NASW Homepage | Renew Online | NASW on Facebook | NASW on Twitter April 2010
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In This Issue:
REGISTER TODAY
arrow NASW 2010 Annual Practice Conference: Social Work’s Critical Role in End-of-Life Care | August 4, 2010 • Boston, MA | Earn up to 8.5 CE Credits
arrow NEW SECTIONS - Administration/Supervision • Social Work and the Courts
PRACTICE ADVANCES AND SUPPORT
arrow Ensure You Get Reimbursed: Enroll in Medicare as a Clinical Social Work Provider
arrow Is Your Reimbursement Affected by Recent Medicare Policy Changes?
arrow Keep Current on Complex Issues Involving Clinical Social Work Fees
arrow Research Shows that High Caseloads Adversely Affect Delivery of Health and Human Services
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT/CE CREDIT
arrow Manage Your Professional Image Online (1.0 Free CE Credit)—April 27, 2010
arrow Social Work Leadership in Law and Ethics (1.5 Free CE Credits)—May 12, 2010
arrow Relocation Stress Syndrome:  Why Transitions Can Lead to Trauma for Older Adults (1.0 Free CE)—April 29, 2010
arrow Older Adults and Compulsive Hoarding: When It’s More than Clutter (1.0 Free CE Credit)—May 25, 2010
GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP
arrow Reminder: Comments on Proposed NASW Bylaws Amendments Due May 7
NEW PUBLICATIONS
arrow April NASW NEWS
 
arrow From the President: Student Development is Key to Mission
arrow Child Abuse Prevention Month Underscores Social Workers’ Role
arrow NASW Supports Cancer Core Competency Initiative
arrow NASW to Recognize 2009 National Award Recipients
arrow Inside April Social Work Journal
 
arrow Parental Experiences of Children’s Disabilities and Special Education in the United States and Japan: Implications for School Social Work
arrow Integrating Social Neuroscience and Social Work: Innovations for Advancing Practice-Based Research
arrow Psychiatric Advance Directives and Social Workers: An Integrative Review
MEMBER BENEFITS
arrow Do You Need Assistance with Legal Costs Related to Your Work? Applications Due April 20
arrow Stay Current on Recent HIPAA Changes
New LDF Resources for HIPAA in 2010 Available to Members
arrow Learn How to Avoid Ethical Complaints, Licensing Board Violations, and Malpractice Lawsuits. Protect Yourself.
arrow Protect Yourself, Your Livelihood, and Future Ability to Help Others
arrow Free Risk Management Hotline for All NASW Members
arrow Secure Your Family’s Future with Term Life Coverage Amounts up to $407,000
arrow Stay Twice and Earn a Free Night at Over 1,500 Choice Hotels with Choice Privileges®
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REGISTER TODAY
NASW 2010 Annual Practice Conference: Social Work’s Critical Role in End-of-Life Care | August 4, 2010 • Boston, MA | Earn up to 8.5 CE Credits
New NASW WebEd Course
Promoting Adherence with Cancer Oral Medications: The Social Worker’s Role
Earn 2.0 Free Social Work CE Credits

Increase your understanding of
  • Cancer oral medication adherence
  • Considerations and challenges involved
  • Social work’s role in promoting adherence
Save the date for this dynamic conference on the many roles of social workers in providing professional biopsychosocial services to care for patients and families affected by serious and life-limiting illnesses. You will leave better prepared for the challenges in hospice and palliative care that are presented by an aging population and longer life spans. Attend the pre-event reception and poster presentation the evening of August 3 to learn, network, and earn CE credit. Register today at www.nhpco.org/dcc10. This conference will be held immediately before and in conjunction with the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s National Conference, Developing the Care Continuum: Innovative Models to Meet the Unique Needs of Patients/Families. You can register for NASW’s conference only or for both conferences.
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NEW SECTIONS
Administration/Supervision • Social Work and the Courts
Just last month NASW announced two new Specialty Practice Sections for NASW members—Administration/Supervision and Social Work and the Courts. Since then, many of your peers have joined the new Sections. As with the other nine Sections, these practice-specific communities keep you current on issues and trends affecting your work and service delivery and offer multiple opportunities to earn free CE credit throughout the year. As an NASW member, you are welcome to join any Section, whether it’s related to your practice area or you simply have an interest in it. Learn more about the new Sections here and join today for just $35 per Section per year. We are currently accepting only online applications for the two new Sections. You must be a current NASW member to join a Section.
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PRACTICE ADVANCES AND SUPPORT
Ensure You Get Reimbursed: Enroll in Medicare as a Clinical Social Work Provider
Download NASW’s new practice update, Enrolling in Medicare as a Clinical Social Work Provider, to learn how to apply as a Medicare provider to seek reimbursement under Medicare Part B for services performed in an outpatient setting. Click here for the application process.
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Is Your Reimbursement Affected by Recent Medicare Policy Changes?
Access NASW’s new practice update on Medicare policy changes that affect clinical social workers who are Medicare providers. Areas affected include outpatient mental health services, bonus incentive payments, telehealth services, Medicare enrollment, and the Medicare fee schedule. Learn more here.
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Keep Current on Complex Issues Involving Clinical Social Work Fees
NASW expects to work on new legislation that would correct Medicare psychotherapy rates long-term. Many private insurance plans pay clinical social workers based on Medicare psychotherapy rates. For a background on the complex issues involving clinical social work fees, see NASW’s advocacy blog posts here and sign up for regular NASW updates here.
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Research Shows that High Caseloads Adversely Affect Delivery of Health and Human Services
http://www.socialworkpolicy.org/The NASW Social Work Policy Institute (SWPI) reviewed research related to caseloads, especially in child welfare agencies, and found that high caseloads lead to increased staff turnover, increased costs, and decreases in quality delivery of services. Worker turnover is costly to agencies in terms of training and recruitment costs and the added stress it brings to workers who remain. Read the research brief findings here and apply them to your agency.
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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT/CE CREDIT
Upcoming Leadership Forum Webinars
Social Work Finder
Job of the Month

Title:
 Mental Health Professional

Employer:
Southwest Counseling Service

Location:
Rock Springs, Wyoming

For more social work employment opportunities, go to CAREERS.socialworkers.org.
Lunchtime Series Manage Your Professional Image Online (1.0 Free CE Credit)—April 27, 2010
While most of us have used social media for maintaining personal relationships and contacts, the World Wide Web is also an opportunity for promoting your professional expertise and the services offered by your organization. This workshop anticipates key concerns of internet users, such as professional boundaries, appropriate use of basic interactive Web communications, and balancing risk with opportunities. Learn more and register here. NASW members only.
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Social Work Leadership in Law and Ethics (1.5 Free CE Credits)—May 12, 2010
Learn about current developments in ethics and the law, how leaders in the profession are influencing these changes, and the implications for social work practice and the profession. Learn more and register here. NASW members only.
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Upcoming Specialty Practice Section Webinars
Relocation Stress Syndrome:  Why Transitions Can Lead to Trauma for Older Adults
(1.0 Free CE)—April 29, 2010

Specialty Practice SectionsRelocation Stress Syndrome (RSS) is a clinical challenge to seniors, families, and professionals. The most effective interventions are often allied with core social work concepts and values: person-in-environment, self-determination, personal rights and responsibilities, and diversity. Learn more about this webinar and register here. NASW SPS members only.
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Older Adults and Compulsive Hoarding: When It’s More than Clutter
(1.0 Free CE Credit)—May 25, 2010
Get an overview of recent research studies on hoarding in older adults, understand ethical and legal issues, and enhance your knowledge and skills for practice with older adults who hoard and their families and for community-level interventions. Learn more about this webinar and register here. NASW SPS members only.
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GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP
Reminder: Comments on Proposed NASW Bylaws Amendments Due May 7
Proposed amendments to NASW Bylaws articles on 1) amendments to bylaws, 2) membership, and 3) dues and other income are under consideration. NASW invites you to review the proposed changes and submit comments by May 7, 2010. To access the proposed amendments and post your comments, first log in to the NASW Web site at www.socialworkers.org by clicking on the “Log In” button at the top of the page and entering your NASW username and password. Once logged in, copy and paste the following link to your browser: https://www.socialworkers.org/governance/BylawAmmend/default.asp?CatID=3
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NEW PUBLICATIONS
April NASW NEWS
Look for these articles in the April issue, available at NASW NEWS online.
 
Encyclopedia of Social Work From the President: Student Development is Key to Mission
By James J. Kelly, PhD, ACSW, LCSW
This April, the 2010 Social Work Congress convenes in Washington to outline our profession’s challenges and opportunities, and to chart a course to better serve our constituency. A key focus of this event will be to encourage leaders—from those who are new to the profession to mid-career professionals and fully seasoned social workers—to step up and be heard. By blending experience with innovation, we can work to advance the profession and secure a better future for others. Essential to our mission is the engagement and development of our social workers-in-training: current BSW and MSW students.

Look for These Forthcoming NASW Press Titles at
www.NASWPress.org

Interactional Supervision, 3rd Edition
Lawrence Shulman

When Their World Falls Apart, 2nd Edition
Lawrence B. Rosenfeld, Joanne S. Caye, Mooli Lahad, Robin H. Gurwitch

A Guide to Essential Human Services, 2nd Edition
Frederic Reamer

Empowering Social Workers to Work with Vulnerable Older Adults
Barbara Soniat and Monica Melady
Child Abuse Prevention Month Underscores Social Workers’ Role
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. This observance provides an opportunity to highlight multiple programs and strategies that focus on prevention: making sure children have access to health care, home visit programs for young children, and advocacy efforts that bring attention to the need for resources to support and strengthen families and to keep children safe. There are critical roles for social workers in all three domains. The Obama administration is supportive of child welfare initiatives and even calls for funding a new home visitation program for states in the 2010 fiscal year budget.

NASW Supports Cancer Core Competency Initiative
The demand for cancer care in the near future will far outpace the workforce trained to help people with the disease, experts say. NASW is joining the campaign to address this problem by encouraging non-oncology social workers and social work students to strengthen their core understanding of cancer. The Association is taking part in the C-Change Cancer Core Competency Initiative. The goal is not to duplicate efforts by oncology professional organizations, but to strengthen the cancer knowledge and skills of the non-oncology health workforce.

NASW to Recognize 2009 National Award Recipients
NASW will honor its 2009 National Awards recipients Friday, April 23, at a ceremony in Washington. The awards—Social Worker of the Year, the Lifetime Achievement Award, Public Elected Official of the Year, and Public Citizen of the Year—laud social workers and others who, through their work or advocacy, have advanced the principles and vision of the profession.
 
 
Inside April Social Work Journal
(Special Issue on Integrative Reviews)
Social Work Journal Parental Experiences of Children’s Disabilities and Special Education in the United States and Japan: Implications for School Social Work
Misa Kayama
United States and Japanese parents of children with disabilities report similar difficulties in relationships with service professionals, but have differing expectations of those relationships. Consideration of U.S. and Japanese concepts of disability suggests ways in which services in both countries may be strengthened, the Japanese case suggesting means for strengthening empathy and trust and the U.S. case providing a positive model of inclusion.

Integrating Social Neuroscience and Social Work: Innovations for Advancing Practice-Based Research
Holly C. Matto and Jessica Strolin-Goltzman
Practitioners can use biomedical knowledge and technological advances from social neuroscience to inform psychosocial treatment development. A substance abuse treatment process built on social neuroscientific research serves as a specific example, highlighting how methodological innovations and unique funding opportunities can combine to allow social-work-specific contributions to inform science at large.

Psychiatric Advance Directives and Social Workers: An Integrative Review
Richard A. Van Dorn, Anna Scheyett, Jeffrey W. Swanson, and Marvin S. Swartz
Psychiatric advance directives (PADs) are alternatives to coercive interventions for people with mental illness who are in crisis. PADs can affect a variety of clinical outcomes positively, including treatment engagement and satisfaction and working alliance. Despite interest of PADs and the fact that laws authorizing them have proliferated in the past decade, social work literature includes little research on them, a problem this article begins to address by reviewing the history of PADs and empirical evidence for their effectiveness.

Log on today at www.naswpressonline.org, using your NASW username and password, to take advantage of your member benefit – Social Work journal.
MEMBER BENEFITS
Do You Need Assistance with Legal Costs Related to Your Work? Applications Due April 20
Applications requesting Legal Defense Fund financial assistance for legal costs incurred to uphold the NASW Code of Ethics, social work principles, and/or standards of social work practice advocated by the profession are due April 20, 2010. Click here for more information.
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Stay Current on Recent HIPAA Changes
New LDF Resources for HIPAA in 2010 Available to Members
The HITECH Act has changed many HIPAA requirements and increased the penalties for HIPAA violations. The NASW Legal Defense Fund (LDF) has developed new tools for you to stay current on the 2010 HIPAA requirements:
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Learn How to Avoid Ethical Complaints, Licensing Board Violations, and Malpractice Lawsuits. Protect Yourself.
ASI LogoDid you know you can learn how to avoid ethical complaints, licensing board violations, and malpractice lawsuits, AND receive the continuing education credit you need to keep your license? The ASI Education Center offers risk management workshops, sponsored by NASW Assurance Services and co-sponsored by NASW Chapters and other hosts. Workshop presenters are social workers, who are also former board members, trained in the latest malpractice risk management techniques. Protect yourself and your ability to practice social work by participating in a local risk management workshop (3.0 CE credits) or taking online NASWWebEd courses (free CE credit) on ethics and malpractice.
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Protect Yourself, Your Livelihood, and Future Ability to Help Others
As a social worker, you’re exposed to many potential malpractice lawsuits. Even a groundless claim can jeopardize your reputation and ability to practice. NASW Assurance Services’ Professional Liability Insurance allows you to tailor flexible coverage options to meet your specific needs. This program insures thousands of social workers worldwide. It’s perfect for independent contractors, private practitioners, exclusively employed individuals, partnerships, corporations, schools, students, and more. Apply now with no risk. For additional information, call 800.421.6694 or visit NASW Assurance Services today.
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Free Risk Management Hotline for All NASW Members
A risk management hotline is available to all NASW members, as well as professional liability insurance policyholders. The hotline specializes in risk management information to help members avoid licensing board complaints and malpractice lawsuits. Call 800.421.6694 for more information.
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Secure Your Family’s Future with Term Life Coverage Amounts up to $407,000
NASW Assurance Services offers you affordable Term Life insurance options in increments of $1,000 that give you the flexibility to customize the amount that’s just right for you and the ones you love. Visit NASW Assurance Services or call 866.591.8267 for more information.
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Stay Twice and Earn a Free Night at Over 1,500 Choice Hotels with Choice Privileges®
Stay two separate times at a Choice Hotel with arrival by April 30, 2010, and you will earn enough points through the Choice Privileges® program for a free night stay. Learn more here. Not a Choice Privileges® member? Join here today.
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