Julie Bishop Nancy A Daniels Nat Duncan Catrina Danielle Durr Sonya Gibbs Julie Warner Goodman April Remon Hammond Angela Haydel Stephanie James Carolyn Ann Jeffries Stephania Jones Natachie Bradford Jones Colleen Quinlan Kirby Dorothy Malone Edward Sean Mcquilling Caroline W Petty Susan J Swindall Monica Turner

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It’s on the way: new Social Worker Car Tag!

 NASW, MS Chapter is pleased to report that SB 2852 passed at the end of the last legislative session, paving the way for a new car tag supporting social workers in Mississippi!   Marian Swindell of Mississippi State University has been gathering names of social workers interested in purchasing a specialty tag, and we are ready to move forward with the production.  We will need a minimum of 300 car tags to be sold in order to keep this going, and we hope you will help us by requesting this for your next car tag.   The design, created in collaboration with our national office, is pictured below and includes the national website for social worker information and referral.  Mississippi is the first state to have a distinctive tag for social workers. If you have not expressed your support to Marian, please send an email to Mswindell@meridian.msstate.edu requesting to add your name to the list.  Let’s show our pride and educate others at the same time!

                       

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Elections and Appointments…Oh My!

 It is not too late to complete the election form and put yourself on the ballot for the NASW, MS Chapter Board of Directors!  We will be completing the ballot shortly so please get your completed forms to the chapter office no later than Friday, May 9!  Our President will also be filling some vacant appointments, and we have committees you can serve on so there are many ways to get involved in your chapter!   

Additionally, the MS Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists has one LMSW/LCSW position coming available July 1, 2008.  This is a voluntary appointment by the Lt. Governor to serve on the licensing board.  

The forms for both positions are available on our website, www.naswms.com.

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 Pine Belt Program Unit Awards Scholarship

 

The Pine Belt Program Unit has awarded its first Scholarship!  The recipient, Ms. Keyshon Fairley, BSW Student at University of Southern Mississippi, is pictured below with Roshonna Edwards, Vice Chairperson, Ms.Fairley, Scholarship Recipient, Althea Fisher, Chairperson, and Mary Fairchild Program Unit Committee Member. The Scholarship was presented to her on Friday, April 25th at the USM School of Social Work 4th Annual Banquet, which was coordinated by Ms. Delories Williams of USM.

             

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NASW, MS Chapter participates in Southeastern Coalition for Delegate Assembly

Taylor McGlawn, President and Janice Sandefur, Executive Director, met May 2-4, 2008 in Little Rock Arkansas with representatives of the 15 other NASW chapters that make up the Southeastern Coalition of NASW.  As chapter president, Taylor is our voting member for our chapter.  This year Janice Sandefur broke new ground becoming the first ever chapter executive director to co-chair any coalition.  Pictures from the event are posted below.

 This coalition meets to prepare for Delegate Assembly, the representative, decision-making body through which NASW members set broad organizational policy, establish program priorities goals for the national and all chapters, and develop a collective stance on public and professional issues. The Delegate Assembly is comprised of 200 elected delegates and the National Board of Directors. In addition, the NASW executive director and executive directors from each chapter are nonvoting delegates. Delegate Assembly meets once every three years. As stated in the National Bylaws, “The membership shall act through the Delegate Assembly in all matters except as otherwise provided in the Bylaws.”

The 2008 Delegate Assembly will be held August 8-10, 2008 in Washington, DC.  For more information about the assembly and to post your comments, you will need to use your username and password to access the Members Only section of the national website, www.socialworkers.org.   This Web page will serve as a primary communication center prior to the actual event. All memos, notices, program priority, organizational, professional and public policy proposals will be posted here through the completion of the 2008 Delegate Assembly. In addition to information-giving, this page is also designed to receive input from members and delegates, particularly on policy proposals and voting on program priorities.

                                                          

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Celebrate National Foster Care Month

NASW is a partner with Casey Family Programs and 14 other foster care-related organizations to promote May as National Foster Care Month.  NASW wishes to honor social workers who have dedicated themselves to the children and families area of practice.  National Foster Care Month provides an opportunity for people across the nation to celebrate the dedication of those involved in foster care, to recognize the need for more adults to make a difference in a child’s life, and to make a call to action for more foster parents and supports for the youth in foster care.  For more information, visit www.fostercaremonth.org.  As social workers we know, you can change a lifetime.

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Add Your Photo for Your Chapter and Help Us Promote the Social Work Photo Puzzle

 

The Communications department has created an interactive puzzle on the NASW Web site – check it out at: http://www.socialworkblog.org/photoPuzzle/.  We encourage social workers and chapters to participate in building the puzzle.

The hope is when social workers add their photos and comments to the Social Work Photo Puzzle it will be a great visual way to show their love and support of the social work profession. This photo puzzle contributes to the “digital legacy” of social work and lets the world know WHO the Social Work profession is.  Social workers come from all walks of life and have varied interests.  It would be GREAT if you would be willing to upload your picture to the website…we need representation from Mississippi!   Contact Brandon Maddox with questions or upload requests at bmaddox@naswdc.org .

 

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FCC Digital TV Panel: Reaching Low Income Consumers

 

Some of you have been contacted by the FCC’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs about helping to promote the switchover from analog TV to digital TV by February 2009.  Luisa Lopez, Acting Director for the Practice, Human Rights and International Affairs Division of NASW, participated on a panel coordinated by FCC to better inform FCC staff and commissioners about how to best reach low-income consumers. That panel was Webcast live on www.fcc.gov/realaudio and broadcast on local cable stations.   We hope you will feel free to provide members information about the effort using materials from the www.dtv.gov Web site.

 

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Clinical Social Workers and Private Practitioners Resources Directory

 NASW resources for clinical social workers and private practitioners have been combined into one document, Managed Care Directory of Resources for Clinical Social Workers in Private Practice.  It is available to NASW members online at the following link:  https://www.socialworkers.org/practice/clinical/managedCare08/default.asp?back=yes   

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Fellowship Opportunity for Social Workers in Aging and Health 

NASW is pleased to advise its members of a new fellowship program, unaffiliated with NASW, for professionals in aging and health practice. Supported by the Atlantic Philanthropies and administered by the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry, the Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program offers practical experience and professional mentoring in health policy development and implementation on behalf of older adults. Participants may complete residential placements of nine to 12 months in Washington, D.C., or may work with the national program office to identify placements in their own communities. The first class of fellows begins in the fall of 2008.

 Although the program is open to professionals of diverse clinical backgrounds, the national program office particularly wishes to recruit social workers, nurses, and physicians. Social workers at all career stages with a demonstrated commitment to health and aging issues and a desire to impact health policy at the federal, state, or local level may apply. Applications are due May 27, 2008.  Please visit www.healthandagingpolicy.org for additional information.

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Knee-Wittman Award Nomination Period Extended

 The deadline for the 2008 Knee/Wittman Health & Mental Health Achievement Awards nomination has been extended through Friday, May 23, 2008.  Please visit http://www.naswfoundation.org/recognition/knee.asp for more information.

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YNASW Lunchtime Series--Available to all NASW members!

The NASW Lunchtime Series teleconferences is an effort to highlight the latest issues being addressed by NASW. Besides a live teleconference, members will be able to access the transcripts and audio/pod cast component of the teleconference 24/7 through NASW’s Web site. Members can earn 1.0 continuing education units (CEUs) upon successful completion of an online test following each teleconference. To convert these to SWUs for the Mississippi licensing, click on the conversion formula button to the left.

The  NASW Lunchtime Teleconference Series scheduled for one day in each of following months through June. To sign on, members need to have their usernames and passwords readily available. Registrants will be provided with a call in number prior to the date of the event. Below is a list of the upcoming teleconferences:

presented by Tracy Whitaker, director of the Center for Workforce Studies.

         May 21: Documentation Requirements for Private Practice, presented by Mirean Coleman, senior policy associate.

         June 23: Why Minority Men's Health?, presented by Alphonso Gibbs Jr., coordinator of the Health Disparities in End of Life Care Project.