As a NASW-MA member, you have the right to elect your representation on the Chapter's Board of Directors, Chapter Committee on Nominations and Leadership Identification (CCNLI), and Delegate Assembly.

Make your voice heard in the 2018 Chapter Elections. Read about the candidates and place your vote online by April 30th!

After 40+ years at 14 Beacon Street, Suite 409, Boston, MA, NASW-MA has relocated to 11 Beacon Street, Suite 510. We are enjoying this fresh perspective (of the other side of the street). We look forward to welcoming you to our new offices at an open house later this spring. Stay tuned!

Earn up to 15.5 CEUs at Symposium 2018: On the Front Lines, featuring Ke ynote Speaker Jackie Woodside, LICSW. The largest gathering of social workers in New England, and the only statewide gathering in Massachusetts, Symposium 2018 will run from April 12-13, 2018, in Framingham, MA. This event will feature 90+ workshops, 100+ speakers, 60+ exhibitors, a free Awards Luncheon, and, new this year, the free-to-attend Networking Night @ Symposium.

Register online or via the mail-in registration form by March 4th to receive the early bird discounted rate, saving you up to 25%.

See the Symposium 2018 Registration Booklet, with full list of all workshops, here .

The 2018 Social Work Award winners are an impressive cohort of social workers and a public citizen, dedicated to the mission of social work. Meet our awardees below. These five individuals will be honored at the Symposium Awards Luncheon on Friday, April 13, 2018. Your Friday Symposium ticket includes a seat at the Awards Luncheon. Want to only attend the Awards Luncheon? Register here.

Carmen is a bi-cultural and bi-lingual social worker and trainer who works as a clinician and advocate for children whose lives have been impacted by trauma. Both before and after earning her MSW in 2012, Carmen has dedicated her career to trauma informed assessment, intervention, and training. She is currently the clinical coordinator and supervisor of the Child Witness to Violence Project at Boston Medical Center. Read on .

Rick Miller’s social work career has been dedicated to providing clinical work to individuals, couples, and groups, with a specialty in work with gay males. Rick is active in both the Boston and Cape Cod community in his consultation, supervision, and advocacy related to HIV/AIDS. His supervision and consultation have been described as inspirational, supportive, and nuanced. Read on.

Dawn is an extremely talented teacher, writer, clinician, advocate, and activist. She is a co-founder of Liberation Health, a multi-cultural group of social workers, psychologists, and community organizers whose mission is to address the personal, cultural, and institutional barriers to being healthy. Her commitment to research, training, and practice are embedded in a social justice framework that includes work to address oppression, racism, and health care disparities. Dawn’s commitment to cross-cultural practice with an anti-oppressive stance is reflected in all of her teaching and practice and advocacy. Read on.

Over the course of her career, Joan supervised, inspired, and mentored countless social work students and colleagues. Her work over decades at South Shore Mental Health Center included roles from Staff Social Worker, Senior Clinical Social Worker, and Director of Social Work Training. She created and directed a superb training program at a relatively small mental health center that rivaled larger institutions’ grand rounds. Hundreds of clinicians at all levels and in all disciplines view Joan as having made significant contributions to their growth and education. Read on. 

Throughout his career, Michael has been an advocate, activist, and mentor with a consistent commitment to racial and social justice. Early in his career in MN, he worked for a non-profit, became involved in local politics, and co-founded a neighborhood association. Since returning to Boston in the late 1980s, Michael has worked with the Boston Police Department as a Civilian Emergency Response Specialist, as a child care worker in a residential facility, and as an AIDS Outreach Educator for the Multicultural AIDS Coalition (MAC). Michael then became the Director of Education and Programs at MAC, supervising a staff of outreach workers, interns, and volunteers. He also designed and conducted programs addressing issues of diversity in the workplace while at MAC and his format became a national industry standard. Read on.

Networking Night @ Symposium is totally FREE TO ATTEND, taking place on the first night of Symposium 2018: On the Front Lines . You don't need to be attending Symposium 2018 to attend Networking Night - all are welcome!

Networking Night will draw hundreds of professionals and students in the social work field and features:

Learn more about Networking Night and Symposium 2018, become an exhibitor, and more at www.naswma.org/symposium .

Legislative Education and Advocacy Day (LEAD) is less than one month away and registration is nearing capacity! Visit naswma.org/LEAD to register today! There will be no on-site registration, so pre-registration is the only way to attend! If you aren’t able to attend the entire event, we encourage you to get involved as a volunteer. Email Katie O’Leary at [email protected] for more information.

LEAD 2018 will take place on Monday April 2 from 9:30 am - 1:30 pm , beginning at Emmanuel Church of Boston and ending at the Massachusetts State House. The day will feature dynamic workshops and speeches from key leaders, advocates, and champions of social justice issues. The hundreds of social workers in attendance will show the strength of the profession while marching together through Boston Common to the State House, where they will learn from a variety of perspectives on effective advocacy.  You can earn 1.5 CEUs for your participation at no extra cost!

The legislature needs to hear from us, in every corner of the Commonwealth, that it’s time to pass Paid Family and Medical Leave and a $15 Minimum Wage. Now that we’ve collected enough signatures to put both of these questions on the ballot, our message to the legislature is clear: let’s do this. That’s why we’re taking our message to every corner of the Commonwealth.  Join us in cities and towns across Massachusetts for community briefings with activists and regional legislators to discuss why 2018 will be the year that these campaigns are realized for all workers and families across Massachusetts!

Events happening throughout March in Fall River/New Bedford, Springfield, Lawrence, Worcester, Boston, Lynn, and Brockton. See the schedule here .

Please join us at the upcoming hearing of the Joint Committee on Ways & Means on Friday, March 16th , where we will display our support for lifting the Cap on Kids.The hearing begins at 10:00 am , but we plan to be there by 9:30 am in order to get blocks of seats together. 

 

We’re hoping to have a great turnout of Social Workers to show the legislature that the time to stand up for children and families is NOW. RSVP here .

 

If you can’t make it we urge you to sign our petition here .

As part of the continued workforce development Masshealth DSRIP program, new applications for social worker loan forgiveness will be accepted beginning in March 2018. We will share information on social media when we know more. Applications will be open for LCSW/LICSWs who are interested in working in a community-based setting (CHCs, CMHCs, and ESPs) for a commitment of 4 years. Notices of program applications, procurements, and public meetings will be posted to: www.mass.gov/hhs/masshealth-innovations and sent out over the MassHealth Innovations listserv. To sign up, please email the MassHealth Innovations listserv at [email protected].  

If you have questions on the MassHealth transformation project, be in touch with Sophie Hansen or Rebekah Gewirtz.

The Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery (MOAR) is holding its annual Boston Public Policy Forum on March 12th starting at 5:00 pm in the Huvos Auditorium at the Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain, MA . The focus will be on many facets of addiction policy including criminal justice reform. Senators Brownsberger and Chang-Diaz will be speaking back to back on Criminal Justice Reform starting at 6:00 pm. Senator Keenan, Rep Malia, Rep Collins, Rep Garlick, Rep Madaro, and officials from DPH will also be speaking.  

Massachusetts-based Stop Handgun Violence is co-sponsoring a gun violence prevention advocacy training event with Boston University on Saturday, April 28, from 8:30 am - 1:30 pm. The goal of this half-day training is to better understand Massachusetts and Federal gun laws and how to advocate for stronger laws. Learn more and register here.

We are extremely pleased to inform you that  our advocacy has paid off  . Working with our allies we have finally tipped the scales enough that MassHealth has now taken definitive action and are stopping Beacon's current audit activities. Yesterday, MassHealth issued a memo to managed care organizations who use Beacon as their behavioral health subcontractor. Highlights are below. You can read the letter from MassHealth  here or see it below. Thank you to MassHealth for taking decisive action. More here.

An Hour With Private Practice: Questions & Answers is a free question and answer session for NASW members. The monthly call-in sessions focus on a specific private practice subject and are led by Mirean Coleman, LICSW, Clinical Manager at NASW national. There is no registration and members can join in the discussion, ask questions, and make comments.These sessions provide members with important clinical social work updates impacting the delivery of mental health services.

Details and spring 2018 schedule are available here: https://tinyurl.com/HOPPspring2018

The Private Practice Google Group is an exclusive member benefit powered by social work colleagues from across the state and NASW-MA. By signing up you'll receive daily updates from your colleagues about ethics, billing and insurance, and other critical private practice issues. You can also pose your own questions to the group to crowd source answers from colleagues. NASW-MA also uses this platform to send important and timely clinical alerts to members.

Sign up to join the group by sending an email to [email protected] with "Join Google Group" in the subject line.

In advance of the launch of MassHealth's new Accountable Care Organizations and Managed Care Organizations on March 1, 2018, the MassHealth Office of Behavioral Health held "office hours" on Friday, February 23, 2018, to inform licensed mental and behavioral health clinicians on the upcoming changes. You can access our notes from this call here and access MassHealth's Continuity of Care document here.

Read this memo from Erica Kirsners, detailing how these changes may affect providers and what to do. Included are a list of helpful documents and resources as well as important contact information for MassHealth and behavioral health providers.

Reminder: all of these changes go into effect as of March 1, 2018.

The Office of Behavioral Health at MassHealth hosts

Behavioral Health Office Hour

Thursday March 8, 2018

12:00 - 1:00 PM 

With the commencement of the new Accountable Care Organization (ACO) and Managed Care Organization (MCO) on March 1, 2018, MassHealth is committed to help all relevant parties have the information they need to ensure a seamless transition for both members and providers.

 

Stephanie Brown, Director, Office of Behavioral Health at MassHealth, will host a BH Office Hour to provide information and address questions regarding MassHealth's Accountable Care program and implementation.

This webinar is specifically for social workers and LMHCs.

Everyone must pre-register at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2852749278022701315

This is a webinar only - no availability for on-site participation. 

NASW-MA echoes the sentiments of NASW National and urges the President and Congress to declare gun violence a public health crisis. Read NASW's statement and additional information about gun violence here on our website.

There is a Boston-Area contact list/referral spreadsheet for clinicians of color here:  bit.ly/bostonareapoctherapists  and it's set up so that anyone can edit it. It's a publicly accessible and shareable document, and people can add themselves. This is a great resource to bookmark in your internet browser and revisit when needed for referrals.

The Legislature has tasked the PromotePrevent Commission with identifying evidence-based practices, programs and policies to prevent behavioral health disorders like addiction and mental illness and to promote behavioral health. The Commission will be submitting a report to the Legislature in the coming months following multiple public meetings and hearings. 

The Commission would love to hear your thoughts, concerns, and advice about how to fulfill its mission, where to focus, and what recommendations to pursue. 

Take the survey: https://www.promoteprevent.com/survey

The Department of Public Health has seen a significant level of growth in the research on gambling disorders. With the emergence of the DSM-5, The Practice Guidelines for Treating Gambling Related Problems and Your First Step to Change, 2nd Edition reflects the latest empirical evidence. Access these resources here:

 

All Licensed Independent Clinical Social Workers (LICSWs) in Massachusetts are required to register with MassHealth as either billing or non-billing providers. This requirement was put in place to ensure that MassHealth is complying with the Affordable Care Act. 

The MA Board of Registration of Social Work REQUIRES ALL LICSWs to meet this requirement by September 30, 2018! Failure to do so could result in the suspension or loss of your license.

If you are a QMB (Qualified Medicare Beneficiary) provider, and can receive payment from MassHealth for the copay for your Medicare clients, you are already registered with MassHealth and do not need to do anything; however, if you are seeing MassHealth beneficiaries and billing their insurance (MBHP, Beacon, THPP, or Celticare), this does NOT make you a MassHealth billing provider. You must complete the form and register as a MassHealth Non-Billing Provider.

Read more and access step-by-step instructions here .

March 18, 2018

Sprin g Film Festival: Angelo Unwritten

The Studio Cinema

376 Trapelo Road

Belmont, MA 02452

2:00 - 5:30 pm

Register here

Angelo Unwritten is directed by Alice Stone, who will join us for the event. Through this film we will explore attachment issues and identity formation in adoption. Following the film, there will be a discussion led by the filmmaker, Alice Stone, and Joyce Maguire Pavao, EdD, LCSW, LMFT.

March 21, 2018

Care or Coercion: Understanding the Process of Involuntary Civil Commitment

MA Dept. of Mental Health

333 East St., 4th Floor

Pittsfield, MA

12 - 1:30 pm

with Maureen Clark, LICSW, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Westfield State University

March 21, 2018

Celebrating Social Workers in Southeastern MA

Tequlia Lime Cantina

197 Bank St.

Fall River, MA

6:00 - 8:00 pm

RSVP to Melissa Dawson.

April 25, 2018

The Role of Social Work with Substance Use Populations: Exploring the Latest Evidence Based Practices

MA Dept. of Mental Health

333 East St., 4th Floor

Pittsfield, MA

12:00 - 1:30 pm

with Maureen Clark, LICSW, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Westfield State University

April 26, 2018

Supporting Healthy Brain Development Now that Marijuana is Legal in Massachusetts

Baystate Franklin Medical Center, Conference Room C

Greenfield, MA

7:30 - 9:00 pm

with Sharon Hall-Smith, MPH, Stop Access Coalition Coordinator, Gandara Center

May 3, 2018

Common Factors - What Causes Change in Psychotherapy?

Smith College

Dewey Common Room

Northampton, Ma

7:30 - 9:00 pm

with Jim Drisko, Ph.D., LICSW, Professor, Smith College School for Social Work

May 6, 2018

Central MA Film Program: The Glass Castle

Elm Draughthouse Cinema

35 Elm Street

Millbury, MA

1:00 - 4:00 pm

Register here

With Lynn Perlman, PhD, Dean of Graduate Studies, Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis

May 6, 2018

All clinicians in private practice welcome!

Please RSVP to SWTRS Director Barbara Burka: [email protected]

3:00 - 5:00 pm

May 23, 2018

Inmate Services at the Berkshire County Jail and House of Correction

MA Dept. of Mental Health

333 East St., 4th Floor

Pittsfield, MA

12:00 - 1:30 pm

with Mark Massaro, MA, LMHC, CCHP, Assistant Deputy Superintendent of Mental Health and Corrections, Berkshire County Jail and House of Correction.

NASW-MA Licensing Test Prep courses include:

Upcoming exam dates and locations:

Join NASW National's Virtual Career Fair on March 29th to Skype and instant message with top recruiters and employers of social workers across the nation. Apply for positions on the spot. Registration is free for job seekers. Details and registration available here .

The NASW Foundation is accepting applications for scholarships and doctoral fellowships to help provide financial resources to social work students pursuing a variety of social work specialties. Apply online. Applications accepted through March 8. For more information, please click here: NASW Foundation Scholarship and Fellowship Awards -- Applications Due by March 8 . Questions? Email [email protected].

The NASW Legal Defense Fund (LDF) was established in 1972 by the NASW Board of Directors to advance the legal interests of the social work profession. One of the major ways in which this is done is through grants of financial assistance to defray the legal expenses of NASW members engaged in litigation related to the NASW Code of Ethics, social work principles, and/or standards of social work practice advocated by the association. 

LDF is administered by a Board of Trustees appointed by the President of NASW. The Trustees meet twice a year, in the spring and fall, to review all properly completed applications that meet LDF qualifications and to conduct other business required for the administration of the Fund.

Learn more about LDF here and download the application here .

The 2018 NASW National Conference will be held June 20-23, 2018, at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. Join more than 2000 social workers and like-minded professionals for the meeting of the profession. Early bird registration is now open.

Learn more and register here.