Held at Boston University on January 30, in partnership with the Boston University School of Social Work, NASW-MA's Annual MLK, Jr. Forum on Racial Justice was a huge success.

This year's event, Dismantling Racism: Where Do We Go From Here? , explored one of the final questions King left us with, using a panel discussion and small group work. Panelists included:

The event closed with an intention-setting activity, encouraging each attendee to set an intention (action they can take) in order to dismantle racism and advance racial justice.

Thank you to NASW-MA's Racial Justice Council who led the planning and execution of this year's event.

NASW-MA's Racial Justice Council is comprised of social workers and allies of all ages, practice areas, geographic locations, and races and ethnicities. The group began its work in Fall 2018, strategizing how to integrate racial justice into all internal and external areas of NASW-MA’s work. This group meets monthly on Friday afternoons. If interested in learning more or getting involved, please contact Jamie Klufts: [email protected].

During Social Work Month in March 2019, NASW will launch the “ Elevate Social Work” Campaign that will educate the public about the contributions social workers make in our society and why the profession is so vital to our nation.

NASW also wants to use the campaign to begin a conversation to help social workers receive better compensation for the work they do.

Read more about the 2019 rationale for this year's theme here.

As part of this year’s Social Work Month celebration, NASW-MA is organizing an exhibit at the Massachusetts State House in Boston from Monday, March 4 - Friday, March 8, to highlight the vital roles social workers play in a variety of settings across the Commonwealth and in society at large. Stop by the State House, 4th floor exhibition space, during business hours to see many of your friends and colleagues featured! Download the flyer here to learn more.

Join us Tuesday, March 19, 2019, 5:30 - 8:30 pm, at the Concord Colonial Inn in Concord, MA, for our 46th Annual Awards Celebration as we celebrate and honor the incredible contributions of our social work colleagues and allies. What better time to celebrate social workers than during Social Work Month!

We can't wait to honor the incredible contributions of the following social work colleagues and allies with these awards:

You can read more about each of these inspiring honorees and register for the event here.

Tickets are $55/person and are selling out quickly! Don't delay in securing your spot.

Do you know one of the honorees and want to take out an ad in the program book to share your good wishes for their accomplishment? Click here to learn how to take out an ad or be in touch with Samantha Thompson-Foster, NASW-MA Events and Program Manager at [email protected]. Certain ads come with tickets to the event!

NASW-MA's annual LEAD will take place Monday, March 25, 2019. LEAD offers an opportunity for social work students and professionals to lobby with state lawmakers and advocate for legislation that is important to clients, communities, and the social work profession. Be informed on important social work legislation - and take action with us!

This year's keynote speaker will be Johnnie Hamilton-Mason, PhD, Professor, Simmons University School of Social Work. Learn more about LEAD and this year's agenda here.

We have TWO opportunities for you to connect with social work colleagues in Western Massachusetts during Social Work Month (March). Do you enjoy meeting fellow social workers to share best clinical practices, to hear of new referral resources, to discuss social policy, and to hear what concerns are challenging colleagues? Would you like to hear of other employment opportunities from your fellow social workers? Want to get plugged into clinical and macro happenings at NASW-MA? RSVP to attend one of two opportunities:

Aren’t you glad there are social workers in the world? What would the world be like without them? This brief 2019 Social Work Month PSA educates the public about the invaluable contributions of social workers everywhere.

There are an estimated 682,000 social workers in the US. Check out this infographic to learn more about where social workers are and how their compensation compares to other helping professionals. See the infographic here.

The Education Center Commission is a group of volunteers who play a major role in planning continuing education programs for NASW-MA. We are looking to bring in members who will share new ideas, concepts, and perspectives for program planning. Joining the Commission is a chance to have a role in one of the key functions of the MA Chapter. Members participate in regular planning meetings, and volunteer at some CE events. As an active member of the Commission, you earn free CEUs for Chapter-sponsored programs. Contact Barbara Burka, Director of Clinical Practice, for more information:  [email protected]. 

Amanda Harman, NASW-MA Student Ambassador and Salem State University MSW Candidate , held an event where she presented on the proposed changes to Title IX and how participants can submit a comment during the comment review period. Undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty members were all invited to learn more about the proposed changes, the impact these changes will have on survivors of sexual assault, the comment submission process, and how submitting a comment effectively to the Department of Education can affect change.

Join us for a screening of the 2017 film "First Reformed," followed by a discussion centered on spirituality in social work and working with clients with severe mental illness.

Sunday, March 3, 2019

2:00 - 5:30 pm

The Studio Cinema, 376 Trapelo Road, Belmont

Discussant: Christopher O’Rourke, LICSW , Director, Social Work Practicum Training at the Danielson Institute, Boston University

Join us for a screening of the 2018 film "Leave No Trace," centering on a homeless father and daughter who are taken into custody after being found living off the grid outside of Portland, Oregon.

Sunday, March 17, 2019

2:00 - 5:30 pm

The Studio Cinema, 376 Trapelo Road, Belmont

Discussant: Dennis Balcom, LICSW , private practice

Join us for a screening of "A Fantastic Woman," a 2018 film following Marina, a young transgender woman who is bowled over by the death of her older, live-in boyfriend, grappling with grief and complicated family issues.

Sunday, March 31, 2019

2:00 - 5:30 pm

The Studio Cinema, 376 Trapelo Road, Belmont

Discussants: Sebastian Barr, PhD , a psychologist who specializes in transgender mental health and trauma, and  Gerardo Moreno-Serrano, MS, LMHC , Bilingual Psychotherapist, Fenway Health

Most of the research and public discourse on sexual victimization has centered on females. As a result, males have not been recognized for support and various interventions/services needed to protect them from perpetrators and a life of victimization. It is important for providers to understand male victimization and the prevalence of psycho/social issues of abuse on male development.

Friday, April 5, 2019

9:00 am - 12:30 pm

Courtyard by Marriott Boston Natick, 342 Speen St., Natick

Speaker: Steven Procopio, LICSW, ACSW , private practice. Steven is a voice for sexually exploited males, from childhood sexual abuse to commercial sexual exploitation/human trafficking.

Join us for a screening of the 2018 film "The Rider," based on a true story, following a rodeo cowboy from South Dakota who fell off his horse and suffered a traumatic brain injury. This film was named one of the best films of 2018 by The Atlantic and a "film to savor" by the New York Times. 

Sunday, April 7, 2019

2:00 - 5:30 pm

The Studio Cinema, 376 Trapelo Road, Belmont

Discussant: Bet MacArthur, LICSW , private practice

with Dr. Anne Hallward, psychiatrist and host and founder of Safe Space Radio. Anne speaks internationally on stigma and shame, traumatic silence, and voluntary vulnerability as a form of leadership.

Friday, May 10, 2019

9:00 am - 4:30 pm

Sheraton Framingham Hotel & Conference Center, 1657 Worcester Rd., Framingham

This day-long workshop will re-examine therapy as a relationship to foster courage. Whether our work is to support the courage to bear the feelings that have been unbearable, foster the courage to name and address reality, or recognize the courage that is absent from narratives of trauma and victimization; therapy is an incubator for courage. We will examine how shame and longing shape courage, looking at both the psychological and political dimensions of shame and longing. We will mine our own experiences of courage, or its absence, to understand in a deeply personal way the forces that foster our own courage, as a window into how we can support it in our work. This presentation is informed by the principles of IFS, but will be accessible to those without prior exposure to Internal Family Systems Therapy.

Check out this link for an interview with Dr. Hallward that aired in Jan 2019!

https://www.thesunmagazine.org/issues/517/we-need-to-talk

Alcohol use by women has doubled from 2002 to 2013, causing researchers to state that current drinking trends are a public health crisis. Come learn effective strategies to treat AUD in women.

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

9:00 am - 12:30 pm

Sheraton Needham Hotel, 100 Cabot St., Needham

with Karen Kantor, LICSW, McLean Hospital, and Molly Van Wert, LICSW, McLean Hospital

with Joe Pereira, LICSW, CAS , Co-founder of Outlook Associates of New England, a practice to assist persons with anger control problems

Friday, May 31, 2019

9:00 am - 12:15 pm

Parish of St. Michael, 90 Concord Rd., Bedford

Anger is an emotional state that can range from mild irritation to overwhelming rage and is a response to events which can be interpreted through a set of unrealistic expectations. The workshop will look at how an individual can monitor his/her anger and will also offer specific anger regulation techniques that a person can use to develop a range of choices when experiencing feelings of anger.  

Join the NASW-MA Nursing Home Committee for the Annual Nursing Home Conference.

Thursday, June 13, 2019

LaCava Center, Bentley University, Waltham

Keynote: Sarah Dereniuk-Dudley, MHA, NHA, Senior Program Administrator, Healthcentric Advisors

Additional details and registration available soon!

This annual breakfast series is an opportunity for members of the mental health community to meet with their legislators, thank them for their support and discuss how DMH helps people with mental illnesses recover and live satisfying lives in communities of their choice. It is also an opportunity for consumers and family members to share good news and success stories about their life experiences.  The breakfasts are free and open to the public! Registration for all events starts at 9:30 am and the program runs from 10:00 -11:00 am.

Additional information available here.

The Campaign School for Social Workers through UConn School of Social Work's Nancy A Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work is an incredible opportunity for social workers who wants to be more politically active as a candidate, staff, volunteer, and/or advocate. Taught through the lens of the profession’s values and Code of Ethics, this powerful workshop also addresses issues like race, identity and ethics in politics. This event usually reaches capacity, so please register early.

March 1-2, 2019

UConn School of Social Work, Hartford, CT

Register today (space is limited): http://s.uconn.edu/cs2019

Join us on Sunday, April 7, from 3:00-5:00 pm in Needham to learn more about Therapy Matcher, and network with fellow private practitioners. If not yet a member, we encourage you to attend and learn more! Contact Barbara Burka for more information about the Open House or Therapy Matcher membership:  [email protected]. 

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 timely 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 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.

After 35 days, the US government reopened. During the shutdown, February SNAP (food assistance) benefits were disseminated during the month of January, forcing recipients to make their benefits stretch an extra couple of weeks. As of this writing, it

is unclear what will happen to SNAP benefits and affordable housing programs after the designated 3-week reopening. It is possible that the dissemination schedule of March SNAP benefits will be disrupted. This is also true for housing assistance programs such as Section 8 Project- Based Assistance and Section 202 Housing for the Elderly. For the most up-to-date information on this, visit:

www.masslegalservices.org/2019shutdowninfo.

The Massachusetts Association of Infant Mental Health (MassAIMH) has released its 2019 Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Professional Development Resource Guide . It contains more than 100 trainings offered by 20 agencies for all those working in service of a broad diversity of infants, young children, and their families, across the Commonwealth. Download for free here .

Federal Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Act of 2018: The provisions in H.R.6 relating to loan repayment represent a key win for the profession and for our ability to attract the next generation of social workers. The law will offer up to $250,000 for participants who agree to work as substance use disorder treatment professionals in areas most in need of their services.

 

To qualify for the program, participants must:

 

The program was authorized for federal fiscal years 2019 through 2023 at $25,000,000 per year. Rules and avenues for applying will soon be promulgated.

Full Text of the Law available here. For more information, please email National's Senior Field Organizer, Dina Kastner.

SWAN is a free, confidential colleague assistance program sponsored by the Massachusetts Chapter of NASW. SWAN assists social workers with consultation regarding personal and professional issues, which may be having an impact on their ability to practice in an optimal manner. Learn more about this service and member benefit here .

NASW-MA hosts Licencing Test Prep courses each month in various parts of the state. Upcoming courses include:

NASW Specialty Practice Sections (SPS) help members stay in-the-know in their specific area of practice and offers individual online communities of committed, like-minded peers. Along with the trusted communities, SPS offers more than 45 additional CE opportunities through live practice-specific webinars, newsletters, continuing education and other professional development activities. Visit this link for more information.