Editor's Eye

The Social Work E-News has 36,000+ subscribers, and thousands of social workers (and people interested in social work) visit our Web sites. If you like our Web sites, The New Social Worker, and the Social Work E-News, please help us spread the word by using the "Share" button on the right side of this newsletter to share the newsletter with your friends and contacts. Tell your friends, students, or colleagues to visit us at http://www.socialworker.com, where they can download a free PDF copy of the magazine, become one of our 72,000+ fans on Facebook, and more. If you have a social work-related Web site, please feel free to link to us (www.socialworker.com) and let me know about your site, too, so I can check it out.

 

 

 

 

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

Social Worker  

The Center for Elders’ Independence  

 

Minimum Qualifications:  

Masters degree in Social Work required. LCSW desired.                                     

AND One year experience working with a frail or elderly population.  

 

To apply, please send resume and cover letter detailing your experience to:  

Center for Elders Independence

510-17th Street, Oakland CA 94612

hrjobs@cei.elders.org  

 

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

Program Manager  

Gilda’s Club Evansville (Indiana)  

 

Gilda’s Club Evansville, Inc. (GCEVV) is seeking a full-time Program Manager. Qualified candidate will be a mental health professional with a master’s degree from an accredited institution with a clinical license to practice in the State of Indiana. Responsibilities include meeting with individuals/families/friends living with cancer to assess needs and goals, facilitating weekly support groups, community outreach, assisting the Program Director with monthly Program calendar, and daily operations of the Child/Teen/Family portion of the Program.

 

Three years post-graduate work in current field of study; prefer one year experience working primarily with children. Working knowledge of Oncology a plus. Some evening and occasional weekend hours as needed. Salary commensurate with experience.   

 

Contact person: Diana Brown

Phone: 812-402-8667 812-402-8667  Ext. 302

Fax: 812-401-6337

E-mail:  Diana@gcevv.org  

 

 

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:

New social workers often feel overwhelmed trying to remember and apply what seems to be mountains of information to become effective and successful practitioners. There is always more knowledge to learn and master. And most of us commonly feel somewhat inadequate as we begin working with clients.

I remember more than a dozen years ago, when I first began my social work education, wondering if I could ever gain the knowledge and many skills needed to help clients with serious issues. After completing my MSW, I began my social work career in the correctional system. As in all areas of social work, many of my cases were difficult, and I found myself utilizing knowledge from all aspects of my liberal education.

 

Fortunately, I had excellent training and supervision, and I gradually became more comfortable in the development of my unique professional self. Still, the learning curve from student to professional appears to be very steep.  

 

Today, as the director of social work at Idaho State University, I see many of our students struggle with this same transition into the world of practice. At the same time, our social work standards and competency expectations have increased since my days as a social work student. In brainstorming how to distill so much valuable information into a user-friendly framework to facilitate the professional growth of our students, I came up with the GO FAR! framework

 

I wanted to find an acronym that reflects both the science and art of social work, is easy to remember, and is a useful summary for students and new professionals but can also be applied by established social workers. GO FAR! is the result of this brainstorming, and our students, faculty, and community partners really like it. We now invite you to GO FAR! in the field of social work with us. GO FAR! stands for genuine, optimism, fun, accountability, and rigor.   

 

Effective social workers are genuine and authentic people. We are honest and “real” with ourselves, clients, colleagues, and people with whom we associate. When we are real with other people, then they also tend to be real with us. Many social workers are drawn to the profession because they genuinely want to help people. This, of course, is a strength that is often associated with compassion, and both are key ingredients for a positive therapeutic alliance

 

Although most of us genuinely want to help, we sometimes tend to idolize teachers and professionals we perceive as being perfect at what they do. I remember being in awe of some of my teachers and clinical supervisors and wondering if I might ever be as adept as they were at navigating thorny clinical issues. Often, we copy the style of a mentor or two before later developing our own unique styles.

 

Encouraging genuineness, however, also means helping students recognize that each of us, including the very best teachers and clinicians, has strengths, limitations, problems, and personal issues, which is perfectly fine. Successful social workers accept themselves as they are, yet continually work on their own personal growth as human beings. Some of my mentors shared a few of their early mistakes and how they had learned and corrected these. Hearing these veteran social workers, who I greatly admired, share such stories was very helpful. As Harry Stack Sullivan used to say, “We are all more human than otherwise,” so allow yourself to be human, too, and appreciate the journey. 

 

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:

 

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

Fathers who don’t live with their children can actually lower their son or daughter’s risk of not having enough food by just maintaining involvement in the child’s life.  And if the father provides support beyond money, such as gifts, groceries, and other offerings, the child’s risk of food insecurity may be further reduced.

 

The new research by Lenna Nepomnyaschy, Assistant Professor in the Rutgers University School of Social Work, published recently in Social Service Review has found that nonresident father involvement in a child’s life is positively associated with lower food insecurity in both early and middle childhood.  Involvement could include time spent with the child, monetary contributions, and “in kind” support, such as treats, gifts, and payment of medical or childcare expenses. In particular, in kind support resulted in a 10-12 percent reduction in food insecurity for children.

 

“These results add to mounting evidence that nonresident father involvement, outside of the formal child support system, positively affects children and must be considered in policy discussions related to child support, child poverty, and child well-being,” says Nepomnyaschy.

 

Research on food insecurity for children is especially timely, as 47 million food stamp recipients in the U.S. received a $5 billion reduction in November. And Congress is preparing to cut even more out of the nutrition program. Lawmakers are currently finalizing a federal farm bill that is likely to reduce food stamp benefits by $8.7 billion over the next decade.

 

“As families lose food stamps, any resources a father provides become even more important.  Men overwhelmingly want to contribute to the well-being of their children, and child support alone may not increase food security.  If a woman is on welfare, the state takes her child support to reimburse the cost for welfare, rather than it benefiting the child,” the study says.

 

Using two nationally representative longitudinal panel data sets from the Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, which followed children through early and middle childhood and assessed economic stability and food insecurity in the home, the researchers found this trend to be consistent across both sets of data.

 

“For vulnerable families, fathers’ contributions of time and material resources have a positive effect on food security. Having in kind support may help the mother to re-allocate her resources to provide more food for the household.  The father’s visits may reduce her stress and enhance her parenting, providing her the resources and time to grocery shop and cook meals,” the researchers report.

 

More than 1 in 10 children in the U.S. experience food insecurity, and children in single mother families are at greatest risk, being three times as likely to not get enough food as children in two-parent families.  In 2012, 21.6 percent of U.S. children lived in households that were food insecure, defined by the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture as having limited access to adequate food because of lack of money.

 

Additionally, the researchers found that irregular cash support from the father increases food insecurity for children in middle childhood. 

 

This project was funded by a grant from the University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research through funding by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. 

 

 

For a different look at fatherhood, listen to social work author Ogden Rogers as he reads his story, "Killing Brendan (I go, Ego, We go),"

 

This story is an an excerpt from his book, Beginnings, Middles, & Ends: Sideways Stories on the Art & Soul of Social Work. The story is from the "Ends" section of the book and addresses a moment at which the author realizes there is a dark place within himself as a parent, leading to insight, empathy, and a precious moment.

 

Listen to it here.

 

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Did you know THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER has a social work book club? We do! Ogden Rogers’ Beginnings, Middles, & Ends: Sideways Stories on the Art & Soul of Social Work, has been getting great reviews. An excerpt from this book, “Chestnuts,” is on our website now. 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

The online course, Anger Management for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Clients, is designed for use by qualified substance abuse and mental health clinicians who work with clients with concurrent anger problems. The module discusses the aggression cycle, thought stopping, and how past learning can influence present behavior. This course is worth three continuing education units.  Please check with your licensing board to find out if the course meets requirements for continuing education for the purpose of license renewal in your state/jurisdiction.

 

The E-Learning Course is available at
http://www.kap-elearning.samhsa.gov.

 

 

 

The Adoption Excellence Awards are announced annually by the United States Department of Health & Human Services' (HHS) Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) Children's Bureau (CB). The awards recognize States, Tribes, agencies, organizations, businesses and individuals that have demonstrated excellence in providing stable, permanent homes for children in foster care. The Adoption Excellence Awards honor leadership and innovation in the commitment toward rebuilding the lives of children in foster care and those who are waiting for adoption.

 

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2014 Adoption Excellence Awards. Nominations will be reviewed and award winners recommended by a panel of recognized experts in the adoption field, including members from Federal and State agencies.

 

To access nomination materials electronically and review information about past recipients, visit http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/resource/adoption-excellence-awards.

 

All nominations must be received by close of business on  Thursday, July 31, 2014. All nominations should be sent electronically to lachundra.lindsey@acf.hhs.gov, Subject Line: AEA Nomination. If you have questions about the award, contact LaChundra Lindsey at lachundra.lindsey@acf.hhs.gov.

 

 

 

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

 

Our summer issue is coming SOON! 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