Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Message for All Times

This month, the Chapter had to cancel its Martin Luther King, Jr. Forum on Racial Justice because of incredible inclement weather.  Everyone was disappointed.  The speakers were prepared to present, the room at Wheelock was ready to receive us, and the caterer was on call.  The event has been postponed until the evening of Tuesday, May 19^th.  We’ll be notifying folks through FOCUS, the website, social media, and email blasts.

Although the event was cancelled for weather, transportation, and parking problems, we had several requests to reschedule as soon as possible— on another night in February or on the anniversary of King’s assignation in March.  Rescheduling postponed events is always a challenge in choreography: getting a date that all the confirmed speakers can make, getting the space on the night that the speakers are available, and avoiding scheduling conflicts with other Chapter-related events that have been scheduled months ahead.

Despite these minor considerations, it is important to keep in mind that King’s message is one that is timeless— one that is as relevant yesterday, today, and tomorrow as it will be in the future.  Social and economic injustices that we have experienced in modern times are so complex, multi-sourced and long standing that simple, one-dimensional solutions will not adequately address these societal failures.  What we can do is start the dialogue about what we can all do to end their continuations.

This is what social workers are good at; bringing people together to address the hard questions, the uncomfortable ones, the ones that generate frustration and anger and where we can all get stuck, by blaming, simplifying, and retreating into disappointment, when the solutions do not come easily.

The Chapter will be engaged in keeping the MLK, Jr. perspective and message alive and fertile through the upcoming forum in May, through our Continuing Education programs and courses, and in implementing our Strategic Plan.

We look forward to seeing you at the May program and, in the meantime, please contribute to the conversation through Letters to the Editor in FOCUS, on our social media platforms, and through this blog post.

NASW Disappointed by Buffer Zone Ruling

BOSTON, MA – The National Association of Social Workers – Massachusetts Chapter (NASW-MA) and NASW’s national headquarters in Washington, D.C. are disappointed by a United States Supreme Court ruling on Thursday that unanimously overturned the Massachusetts law that created a 35-foot buffer zone around health clinics offering abortion services.  The Court stated that establishing these zones infringed on the First Amendment rights of pro-life protestors.

NASW-MA is concerned because the high court’s ruling could negatively affect both women’s rights and patient safety. NASW-MA supports women’s choice and is committed to “unimpeded access to services to all,” including health care and family planning services.

The Chapter urges the Massachusetts legislature to work expeditiously to determine legal restrictions that will ensure the safety and privacy of patients visiting these clinics, while also protecting the right to free speech.  These measures should be approved by both the House and the Senate by the end of the legislative session in July. 

Delicate Assembly

Did you all notice that I used a funny spelling for ‘Delegate’ as in Delegate Assembly?  Well, I was installing some playfulness in the nation-wide discussion among NASW members about whether to eliminate the almost 50 year old NASW Delegate Assembly structure.  This structure shares policy making with the elected National NASW Board of Directors.  It could be maintained, but with some needed updates.  The MA Chapter President, Dr. Chris Hudson has written about the choices in his President’s FOCUS column and even offered a survey for members to give their thoughts.  I am particularly interested in your read:

•  Should we eliminate it and turn over most of the functions to the National Board, various National Committees and staff  and be able to revise old policy statements every year rather than waiting for three years when the Delegate Assembly convenes? OR 

• Should we maintain this old structure?  Some individuals feel it is antiquated and inefficient, yet it is more democratic (200 elected delegates from all the states rather than under 30 National Board members elected from the regions across the country).  

Let me know your thoughts.

Progress with Professionalizing the DCF Workforce

NASW, the profession of social work, and the Department of Children and Families had a major victory last week in the area of further professionalizing the child welfare workforce.  Amendment 904 to the state budget will require all social workers employed by the Department to obtain a license as a social worker within the first 6 months of employment (passed the Senate on May 23^rd, 2014).  In addition, the commissioner shall require social workers employed by the department to participate in no less than 30 hours per year of paid professional development training, provided this training is consistent with applicable collective bargaining agreements.

The MA Chapter was responsible for submitting the language that changed the time requirement for licensing for new employees of the Department from 3 years to 6 months.  We feel this is an important step toward ensuring the state's commitment to providing quality professional services to the child welfare population.

What Is The Chapter Doing About Raising Salaries & Reimbursement Rates

On the minds of many NASW members is the totally understandable (and perhaps not so polite) question: 

"What Is NASW Doing to Raise Reimbursement Rates from Insurers 

and Salaries from Employers?"  

I say thank you for asking!  The Chapter is committed to acting on several fronts to improve rates:

1.   On the federal level, the Massachusetts Chapter is leading the way with the executive directors of other NASW Chapters across the country to work with National NASW on lobbying CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) to raise the reimbursement rates for clinical services to 100% of what psychologists and psychiatrists receive for providing the same clinical service.  Right now, LICSWs receive 75% of what psychologists receive.  It is not right and we will continually advocate until we get parity.

2.   On the state level, NASW is:

a.   Working with our partners in the Mental Health Coalition, particularly, the Association for Behavioral Health (ABH) to lobby for hiring rates for agencies providing clinical services;

b.   Consulting with MA Health, which contracts with agencies to provide clinical  services;

c.   Bringing to the heads of the MCOs, the insurance companies, the HMOs and the Group Insurance Commission the need to increase reimbursement rates to social workers who provide the bulk of mental health services;

d.   Lobbying for loan forgiveness for social workers, which will give relief to new professionals such that they are more likely to remain in the profession rather than leave for more lucrative positions; and

e.   Discussing with SEIU Local 509 the options available for some form of partnership around lobbying for increased reimbursement rates.

These are just a sampling of the advocacy steps the Chapter is taking to increase the salaries and reimbursement rates for social workers.  I welcome your ideas and your input for other opportunities.

The DCF Target: It Is Not Over

So much is being written about what is going on at the Department of Children and Families and there is so much finger pointing that the Daily News should really take on a new name - How about the Daily Target?  It is doubtless that a series of tragic events has occurred over the past months:

·         Three children died;

·         The agency charged with protecting these children and strengthening their families did not prevent the deaths;

·         The workers assigned the job of protecting and strengthening failed…the agency failed.

All this was reported from various sources and we all feel so helpless – we being the workers assigned to the cases, the managers assigned to support the workers, the professionals associated with  the child welfare agency (i.e. the police, school systems, community agencies contracted with DCF to provide services).  The list goes on.  And the NASW, the association representing the social work profession is also in the mix, for  the term ‘social worker’ applies to us.

Beyond all the ‘knee jerk’ responses about which I have previously written, I have offered the following to the press:

1.       That the media catch the child welfare community doing something right, rather than looking for what is wrong.  What is right is…

a.       The thousands of children and families that have benefitted from short and long-term supports offered by DCF and its contracted agencies;

b.      The thousands of kids that say that DCF saved them; AND

c.       The thousands of foster families who not only provided valuable assistance to the biological families in need of the positive modeling foster parents supply and the thousands of social workers, including myself as a former DCG worker, who believed in parents intentions to do the right thing, but who just did not know how to do it.

2.       That the DCF training unit be adequately funded to provide the essential professional training needed for individuals going into the field.  It is short-sighted and irresponsible to hire 200 new workers without giving them the tools, the knowledge and the supervised training required to understand and intervene appropriately in the complicated situations into which they thrust.

3.       That the law, regulations and practice require that only individuals with social work degrees from accredited BSW and MSW Schools of Social Work be hired to work with some of the most complex and compromised family and individual cases to which DCF is charged.  There is a place for other professionals to do important case management, coordination and related work but the demanding role of a social worker in DCF requires people who have had several years of supervised experience and course work before they take on the serious work within the child welfare field.

NASW-MA Chapter Oscars...The Envelope, Please.

And the winners are?...........................

The 120+ substantive workshop presenters at Symposium.

The powerful and engaging keynote speaker, Maurice 'Moe' Boisvert.

The 6 extraordinary Chapter Award recipients.

The social work departments from the 7 Greater Boston trauma centers that responded to the marathon bombing.

The Chapter's Social Work Symposium this year won all the awards for professional presentations, career services, networking opportunities, job offerings and practice innovation.

The program committee, headed by two brilliant co-chairs-Sherry Cohen and Mary Ward deserve the Oscar for producing such a memorable and stimulating professional gathering.  I am so grateful to the volunteers and staff who participated in creating this memorable event.

This is a 'hats off' to my social work colleagues, a shout out to the profession of social work and the  outstanding women and men who chose this field of practice.