Cassandra Prager

More than 160 social workers participated in the Nursing Home Committee's annual conference at Bentley University in June. Keynote speaker Dr. Frederick Reamer (pictured to the left) spoke about ethics in social work practice and discussed strategies to prevent and respond to ethics issues for nursing home social workers and residents. Additional workshops at the conference focused on new federal nursing home regulations, bullying, safety issues for social workers, and substance use issues in nursing homes.

The Committee looks forward to bringing more relevant and pertinent workshops to NASW members at the conference next year. Stay tuned! For more information about the Nursing Home Committee or to learn how to get involved, please contact to Jonas Goldenberg at: [email protected]. 

NASW-MA Awards Deadline is 9/30/17! Nominate a social work colleague who is breaking new ground, leading the profession in a new direction, or taking a social issue and moving it forward for an  NASW-MA Chapter Award.

Submit nominations by 9/30/17 here.   

Health care is a human right and social workers know the importance of protecting that right. This last month it has felt like a roller coaster, not knowing if the Affordable Care Act would be repealed and how many millions could lose their coverage.  Thankfully, the proposals to repeal the ACA were defeated in the US Senate last week. Activists across the country, including many social workers, stepped up and called senators to tell them not to strip away coverage.

We know efforts to dilute or even attempt to repeal the law once again may not be over . This is why we must stay vigilant and be ready to mobilize.

It is also critically important we stay attuned to what is happening right here in Massachusetts. Last week, the state legislature did not accept changes to our state's Medicaid program, MassHealth, that were proposed by Governor Baker. The Baker plan would have disqualified 140,000 non-disabled adults from MassHealth in order to cut costs. These individuals would have been moved to commercial plans through the Connector, required to pay co-pays and also lose dental coverage. The legislature is going to review potential future changes to MassHealth and we will keep members informed if changes are proposed.   

In November 2016, MassHealth received what is known as a Delivery System Reform Implementation Plan (DSRIP) waiver, or 1115 waiver, from the federal government. This waiver will bring several billion dollars to our state over the next five years. Six percent of the waiver, or $115 million, will go to Statewide Investments to scale up statewide infrastructure and workforce capacity. Through this we expect workforce investment in social workers, including loan forgiveness. We shared this link in the July e-news but wanted to share it again and make sure you have access to the slides to see how you may benefit:  www.mass.gov/hhs/masshealth-innovations

Here at NASW-MA, we are collecting stories from social workers who have seen the benefits of MassHealth for clients and communities. If you or someone you know is on MassHealth and would be affected by loss of coverage, please email us and share your story. 

Photo: Save Healthcare | Solidarity Rally |  Photo credit: Sarah Isabel Duarte

On Wednesday, July 25, President Trump banned transgender individuals from serving in the military by way of Twitter. This is outrageous. A person's gender or sexuality should not inhibit them from serving in the military and should not subject them to bias in any way. Selection criteria should be solely based on merit.

Read NASW's statement and call to rescind the ban here . 

As Rebekah mentioned in the introduction of this August E-news,  NASW-MA is looking to reinvigorate its LGBTQ Shared Interest Group. If interested in joining this group, please email Michael LaBerge. 

Collect signatures with Raise Up Massachusetts. 

NASW-MA is a member of the Raise Up Massachusetts coalition, which is working to ensure workers can earn a living wage of $15 an hour so they can make ends meet, feed their families, and be healthy.

Sign up here to help Raise Up MA collect signatures for Paid Family and Medical Leave and a $15 Minimum Wage! 

You can also attend the Minimum Wage Hearing on 9/18. Details below.

9/18/17 -  Minimum Wage Hearing, Gardner Auditorium, MA State House, 1 - 3 pm. 

9/18/17 -  NASW-MA Addiction Shared Interest Group, NASW-MA (14 Beacon St, Suite 409, Boston), 6 - 7:30 pm.

9/19/17 -  NASW-MA Legislative Advocacy Committe e, NASW-MA (14 Beacon St, Suite 409, Boston), 6 - 7:30 pm.

9/25/17 -  NASW-MA Criminal Justice Committee, MassHousing (1 Beacon St, 6th floor, Boston), 5:30 - 7 pm Please RSVP to  [email protected]. 

Want to join the LGBTQ Shared Interest Group? Contact Michael LaBerge. 

The Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association has convened the Behavioral Health Unfinished Agenda for Reform (BUHAR) coalition  that is eager to receive responses from social workers and psychiatrists to address workplace shortages. Last month in the July e-news, we shared the original survey with you. Based on some of our NASW-MA recommendations, BUHAR has reformatted the survey and made it clear which category of social worker should answer which question, thus making the survey much more accessible. We hope this updated version makes it easier to respond! Please complete the survey. 

The results of this survey will help BUHAR understand ways to support social workers to do the crucial work in clinical settings and to possibly move forward with corresponding policy recommendations. If you have any questions at all, please reach out to Rebekah at [email protected].