UConn Health's licensed clinical social workers have been on the front lines during the pandemic, helping patients navigate the medical system and cope with medical issues, all while advocating for patients and families. Three social workers share what a typical day looks like, how the pandemic has affected them and their work, and how social work contributes to patients' care.
Shadow work, or exploring the darker side of ourselves that remains repressed, can raise self-awareness, improve interactions with others, help heal generational or childhood trauma and help build positive habits, say licensed clinical social worker Djuan Short and licensed clinical psychologist Jennifer Sweeton. Shadow work is ongoing, as "you learn to incorporate the aspects of processing it throughout your life," Short says.
Diapers are a basic need but expensive, and a family's inability to access an adequate amount of diapers affects the child's overall well-being as caregivers try to stretch diaper use, says social worker Kathy Morehouse. Diaper bank Every Bottom Covered provides qualifying families with a monthly allocation of diapers or pull-ups, and the organization distributed about 50,000 diapers last year.
A study in Pediatrics found that depression screening among adolescents ages 12 to 21 years decreased from 77.6% to 75.8% and adolescents screening positive for depression increased from 5% to 6.2%, with greater increases seen among female, non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic white youths, during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with the same period before the pandemic. The findings also showed that positive suicide risk screens increased from 6.1% to 7.1% during the same period.
The end of a moratorium on evictions enacted by the CDC will likely bring a new wave of people experiencing homelessness, local officials and advocates say. Congress allocated $45 billion in funds for rental assistance, but only $3 billion has reached renters, per Treasury data, and President Joe Biden has asked Congress to extend the moratorium.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill to expand the state's Medicaid program, making people age 50 and older with low incomes eligible for coverage beginning in May regardless of their immigration status. The law could add about 235,000 people to the program with costs paid by the state.
Celebrity apologies offer a template for how we should show remorse -- and where so many public apologies go wrong. "Simply put, issuing an effective apology comes down to recognizing your mistake, taking ownership of that mistake and genuinely sharing your remorse to the audiences that need to hear it most -- without condition or the expectation of immediate forgiveness," says Red Banyan CEO Evan Nierman, a crisis-communications expert.
The pandemic has increased trust in organizations that brought employees into planning and decision-making, writes Randy Conley in analyzing survey data. "Openly, honestly, and transparently sharing information about workplace metrics on productivity, collaboration, and innovation are paramount to creating trust in the organization's decisions," Conley writes.
NASW has added automatic renewal to your options for paying your membership dues. You now can set your NASW membership to renew automatically each year on your renewal date--and it's easy to do. Automatic renewal of your membership dues is convenient, reliable, and secure. You'll be able to make changes anytime, including to update your credit card information, change your selected contributions and subscriptions, or unenroll. 3 Ways to Enroll in Automatic Renewal:
ONLINE. Log in to your NASW member account by visiting this link. Click the Auto Renewal tab.
PHONE. Call Member Services at 800.742.4089 M-F 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. ET.
MAIL. Check the "Auto Renew" box on your annual Membership Renewal print invoice.
NASW welcomes feedback from members on three proposed bylaw amendments: 1) Article XIII National Staff, 2) Article IX-B Committees and Task Forces, and 3) Article III D-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. To review the proposed amendments and comment, log in to the Proposed Bylaws Amendment Review & Comment Forum. Comments will be accepted until August 19, 2021.
