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THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER® Social Work E-News
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Issue #15, April 17, 2002
EDITOR'S EYE
Dear Social Work Colleagues,
Welcome to Issue #15 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.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and in this newsletter you will find a feature article on child abuse costs in the U.S., as well as some links to related Web sites. It is also Alcohol Awareness Month, and you will find a feature article on new alcohol education resources, as well.
Did you know that this month is also: Cancer Control Month, National Anxiety Month, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month, Stress Awareness Month, Month of the Young Child, and National Sexually Transmitted Diseases Education and Awareness Month? (Not to mention National Humor Month and Uh-huh Month!)
Whatever your focus this month, keep up the great work that you do as a social worker! And celebrate being a social worker (even though Social Work Month is officially over!).
As always, please let me know if you have social work news to be shared with the 8,500+ (and growing every day!) subscribers to this newsletter.
Linda Grobman, ACSW, LSW
Publisher/Editor
THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER®
http://www.socialworker.com
mailto:linda.grobman@paonline.com
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IN THIS ISSUE
News
Feature Articles
Calendar of Events
In Print
Job Corner
Newsletter Necessities
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NEWS
SOCIAL WORKERS SET GOALS TO STRENGTHEN CARE FOR THE DYING AND THE BEREAVED
During a three-day summit, social work and end-of-life care experts designed a social work agenda to improve care for the dying and their families. The agenda calls for organized professional leadership, standards of practice, and increased preparation at all levels of social work education.
"Our goal is to form a coalition of national organizations, institutions and experts that can enhance and elevate end-of-life care training, education, practice, research and policy within our profession and beyond," said summit co-coordinator Susan Blacker, LCSW-C of The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins.
The Social Work Summit on End-of-Life and Palliative Care, held March 20-22 at Duke University, addressed the need for a formalized collaborative effort within the social work profession that focuses on end-of-life care and highlighted the importance of grief work to end-of-life care.
"The summit was an opportunity for the many prominent leaders in this field to sit down and design a comprehensive agenda for the future," said summit co-coordinator Grace Christ, DSW, of Columbia University School of Social Work. "One of our goals is to advocate for greater attention to grief work and the psychosocial dimensions of palliative care."
Gaps In Education
Social workers take the lead in providing essential emotional and social services to the dying and the bereaved, including counsel on advance directives, emotional support to the terminally ill, and assistance in locating healthcare and financial resources. Yet, social workers report gaps in end-of-life care education at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels and lack of access to leadership in practice, teaching, research and advocacy.
Additional priorities established at the summit include:
Promoting advocacy, education, research, networking and sharing of information between individual social workers and national organizations.
Increasing social work research in palliative, end-of-life care and grief work.
Incorporating cultural sensitivity, lifespan variations, and interdisciplinary context throughout the end-of-life care educational curriculum.
Increasing public awareness through an educational campaign regarding psychosocial dimensions of palliative, end-of-life and grief work and the role of social work in this care.
The summit was co-sponsored by the Last Acts Provider Education Committee, The Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life, and the Soros Foundation's Project on Death in America. To learn more about improving care and caring at the end-of-life, visit http://www.lastacts.org.
Funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Last Acts has more than 870 member organizations.
The Project on Death in America's Social Work Leadership Development Awards Program identifies and supports outstanding social work faculty and clinicians who are committed to improving the care of the dying and the bereaved.
The Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life seeks to improve care at the end of life through interdisciplinary scholarship, teaching, and outreach. Based at the Divinity School, the Institute's focus and efforts reflect the contributions of scholars and students from Duke University and partnering institutions.
Those social workers interested in joining a dialogue with colleagues interested in palliative and end-of-life care are invited to join a professional listserv hosted by The Beth Israel Department of Pain and Palliative Care. This listserv, created with support from the Project on Death in America's Social Work Leadership Development Award, provides an opportunity for social workers in such fields as oncology, geriatrics, HIV, hospice, nephrology, and pediatrics to network and discuss multidimensional aspects and issues related to palliative and end-of-life care. To join, contact Terry Altilio, ACSW, listserv co-coordinator, at mailto:taltilio@bethisraelny.org.
Questions about the Social Work Leadership Summit on Palliative and End-of-Life Care should be directed to Grace Christ at mailto:ghc1@columbia.edu or Susan Blacker at mailto:blacksu@jhmi.edu.
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FEATURE ARTICLES
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COST OF CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT IN U.S. ESTIMATED AT $258 MILLION PER DAY
First-Ever Analysis Shows Staggering Financial Drain on Social, Medical, and Judicial Services
NEW YORK CITY, April 2001--A landmark report released last April estimates that the United States spends $258 million each day as a direct or indirect result of the abuse and neglect of our nation's children. The estimate includes the direct costs associated with intervening to help, and treating the medical and emotional problems suffered by abused and neglected children, as well as the indirect costs associated with the long-term consequences of abuse and neglect to both the individual and society at large. The annual costs are equivalent to $1,461.66 per U.S. family.
Each year, more than 3 million children are reported as abused or neglected in the United States, and more than 1 million of these reports are confirmed, according to the author of the study, Prevent Child Abuse America. The cost analysis, which was funded by a grant from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, represents the first comprehensive attempt to estimate the costs associated with such abuse and neglect nationally.
Studies have shown for years that abused and neglected children are less likely to be school-ready and more likely to exhibit behavior disorders, to become teen parents and juvenile criminals, and to abuse alcohol and drugs. These consequences can become more pronounced as abused or neglected children grow into adulthood, making them more likely to become adult criminals and to develop chronic illnesses.
As a result, a broad range of services & from medical and mental health care to special education and law enforcement & are brought to bear, often at a staggering costto society. According to the study by Prevent Child Abuse America, for example, the cost of hospitalization for abused and neglected children is estimated to be $17 millioneach day (or $6.2 billion annually), while the total annual cost to the child welfare system is estimated at $39 million each day (or $14.4 billion each year).
Prevent Child Abuse America is the leading organization working at the national, state and local levels to prevent the abuse and neglect of our nation's children. Headquartered in Chicago, Prevent Child Abuse America has 39 chapters in 38 states and the District of Columbia, and is supported by private and corporate donors.
More information about the prevention of child abuse and neglect is available by calling Prevent Child Abuse America at 1-800-CHILDREN or by accessing the organization's web site, http://www.preventchildabuse.org
Additional child abuse prevention information can be found online at:
Child Abuse Prevention Network -- http://child-abuse.com
ChildHelpUSA -- http://www.childhelpusa.org
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SAMHSA Puts Knowledge about Underage Drinking to Work in Classrooms Nationwide
Just in time for April's Alcohol Awareness Month, every fifth-grade public school teacher in the U.S. will have new tools to help stop underage drinking before it starts. In a unique collaboration between the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Scholastic, Inc., classroom teachers across the U.S. received a two-part set of underage drinking-related materials designed especially for use by fifth-grade students, their families, and their teachers.
The materials include Reach Out Now: Talk with Your Fifth Graders about Underage Drinking, a four-page set of lessons and in-class activities for teachers to use as part of classroom instruction. Also included is a take-home packet for students and their parents: Talk with Your Fifth Grader about Underage Drinking. The materials are based on research supported by NIH's National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and programs funded by SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP).
SAMHSA's National Household Survey on Drug Abuse suggests that fifth grade--ages 10 to 11--is not too early to begin sending clear messages about underage drinking. Almost 10.5 million youth ages 12-20--nearly 30 percent--had used alcohol at least once in the month prior to the survey. The average age of first use continues to drop. A survey of sixth grade students found that over half said it would be easy for someone their age to get alcohol at a party; a more recent national survey reported that 72 percent of eighth graders said alcohol was "fairly easy" or "very easy" to get.
"Our message that underage drinking is unacceptable and illegal needs to reach down to elementary and middle school students, teachers and their families," Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said. "The benefits of discussion stimulated by the Reach Out Now materials can last a lifetime."
"The good news is that 60% of young people age 12-17 have never had a drink. What parents and teachers may not realize is that their disapproval of underage drinking has been identified as one of the key reasons children choose not to drink," said SAMHSA Administrator Charles G. Curie. "Six simple actions can help children make smart decisions about the use of alcohol; Reach Out Now gives parents and teachers those tools."
The Reach Out Now materials have been received enthusiastically by the Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free, a consortium of Governors' spouses from states across the country, who are helping to raise awareness and use of the materials. Additional information about the Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free and their underage drinking prevention activities for children ages 9-15 are available at http://www.alcoholfreechildren.org
The Department of Education's Safe and Drug-Free Schools program also has announced the availability of the materials for use in their school-based programs.
Reach Out Now: Talk with Your Fifth Grader about Underage Drinking includes lessons and in-class activities focusing on increasing fifth graders' knowledge about alcohol and its effects on the developing child, ways to make healthy decisions about drinking, and alternative activities to underage drinking. Teachers are shown how to incorporate the materials into classroom curricula in English, social studies, and science.
The take-home packet for students and their parents gives families concrete, health promoting activities that can help a child reject underage drinking. It provides six key actions parents can take to help children make wise decisions: keeping good lines of communication; getting involved in your children's lives; making and enforcing clear and consistent rules; serving as a positive role model; helping your children know how to choose friends wisely; and being aware of their activities.
SAMHSA, a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the lead federal agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment and mental health services in the United States. Information on SAMHSA's programs is available on the Internet at http://www.samhsa.gov
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, can be found online at http://www.niaaa.nih.gov
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
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Stop by THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER's chat room on Sunday and Wednesday evenings at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. Rich Bott, BSW, is doing a great job of hosting the lively discussion of social work issues. Rich has been a regular on our Web site's message board since his BSW student days, and he is a dedicated volunteer chat host!
To chat, go to our home page at http://www.socialworker.com and click on the "Chat Now" button.
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IN PRINT
White Hat Communications, the publisher of this newsletter, has just released the third edition of THE NONPROFIT HANDBOOK, by Gary M. Grobman
The Nonprofit Handbook, Third Edition is the most up-to-date and useful publication for those starting a nonprofit or for those already operating one. This 441-page, 33-chapter Handbook is based on The Pennsylvania Nonprofit Handbook, a book originally published in 1992 with the help of more than two-dozen nonprofit executives and attorneys and now in its 5th edition. Each easy-to-read chapter includes a synopsis, useful tips, and resources to obtain more information. Pre-addressed postcards are included to obtain important government forms, instruction booklets, and informational publications. This essential reference tool includes:
Information about current laws, court decisions, and regulations that apply to nonprofits-two full pages devoted to each state and the District of Columbia
Practical advice on running a nonprofit, including chapters on grant-writing, communications, fundraising, quality management, insurance, lobbying, personnel, fiscal management, nonprofit ethics, and 24 other chapters
Information on applying for federal and state tax-exempt status
How to write effective grant applications
How to hire and fire
Internet resources for nonprofits
How to develop a strategic plan
A Guide for students that includes information about the scope, history, and theory of the nonprofit sector.
The Nonprofit Handbook is an essential resource for anyone involved in starting and running a nonprofit organization.
ISBN 1-929109-09-1
8½" x 11" softcover
441 pages including index
$29.95 U.S.
For detailed info, including a complete table of contents, visit http://www.whitehatcommunications.com -- the book can be ordered directly from the Web site, or it can be purchased from any bookstore. Be sure to ask for the 3rd edition!
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Many readers of this newsletter have found our "I Am a Social Worker" buttons to be a popular item during Social Work Month and for other occasions. Social Work Month is now over, but the "I Am a Social Worker" message is one that we can convey proudly at any time of the year.
Now, we have made this message available on some new items, including mugs and canvas tote bags. Go to http://www.cafepress.com/socialworker to find out more about these items. Great for graduation gifts or to honor colleagues and students in your agency.
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The Spring 2002 issue of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER magazine has been mailed to subscribers. If you are a subscriber to the magazine, you should receive the Spring issue in your snail-mailbox soon. This issue focuses on cultural competence for social workers. (Please note: subscribing to the magazine is separate from your subscription to this e-mail newsletter--go to http://www.socialworker.com for more info.)
Electronic editions of selected back issues of our quarterly print magazine, THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER, are now available at InfoPost http://www.infopost.com . Search for "new social worker" to get a complete listing of available issues.
SPECIAL OFFER: The electronic edition of the Fall 2001 issue of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER is still available as a FREE sample on InfoPost. Go to http://www.infopost.com to download it! It is a large PDF file (2,643 KB), so it may take a while for the download to complete.
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JOB CORNER
ONE YEAR IN IRELAND!
Interviews in the US and Canada from June 3rd 2002.
Due to substantial investment in Child Protection Services in Ireland, a number of vacancies now exist for qualified "Social Workers".
The ideal candidate will be between 21 and 65 years old.
Candidates must hold a Social Work professional Qualification or recognised equivalent.
Experience of working in the area of Child Protection an advantage.
This is a 12 month contract initially, with an option of staying on in employment.
Salary: EUR 34,580.05 - 42,474.01
US $ 30,501.07 - 37,543.89
CAD$ 48,449.62 - 59,626.46
In addition we offer a Relocation Package of return flights, accommodation assistance and benefits package.
This could be your opportunity to develop your career and avail of the highest level of support, supervision and professional development.
Contact Pat Hayes immediately for information and (or) application form.
Phone: +353 1 6146057
Cell: +353 87 6824288
Fax: +353 1 6146011
email: mailto:pat.hayes@cpl.ie
"Cpl - Placing People First"
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For additional job listings, see our Jobs page at http://www.socialworker.com/jobs.htm. This page is updated continuously!
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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
mailto:linda.grobman@paonline.com
http://www.socialworker.com
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Copyright 2002 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 mailto: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 