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THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER® Social Work E-News
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Issue #35, October 28, 2003
EDITOR'S EYE
Dear Social Work Colleagues,
Welcome to Issue #35 of the Social Work E-News. This e-mail newsletter is brought to you by the publisher of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER magazine and other social work publications.
The coming month of November is a time of increased awareness on a number of issues that might be relevant to social workers and the people they work with. November observances include the following: Diabetic Eye Disease Month, National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month, American Diabetes Month, National Epilepsy Month, National Marrow Awareness Month, Lung Cancer Awareness Month, National Hospice Month, National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month, and National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. In November, the following special weeks will also be observed: National Allied Health Week (November 2-8), National Adoption Week (November 16-22 in the U.S., November 3-9 in the U.K.), and Hearing Aid Awareness Week (November 2-8). The American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout is on November 20. This list is not exhaustive-there may be other observances that relate to your area of interest or practice.
Efforts are being made to recruit qualified social workers to work in the U.K. and major reforms are underway in the U.K. social service system. A search of Google news will yield articles on the current state of social work in the U.K. In this issue of the Social Work E-News, reader Hugh Valentine--a social worker in the U.K.--shares some thoughts with us and provides some background on recent events in the U.K. that have had an impact on the delivery of social services there.
I am leaving tomorrow to attend the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors (BPD) conference in Reno, NV! If you are planning to be there, please stop by my booth in the exhibit hall and say hello!
Until next time,
Linda Grobman, ACSW, LSW
Publisher/Editor
THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER®
http://www.socialworker.com
linda.grobman@paonline.com
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IN THIS ISSUE
A Word From Our Sponsor
Feature Article
News
On Our Web Site
In Print
Online Store--Sale
Job Corner
Newsletter Necessities
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A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR
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HTTP://SOCIALWORKEXAM.COM
Social Work Exam Prep Review. Prepare right on the Internet!! Multiple choice exam banks, Timed Questions, Secrets to Passing, DSM-IV Terms, Notables, all Online and Interactive. Reveal strengths and weaknesses so you can map your study strategy. Check out our FREE QUESTION SAMPLER!!
Licensure Exams, Inc.
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FEATURE ARTICLE
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CHILD PROTECTION AND THE ENGLISH DESIRE TO BLAME
By Hugh Valentine
The UK has just witnessed another chapter in the depressing litany of child deaths and failures in the systems designed to prevent them.
Victoria Climbié had 128 separate injuries on her body when she died in February 2000 after months of torture at the hands of her great aunt Marie Therese Kouao and her aunt's boyfriend Carl Manning. The child had been born in November 1991 in the Ivory Coast. To escape the poverty of Africa, her parents entrusted her to her great aunt, who took her to Europe. That turned out to be a fatal decision.
The government set up an Inquiry under Lord Laming. He concluded that Victoria need not have died. Police, doctors, and social workers all had contact with her while she was being abused, and missed numerous opportunities to intervene to save her.
There were medical failures: two senior medics saw her. One decided that her cuts were due to the skin disease scabies. Another, some time later, suspected abuse but wrote on the case notes "able to discharge."
The police also came in for criticism. The Inquiry heard how one police officer failed to inspect Victoria's home for fear of catching scabies off the furniture.
Social Services (the local government bodies that run child protection services in England) came in for special criticism. The unit responsible was described as chaotic, with workers in conflict.
The Inquiry has now concluded its work and made dozens of recommendations, which the government has responded to in a new set of proposals for the development of improved services.
The biggest shake up is to align children's social services with education services, taking them away from adult and older people's social care. There are to be more safeguards, more systems, more requirements on agencies to check, check, and check again. All children in England are to have a unique identifying number, and Data Protection laws are to be amended to allow the sharing of vital information needed to protect children.
All these, and the other proposals, make sense and are timely. But social workers in particular may be left wondering if they and their profession have not been unfairly treated. Social workers in the UK enjoy far less prestige than in the US. Their training--especially during the 1990s--was dumbed down. There is a serious shortage of social workers, and workloads are often high. Media attention is invariably hostile and critical. There is a climate of fear. Child protection work involves risk, and there is ample evidence that the public does not wish to know about that. Until social work training becomes more robust, the profession more self-confident, and the public more realistic, problems will remain. Victoria was killed by her carers. Child protection agencies should have--and could have--prevented it. And for that there is no possible excuse. But the great desire to assign blame may prevent attention being given to the wider contextual issues.
Hugh Valentine holds the Certificate of Qualification in Social Work (CQSW) and a BA in Applied Social Science. He is head of children's services in a social services department.
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NEWS
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NHPCO Clarifies Role of Hospice in Current Florida Case
(Alexandria, VA) Recognizing the legal complexity and emotional breadth of the Schiavo case in Florida, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization wishes to clarify the role of hospice in end-of-life care.
Hospice provides pain and symptom management and a range of psychosocial services and spiritual support to patients and their families through the duration of life-limiting illness. Hospice does not make decisions for patients or families, nor sit in judgment of their choices. Instead, hospice provides information on care options and compassionately carries out those decisions with respect for their wishes and the laws of the land. This enduring focus on the patient's wishes and the provision of interdisciplinary care are the cornerstones of hospice.
Ms. Schiavo is currently receiving care in a hospice residence in Pinellas Park, FL. While approximately 80 percent of hospice care is provided in the patient's home, many hospice providers have residences for patients who cannot be cared for in their own homes. Residential hospice programs provide compassionate hospice and palliative care in a home-like setting 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Neither the specific hospice nor NHPCO is involved in the legal proceedings associated with the patient or the decisions to remove the feeding tube. Hospice provides state-of-the-art medical care reflecting the highest standards of practice and compassion. Hospice also offers bereavement services for family members.
NHPCO urges everyone, regardless of their age, to discuss their end of life wishes with family members and put them in writing with advance directives. The National Hospice Foundation, NHPCO's development arm, has developed a number of brochures to help families begin these important discussions. They include:
NHF brochure, "Communicating Your End of Life Wishes" at http://www.nhpco.org/file/public/NHF_Communicating_Wishes.pdf
NHF brochure, "Let's Start Talking" at http://www.nhpco.org/file/public/NHF_Lets_Start_Talking.pdf
In addition, to find an NHPCO member hospice, call NHPCO's HelpLine at 800/658-8898 or visit the "Find a Provider" section at http://www.nhpco.org/custom/directory/?pageid=3284
November is National Hospice Month. For more information about hospice care, see the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization Web site at http://www.nhpco.org
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National Adoption Month 2003
This November, thousands of individuals, government agencies, and child advocacy organizations across the nation will promote the National Adoption Month 2003 Campaign. The goal of the campaign is to spread awareness to recruit and retain foster and adoptive parents for waiting children.
Since 1990, the U.S. has officially proclaimed November as National Adoption Month to focus attention on the increasing number of children in the child welfare system waiting for placement with families. According to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), there are approximately 542,000 children currently in foster care, 126,000 of whom are waiting for permanent families. Of the children in need of adoption, 66 percent are children of color and 64 percent are over the age of 5.
This year's campaign aims to decrease these numbers by increasing the number of families willing to foster and/or adopt a child or teen. Themed "There's No Place Like Your Home," the campaign encourages families across the nation to open their hearts and homes. The slogan emphasizes that every child in need of foster care or adoption needs a place to call home and every American adult offers hope to a child in need.
For more information about the National Adoption Month 2003 Campaign, see http://www.adoptuskids.org
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ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONS WEEK
November 2 - 8, 2003
ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONS WEEK will be celebrated nationally November 2 through 8, 2003 to honor health care providers working in the more than 80 allied health professions. Constituting approximately 60 percent of all health care providers, allied health practitioners greatly influence health care delivery by supporting, facilitating, and complementing the roles of physicians and other health care specialists. This collaboration, which emphasizes the strengths of all health professions, is enhancing the quality of care in this country and abroad.
Allied health professionals work in public and private sectors--not only in hospitals but also in clinics, laboratories, nursing homes, mental health facilities, private medical practices, research institutions, public health services, and pharmaceutical companies. Allied health personnel are also employed in industry, where they administer basic health care and emergency first aid to workers, inspect equipment, and assure that safe work practices are followed. Additionally, these professionals may act as technical advisors and representatives in the manufacturing and marketing of medical equipment and supplies.
Take this opportunity to congratulate all allied health professionals in your community with whom you may collaborate or come into contact as a social worker. You can learn more about allied health professions by reviewing the web sites at http://www.healthpronet.org, http://www.nn2.org or http://www.asahp.org.
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THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER Seeks Articles
THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER, the magazine for social work students and recent graduates, is looking for articles in the following areas:
1. social work ethics
2. social work field placement
3. social policy
4. research
5. human behavior
Articles should be 1500-2000 words in length, educational/instructional in nature, written for a student/new graduate audience, and written in a conversational tone, similar to that you would find in a typical magazine. Each article should address a specific aspect of the topic (i.e. ethics articles should address a specific ethical issue, such as confidentiality, rather than ethics in general). Articles are accepted from social work students, social work practitioners, and social work educators.
Please e-mail complete manuscripts and/or article ideas to linda.grobman@paonline.com. The need for articles is ongoing. We also need photos and artwork of social work students and social workers "in action"--participating in a social work club activity or field trip, for example. High resolution digital photos are accepted.
Send all submissions by e-mail to linda.grobman@paonline.com, or mail to Linda Grobman, Editor/Publisher, THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER, PO Box 5390, Harrisburg, PA 17110-0390.
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ON OUR WEB SITE
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THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER's Web site at http://www.socialworker.com includes the full text of many sample articles from past issues of the magazine. Go to the Back Issues page at http://www.socialworker.com/backissu.htm to find links to these articles. Here you will also find information on ordering back issues either in print or electronically.
The discussion of our Fall Interactive Article has begun. Carol Heintzelman's article in the Fall 2003 issue on the ethics of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study is being discussed on our online discussion forum. Go to http://www.socialworker.com/discus and click on "Interactive Articles." Then click on the link to the Fall 2003 discussion.
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IN PRINT
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The Fall issue of our print magazine, THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER, is now available. Here are some highlights:
*Ethics: The Tuskegee Syphilis Study and Its Implications for the 21st Century (Interactive Article-see above under "On Our Web Site")
*Field Placement: Developing Field Placement Relationships
*Macro and Micro Tensions in Generalist Practice
*Caring for Children After a Tragedy
*Confronting Spam
*
and more
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SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER MAGAZINE
THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER can be ordered directly from our online store at http://www.whitehatcommunications.com/store -- where you will also find the social work and nonprofit management books we publish.
Subscriptions to THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER are also available through Amazon.com. Go to Amazon's magazine subscription store (from Amazon's main page at http://www.amazon.com ) and search for "new social worker."
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SALE CONTINUES AT OUR ONLINE STORE
Subscribe to THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER and/or purchase our books on social work, nonprofit management, and other related topics.
BUY 2 OR MORE ITEMS at our online store, AND GET 10% OFF YOUR ORDER. Just go to http://www.whitehatcommunications.com/store and put 2 or more items in your cart. The 10% discount will be calculated when you check out.
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JOB CORNER
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SOCIALWORKJOBBANK.COM: THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER's online job board and career center is located at http://www.socialworkjobbank.com . Both new grads and experienced social work practitioners are included in our ever-growing candidate profile bank, which now includes over 2,100 confidential profiles/resumes of social work job seekers!
SocialWorkJobBank.com is easy to use and affordable for employers, too. All job seeker services are FREE-including searching current job openings, posting your confidential resume/profile, and requesting e-mail job alerts. If you or your agency are hiring social workers, please consider including SocialWorkJobBank.com in your recruiting efforts.
Job Seekers: Please let employers know that you saw their listings in the SOCIAL WORK E-NEWS and at SocialWorkJobBank.com.
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NEWSLETTER NECESSITIES
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ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER® SOCIAL WORK E-NEWS is published by:
White Hat Communications (publisher of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER® magazine and THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER® ONLINE)
P.O. Box 5390
Harrisburg, PA 17110-0390
Linda Grobman, Editor
linda.grobman@paonline.com
http://www.socialworker.com
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Advertising: If you would like to place a job listing or sponsor this newsletter, send an e-mail message to linda.grobman@paonline.com for rates and further information.
News: Please send brief social work-related news items to linda.grobman@paonline.com for consideration.
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Copyright 2003 White Hat Communications. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this entire newsletter, with all information intact, by e-mail to social work colleagues, students, and others interested in social work, for personal use only. You may also print out this newsletter for personal use. All other uses of this material require permission from the publisher at linda.grobman@paonline.com
THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER is a registered trademark of White Hat Communications.
Linda Grobman, ACSW, LSW
Editor/Publisher
THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER
http://www.socialworker.com 