Your Social Work E-News for October is here!
Social Work E-News 
Issue #214, October 9, 2018
 
 
 
Social Work E-News
 
Editor's Eye
Hello --
 
 
Welcome to Issue #215 of the Social Work E-News! Thank you for subscribing to receive this email newsletter, which is brought to you by the publisher of The New Social Worker magazine, SocialWorker.com, SocialWorkJobBank.com, and other social work publications.
 
 
The New Social Worker website is a great place to find a variety of new and archived articles on job search, social work careers, practice, ethics, and more issues for new grads.
 
 
HOT OFF THE PRESS... Our Fall issue is out! Read articles from the Fall issue at http://www.socialworker.com.
Here’s a quick link for immediate download of the PDF edition for Fall 2018:
 
 
Most articles from the fall issue can be read on our website, as well. See listing below (after the "Featured Excerpt").
 
 

 

 
Have you subscribed to our mailing lists? You can go to http://www.socialworker.com/Subscribe_to_The_New_Social_Worker and subscribe (free) to receive an email reminder and table of contents of each issue of The New Social Worker magazine when it is available. If you are a subscriber to the E-News (which you are reading now), this does NOT mean that you are automatically subscribed to The New Social Worker magazine. They are two different publications.
 
Are you one of our 172,400+ fans on Facebook? Connect with us—we love connecting with you!
 
 
Until next time,
Linda Grobman, ACSW, LSW
Publisher/Editor
THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER®
 
 
Networking:
 
This Month

October marks several observances, including but not limited to:
  • World Mental Health Day (October 10)
  • Domestic Violence Awareness Month
  • National Bullying Prevention Month
  • National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
 
Featured Excerpt

Voting Is Social Work: Empowerment and the National Social Work Voter Mobilization Campaign
 
Editor’s Note: This excerpt is from the Fall 2018 issue of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER.
 
Read the complete article at:
 
 
 

by Terry Mizrahi, Ph.D., and Mimi Abramovitz, DSW

(Editor's Note: The New Social Worker is pleased to endorse the National Social Worker Voter Mobilization Campaign, also known as #VotingIsSocialWork.)

Voting is the hallmark of a democracy. Yet, the voting gap deepened during the last 30 years as court decisions, voter suppression laws, and gerrymandering intentionally eroded the hard-won franchise, especially among marginalized Black Americans. Alexander Keyssar (2009) documents this in the book The Right to Vote. The social work profession is fighting back.
 
Voting Is Social Work

Social workers have always understood the importance of voting to political action, community power, and social change. Since its founding in 1955, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has promoted open access to the ballot box. (See “Voting Rights and Voter Participation” in the NASW publication Social Work Speaks and the related article in the Encyclopedia of Social Work online, 2013).
 
In 1983, Richard Cloward, a prominent social worker, and Frances Fox Piven launched The Human SERVE campaign to increase voter registration among clients at public and nonprofit agencies. In 1993, their efforts, supported by many allies, paid off with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), better known as the “Motor Voter Act.” Under this law, states now permit people to register to vote when they get or renew drivers’ licenses or when they apply for food stamps and other government benefits. Access to information at these new venues vastly expanded voter registration.
 
Social workers participate in political activities in higher numbers (Rome & Hoechstatter, 2010) and vote at higher rates than other professions (Halvor, 2016). We do so for many reasons. It is in our professional DNA; our professional organizations endorse voter registration, and data show that voter engagement advances individual well-being, civic participation, and social justice (Martin & Claibourn, 2013). We also do it because we can. Our field work departments and social agencies have access to millions of highly under-represented clients, constituencies, and communities, including those most likely to be targeted by voter suppression and gerrymandering laws.
 
From the Field: Surprise and Concern in 2016

Did social work agencies engage clients in the 2016 presidential election? Not very many! MSW students in one urban social work school assessed the voter education activities at 65 different agencies. While 22% of the agencies were engaged in proactive and creative activities, 62% did little or nothing to promote client engagement.
 
Why Some Agencies Were Not Engaged

The non-engaged agencies claimed that 1) undocumented, formerly incarcerated, and/or homeless clients could not vote, 2) clients only sought services that helped them get better, 3) agencies lacked the resources needed to prioritize voting, and occasionally 4) that it wasn’t professional and legal. One student placed in a non-engaged school setting observed: “We were often told that the students were too young to vote. This might be true, but it’s not too early to teach children about the election and voting registration process. These voter activities can also be used by the school to involve parents to vote and participate in other empowering ways.” Rocha, Poe, and Thomas (2010) report on some of the perceived barriers to political participation.
 
The Practice Wisdom of Engaged Agencies

In contrast, the engaged agencies provided important practice lessons. A youth-serving agency provided clients with voter registration information, registered qualified participants, and regularly discussed the upcoming election with them. Another program defined and educated underage youth participants as future voters and helped older youth to register to vote. A residential treatment center organized workshops for clients where they discussed the electoral process, emphasized the importance of voting, and distributed registration forms and local polling place addresses. Another agency organized a community forum: “Why Should I Vote When I Don’t Like the Candidates?” A high school for older students created a step-by-step voting guide, provided the social work interns access to classrooms to ask students if they were registered, helped students fill out forms, and discussed campaign issues following the televised debates. At a community-based agency in a school that served as an election-day polling place, students engaged voters waiting in line by providing snacks along with voter education. This youth agency also gained considerable visibility and support for this creative effort.

 
Here are articles from the Fall 2018 issue:

Student Role Model - Gabriela Solis (in PDF format only)
 
Social workers often focus on successful outcomes. But has this emphasis diminished the role of process in social work practice? Can we resist the urge to "fix" and instead "sit with"?
 
What? Another group project? Social workers and social work students often work in groups. Learn to embrace the process.
 
Social workers use varying terms related to culture and social diversity - cultural competence, cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, cultural humility, and cultural responsiveness. What do they mean? What’s the difference?
 
Your professors said you would be working at three levels of social work - micro, mezzo, and macro. But your job seems to be all micro. Are you doing something wrong?
 
You made it through the job interview for the social work job you want. Now what? Do not neglect to follow up. Write a thank-you letter, connect on LinkedIn, and prepare for the next interview. The search isn't over until you start your new job.
 
You are excited about your new position as a social work manager and have many ideas about what can be done differently. You can’t wait to start, but it may be beneficial to take some time to consider several important issues
 
Collegiate Recovery Programs (CRPs) provide a supportive environment within the college campus culture for students in recovery. The person-in-environment approach is one that is in sync with social work.
 
A series of #MacroSW Twitter chats has focused on social action in social work, including: vision, community assessment, action planning, and community organizing.
 
Is automation a threat to social work practice in the field? Or is it a tool?
 
AmeriCorps is similar to the Peace Corps, but volunteers stay in the U.S. Volunteering for the program can offer benefits to aspiring social workers.
 
The New Social Worker is an endorser of the National Social Worker Voter Mobilization Campaign. Terry Mizrahi and Mimi Abramovitz write about the campaign's background and ways social workers can get involved in getting out the vote in 2018.
 
As a social worker, what can you do to prevent youth suicide? The good news is that there are several psychotherapies that have been shown to reduce suicidal thoughts and behaviors in youth. Expert Jonathan Singer provides 5 tips for social workers.
 
Book review of The Hidden Among the Hidden: African-American Elder Male Caregivers
 
Book review of Explorations in Diversity, Examining the Complexities of Privilege, Discrimination, and Oppression
 
Book Review: After the Cradle Falls: What Child Abuse Is, How We Respond To It, And What You Can Do About It
 
Book review of Narratives on Positive Aging: Recipes for Success.
 
...and more! For the full Table of Contents and full text of all articles in this issue, please download the PDF.
 

BONUS! Read recent web exclusive articles:
 
Job Corner
Find jobs for new grads and experienced social work practitioners at http://www.socialworkjobbank.com, THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER’s online job board and career center.
 
 
If you or your agency are hiring social workers, don’t forget to post your jobs on SocialWorkJobBank.com. Please check the SocialWorkJobBank “products/pricing” page for job posting options and SPECIAL offers. 
 
Job seeker services are FREE—including searching current job openings, posting your confidential résumé/profile, and receiving email job alerts. Please let employers know that you saw their listings in the SOCIAL WORK E-NEWS and at SocialWorkJobBank.com.
 
There are 1,043 jobs currently posted on SocialWorkJobBank.com. Check it out today.
 
 
News & Resources
Network for Social Work Management Call for Proposals Now Open
 
The Call for Proposals is open for the 30th Annual Management Conference, to be held May 29-June 1, 2019, in Chicago, IL, at Loyola University Chicago. Proposals are due January 20, 2019.
 
This year’s theme, “Accelerating Impact: Harnessing the power of human, social, and financial innovation,” focuses on leveraging innovation across multiple areas to increase the impact of services for underserved populations.

Innovations in human, social, and financial approaches to how our organizations are structured and function are essential to solving pressing social issues. The conference provides a forum for participants to learn about innovations in these realms and to network with each other to link innovations in creative ways. Such generative interaction moves us toward more socially just practice and increases the impact of organizations.
 
The key thematic areas for the 2019 NSWM conference are summarized in the full Call for Proposals at:

 

 
Write for THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER
 
I am seeking a limited number of articles for THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER website and magazine. Is there an issue that you are passionate about that corresponds with an upcoming “awareness” month, week, or day; holiday; or time of year/season? This is a good way to identify a topic for a timely article.
 
Other topics of interest include: social work field placement issues, licensing, and career development.
 
Our style is conversational and educational, and web articles typically run 500-750 words. Feature articles typically run 1,250-1,500 words. We want positive articles that social workers can use to help them advance in their careers.
 
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
 
Submit articles to Linda Grobman with a subject line that says “Submission—(insert title or topic of submission).” Attach your submission as a Word file. Please include in this file: title of submission, your name as you want it to appear with your article, body of your submission, a brief bio about yourself.  I will then review your submission and let you know if I need anything else and/or whether it is accepted for publication.
 
Please email Linda Grobman with ideas for longer (1,250-1,500 words) "feature articles" for THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER magazine.
 
Please read our complete Writers' Guidelines.
 
Thank you!
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!
 
We also publish books on nonprofit management. Want to start your own agency? We have a book for that.
 
 
HOW TO ORDER
 
All of our books are available through our secure online store at:
 
Most are also available at Amazon.com.
 
Some of our books are also available as ebooks at VitalSource.
 
You can also view and download our catalog in PDF format.
 

 
BEDTIME READING/GIFTS FOR GRADUATION/HOLIDAYS
 
 
BEGINNINGS, MIDDLES, & ENDS: SIDEWAYS STORIES ON THE ART & SOUL OF SOCIAL WORK
 
With just the right blend of humor and candor, each of these stories contains nuggets of wisdom that you will not find in a traditional textbook. They capture the essence and the art and soul of social work.
 
 

 
Now in Paperback and Hardcover: ON CLINICAL SOCIAL WORK: MEDITATIONS AND TRUTHS FROM THE FIELD is Dr. Danna Bodenheimer's NEW book. Published in July by The New Social Worker Press, it  reached #1 in new social work releases on Amazon.

The beautiful, full-color book - now in paperback and hardcover - makes a meaningful gift for you, a student, or a colleague. It is available  now at Amazon and Barnes and Noble (and other bookstores, too).

Jonathan Singer of the Social Work Podcast wrote the foreword to this book, and he said, "Danna pays attention to life’s details with a psychotherapist’s insight and writes about them with the passion of a slam poet. She speaks to the soul of social work and inspires us to think about more than just social work."
Jonathan B. Singer, Ph.D., LCSW, Associate Professor, Loyola University Chicago, Founder and host, Social Work Podcast

We also have a supply available from our online store.





 

   
The A-to-Z Self-Care Handbook for Social Workers and Other Helping Professionals

The A-to-Z format in this book provides 26 practical strategies for your personal self-care plan. Learn how to make a SMART plan and keep yourself accountable. Easy to read and essential for any social worker or helping professional.
ISBN: 978-1-929109-53-1

 
 
 
Reminders
Quick Link: Fall 2018
  
VISIT OUR SITES

www.socialworker.com
 
 

IN THIS ISSUE
Editor's Eye
This Month
Featured Excerpt
Job Corner/Current Job Openings
News & Resources
In Print
Reminders
NEWSLETTER NECESSITIES
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THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER® SOCIAL WORK E-NEWS is published by:
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P.O. Box 5390
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Linda Grobman, Editor
 
 
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