray, KY)
Twenty-seven percent of Kentucky children in 2012 lived in poverty. The issue of poverty raises plenty of questions. One of them is simply: What factors contribute to the financial struggles of Kentucky’s families and children? And what can be changed? A leading cause is a lack of access to and dwindling opportunities for economic gain, said Terry Singer, the dean of the Kent School of Social Work at the University of Louisville. Singer said the issue of poverty is a problem that is not showing signs of stopping. “I don’t see anything right now that is going to move people out of poverty,” he said. “The opportunities are just not there.”
The author, Sarah Wright, is a member.

Society Needs to Look Beyond Marriage
The New York Times
Because weddings represent the traditional beginning of most marriages, we would actually pop the question: “Should marriage be revived or discarded?” We know from people like Stephanie Coontz that marriage is quite resilient, and has adapted over time to remain relevant for many people. But the Urban Institute just released a report this week showing the Millennial generation is on track to have the lowest rates of marriage by age 40. This trend reflects many things, chief among them the fact that the emphasis on the couple as the center of family life is declining.
Abria Bonner is a member.

VSU Alum, Abria Bonner, Uses Social Work Degree to Change Lives in NY
Valdosta Today (Valdosta, GA)
Two days after graduating from Valdosta State University, 24-year-old Abria J. Bonner boarded an airplane and flew to New York for an interview with The Doe Fund. She was offered a job with the organization the very next day. “The following Monday I began working in Harlem,” she shared, describing the life-changing moment as “unbelievable.” The Doe Fund, Bonner explained, is a nonprofit organization that seeks to break the cycle of homelessness, addiction, and recidivism. She works with the organization’s Scatter Site Return Housing Program as a clinical case manager and is part of a team that helps former chronically homeless individuals who also have substance abuse and/or mental health disorders.
John Eller is a member.

VIDEO: NC FAST rollout continues amid myriad of challenges
WRAL (Raleigh, NC)
Medicaid applications continued to roll in through more traditional means. And like food stamps, demand for Medicaid has seen a massive boom, with a 24 percent increase from 2008 to 2013. “When we received all of those cases, counties were already stretched for resources,” said John Eller, who serves as both director of Catawba County Social Services and president of the North Carolina Association of County Directors of Social Services.

Family History of Undertreatment May Discourage Blacks from Seeking Mental Health Care
Center for Advancing Health

The findings suggest that family can play an important role not just in encouraging individuals to seek out help but also discouraging people who need help from getting it, says Michael Lindsey, Ph.D., an associate professor of social work at New York University. “Family is important because they’re the first point of contact,” Lindsey says. “They’re often the first people who recognize that there’s a problem and can help problem solve about what the next steps will be, whether that’s to push or pull someone away from treatment.”
Ron Avi Astor is a member.

USC partnership with SoCal schools awarded
USC News
The Building Capacity in Military-Connected Schools project has received a 2014 Pete Taylor Partnership of Excellence Award. The project, a partnership between the USC School of Social Work and eight public school districts in San Diego and Riverside counties, strives to create sustainable models of supportive schools. Given by the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC), the award was presented at this year’s National Training Seminar in Washington, D.C. The honor recognizes outstanding teacher preparation programs and celebrates collaboration among higher education institutions, public school districts and military installations. Accepting the award on behalf of the Building Capacity Consortium were Ron Avi Astor, who has joint appointments at the School of Social Work and the USC Rossier School of Education, and Monica Esqueda, a doctoral candidate at USC Rossier, among other officials.

Depression Can Make Parkinson’s Disease Worse
New York Magazine
Key to treatment is understanding that the symptoms aren’t just physical. “Depression can go hand-in-hand with Parkinson’s,” said Jessie Katz, a social worker at the Movement Disorders Center at UNC Chapel Hill, which is a NPF facility. “It’s been found that over 50 percent of people with Parkinson’s experience some form of depression. And that can be because of the daily challenges of coping with chronic illness, but it’s also the result of physiological changes in the brain.” (Parkinson’s can affect the levels of dopamine and other chemicals in the brain, leading to changes in mood.)

Ferguson: Gentrification and its discontents
Al-Jazeera America
Steve Burghardt, professor of social work at the Hunter College School of Social Work, told Al Jazeera, “Ferguson is something that can happen in any one of a hundred places around the country. It’s the nature of the daily interaction between a white power structure and a disenfranchised populace.”

D.C. trip offers an inside peek at veterans’ policies
USC News
For USC School of Social Work students interested in working with veterans and military families, a trip to the nation’s capital provided a meaningful lesson in understanding how policies are made. The summer immersion trip to Washington, D.C., offered 19 MSW@USC online students the opportunity to meet each other in person and a chance to appreciate the concept of government policy — a system of laws, regulatory measures, courses of action and funding priorities — that could help them better serve their clients as future clinicians.

For more information about NASW Media Watch, please email knortham@naswdc.org.