Editor's Eye

 

 

 

 

What does a life in social work look like? You might look at it as a series of “sideways” stories! “If life were black and white, we’d have no need for social work.” Read Ogden Rogers’ collection, Beginnings, Middles, & Ends: Sideways Stories on the Art & Soul of Social Work. Read reviews and interviews with the author at Social Justice Solutions and Social Work Career Development. Listen to an interview on Wisconsin Public Radio. Now available on Amazon.com (print and Kindle), Google Play (e-book), directly from the publisher, and other bookstores. Do you know a social worker or social work student who loves to read? This book is a welcome retreat from academic textbooks. For info, see http://www.beginningsmiddlesandends.com.

 

 

THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER Magazine’s Back-to-School Guide for Social Work Students, edited by Linda May Grobman and Karen Zgoda, is available now! Get this e-book at:  http://www.amazon.com/WORKER%C2%AE-Magazines--School-Students-ebook/dp/B00EZAXVJ8 (Kindle format) or http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/355823 (ePub and other formats).

 

Check out all of our social work and nonprofit books, social work greeting cards, social work buttons, and more. All of our books and products are available through our secure online store at: http://shop.whitehatcommunications.com.

 

 

You can also download our catalog in PDF format.

 

 

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**Get your textbooks!** Support The New Social Worker while you shop. Follow this link to Amazon.com for all your textbook and other supply needs.

 

Job Corner

• State of Michigan certification or temporary approval as a school social worker (MSW with school social work credential)
  
•  Ability to communicate and work at a high level of quality and proficiency with students, staff, and parents, verbally and in writing
• Ability to provide consultation, coaching, and modeling at the building and classroom levels using current best practice i.e. a Multi-Tiered System of Supports model
• Ability to train, support, and maintain a School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports System within school buildings and classrooms
• Ability to model and teach students and staff behavioral interventions at various Tiers of Support
• Knowledge of, and ability to utilize, tools and systems for student and program data review

 

 

Featured Excerpt

 

Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from the Spring 2014 issue of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER. Read the full article at:

Social workers often suggest that self-determination is a cornerstone of the profession. In fact, the first two standards in the NASW Code of Ethics (2008) say that our primary obligation is to our client and that we should honor a client’s right to self-determination.

 

Self-determination is built on the values of autonomy and respect for the dignity and worth of all people. So, given the primacy of self-determination, how is it that social workers can ethically justify working with clients who are mandated to social work services? By definition, if a client is mandated to services, isn’t the social worker breaching the client’s right to self-determination? Do involuntary clients have a right to self-determination, and if so, what does self-determination mean in such a context?

 

Let’s start by considering what the NASW Code says about self-determination:

 

Note that this standard does not specifically speak to the issue of involuntary clients. Its one exception to self-determination arises when a client poses “a serious, foreseeable, and imminent risk to themselves or others.” This exception typically applies to situations of suicidal or homicidal ideation—thus, if a client is about to commit suicide or homicide, the worker is ethically justified in taking steps that run counter to client self-determination to protect the client or potential victim.

 

Ethically speaking, the Code is giving priority to the principle of protecting life over the principle of respecting self-determination. This could include initiating processes that may result in involuntary admission to a psychiatric facility. Note, however, that committing a client involuntarily should be considered a course of last resort.

 

Read the rest of this article at:

 

Articles from the Spring 2014 issue of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER include:

 

...and much more!

 

 

• Proximity, Identity, Ignorance, and Hate: written in response to the shootings at a Jewish Community Center and Jewish-affiliated assisted living facility
• Talking About Child Sexual Abuse, Why I Believe Dylan Farrow, and What Social Workers Need To Know and Do: written in response to Dylan Farrow’s accusations against Woody Allen
• Drug Addiction and Mental Illness: Got Coverage?: explores the issue of insurance parity for mental health and addictions treatment (also included in this newsletter under Features below)

 

 

During March, we ran a daily series of social workers' essays, poetry, art, video, audio, and more! I was very excited to receive such a variety of inspiring and creative work for this series. Thank you to all who contributed!

 

You can access the complete series here. Here are a few of the highlights:

 

There are just too many to list them all. They are all GREAT! The above is just a sample of the content of the Spring issue and the Social Work Month 2014 Series. Visit our website for the full list of online articles and to download the full issue!

 

Features

If you had a heart attack, your health insurance would pay for emergent medical care, maintenance medication, and follow-up care. If you were in the midst of a manic episode or struggling with a heroin addiction, your insurance most likely would not cover treatment. If your insurance provider does offer benefits for addictions and mental health treatment, it has the ability to identify which substances and mental health conditions are worthy of coverage. Don’t be fooled into thinking that simply because you have insurance, it will cover your bipolar disorder or anxiety disorder the same as it will your heart condition. 

 

Mental health and drug addiction affect us all. The person in the cubicle next to you at work could be struggling with a cocaine addiction. Your best friend may be feeling deeply depressed and considering suicide, or maybe your neighbor is displaying erratic and unusual behaviors. Even though their struggles may be hidden, they are real. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), approximately 61.5 million Americans are living with a mental illness. That is roughly one in four people. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reports approximately 8.9 million people living with both an addiction and mental illness. (This is commonly referred to as a co-occurring disorder.)

 

For years, advocates have been pushing for insurance companies to pay for mental health and substance use disorder treatment as they would for medical conditions. This is referred to in the law as parity. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), mental health and substance use disorders are considered an “essential health benefit.” This means that individual plans available on the Health Insurance Marketplace offer benefits that cover mental health and substance use disorder treatment equally with medical benefits. The ACA requirements apply to  all small group and individual market plans created after March 23, 2010. For those with other plans, such as those provided by large employers, it’s more of a gamble. Although the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) passed in 2008 to address the issue of unequal coverage, there are many exemptions to MHPAEA, and employers and insurance companies are still able to get around the law.

 

Many employers are not required to offer coverage under the MHPAEA. The law only requires that employers who do offer coverage for mental health and addictions treatment "to offer coverage for those services that is no more restrictive than the coverage for medical/surgical conditions." (SAMHSA, 2014)

Those who reject parity often cite its costs as a concern. However, parity is necessary for the well being of our nation. Preventative medicine is being recognized as a cost savings, as this approach allows illnesses to be detected and treated early, leading to improved outcomes in long-term health.

 

I argue that we should be looking at mental health and substance use treatment in the same way. To only treat a person’s physical health without treating his or her mental health or drug addiction is negligent. Additionally, while it is within the legal rights of an insurance company to determine which diagnoses in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) it will cover, by not providing coverage for all diagnoses, the stigma around certain disorders will remain. It is interesting to note that all federal employees and their families have complete coverage for all diagnoses listed in the DSM, as well as all related treatment. For the rest of us, it’s a crap-shoot.

 

It is time to close the gaps in mental health and addiction treatment coverage. It is not enough to say treatment is available if it is difficult to access. Removing systemic barriers to treatment allows the opportunity to dispel the stigma surrounding mental health and addictions. Reducing stigma allows people to feel more comfortable obtaining treatment. This will lead to an improvement in the quality of their lives and the health of our nation.

 

As social workers, we need to help lawmakers understand the importance of requiring that group health plans offer coverage for mental health and substance use disorders and limit exemptions to parity through continued advocacy work. In addition, social workers should educate the people they serve about mental health and addictions parity, so they can be informed consumers and feel empowered to reach out to politicians and demand something better than unreliable coverage.

 

If you have a question or complaint regarding your health plan’s coverage of mental health and addiction treatment, you can contact the Department of Labor at www.askebsa.dol.gov. Additional information about mental health parity can be found at SAMHA's Mental Health Parity and Addictions Equity page and the U.S. Department of Labor Mental Health Parity page.

 

 

 

Ogden Rogers’ Beginnings, Middles, & Ends: Sideways Stories on the Art & Soul of Social Work, has been getting great reviews. A new excerpt from this book, “Chestnuts,” is on our website now. Did you know THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER has a social work book club? We do! And I want social workers from all over to read this book as a group and discuss it, because I believe it provides a way for social workers to think differently about social work and learn. So, if you would like to participate, please read the book, and we will announce a time/times when we will be discussing the book online via our website and online chat. The book is available on Amazon in print and Kindle editions. It’s also now available at the iTunes store and Google Play. Follow the book club activities on Facebook.

News & Resources

 

In the last Social Work E-News, I announced a new subsite on our website focusing on nonprofit ethics. Now another subsite has been added, focusing on nonprprofit management, courtesy of The New Social Worker, with major sponsorship provided by the First Nonprofit Foundation.  The nonprofit management site includes full-text materials from three books, plus a free download of a 4^th book in PDF format.

 

All educational materials on the site are FREE. The site is designed to be interactive, permitting visitors to comment on all posted content. It can be accessed at: http://www.socialworker.com/nonprofit/management

 

 

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Social worker/poet Mozart Guerrier gave a talk at TEDxSyracuseUniversity in April 2014. His talk, a combination of lecture and poetry, was on the topic, “The Secret to Lasting Community Change.” We have featured several of Mozart’s poems on THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER’s website, and we are pleased to offer you his TED talk. Listen to it here.

 

“Our Social Work Month theme was ‘All People Matter,’ and the winners of this year’s media award certainly reflect that,” NASW CEO, Angelo McClain, PhD, LICSW, said. “The award recipients, through their work in print, TV, blogs, and other media, demonstrated to the public some of the many ways social workers help people overcome life’s challenges and succeed.”

 

Social workers and the public nominated newspaper articles, newspaper columns, magazines and/or magazine stories, websites, blogs, radio segments, television news programs, fictional television programs, reality television programs, commercial films, and documentaries for the awards program. More than 1,350 people visited the website SocialWorkersSpeak.org - an NASW site that tracks how social workers are portrayed in the media - to cast their votes for 47 nominees.

 

THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER congratulates the winners of this year’s awards. See the complete list of winners at: http://www.socialworker.com/blogs/social-work-news/2014-nasw-media-award-winners/

 

 

 

 

I am seeking articles for upcoming issues of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER magazine and/or our website. I am especially interested in articles in the following categories:

 

 

 

I also welcome submissions of poetry, photographs, illustrations, artwork, videos, audio, and other creative work depicting social work and related topics.

 

Please contact Linda Grobman, editor/publisher of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER, at: lindagrobman@socialworker.com

On Our Web Site

 

The Spring issue of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER is available now! It is available to download in PDF format at:

 

 

THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER’s Web site at http://www.socialworker.com includes the full text of hundreds of articles from past issues of the magazine. The current issue is featured on the site’s main page. Articles in various categories, such as field placement, ethics, and technology, can be found by clicking on “Articles” in the top navigation of the site.

 

In addition to the free PDF and Web versions of the magazine, the magazine is available in PRINT at http://newsocialworker.magcloud.com! Order it today!

 

You can also purchase bound volumes for 2011, 2012, and 2013 at Amazon.com. Search for “The New Social Worker” (in quotes).

In Print

White Hat Communications, publisher of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER magazine and the Social Work E-News, has published several books about social work. These books make great gifts (for graduation, holidays, or other occasions) for yourself, or for your friends, students, and colleagues in social work!

 

Briefly, those currently in print are:

 

 

DAYS IN THE LIVES OF SOCIAL WORKERS: 58 Professionals Tell Real-Life Stories From Social Work Practice (4th Edition), edited by Linda May Grobman

 

MORE DAYS IN THE LIVES OF SOCIAL WORKERS:35 Real-Life Stories of Advocacy, Outreach, and Other Intriguing Roles in Social Work Practice, edited by Linda May Grobman

 

DAYS IN THE LIVES OF GERONTOLOGICAL SOCIAL WORKERS: 44 Professionals Tell Stories From Real-Life Social Work Practice With Older Adults, edited by Linda May Grobman and Dara Bergel Bourassa.

 

 

IS IT ETHICAL? 101 SCENARIOS IN EVERYDAY SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE: A DISCUSSION WORKBOOK, by Thomas Horn

 

 

THE SOCIAL WORK GRADUATE SCHOOL APPLICANT’S HANDBOOK: The Complete Guide to Selecting and Applying to MSW Programs, by Jesus Reyes

 

We also publish books on nonprofit management. Want to start your own agency? Check out THE NONPROFIT HANDBOOK: Everything You Need to Know to Start and Run Your Nonprofit Organization (6th Edition) and IMPROVING QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE IN YOUR NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION, by Gary M. Grobman.

 

 

All of our books are available through our secure online store at:

 

 

You can also download our catalog in PDF format.

VISIT OUR SITES

www.socialworker.com