SOCIAL WORKERS LEADING FOR JUSTICE
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Hello,
This month also marks the beginning of the school year and we are happy to welcome back social work students who we will be seeing at MSW and BSW student orientations throughout the state. Students should be on the lookout for
Noël Schutz, and our regional coordinators who will be present at each orientation.
Our Fall 2019 CE line-up includes interesting and informative programming. We hope to see you at any of these great events:
I look forward to seeing many of you soon. Please be in touch anytime.
In Solidarity,
Rebekah
Rebekah Gewirtz
Executive Director
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IN THIS ISSUE:
- Membership Hub
- Continuing Education & Events
- Symposium 2020
- Social Work Action Center
- Private Practice
- Notes from the Field
- Licensing Test Prep
- National News
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WELCOME NEW NASW-MA STAFF
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Delaney Gagnon
, a former NASW-MA intern, will be coming on-board as our new part time
Advocacy Coordinator
beginning September 16th. Delaney is a rising junior at Simmons University where she is working towards her BSW. Delaney's past experience includes interning at Clean Water Action, an environmental nonprofit working to address environmental injustice and climate change. She has a particular interest in social policy, advocacy, and the legislative process. She is minoring in Journalism.
In her new role, Delaney will be supporting NASW-MA’s annual State House event, the Legislative Education and Advocacy Day (LEAD). She will also be assisting in activating members around legislation and programming, and providing support to our policy team. Get in touch with Delaney after her start date of 9/16/19:
dgagnon.naswma@socialworkers.org
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Crisbelly Medina Adames
, a former NASW-MA intern, is a graduate student from Clark University where she is pursing her MBA with a concentration in Marketing. Starting at the end of August, Crisbelly joined our staff as
Events and Marketing Coordinator
. In this role, she will be supporting
many of our activities around Symposium 2020 and the Awards Celebration on April 29th, with a special focus on marketing, communications, graphic design, and sponsor outreach.
Crisbelly's dream is to collaborate on different marketing projects raising brand awareness and working on the inclusion of women of color in the marketing field.
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Member Recruitment Campaign - We need YOU!
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Current regular NASW members may refer eligible prospective members to join or reinstate as regular NASW members. To show our appreciation and gratitude for helping to grow the association and make our voice louder,
all those who successfully recruit members before October 31st will be offered a special gift. Those recruited will be offered a gift, too.
Click here for more information and for details on how to participate.
Thank you for helping us grow our ranks so we can be an even more powerful voice for social workers in the State House and in your practice!
If you have any additional questions about the recruitment campaign, contact
Noël Schutz, Membership and Advocacy Manager.
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Welcome Back Social Work Students!
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NASW-MA is proud to support the professional development of social work students by offering a
75% discount on membership dues.
Learn more
about benefits and programming for our members including:
Professional Mentoring:
NASW-MA's professional mentor program provides early career social workers and social workers returning to the field after taking time off with opportunities to connect with experienced clinical and macro professionals who are committed to fostering their personal and professional growth.
Discounted License Test Prep Course: NASW members receive a significant discount on LTP courses that
prepares social workers for the Association of Social Work Board (ASWB) Social Work Licensing Examination. For both clinical and macro social workers, licensure can open up additional career opportunities and enhance your credibility as a social worker.
Graduation Cord Program: NASW-MA student members in the last year of their social work program are eligible to receive a
FREE graduation cord to wear at their graduation ceremony.
If you have any additional questions on any of these programs or want to know how to get more involved, contact
Noël Schutz.
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Seeking - just a few more! - Student Ambassadors for 2019-2020
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We are seeking 1-2 NASW-MA student members from schools of social work in Massachusetts to represent NASW-MA a
s
Student Ambassadors
this upcoming academic year.
Student Ambassador role includes but is not limited to:
- Being the voice of NASW-MA on your campus by distributing and promoting NASW member benefits, news, and events.
- Volunteering at two out of three major NASW-MA events (LEAD 2020, Career Night, Symposium 2020).
- Updating Chapter staff each month on school activities and student feedback.
- Participating in the Facebook group to access documents, offer feedback, and connect with other Student Ambassadors.
- Recruiting Student Ambassadors for the following year.
Be in touch with
Noël Schutz
for more information and to get involved today!
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NASW-MA's Summer Picnic Celebrates Hard Work of Member Groups
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On August 16th, NASW-MA staff, and chairs of Shared Interest Groups, Councils, and Committee came together from all over the state to celebrate the work our member groups do.
The picnic, held in Boston Public Gardens, consisted of food and games as we enjoyed the last bits of summer. Thank you to everyone who came out and made the day so special!
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NASW-MA Member Wins Scholarship from Mass. PPD Fund '19!
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The Mass. PPD Fund is a nonprofit organization working to break the silence around postpartum depression and other Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders and to get new parents the support they need. They recently announced the winners of their first round of training scholarships for 10 outstanding providers to attend PSI’s Perinatal Mood Disorders: Components of Care and Advanced Perinatal Mental Health Psychotherapy training.
NASW-MA member
Brianna Mangano, LICSW was one of a select few chosen for "demonstrat[ing] an ability and commitment to serve areas/populations with significant unmet need [for perinatal mental health services], including geographically, and
with respect to language, race and ethnicity, and income status of patients." Brianna, who is Outpatient Clinician at the Behavioral Health Network Child Guidance Clinic, embodies many elements of NASW-MA's mission, and in particular creating access to services for all.
Congratulations Brianna on this amazing achievement!
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In Your Mailbox:
Social Work Voice
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You will soon be receiving the September/October issue of
Social Work Voice
. Highlights from this issue include:
- Executive Director's Message: Racism Cannot Stand
- Social Work and Suicide Prevention: Intervention for Clients and Providers (September is Suicide Awareness Month)
- Social Work and Retirement: Finding a Support Network through our Retired & Retiring SIG Group
- Development in the Digital Age: Does Social Media Effect Social Skills?
- Climate Change is a Social Justice Issue: The Role of Social Workers in Fighting for Environmental Justice
- ...and much more!
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Have an upcoming event, job opening, or other opportunity to share with the social work community?
Advertise with us! All ads appear on our website and are published in
Social Work Voice.
The ad deadline for the upcoming November/December issue is October 25th.
Email Jamie Klufts for more information.
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CONTINUING EDUCATION & EVENTS
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Into the Weeds: Marijuana Legalization and Social Work Practice
5.5 CEUs Available!
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Friday, September 27, 2019
8:30 am - 3:15 pm
Sheraton Needham Hotel, Needham
Keynote:
Commissioner Jennifer Flanagan
, Cannabis Control Commissioner; former state senator and mental health clinician
This full day conference will address the timely topic of marijuana legalization in Massachusetts and the role of social workers in the state’s evolving landscape. The conference will cover topics of interest to social workers across a variety of settings and populations. The keynote will provide an overview of current regulations and their impact on clinicians and clients.
Speakers will then focus on a variety of clinical and policy topics, including racial equity in marijuana implementation with Commissioner Shaleen Title
,
assessment in practice, youth issues, and others.
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Fall Film Festival: "Can You Ever Forgive Me?"
3 CEUs Available!
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Sunday, October 6, 2019
2:00 - 5:30 pm
The Studio Cinema, 376 Trapelo Road, Belmont
Join us for a screening of the 2018 film
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
starring Melissa McCarthy, followed by a discussion with experts in substance use disorder treatment from McLean Hospital. Discussants:
Karen Kantor, LICSW
, McLean Hospital, and
Monika Kolodziej, PhD
, Director of Psychological Services at the Ambulatory Treatment Center at Naukeag, a residential treatment program in the Substance Use Disorders Division at McLean Hospital.
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Central Region Book Club: "Homer & Langley"
2 CEUs Available!
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Wednesday, October 23, 2019
6:00 - 8:00 pm
AdCare Outpatient Services
95 Lincoln Street, Worcester
Join the Central Region Book Club for "Homer & Langley" by E. L. Doctorow. The discussion will be facilitated by
Michael Nowicki, LICSW
, Clinician, Community Healthlink, Elder Services of Worcester. Registration will begin at 5:45 pm.
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Annual School Social Work Conference
5.5 CEUs Available!
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This annual conference brings together school social workers and school adjustment counselors from across the state who work with youth in all levels of schools.
Keynote:
Elizabeth Englander, PhD, Founder and Director of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC) at Bridgewater State University. Her keynote, "
Life Online: Social Media Use and Social Development in Children and Adolescents," offers a deep-dive into the myriad issues facing school-aged youth with the growing considerations of social media.
Morning Workshops:
- Teens and Sexting: New Research Examining its Prevalence & Impact on How to Prevent it
- Inclusive SEL Goals for Equitable IEPs
- Adoption, Identity, and Clinical Considerations
Afternoon Workshops:
- Compassion Fatigue and the Art of Chronic Self-Care
- Marijuana Use Among Students
- Interpreting Psychological Assessments
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Bridge to Tomorrow: Retirement as a Developmental Passage
3 CEUs Available!
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Sunday, November 3, 2019
3:00 - 6:15 pm
Temple Shalom of Newton
175 Temple Street, Newton
Panel Speakers:
- Leslie Bass, LICSW, works in private practice, and previously served as adjunct faculty in clinical practice at Simmons College and Boston College Schools of Social Work.
- Joan Ditzion, LICSW, is the co-founder and co-author of Our Bodies Ourselves.
- Larry Elle, MSW, is a Career Counselor at Success Associates Career Services.
- Bet MacArthur, LICSW, works in Private Practice in Cambridge, and is the Co-Chair of NASW-MA's Retired and Retiring Shared Interest Group.
- Judith Meirowitz, LICSW, works in Private Practice in Lexington.
The cross-currents of professional and personal identity in late-career catch many good social workers off-guard. This conference will orient social workers currently in the second half of their careers to the important developmental challenges of late-career life. All social workers serving mature adults will learn from this developmental focus - as well and our clients anticipate and prepare for transition to the new autonomy, identity hazards and opportunities of this tricky period - with or without continuing 'work.' We will challenge our social traditions of bearing late-career stresses in isolation, in favor of a more communal model of growth.
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Fall Film Festival: "Shoplifters"
3 CEUs Available!
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Sunday, November 3, 2019
2:00 - 5:30 pm
The Studio Cinema, 376 Trapelo Road, Belmont
Join us for a screening of the 2018 Japanese drama film
Shoplifters
, following a "non-biological family that relies on shoplifting to cope with a life of poverty." Our discussant will be
Charles Glazier, LICSW, CGP
, a psychotherapist in private practice specializing in work with children, teens, and families.
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Meeting the (Big!) Challenges of Blended Families
3 CEUs Available!
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Friday, November 22, 2019
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Grand View Farm, Burlington
Speaker:
Dr. Patricia Papernow
, one of the world’s foremost experts on blended families. She is the Director of the Institute for Stepfamily Education and the author of
Surviving and Thriving in Stepfamily Relationships: What Works and What Doesn’t
.
The term “blended family” captures the fervent wishes step couples often bring for connection and a fresh start.
The realities often involve “resistant” children and anxious, confused adults struggling with intense feelings of “insiderness” and “outsiderness,” questions about discipline, “appropriate” rules, and ever-present ex-spouse relationships.
Whether working with individuals or kids, couples or families, Dr. Patricia Papernow will help participants recognize the five major predictable challenges stepfamilies face. She will provide psychoeducational, interpersonal, and individual interventions for successfully navigating these often intense and divisive forces.
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The FOCUS CE Course Mailer Helps you Meet Your CE Needs!
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Thi
s year's line-up of CE courses in the NASW-MA CE Mailer, totaling 7 CEUs, includes:
- Suicide Prevention At All Levels of Social Work Practice
- Interagency Collaboration: A Community-Driven Solution for Macro Social Work Practice
- Make the Most of Your Stress: Your 24-7 Plan for Wellbeing
- Women, Anger, and Anger Management: Clinical Considerations for Practitioners
- Time for Change! Essential Skills for Managing the Inevitable
P.S. We apologize for the small error as we printed an incorrect post-test. For more information and for the correct post, please click
here
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SAVE THE DATE!
NASW-MA's 16th Biennial Social Work Symposium
Voices of Empowerment and Social Justice
April 30 & May 1, 2020
The Largest Two Day Gathering of Social Workers in New England
Our Keynote Speaker: Dr. Joy DeGruy
, author of
Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing.
Dr. DeGruy’s research focuses on the intersection of racism, trauma, violence and American chattel slavery.
For our Sponsors, Exhibitors, and Advertisers (SEA) and for members who work in agencies
: Registration for SEAs is going live in September. Do you think your agency would be interested in participating in Symposium 2020? Let us know and we'll send you the link once SEA registration is live! Email us at
Symposium.naswma@socialworkers.org
for more information.
We look forward to launching registration for BOTH participants and SEAs in the weeks ahead!
For questions about participating in, presenting, exhibiting, or sponsoring Symposium 2020, please email
symposium.naswma@socialworkers.org. You are also always welcome to call our office at 617-227-9635 and we'd be happy to talk with you more.
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Nominate Your Social Worker Leader or Social Justice Ally of the Year for an NASW-MA Award!
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NASW-MA's 47th Annual Awards Celebration
April 29, 2020
6pm
Sheraton Framingham Hotel
This celebration will kick off Symposium 2020, the Largest Two Day Gathering of Social Workers in New England!
This year, we have made the nomination process much simpler and more convenient for you. Simply click
this link, fill out a short form about your nominee, get one letter of reference and their resume and you're done! The Awards Committee looks forward to vetting a robust list of deserving and accomplished social worker leaders and allies at this annual event.
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SOCIAL WORK ACTION CENTER
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Take Action to Stop a Rule SEVERELY Limiting SNAP Benefits
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SNAP is one of our nation’s most effective anti-poverty programs. In 2018, it helped more than 38 million people in the United States access critical food benefits. There is a new proposed rule by the Trump Administration that would
result in hundreds of thousands of children losing free school lunches, and prevent families, seniors, and persons with disabilities from having even modest savings without losing SNAP.
Please help us stop the rule from going into effect by
clicking here
before September 9th. At that link you can submit a personalized comment on how the proposed rule would harm your clients or the communities in which you work.
Click here
and visit
HandsOffSNAP.org
for more information on how the proposed rule harms children, working families and vulnerable individuals.
For more information on how to get involved, be in touch with the chapter office at 617-227-9635 x116.
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Treatment not Imprisonment Hearing.. Possibly as soon as September
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NASW-MA priority bill S937/H1343,
An
Act Relative to Treatment, Not Imprisonment
,
may be heard before the Judiciary Committee this month
. The bill would prohibit judges from incarcerating people on probation for substance use relapse if they are engaged in treatment. It is critically important we address this issue of racial justice.
See infographic below illustrating racial disparities in incarceration from the
Sentencing Project
.
For the public hearing,
we are looking for testimony from those impacted by drug-free probation orders that incarcerate people in treatment for relapse. We specifically would like testimony from: (1) clinical practitioners; (2) individuals who have been on probation with this order; and (3) family members. We need to illustrate for legislators how keeping people in treatment (rather than jailing them) during a relapse is good public health policy and safer for our communities.
Testimony can either be submitted as a written document or as an oral statement before the judiciary committee, limited to approximately 3 minutes of speaking time.
The coalition is working to redraft the fact sheet and one will become available on our website soon. In the meantime, information about the bill and the current fact sheet can be found on here:
https://www.lisanewmanpolk.com
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PACE Endorses Social Workers Running for Local Office
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NASW-MA PACE, our political action arm, is preparing for our endorsement process this summer! As you may know, odd number years are when we exclusively make endorsements for social workers running for local office.
In 2017, we endorsed 9 social workers. All of whom won their elections!
We need your help - do you know of any social workers running for local office that should be participating in our process? Let us know!
He
re are the candidates we have endorsed so far:
- Sarah Phillips, Somerville School Committee
- Ayesha Wilson, Cambridge School Committee
- Marc McGovern, Cambridge City Council
- Barry Sanders, Taunton City Council
We are always looking for new members to get involved with MA PACE. Here are a few reasons
why you should join, as told by current members:
- "You're taking action!"
- "[You're] able to influence change on a state and local level"
- "Keeps me informed on policy issues as they intersect with clinical work"
- "As a clinical social worker [it's important that] I'm engaged in policy"
- "I have a better understanding of state government and statewide issues"
Convinced? Email our PACE Chair,
Ali Freeman, to join our next meeting this month.
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The July - December 2019 schedule for An Hour with Private Practice programs (hosted by NASW National) has just been released.
Visit this link
to review the schedule and plan to participate in these important discussions.
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Expand Your Practice with Therapy Matcher
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Are you looking to start or expand your private practice? NASW-MA's Therapy Matcher network needs you!
Our call volume is higher than ever, especially with recent media attention from the
Boston Globe
.
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Valuable Member Benefit: Join the NASW-MA Private Practice Google Group
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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.
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Volunteer Counselors Needed For a Veterans Event
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Attleboro’s Veterans Department and The Moving Wall Attleboro Steering Committee are a volunteer group of community members planning a five day exhibit of The Moving Wall in Attleboro from September 26th to 30th at Highland Park.
The Moving Wall is a half-scale replica of the national Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. Since its creation in 1984, The Moving Wall has been traveling around the country bringing the power and spirit of the national memorial to thousands of veterans and all Americans who may not otherwise see and share the experience.
Visiting The Moving Wall can be a profound and deeply moving event. Veterans and residents from Attleboro and surrounding cities and towns will be welcome to visit, learn, and honor the sacrifices of the soldiers lost and those still living.
Veterans who visit The Moving Wall sometimes need on-site counseling services because of painful experiences and memories that The Moving Wall can evoke. Although there will be other veterans nearby with whom they can share their feelings, having professional counselors would be most helpful, particularly counselors with experience working with veterans.
If you are interested in providing on-site counseling assistance, please contact Cathleen DeSimone at
C3DESIMONE@bridgew.edu
.
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Domestic and Sexual Violence Training Requirement for Licensure
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There will be a
new requirement for all licensed social workers
to complete an approved training on
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
, as required by MA law Chapter 260. This is a one-time requirement, to be completed for the next renewal cycle.
The only approved training currently is an online course through DPH, available
here
. The course is free, and has been approved for 2 CEs by the MA Board of Registration of Social Workers. It can be completed now, or anytime before your renewal date. Print out the certificate of completion and save with other CE records. The certificate will not indicate anything about CEs, but it will count as such.
And a
reminder that the renewal cycle is changing
.
Your license now expires on your birthday.
The next renewal date will be your birthday, following October 1, 2020. The number of CE's will remain the same. All LICSWs will still need 30 CE's at the time of renewal, no matter the length of time since last renewing.
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Thanks to a partnership between the Boston Bar Association and GBLS-New England Law,
a new walk-in CORI (Criminal Record Offender Information) Sealing Clinic helps low-income individuals obtain a copy of their record and, if possible, seal, or expunge their record.
The Boston Bar Association’s CORI Sealing Clinic will take place the 1st Wednesday of each month from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM at the Boston Municipal Court – Central Division.
CLINIC LOCATION
Boston Municipal Court – Central Division, Edward W. Brooke Courthouse, 24 New Chardon Street, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02114
WALK-IN CLINIC DATES
- September 4, 2019
- October 2, 2019
- November 6, 2019
- December 4, 2019
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The Social Work Assistance Network (SWAN) -
An NASW-MA Resource for You!
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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
.
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Licensing Test Prep Courses in Your Neighborhood
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NASW-MA hosts Licensing Test Prep courses each month in various parts of the state. Upcoming courses include:
- September 21 | Worcester
- October 25 | Boston
- November 23 | Bridgewater
- December 7 | Springfield
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NASW National Office Recognizes Chapter Accomplishments
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NASW chapters are doing amazing things! Check out National's
highlights page to see some of the recent accomplishments of chapters across the nation.
In the latest issue of Social Work Advocates, National NASW highlighted our victory in Massachusetts to lift the welfare cap on kids.
Here are some recent accomplishments of other chapters:
- New York: NASW-NYS joined NASW-MA in banning conversion therapy for minors in their state
- Illinois: With NASW-IL support, a bill for equal pay for equal work was passed.
- Connecticut: NASW-CT successfully advocated for passage of a bill that provides protection to the job title of social worker.
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Passionate about Child Welfare? Oregon has a Job Opportunity
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Oregon Governor Kate Brown is seeking a
Director of the Child Welfare Division
to help tackle child welfare crisis in the state. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in child welfare agencies and high-level experience in government or organizational management. The Governor is also looking to fill
300 new positions
in the Child Welfare Division. For more info
rmation and how to apply, contact NASW-OR Chapter Executive Director,
Delmar de la Torre Stone
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NASW and the NASW Foundation will accept nominations for the
2019 National Recognition Awards
through
September 10, 2019
. These awards honor social workers and other individuals and/or groups who have, through their work and/or advocacy, advanced the principles and vision of the social work profession.
NASW National Awards
- Social Worker of The Year
- Public Citizen of The Year
- Public Elected Official of The Year
- Emerging Social Work Leader - This new award recognizes the early career social worker
- Lifetime Achievement Award
For additional information or to submit a nomination for the NASW National Awards,
visit this link
. Inquiries may be
emailed
or submitted by direct dial to 202-336-8270.
NASW Foundation Awards
- International Rhoda G. Sarnat Award
- Knee/Wittman Health and Mental Health Achievement Awards
For additional information or to submit a nomination for the NASW Foundation Awards,
visit this link
.
Please send related inquiries
by email
or call 202-408-8600, ext. 484.
The
deadline for submitting a complete nomination package is
Tuesday, September 10, 2019 by 6:00 pm EDT.
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The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA) of 2019: Taking it to the U.S. Senate
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On April 4, 2019, the House of Representative passed
H.R. 1585, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019 (VAWA), with significant bipartisan support. Now, it is time for the Senate to take action on a substantially similar bill which maintains vital protections for vulnerable survivors while making essential enhancements to prevent and respond to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.
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