As you know, social justice is at the core of social work, and that cannot be achieved without advocacy. NASW-MA member Jen Erbe Leggett, LICSW, recently led by example at a hearing for the Boston City Council on December 3, 2018. The hearing was focused on homelessness, mental health & recovery, and on mental health resources, de-escalation, and treatment services for suicide prevention. Have 11 minutes to spare and want to be truly inspired? Watch Jen's testimony here.

Want to do more? Contact NASW-MA's Political Director Sophie Hansen to learn how to provide your own testimony and contribute to our legislative advocacy efforts.

Your latest member benefit should have arrived in your mailbox in December. How are you enjoying your new 12-month 2019 wall calendar?

In this calendar, you'll find important holidays, NASW-MA continuing education programs and other events, and NASW-MA member group meeting dates.

We hope you enjoy it! Send your feedback to Jamie: [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 have made to 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 get better compensation for the work they do.

Read more about the 2019 rationale here.

NASW-MA is a co-sponsor of this biennial event.

Thursday, January 17, 2019

10:00 am - 2:00 pm

MA State House, Boston

Lobby for proactive state policies and budget items that build healthier, more equal communities, including:

The third annual Boston Women's March will take place on Saturday, January 19, 2019. March alongside your social work peers! We will meet at NASW-MA (11 Beacon St., Boston) and head over to the march together. Please RSVP to receive full meet-up details. RSVP is necessary due to building security. Contact Jamie: [email protected].

Not local to Boston? There are women's marches happening across the state on Saturday, January 19. Check your local paper for activities near you.

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, Match 17, 2019

2:00 - 5:30 pm

The Studio Cinema, 376 Trapelo Road, Belmont

Discussant: Dennis Balcom, LICSW , private practice

Join us Tuesday, March 19, 2019 in the evening, at the Concord Colonial Inn in Concord, MA, as we celebrate and honor the incredible contributions of our social work colleagues and allies. What better time to celebrate social workers than Social Work Month! Be on the lookout for an announcement with winners and event registration soon.

For more information about this year's event, please be in touch with Samantha Thompson-Foster, Events and Program Manager, or Rebekah Gewirtz, Executive Director.

NASW-MA annual LEAD will take place Monday, March 25, 2019. LEAD offers an opportunity for social workers 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!

We are looking for energetic volunteers to help coordinate LEAD 2019! Please contact LEAD Volunteer Coordinator Laura Gallant at [email protected] or 617-227-9635 x163.

For questions about the day, stay tuned for information on our website and contact LEAD coordinator, Daniela Reyes at [email protected] or 617-227-9635 x122.

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

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

Thursday, June 13, 2019

LaCava Center, Bentley University, Waltham

Details and registration available soon!

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

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released the final rule for the 2019 Physician Fee Schedule on November 1, 2018. The 2019 final rule for the CMS Quality Payment Program excludes clinical social workers from the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) reporting in 2019. This is a victory for clinical social workers who have limited quality measures to report on and in the past have received penalties when reporting quality measures.

Receive referrals for your private practice!

Join Therapy Matcher in January to enjoy membership through June 30. This is great opportunity to try Therapy Matcher for a reduced cost and see if it is a good fit for you and your practice. Receive referrals that match your insurance, location, schedule, and specialties and be part of a network of hundreds of practicing LICSWs. Available to new members only, receive up to 6 months for a heavily discounted rate.

Questions? Contact Barbara Burka at [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.

Let your voice be heard.  

 

Please participate in this  15 minute survey to make  treating opioid use disorder easier for doctors and patients in Massachusetts .

 

Your participation is voluntary and your answers are confidential.  No information will be presented or published in any way that would permit identification of any individual.

 

Please click here to take the survey.

 

You play an important role in solving the opioid crisis, please share your opinions. The survey will close Wednesday January 16, 2019. 

Open enrollment is here! For MA residents, you can join, renew, or change your health insurance coverage through the Health Connector from now through January 23, 2019, for coverage that starts January 1. Get started today: https://www.mahealthconnector.org/

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.

Greater Boston is made up of 101 cities and towns. Each one is rightly proud of what sets it apart. But some opportunities - and challenges - are bigger than any one place. Transportation. Equity. Housing. The economy. Climate change. Addressing these regional issues will require that we work together and plan together. That's what MetroCommon is all about: making a roadmap together to get us to the future we want.

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Drop in between 3:00 - 8:00 pm

Old Town Hall, 32 Derby Sq, Salem, MA

Elderly/Disabled Simplified Application Project (EDSAP) is a change in how DTA handles SNAP cases for older adults and persons with disabilities. It greatly reduces required paperwork and will make it easier for low-income households to get and keep SNAP. Learn more here.

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 .

Confidently track your social worker licensing renewal requirements with CE Tracker—the online tool that tells you exactly what you need to renew your license and tracks your progress along the way. This online platform allows you to track your license renewal requirements, completed CE’s, and provides suggested content to obtain the continuing education you nee d. Learn more at socialworkers.org/cetracker . 

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.