CIF is a voluntary, nonprofit organization. Its goal is to promote international understanding and world peace through education and information sharing among human services professionals.

“My first experience with CIF-USA was in 1985 when I was awarded a fellowship to study social welfare in Stockholm, Sweden,” Sutton explained. “Living in Sweden with host families increased my awareness of social and cultural differences and the acceptance of those differences. The social welfare system provides support for families from cradle to grave, which was enlightening.”

As president of CIF-USA, Sutton represents the United States , which is one of thirty national branches worldwide. More than thirty countries have established national branches throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North American, South America, and Oceania. Sutton’s focus as president is to increase membership by encouraging Americans to participate in CIF programs around the world.

“The learning and fellowship that occurs at these conferences enhances our personal and professional development in many different ways,” Sutton explained. “Friendships were developed many years ago and continue today through the conferences and visiting each other’s home country.”

This year’s conference, “Global Societies of Inclusion or Exclusion?” examined the worldwide social problems associated with new and rapidly changing technology. Some examples of the changing technology include the Internet, social networking sites, and others which can create issues of inclusion or exclusion for some people.

“We can replace knees, hips, hearts, and more, but still need human service professionals to help in the care of emotional and family needs,” added Reid Sutton, MD, PCH/FMC physician, who also attended the conference.

Carolyn Sutton has been a member of CIF since 1985, and was previously vice president of CIF-USA. At PCH/FMC, she provides psychosocial assessments for inpatients and responds to emergency department and critical care unit referrals. She also provides one-on-one psychosocial intervention to patients in the oncology/infusion clinic and conducts monthly support groups.

Sutton is a member of the National Association of Social Workers and the Association of Oncology Social Workers. She also coordinates the PCH/FMC Employee Assistance Counseling and Education Program.

Governor Quinn gave his State of the State address to a joint session of the Illinois House and Senate today. The full text of his speech is available on the state of Illinois' website. The governor made every effort to emphasize the accomplishments during his tenure as governor since he took over for Rod Blagojevich following the 2009 impeachment. He highlighted legislation he has signed such as the legalization of civil unions, the repeal of the death penalty, major education reform, the expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Illinois DREAM Act, campaign finance reform, workers' compensation reform, and others. He also mentioned a number of infrastructure improvement projects completed or initiated while he has been in office including the CTA Red Line renovation, improved highways and bridges, and building projects at state universities.

He focused a great deal on job creation, mentioning the expanded working hours at the Ford Plant on the far southside of Chicago as well as touting the efforts of a recycling business in Romeoville. He also highlighted advancement in technology such as broadband upgrades and accessibility.

As for the future, he briefly mentioned the need for pension reform and Medicaid reform without going into any detail. He steered clear of any budget details, saving those for the budget message he will deliver later this month.  

He mentioned several new initiatives: (1) A new technology center at the Merchandise Mart for launching digital start-ups; (2) A $6 million statewide competition to build "ultra-high broadband" in neighborhoods across the state; (3) Abolishing the natural gas utility tax, which he called "unfair, regressive, and not based on the ability to pay"; (4) A new Child Tax Credit of up to $100 per year for a "typical family of four"; (5) A tax credit for hiring veterans; (5) An unspecified major investment in early childhood education;  (6) Raising the high school dropout age to 18; (7) Making more MAP Grants available to college students; (8) An investment in modernizing classrooms across the state; (9) Creation of the Illinois Foreclosure Protection Network and a major housing initiative jointly with Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle; and (9) A clean water initiative. He acknowledged that some of these initiatives will require legislative action. He also did not specify how the initiatives would be funded.

It will certainly be interesting to see what the governor proposes for his 2013 budget and what will come of efforts to reform the state's pension systems to reduce the state's liabilities. Medicaid—always a political hot button issue—will have very strict scrutiny in an election year.

Governor Quinn gave his State of the State address to a joint session of the Illinois House and Senate today. The full text of his speech is available on the state of Illinois' website. The governor made every effort to emphasize the accomplishments during his tenure as governor since he took over for Rod Blagojevich following the 2009 impeachment. He highlighted legislation he has signed such as the legalization of civil unions, the repeal of the death penalty, major education reform, the expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Illinois DREAM Act, campaign finance reform, workers' compensation reform, and others. He also mentioned a number of infrastructure improvement projects completed or initiated while he has been in office including the CTA Red Line renovation, improved highways and bridges, and building projects at state universities.

He focused a great deal on job creation, mentioning the expanded working hours at the Ford Plant on the far southside of Chicago as well as touting the efforts of a recycling business in Romeoville. He also highlighted advancement in technology such as broadband upgrades and accessibility.

As for the future, he briefly mentioned the need for pension reform and Medicaid reform without going into any detail. He steered clear of any budget details, saving those for the budget message he will deliver later this month.  

He mentioned several new initiatives: (1) A new technology center at the Merchandise Mart for launching digital start-ups; (2) A $6 million statewide competition to build "ultra-high broadband" in neighborhoods across the state; (3) Abolishing the natural gas utility tax, which he called "unfair, regressive, and not based on the ability to pay"; (4) A new Child Tax Credit of up to $100 per year for a "typical family of four"; (5) A tax credit for hiring veterans; (5) An unspecified major investment in early childhood education;  (6) Raising the high school dropout age to 18; (7) Making more MAP Grants available to college students; (8) An investment in modernizing classrooms across the state; (9) Creation of the Illinois Foreclosure Protection Network and a major housing initiative jointly with Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle; and (9) A clean water initiative. He acknowledged that some of these initiatives will require legislative action. He also did not specify how the initiatives would be funded.

It will certainly be interesting to see what the governor proposes for his 2013 budget and what will come of efforts to reform the state's pension systems to reduce the state's liabilities. Medicaid—always a political hot button issue—will have very strict scrutiny in an election year.

The civil rights movement and learning about those who fought tirelessly for the rights of African Americans was the first of many introductions to social work that I can recall. I remember reading about so many individuals who found it necessary to fight, putting themselves in harm’s way so that African Americans could attain simple rights like sitting at a lunch counter in a Woolworth’s store, sharing the same water fountain, the freedom to choose any seat on a public bus, attending certain schools, and so forth. I would be in awe of the strength of these people and the tenacity that they showed in fighting for what they believed in. I must also say that there was another part of me that wondered if it was really worth it. Sadly, in my young mind, I felt that the price seemed too high to pay. I didn’t think that people should have to die so that I could have these rights.

As I grew older, I began to realize that if these courageous civil rights leaders and workers had not made the sacrifices that they made, I would not be afforded the rights that I have today and because of this, I will never forget those whose shoulders on which I stand. Although many gains were made over the years, it is very clear in the current political and social climate that there is still much work to be done. I am reminded of a Bible verse that says: “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask more” (Luke 12:48b KJV). I made the choice to go into the field of social work because I have a responsibility. I have been given opportunities because of those who have gone on before me, and I owe it to the next generation to continue in the struggle and to fight for social justice and civil liberties.

I make it my life’s work to educate young people on the importance of social advocacy and instilling in them how important it is to stand up for those who don’t believe that they have a voice. I work daily with children and families to ensure that they are provided with all of the tools that they need to keep their families strong and their children safe. Equal educational programs, employment opportunities, housing, and access to mental health treatment are still critical areas in which social advocacy continues to be needed, and I am encouraged by those leaders of the past that set such strong examples on what it means to advocate for change.

I salute you, Whitney M. Young, Jr., Dr. Dorothy I. Height, A. Philip Randolph, Mary Church Terrell, Ida B. Wells, Marian Wright Edelman, John Hope, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers, Daisy Bates, Rosa Parks, the Little Rock nine, Ruthie Bridges, and all of those who made huge sacrifices so that I and others like me could live better lives.

Yolanda Jordan, MSW, LCSW, has an extensive background in abuse/neglect issues in the field of child welfare. As a placement manager with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, she is responsible for managing supervisors who are responsible for children who are placed in the foster care system. Yolanda is also a practicing psychotherapist and has been in private practice for the past ten years. Services are provided to children, couples, and families with a special emphasis on relationship issues that African American women face.

Yolanda is a graduate of Western Illinois University where she received her bachelor of arts in mass communications and master of arts in public communications human relations with a minor in African American studies. Due to her extreme love for people and having the heart of a servant, she continued her education and received a masters in social work with an emphasis on child and family practice from the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Jane Addams College of Social Work. Yolanda has been an active member of the NASW Illinois since 1996 and enjoys the work of advocating for the profession of social work and the community that social workers serve.

Proponents of history months view the tradition as an opportunity to remind some and educate others of the past. This practice is thought to be particularly important for our nation’s youth.

An aphorism I frequently heard during my adolescence was, “In order to know where you’re going, you have to know where you’ve been.” There are variations of this expression, each emphasizing the importance of viewing self within the context of one’s individual and collective history, and being knowledgeable of the intersect between the past and present.

For some, lacking contextual insight may have no consequences. For others, however, the adverse affect on performance may be noteworthy. This article focuses on how one institution’s understanding of the impact of history on goal attainment led to the formation of a successful program for adolescents.

Mercy Hospital & Medical Center in Chicago has a legacy as a medical facility that reaches beyond the boundaries of its campus to address the health and social needs of its neighboring community. One notable community service offered by Mercy is the program Health Professions for the Future (HPF).

The HPF program originated twenty years ago. Thoughtful administrators saw the need for children of low-income families to acquire meaningful work experiences. In turn, the hospital offered summer job opportunities for those residing in the public housing developments. Since that time, this innovative endeavor has evolved into a successful summer and year-round internship program for youth desiring careers in the medical profession.

Given the social and academic struggles many urban youth encounter, Mercy has decided to focus its attention on students of average academic abilities. Primary criterions for inclusion in the program are teens that are willing to work, are eager to learn, and determined to succeed.

In collaboration with area high schools, the interns gain awareness of the opportunities in the allied health fields, and receiving preparation for degree or certification programs. Over the course of the internship, students are able to bridge what is taught in the classroom with the work world through shadowing and in-service training.

Sponsoring this program is consistent with the hospital’s vision to be “lifetime community partners” and to “help shape the future of health care.” In addition to being mindful of local social needs, the program’s founders were cognizant of an important challenge confronting the healthcare community—expanding consumer needs for medical care paralleled by an increasing shortage of medical professionals.

Eighty-million baby-boomers are reaching retirement age. As this population ages, the need for medical services will increase. To meet the current and future demand for services, a greater focus is on the next generation of workforce professionals—today’s youth.

Unfortunately many teens are not adequately prepared to enter the work environment. Fewer teens are working today than at any point since World War II. Teen unemployment is disproportionally significant among minority youth, and the decline in employment numbers has sharply accelerated in the past seven years. Consequently, young people are restricted in their ability to acquire good work habits and necessary information to make informed educational and career choices.

As a result, Mercy’s HPF program conducts seminars on employability skills such as punctuality, professionalism, conflict management, and communication. On occasion it is necessary to engage parental support in the learning process to address behaviors that seem to have become commonplace in the views of the child and parent.

The program would be amiss if it overlooked the psychosocial support needs of young people. Some students in the program are confronting daily obstacles that can impede motivation or attainment of personal goals. These impediments include insufficient family support and/or peer-related problems. Group meetings are conducted to address the social ills students confront in their communities.

As indicated, viewing youth within the context of their experiences requires the program managers and staff members to develop approaches that extend beyond providing students with clinical experiences. Each adult frequently finds themselves also functioning as mentors.

The program’s success is largely attributed to the guidance and support provided by staff in the form of mentoring. Most are comfortable in this role. Staff members have expressed a desire to give back. Many reflect on the period of their youth and history, noting the benefits that could have been gain if they’d had a mentor during their teenage years.

HPF students do not hesitate to express their appreciation and note the positive influences their mentors have on motivating them to achieve:

“I would like to thank you for allowing me to have such an amazing learning experience. You gave me a chance to expand my horizon and to learn more than what is in books. Also, to meet people who care about your future. People who give you advice about your future. You gave what feels to me a chance of a lifetime, and for that I thank you very much.” - T. D., Intern

“Words cannot express the gratitude I feel. This experience has been exceptional. I was given opportunities to witness and do various things that I never thought would be possible for someone my age. The people I was introduced to were amazing. They were always willing to help and teach me. They also helped with my transition. Having come to Mercy a shy person, now I am able to speak to everyone I know . . . My internship at Mercy has surpassed my expectations.” - S. W., Intern

The significance of mentoring cannot be overemphasized. Former President Bill Clinton once stated, “People who grew up in difficult circumstances and yet are successful have one thing in common . . . at a critical junction in their early adolescence they had a positive relationship with a caring adult.”

On January 3, 2012, President Obama issued a proclamation designating January as National Mentoring Month. He is a strong advocate of adults volunteering their time and sharing their talents to benefit others. “There’s no doubt about the value of mentoring. And there is no doubt about the tremendous need for mentors in this country . . . Ask any successful person how they got to where they are today, chances are they’ll tell you about a mentor they had somewhere along the way.”

“The youth are our future,” is a common phrase frequently stated by educators, lawmakers, and others when speaking about the needs of young people, or their role in addressing the nation’s problems. As we reflect this month on the contributions of African Americans to this country, let us not only look backward to appreciate the road traveled, but also forward to determine the best path for the future of our youth.

Kenneth M. Horace, LCSW, is a clinical social worker at Mercy Hospital in Chicago where he provides behavioral health services to youth and families. He also manages the hospital’s internship program, Health Professions for the Future, which offers medical training to high school students aspiring careers in healthcare. Mr. Horace is a member of the Chicago Public Schools’ Medical & Health Career Advisory Board, and the UIC-Jane Addams College of Social Work Alumni Board.
 

Well, I did it again. I had done it before, some twelve or more years ago. The “it” I’m talking about is making another accommodation to my age. I just purchased hearing aids. The earlier accommodation was to obtain trifocals. (However, neither of these has helped my short-term memory very much. My wife wants me to get something for that.) What it has done though is to help me avoid asking the “What did s/he say?” question as frequently to her and others as I was wont to do. It has also helped me tremendously in working with my clients.

Let me back up a bit. I tried retirement nine years ago when I turned 65. That lasted six whole months. (I’m not sure who was going crazy the fastest with that, me or my wife.) Up until five years ago, I had always lived in fairly large, single-family homes with good-sized yards and garages. I loved to work in the yard and tinker in my shop in the garage. In fact, the home I lived in before moving to Chicago twelve years ago was on a half acre of landscaped property with a double garage that could accommodate two extended cab pickups while still having room for a workshop space besides.

That brick, Mediterranean-style house had four bedrooms, three baths, a full living room, a full dining room (with butler’s closet), and a full family room. The back porch was 15’x40’, under roof. That was in south Texas, about seven miles from Reynosa, Mexico. In Chicago, for the same money, you can get a 1,600-square foot condo with one tiny garage space. Not much yard and definitely no workshop space.

So what was I to do with retirement with no yard or shop to work in? And after two weeks of exploring the great vast wasteland of television, I was ready to run down Pratt Boulevard screaming, “Help!” Okay, definitely time to go back to work! So I revved up my private practice again: finding and furnishing an office, getting back on all those insurance panels, and developing a client base. And for the last sixteen months, I have been doing hospital consulting as well. This has certainly been better than vegetating in front of a television.

Now back to the personal accommodations I’ve talked about. The hearing aids have definitely helped me in my therapy sessions and my consulting work. I don’t have to constantly ask clients (or my wife) to repeat themselves.

However, I now find that there is one accommodation that I can make for my clients that cannot be accomplished by the use of bandages, canes, walkers, glasses, hearing aids, or any other prosthetic or supportive device. I’m talking about the thought that I frequently have when I ask my clients, “Do you remember when . . .” and they return my query with a completely blank stare. You know, that “What in the world are you talking about?” stare. I have to remember frequently that I am well into my seventy-fifth year. I was born in 1937 and finished high school in 1956. Almost three generations have now come onto the scene with totally different frames of reference. It has to do with history, music, social customs and norms, and inventions that could hardly be dreamed of in the 50s and 60s. I remember a Ma Bell educational touring bus that came to our high school to tell us about the big advance in telephone numbers. There were going to be area codes!

I have to admit that generational accommodations are harder for me to make than purchasing trifocals and hearing aids. How in the world do I know and/or remember what music was their’s? And I’ve got clients that don’t even know 80s music much less 50s music. What TV programs did they watch, what movies did they see (assuredly, not at the drive-in), what books did they read, what styles did they buy and wear? In my time I bought and wore zoot suit–style pants and one-button roll sport coats. The shirts and ties I wore were pinks and purples. I had enough Wildroot Hair Cream on my ducktail haircut to lubricate the wheels on a twenty car passenger train, enough that my head would slide off the pillow at night.

And heck, for my part, I know the names of more than a dozen makes of automobiles that most of my younger clients have never heard of. The weird ones were the ones my dad always bought: Kaisers, Frasers, Hudsons, Nashes, Packards, Studebakers. He even put money down on a Tucker! I guess it just seemed like the thing to do at the time.

However, these age cohorts are the kinds of things that I really do need to remember. All of my cohort stuff has nothing to do with these younger cohorts. I really do need to consider and remember to listen even more to them and let them build their own frame of reference for me.

My glasses and hearing aids help me a lot. But giving my clients the freedom to talk to me about their frames of reference is a tremendous aid both to them and to me. It helps me to remember that I am there to let therapy happen and not force it into place. I have to admit, there are times when I am inclined simply to meet therapeutic challenges with a bigger hammer. But truly understanding their cohort context often helps me to get rid of the hammer all together.

It is most helpful for me to remember that true meaning often comes from its own special context. This is true no matter what my or my client’s age may be. While my age can—and does—help me work with clients closer to my age, it is listening to the context of others that enables me to be a collaborator with them in their therapeutic journey. It is the only way the therapeutic alliance can be born.

Without this process, how can clients have any real expectations for a collaborative therapy and successful change? We both have to be working from the same page, but the client has to be allowed to show me the page. For me, this is the only way to find a treatment rationale and enhance the chances of a true, therapeutic impact. Without a useful frame of reference, how can we achieve the goals of a truly therapeutic context?

Now, where in the world did I put those progress notes?

Mark Hicks, LCSW, lives and works in Chicago with offices in Chicago and South Holland. Over the years he has been licensed in five different states. His work experience has been in hospital, outpatient, community, and partial hospital settings. Recently he helped Proctor Hospital in Peoria obtain a Certificate of Need to develop an 18-bed gero-psych inpatient unit which will open later this year. He has had a private practice since 1979 in Kansas, Wisconsin, Texas, and Illinois. Mark has been a member of NASW since 1979 and an ACSW since 1981.

Since its inception, the United States educational system has dealt with racism. Throughout history, certain people were denied access to a quality education. The American South dealt with educational racism in very specific ways (including the Brown vs. Board of Education decision, which is notable in history books), but that was not the case for schools in the north. Students in the north faced residential barriers that barred where blacks lived, a lack of funding in schools for needed resources, rejection of good teachers to work in certain school and areas, and a push into remedial education. Discrimination in the workplace also chipped away at blacks’ desires or motivation to go to school since there were few employment prospects after graduation. IQ assessments, tracking, and remedial classes caused further division. African-Americans and white allies understood that separate-but-equal schooling never meant equal (Fraser, 2001). Racial issues in education have been well documented if not addressed in different forms throughout the years. Little by little, these racial issues accumulated and laid the foundation of policies and rules in our education system that are still in place today. In Schools Betrayed, Neckerman (2010) stated, “beliefs and expectations and patterns of behavior grow up around the institution, so much so that other arrangements become unthinkable. The institution recedes into the realm of the taken-for-granted; it becomes invisible. It takes history to make institutions visible again—to uncover the decisions, made early on, that foreclosed alternatives and made the expedient seem inevitable” (p. 5).

As education as well as social work programs became more formalized, The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) established policies designed to combat and eliminate racism within the profession as early as 1969. The cultural competence model was chosen to promote an understanding of different races and culture. It allowed the integration and transformation of knowledge about individual groups of people into specific standards, policies, practices, and attitudes to be used in appropriate cultural settings to increase the quality of service (Davis, 1997). “Within the last two decades, the profession has made a concerted effort to forge a professional identity through the training of practitioners in the skills and knowledge that allow them to achieve their goals with diverse race, ethnic, and social groups.” (Teasley, Baffour, & Tyson, 2005, p. 228). In many ways and for many years, the cultural competence model has been the cornerstone of social work. In spite of these efforts, the cultural competence model has been shown to exacerbate rather than challenge racism in schools. Critics charge that the cultural competence model is largely ineffective and that its tendency to equalize oppressions under a “multicultural umbrella” unintentionally promotes a color-blind mentality that eclipses the significance of institutionalized racism (Abrams & Moio, 2009). As school social workers, we must look for racial components as we deal with issues concerning students and families within our schools and critically examine what we are seeing.

Many school social workers were not taught the historical significance of race in the social work field and are not being critically trained to adequately deal with race and cultural issues while in their social work graduate programs. Once these workers enter school systems, they are often faced with a myriad of issues surrounding race and culture such as special education identification, tracking systems, and segregation through curriculum, extracurricular activities, and discipline. Racism overtly and covertly—and always insidiously—distorts our thinking, curriculum, teaching approaches, language, and even well-intentioned efforts to promote empowerment and justice.

So what can we do to continue to educate ourselves and grow in our profession, especially concerning race issues? As school social workers, we must start doing a few things to address race and racist practices in our school and employment settings in order to challenge these discriminatory educational policies successfully. The following is a list of what we must do:

• Find our voice.
• Be prepared to battle once we pick which battles we want to fight.
• Gain knowledge. Know our stuff.
• Interrupt racism no matter how uncomfortable it makes us and do not make exceptions for family, friends, or in the work place because we fear the consequences.
• Always confront racism, ignorance, and inappropriate behavior/language when we see, hear, read, or experience it.
• Find allies of all races to discuss these topics. We may be surprised at the people we thought got it who really don’t. We also may be surprised by some who get it but are afraid to speak up.
• Teach, learn, and practice coping strategies to staff and students.
• Train staff, form committees, identify speakers, and facilitate classroom presentations.
• Ask the school librarian to furnish the professional library with resources on topics related to race.
• Explore the tenets of Critical Race Theory.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) could help us critically examine race in our graduate programs and schools settings. Critical race studies must have a place in social work graduate programs and K-12 schools. It was introduced to education by Gloria Ladson-Billings and William F. Tate in 1995. Some basic tenets include the following:

• Racism is at the core of American life and should not be placed on the perimeter.
• Racism benefits those who are privileged and serves the interests of the powerful to maintain the status quo.
• CRT represents a challenge to the dominant social ideology of color-blindness.
• Assimilation and racial integration are not always in the best interests of all groups.
• CRT argues for the legitimacy and appropriateness of the lived experience of racial/ethnic minorities.
• Addressing social justice efforts and the elimination of racial oppression are the ultimate goals of critical race theory.

Though CRT has not been formally introduced in many social work arenas, it is a theory that should be explored. CRT suggests that deconstruction is a critical practice that aims to dismantle the structures at work; it is not about pointing out an error but about looking at how a structure has been constructed, what holds it together, and what it produces. To give an example, CRT theorists discussed the “right to exclude” as a critical race concept that highlights the educational system’s history as well as current practices. “In schooling, the absolute right to exclude was demonstrated initially by denying blacks access to schooling altogether. Later, it was demonstrated by the creation and maintenance of separate schools. More recently it has been demonstrated by white flight and the growing insistence on vouchers, public funding of private schools, and schools of choice. Within schools, absolute right to exclude is now demonstrated by re-segregation via tracking.(Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995). To critically examine issues with a race lens is important as we look at policies in the school system, discipline handbooks, acceptable practices, and special education legislation and implementation as well as school programs, assemblies, and communication with parents.

School social workers are often in the position to make an impact on issues concerning the individual student, the classroom, the school, and the community. We abide by a code of ethics to support the most disadvantaged youth in our school settings, and yet we often ignore the race component that impacts so many of our students’ lives. In honor of Black History Month, we must acknowledge it, learn to challenge it, and associal workers and life-learners, we need to question our education and learning portals. As social workers, we need to be climate watchers; we must address race, treatment of disadvantaged populations, and inequalities; and we must teach, support, and provide resources as well. We must also know our history and learn from it to advocate and support all of our students. As Marian Wright Edelman stated: If we don’t stand up for children, we don’t stand for much.

REFERENCES

• Abrams, L., & Moio, J. (2009). Critical race theory and the cultural competence dilemma in social work education. Journal of Social Work Education , 45(2), 245–261.
• Council on Social Work Education. (2001). Educational policy and accreditation standards. Alexandria.
• Davis, K. (1997). Exploring the intersection between cultural competency and managed behavioral health care policy: implications for state and county mental health agencies. Alexandria, VA: National Technical Assistance Center for State Mental Health Planning.
• Fraser, J. W. (2001). The school in the United States: A documentary history. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
• Ladson-Billings, G., & Tate, W. (1995). Toward a critical race theory of education. Teacher's College Record.
• Neckerman, K. (2010). Schools betrayed: Roots of failure in inner-city education. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• School Social Work Association of America. (2009). Retrieved December 5, 2010, from www.sswaa.org.
• Teasley, M., Baffour, T., & Tyson, E. (2005). Perceptions of cultural competence among urban school social workers: Does experience make a difference? Children & Schools , 27(4), 227–237.

Tiffany Johnson, MSW, LCSW, has spent eleven years as an educator in elementary, middle, and high schools. She is a regional representative for the Illinois Association of School Social Workers (IASSW) and is currently is a doctoral student in educational policy at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Besides her educational and career endeavors, Tiffany is active in her community. She has been a DCFS foster and adoptive parent for over eighteen years, a Girl Scouts leader, YMCA camp counselor, and mentor. She is also the mother of three teenagers.

CEU Opportunity for Reading This Article!
NASW Illinois members can earn one CEU by completing an online quiz (https://naswil.wufoo.com/forms/quiz-february-2012/) regarding this article! The free CEU opportunity is only valid until April 1, 2011, after which the CEU fee will change to $15.00. Nonmembers must pay the regular $10.00 rate for the CEU, which will increase to $15.00 after April 1, 2012.

As a professional social worker and amateur writer, I can honestly state that at first, I wasn’t really sure how to begin my review of this very emotionally-driven book. When I first read the title, Is Marriage for White People? How the African American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone, I was instantly offended as a married African American male; but I was also intrigued, and that's what motivated me to read this book in a course of two days—it's quite a page-turner!

Let me start off by giving you a synopsis: Stanford law professor Ralph Richard Banks (an African American middle-class family man) has spent recent years gathering in-person interviews, statistical information, and other resources to compile a nonfiction manuscript of how the “trend” of blacks not marrying and/or divorcing is on the rise. Throughout the entire book, Banks discusses how the future of happily married black men and women looks bleak. He covers a spectrum of issues that include interracial dating and marriages, arranged marriages, legalities of marriage, the effects on black children, middle class versus the poor, the (black) man shortage issue, and finally, how to save black marriage.

As I read each of the eleven chapters that make up this book, I was hoping to read data that would assist support ways in which black men and women could come together and create loving and strong family units. As I read some of the statistics in the book—that the highest earning black men are more than twice as likely as their white counterparts to never marry, or that black middle-class families are poorer than their white counterparts—I started to feel very uncomfortable and hopeless.

In my opinion, Professor Banks may have listened to too many disgruntled black women and not enough of happily married black women and men! It started to feel one-sided and for me, when you take on this subject matter, one should be as unbiased as possible. Now don't get me wrong: when reading the testimonies of his interviewees, I thought about the bad male/female relationships amongst my family and friends. But almost simultaneously, I thought about the successful relationships that I knew. I know that as a reviewer I should have stayed neutral, but how could I as a married black man myself? Especially as one who is doing his absolute best to raise a brilliant and beautiful black daughter to not only be able to hold her own in the world, but to also show her that when she does become a partner in a loving relationship, she needs to be able to find her place of balance—for me, that’s the key of a successful relationship!

In assessing the strengths of this book, Banks did a great job of looking at statistics to formulate his hypothesis. He showed evidence of the mixed marriage theory which entails a marriage based on class (i.e., a woman with one or two degrees and makes six figures who is married to a man without a higher education degree and makes considerably less). He showed how these types of mixed marriages are doomed from the get-go because it goes against the societal premise of gender roles.

However, as an optimistic reader who wants to know how to ensure that black men and women have successful relationships/marriages, this book left me feeling pessimistic. By the book’s end, Bank states: "If Black women don't marry because they have too few options, and some black men because they have too many, then black women, by opening themselves to interracial marriage, could address both problems at once. For black women, interracial marriage doesn't abandon the race, it serves the race."

I had to force myself to understand his point which, in laymen’s term, is this: Because black men feel that it's 10 (women) to 1 (us) out here, then we get to be arrogant fools and lead women on; but if black women become “extinct” by marrying non–black men, then this will make black men step up our game, and then too will black women marriage stats go up. I think Banks missed the mark on this assumption. My answer, if he would have interviewed me, would be that us black men and women need to assess and write treatment plans on ourselves, start healing, become whole people individually, and then when that happens, our relationships will be more progressive, positive, and purposeful. Happiness starts internally and works itself outwardly!

Khalid B. Scott, MSW, LCWS, QMHP, is an eighteen-year licensed case management/clinical social worker manager who work has provided mental health therapy to everyone from IDCFS-affiliated clients to foster and biological family members for over eleven years. Khalid is also a contractual trainer for CASA Cook County Juvenile Courts as well as a contractual college lecturer at Westwood College, Olive-Harvey College, Columbia College, Chicago State University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and DePaul University.
 

• Am I allowed or required to release the client’s information?
• How much information must I disclose?
• What type of client information should be released?

This Legal Issue of the Month article will address questions related to making well-reasoned decisions when responding to requests for confidential client information.  This review does not address situations where the social worker is the target of a lawsuit or complaint.

To read the rest of the article, click here. NOTE: NASW login required.

At what point does a student in a social work program finally become a real social worker? This question was recently addressed among students during a review of internship experiences. One student felt that the qualification of a social worker was not fully obtained until a degree was physically in hand. This concept sparked much discussion. Another student posed the following scenario: If you were swimming where there was a lifeguard posted, would you be able to tell the difference between the lifeguard with six months of experience versus a lifeguard with six years of experience? The answer: probably not. The question then becomes whether a client can tell the difference between an intern or one who is recently graduated versus a social worker with more field time? When a client is meeting with a social worker, the reassurance that there are resources available can be the beginning of a sense of trust and the first step towards a professional rapport.

As most social work students have returned to their spring semester and inch closer towards their degree, I would like to propose my idea of when a student in a social work program becomes a “real” social worker. A real social worker evolves from the beginning stage of having the desire to help others at the micro, mezzo, and macro level. Social workers also become “real” when he or she advocate for an individual or a group of people without their own voice. Additionally, students may find that policy is what inspires them. No matter which method of involvement is best suited for a student, these stages are the initiation to the group of real social workers. Social workers also possess characteristics such as compassion, understanding, and empathy.

Students should feel they are indeed real social workers while working as an intern; however, this does not discredit those social workers who have paved the path with years of service. The social work student also needs to remember that although they are a real social worker, the process of learning never ends, and it is to their advantage to learn as much as possible from those who have worked for years in the field. Learn from your professors, learn from social workers you are on a committee with, and learn from your supervisor at your internship. Become involved outside the classroom—there are endless opportunities to explore. Take the time to look at the NASW Illinois Chapter website (www.naswil.org)—there are plenty of ways to become involved. The ability to continue learning only enhances your role as a social worker. Imagine the student that worked with Jane Addams, Frances Perkins, Whitney M. Young Jr., and many others. The potential for real social work students to become incredible social workers are definitely within the realm of possibilities.

So for the students who are knee-deep in writing papers, studying for tests, interning, and preparing for graduation, remain steadfast, keep an open mind, and know that each day you are working as a real social worker, and you are joining the ranks of a wonderful group of men and women.

The Student Network SIG provides support and networking opportunities to Illinois social work students. To find out more about the SIG and upcoming events, please visit the Student Network SIG website.

OFFICE FOR RENT - Chicago
Professionally decorated, 16th floor office; overlooks Millennium Park. Available weekday evenings & anytime Saturdays. Suite has separate entrance and exit. Call Antoinette at 312 719-8498.

OFFICE FOR RENT - Frankfort
3 furnished offices in 5 office suite available by hour, day or month. Includes kitchenette, reception, group and class room. Contact Rena Compaan, LCSW at rcompaan@comcast.net or 815-469-2654.

OFFICE FOR RENT - Evanston
Office hours available in attractive office,west of Northwestern campus. Hours open: day, evenings and weekends $10/hr. "Patients" love this office and neighborhood
Call Diane Fisher,1847-989-1745

OFFICE FOR RENT - Oak Park
Oak Park Lake Street Location. Atrtractively furnished office and wait room.
Large windows with eastern exposure. Seeking full or part-time renter.
Joel Sherr 708-214-8768. jsherr611@comcast.net

NASW ILLINIOS CHAPTER JOB BOARD
For a complete and up-to-date list of job board postings, visit the NASW Illinois Chapter Job Board: http://www.naswil.org/education-career-development/association-job-board/.

• Director, Grief Center - Northern IL Hospice and Grief Center
• Staff Pychologist - Yellowbrick
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) - Franciscan St. James Health
• Quality Administrator (LCSW or LCPC) - Human Service Center
• Outpatient Therapist - Carlsbad Mental Health Center
• IOP / Substance Abuse Therapist - Carlsbad Mental Health Center
• Program Manager (Metropolitan Family Services)
• PT/FT Outpatient Therapist (Lake County Counseling for Seniors)

In preparation for Social Work Month which is held in March, I want to ask all members to pay close attention in the upcoming weeks for an e-mail from me to share with you the date and location of this year's awards celebration. 

It is not too late to submit your nominations for the annual NASW Illinois Chapter Social Work Awards in the Southern District. It is very simple to submit a fellow co-worker, supervisor, or friend for social worker of the year, lifetime achievement, or public citizen of the year. The process is much easier to nominate someone than in years past. Please take a moment to recognize a deserving NASW member or citizen at www.naswil.org/news/chapter-awards/. Deadline is Tuesday, January 31, 2012.

Also the Southern District Chair position is up for election this year so if you are interested in a leadership position, this is your opportunity. As a district chair you, also serve on the NASW Illinois Chapter Board of Directors. This is a very exciting and rewarding experience. Nominate a colleague or even yourself at http://www.naswil.org/volunteer/join-the-board/. Deadline is Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Social Work Month (March) is quickly approaching, and this is also the month for Advocacy Day. This year it is on March 29, 2012. For more info visit http://www.naswil.org/advocacy/advocacy-day/ .

Keep in mind that the Southern District will be hosting a special evening and CEU event for Social Work Month in March.  Details will be forthcoming in a future e-mail to members. Also watch for it to be posted on the Southern District page.

Finally the NASW Illinois Chapter and the Southern District would like to make a warm welcome to new members: Mathew Bauman, Catherine Dye, Stephanie McCluskey, Michael Davis, Patricia Gumz, and Brittany Day.

On Friday, January 27, 2012, Jane Addams Hull House Association will officially close and file for bankruptcy as it can no longer financially continue to keep its doors open. Founded in 1889, Hull House Association has evoked a huge outpouring of emotion, outrage, and shock not only in the Chicago area and throughout the state, but throughout the country. A variety of efforts to save Hull House have been initiated. These are all commendable. However, the closure of Hull House is symptomatic of the ongoing financial challenges and pain that human service providers and the persons they serve are facing in Illinois. Provider bill backlog still remains in the billions in large part because Springfield has failed to address the backload. The scenario is all too familiar—providers not being paid for months for services rendered.

Increased stress on the state budget has translated into job losses in the private sector as well. According to Illinois Partners for Human Services, state fiscal woes forced nearly half of its surveyed nonprofits to lay off staff during this past year. Unfortunately the state has accepted unpaid bills as an ugly necessity to muddle into the next budget cycle and has failed to address the needed debt restructuring.

As the date of Governor Quinn’s FY13 budget address quickly approaches, we must make it clear that human service agencies can no longer serve as short-term lenders to the state in providing services without compensation. If not, we will continue to see more agencies be forced to abandon their missions—the “governmental responsibility” of serving the less fortunate—that Jane Addams wrote about close to a century ago.

Here we are, well into the 2012 season. I hope everyone is adjusting to the new year well. We certainly can't have many complaints with the winter so far! With the new year, we have lots of things coming of quickly that I would like to point out and ask for feedback and help with.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:
West Central District Awards: We are almost out of time! The deadline for nomination for Social Worker of the Year, Lifetime Achievement award, and Public Citizen of the Year is 01/31, and we currently have no nominations. It is impossible to imagine that we have no one in the entire district that is deserving of recognition. I ask you all to please consider nominating yourself or someone you feel is deserving of recognition. Again, all nominations are due on January 31, 2012. The nomination process is fairly easy. For information about the awards you can go to: http://www.naswil.org/news/chapter-awards/. The nomination forms can be found online: https://naswil.wufoo.com/forms/2012-nominations-for-annual-social-work-awards/. We have a lot of dedicated social workers and community leaders that work hard. This is our opportunity to say thanks and commend them for the work they do. Please nominate a candidate today!

Social Work Month Event: Along with the awards and March Social Work Month, I am working with two other organizations to put together an event that I think will be amazing. We still have a few details to finalize before I can release the information, but the dates will be March 30 and 31, 2012. Please mark your calendars now. More information will be released in the next few weeks. You won't want to miss it! The West Central District awards will be presented on March 31st.

Leadership Recruitment: The NASW Illinois Chapter’s Nominating Committee is needing to finalize nominations for the upcoming leadership elections in March. This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in taking a more active role in the NASW. The Nominations Committee needs representatives from each of the eight districts to participate in the nominations process (2–3 teleconference meetings at most). The complete leadership recruitment packet and a nomination forms can be found at http://www.naswil.org/volunteer/join-the-board/. Submissions are due by January 31, 2012.

Did You Know...?

Advocacy Day 2012: Advocacy Day has been announced and will take place on Thursday, March 29, 2012! You find more information by going to the Advocacy Day page on our website for more information: http://www.naswil.org/advocacy/advocacy-day/.

CEU Events: I am currently finalizing a schedule to offer free one hour CEU events on the third Friday of each month. If you or your organization has a specialization you would like to present, please contact me. I have presenters for about half of the year. I will be releasing the calendar of events for the year along with times and locations in the next few weeks. Please watch your e-mails for more information. Contact me if you have ideas for presentations or would like to present yourself.

This Month's Challenge
I encourage all of you to find a way to get involved with the NASW. There are several opportunities to suit all schedules and interests. Several opportunities have already been mentioned in this update. Please start by nominating potential award recipients, marking your calendar to attend a NASW sponsored event, and sending me an e-mail about a topic you would like to present or an idea for a presentation. With your feedback, we can work to provide opportunities that meet the needs of social workers throughout the district.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Audrey LeMasters
E-mail: wcentral@naswil.org

The fellowship will provide the opportunity for an experienced social worker with substantial child welfare experience to gain invaluable national public policy experience by spending one year working on the development of federal child welfare policy in the United States Senate.  This is a great opportunity to contribute a social work perspective to the development of public policy, to broaden awareness of the value of social work-government collaboration, and to contribute child welfare practice and research knowledge to the policy-making process. It is also a unique professional experience to gain practical knowledge about how policy is made.

Candidates must:

• Have a social work degree
• Have at least 5 years of professional child welfare experience and expertise
• Have an understanding of the policy-making process and federal child welfare policies and  legislation
• Be a current member in good standing of the National Association of Social Workers
• Be able to spend 12 months living in the Washington, DC area and working on Capitol Hill.

Only one fellow will be selected and the Fellowship will start as soon as possible after the selection is made based on the successful applicant’s schedule and other logistics. The Fellow’s stipend will range from $65,000 to $85,000, plus up to an additional $10,000 to cover travel and other relevant expenses (e.g., moving, attending professional social work conferences, etc.).  Finalists for the Fellowship will be invited to participate in an in-person interview in Washington, DC in early Spring.

For more information about the application details, visit www.socialworkpolicy.org/fellowshipapplication.   If you have additional questions please submit them to swpifellowship@naswdc.org.

Please forward this information to others who may be interested and eligible.

For more information about the NASW Social Work Policy Institute, visit www.SocialWorkPolicy.org.

 Welcome New NASW East Central District Members

I would like to welcome our newest NASW members to the East Central District! We are so pleased to have you in the association and a part of our district. Our new members are:

• Corinne Bend
• Samantha Pittman
• Kyle Kovski
• Hannah Mueller
• Julie Peoples
• Janice Derrickson
• Megan Wicklund

Chapter News

March 2012 is Social Work Month. The theme this year is Social Work Matters. A key message for this year’s celebration is that social workers are the safety net in a civil society. Let’s take time to celebrate our profession! Here are some great upcoming events to do just that—Save the dates below! 

• Advocacy Day 2012: Advocacy Day 2012 is coming!!!! Please mark your calendar for Thursday, March 29, 2012 to attend! Go to the Advocacy Day page on our website for more info: http://www.naswil.org/advocacy/advocacy-day/.
• Social Work Day at ISU in Normal, IL, is set for Wednesday, March 28, 2012, from 8:00am to 4:00pm at Illinois State University’s Alumni Center. The theme for this year is Social Workers as First Responders to Trauma. Mark your calendar and register for this free event (there is an additional cost if you would like CEU’s) – more details will be coming soon!
• 2012 Board of Directors Election: This year’s elections will take place from April 2–30, 2012. Please get involved and cast your vote for the leadership you want in our state for NASW! 

Our next meeting will be held on Friday, February 17th, from 10:00am to 12:00pm at the NASW Illinois Chapter office. We'll spend most of our time planning meetings for March and April. We always save some time to socialize, and social workers who are considering retirement or are retired are welcome to attend. Please feel free to contact RSW SIG Chair Cynthianna Hahn at rsw@naswil.org with any questions.

Advocacy Day 2012 has been announced for Thursday, March 29, 2012! The event will take place down at the Prairie Capital Convention Center in Springfield, IL. Save money and register for early bird rates online (LINK). Be sure to check back on our Advocacy Day page as more news and information is released.

Advocacy Day Website: http://www.naswil.org/advocacy/advocacy-day/
Register Online: http://www.naswil.org/advocacy/advocacy-day/

Legislative Accomplishments
The 2011 year began with several legislative accomplishments including a state income task that was a start in solving the state’s current fiscal crisis as well a repeal of the death penalty in Illinois. NASW Illinois worked actively with the Responsible Budget Coalition to achieve this. During the same week, the Illinois General Assembly passed SB3539, a landmark legislation repealing the death penalty in Illinois. On March 9, 2011, Governor Pat Quinn signed Public Act 96-1543 into law (http://ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?name=096-1543). Two Illinois legislators were vital in getting this historic piece of legislation passed: Illinois Senator Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) and Illinois State Representative Karen Yarbrough (D-Maywood). They were both presented with the NASW Illinois Chapter’s 2011 Legislative Award at the statewide conference in November.

A record number 900 social workers and social work students descended upon Springfield, Illinois, to participate in the 2011 Social Work Advocacy Day. This year, we exceeded our numbers yet again and established a record for attendance. Our large numbers could not have come at a more important time. Illinois Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon opened the morning session with an inspiring message regarding the importance of advocacy. She was followed by a panel comprised of experts and leaders in the human services arena: Michelle Saddler, secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services; Michael McRaith, director of the Illinois Department of Insurance; Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability; and Stephanie Altman, programs and policy director of Health and Disabilities Advocates. NASW Illinois Legislative Consultant Phil Milsk moderated the panel. The panel represented the most knowledgeable professionals in our state about the challenges of the state budget, funding human services, and reforming healthcare and Medicaid. They provided even greater insights during the respective breakout sessions.

The NASW Illinois Chapter’s Licensure Task Force convened several times during the past fiscal year, developing two proposed rule changes regarding the addition of cultural competence training to be included in the 30 CEUs required for licensure renewal; they also discussed the cap on online CEUs. These proposed changes now have to make their way through the administrative process at the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation, the governor’s office, and Joint Committee on Administration Rules (JCAR). These proposed rule changes would not take effect until 2013 licensure cycle.

If you want to know more about the chapter’s legislative efforts, be sure to sign up for our NASW Illinois Legislative Action Alerts. Over 9,000 people received our many alerts this past year. You can help us advance our 2012 Legislative/Policy Agenda.

EAPrefer
In conjunction with NASW Assurance Services Inc., the chapter launched in November a new exciting benefit. EAPrefer, a program that helps Illinois members put their experience and expertise as social workers to use as an employee assistance program (EAP) professional, allows members to assist others as well as earn additional income. EAPrefer allows EAP network providers to easily match qualified social workers with clients who need them. Complete details can be found at http://eaprefer.org/ or calling a program representative at 1.866.307.2325.

Greater Content in Online Networker Magazine: Faster,Expanded Access to Social Work News and Information
2011 was the first full year that the Networker magazine appeared entirely online. Not only has this shift saved the chapter in printing costs, it also has allowed us to increase our publication frequency to monthly, as well enhance the magazine’s content. For example, the Networker has included eight private practice–related articles, eight school social work articles, seven book reviews, three articles on aging, one on mental health, six on ethics, and eight of our long-running ‘Since You Asked’ articles. The past year’s articles can be found in the Networker archives at: http://www.naswil.org/news/networker/archives.

We have also improved the NASW Illinois Weekly Update, our weekly, virtual social work newspaper this past June. The Weekly Update links members to news related to the social work profession and the human service sector. Still haven’t signed up for these updates? Sign up in three easy steps!

1. Go to: http://paper.li/NASWIL/1306282408.
2. Click on the blue square on the right-hand side of the screen that says 'Subscribe'.
3. Enter your e-mail address into the box.

Our revamped website continues to provide the most recent social work professional news.

The NASW Illinois Chapter’s social media presence in 2011 continued to grow. Our iPhone and Android app are extremely popular, and our number of followers on twitter (@naswil), our ‘likes’ on Facebook, and the numbers of members on LinkedIn continue to grow.

2011 NASW Illinois Chapter Statewide Conference
Over 600 attendees participated in this year’s statewide conference. They were treated to a conference that included over 70 workshops and an outstanding exhibit hall. Technology, the hard work of the NASW Illinois Chapter staff, and the many volunteer presenters who shared their expertise and knowledge with their colleagues made the 2011 conference our most successful in recent years. A full description of the conference can be found at: http://www.naswil.org/news/chapter-update/2011-nasw-illinois-chapter-statewide-conference-summary/.

CEU Trainings
During 2011, NASW Illinois Chapter districts held 49 district events around the state (both CEU and networking). A total of 29 events were held at the NASW Illinois Chapter office, which including 10 licensure reviews courses and seven ethics trainings.

During 2011, all NASW Illinois Chapter members continued to earn free CEUs for all in-house courses (ethics workshops excluded).

2011 Social Work Awards
In February, the chapter presented its 2011 Emerging Leaders Awards to four emerging leaders at a luncheon during the February 2011 Board of Directors meeting. The awardees included the following:

• Robert B. Campbell, MSW, LCSW, QCSW
• Shelley Milosevic, MSW, LSW
• Amy Terpstra, MSW
• Chasity Wells-Armstrong, MSW, CADC

At the 2011 NASW Illinois Chapter Statewide Conference in November, Candi Gray (NASW Illinois Chapter Vice President and chair of the 2011 NASW Illinois Chapter Awards Committee) presented the 2011 NASW Illinois Chapter Awards. Recipients included the following:

• Legislative Award: Illinois Senator Kwame Raoul and Illinois State Representative Karen Yarbrough
• Public Citizen of the Year – Benjamin S. Wolf, JD
• Social Worker of the Year – Mary Garrison, MSW, LCSW, ACSW
• Lifetime Achievement Award – Richard L. Jones, PhD

Shared Interest Groups (SIGs)
There are currently five active SIGs in the NASW Illinois Chapter, all of which have had significant programming during 2011:

• Older Adults
• Retired Social Workers (RSW)
• Mediators Network
• International Activities Network (IAN)
• Student Network
• Social Work Field Directors

Chapter SIGs are maintained and sustained by members. SIGs can be formed around a particular practice area or geographic area around the state. Over 30 SIG meetings took place this year. SIG activities have ranged from networking events to CEU programming to hosting a social service exchange between Hamburg, Germany, and Birmingham, England.

NASW Political Action Committee (PAC) Illinois
The NASW PAC Illinois, whose mission is to strengthen the involvement of social workers in the political process, has been enhanced with a new board and revised bylaws. The PAC now has its own website at http://naswilpac.org/. The PAC also played an important role in the aldermanic campaigns (both the primary and the runoff) of James Cappleman, LCSW, an NASW Illinois member who was elected to the Chicago City Council as alderman of the 46th ward. A reception of his behalf was held at the chapter offices back in February. NASW Illinois members volunteered for his campaign as well. Concerted effort is currently being made towards developing PAC leadership and conducting political organizing and training.

NASW Illinois 2011 Marketplace Guide
During this past fiscal year, the chapter produced the first ever 2011 Marketplace Guide, a comprehensive buyer’s guide of social work resources. The guide represents a variety of products and services used by social work professionals. We were able to attract many advertisers for this inaugural issue and hope to expand the guide in 2012.

Thanks to NASW Illinois Volunteer Leadership and Professional Staff
The NASW Illinois Chapter Board of Directors, which is elected by the membership, plays an important role in setting the direction and policy of the association. We thank chapter president Yolanda Jordan and her leadership team around the state for all of their hard work this past year.

We are a member association, but the day-to-day operations and successes we experience are due in large part to the chapter’s professional staff. Illinois is fortunate to have committed professionals serving the membership. They include in Chicago, Kyle Hillman, manager of financial services and conference-special events; Christina Polus, manager of events and education; Nina Nguyen, manager of membership and communications; as well as our public affairs consultant Phil Milsk.

Best wishes for the holidays and the New Year!

Joel L. Rubin, MSW, CAE, has served as executive director of the 7,000 member Illinois Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) since October 1999. He has over twenty-five years of nonprofit management and fundraising experience including extensive work with boards of directors, committees and volunteers, and advocacy around a wide variety of social work, human service, and international political issues. Joel is a graduate of the Wexner Heritage Fellowship Leadership Program and a current adjunct professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago Jane Addams College of Social Work as well as Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work.

A Protocol to Consider When Working with Children and Parents in Private Practice: A Parental Presence in Therapy

There can be several challenges encountered when working with children in private practice. The foremost challenge is that when a clinician provides therapeutic services to a child, they are actually working with two clients: the child and the child’s parents. The therapy protocol I use in working with children has taken into consideration these challenges in an efficient and effective manner while creating positive growth for both parties.

When I first receive a call from parents seeking out services for their child, I always schedule the first appointment with just the parents. The reasons for this are as follows:

• To gather as much information as possible from the parents without causing the child further distress as s/he listens to someone talk about him/her in third person at a time when the child is already feeling nervous and uncomfortable
• To ask the parents questions that they can answer in full without using discretion so that I can attain the fullest picture possible from their perspective; also to acquire a full history on the child so that I can properly assess current issues
• To give the parents the chance to determine if they feel comfortable with me seeing their child prior to bringing their child into my office; also to have an opportunity to educate them on the various therapy styles, including my own.

During the first session, as well as on the first phone call with a parent, I inform parents that I require as a part of my practice a parent-only session after every fourth or fifth session with their child. This is not optional, and I need parents to commit to this protocol in order for my services to be an appropriate fit for them.

These parent-only sessions are used for checking on progress (or lack thereof) outside of my office, answering questions that parents have about the overall picture of how their child is doing, and providing parental coaching or strategies to help parents most effectively help their child. I do not use parent-only sessions to provide parents with verbatim accounting of my sessions with their child. Instead, I explain to parents the importance of their child's confidentiality along with the limits to confidentiality with children. I also explain that when there are issues that parents need to be informed about, I will find a way to include the parents in the overall discussion, whether it come directly from the child or from me with the child’s knowledge. Obviously when there are matters of urgency, I meet with parents in a timely manner and do not wait a month to discuss these types of situations with them.

Prior to meeting with parents for their parent-only session, I ask the child if there is anything they want me to share or not share with their parents. Generally speaking, children will say there is nothing they want kept private to our sessions only. However, it gives the children the option of exercising some control over what they want shared and when (or if) they are ready to share that information. This in turn helps to continue building a trusting therapeutic relationship with the child.

When children have little or no response to my asking them what they would like to have shared, I say to the child directly: “Here is what I am thinking about sharing with your parents when I meet with them. How does that sound?” Many kids I meet with are relieved to hear my summation of their experience; more often than not, they actually want me to share what I am suggesting with their parents. Children often looked relieved that their parent will be let in on their distress, which has been so difficult for them to put into words. Yet at the same time, they are not being forced to try to explain it to their parents, which is often a relief to the children.

When I meet with kids, I do a check-in on paper at the beginning of each session where they rate on a 1 to 10 scale how various aspects of their life are going (10 being the best and 1 being the worst). My scales are blank, and I fill them in at the beginning of each session with the child. Some of the items I might list in this part of my check-in include school, home, life, and friends. The child then fills in how each aspect of their life is going in each of these areas by filling in the numbers portion of the checklist.

The second half of the check-in is another blank scale set from 1 to 10 (with 10 being the most and 1 being the least). On this scale, I fill in the blanks with four to five feeling words, then ask the child to rate them based on how they felt over the past week. For instance if I put the word "worried", the child can identify for me if they are feeling very worried or not worried at all. I add in new feeling words as I work with them each week and help children increase their emotional language.

These check-ins are a good opportunity for children to give us a sense of how they are feeling when it can be very difficult for them to put their experiences into words. They also provide the therapist with information that is difficult for kids to discuss, thus offering an opportunity to tailor the sessions accordingly. For instance if a child ranks “friendships” as a 1, but he/she is uncomfortable discussing this, I would move on from that topic and continue to figure out how to help the child express what is feeling uncomfortable to him/her either through play therapy or talk therapy as we move forward. As we know, it is important to go at a client’s own pace.

These check-ins are helpful in monitoring progress as well as understanding areas of distress for a child. The check-ins, combined with parent-only sessions, give a much clearer picture of what a child is experiencing which is crucial to providing effective therapy services. Therapists need to have an accurate assessment of a child’s world on an ongoing basis to truly be able to help them.

This protocol addresses including parents into their child's therapy while still building and maintaining trust from all parties involved. It is a means to answer parents’ questions without rushing them on phone calls because parents know they will always get a chance to talk more thoroughly with the therapist in the near future and get all of their questions answered on a regularly basis.

Collaborating with parents is important to a child’s well-being and making progress in therapy because we cannot impact true change while only working in our offices; there has to be a team approach that includes parents. Additionally, therapists cannot always determine if there is progress occurring from a child’s self-report; clinicians need parents to give us regular feedback on what they are seeing outside our office in order for us to know if we are making gains for children that translate into to their whole world, not just in the therapist’s office.

Tami Stieber, LCSW, has worked in the field of social services for the past sixteen years. Her past clinical experience includes working in both therapeutic and mainstream schools, residential settings, and for the private health insurance industry. In 2008, she transitioned to owning a private practice where she meets with both adults and children. Tami specializes in working with clients who are experiencing symptoms of anxiety, children who are having difficulties at school, and families who are dealing with issues related to divorce or other significant life changes. She has provided consultation to schools and clinical supervision to other mental health professionals. 

The Changing Role of the School Social Worker: Becoming a Visionary Practitioner

School social work as a profession (now celebrating its 105th year) emerged out of the settlement house movement and was initially known as visiting teachers. Simultaneously, school social work originated in Boston, Hartford, and New York in the early 1900s. The Chicago Public Schools employed their first school social workers in 1919 (Morrison, 2006). School social work grew out of the policies around compulsory attendance. The initial focus centered on the school social worker providing the link between home, school, and community, utilizing their skills to understand the social ills of the community. These individuals served as advocates for the child and family, ensuring that students received the maximum benefit from public education. Although our world is a very different place than it was over a century ago, policies that support the needs of children and their families in the educational setting have played a major role in the evolution of school social work. This article builds upon the historical context of school social work and identifies strategies that can be utilized with two current policies—response to Intervention (RTI) and social and emotional learning (SEL)—to expand school social work practices to new heights.

From a historical perspective, two major policy decisions that promoted the growth of the profession were the federal Rehabilitation Act and Section 504 (1973) and the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (1975). The Rehabilitation Act and Section 504 were important to school social workers because these policies helped to define the role of school social workers in education. With the simple act of prohibiting discrimination against anyone with a disability, Section 504 identified 20% of the school-age population as legally protected from discrimination and potentially requiring the provision of school social work services at some point in their educational career. The federal Individual with Disabilities Education Act marked the first time that school social work was defined in federal legislation requirements and currently delineates some of the services that school social workers provide.

Due to the need for students to be competitive in this global society, our educational system places great emphasis on student achievement, common core standards, and the correlation between academic achievement and social and emotional development. The school social worker can play a unique role in utilizing current policies to expand the role of the profession. Two recent mandates—response to intervention (RTI) and social and emotional learning (SEL)—provide an opportunity for the school social worker to intervene in the educational process at multiple levels, utilizing the systems perspective and offering prevention and intervention. Rather than viewing them as challenges, these new mandates can be viewed as an opportunity for school social workers to closely align school social work practices to impact academic achievement.

The National Center on Response to Intervention indicates that RTI includes rigorous implementation of a combination of high-quality, culturally and linguistically responsive instruction, assessment, and evidence-based intervention to address the needs of all students (American Institute of Research). Comprehensive RTI implementation contributes to more meaningful identification of learning and behavioral problems, improves instructional quality, provides all students with the best opportunities to succeed in school, and assists with the identification of learning disabilities and other disabilities.

Response to intervention is a system-wide approach used in general education to prevent or resolve issues around the lack of student success. It allows for early identification and prevention activities for all students. It was developed out of a concern for the growing number of students that were placed in special education (In particular, the over-representation of African American and Latino boys in restrictive special education settings), and the lack of success for many of the students receiving special education services.

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is a process for helping children (and even adults) develop the fundamental social and emotional competencies needed for success in life. SEL teaches the skills we all need to handle ourselves, our relationships, and our work both effectively and ethically. These skills include recognizing and managing our emotions, developing caring and concern for others, establishing positive relationships, making responsible decisions, and handling challenging situations constructively and ethically. SEL skills for children focus on teaching them how to calm themselves when angry, making friends, resolving conflicts respectfully, and making ethical and safe choices (Zin, Weissberg, Wang, & Walberg, 2004). SEL is also a framework for school improvement and the promotion of a positive school climate.

Subsequently, these two policies provide an arena for the expansion of school social work services from the traditional role of providing individual, group counseling, crisis intervention services, and school/ agency partnership to becoming a visionary practitioner with a focus on systems, strengths, and resilience. Both of these approaches incorporate evidence-based practices and use data to support students and program outcomes.

The following are strategies that school social workers should consider incorporating into their clinical practice. With response to intervention, the school social worker can try the following:

• Actively participate as a member of the school leadership team and help to design the RTI process at your local school.
• Assist in the development of the universal (Tier 1) implementation plan for both the academic and behavioral areas
• Assess services/programs currently provided by the school social worker and identify opportunities for expansion of school-wide or group-based supports for students
• Provide targeted (Tier 2) services for at-risk students utilizing evidence-based individual, small group–modalities, and classroom-based push-in services.
• Provide intensive (Tier 3) services for students who have not benefited at the universal (Tier 1) or targeted (Tier 2) level and may require more individualized, intensive support including agency partners or a special education referral.

School social work practices align equally as well with SEL and provide an ideal opportunity to address the prevention needs of students. Strategies to address SEL for the school social worker include the following:

• Actively participate in the school-wide SEL planning and implementation at the universal level
• Integrate SEL skill development with clinical work with students in individual and group counseling
• Infuse SEL in the classroom in a number of ways including classroom meetings, classroom-based topical discussion where SEL is integrated in the curriculum, and classroom activities that align with concepts that are being taught in the curriculum content areas
• Employ your expertise in SEL by providing consultation to administrators and to the classroom teacher to encourage the infusion of SEL throughout the curriculum.

School social workers have excellent leadership skills in facilitation and coordination. Utilizing these skills, you may also volunteer to lead the RTI or SEL change process. In so doing, it is important to engage all aspects of the school community and develop a team of people who can help to lead the charge: school administrators, grade level teachers, parents, pupil personnel staff, and other support staff (lunchroom staff, custodian, etc.).

Finally, it is important to look at ways to work with students from a strengths perspective. One such model is critical service-learning. Critical service learning engages students in meaningful service activities in their schools and communities which helps them to develop a sense of civic responsibility, caring and concern for others, and their own feeling of self-worth. Critical service-learning is integrated into the academic curriculum where students are empowered to brainstorm, plan, and implement activities that will have a direct impact on their school, community, and their own personal development (McKay & Johnson, 2010). Critical service-learning is different from community service and service projects in that it goes beyond mere altruism shown to the unfortunate. The mission of critical service-learning is to support critical thinking, reflection, and action in order to bolster societal change within the life world of the adolescent (McKay, 2010).

Although service-learning research is ongoing, it is felt that service-learning, partly through its effects on students’ sense of community and positive school climate, may help to increase the engagement and motivation of all students, particularly at-risk or disadvantaged students. Service-learning emphasizes youth empowerment so that they begin to see themselves as partners to others in order to bring about change in their environments (McKay 2010). Service-learning builds upon student’s developmental assets and serves as protective factors for youth.

In today’s education system, it is critically important that all school social work services clearly demonstrate their relationship in supporting the academic achievement of students. Based on their training in systems theory, leadership skills in facilitation, advocacy, coordination, and strong clinical skills, school social workers have the unique opportunity to align existing services and clinical practices with emerging expectations to support RTI and SEL mandates in schools. These expectations and challenges should be met, developed, and expanded by the school social worker. They should be viewed as an opportunity to becoming a visionary practitioner and segue to the future of the profession.

REFERENCES

• Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D. & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82, 405–432. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564
• Illinois State Board of Education (n.d.). Illinois learning standards: Social/emotional learning. Retrieved from http://www.isbe.net/ils/social_emotional/word/SEL_goal1.doc
• McKay, C., & Johnson, A. (2010). Service learning: An example of multilevel school social work practice. School Social Work Journal, 35(1), 21–36.
• McKay, C. (2010). Critical service learning: A school social work intervention. Children and Schools, 32(1), 5–13.
• Morrison, V., (2006). History of school social work: The Illinois perspective, one hundred years of school social work: past, present, and future 1906-2006. School Social Work Journal, 30(3), 1–23.
• The National Center for Response to Intervention. What is RTI?. Retrieved from http://www.rti4success.org/whatisrti
• Zins, J., Weissberg, R., Wang, M., & Walberg, H. J. (2004). Building academic success on social and emotional learning: What does the research say? New York, NY. Teachers College Press.

Annette Johnson, ACSW, LCSW, is clinical assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago Jane Addams College of Social Work where she teaches in the school social work concentration. She has a keen interest in developing school-based clinical practices that focus on strengths and assets.
 

As the United States emerges from the Great Recession, family financial stability is rocky, confidence in a brighter economic future is anemic, American competitiveness has been challenged, and faith that government has the competency to fix things is at an all-time low. Contrary to the rhetoric of election-minded politicians, these realities and sentiments are not simply the result of a challenging last few years, but rather have been fermenting over the course of the last three decades. In The Price of Civilization, economist Jeffrey Sachs sets out to diagnose how it is that America got to this disheartening point by providing historical and economic context, then devotes equal time to outlining a framework for the nation to emerge from this economic crisis to once again live up to its values of prosperity, equality, and opportunity.

America's economic woes, according to Sachs, are the result of failing to recognize and adequately plan for the implications of the global economy. Instead, beginning with Ronald Reagan, who insisted that government was the problem and not the solution, and continuing full-force with every presidential administration since, Washington has dismantled government programs that could improve America's international standing, decimated programs that help ameliorate the impacts of globalization for Americans, and handed over key functions and decisions to the private sector, thus severely handicapping the government's ability to effectively steer the economy and ultimately resulting in the 2008 meltdown.

Sachs argues that the result is not just an economic crisis, but a moral crisis: "America has developed the world's most competitive market society but has squandered its civic virtue along the way. Without restoring an ethos of social responsibility, there can be no meaningful and sustained economic recovery."

The perpetrators of this moral crisis are many: The economic elite who accumulate vast sums of wealth and spend enormous amounts of energy to ensure that as little of it as possible is taxed for use to support the collective well-being. The political elite who through campaign contributions and the revolving door between Washington, Wall Street, and Big Oil are all but beholden to those economic elite, passing policy after policy that ultimately favor special interests over the common good. The media—owned by massive corporations—that happily plays along. And an American public that has retreated behind televisions and computer screens, foregoing meaningful engagement with their communities and thoughtful consideration of social, political, economic, and environmental issues.

While there is certainly no shortage of doomsday writings on the dangers of unbridled capitalism, The Price of Civilization brings a solutions-oriented perspective to the milieu, one ultimately grounded in faith and optimism in America and more specifically, in Americans. While readers may not fully agree with Sachs' assessment of the country's ills or concur on all his suggested solutions, the thoughtful reader will certainly be challenged by Sachs's call to a mindful society where citizens, communities, and government alike look beyond themselves and the here and now to help ensure American prosperity for generations to come.

Social workers in particular will further gain an appreciation for how larger social and economic forces influence the realities—such as poverty, injustice, isolation, fear—that many of us face in our work on a day-to-day basis. Sachs' book is an important reminder to social workers that not only must we be present on the ground helping to ameliorate the symptoms of society's most pressing issues, but we must also be fully engaged citizens who personally exhibit compassion and generosity, who commit to principles of sustainability and responsibility, and who demand the same of their government and their business sectors.

Amy Terpstra, MSW, is associate director of the Social IMPACT Research Center at Heartland Alliance. Amy’s work focuses on researching and disseminating knowledge on poverty, income, and housing-related issues. As an agency spokesperson, Amy educates decision-makers at all levels as well as media about economic hardship and solutions. She is lead contributor to many of IMPACT’s ongoing projects including the annual Report on Illinois Poverty and the Illinois Self-Sufficiency Project.  Amy is currently leading a multi-year, multi-method evaluation of Illinois’ subsidized employment program, Put Illinois to Work.
 

As we head into 2012, preparation begins for the new spring legislative session in Illinois. There are no scheduled session days until January 31, 2012. During January and early February there will be thousands of bills introduced in both the Illinois House and Senate. Committtee hearings on bills will begin in February.

Key issues this year will be, as usual, the Illinois state budget and the closely related issues of how to address the state's growing pension payment obligation and unpaid bills that disproportionately affects human services and health care providers.

Here is a timetable of important dates on the 2012 Spring legislative schedule:

• January 26: House Deadline for New Bill Requests at the Legislative Reference Bureau
• January 31: Senate Deadline for New Bill Requests at LRB
• February 1: Governor's State of the State Address
• February 10: Deadline for introducing new bills (Senate)
• February 13–17: No Session
• February 16: Deadline for introducing new bills (House)
• February 22: Governor's Budget Address
• March 9: Deadline for Substantive Senate Bills to Advance out of Senate Committees; Deadlne for Substantive House Committees to Advance out of House Committees
• March 20: Primary Election
• Late March: Social Work Advocacy Day
• March 30: House Third Reading Deadline for House Bills; Senate Third Reading Deadline for Senate Bills
• April 1–16: Easter and Passover Break
• May 4: Deadline for Substantive Senate Bills to Advance out of House Committees; Deadline for Substantive House Bills to Advance out of Senate Committees
• May 25: Senate Third Reading Deadline for House Bills; House Third Reading Deadline for Senate Bills
• May 31: Scheduled Adjournment

BUDGETING FOR RESULTS COMMISSION
The Budgeting for Results (BFR) Commission issued its first report on November 2, 2011. To read the report go to www. Budget.Illinois.gov and click on the link for the BFR Commission. A link to the report will be available on the commission's home page. The commission has scheduled meetings each month from January through August. The schedule and minutes from previous meetings are available on the commission's website. The next meeting will be held on January 27, 2012, by video conference in Chicago (16-100 Thompson Center) and Springfield (Room 205 State Capitol Building) from 1:00 to 3:00pm.

The governor is set to issue a report on budget priorities and revenue projections for the next three years in the next couple of days. This is required under the same law that created the BFR Commission.

As we head into 2012, preparation begins for the new spring legislative session in Illinois. There are no scheduled session days until January 31, 2012. During January and early February there will be thousands of bills introduced in both the Illinois House and Senate. Committtee hearings on bills will begin in February. 

Key issues this year will be, as usual, the Illinois state budget and the closely related issues of how to address the state's growing pension payment obligation and unpaid bills that disproportionately affects human services and health care providers.  

Here is a timetable of important dates on the 2012 Spring legislative schedule:

• January 26:  House Deadline for New Bill Requests at the Legislative Reference Bureau
• January 31: Senate Deadline for New Bill Requests at LRB
• February 1: Governor's State of the State Address
• February 10: Deadline for introducing new bills (Senate)
• February 13–17:  No Session
• February 16:  Deadline for introducing new bills (House)
• February 22: Governor's Budget Address
• March 9: Deadline for Substantive Senate Bills to Advance out of Senate Committees; Deadlne for Substantive House Committees to Advance out of House Committees
• March 20:  Primary Election
• Late March: Social Work Advocacy Day
• March 30:  House Third Reading Deadline for House Bills; Senate Third Reading Deadline for Senate Bills 
• April 1–16:  Easter and Passover Break
• May 4: Deadline for Substantive Senate Bills to Advance out of House Committees; Deadline for Substantive House Bills to Advance out of Senate Committees
• May 25: Senate Third Reading Deadline for House Bills; House Third Reading Deadline for Senate Bills
• May 31: Scheduled Adjournment

BUDGETING FOR RESULTS COMMISSION
The Budgeting for Results (BFR) Commission issued its first report on November 2, 2011. To read the report go to www. Budget.Illinois.gov and click on the link for the BFR Commission. A link to the report will be available on the commission's home page. The commission has scheduled meetings each month from January through August. The schedule and minutes from previous meetings are available on the commission's website. The next meeting will be held on January 27, 2012, by video conference in Chicago (16-100 Thompson Center) and Springfield (Room 205 State Capitol Building) from 1:00 to 3:00pm.

The governor is set to issue a report on budget priorities and revenue projections for the next three years in the next couple of days. This is required under the same law that created the BFR Commission.

I have just returned from the NASW Ohio state conference. Their theme this year was Effective Leadership: Built on the Code of Ethics. Effective leadership based on the NASW Code of Ethics translates to ethical leadership. The code purpose states: “[E]thical responsibilities flow from all human relationships, from the personal and familial to the social and professional.” The implication is that, as social workers, the goal is to integrate the fundamental values of the profession into every aspect of our lives.

The title of the Ohio conference was “Leadership with Vision.” Leadership is not specific to a position, role, or skill set. "The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. It's got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion (Theodore Hesburgh, President of the University of Notre Dame).” It involves, “knowing yourself, having a vision that is communicated well, taking effective action to realize your own leadership potential” (Warren Bennis).

In Everyone Leads: Building Leadership from the Community Up, Paul Schmitz states that leadership is not simply about being in charge. Leadership is earned “by the values, practice, and responsibilities you take on.” He offers the example of The U.S. Army Field Leadership Manual that utilizes the following model:

Be: Know who you are, be aware of your own values, vision, and what guides you.
Know: Have the knowledge base and skills to realize your vision and goals.
Do: Living into and exemplifying your values on a daily basis and putting into practice the tangible steps to achieve the goals.

Leadership is also the process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. We choose to assume a role based on our values and vision, independent of our assigned role or position. Ethical leadership is about how we approach and manage each situation in our personal and professional lives. Whether we are the director of an agency, are working in the community, or are involved in clinical practice, we are attempting “to persuade others to see something from a new perspective and to motivate them to take action on behalf of that perspective” (Jaime Chahin, PhD Ethical Leadership and Values).

A clear vision results from awareness of our own values. Values are distinguishable elements denoting preference based on belief or obligation, our attitudes about the worth of people, concepts, or things. Values underlie our highest priorities as well as our deeply held driving forces and beliefs. Our personal values define where we spend our time if we are truly living them. Will we be the same person at home as at work? How do we interact in various community settings?

As social workers, ethical leadership is fundamentally about having the insight and courage to live out our values when there is pressure to compromise or rationalize them away. It is in situations where we are faced with ethical dilemmas—competing duties that require rank ordering of value—that ethical leadership is most needed.

Professional ethics are at the core of social work. “The NASW Code of Ethics offers a set of values, principles, and standards to guide decision-making and conduct when ethical issues arise. It does not provide a set of rules that prescribe how social workers should act in all situations. Ethical behavior should result from personal commitment to engage in ethical practice. Principles and standards must be applied by individuals of good character who discern moral questions and, in good faith, seek to make reliable ethical judgments (NASW Code of Ethics).”

The purpose section of the Code of Ethics states:

“[S]ocial workers also should be aware of the impact on ethical decision making of their clients' and their own personal values and cultural and religious beliefs and practices. Ethical decision making in a given situation must apply the informed judgment of the individual social worker and should also consider how the issues would be judged in a peer review process where the ethical standards of the profession would be applied. Actions should be consistent with the spirit as well as the letter of this Code.”

The core values embodied in the Code of Ethics are:

Service: Elevate service to others over self-interest.
Social Justice: Pursue social change, nondiscrimination, cultural awareness, equal access.
Dignity and Worth of the Person: Respect, cultural sensitivity, self-determination, dual responsibility to clients and society.
Human Relationships: Vehicle for change; way to strengthen and restore individuals and communities.
Integrity: Being trustworthy and honest, self-assessment, promoting ethical practices.
Competence: Practice within areas of expertise, increase knowledge, contribute to the profession.

The Code of Ethics does not specify which values, principles, and standards are most important and ought to outweigh others in instances when they conflict. It acknowledges the possibility of conflicts within sections of the code and the need to consider the context of in any situation.

A central conflict or challenge that most social workers face frequently is in the area of service. We are asked to draw on our “knowledge, values, and skills to help people in need and to address social problems.” This value can only be truly and consistently lived into when it is in balance with using “knowledge, values, and skills to help” ourselves. Ethical leadership and practice requires social workers to do critical thinking, make difficult and crucial decisions, manage our own human reactions, interact respectfully with clients, colleagues and organizations and contribute to the mission of “enhancing human well-being”. It is impossible to achieve this vision if we are burned out, exhausted, ill, stressed out, or chronically overextended. Ethical competence is closely associated with the concept of emotional competence or intelligence which determines our awareness level and how well we handle ourselves and each other. It means knowing both what our clients need and what we need to be successful.

Leadership qualities embraced by the Code of Ethics include the following:

• Leading in a manner that respects the rights and dignity of others
• Assisting followers in gaining a sense of personal competence that allows them to be self-sufficient
• Encouraging and empowering others
• Leadership with, from behind, or shoulder-to-shoulder
• Awareness of how decisions impact others
• Using personal and social power to serve the greater good instead of self-serving interests (avoiding conflicts of interest)
• Combines ethical behavior and ethical decision-making

Bill Grace offers a model for values-based leaders. It is very compatible with the NASW Code of Ethics. He describes some of the following traits of values-based leaders:

• Remain grounded in a sense of self-understanding that lends stability to their purpose and keeps them pursuing their vision over the long haul.
• Actively notice where their practice is not in alignment with their primary values and continually make adjustments to increase conformity to their ideals.
• Know when they face moral choices and exercise courage to wrestle with competing values, make the choice, and defend their decisions.
• Earn the respect of their peers because they are reliable, trustworthy, and consistent.

The Code of Ethics is aspirational. It offers guidance in the daily process of personal and professional decision-making. Ethical leadership is about who we are and how we live our lives. Ask yourself what is truly important in your life. If you listed five values and had to rank them in order, which would rise to the top? Where am I living into my values and where are they compromised? In the final analysis, it comes back to our own willingness to ask difficult questions and act on the answers.

Ruth Lipschutz, LCSW, ACSW, is a licensed clinical social worker with postgraduate certification in ethics, mediation, Transformational Imagery, hypnotherapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). She received her MSW from the University of Illinois in 1978 and went on to complete the two-year postgraduate training program of the Institute for Family Studies at Northwestern University. She has extensive experience in the areas of ethics, mental health, addictions, traumatology, program development and implementation, supervision, consultation and Alternative Dispute Resolution. She is the chairperson of NASW’s National Ethics Committee and has served as a panelist, consultant, mediator, and trainer for the NASW Illinois Chapter Ethics Committee. She is currently in private practice.
 

OFFICE FOR RENT - Orland Park
Hourly/monthly office rentals-new furniture/carpet, computer/internet, shared waiting area, restrooms & kitchenette, parking-utilities included. 630-890-1907 & office pictures @ jamessimmerer.com.

OFFICE FOR RENT - Oak Park
Oak Park Lake Street Location. Atrtractively furnished office and wait room.
Large windows with eastern exposure. Seeking full or part-time renter.
Joel Sherr 708-214-8768. jsherr611@comcast.net

NASW ILLINIOS CHAPTER JOB BOARD
For a complete and up-to-date list of job board postings, visit the NASW Illinois Chapter Job Board: http://www.naswil.org/education-career-development/association-job-board/.

• Social Service Director
• Mental Health Specialists III (Cook County Health & Hospitals System)
• PT/FT Outpatient Therapist (Lake County Counseling for Seniors)

Welcome to all the new members of the Calumet District!

I encourage all of you to stay connected to the NASW Illinois Chapter by checking the website at www.naswil.org for legislative updates that impact the profession and clients, job postings, district event announcements, CEU opportunities, licensing information, and so much more.

UPCOMING EVENTS
The Calumet District generally hosts events on the fourth Thursday of the month. Be sure to check the chapter website for events across the state as any event within the state is open to the entire membership.

Date: Saturday, January 28, 2012
Location:  JN-Michael's Restaurant on 5000 Lincoln Highway in Matteson, Illinois 60443; 708.498.0310
Time: 10:00–11:30am
Title: January 2012 Calumet District Networking Breakfast
Presenter: N/A

NOTE: Each person is responsible for their own breakfast.
NOTE: YOU MUST RSVP THROUGH THE CHAPTER WEBSITE FOR EVENTS.

ANNUAL AWARDS
Please keep in mind that March is Social Work Month. Each year, our district members have an opportunity to recognize the outstanding work of three professionals: Public Citizen of the Year, Social Worker of the Year, and Lifetime Achievement Award. I encourage all of you to consider your colleagues, members of your community, and those in your professional networks for an award. Criteria for each award is listed on the NASW Illinois Chapter website: Go to www.naswil.org, select the 'News' tab, and go to the 'Chapter Awards' heading for more information. Nominations must be submitted by January 31, 2012.

REVIEW COURSE
The NASW Illinois Chapter office will be hosting an LSW/LCSW Review Course on Friday, January 27, 2012 at 8:00am.  Please review the chapter website for more information.

Any suggestions and/or ideas for the district? Please send them along!

I look forward to meeting you all soon! Happy Holidays!

The Southern District Chair position is up for election this cycle. Anyone interested in getting involved with the NASW Illinois Chapter Board of Directors, please view the complete leadership recruitment packet and nomination forms at http://www.naswil.org/volunteer/join-the-board/. Submissions are due by January 31, 2012. 

Happy Holidays and New Year!

Welcome New NASW Illinois East Central District Members!
This is a record month for new membership! I would like to welcome our newest NASW members to the East Central District! We are so pleased to have you in the association and a part of our district. Our new members are:

Emily Lynn Padjen
Heather Stapleton
Daniel Patrick Beagles
Laura Megan Pierce
Amanda Kampwerth
Michael Leo Sophir
Michael Terrill Peterson
Vanija Barkley

Chapter News
DEADLINES APPROACHING!

• Chapter Awards: Nomination forms are now available for the annual NASW Illinois Chapter Social Work Awards. The nomination process has been simplified significantly and should allow for more nominations this cycle. Information about the awards can be found on the chapter website (LINK) and the nomination form can be found online (LINK). DEADLINE: January 31, 2011.
• Leadership Recruitment:  The NASW Illinois Chapter’s Nominating Committee is beginning its work to identify leadership for the 2012 slate. Initial solicitations for chapter board members also went out during November. Please encourage members to get involved with the chapter by joining the NASW Illinois Chapter Board of Directors! The complete leadership recruitment packet and a nomination forms can be found at http://www.naswil.org/volunteer/join-the-board/. Submissions are due by January 31, 2012.

Upcoming Events
January 2012 Networking Happy Events

• Bloomington: 01/18/12 - 5:00–7:00pm at Entourage Lounge & Canteen Bar on 909 N. Hershey Avenue in Bloomington, IL
• Champaign/Urbana: 01/20/12 - 5:00–6:30pm at Milo’s on 2870 S. Philo Road in Urbana, IL
• Decatur: 01/24/12 - 5:30–7:30pm at Paco’s Sol Bistro on 237 N. Main Street in Decatur, IL

Come kick off the new year socializing and networking with your social work colleagues at these events! Hors d'oeuvres and cash bar. Hope to see you at these events!

Our next meeting will be held on Friday, January 20, 2012, from 10:00am to 12:00pm at the NASW Illinois Chapter office at 404 South Wells, 4th Floor. All retired social workers and those who are considering retirement are welcome to attend. Larry Lesof and Sally Goren will continue the thought-provoking discussion they led at the October meeting about how social work practice changes as we get older. Members will also discuss plans for future meetings. Please contact SIG chair Cynthianna Hahn at cynch42@gmail.com with any questions about the RSW SIG.
 

Legislative Accomplishments
The 2011 year began with several legislative accomplishments including a state income task that was a start in solving the state’s current fiscal crisis as well a repeal of the death penalty in Illinois. NASW Illinois worked actively with the Responsible Budget Coalition to achieve this. During the same week, the Illinois General Assembly passed SB3539, a landmark legislation repealing the death penalty in Illinois. On March 9, 2011, Governor Pat Quinn signed Public Act 96-1543 into law (http://ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?name=096-1543). Two Illinois legislators were vital in getting this historic piece of legislation passed: Illinois Senator Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) and Illinois State Representative Karen Yarbrough (D-Maywood). They were both presented with the NASW Illinois Chapter’s 2011 Legislative Award at the statewide conference in November.

A record number 900 social workers and social work students descended upon Springfield, Illinois, to participate in the 2011 Social Work Advocacy Day. This year, we exceeded our numbers yet again and established a record for attendance. Our large numbers could not have come at a more important time. Illinois Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon opened the morning session with an inspiring message regarding the importance of advocacy. She was followed by a panel comprised of experts and leaders in the human services arena: Michelle Saddler, secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services; Michael McRaith, director of the Illinois Department of Insurance; Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability; and Stephanie Altman, programs and policy director of Health and Disabilities Advocates. NASW Illinois Legislative Consultant Phil Milsk moderated the panel. The panel represented the most knowledgeable professionals in our state about the challenges of the state budget, funding human services, and reforming healthcare and Medicaid. They provided even greater insights during the respective breakout sessions.

The NASW Illinois Chapter’s Licensure Task Force convened several times during the past fiscal year, developing two proposed rule changes regarding the addition of cultural competence training to be included in the 30 CEUs required for licensure renewal; they also discussed the cap on online CEUs. These proposed changes now have to make their way through the administrative process at the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation, the governor’s office, and Joint Committee on Administration Rules (JCAR). These proposed rule changes would not take effect until 2013 licensure cycle.

If you want to know more about the chapter’s legislative efforts, be sure to sign up for our NASW Illinois Legislative Action Alerts. Over 9,000 people received our many alerts this past year. You can help us advance our 2012 Legislative/Policy Agenda.

EAPrefer
In conjunction with NASW Assurance Services Inc., the chapter launched in November a new exciting benefit. EAPrefer, a program that helps Illinois members put their experience and expertise as social workers to use as an employee assistance program (EAP) professional, allows members to assist others as well as earn additional income. EAPrefer allows EAP network providers to easily match qualified social workers with clients who need them. Complete details can be found at http://eaprefer.org/ or calling a program representative at 1.866.307.2325.

Greater Content in Online Networker Magazine: Faster,Expanded Access to Social Work News and Information
2011 was the first full year that the Networker magazine appeared entirely online. Not only has this shift saved the chapter in printing costs, it also has allowed us to increase our publication frequency to monthly, as well enhance the magazine’s content. For example, the Networker has included eight private practice–related articles, eight school social work articles, seven book reviews, three articles on aging, one on mental health, six on ethics, and eight of our long-running ‘Since You Asked’ articles. The past year’s articles can be found in the Networker archives at: http://www.naswil.org/news/networker/archives.

We have also improved the NASW Illinois Weekly Update, our weekly, virtual social work newspaper this past June. The Weekly Update links members to news related to the social work profession and the human service sector. Still haven’t signed up for these updates? Sign up in three easy steps!

1. Go to: http://paper.li/NASWIL/1306282408.
2. Click on the blue square on the right-hand side of the screen that says 'Subscribe'.
3. Enter your e-mail address into the box.

Our revamped website continues to provide the most recent social work professional news.

The NASW Illinois Chapter’s social media presence in 2011 continued to grow. Our iPhone and Android app are extremely popular, and our number of followers on twitter (@naswil), our ‘likes’ on Facebook, and the numbers of members on LinkedIn continue to grow.

2011 NASW Illinois Chapter Statewide Conference
Over 600 attendees participated in this year’s statewide conference. They were treated to a conference that included over 70 workshops and an outstanding exhibit hall. Technology, the hard work of the NASW Illinois Chapter staff, and the many volunteer presenters who shared their expertise and knowledge with their colleagues made the 2011 conference our most successful in recent years. A full description of the conference can be found at: http://www.naswil.org/news/chapter-update/2011-nasw-illinois-chapter-statewide-conference-summary/.

CEU Trainings
During 2011, NASW Illinois Chapter districts held 49 district events around the state (both CEU and networking). A total of 29 events were held at the NASW Illinois Chapter office, which including 10 licensure reviews courses and seven ethics trainings.

During 2011, all NASW Illinois Chapter members continued to earn free CEUs for all in-house courses (ethics workshops excluded).

2011 Social Work Awards
In February, the chapter presented its 2011 Emerging Leaders Awards to four emerging leaders at a luncheon during the February 2011 Board of Directors meeting. The awardees included the following:

• Robert B. Campbell, MSW, LCSW, QCSW
• Shelley Milosevic, MSW, LSW
• Amy Terpstra, MSW
• Chasity Wells-Armstrong, MSW, CADC

At the 2011 NASW Illinois Chapter Statewide Conference in November, Candi Gray (NASW Illinois Chapter Vice President and chair of the 2011 NASW Illinois Chapter Awards Committee) presented the 2011 NASW Illinois Chapter Awards. Recipients included the following:

• Legislative Award: Illinois Senator Kwame Raoul and Illinois State Representative Karen Yarbrough
• Public Citizen of the Year – Benjamin S. Wolf, JD
• Social Worker of the Year – Mary Garrison, MSW, LCSW, ACSW
• Lifetime Achievement Award – Richard L. Jones, PhD

Shared Interest Groups (SIGs)
There are currently five active SIGs in the NASW Illinois Chapter, all of which have had significant programming during 2011:

• Older Adults
• Retired Social Workers (RSW)
• Mediators Network
• International Activities Network (IAN)
• Student Network
• Social Work Field Directors

Chapter SIGs are maintained and sustained by members. SIGs can be formed around a particular practice area or geographic area around the state. Over 30 SIG meetings took place this year. SIG activities have ranged from networking events to CEU programming to hosting a social service exchange between Hamburg, Germany, and Birmingham, England.

NASW Political Action Committee (PAC) Illinois
The NASW PAC Illinois, whose mission is to strengthen the involvement of social workers in the political process, has been enhanced with a new board and revised bylaws. The PAC now has its own website at http://naswilpac.org/. The PAC also played an important role in the aldermanic campaigns (both the primary and the runoff) of James Cappleman, LCSW, an NASW Illinois member who was elected to the Chicago City Council as alderman of the 46th ward. A reception of his behalf was held at the chapter offices back in February. NASW Illinois members volunteered for his campaign as well. Concerted effort is currently being made towards developing PAC leadership and conducting political organizing and training.

NASW Illinois 2011 Marketplace Guide
During this past fiscal year, the chapter produced the first ever 2011 Marketplace Guide, a comprehensive buyer’s guide of social work resources. The guide represents a variety of products and services used by social work professionals. We were able to attract many advertisers for this inaugural issue and hope to expand the guide in 2012.

Thanks to NASW Illinois Volunteer Leadership and Professional Staff
The NASW Illinois Chapter Board of Directors, which is elected by the membership, plays an important role in setting the direction and policy of the association. We thank chapter president Yolanda Jordan and her leadership team around the state for all of their hard work this past year.

We are a member association, but the day-to-day operations and successes we experience are due in large part to the chapter’s professional staff. Illinois is fortunate to have committed professionals serving the membership. They include in Chicago, Kyle Hillman, manager of financial services and conference-special events; Christina Polus, manager of events and education; Nina Nguyen, manager of membership and communications; as well as our public affairs consultant Phil Milsk.

This year’s annual Report on Illinois Poverty finds that the post-recession period has seen no gains for struggling Illinois families. In fact, poverty is at its highest point in decades.

• Poverty is worse in Illinois today than during the recession, and grew from pre- to post-recession by 16 percent.
• At least 1 in 10 people live in poverty in 85 of Illinois’ 102 counties.
• Nearly 1 in 3 Illinoisans are now considered poor or low-income.

Experiences of struggling Illinoisans are highlighted throughout the report. Click HERE to read the full report on how poverty is impacting different populations, and explore county-level data to see how poverty is impacting different areas of the state.

It was Thursday, November 7, 1991. I had just begun my career in the field of social work at a small private child welfare agency on the south side of Chicago and was enjoying every minute of it.

I was with co-workers and we were preparing to go out to lunch together. As we settled into the car, we turned on the radio to listen to music as we scouted out a place to eat. There was a program interruption and Earvin “Magic” Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers began announcing that he would be retiring from the NBA because he had tested positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. We were silenced by this announcement. As young men and women just starting our careers in the field of social work, it meant a lot of things to many of us. Most of all, it put a familiar face to the disease. A 32-year old African American heterosexual man who was known all across the country had been diagnosed with HIV. Although many Americans had fallen ill and died from complications related to AIDS from 1981 to 1991, it was widely believed that this disease was more prevalent in the white homosexual community. As we would learn over the next twenty years, this was not the case.

Here we are twenty years later, and the statistics have changed drastically. According to the Center for Disease Control, there is an estimated 1,142,714 people that have been diagnosed with AIDS in America since the beginning of the epidemic. HIV and AIDS disproportionally affect racial and ethnic minorities in impoverished communities. As a result, community health centers have become a major source of HIV prevention, care, and treatment. New infections are increasing in the African American heterosexual community as well with individuals between the ages of 24 and 40. Social workers across the country play vital roles in working with and advocating for people living with the disease in the areas of prevention education, advocating for low-cost testing, and working closely with medical providers to ensure that people receive the best medical care possible. Although gains have been made in the development of antiviral drugs and people are living longer with the disease, there is no cure and we still have a very long way to go.

December 1st is World AIDS Day. This is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV. The red ribbon has been an international symbol of AIDS awareness since 1991. It is worn as a sign of support for people living with HIV. On this day, we challenge everyone to do something to support this cause as we continue to raise awareness, eradicate the stigma and prejudice around the disease, and support individuals and families impacted by this disease.

Yolanda Jordan, MSW, LCSW, has an extensive background in abuse/neglect issues in the field of child welfare. As a placement manager with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, she is responsible for managing supervisors who are responsible for children who are placed in the foster care system. Yolanda is also a practicing psychotherapist and has been in private practice for the past ten years. Services are provided to children, couples, and families with a special emphasis on relationship issues that African American women face.

Yolanda is a graduate of Western Illinois University where she received her bachelor of arts in mass communications and master of arts in public communications human relations with a minor in African American studies. Due to her extreme love for people and having the heart of a servant, she continued her education and received a masters in social work with an emphasis on child and family practice from the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Jane Addams College of Social Work. Yolanda has been an active member of the NASW Illinois since 1996 and enjoys the work of advocating for the profession of social work and the community that social workers serve.

It was an honor being asked to write an article for the NASW Illinois Chapter newsletter. Then I realized I actually had to come up with something to say to my peers who know the practice arena in Illinois far better than I do. I decided to write about return on investment, something that has been an important part of my professional agenda lately. I am often challenged when asked, particularly by non-social workers, what the value is or added worth of having social workers involved in our processes.I hope that the thoughts are relevant to practice here, and I so look forward to meeting my new colleagues and joining with old friends as I make my return to Chicago and Illinois.

When we think about today’s social work practice environment, it is absolutely imperative that we consider the ways in which our practices are able to produce changes we intend, to minimize undesirable outcomes, and to do so in an economically efficient way. Additionally (and no less important) is the impact of our practices on multiple stakeholder groups (i.e., clients, funders, other professionals, etc.) who either receive or are affected by our practice. In sum, we consider the total return on investment of the work we deliver.

While return on investment (ROI) is not a new concept (Chorptia & Regan 2009), its’ application in social work educational, research, and practice arenas is not so evident. In fact, in preparing this essay, a literature review of social work journals found very few published articles on the topic. This is unfortunate because in today’s tight economic environments where greater emphasis is placed on cost containment, use of evidence-based or evidence-informed models of practice have become goal- and results-oriented. It has become necessary for social work practitioners to be able to: (1) Speak clearly to the ways in which their practices will produce not just desired results, but (2) a positive return on the investments of time, monies, and human resources, and (3) are seen as valued by client/patient groups. This is no small order and deserves considerable attention in educational and training environments as well as in our practice settings. In this essay I will provide a few ideas offered as points of departure (not solutions) for our profession to consider in setting and advancing a strategic social work agenda. The goal here is to contribute to the resources that stimulate our collective professional energies for optimal client outcomes and professional rigor.

In its crudest definition, a return on investment assesses the efficiency of an investment against the costs of that investment. In contemporary social work and human and health practices, this is often operationalized as the ways in which evidenced-based practices are diffused or translated by trained professional in “real world” settings and used consistently to produce desired outcomes. The additional consideration of financial impact is added to this logarithm in ultimately weighing societal value for utilizing a practice or set of practices.

Arguably there are more astute articulations of the science that goes into actually calculating an ROI; however, these far exceed the capacities of this paper or the skill sets of this author. In fact, for the purposes of this essay we might argue that ROI can be framed simply as a clear articulation of three things: What practice(s) we do; Why we do that practice; and What differences (outcomes and financial) the practice(s) makes. The point I am trying to make here is that increasingly in competitive professional environments, we as professional social workers have a responsibility to speak not just about the good we do; it is also our responsibility to speak about the ways in which the good we do is purposive and considers investments of time, finances, and other resources if we are going to continue to be viable competitors in mental health, health, and human and social services. This is not just about re-languaging ourselves, but rather it goes to the very fiber of our professional commitment to social justice. The discourse on and practice of ROI must include an understanding of the ways in which our clients see, understand, and experience the impact of our work, not just the impact we believe we have our clients. These commitments to social justice actually move us into a closer alliance with meaningful societal returns that can be articulated in service outcomes as well as economic returns.

There are at least three areas we must address across the spectrum of professional practice in order for us to be able to competently incorporate this focus on ROI. This would include the academic training of students entering the profession, the development of practice and supervision models that incorporate ROI content, and advancing the theory and research on specific benefits of social work contributions.

The academic preparation of students—and by extension, the ongoing learning of social work academicians—will need to incorporate practices that speak to ROIs for clients and social work professionals. In their work examining the financial returns on specialty training for physicians, Weeks & Wallace (2002) offer contextual lessons for social workers to consider in developing practice-oriented learning environments (i.e., specialties) that are anchored to market forces, student desires and interest, and societal needs. Recognizing that many forces are beyond the control of educational institutions is not a panacea for ignorning these factors in advising students about the profession or for developing curricula that do not take into consideration the social, political, and economic realities of the practice environment. Social work learning models and the professionals our institutions produce must consider these factors in framing our educational platforms. Rigidly articulated competencies that are based on evidence-based practice (EBP) have mixed results in terms of translating to innovative and applicable scaled-up “real world” practice and should be critically examined in an ongoing process that includes the voices of those who will receive the services we implement, including the clients/patients and providers (Jacobson, Jones & Bowers, 2011).

Secondly, practice environments—although often constrained by practical matters of finances and limited staff—have to incorporate supervision and ongoing staff development that address ways to assess and incorporate return on investment thinking and practices. It is not enough to say we want it without finding ways to bring it into the practice setting.

Lastly, social work scholars have to produce knowledge that is directly relevant to social practice and not just resulting in “more research needs to be done” or based solely on randomized clinical trial (RCT) models as we know these have very dubious payoff in terms of translating the findings into good social work practice (Jacobson, Jones & Bowers, 2011).

There are undoubtedly many other factors that will challenge and perplex social workers (and other professionals) in taking on the questions of how to incorporate return on investment in their practices. However, without this focus it is likely the relevance and viability of our professional practices, and ultimately our profession, may be left to others to measure and evaluate. The consequences of this would likely not bode well for us or for the clients we value and serve daily.

REFERENCES

Chorpita, B.F. & Regan, J. (2009). Dissemination of effective mental health treatment procedures: Maximizing the return on significant investment. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 47, 990-93.

Jacobson, J.M., Jones, A.L. & Bowers, N. (2011). Using Existing Employee Assistance Program Case Files to Demonstrate Outcomes. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health. 26:1, 44–58.

Weeks, W.B. & Wallace, A.E. (2002). Financial returns on specialty training for surgeons. Surgery. 132, 795–802.

Darrell Wheeler, PhD, MSW, MPH, is dean and professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work. Prior to taking this position, he was professor and associate dean for Research and Community Partnerships at the Hunter College School of Social Work. He is also on the doctoral faculty of the The City University of New York (CUNY) School of Public Health, The CUNY Graduate Center, and a member of the Center for Study of Gene Structure and Function at Hunter College. He currently serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services, International Journal of Men’s Health, and Journal of HIV/AIDS in Social Services. Dr. Wheeler is a fellow in the New York Academy of Medicine, and is a member of the American Public Health Association and the National Association of Social Workers (national Vice President 2009-2012).

Social workers are increasingly using electronic communications technologies to expand and refine their practices, including psychotherapy performed via videoconferencing, and this has raised many questions about professional social work standards.  Use of videoconferencing technology in mental health service delivery is variously referred to as “telepsychiatry,” “telemedicine,” “telemental health,” “e-therapy,” “distance counseling” and other terminology.  One of the most widely available videoconferencing technologies is an online service and software program known as Skype.  Its wide acceptance as a consumer technology has made telemental health services readily available for clients in their own homes and for solo and private practice clinicians without a burdensome investment in new technology.  This first of two articles will review some of the emerging legal and professional issues involved in the use or potential use of Skype or similar technology as a communications modality for clinical social work assessment and treatment of clients.  Part II will review legal cases and statutes, including state social work licensure. 

To read the rest of the article, click here. NOTE: NASW login required.

I continue to consider myself beyond fortunate to have been surrounded by positive, encouraging, and uplifting professionals in my career. Early on in my social work career, one of my mentors would frequently instruct me that until I recognized myself as an expert, others would have no choice but to doubt my credibility as well. At that time, I was a single, twenty-six-year-old woman with no children who was working in an addiction treatment center’s women and children’s program. A big part of my professional duties at that time included a combination of teaching parenting skills to people who had an addiction issue as well as testifying in court. Both of these duties required me to develop the mindset of being the best at what I did. This is an essential skill in building a private practice in that the majority of people who begin seeking a therapist are looking for the expert in what they are struggling with. The truth of the matter is that most of us want the expert in whatever area we are looking to assistance for, whether it’s plumbing repairs, mechanic issues, child care providers, or medical professionals.

The next step to being a successful private practitioner is understanding compensation. If you are providing a service, you need to be able to claim that service with attitude, conviction, pride, and in payment. Early on, I easily allowed myself to be manipulated by people not wanting to pay the full cost of my services. The reality was that I not only short-changed their self-esteem (If you are offered a discounted rate on something that is in many respects saving your life, how would that impact your view of yourself?), but I also diminished my ability to know, believe, and proclaim that I was the best at what I do. In other arenas, the best of the best do not generally offer random people discounted services. Social workers need to adapt that mindset.

At some point in my professional career I subconsciously developed the mindset that as a social worker, I needed to help the most impoverished people. While I will always hold a special place in my heart for those people, creating my own private practice has taught me that not only do people who can afford services deserve help, but they need it just as pervasively as people who are struggling financially. This was not only a paradigm shift for me, but it also forced me to adjust my business practices. In the beginning of my private practice whenever someone would call and inquire about the cost of my services, I would sheepishly tell them that. The obvious next step was for them to try and convince me to reduce the charge, and in the beginning I did this. My mindset at that time was that a few clients paying a reduced rate were better than no clients being charged the full price. What I was unaware of during that time was that when I offered discounted services to people, it not only diminished my professionalism but it short-changed their self-esteem. The people I work with today know and believe that they are worth paying full price for my services. Changing my rates sends them the message that they are not worth paying full price or that their issues are not sacred enough. My company motto is “You are worth the effort,” and as such, I need to remain cognizant of the factors involved in this. Currently, I do not offer a sliding fee scale in my private practice. This is primarily done to strengthen the gap between my full-time position in a nonprofit agency and the clients I serve in my own practice. As my referral base, client load, and demand continue to grow, it may be something I look into. However, at this time I must recognize that the best electrician, physician, and mechanic do not offer discounts simply because they hold some convoluted belief that they are not entitled or deserving of making a profit.

In my reading I ran across a statement, “Social workers, by their nature, do not believe that they deserve to make good money.” If you had the option between two physicians, one who did not offer discounted services and believed he/she was the best at what he/she did, or the other who offered the discounted service but also believed he/she was good at what he/she did, which one would you put your faith and trust in? The answer seems pretty simplistic, yet it can be a huge paradigm shift for most professional social workers.

Jenn Bovee, MSW, LCSW, CRADC, graduated from St. Ambrose University (Davenport, IA) with her MSW. Originally from Iowa, Jenn moved to central Illinois in 2008. Jenn has always been very active social worker striving to help as many people as possible. Most recently Jenn has been employed full-time in a residential treatment center and a group private practice. Earlier this year she opened her own practice—Finding Your Path to Freedom in Bloomington, Illinois. Jenn uses her rich professional experience, her education, as well as her intuition to specialize in mental health, addiction, and trauma.
 

For decades, the role of social work in schools has been fulfilled by skilled clinicians assigned to counsel a caseload of students with behavioral or mental health issues and to aid in compliance for students with special education needs. While this role for social work clinicians continues to be important, recent research and urban education reforms have redefined the connection between social work and education.

Institutions such as the Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) have offered an exciting body of empirical evidence which makes clear that school-based socio-emotional supports are an essential element of academic success and school improvement. In 2006, a key CCSR report, “The Essential Supports for School Improvement,” found that with increased student-centered learning environments and adequate parent/community ties, Chicago schools saw the most compelling gains in student outcomes (Sebring, Allensworth, Bryk, Easton, and Luppescu, 2006). Further, schools with higher evidence of relational trust—the positive relationships among members of a school community, including staff members and families—saw a crucial improvement in student performance (Bryk, Sebring, Allensworth, Luppescu, & Easton, 2010).

Simultaneously, recent education reform efforts have brought forth the creation of many new schools—charter schools—independently operating outside of the traditional urban school models. While there is earnest debate about the propriety or effectiveness of charter schools in urban districts, they have nonetheless claimed a presence in the current landscape of urban education. Despite criticism, some of these new schools are turning towards social work as they invest more resources in promoting social-emotional well-being and sustained community partnerships. In many cases, this investment in social work support appropriately departs from the traditional model by commissioning workers to bring their unique training directly to school leadership teams.

The Traditional Model of Social Work in Urban Schools

Perhaps the largest single employer of school social workers in Illinois, the Chicago Public School’s Department of Special Education and Supports defines the responsibilities of the school social worker’s role almost entirely through their work with students with Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs). They define a school social worker’s role into four areas of responsibility: 1) Managing and documenting IEPs; 2) Delivering social work service minutes as determined by students’ IEPs; 3) Assisting in whole-school crisis intervention; and 4) Creating community partnerships and linkages (http://www.cpsspecialeducation.org). Missing from this model is a place for social workers on the leadership teams to help organize power structures in their assigned schools. Also missing from their job description is a clear directive towards community organizing and relationship-building within the local power structures in a given school’s greater community. Not only are social workers’ lack of organizational power immediately glaring, never before has it been so important that school leadership teams understand the effects of these policies from an ecological systems perspective.

It is common for many social workers in urban settings to work with student caseloads at multiple schools in vastly different community contexts. In addition, in urban contexts like Chicago, families are now given unprecedented access to schools across districts through “open enrollment” policies. No longer are families necessarily connected to the school buildings in their neighborhoods; instead, many students may commute one or two hours each way on buses and trains, at times traversing the entire city through unfamiliar neighborhoodsand facing potential roadblocks to their success. Due to the multifaceted training that social work education provides, social workers may be among the best leaders to help understand and meet these growing needs of urban students and families.

Joining Social Work and School Leadership: A Personal Perspective

I received my Type 73 ISBE certification after completing a second-year internship working primarily with students with IEPs within a large suburban Chicago high school. This experience was invaluable to me in my development as a clinician and provided me with an understanding of the social work supports provided for students with social-emotional and developmental disabilities. However, I knew that my personal interest in balancing clinical responsibilities with an administrative leadership role would not be supported in most “Type 73” school social work positions available.Through my affiliation with The University of Chicago’s Community Schools training program, I became familiar with researchers and school social workers in the field who are currently redefining the role of social work in urban schools. Beyond their clinical responsibilities, I was struck by how much influence these social workers had as leaders in their schools. These workers were free from the responsibility of solely carrying a special education caseload and providing minutes; rather they worked with teachers and administrators to bring social supports to the school as a whole.

I was fortunate to secure a position at Perspectives Leadership Academy, a charter high school in Chicago’s Auburn Gresham community. Utilizing a unique school social work position, the Perspectives Charter School Network has made an increasing investment in social support services by hiring social workers for each of its five schools to be school leaders free of the traditional duties of IEP service delivery. (At Perspectives schools, important special education responsibilities are fulfilled by a separate team of Type 73 workers tasked with ongoing clinical work.) Therefore, I am able to work within the context of the entire school with both general and special education students and teachers.

One of the most distinctive elements of my role has been my place on the school leadership team. Matters of school policy, programming, teacher support, and mitigating difficult issues are met by a team led by the school principal and involve instructional leaders, administrators, and support staff. In this role, I am able to bring a social work perspective to the table, especially when an understanding of adolescent development and ecological systems perspective is warranted to problem-solve or advocate for the needs of our students or staff.While I am working to hone the responsibilities and limits of this role, it has allowed me to have the ability to be more impactful in developing social supports on a school-wide level while retaining the ability to provide individual support services for students and families.

Part of my leadership role in the school has been to provide fellow school leaders with access to different forms of student voice. Through crisis intervention, clinical case management and group work, whole school surveys, and focus groups, I am able to help distill some of students’ pressing social and emotional needs in order to help design curriculum and policy that might begin to address them. I am able to bring social work–informed needs assessments on a variety of topics to school staff through collaborative consultation, professional development workshops, and providing connections to community organizers and outside agencies.

Redefining Social Work Roles in Your School or District

Alongside describing aspects of an emerging field of social work within the context of education reform, this is a call to action for social workers to explore and advocate for leadership positions. Indeed, many social workers will continue to provide the clinical services necessary for special education students, but new opportunities for social workers are emerging that combine clinical skills with administrative responsibilities. Research clearly indicates that urban education cannot continue to look at instructional practices and school programming independently of social and emotional well-being and the health of the surrounding community. Through a unique training in systems theory, in human development, and in class, culture, and power, we as social workers can bring a necessary perspective to school leadership teams as they design and operate schools.

Recent innovations in new school development have led to different ways of organizing leadership roles and school power structures, but principal-led models of school leadership will likely remain for well into the future. Perhaps social workers may not be the best candidates for the role of principal; indeed, strong leaders in instruction and curriculum are likely the best candidates to manage and support a workforce comprised primarily of teachers. In light of this, how can social workers—individually and as a field—begin to explore a redefinition of their roles within education’s organizational structure? With a renewed awakening surrounding the importance of social and emotional well-being in schools, school administrators and investors will be looking for individuals in leadership positions who possess a broad understanding of social problems and creative, person- and community-centered solutions. Therefore, the responsibility now firmly rests on education-minded social workers and graduate training programs to meet this need and advocate for the place of social work in this emerging landscape.

Closing questions:

• How can individual social workers strengthen relationships with school administrators and further advocate for a redefined leadership role in their schools?
• How can professional advocacy organizations like the Illinois Association of School Social Workers, the NASW, and graduate training programsin social work help to open this emerging field?
• What opportunities are available to help policy-makers and funders understand the unique lens that social work can bring to strengthen our young people, families, and communities through ever-important school contexts?

References

Sebring, P. B., Allensworth, E., Bryk, A. S., Easton, J. Q., & Luppescu, S. (2006). The essential supports for school improvement. Chicago, IL: Consortium of Chicago School Research.

Bryk, A. S., Sebring, P. B., Allensworth, E., Luppescu, S., & Easton, J. Q. (2010). Organizing schools for improvement: Lessons from Chicago. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

Benjamin McKay, MA, serves as Dean of Student Support at Perspectives Leadership Academy, a charter high school in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood. A graduate of the Clinical School Social Work program at The University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration, he has worked in the fields of mental health, mentoring, and drug abuse research, and has served in public high schools in Baltimore, Chicago, and Evanston prior to his current role at Perspectives. His interests in school social work focus on clinical case management, developing community partnerships, and expanding the role of social work in school leadership and organization.
 

County: Life, Death, and Politics at Chicago's Public Hospital by David Ansell, MD, was truly revealing as to the medical care provided during the 70s through 80s at a leading public medical center. As a social worker having worked seventeen years at Cook County Hospital, I would certainly have to agree with Dr. Ansell’s concern for care, the way patients were processed, the lack of accountability by some staff, and the patronage of people coming on board that have no experience or who are in the process of disciplinary action and are simply moved to another department to save their jobs. I would agree that Dr. Ansell captured the culture, frustrations, and experiences faced when advocating to patient and community needs. The attention to the detail of conversations was remarkable, and I related to the same comments made when I started in 1992. I recall my first years at Cook County Hospital as feeling overwhelmed with dread after seeing patients pack the hallways trying just to see someone that day.

Dr. Ansell mentioned other medical residents that helped to advocate for improved patient care in an antiquated healthcare system. Some of the leaders mentioned in the book are still very much active, such as Doctors Terrance Conway, John Raba, and Linda Murray. I was fortunate to have the privilege of working side-by-side with these individuals, watching them inspire leadership and advocate to provide quality and dignity of care.

This book not only depicts the horrors of medical care provided at the time, but also shows champions standing up to a political machine that should not have been in the business of providing healthcare; that change came about only through the consistent hard work of strong leaders. After having worked at Cook County Hospital and then later for ten years under the Ambulatory Network, I feel extremely comfortable seeking care at the county system with its remarkable care teams and changes to leadership. The Cook County Hospital Trauma Center consistently ranks as one of the top two centers in the United States; its’ oncology program ranks well above the national average in survival; and the infectious disease, neurology, neonatal, and a host of other programs continue to rank highly as well.

Despite constant chaos, a lack of resources, a missing vision and sense of mission, and a culture of indifference to change, champions like Dr. Ansell and others remained to change the healthcare system. They didn’t know whether they would have a job, be arrested, or be fired. Instead, they worked to create a process to change the culture, make healthcare accessible, and strive for maintaining standards for a number of programs within the county healthcare system.

I find the book an inspiration not just to see the barriers that were in place at the time (and which, to a degree, might still exist), but empowering in its message for change. As a social worker, who better to understand and know how to work with systematic organizations as change agents?

The Illinois General Assembly returned to Springfield yesterday to deal with some business that was not completed during the six-day veto session that ended on November 10th.   In one day they managed to pass a supplemental funding bill for the current fiscal year, SB 2412.   However, after the Senate passed the bill with the required 3/5 vote, the House overwhelmingly failed to concur with the Senate Amendments to HB 1883, a bill that, among other things, would have given tax breaks to certain corporations including Sears Holding Company and CME.    Legislation that would make major changes to the State's pension funds for current employees was not considered yesterday.

The supplemental funding bill was strongly supported by NASW and many advocacy and provider organizations.   It is over 180 pages long, and most of the bill moves dollars around in certain State agencies and fills in some relatively small funding gaps in agencies' operations budgets.  However, the bill also contains some signficant funding increases for the following programs and services:

• $8 million to DHS for indigent funeral and burial services
• $30 million restored to the DHS budget for community mental health services (this item had been in SB 2407, which has been mentioned previously in our updates and Chapter alerts)
• An additional $29.5 million for State mental health centers OR the cost of transitioning of residents to alternative settings
• $40 million for State Operated Developmental Centers for persons with developmental disabilities OR for the cost of transitioning residents to alternative settings
• $30 million  for various addiction treatment lines in the DHS budget
• $4.7 million for emergency food and shelter
• $20 million for long term care re-balancing efforts including the costs associated with consent decree compliance (including Williams v. Quinn)

The corporate tax break issue is very complex both substantively and politically.   NASW slipped opposed to the House version of the bill, SB 397, House Amendment #3, when it was in committee on Monday afternoon.   The bill advanced to the House floor, but Rep. Franks, an opponent, filed a series of note requests to slow the bill down. (Notes requests ask State agencies for information about a bill's impact on things like the budget, State mandates, etc.  A bill cannot move until the notes are filed, which can take several days).   In the meantime, the Senate passed it's own version of the bill, which was amended on HB 1883 yesterday.  The bill received the required 3/5 majority vote.   However, when HB 1883 was called in the House for a vote yesterday evening, it only received 8 votes.  The 2 chambers disagreed about various aspects of the bill and there were some political factors that also infliuenced the vote. 

The corporate tax break issue is probably not dead, but to revive it will take some significant work from proponents.   The Center for Tax and Budget Accountability (http://www.citbaonline.org)  has a good analysis of the legislation.  Also, check out the Capitol Fax blog for some political insight by Rich Miller. 

Why are we interested in the issue of corporate tax breaks?   Because this is money that could be used for other things like human services and education.   It could also be used to pay back due bills.  The current general fund deficit in Illinois is about $8.5 billion.

In Chicago, Occupiers have been supported by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and other nongovernmental organizations. Because people experiencing homelessness are clearly the “99%”, and the Occupy Movement is promoting more equitable distribution of wealth, these are natural partners. Members of AFSCME are likely participating because of the Illinois state worker pension cuts, which seem ironic in an era where Wall Street criminals get bailouts and profit off of the public money keeping their business afloat. What is clear is that the Illinois and national debts have forced lots of cuts—but primarily to consumers of social work services and to the social workers who provide these services.

However, Occupy Wall Street has drawn heavy criticism for many reasons. The movement is highly organic, and there are not official spokespeople or leaders. Furthermore, there is not yet a consensus-approved list of demands or a political platform. In fact, you can plainly see the disorganized mess of ideas reflected in the varied signs and slogans promoted by participants. Chicago organizers have coordinated a week-long “teach-in” to accompany the protest, and about a dozen professors from local universities have given brief lectures on the sidewalk. The topics presented sound like a year’s worth of MSW classes: nonviolent protest; gendered capitalism; labor, value, and exploitation; and public housing and the plan for transformation. Certainly not least suspect is the fact that hundreds of Chicagoans have been arrested in connection with the protests, primarily for refusing to leave public property when directed to do so by police officers.

The preamble to the NASW Code of Ethics begins: “The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty.” This message will help social workers assess the importance of the movement in the months ahead.

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NASW ILLINIOS CHAPTER JOB BOARD
For a complete and up-to-date list of job board postings, visit the NASW Illinois Chapter Job Board: http://www.naswil.org/education-career-development/association-job-board/.

• Outpatient Therapist (Palos Community Hospital)
• Psychotherapist (Grand Oaks Behavioral Health, LLC)
• PT/FT Private Practice (Herington Counseling and ConnectEdPAIRS)
• Alzheimer’s Association-Greater Illinois Chapter

I encourage all of you to stay connected to the NASW Illinois Chapter by checking the website at www.naswil.org for legislative updates that impact the profession and clients, job postings, district event announcements, CEU opportunities, licensing information, and so much more.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

The Calumet District generally hosts events on the fourth Thursday of the month. Be sure to check the chapter website for events across the state as any event within the state is open to the entire membership.

Date:                      Saturday, January  28,  2012

Location:               JN-Michael's Restaurant

                                5000 Lincoln Highway

                                Matteson, Illinois 60443

                                708.498.0310

Time:                      10:00am–11:30am

Title:                       January 2012 Calumet District Networking Breakfast

Presenter:             N/A

NOTE:                     Each person is responsible for their own breakfast.

NOTE:                     YOU MUST RSVP THROUGH THE CHAPTER WEBSITE FOR EVENTS.

ANNUAL AWARDS:

Please keep in mind that March is Social Work Month. Each year, our district members have an opportunity to recognize the outstanding work of three professionals: Public Citizen of the Year, Social Worker of the Year, and Lifetime Achievement Award. I encourage ALL of you to consider your colleagues, members of your community, and those in your professional network for an award. Criteria for each award will be listed on the website at http://www.naswil.org. Select the "News" tab, and go to the "Chapter Awards" heading for more information.  Nominations must be submitted by January 31, 2012.

BOOKS: 

The Help by Kathryn Stockett depicts the relationships between maids and their white employers during the Civil Rights Era. Most of you are aware that a movie has been made from the book. If anyone is interested in a book discussion during February 2011, please let me know and I will schedule an event for our district. This may be a good topic to discuss during Black History Month.

Also, if anyone has any culture/diversity-related ideas for an event in February, please let me know.

Any other suggestions and/or ideas for the district? Please send them along!

I look forward to meeting you all soon!!

Chasity Wells-Armstrong, MSW, CADC
Calumet District Chair

We are coming to a close on 2011, and there is a lot of information to close out the year. Lots of things to be grateful for and lots of things to begin thinking about.

First points of gratitude:

-    As most of you know, the 2011 NASW Illinois Statewide Conference was held in November and was a tremendous success. For a recap of the event, click here. I would like to thank all of those that worked hard to create this opportunity for social workers throughout the state to network and learn together. I hope all that attend had a wonderful experience.

Things to think about:

-    It is that time to begin to think of Social Work Month in March and begin the awards nomination process. We are in need of nominations for Social Worker of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award, and Public Citizen of the Year. All nominations are due on January 31, 2012. For information about the awards, go to: http://www.naswil.org/news/chapter-awards/. The nomination forms can be found online here: https://naswil.wufoo.com/forms/2012-nominations-for-annual-social-work-awards/. We have a lot of dedicated social workers and community leaders that work hard with little recognition. This is our opportunity to say thanks and commend them for the work they do. It is a daunting task for one person to consider all of the possible applicants and identify those most deserving in our district. I hope that all of you will take an active role in nominating worthy recipients.

-    Leadership Recruitment:  The NASW Illinois Chapter’s Nominating Committee is beginning its work to identify leadership for the 2012 slate. Initial solicitations for chapter board members also went out during November. I encourage anyone interested in taking a more active role in the NASW to get involved with the state chapter by joining the NASW Illinois Chapter Board of Directors! The Nominations Committee needs representatives from each of the eight districts to participate in the nominations process (2–3 teleconference meetings at most). Please contact Joel Rubin at jlrubin@naswil.org with both committee suggestions or board nominees by Wednesday, November 30, 2011. The complete leadership recruitment packet and a nomination forms can be found at http://www.naswil.org/volunteer/join-the-board/. Submissions are due by January 31, 2012.

Did you know:

-        EAPrefer: The national NASW office just announced a new employee assistance professionals network referral program called EAPrefer. Read more about it here: http://www.naswil.org/news/chapter-update/new-nasw-member-benefit-eaprefer/.

-        2012 Legislative/Social Policy Agenda: The latest NASW Illinois Chapter 2012 Legislative/Social Policy Agenda was announced for the new year. Read the complete agenda here: http://www.naswil.org/news/chapter-update/2012-legislativesocial-policy-agenda-1/.

This month's challenge: Let's get involved! I encourage each of you to find one way to get involved. You can do this in any of a number of ways:

1. Go to the website and learn all that NASW is and plans to do in the upcoming year.
2. Send me an e-mail at wcentral@naswil.org with any suggestions or request to get involved in our district
3. Make a nomination of someone you know for one of our three district awards, or
4. Consider getting involved in the NASW state chapter.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Audrey LeMasters
E-mail: wcentral@naswil.org

• Julia Gordon
• Valerie Arwood

I know the holidays are just around the corner, but my district is already thinking Spring! March is Social Work Month and in preparation for this we are putting together a Social Work Committee. If you would like to be part of this committee and work with other members on nominating a Social Worker of the Year, a Lifetime Achievement awardee, or a Public Citizen of the Year, please contact me at jaddams@naswil.org.  Have a wonderful holiday!

As the year is coming to a close, it is a reminder that the new year will bring opportunities for several awards and Social Work Month in March 2012. The NASW Illinois Chapter District awards nomination forms are now available for the annual NASW Illinois Chapter Social Work Awards. The nomination process has been simplified significantly. So please consider someone deserving. Information about the awards can be found on the chapter website (http://www.naswil.org/news/chapter-awards/) and the nomination form can be found online (http://naswil.wufoo.com/forms/2012-nominations-for-annual-social-work-awards/).  DEADLINE: January 31, 2012. 

Also there are several opportunities to take on a leadership roll within the NASW Illinois Chapter and Southern District. The NASW Illinois Chapter's Nominating Committee is beginning its work to identify leadership for the 2012 slate. I encourage those of you who are willing to take the extra step and get involved to inspire and motivate members to promote the profession by joining the NASW Illinois Chapter Board of Directors. The Southern District also needs representatives for the nominations process. This will require two to three teleconference meetings at most. Please email me at southern@naswil.org to participate in this process. The complete leadership recruitment packet and nomination forms can be found at http://naswil.org/volunteer/join-the-board/. Submissions are due by January 31, 2012.

Thanks to those of you who attended the 2011 NASW Illinois Chapter Statewide Conference. A summary of the conference can be found at http://www.naswil.org/news/chapter-update/2011-nasw-illinois-chapter-statewide-conference-summary/ .

Last but not least, the NASW Illinois Chapter and Southern District would like to welcome new members: Fantasia Freyer, Danielle Shelton, Suzanne Campbell, Katherine Clover, Thuy Duong, Andrea Francies, and Jackie Gilliland. We look forward to seeing you at future meetings and events.

I would like to welcome our newest NASW members to the East Central District! We are so pleased to have you in the association and a part of our district. Our new members are:

• Amber Broad
• Katherine Connelly
• Kaitlyn Connolly
• Elizabeth McGarry
• Karen Stipp

Notes of Interest:

The 2011 NASW Illinois Statewide Conference was a great success, and it was great to see many of you there! Please check out this link for a summary of the conference (LINK) and check out our NASW Illinois website at www.naswil.org for Illinois chapter news!

NASW has set the 2012 Legislative/Social Policy Agenda. The details can be found at: http://naswil.org/news/social-work-news/2012-legislativesocial-policy-agenda/. Check it out!

We have an exciting year ahead in 2012! Please check out the NASW Illinois website and read your e-blasts and chapter updates for upcoming Networking Happy Hours around the district, a CEU event on cultural competence, and the events to be held during Social Work Month in March 2012. The theme for 2012 is “Social Work Matters” with the key message for this year’s theme focusing on the concept that social workers are the safety net in a civil society. (http://www.socialworkers.org)

2012 Social Work Awards:

The deadline is getting close! Please let me know if you wish to nominate anyone for an award. Let’s celebrate the amazing social workers and citizens in the East Central District! 

Please consider nominating individuals for the following awards. As your district chair, I will be facilitating the incoming nominations to ensure all the information below is submitted. Please take a few moments to consider nominating someone, and let me know if you have any questions. Please see the nomination requirements below:

Social Worker of the Year: An NASW Illinois member in good standing who: reflects the values espoused in our NASW Illinois Chapter Mission Statement; promotes the NASW to the public and advocates for the populations social work serves; represents the highest ethical standards of social work as defined in the NASW Code of Ethics; contributes to improvement of the social fabric in tangible and intangible ways; takes risks and enlists public support for improved human services.

Lifetime Achievement Award: An NASW Illinois member in good standing who: has accomplished stellar successes in his/her social work career which have enhanced the profession, supported clients, upheld social work values, and advocated for the betterment of all people.

Public Citizen of the Year: A non-social worker who: exemplifies the social work profession with outstanding service to individuals served by social workers; reflects the highest ethical standards in his/her field of endeavor; takes risks and enlists public support for improved human services; advocates for and contributes to the public’s awareness of social problems.

The chapter is committed to diversity among award recipients. Nomination forms are available online now at: https://naswil.wufoo.com/forms/2012-nominations-for-annual-social-work-awards/

Deadlines for Social Work Award Nominations: January 31, 2012.

Thanks for a great 2011, and I look forward to seeing and working with our district in 2012! Happy holidays to all and please have a safe and happy holiday season.

I'd like to encourage all of you to get a head start in continuing education (November 2013 is less than two years away!) and wish to offer a great presentation with 3.0 CEUs on Palliative Care for Advanced Dementia on Friday, December 16, 2011, at 8:30am at Rainbow Hospice, 1555 Bishop Court in Mt. Prospect.

Please go to http://www.naswil.org/calendar/events/1972 for more information.

Congratulations to our newest NASW members in the Northeastern Illinois District:

See you in Mt. Prospect on the 16th!

East Central District Chair Mary Garrison interviewed Wosen in November to learn more about who she is and her connection to social work.

Why are you pursuing your BSW degree?
I have always known that I had a passion for helping people. I was always the person people would come to when they really needed some advice or someone to listen to them without judgment. With such experiences, I knew that the only path that I could take was one in which I would service individuals as well as the community. When I discovered that the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana had started a bachelor program, I was intrigued. While I had a general sense of what a social worker was, I wished to know more so I enrolled in the intro class. Afterwards, I was hooked. I knew that social work was everything that I was looking for in regards to a future career choice. Afterwards, I applied for the BSW program and was instantly accepted. As I continue my education towards obtaining my BSW, I can honestly say that everything seems to have fallen into place and I have been enjoying myself since.

What of social work interests you the most?
There are several aspects of social work that interest me. Ever since being in the program, I have met some astounding individuals, whether they are my peers, professors, or social workers that I met through networking. Sometimes it baffles me how much social workers are not recognized for the work that they do in helping others and the community. The stories that I have heard about their experiences with their volunteer work or job experiences are really awe-inspiring and motivational. One can practically feel the passion that they have for what they are doing and the empathy that they express for their fellow man.

What does social justice mean to you?
While many people may describe social justice to be about diversity, I consider social justice to mean going out and doing something. Educating oneself is one thing, but to actually go out and make a difference to a person and/ or a community is vastly different. Just as the term “justice” means to actively administer or uphold the law, “social justice” means to actively bring about change for the betterment of man. 

What are your plans after your BSW?
After I receive my BSW, I hope to continue my education and obtain my MSW. I am currently not sure what my focus would be in the field, however, I am currently considering pursuing either child and family welfare or mental health. I am unsure of where I would like to work if I pursued a career in mental health, though if I were to consider a career in child and family welfare, I would love to work for the Department of Child and Family Services.

Do you have a person that has inspired you?
I was actually inspired to pursue a career in social work through my faith in God. I have had to endure many trials and tribulations, and it was through my faith that I was able to persevere through them. Waking up every morning and reading a scripture from the Bible helps brighten and motivate me to make the best out of each day. It was through prayer for direction to God that social work even became an option for me. So while I may have more human individuals who inspire me, God is the one that has been there for me the whole way and continues to help me in my pursuing my dreams to help my fellow man.

Ten sessions specifically addressing aging issues in social work were presented at this year's NASW conferenrce last month. This is a record and next year we hope there will be even more. The sessions were well attended, indicating that there is a 'market' for this information. Not only that, but I heard from presenters that they feel more connected to NASW Illinois now that there are programs specifically designed to address the issues they are addressing in the field.  

The next Older Adults SIG meeting will be on December 12, 2011, at 3:00pm where we will review our accomplisments over the past couple of years including conferences, publications in the NASW Illinois Chapter newsletter, and advocacy work. We will set an agenda for next year which will include how to build on our work regarding social work in nursing homes, and we will also carve out and address other areas of  work with an aging population. 

Please join us for our next planning meeting of the Older Adults Shared Interest Group (SIG) on Monday, December 12, 2011 at 3:00pm at the NASW Illinois Chapter office at 404 South Wells, 4th Floor, in Chicago or by teleconference at 1-800-786-1922 (Participant 51484748#).

Please indicate your participation, or let us know if you are interested in getting on the SIG e-mail list by contacting Phyllis Mitzen, SIG Chair at older@naswil.org.

Bishop Joseph Perry, the official Postulator of the Cause of Father Tolton, presented the Martha Jane Tolton award to Maudette Carr in acknowledgement of her work as a mother, grandmother, and social worker. In accepting this prestigious honor, Maudette recognized the many women who formed her values and faith, as well as the many women she has met in her daily work as a social worker who continue to inspire and assist her by numerous examples of strength, courage, perseverance, dedication, and faith.

Father Tolton was the first African American Roman Catholic priest in the United States, and he was a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Augustus Tolton was born into slavery in Missouri in 1854. When the Civil War broke out, his father escaped from slavery to join the Union Army, though he was killed in battle. In the meantime, Martha Jane gathered her children and made a harrowing escape from Missouri to Quincy, Illinois, where Martha Jane came to meet a widow who allowed the Tolton’s to stay with her. Martha Jane worked while raising her children and assured their education and that they would grow in their Catholic faith. Young Augustus was educated through Quincy College and pursued priesthood, where he became ordained in 1886. His ministry began in Quincy, Illinois, before moving to Chicago. Father Tolton died in 1897.
 

• NASW Illinois will continue to work towards comprehensive solution to the state budget crisis by actively supporting the identification of new revenues that address the state’s structural budget deficit, solvency and capacity to support a thriving human services infrastructure to meet the needs of the State’s most vulnerable residents in the short-term and long-term. The chapter will also advocate for prompt payment to providers (through debt restructuring) including the backlog in payments.
• Support Illinois’ implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the role social workers can play in it.
• Monitor compliance of the Williams v. Quinn Consent Decree to ensure that residents in IMDs have access to community services. Advocate for social work professionals to play a role in supporting that transition.
• NASW Illinois will continue towards establishing the rules process for PA 95-518, the social work Medicaid reimbursement law, which will enable mental health services to be more readily available on a community level and how this will fit into the Medicaid reform laws adopted by the Illinois General Assembly in 2011, P.A. 96-1501.
• Advocate for fair and equitable insurance reimbursement rates for licensed clinical social workers.
• Seek approval from the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation (IDFPR) of two proposed rule changes (recommended by the NASW Illinois Chapter’s Licensure Task Force) regarding the addition of cultural competence training to be included in the 30 CEU requirement, as well as the cap on online CEUs. These proposed rule changes would take effect for 2013 licensure cycle.

Ongoing Initiatives

• NASW Illinois will work to promote the hiring of social workers and advocate for the role of the social work profession in the human service sector in Illinois.
• NASW Illinois will closely monitor and review, and support when deemed appropriate, initiatives to eliminate or reduce poverty in Illinois, as well as support efforts of the state’s Human Services, Budgeting for Results and Poverty Commissions.
• NASW Illinois will support legislation and policies that enhance the safety of social workers in the performance of their work.
• NASW Illinois will support initiatives that provide for and protect the human rights of all Illinois citizens.
• NASW Illinois will support initiatives that ensure that women will have reproductive choice and reproductive health services in Illinois regardless of their financial circumstances.

As always, the NASW Illinois is guided by the policy statements that appear in Social Work Speaks 2012–2015 in its advocacy efforts. The NASW Delegate Assembly, a national body of 300 professional social workers, meets every three years to develop Social Work Speaks policy statements.

• NASW Illinois will continue to work towards comprehensive solution to the state budget crisis by actively supporting the identification of new revenues that address the state’s structural budget deficit, solvency and capacity to support a thriving human services infrastructure to meet the needs of the State’s most vulnerable residents in the short-term and long-term. The chapter will also advocate for prompt payment to providers (through debt restructuring) including the backlog in payments.
• Support Illinois’ implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the role social workers can play in it.
• Monitor compliance of the Williams v. Quinn Consent Decree to ensure that residents in IMDs have access to community services. Advocate for social work professionals to play a role in supporting that transition.
• NASW Illinois will continue towards establishing the rules process for PA 95-518, the social work Medicaid reimbursement law, which will enable mental health services to be more readily available on a community level and how this will fit into the Medicaid reform laws adopted by the Illinois General Assembly in 2011, P.A. 96-1501.
• Advocate for fair and equitable insurance reimbursement rates for licensed clinical social workers.
• Seek approval from the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation (IDFPR) of two proposed rule changes (recommended by the NASW Illinois Chapter’s Licensure Task Force) regarding the addition of cultural competence training to be included in the 30 CEU requirement, as well as the cap on online CEUs. These proposed rule changes would take effect for 2013 licensure cycle.

Ongoing Initiatives

• NASW Illinois will work to promote the hiring of social workers and advocate for the role of the social work profession in the human service sector in Illinois.
• NASW Illinois will closely monitor and review, and support when deemed appropriate, initiatives to eliminate or reduce poverty in Illinois, as well as support efforts of the state’s Human Services, Budgeting for Results and Poverty Commissions.
• NASW Illinois will support legislation and policies that enhance the safety of social workers in the performance of their work.
• NASW Illinois will support initiatives that provide for and protect the human rights of all Illinois citizens.
• NASW Illinois will support initiatives that ensure that women will have reproductive choice and reproductive health services in Illinois regardless of their financial circumstances.

As always, the NASW Illinois is guided by the policy statements that appear in Social Work Speaks 2012–2015 in its advocacy efforts. The NASW Delegate Assembly, a national body of 300 professional social workers, meets every three years to develop Social Work Speaks policy statements.

EAPrefer™ gives you the opportunity to receive referrals from employee assistance program (EAP) network providers, who match qualified social workers with the employees who need them.

Developed by NASW Assurances Services (ASI) with social workers in mind, EAPrefer™ has:

• Prescreened and negotiated with select EAP network providers in Illinois to provide fair compensation
• Tailored referrals to fit your schedule — take on as many or as few cases as you wish
• Reduced the paperwork and administrative burden
• Created an easy system for you to sign up and begin receiving referrals
• Participation is free, and is limited to NASW members.

To learn more about EAPrefer™ and to find out if you meet the program qualifications, visit www.EAPrefer.org or call toll free: 866-307-2325. You will be receiving program materials in the mail within the next week and a program representative will also be calling you soon to tell you more.

Click here to enroll.

The operative word at the 2011 conference was Twitter, or should I say #naswil? The old school bulletin boards were replaced by a 52-inch plasma television screen broadcasting conference tweets throughout the three days. At any given time, you could catch attendees watching the board for the latest tweet about what they learned at a workshop, who was in attendance, or other happenings. Kyle Hillman of the NASW Illinios Chapter staff was also providing crash courses in Twitter, which enabled even more attendees to participate in the conversation.

Past NASW Illinois Chapter President Kathy Wehrmann chaired the 2011 conference and introduced our opening plenary speaker, Brent Rasmussen, a U.S. Paralympics Athlete and U.S. Men’s Sitting Volleyball Captain. Brent’s keynote topic, “Overcoming Adversity: The Power of Attitude, Hope and Help,” provided a positive message to all of you who work daily to help others and instill hope in individuals, families, and communities. Brent came to our conference through the generous support of NASW Assurance Services, one of the conference’s main sponsors. He took the audience through his narrative from high school and college athlete to the snowy night in February 2002 that changed his life completely. Brent discussed how he now looks at his accident in a positive light with positive outcomes, and that his accident may have been the best thing that happened to him as it opened many doors. He also shared the many resources available in Illinois for disabled persons to participate in sports activities.

Following his prepared remarks, Brent joined a panel of professionals who work in rehabilitation settings in the Chicago area. They included:

• Kristin Balfanz-Vertiz, MSW, LSW, Director of Extended Services, Case Management, and Recreational Therapy for Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital, and Director of the Deaf Access Program for Sinai Health System in Chicago.
• Dinh To, LCSW, an inpatient medical social worker at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago for the past thirteen years.
• Julie Rinaldi, PhD, a child psychologist in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

A common theme during the panel discussion was the strong bonds that exist within the disability community.

On Wednesday evening, Candi Gray (NASW Illinois Chapter Vice President and chair of the 2011 NASW Illinois Chapter Awards Committee) presented the 2011 NASW Illinois Chapter Awards. Recipients included:

• Legislative Award: Illinois Senator Kwame Raoul and Illinois State Representative Karen Yarbrough for their work in the landmark legislation repealing the death penalty in Illinois, Public Act 96-1543, signed into law by Governor Quinn on March 9, 2011. As Yolanda Jordan, NASW Illinois Chapter President, noted earlier this year, “As key sponsors of the legislation, Senator Raoul and Representative Yarbrough’s efforts are consistent with social work values, and the values of this association. The practice of capital punishment opposes one of the social work profession’s most basic beliefs—that of holding the integrity of human life and the promotion of human well-being among the highest values to which a society aspires. We are proud to see the state of Illinois join other states and countries in abolishing capital punishment, and recognize that without the efforts put forth by these two politicians, this achievement could not have been had.”
• Public Citizen of the Year – Benjamin S. Wolf, JD: Mr. Wolf is an attorney who has served as director and chief legal counsel of the ACLU of Illinois' Institutionalized Persons Project since 1984. The Illinois Institutionalized Persons Project provides legal representation to Illinois residents of prisons, jails, mental health centers, and developmental centers and institutions for children such as group homes and foster homes. A native of Evanston, Mr. Wolf’s legal advocacy has resulted in significant reforms within the Division of Mental Health, Department of Corrections, and the Department of Children and Family Services that have improved conditions for these most vulnerable citizens. This includes the recent settlement agreement in the case known as Williams v. Quinn which begins a systemic process of giving approximately 4,500 persons with mental illness the choice to move out of the IMDs into community-based settings with the support and care appropriate for the individual circumstance.
• Social Worker of the Year – Mary Garrison, MSW, LCSW: Mary Garrison, MSW, LSCW, ACSW, is currently associate professor of social work at Millikin University and adjunct faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Mary has had extensive practice experience in the social work field, with over fifteen years of practice in mental health services. She is also a part-time private practitioner at Decatur Psychological Associates. Throughout her career, Mary has served as a therapist, clinical supervisor, manager, consultant, child development specialist, and victim/witness advocate. Mary has been active in providing continuing education opportunities for colleagues through professional workshops, presentations, and trainings domestically and internationally. This past spring she was elected to serve a two-year term as NASW Illinois Chapter East Central District Chair and served as an Illinois Delegate to the 2011 NASW Delegate Assembly.
• Lifetime Achievement Award – Richard L. Jones, PhD: Richard L. Jones, PhD, currently serves as president emeritus for Metropolitan Family Services where he served in distinction for the past 13 years. Dr. Jones’ resume reads like a lifetime of social work leadership accomplishments, from serving as president of the Center for Families and Children in Cleveland, Ohio, and executive director of Boston Children’s Services in Boston, Massachusetts. One of his many volunteer leadership roles was serving as the immediate past chairman of the board of the NASW Assurances, Inc.

The 2011 NASW Illinois Chapter Emerging Leader Awards were given this past February and also acknowledged at the awards event. These awardees included:

• Robert B. Campbell, MSW, LCSW, QCSW
• Shelley Milosevich, MSW, LCW
• Amy Terpstra, MSW
• Chasity Wells-Armstrong, MSW, CADC

Thursday and Friday featured over seventy workshops in seven different tracks. We thank the close to 60 exhibitors that participated in our busy exhibit, which culminated in a iPad giveaway. Congratulations to Alice Ferree, our 2011 iPad winner!

The 600+ attendees who participated in the conference could not have done so without the hard work of the NASW Illinois Chapter professional staff and interns and their new and innovative ideas that provided added value for everyone in attendance. We also thank our generous sponsors whose support also helped make the 2011 NASW Illinois Chapter Statewide Conference one to remember. They include:

• NASW Assurance Services
• Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
• Monahan and Cohen
• Dominican University, Graduate School of Social Work
• Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work
• The Law Offices of Marta J. Papa
• NASW National Specialty Practice Sections

I realized that there wasn’t a difference between Allison and Allison the Social Worker. I’m not saying that my job defines me – but my passion for this profession does. What occurs to me personally will undoubtedly have an effect on me professionally. We’re in a line of work that requires us to put our heart on the line every day. The empathy that we express to our clients isn’t learned in a workshop or classroom but comes from our personal experiences and ability to relate and actively listen to other individuals and their experiences. Some of my most memorable moments from the day aren’t even from the sessions, but from the organic connections and conversations I have had with fellow social workers I’ve just recently met. So I stopped over-thinking, let go of the pressure and went to the sessions that I wanted to go to, not for any other reason other then I was intrigued by the subject. And you know what? Those were the best sessions of the day.

The keynote speaker, Brent Rasmussen, surprised me when he said that his accident was the best thing that ever happened to him. My jaw fell to the ground the moment I heard that but then I understood it. Everything in my life has happened for a reason and led me to this point. I may not have a traumatic event or a tragic story that led me to this profession but I can say that making the choice to follow my instinct to be a social worker is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Without that I wouldn’t have been able to learn the amazing things I have learned, experienced eye-opening moments, or more importantly, met my admirable, fellow social workers. So if knowing that I’m supposed to be here, taking in every word of each session, and opening myself to hearing new and challenging beliefs from peers, makes me a nerd, then I have to say one thing: if the shoe fits. J

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The late fall traditionally begins the leadership recruitment process in the chapter. The NASW Illinois Chapter thrives because of the involvement and leadership of our membership. Moreover, the social work profession is strengthened by strong chapter leadership. If you or a colleague is interested in joining the NASW Illinois Chapter leadership team, you can find out more by reviewing our 2012 Leadership Recruitment Packet on the chapter website: http://www.naswil.org/volunteer/join-the-board/. Please consider joining or nominating a colleague today!

This past week, the first week of the Illinois General Assembly veto session ended. We’d like to thank all of our members who responded to our alert regarding SB 1652 which passed the Illinois General Assembly during the spring 2011 session. It would allow ComEd and Ameren to impose nearly automatic yearly electric rate increases on consumers for the next decade, while diminishing regulatory oversight by the Illinois Commerce Commission. Unfortunately, both houses voted to override Governor Quinn’s veto. Regarding our advocacy in relation to the Chester Mental Health Center, the Illinois state’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accoutability (COGFA) voted 11–0 to recommend against the closure of Chester Mental Health Center. The vote is only advisory, but it was a victory nonetheless. A complete update on the first half of the veto is summarized in Phil Milsk’s November update.

We look forward to seeing all of you at the conference.

Joel L. Rubin, MSW, CAE, has served as executive director of the 7,000 member Illinois Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) since October 1999. He has over twenty-five years of nonprofit management and fundraising experience including extensive work with boards of directors, committees and volunteers, and advocacy around a wide variety of social work, human service, and international political issues. Joel is a graduate of the Wexner Heritage Fellowship Leadership Program and a current adjunct professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago Jane Addams College of Social Work as well as Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work.
 

• Kilbane, T., & Spira, M. (2010). Domestic violence or elder abuse? Why it matters for older women. Families in Society, April-June 2010, Vol. 91, No. 2.
• Otto, J. & Quinn, K. (2007). Barriers to promising practices for collaboration between adult protective services and domestic violence programs. Retrieved from http://www.ncea.aoa.gov/ncearoot/main_site/pdf/sBarrierstoPromisingPractices.pdf.
• Straka, S. M., & Montminy, L. (2006). Responding to the needs of older women experiencing domestic violence. Violence Against Women, 12(3), 251–267.

Teresa Kilbane, PhD, is associate professor at Loyola University Chicago where she’s been since 1997; she teaches research and policy to graduate and doctoral-level students. Teresa returned to her early roots where her initial research projects were in the field of aging. She is the recipient of summer research grants to study domestic violence of older women. Qualitative interviews were conducted with elder abuse investigators, domestic violence workers, law enforcement, and older abused women. Her research was presented at the NASW Illinois Chapter Statewide, the Fifth Annual Summer Institute on Aging, Governor’s Conference on Aging, and recent publications.
 

The Illinois General Assembly has completed its first week of the fall veto session. They will return to Springfield on November 8 through 10, 2011, to finish business before they return in January 2012 to start the spring session.

The following action was taken that will likely be of interest to our readers:

• Both houses voted to override the governor's veto of legislation to fund electric smart grid technology and other electric infrastructure improvements by increasing electric rates for consumers. Governor Quinn, Attorney General Madigan, AARP, NASW Illinois, and other groups strongly opposed the override, but it prevailed anyway. There were 36 Illinois Senate votes in favor and 74 Illinois House votes in support. Both houses also passed a "trailer" bill that made additional changes to "sweeten the pot" a little for low-income consumers. However, the bottom line is that instead of asking ComEd and Ameren to make improvements using their sizeable profits over the past several years, the Illinois General Assembly is making consumers pay for these improvements.
• A bill to restore funding for Regional Offices of Education (ROE) failed in the Illinois House. The governor had used his veto pen to strike funding for the ROE. The bill, HB 3828, would have drawn monies from the Personal Property Replacement Tax Fund to fund the ROEs. The bill could be called again during the second week of the veto session. There is also a slim chance there could be a vote to override the governor's line item veto.
• A bill passed the Illinois House that would grant immunity from prosecution to an individual who seeks or obtains emergency medical assistance for someone experiencing a drug overdose. The bill, SB 1701, passed the Illinois House with 61 votes. It had already passed the Illinois Senate, so it will now go to the governor. 
• The bill that would establish the governing board for Illinois' Health Insurance Exchange, SB 1313, has not been heard yet in the House Insurance Committee, but is posted for hearing on November 8, 2011. House Amendment #2, filed by Representative Mautino, has received positive comments from health care advocates, and NASW is supporting the amendment. The health insurance industry is opposing the amendment because it is seeking a representative on the board. The amendment is careful to avoid conflicts of interest. The exchange is an online marketplace for health insurance that will make it easier for consumers and small businesses to shop for insurance, compare costs and cost predictability, and determine coverage suitable for the individual or business.
• A bill to require comprehensive and medically appropriate sex education in high schools appears to be dying in the Illinois House. It has already passed the Illinois Senate. The bill is SB 3027.
• The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) has voted to recommend that the state facilities slated by the governor for closure remain open. The vote on the Chester Mental Health Center was unanimous. NASW had advocated to keep Chester open. COGFA's role is advisory only, but carries weight. There was no vote taken on the Jacksonville Developmental Center.
• HB 605, as amended, passed the Illinois House and is now in the Illinois Senate. The bill revises the school report card provisions in the school code to add factors such as early childhood programs, gifted programs, afterschool programs, parental and community participation, and elective courses.

On the federal level, the "supercommittee" of twelve continues to try to reach agreement on deficit reduction. The prospects of an agreement are dim as Republicans continue to reject revenue enhancements and Democrats are resisting deep cuts in entitlement programs. However, some fear that the Democrats might be going too far in offering cuts to social safety net and healthcare programs. If no agreement is reached, there will be cuts of 10% across the board with a few areas being exempt. This would be devastating to our clients and their communities. The deadline for agreement by the supercommittee is November 23, 2011.

For a complete up-to-date list of ALL classified ads, be sure to visit the NASW Illinios Chapter Classified Ads: http://www.naswil.org/news/networker/networker-classifieds/.

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Beautifully furnished space w/large waiting room, kitchen in 5-office suite full or pt time. Warm, friendly atmosphere & great location in North Arlington Hts. Contact Debbie at debbietalk@aol.com.

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BUFFALO GROVE/LONG GROVE:Small office available. Quiet & confidential waiting room. Large window. New paint & carpet. Ideal location with 13 other medical offices.Please call Susan (847) 913-1400

NASW ILLINIOS CHAPTER JOB BOARD

For a complete and up-to-date list of job board postings, visit the NASW Illinois Chapter Job Board: http://www.naswil.org/education-career-development/association-job-board/.

• Mental Health/Substance Abuse Clinician (Salina & Associates)
• President & CEO (Pillars)
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker (EB Pediatric Resources Inc)
• Renal Social Worker (Nephron Dialysis Center, Ltd)

The NASW Illinois Chapter bylaws may be amended by a vote of two-thirds of the board of directors representing fifty percent of the districts in attendance at a regularly called meeting, provided that the proposed bylaw amendment has been published and distributed to chapter members at least three weeks prior to the meeting.

A copy of the proposed bylaw amendment can be viewed here and is open to comment from chapter members.

Amy Ives Aalberts
Ayele Wosen
Michelle Bricker
Christine Connolly Brown
Lucy Nelson
Artesha Williams

Note of Special Importance
A HUGE thank you to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for allowing NASW Illinois to come on campus and host a Lunch'n’Learn with BSW and MSW students – it was a great success with over 25 students attending!  Thanks to Joel Rubin, Candi Gray, Lindsey Burke, and Alicia Beck for all of their help with the event.

2011 NASW Illinois Chapter Statewide Conference
I look forward to seeing many of you at the 2011 NASW Illinois Chapter Statewide Conference on November 9–11, 2011. Please join the East Central District at the networking reception on November 9, 2011, from 4:00–6:00pm. Hope to see you there!

If you have not registered for the conference and still would like to attend, please check out the website for more information: http://www.naswil.org.

License Renewal and CEUs
As you all know, this year is a license renewal year in November 2011. Don’t forget to get all your CEUs in order to renew your license. If you have not completed your three required ethics CEUs, check the NASW Illinois Chapter website at www.naswil.org to register for one of the many ethics CEU events still available this fall. There will also be ethics CEUs available at the statewide conference – just another great reason to attend! If you have questions about licensure and CEUs, please go to the NASW Illinois Chapter website, and many of your questions will be answered!

2012 Social Work Awards
Let’s celebrate the amazing social workers and citizens in the East Central District!
Please consider nominating individuals for the following awards. As your district chair, I will be facilitating the incoming nominations to ensure all the information below is submitted – please take a few moments to consider nominating someone and let me know if you have any questions. Please see the nomination requirements below:

Social Worker of the Year: An NASW Illinois member in good standing who: reflects the values espoused in our NASW Illinois Chapter Mission Statement; promotes the NASW to the public and advocates for the populations social work serves; represents the highest ethical standards of social work as defined in the NASW Code of Ethics; contributes to improvement of the social fabric in tangible and intangible ways; takes risks and enlists public support for improved human services.

Lifetime Achievement Award: An NASW Illinois member in good standing who: has accomplished stellar successes in his/her social work career which have enhanced the profession, supported clients, upheld social work values, and advocated for the betterment of all people.

Public Citizen of the Year: A non-social worker who: exemplifies the social work profession with outstanding service to individuals served by social workers; reflects the highest ethical standards in his/her field of endeavor; takes risks and enlists public support for improved human services; advocates for and contributes to the public’s awareness of social problems.

The chapter is committed to diversity among award recipients. Nomination forms are available on the chapter website: http://www.naswil.org/news/chapter-awards/.

Deadlines for Social Work Award Nominations: Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Many of your licensure questions can be answered by viewing the NASW Illinoiss Chapter website: http://www.naswil.org/social-work-practice/licensure/.

There will be no other Northeastern District CEU opportunities until December.

On Friday, December 16, from 8:30-11:30am, we are pleased to present a 3 CEU event:

Palliative Care for Advanced Dementia
It is estimated that 90 percent of people who survive to the advanced stages of dementia reside in long-term care settings. The advanced stages of dementia are characterized by severe cognitive and functional impairments, resulting in complete dependence on caregivers. A curative model is not appropriate, as seen in burdensome medical interventions such as repeated antibiotic therapy, tube feeding, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Palliative care is a more realistic approach with focus on maintaining quality of life and providing comfort measures. Although dementia is now the fifth leading cause of death among older Americans, hospice and palliative care is not standard practice. This three-hour interactive workshop will help social workers to provide optimal carte and to ease decision-making for families and other care providers.

Presenters: Daniel Kuhn, LCSW; Jeannine Forrest, PhD, RN; and Amy Wilbourne, LSW. It will be held at Rainbow Hospice and Palliative Care at 1550 Bishop Court in Mount Prospect, Illinois.

Please register via the website: http://www.naswil.org/calendar/events/1972/

Finally, please welcome the newest members of NASW in the Northeastern District: Susan Carroll, Lola Ladmir, Brenda Nelson, Kimberly Sauer, and Briana Wagner.

Contact/E-mail Changes
I have had several people contact me to let me know that they have had an e-mail change or accidentally deleted their e-mail. You can update your contact information yourself through the Member Center portion of the NASW national web site: https://www.socialworkers.org. The link is in the upper right-hand corner in yellow.

Otherwise, you can update your information with the National office in one of two ways:

1. Phone: The NASW membership phone number is 800-742-4089
2. E-mail: membership@naswdc.org

If you think that your contact information has changed and needs to be updated, please do this so that you can receive up-to-date information about our district and upcoming events.

Licensure Renewal
Don't forget that we are approaching licensure renewal time. Many of your questions about licensure renewal can be answered by viewing the NASW Illinois Chapter website tab on licensure: http://www.naswil.org/social-work-practice/licensure/. Go ahead and check it out!

Did You Know...?
The NASW Illinois Chapter Statewide Awards have been announced for 2011. I would like to congratulate this year's recipients: Mary Garrison has received the Social Worker of the Year award, Richard Jones received the Lifetime Achievement Award, Benjamin Wolf received the Public Citizen of the Year, and finally Illinois Senator Kwame Raoul received the Legislative Award. You can read more about the recipients at: http://www.naswil.org/news/networker/featured/nasw-illinois-statewide-awards-2011/.

This Month's Challenge
National Social Work Month is in March. We need to begin our search for nominees. All nominations must be submitted by January 31, 2012. The nomination forms will be available on the website soon. If you know someone you would like to nominate for Social Worker of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award, or Public Citizen Award, please consider submitting nomination forms. I be sure to forward the nomination information when it is available.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Audrey LeMasters
Eemail: wcentral@naswil.org

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Humphreys discovered that Great Britain was sending foster children abroad to South Africa, Australia and other countries without their parents’ permission. Sometimes these children were falsely told their parents had died or no longer wanted them. Many of them were abused in their new homes overseas. Humphreys has worked in the past few decades to reconnect these adults with their birth families and to get British Commonwealth governments to recognize and offer assistance to these victims.

The NASW Illinois Chapter has fifty free tickets available for a viewing of Oranges and Sunshine on Saturday, October 29, 2011, at 5:00pm at the Landmark Century Cinema, 2828 North Clark Street in Chicago, Illinois.

If you are interested in reserving tickets (Two ticket maximum per person), please contact the NASW Illinois Chapter office at office@naswil.org. Be sure to include your NASW member ID number. You MUST be a current NASW member to redeem. Tickets will be offered on a first-come, first-serve basis, and will be available for pick up at the NASW Illinois Chapter office at 404 South Wells, 4th Floor, in Chicago.

For more information about the film as well as view the trailer, go to: http://www.iconmovies.co.uk/orangesandsunshine/.

For directions to the Lankdmark Century Cinema, go to: http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Market/Chicago/Landmark%27sCenturyCentreCinema.htm

2011-12 Student Liaisons: Allison Schuck (Aurora), Jasper Lopez (Bradley), Kim Rueter & Holly Davis (Chicago St.), Theresa Pendergraff (Dominican), Sherri Funk & Jeanna Robinson (Governors St.), Tim Feltman & Christopher Leach (Loyola), Meagan Pinkerton (MacMurray), Katie Clancy (Northeastern Illinois), Sarah Condreay (Olivet Nazarene), Christopher Gibbs & Jessica Benton (SIU-Edwardsville), Monica Gilkison (St. Ambrose), Lindsey Burke (UChicago), Sheena McNeal & Hope Williams (UIC-Jane Addams), Lisa Simpson (U of I-Springfield), Wosen Ayele (U of I-Urbana-Champaign), and LaCresha Preshon-Morris & Erin Blasier (St. Francis)

Become an NASW Illinois Student Liaison
Want to build your leadership skills and professional resume? Looking to get involved with advocacy and the NASW Illinois Chapter? Consider becoming an NASW Illinois Student Liaison! As a liaison, you will to determine the best ways of communicating with your school’s students and leaders, setting up potential school visits about membership and licensure. Student liaisons are also instrumental in the organization of our annual Advocacy Day event. With a record number of almost 900 attendees in 2011, we’re looking to make the 2012 Advocacy Day an even bigger success! (Read more about 2011 Advocacy Day here.)

Advocacy Day 2012 Update
We’ve received student inquiries our about annual Advocacy Day event, which is great! The biggest question: When is Advocacy Day? NASW Illinois is pending the release of the 2012 legislative schedule before announcing an official date. After a date has been announced, planning efforts with our student liaisons and others will pick up quickly! As mentioned above, with a record number of almost 900 attendees in 2011, we’re looking to make the 2012 Advocacy Day an even bigger success! And we need you there to make it happen! Check with our Advocacy Day page for news as it happens.

2011 Statewide NASW Illinois Chapter Fall Conference
This great biannual event is coming upon us quickly! On November 9, 10, and 11, you have the opportunity to network with other social workers across the state and attend high-quality continuing education programs that meet social work licensing renewal requirements. Do check this event out if you can squeeze it into your academic calendars! Click here.

Seeking Social Media Advocates!
Did you know NASW Illinois is on Facebook? And Twitter? NASW Illinois is looking to provide active and involved social media reporters at this year’s 2011 NASW Illinois Chapter Statewide Conference: A Meeting of the Profession. Take part and earn the chance to attend this year’s conference for FREE! Click here to find out more.

Searching For a Job? Let Us Help!
Looking for a job after you graduate? Want to enhance your professional resume and portfolio? NASW offers a national job board to search for jobs across the country, as well as career development tools to help you with coaching services, resume writing, reference checking, and more. Take advantage of Professional Resume Writing Services to gain an edge in a competitive job market, or let The Princeton Review help you successfully prepare for the SAT, ACT, LSAT, MCAT, GRE, and GMAT. Check out NASW Job Link, and don’t forget about the NASW Illinois Chapter Job Board as well!

These are just some of the exciting news and benefits that NASW Illinois is able to offer our student members. As the future of the social work profession AND the NASW organization, we know that our student members have what it takes become leaders in the social work arena after graduation. Let us help! If you have any questions on membership or social work, feel free to contact us. This is YOUR professional organization—let us work for you!

• Joe Harper, LCSW, to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) on the proposed closing of Chester Mental Health Center.
• Marge Berglind, president and CEO of Child Care Association, to the state’s Budgeting for Results Commission.

Their testimony reflects the importance of members of the association using their knowledge and expertise to shed light on important social work professional issues.
 

Joseph J. Harper, LCSW

DHS has submitted a recommendation to the Commission for the closure of Chester Mental Health Center. This is in conjunction with closure requests for other state operated psychiatric hospitals and the virtual elimination of acute care civil psychiatric beds in the state hospital system. The plan submitted by DHS is inadequate and will deal a death blow to the system of mental health care in Illinois.

Chester Mental Health Center is the mental health “emergency room” for the state. Chronically mentally ill patients (both civil and forensic) who are unable to be treated elsewhere due toviolent and aggressive behaviorsin community and state operated psychiatric hospitals or the correctional systemare sent to Chester for treatment and stabilization. CMHC and its predecessor organizations were created over 100 years ago and proudly serve this function. The facility was created by state statute and is permitted to function with special provisions for maintaining the safety of staff and patients. The DHS closure recommendation letter indicates that Alton MHC will be designated as the new maximum security facility for the state simply by installing $550,000 of security perimeter fencing. ; this is undoubtedly underreporting as it does not reflect costs associated with other physical plant modifications, provisions for additional staff, staff training etc.

The mental health system in Illinois is currently in crisis and is unable to provide adequate psychiatric services for the community. The current state of affairs is outlined in a position statement issued by the Illinois Hospital Association in May of 2011:

1. Illinois state operated hospitals had approximately 35,000 beds in the 1950-1960’s. By 2009 only 1,400 beds remained in the IL state hospital system.The number of licensed psychiatric beds throughout the state decreased from 5,350 in 1991 to 3, 869 in 2010—a 28% decrease.
2. In 2009, Illinois hospital ED’s treated 750,000 people with a behavioral health condition. Of those, more than 190,000 had a primary diagnosis of mental health or substance abuse.
3. There are 53 IL counties that do not have any form of inpatient psychiatric care.

Community mental health center s and private hospitals do not have the resources to deal with additional patients. Many have already had significant budget reductions. The DHS closure recommendation asserts that DHS will provide “minimal funding to serve patients in the community setting.” Those costs are not enumerated in the closure recommendation. In addition, DHS indicates that it will assist community hospitals with “building capacity” to serve 2,800 annual admissions. Again the specifics of the associated costs are not outlined.

The State of Illinois should not make the same mistake that the State of Missouri did last year in eliminating most of their state hospital civil beds. Missouri unceremoniously “dumped” the responsibility for some 4,000 individuals previously served by the state system on the community. This resulted in an influx of untreated chronically mentally ill consumers in the Emergency Rooms of private hospitals. The wait time for all patients to be seen in the emergency rooms increased, the wait time for availablepsychiatricbeds has increased, and the level of violence in the emergency rooms has increased. Psychiatric patients often find it difficult to deal with the chaotic environment of the typical emergency room and staff are often not equipped to deal with this population. The transition has been so problematic that the state has had to assist with reopening the St. Louis Metropolitan Psychiatric Center.

From personal experience and the clinical literature, I can assure you that the movement of the untreated chronically mentally ill from the state hospital systems to the correctional system –a process termed trans-institutionalization—is a stark reality. The correctional system in Illinois is already overburdened and being scrutinized for their inability to effectively treat these individuals in that system. Dismantling the state hospital system will undoubtedly lead to increased incarceration rates for the chronically mentally ill and increased problems for the correctional system.

Numerous professionals on the front line are opposed to this proposed change in the operation of the state hospital system. My own professional organization, the National Association of Social Workers Illinois Chapter, representing approximately 7,000 professional voting Illinois social workers, has voiced their opposition to this plan in writing to Governor Quinn. I applaud the organization and my colleagues for standing up for those without a voice in our society. I am requesting that the Commission summarily reject the DHS recommendation for the closure of Chester Mental Health Center.
 

Margaret M. Berglind

We thank the Committee for the opportunity to provide comments on the important task of Budgeting for Results.

The Child Care Association of Illinois (CCAI) represents 65 child welfare agencies that provide services for Illinois children in such areas as residential treatment, foster care, child mental health, juvenile justice, youth services and special education. The services provided by our agencies benefit Illinois children and families, and many of the services directly benefit vulnerable children and fragile families, and are provided upon referral by state agencies as part of state contracts.

The CCAI supports the concepts included in the Budgeting for Results initiative. However, we are concerned about major components of the process for the human service related priorities:

• How state agencies seek input and agreement from the private contract agencies in the Budgeting for Results processes, budget requests and suggestions for efficiency; and how the state agency’s ideas for efficiency in state government might impact their private providers
• How state agencies monitor their private providers
• How state agencies can quickly adopt greater efficiencies in monitoring their private contractors.

SEEKING PRIVATE PROVIDER INVESTMENT IN BUDGETING FOR RESULTS

The human services system in Illinois relies heavily on private agencies to provide the direct care and programs for our citizens. Any initiative for state human agencies to Budget for Results translates into private contract agencies providing such results. In the Department of Children and Family Services, for example, private agencies provide nearly 95% of the direct care of state wards—either in foster care or residential treatment. In the Department of Human Services, 100% of the youth services work in communities is provided by private agencies.

It is imperative that Illinois adopt a process that mandates that state agencies seek consultation from their private sector partners as they pursue funding requests, develop performance measures and monitor those measures. Such consultation has to be more than the occasional meeting at which information is given out to providers, or the alert that new contract expectations are posted on a state agency web site. The process must include shared analysis of need, open discussion on areas of system or performance improvement and discussion of cost.

The Department of Children and Family Services uses a Child Welfare Advisory Committee (CWAC) process to work with its providers in many areas of child welfare system improvement. This process is mutually chaired by the public agency executives and private providers. Private providers have helped design our performance contracting models and metrics. CCAI has long advocated for a structure similar to CWAC in the Department of Human Services. We still await formation of a public/private provider oriented group that can help DHS grapple with its many service, program and budgetary challenges. As the Department of Juvenile Justice moves to a system of more community based services for its young people, we strongly suggest they develop a provider group now. We ask the commission as part of its recommendations to:

• Insist that the same CWAC process be used by DCFS as that agency enters into a Budgeting for Results process.
• Insist that Department of Human Services adopt a Provider Advisory Group process as that agency enters in a Budgeting for Results process.
• Insist the Department of Juvenile Justice develop a Provider Advisory group as soon as possible.

MONITORING PRIVATE PROVIDERS

CCAI agencies understand and agree that when vital state functions are contracted to private providers, the state must provide proper oversight. However, as part of Budgeting for Results, the state agency must be required to detail why the monitoring funds they request are truly necessary, and how such monitoring is actually making services better. They should be asked to stretch to determine if they can be more efficient and effective in their monitoring as a state function.

State agencies must be required to develop “Monitoring That Matters.” In partnership with provider agencies, state agencies should examine the types of data, material and information that truly reflect good practice, competent care and the ability to mutually improve outcomes for clients. Current private agency monitoring is often developed only by state agency staff, frequently in a checklist format, with information based on single incidents/anecdotes. Such monitoring does not really improve the quality of care for Illinois children and families and expends valuable state funds that could be put to better use.

We ask the commission, as part of its recommendations to

• Insist state agencies implement “Monitoring That Matters” for any contracted human services.

STATE AGENCIES TO ADOPT GREATER EFFICIENCIES IN MONITORING THEIR PRIVATE CONTRACTORS.

We also recommend the commission strongly encourage state agencies to seek efficiencies in the ways they contract with and monitor private human service providers. A report from the HB 5124 steering committee was provided to the General Assembly almost a year ago. Few of the suggestions for implementation of HB 5124, which mandated streamlined auditing, accountability and monitoring have yet been implemented, and many more are waiting for discussion or some action by the state agencies. State agencies have not made those recommendations a priority. Two items could be immediately addressed for greater efficiencies: an electronic document vault and deemed status for accredited agencies.

Electronic Document Vault

CCAI agencies have long expressed frustration about the many duplicate requests for hard copies of identical information made by multiple state agencies and from various divisions. We estimate that 36% of the materials requested from various state entities were requested by another division or another state agency during the same year. These include materials such as the agency’s annual independent audit and bylaws. Responding to such duplicate requests diverts precious provider time and resources away from our primary responsibility: caring for abused and neglected children.

Creation of an electronic document vault accessible by any state agency should be a top priority to gain efficiency. If the state cannot create it quickly, it should allow private agencies to develop their own vault as an allowable expense. Other states, including Florida and North Carolina already have such systems.

We ask the commission, as part of its recommendations to

• Insist state agencies work with private providers to fully implement the electronic document vault within 6 months.

Deemed Status

Human service agencies frequently seek accreditation from a nation entity that demonstrates the provider’s good governance, stability and compliance with best practice standards. Many of the materials generated or standards required are identical to state agency licensing, approval or contract requirements. An accredited agency should not be required to submit additional and duplicate materials for state bureaucratic requirements, since the materials submitted to show compliance with accreditation standards far exceed state standards. Some of our state human service agencies have rule provisions already to allow deemed status, but have not been able to operationalize them.

We ask the commission as part of its recommendations to:

• Insist state human service agencies immediately convene a work group with provider agencies to develop an action plan to IMPLEMENT DEEMED STATUS within the next 6 months. Insist that any state human service agency without a deemed status provision immediately convene a work group with its private providers to develop a deemed status process within the next year.

Certainly, an operational electronic vault system as we detail would help with

The Child Care Association agencies and staff are more than willing to work diligently with our state agency partners to implement any recommendations and to grapple with the hard questions of how Budgeting for Results in human service agencies that rely greatly on the private sector for their results, can be implemented.

Respectfully Submitted,

Margaret M. Berglind
President/CEO   
Child Care Association of Illinois 

• Joe Harper, LCSW, to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) on the proposed closing of Chester Mental Health Center.
• Marge Berglind, president and CEO of Child Care Association, to the state’s Budgeting for Results Commission.

Their testimony reflects the importance of members of the association using their knowledge and expertise to shed light on important social work professional issues.
 

Joseph J. Harper, LCSW

DHS has submitted a recommendation to the Commission for the closure of Chester Mental Health Center. This is in conjunction with closure requests for other state operated psychiatric hospitals and the virtual elimination of acute care civil psychiatric beds in the state hospital system. The plan submitted by DHS is inadequate and will deal a death blow to the system of mental health care in Illinois.

Chester Mental Health Center is the mental health “emergency room” for the state. Chronically mentally ill patients (both civil and forensic) who are unable to be treated elsewhere due toviolent and aggressive behaviorsin community and state operated psychiatric hospitals or the correctional systemare sent to Chester for treatment and stabilization. CMHC and its predecessor organizations were created over 100 years ago and proudly serve this function. The facility was created by state statute and is permitted to function with special provisions for maintaining the safety of staff and patients. The DHS closure recommendation letter indicates that Alton MHC will be designated as the new maximum security facility for the state simply by installing $550,000 of security perimeter fencing. ; this is undoubtedly underreporting as it does not reflect costs associated with other physical plant modifications, provisions for additional staff, staff training etc.

The mental health system in Illinois is currently in crisis and is unable to provide adequate psychiatric services for the community. The current state of affairs is outlined in a position statement issued by the Illinois Hospital Association in May of 2011:

1. Illinois state operated hospitals had approximately 35,000 beds in the 1950-1960’s. By 2009 only 1,400 beds remained in the IL state hospital system.The number of licensed psychiatric beds throughout the state decreased from 5,350 in 1991 to 3, 869 in 2010—a 28% decrease.
2. In 2009, Illinois hospital ED’s treated 750,000 people with a behavioral health condition. Of those, more than 190,000 had a primary diagnosis of mental health or substance abuse.
3. There are 53 IL counties that do not have any form of inpatient psychiatric care.

Community mental health center s and private hospitals do not have the resources to deal with additional patients. Many have already had significant budget reductions. The DHS closure recommendation asserts that DHS will provide “minimal funding to serve patients in the community setting.” Those costs are not enumerated in the closure recommendation. In addition, DHS indicates that it will assist community hospitals with “building capacity” to serve 2,800 annual admissions. Again the specifics of the associated costs are not outlined.

The State of Illinois should not make the same mistake that the State of Missouri did last year in eliminating most of their state hospital civil beds. Missouri unceremoniously “dumped” the responsibility for some 4,000 individuals previously served by the state system on the community. This resulted in an influx of untreated chronically mentally ill consumers in the Emergency Rooms of private hospitals. The wait time for all patients to be seen in the emergency rooms increased, the wait time for availablepsychiatricbeds has increased, and the level of violence in the emergency rooms has increased. Psychiatric patients often find it difficult to deal with the chaotic environment of the typical emergency room and staff are often not equipped to deal with this population. The transition has been so problematic that the state has had to assist with reopening the St. Louis Metropolitan Psychiatric Center.

From personal experience and the clinical literature, I can assure you that the movement of the untreated chronically mentally ill from the state hospital systems to the correctional system –a process termed trans-institutionalization—is a stark reality. The correctional system in Illinois is already overburdened and being scrutinized for their inability to effectively treat these individuals in that system. Dismantling the state hospital system will undoubtedly lead to increased incarceration rates for the chronically mentally ill and increased problems for the correctional system.

Numerous professionals on the front line are opposed to this proposed change in the operation of the state hospital system. My own professional organization, the National Association of Social Workers Illinois Chapter, representing approximately 7,000 professional voting Illinois social workers, has voiced their opposition to this plan in writing to Governor Quinn. I applaud the organization and my colleagues for standing up for those without a voice in our society. I am requesting that the Commission summarily reject the DHS recommendation for the closure of Chester Mental Health Center.
 

Margaret M. Berglind

We thank the Committee for the opportunity to provide comments on the important task of Budgeting for Results.

The Child Care Association of Illinois (CCAI) represents 65 child welfare agencies that provide services for Illinois children in such areas as residential treatment, foster care, child mental health, juvenile justice, youth services and special education. The services provided by our agencies benefit Illinois children and families, and many of the services directly benefit vulnerable children and fragile families, and are provided upon referral by state agencies as part of state contracts.

The CCAI supports the concepts included in the Budgeting for Results initiative. However, we are concerned about major components of the process for the human service related priorities:

• How state agencies seek input and agreement from the private contract agencies in the Budgeting for Results processes, budget requests and suggestions for efficiency; and how the state agency’s ideas for efficiency in state government might impact their private providers
• How state agencies monitor their private providers
• How state agencies can quickly adopt greater efficiencies in monitoring their private contractors.

SEEKING PRIVATE PROVIDER INVESTMENT IN BUDGETING FOR RESULTS

The human services system in Illinois relies heavily on private agencies to provide the direct care and programs for our citizens. Any initiative for state human agencies to Budget for Results translates into private contract agencies providing such results. In the Department of Children and Family Services, for example, private agencies provide nearly 95% of the direct care of state wards—either in foster care or residential treatment. In the Department of Human Services, 100% of the youth services work in communities is provided by private agencies.

It is imperative that Illinois adopt a process that mandates that state agencies seek consultation from their private sector partners as they pursue funding requests, develop performance measures and monitor those measures. Such consultation has to be more than the occasional meeting at which information is given out to providers, or the alert that new contract expectations are posted on a state agency web site. The process must include shared analysis of need, open discussion on areas of system or performance improvement and discussion of cost.

The Department of Children and Family Services uses a Child Welfare Advisory Committee (CWAC) process to work with its providers in many areas of child welfare system improvement. This process is mutually chaired by the public agency executives and private providers. Private providers have helped design our performance contracting models and metrics. CCAI has long advocated for a structure similar to CWAC in the Department of Human Services. We still await formation of a public/private provider oriented group that can help DHS grapple with its many service, program and budgetary challenges. As the Department of Juvenile Justice moves to a system of more community based services for its young people, we strongly suggest they develop a provider group now. We ask the commission as part of its recommendations to:

• Insist that the same CWAC process be used by DCFS as that agency enters into a Budgeting for Results process.
• Insist that Department of Human Services adopt a Provider Advisory Group process as that agency enters in a Budgeting for Results process.
• Insist the Department of Juvenile Justice develop a Provider Advisory group as soon as possible.

MONITORING PRIVATE PROVIDERS

CCAI agencies understand and agree that when vital state functions are contracted to private providers, the state must provide proper oversight. However, as part of Budgeting for Results, the state agency must be required to detail why the monitoring funds they request are truly necessary, and how such monitoring is actually making services better. They should be asked to stretch to determine if they can be more efficient and effective in their monitoring as a state function.

State agencies must be required to develop “Monitoring That Matters.” In partnership with provider agencies, state agencies should examine the types of data, material and information that truly reflect good practice, competent care and the ability to mutually improve outcomes for clients. Current private agency monitoring is often developed only by state agency staff, frequently in a checklist format, with information based on single incidents/anecdotes. Such monitoring does not really improve the quality of care for Illinois children and families and expends valuable state funds that could be put to better use.

We ask the commission, as part of its recommendations to

• Insist state agencies implement “Monitoring That Matters” for any contracted human services.

STATE AGENCIES TO ADOPT GREATER EFFICIENCIES IN MONITORING THEIR PRIVATE CONTRACTORS.

We also recommend the commission strongly encourage state agencies to seek efficiencies in the ways they contract with and monitor private human service providers. A report from the HB 5124 steering committee was provided to the General Assembly almost a year ago. Few of the suggestions for implementation of HB 5124, which mandated streamlined auditing, accountability and monitoring have yet been implemented, and many more are waiting for discussion or some action by the state agencies. State agencies have not made those recommendations a priority. Two items could be immediately addressed for greater efficiencies: an electronic document vault and deemed status for accredited agencies.

Electronic Document Vault

CCAI agencies have long expressed frustration about the many duplicate requests for hard copies of identical information made by multiple state agencies and from various divisions. We estimate that 36% of the materials requested from various state entities were requested by another division or another state agency during the same year. These include materials such as the agency’s annual independent audit and bylaws. Responding to such duplicate requests diverts precious provider time and resources away from our primary responsibility: caring for abused and neglected children.

Creation of an electronic document vault accessible by any state agency should be a top priority to gain efficiency. If the state cannot create it quickly, it should allow private agencies to develop their own vault as an allowable expense. Other states, including Florida and North Carolina already have such systems.

We ask the commission, as part of its recommendations to

• Insist state agencies work with private providers to fully implement the electronic document vault within 6 months.

Deemed Status

Human service agencies frequently seek accreditation from a nation entity that demonstrates the provider’s good governance, stability and compliance with best practice standards. Many of the materials generated or standards required are identical to state agency licensing, approval or contract requirements. An accredited agency should not be required to submit additional and duplicate materials for state bureaucratic requirements, since the materials submitted to show compliance with accreditation standards far exceed state standards. Some of our state human service agencies have rule provisions already to allow deemed status, but have not been able to operationalize them.

We ask the commission as part of its recommendations to:

• Insist state human service agencies immediately convene a work group with provider agencies to develop an action plan to IMPLEMENT DEEMED STATUS within the next 6 months. Insist that any state human service agency without a deemed status provision immediately convene a work group with its private providers to develop a deemed status process within the next year.

Certainly, an operational electronic vault system as we detail would help with

The Child Care Association agencies and staff are more than willing to work diligently with our state agency partners to implement any recommendations and to grapple with the hard questions of how Budgeting for Results in human service agencies that rely greatly on the private sector for their results, can be implemented.

Respectfully Submitted,

Margaret M. Berglind
President/CEO   
Child Care Association of Illinois   

When I attended my very first NASW Illinois Chapter conference, I was overwhelmed by the different areas within social services. I hadn’t realized that the field of social work had such an extensive list of areas in which social workers practice. Undergraduate and graduate students, as well as new and veteran social workers, can all benefit from attending social work conferences because I have learned that there is something there for everyone no matter where you are in your career or what your career goals are. Attending conferences allow you to:

• See veteran social workers “in action” as they present on their areas of practice
• Explore all options as it relates to your preferred area of practice
• Obtain updated and groundbreaking social work practice information
• For students, it can provide information and ideas for your class projects
• Network, network, and network!

Based on the points listed above, you can see why I advocate for all social workers to get involved in the profession. Not just through your daily work, but as an advocate for social justice as well by being active in developing your skills and networking with other social workers by attending social work conferences.

November is fast approaching, and we are gearing up for our 2011 NASW Illinois Chapter Statewide Conference: A Meeting of the Profession. The conference will be held on November 9–11, 2011 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Oak Brook, Illinois. I am excited about the variety of topics covered by the intensive workshops. The roster of professionals that will be speaking are all very impressive and have extensive experience in their topics of choice as it relates to their expertise in social work. One of the major highlights will be the keynote speaker who will be sure to inspire everyone in the room! Did I say that I was excited? Well, I hope that you get excited too for what is sure to be an inspirational, educational, and networking social work event. I look forward to meeting you there!

Register for this year's conference at: https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=16599&.

Yolanda Jordan, MSW, LCSW, has an extensive background in abuse/neglect issues in the field of child welfare. As a placement manager with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, she is responsible for managing supervisors who are responsible for children who are placed in the foster care system. Yolanda is also a practicing psychotherapist and has been in private practice for the past ten years. Services are provided to children, couples, and families with a special emphasis on relationship issues that African American women face.

Yolanda is a graduate of Western Illinois University where she received her bachelor of arts in mass communications and master of arts in public communications human relations with a minor in African American studies. Due to her extreme love for people and having the heart of a servant, she continued her education and received a masters in social work with an emphasis on child and family practice from the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Jane Addams College of Social Work. Yolanda has been an active member of the NASW Illinois since 1996 and enjoys the work of advocating for the profession of social work and the community that social workers serve.

Dr. Brieland, founding director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, was a true giant in the social work profession in the state of Illinois and in the country. He served as social work dean at both the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and at the University of Illinois at Chicago (Jane Addams College of Social Work). His obituary can found at: http://www.news-gazette.com/obituaries/2011-10-02/donald-brieland.html.

His obituary reads as follows:

Donald Brieland
Champaign—Donald Brieland, the founding director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and author of one of the foremost texts on social work and the law, died at 7:05 pm Friday September 30, 2011 at Provena Covenant Hospital in Urbana, Ill. He was 87.  A beloved father and husband, world traveler, a leader and pioneer in the field of Social Work and the law, Don's memory is a blessing to all those whose lives he has touched.

Brieland is survived by his wife, Wynne Korr of Champaign and his children, Lisa Castor (son-in-law Randy) of  Mahomet, IL and Joan Brieland (son-in-law Greg Shoultz), of Chelsea, MI; and grandchildren Joe Castor and Anna and Kathryn Brieland- Shoultz..
Visitation will be held at Morgan Memorial Home on Tuesday October 4, 2011 at 3:30 pm, memorial service immediately following at 5 pm. Burial service will be private.

Brieland, of Champaign, was dean emeritus of the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he served from 1980 to 1990. Previously, Brieland had been the dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1975 to 1980. His wife, Wynne Korr, of Champaign, is the current dean of the School of Social Work at the Urbana campus.

Brieland was professor and director of the Social Service Center at the University of Chicago from 1965 to 1970 and an associate dean of the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago from 1968 to 1970. He was the director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services from 1963 to 1965.

At Urbana, Brieland led the push for accreditation of the bachelor of social work program and the development of courses and texts in contemporary social work, and social work and the law.

Brieland's research and teaching focused on contemporary social work as well as child and family policy; social work and the law; human behavior and the social environment; and social work education.

He wrote "Social Work and the Law," with John Lemmon, and "Contemporary Social Work," with C. Atherton and L. Costin.

Brieland was a Fulbright Lecturer at the University of Peshawar, in Pakistan, and also a visiting professor at the University of Melbourne, in Australia. He served as a visiting professor during summer sessions at Virginia Commonwealth University, Iowa State University, Union College, the University of Omaha, and Macalester College.

He was a member of the National Association of Social Workers, the Council on Social Work Education, and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. In addition, he was editor in chief of the journal Social Work from 1976 to 1979.

Born in 1924 in Pencer, MN, Brieland earned his bachelor's degree at Carleton College, in Minnesota; his master's at Northwestern University; and his doctorate at the University of Minnesota. He was an ordained Episcopal Minister and served in the clergy at Saint Michael's Church in Barrington, IL.

The family has requested memorial donations may be sent to the Brieland Visiting Scholar Fund, in care of the University of Illinois Foundation, Harker Hall, 1305 W. Green St., Urbana, IL 61801. Flowers can be sent to Morgan Memorial Home.

Social Worker of the Year
Mary Garrison, MSW, LSCW, ACSW, is currently assistant professor of social work at Millikin University and adjunct faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Mary has had extensive practice experience in the social work field, with over fifteen years of practice in mental health services. She is also a part-time private practitioner at Decatur Psychological Associates. Throughout her career, Mary has served as a therapist, clinical supervisor, manager, consultant, child development specialist, and victim/witness advocate. Mary has been active in providing continuing education opportunities for colleagues through professional workshops, presentations, and trainings domestically and internationally.

Lifetime Achievement Award
Richard L. Jones, PhD, currently serves as president emeritus for Metropolitan Family Services. Previously, Richard served as president of the Center for Families and Children in Cleveland, Ohio and executive director of Boston Children’s Services in Boston, Massachusetts. Richard completed his master’s and PhD in social work administration from the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences of Case Western Reserve University. Previous leadership responsibilities have included serving on the board of directors of Leadership Cleveland and the Cleveland United Way; co-chairing the International Year of the Family; and serving as chair of the Commission on Chemical Dependency and Child Welfare for the Child Welfare League of America. Metropolitan Family Services was recipient of Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders Award in 2006 and was presented the Alford-Axelson Nonprofit Managerial Excellence Award in 2007 by North Park University.

Public Citizen of the Year
Benjamin S. Wolf, JD, is an attorney who has served as director and chief legal counsel of the ACLU of Illinois' Institutionalized Persons Project since 1984. The Illinois Institutionalized Persons Project provides legal representation to Illinois residents of prisons, jails, mental health centers, and developmental centers and institutions for children such as group homes and foster homes. He supervises the project's legal and educational work and provides legal backup on such issues for the ACLU's lobbyist in Springfield. A native of Evanston, Wolf received his undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis. Ben served as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge James B. Moran in the Northern District of Illinois from 1979 through 1980. Prior to joining the ACLU legal staff, Wolf was a litigation associate at the law firm of Jenner & Block in Chicago from 1980 to 1984.

Legislative Award
Illinois Senator Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) and Illinois State Representative Karen Yarbrough (D-Maywood) are honored for their efforts in repealing Public Act 96-1543, a landmark legislation repealing the death penalty in Illinois. As key sponsors of the bill, Senator Raoul and State Representative Yarbrough championed (and ultimately saw passed) a bill that NASW Illinois supported yet seen fail numerous times previous.

These individuals, as well as the 2011 Emerging Leaders, will be honored at an awards reception at this year’s 2011 NASW Illinois Chapter Statewide Conference on Wednesday, November 9, 2011, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Oak Brook, IL, from 4:00 to 6:00pm.

To attend this year’s statewide conference for an opportunity to earn up to 18 continuing education units (CEUs), register online here.

For a look at the 2010 Statewide Awardees, click here.
 

Older adults are living longer than ever. Increased life expectancy brings an increase in the number of people living with chronic conditions, inadequate caregiver and community support, and poor medical care. The growing complexity of medical needs experienced by older adults necessitates more frequent visits to primary care physician offices and hospitalizations. Each interaction with the medical system, while aimed at improving the presenting issue, also comes with the risk of complications, whether from the treatment itself or because of a poor transition between care settings.

Every year older adults experience over 13 million transitions from hospital to home (1). All too often these transitions are unsuccessful and result in hospital readmissions—one in five Medicare beneficiaries returns to the hospital within thirty days of discharge (2). Readmissions have traditionally been viewed as largely a medical problem to be approached through better patient care, improved treatment options, better medications, and targeted coaching. These are no doubt critical to improved outcomes, but are only part of the client-centered picture. Social work—community social work in particular—shows that problems with care transitions are greatly complicated by the post-discharge psychosocial environment.

Years of on-the-ground social work in geographically varied settings in Illinois have demonstrated that a poor transition home is related to uncoordinated service providers, untimely community service implementation, confusion with the discharge plan of care and medication list, burdened caregivers and family members, and difficulty connecting with post-discharge physicians (3). To put it simply, the world beyond hospital doors is chaotic and disorganized. It can be confusing and scary out there for any patient, but for an older adult confronted with chronic conditions, multiple follow-up appointments, a burdened caregiver, and no strength to keep up with it all, it is an extremely daunting time.

Historically, the discharge team at a hospital included the hospital discharge planner, physician, nurse, therapists, home health, and (sometimes) the patient. The social work perspective was most often missing, yet it has been shown that 40 to 50% of hospital readmissions are connected to social problems and limited community resources (4). It is important to note that this does not imply that social work is only able to address 40 to 50% of readmissions. By connecting proper care providers, assisting with information transfer, and serving as the central care coordinator during a discharge, social workers are able to successfully intervene on most readmission cases.

In 2008, several experienced social workers in Illinois came together to formally address the gap in traditional transitional care approaches. Each came from different geographic and organizational settings and was able to bring varied perspective to the table. The result of years of collaboration was the Illinois Transitional Care Consortium (ITCC) and its Bridge Model (Bridge), now an evidence-based approach to transitional care recognized by the Administration on Aging. Bridge combined the evidence-based practices from Rush University Medical Center’s Enhanced Discharge Planning Program with best practices from the Aging Resource Center Program (developed by Aging Care Connections), thus yielding a comprehensive, social work–based approach that brought a true person-based, systems approach to transitional care and care coordination.
Bridge is the first and only social work–based approach to transitional care. Its’ research shows an impact on readmissions, physician follow-up, understanding of the discharge plan, understanding of prescribed medications, access to and time to start of community services, decreased caregiver and patient burden and stress, and, importantly, mortality. As would be expected from a social work approach, Bridge has significant flexibility allowing it to retain its essential elements in urban, suburban, and rural settings.
Bridge helps older adults to safely transition back to the community through intensive care coordination that starts in the hospital and continues after discharge to the community.
Bridge employs master’s prepared social workers, called Bridge Care Coordinators, to coordinate post-discharge older adult care and integrates Aging Resource Centers (ARC) inside hospitals. ARCs are a vital part of the model. They represent a tangible, real-world collaboration between the hospital and the community. The ARCs provide a dedicated space for older adults and their caregivers to explore community resources, health information, and caregiving materials, and to develop community care plans prior to discharge.
The essence of the Bridge Model is textbook social work practice: conduct a comprehensive, systems-based assessment and intervene on identified gaps. To garner meaningful results during a transition, an assessment is necessary both before and after discharge. The post-discharge assessment is absolutely crucial in its ability to tell the social worker what a client is actually going through when they get home. After all, it is only once a patient finds himself/herself home again after a hospital stay that the suspended systems typically interacting with them resume their machinations.

The Bridge Model consists of three intervention phases:

1. Pre-Discharge: Bridge Care Coordinators (BCCs) identify older adult patients who may be at risk for post-discharge complications. Referrals can originate with hospital discharge planners or be generated through an integrated risk screen in the electronic medical record. The BCCs meet with older adults and/or their caregivers in the hospital room or in the ARC to identify unmet needs and to set up services prior to discharge. BCCs may also prepare for discharge by reviewing medical records or meeting with an interdisciplinary team within the hospital.
2. Post-Discharge: New needs are frequently identified soon after an older adult returns home. The map is not the territory, as they say, and upon returning home, patients very frequently identify surprises. BCCs call consumers two days after discharge to conduct a thorough secondary assessment and intervene on identified needs. Areas of need include understanding discharge instructions, transportation issues, physician follow-up, burdened caregivers, problems with home health care, difficulty obtaining and/or understanding medications, and others. All post-discharge communication is telephonic. The typical intervention requires just over five calls over the period of five days. Calls are made to clients, caregivers, community physicians, the discharging hospital, home health, and any other community care provider.
3. Follow-Up: The BCC follows up with consumers at thirty days post-discharge to address emerging needs, connect or reconnect consumers to long-term supports in the community, and to conduct quality assurance and evaluation surveys.

Bridging the gap between the community and hospital is imperative in meeting the needs of older adults transitioning home. Thorough knowledge of the target community a patient transitions to is essential. For that reason, every BCC must be an expert in the community resources of their service area. For those older adults navigating the aging network for the first time, the BCCs are tasked with explaining and normalizing its use. Interestingly, the hospital setting greatly de-stigmatizes community resource use, particularly if referrals are made prior to discharge.

Many older adults lack the knowledge of the breadth of community resources freely available to them. It is the BCCs job to educate, advocate, and implement the resources on behalf of or with the client. For example, while the older adult may have been told upon discharge what medications to take by their doctor, the older adult may not have information on benefits assistance to be able to afford the medications. BCCs offer benefits assistance and guide patients through the often confusing process of securing financial assistance. Similarly, an older adult may have a follow-up appointment scheduled with his/her physician but may not have transportation to reach the office. A BCC knows the transportation services available to older adults in the community. Instead of charging the older adult with the job of securing community resources upon the return home, the BCC plans for services with the individual to reduce the risk and burden associated with transitions between healthcare settings.

Upon returning home, the difficulty of the post-discharge reality sets in. An older adult may have an accurate list of medications but may not understand how to take each medication because the directions were not provided in Spanish. A caregiver may know how to assist their loved one with dementia but may not know what to do when caregiving becomes overwhelming. An older adult returning home may be afraid of falling again. An older adult may not want to give up his/her independence and resists a discussion about homecare services. An especially frustrating layer is added when the community systems in place to care for the discharged patient do not communicate with one another and thereby represent significant hurdles of their own.

A BCC addresses these psychosocial and care coordination needs that impact the health and well-being of older adults transitioning home. By being both the patient advocate and the connecting link between numerous silos of care surrounding the patient, the BCC covers all the necessary bases to ensure a safe landing after a hospital stay.

BCCs, as social workers, are trained to provide person-centered care necessary for a successful transition home. As a profession, social workers are charged with the mission to preserve the worth and inherent dignity of their clients through the NASW Code of Ethics (5). Bridge requires its BCCs to be master’s level social workers because they have the expertise to work with older adults struggling between accepting the help required to successfully return home and preserving a feeling of independence. The clinical toolkit necessary for the role includes the ability to quickly build trust and rapport, work towards client goals while managing family dynamics, and utilizing therapeutic techniques such as motivational interviewing to assist with the ambivalence so frequently found in frail older adults. Social workers know how to work with resistant or reluctant clients. BCC social work training and expertise resulted in hospital discharge planners sometimes asking, “Can you please work your magic on this patient?”

Nearly every older adult voices a desire to remain independent in the community, living at home. In order to assist older adults with this goal, social workers must be at the table in the healthcare setting to create a seamless and holistic approach to transitional care.

The Bridge Program: An Innovative Social Work Approach to Transitional Care will be presented during the 3:15–4:45pm time slot on Friday, November 11, 2011. Sign up to attend the workshop here.

REFERENCES
1. Jencks, S. F., Williams, M. V., Coleman, E. A. (2009). Rehospitalizations among patients in the Medicare fee-for-service program. New England Journal of Medicine, 14(360) 1418–1428.
2. Perry, A., Golden, R., Rooney, M., and Shier, G. (2011). Best practice: Rush University Medical Center’s enhanced discharge planning program. In. P. Shelton and C. Schrader (Eds.), Comprehensive care coordination: Community care of chronically ill adults. Wiley-Blackwell.
3. Proctor, E. K., Morrow-Howell, N., Li, H., & Dore, P. (2000). Adequacy of home care and hospital readmission for elderly congestive heart failure patients. Health and Social Work, 25(2), 87–96.
4. Summary Proceedings: Transitional Care Leadership Summit. (2006) http://www.healthresearchforaction.org/sites/default/files/REPORT_PUBS_H2H%20SummitProc%20FNL_0.pdf. Accessed September 19, 2011.
5. National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Washington, DC: Author.

Walter Rosenberg, LSW, is program coordinator of Older Adult Programs at Rush University Medical Center where he oversees the business and strategic planning of the department and its health promotion and disease prevention membership program, Rush Generations. In addition, he serves on numerous hospital committees, including the Medical Home and Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities committees and co-leads the departmental grant writing team. He provides transitional patient care as a social worker in Rush’s Bridge Program and Medical Home pilot. Walter serves on the management team of the Illinois Transitional Care Consortium (ITCC).

Ilana Shure, EdM, MSW, LSW, Ilana Shure is program manager at Aging Resource Center, a transitional care program created by Aging Care Connections based on-site at Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital in La Grange, Illinois. Ilana supervises master’s–level social workers and provides in-service training to hospital staff on the aging network, aging issues, and community-based services for older adults. As a representative for Aging Care Connections to the Illinois Transitional Care Consortium, Ilana assists with the development and implementation of the Bridge Model at the Aging Resource Center in La Grange, as well as across the Bridge Model sites throughout Illinois.

Retired Social Worker SIG: Is Social Work Retirement Unique?
by Joseph Marlin and Betty Dayron

In this workshop we will examine some of the ways in which retiring as a social worker is similar to retirement from other kinds of jobs. We will also talk about what seems unique to planning for and experiencing retirement as a social worker.

Most people retire unless they have little or no work history or, sadly, die prematurely. Many young people may feel that retirement is so far distant as to defy active planning; many nearing retirement may have apprehensions about economic, residential, health, or other issues.

 At some point, we generally begin to actively plan for retirement, especially in regard to fiscal issues. Our current job choices, sex, and success in maintaining relationships all impinge on our retired life. When retirement looms, and hopefully we have control over when this is, we need to answer many questions, even if only tentatively at first. Will our health make our choices easier or more difficult? What legal issues may arise? What will the pattern of our retirement be? Will we rest on our laurels, or climb new mountain, or at least hills? How closely will reality match our fantasy about retired life? Will we wish to, or need to, retire more than once?

Most social work employers have guidelines for ending work and offer some kind of pension or retirement plan. Those in private practice have other issues to consider, both in regard to their own financial futures and protecting clients’ records.

There are broader issues involved when we as social workers are required to focus on what’s good for ourselves. We’re not always as good at that. We are professionals: competent, self-reliant, nonjudgmental, but full of opinions. Are we good at contemplating our own aging processes, or are we perhaps handicapped by our need to always be so helpful to others?

And then there are all the identity issues. When we retire, are we still social workers? If not, what are we? Who are we? Does the answer depend on whether we are getting paid for what we do or not? If we volunteer, does that count? Is being a social worker about how we think about things? We tend to think systemically and diagnostically without asking ourselves to do it, and without getting paid to do it. Sometimes that is useful thinking, and at other times, not so welcome.

There will be a lot of time in this session for questions and interaction. After all, we are the pros of planning and problem-solving. We are change agents and focused on improving the world. We are also sometimes the folks who don’t carve out enough time to consider what’s best for ourselves. This session will be an opportunity to learn from each other, to think and talk about our own lives, both present and future.

Is Social Work Retirement Unique? An Overview of General and Unique Retirement Issues will be presented during the 10:45am–12:15pm time slot on Friday, November 11, 2011. Sign up to attend the workshop here.

The Older Adults (RSW) SIG will be presenting the workshop Older Adults SIG: How Social Work Interventions Can Help People with Dementia and Their Families Live With Purpose and Meaning. 

Older Adults SIG: How Social Work Interventions Can Help People with Dementia and Their Families Live With Purpose and Meaning
Darby Morhardt, MSW, LCSW
    Older adults and their families, most specifically those living with some form of cognitive impairment in the community setting has been the focus of my work for over 25 years.    I have learned much and been enriched by what they have taught me about aging, about facing challenge and coping with loss, and most importantly about living life with purpose and meaning.   In spite of the progressive nature of dementia and although we currently lack medications to prevent, arrest or reverse its course, we can enhance the quality of life for the person with dementia and their family.
    While non-medical interventions cannot stop disease progression, there are effective ways to help individuals and families cope.  A 2010 systematic review suggests that non-pharmacological treatments initiated early in the disease, have the potential to improve outcomes related to cognitive ability, physical functioning and well-being for those with dementia and their families (Olazaran, 2010).  Multimodal therapies that incorporate emotional support, exercise and promotion of physical health, creative expression and cognitive stimulation have been shown to positively affect physical, cognitive and behavioral outcomes (Burgener et al., 2008).  With the anticipated increase in individuals diagnosed with dementia there will be a demand for programs focused on participants’ strengths, abilities, creative potential and valuable contributions, rather than for their disease.
    In this workshop, Improving Quality of Life for Persons with Dementia and Their Families, we will review the growing body of research that calls attention to the impact of dementia on the affected person and their struggle to maintain a sense of identity despite diminishing abilities.  We will then review ways to help both the person with dementia and their family live and cope with cognitive decline by exploring a number of innovative education and quality of life enrichment programs targeting their multiple and complex needs.
    For example, we will discuss one program in which persons with early stage dementia are paired with a first year medical student for an academic year, allowing for the person with dementia to experience an empowering relationship in which they are not the “patient”, but a mentor and guide to a medical student.  This interaction, in turn, has led medical students to reconsider their images and ideas of illness and aging and allowed them to witness first-hand how the person with dementia and their family cope with the changes they are experiencing.
    The arts have long been recognized as enhancing health and well-being across the lifespan and interventions tapping into creative abilities of persons with early stage dementia also show promise.   Published results from model programs will be discussed and a new program using an improvisational theatre intervention for persons with early stage dementia will be introduced.
    Finally, the need for more research on the efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions will be examined.  In essence, what are the most effective ways of helping people with dementia preserve their sense of self and live their lives as meaningfully as possible?   I hope you will please join me in exploring these issues.
References
Burgener, S., Yang, Y., Gilbert, R., Marsh-Yant, S. (2008).  The effects of a multimodal     intervention on outcomes of persons with early-stage dementia.  American     Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease & Other Dementias, 23(4), 382-394.
Olazaran, J., Reisberg, B., Clare, L., Cruz, I., Pena-Casanova, J., del Ser, T., Woods, B.,     Beck, C., Auer, S., Lai, C., Spector, A., Fazio, S., Bond, J., Kivipelto, M., Brodaty,     H., Rojo, J.M., Collins, H., Teri, L., Mittelman, M., Orrell, M., Feldman, H.H., &     Muniz, R. (2010).  Nonpharmacological therapies in Alzheimer’s disease:  A     systematic review of efficacy. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders,     30,161-178.
 

IF GIVEN A BUCKET OF CUCUMBERS, MAKE PICKLES
A humorous look at a sad but true story by Patrick White

Should a person with schizophrenia or any other mental/nervous disorder have to worry about being politically correct, as far as the disease is concerned? My first thought is that I have to put up with the disease and don’t really want to waste time and energy with being correct. But is that really realistic?

Having been diagnosed with chronic paranoid schizophrenia over fourteen years ago, I have been put in some unusual situations because of the disease or disorder. I have found some people get upset if you call it a disease. This is a politically correct thing I just don’t connect with. There are some things you just don’t say, but the difference between calling schizophrenia a disease or a disorder just seems so minute that it borders on being ridiculous.

I wrote an article that was published in a newsletter recently. The editing did not amount to much, but I was surprised that you are not suppose to say someone is schizophrenic; instead, you say a person with schizophrenia. We who have the disease had better not be so thin-skinned or we may have a miserable life. I wonder whether it is the people with the disease/disorder who take offense or others that are so touchy about these things.

The worst situation I have gotten in since I've had the disorder was very strange, and you talk about not being politically correct. I had my semi-annual cold/sinus infection plus bronchitis and went to a walk-in clinic to see a doctor. I was taken back to a room, and the nurse did her usual check of blood pressure, temperature, and symptoms. We were doing just fine until we started on the medications I was on. I told her thiothixene. She asked what it was for. I said, It is an antipsychotic drug. Yes, but what is it for? I told her chronic paranoid schizophrenia. I was sitting on the end of the exam table. She was on a stool five feet away at a writing area. She immediately got up and walked to the door. She held the clipboard up to the wall and tried to finish the chart holding the chart with her palm and writing with the same hand. Her other hand was behind her on the door knob while she finished the paper work and got out as soon as she could. I was embarrassed, my feelings were hurt, and I was angry. I mean, this is a medical professional. My psychiatrist had warned me early on, "Give as little information about your disorder as possible.” And I certainly learned what he meant that morning. The doctor came in and gave me an examination and a prescription. He said, “Your blood pressure is pretty high today; you’d better keep an eye on that.” He had no way of knowing what had just happened.

After being diagnosed with schizophrenia and put on medication, I did a lot of thinking. This disease or disorder is my problem and should be no one else’s. I know it has had some effect on my family and friends, but it should not cause a total stranger problems. So I said nothing about what had happened to anyone. My father’s health was starting to fail, and we were in the clinic a lot. If that nurse happened to be in the lobby when we came in, she speed-walked to the nearest door. I have had similar situations in other medical facilities, but nothing this drastic. My question is why are some medical professionals so uncomfortable with the mentally ill? Are they shown the worst of the worst people with mental diseases while in school? Are they not taught that most people with mental problems are harmless and that many are downright timid? I have thought about this a lot and don’t know who, if anyone, would have the answer.

I am more experienced with how to conduct oneself if such situations arise now. There is Plan A (My personal favorite ). Yell, "Boo!" at the top of your lungs. And Plan B would be to say, "Boy! Am I hungry for some fresh liver." The problem with this is that the poor nurse might have had a heart attack or hurt herself running through the door. I have been meaning to ask my attorney if I would have any liability issues if any of this occurred.

I just read this to my mother, a former English teacher, to see what she thought. She replied, “When did this problem with the obnoxious nurse take place?” I said, "There have been a lot of cukes through the brine since then.” It happened around 1996 or 1997, a few years after I was diagnosed. "If I had been there,” my mother said, “I would have hit her.” “I know you would," I said. At that time, my mother was in her early 70s, 4'9" tall, and 110 pounds. She still could have got away with it.

That’s another downfall of this disease. You really don’t dare lose it, even if you should. If I had said something to her, she would have run out of the office screaming that the schizophrenic has lost it. “Get help, call the police!” That possibly could have led to being put in a mental unit against my wishes to evaluate me for several days.

My mother said, “ I still would have hit her.” I told her, "It's a good thing I am the person with schizophrenia rather than you.” You see, there are two sides to this politically correct thing. The people who aren’t mentally ill can get away with more than those of us who are mentally ill. I am the one with the disease, yet I still feel like I should not have to waste time and energy with being politically correct. But I have learned I need to. It’s rather annoying, just as my psychiatrist told me from the get-go: “Don’t give any more information than you have to.” But it does get better with time.

Some may think I am right-wing with my attitude towards being politically correct, but I am not. I have seen social programs such as Medicare, Illinois RX, and hospice work. No, they are not perfect, but they help a lot. I also know all too well the failure of health insurance in this country, and we do need social programs.

We put the cucumbers in the brine.
Sometimes you wonder why waste your time.
It takes more energy than yours and mine.
But the end result is fine.

A BOLD NEW APPROACH TO MENTAL ILLNESS
Marvin Lindsey, MSW, CADC

“We need a new type of health care facility; one which will return mental health care to mainstream of American medicine, and at the same time upgrade mental health services.” —President John F. Kennedy in an address to Congress, 1963

The state of Illinois is in the beginning stages of a bold approach in how people with mental illnesses will be treated in the community mental health system. It is very different from the bold new approach that was presented in 1963. Illinois’ bold approach appears to be an approach in which the state abdicates many of it responsibilities toward its citizens with mental illnesses, especially the working poor and the uninsured.

The statement by President Kennedy ushered in what we know today as community mental health centers (CMHCs). The new approach called for CMHCs to be a “safety net” for people with mental illnesses and to provide five essential services: inpatient services, outpatient services, day treatment, emergency services and consultation, and education services.

As we highlight National Depression Awareness and Education Month, the funding for Illinois CMHCs to provide essential services, such as community education, has declined substantially over the last three to four years due to disproportionate budget cuts. Two invaluable and important features of CMHC’s has been their ability to treat and educate individuals and the general public about depression and other mental illnesses.

In my work as a public policy social worker for the Community Behavioral Healthcare Association of Illinois (CBHA)—a trade association of mental health and substance use prevention and treatment providers—I have been very fortunate to witness the efficient time spent by CMHC staff in providing mental health education at community and neighborhood fairs, at rallies, in malls, at sporting events, in schools, and numerous other venues.

However, due to continuous disproportionate state budget cuts and other systemic changes over the last several years, CMHCs have been forced to dramatically reduce consultation/education and treatment services, especially for those who are uninsured. The state budgets for the mental health and substance use treatment system have seen deeper budget cuts than other state agencies. All of the cuts have targeted services for the uninsured or people without Medicaid or other insurances. The bold approach in Illinois has become a very frightening experience.

Over the last forty years, CMHCs have survived but service priorities and the locus of control have changed. Currently, in Illinois, this is especially true. The mental health system is undergoing dramatic changes, such as the proposed closing of state psychiatric hospitals, the contracting of mental health services to Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), the restriction of certain psychiatric medications, and the underfunding of services for the uninsured. Over the last two years, the state budget for community mental health has been cut by close to $65 million, which translates to tens of thousand of people with mental illnesses either losing services or being unable to access services. However, an admitted $30 million “mistake” in this year’s budgeting process has a chance of being corrected.

On the last day of this year’s legislative session, the chairperson of the Illinois House Appropriation Human Service Committee recognized that $30 million was mistakenly taken out of the budget that funds community mental health programs and put into another department’s budget. A bill, SB 2407, was drafted to correct the mistake and was passed by the Illinois House, 109 to 7. SB 2407 was then sent to the Illinois Senate and put on the legislative calendar for a vote of concurrence, but time ran out and SB 2407 was not called.

On October 25th, the Illinois General Assembly will reconvene for its fall veto session. It is essential that the Illinois Senate correct the mistake by passing SB 2407. The bill does not increase the budget and is merely a transfer of funds from one department to another.

The $30 million that was mistakenly cut from the mental health budget are funds that cover mental health services for those without Medicaid or any type of insurance. Without these funds, uninsured people with mental illnesses will be forced to cycle in and out of hospital emergency rooms and jails which will be even more costly to the state. For example, in one Illinois community, psychiatric hospital admissions have more than doubled over the last two years.

As the state of Illinois works towards a bold approach, we must our legislators that it must factor in all people, with or without insurance; the bold approach must include CMHCs and the state as true partners. It must be one that reduces or eliminates unnecessary bureaucratic paperwork and redundant procedures or processes; it must pay a fair rate to those it contracts with and cut down on the time it takes to pay them (currently six to nine months). Lastly, this bold approach can begin with the passing of SB 2407, which will help thousands of people with mental illnesses to access and/or maintain community mental health services.

Marvin Lindsey, MSW, CADC, is specialist on addictions and co-occurring substance use and mental health issues for the Community Behavioral Healthcare Association of Illinois (CBHA). Prior to coming to CBHA, he worked in several community-based social service and behavioral healthcare agencies. He also has ten years of experience in social science research with Harvard University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC).

After completing my MSW and then passing the licensing exam, friends in the profession immediately began to ask things like, “So when are you going to hang your shingle?" It’s one of those automatic questions similar to when you get married and people start asking you when you are going to have a baby. Honestly, I had no interest. I liked the security of regular pay and regular hours. I also knew very little about the world of managed care, deductibles, and co-pays. But, as often happens, life took a turn and one professional door appeared to be closing at the exact moment that a friend was leaving her position in a group private practice and I was invited to explore the opportunity. Although my primary focus at that time was on pay and paperwork, in the last nine years I have come to learn that there are many other aspects that are critical to consider in a group practice. In this article, I’ll share a few of the things that I have learned.

Pay
Of course pay is important and probably one of the primary concerns on any new practitioner's mind. In a group private practice pay is often factored in one of two ways. Most often, pay is based on either a split of receipts or each practitioner pays a base rate for rent and expenses. Regardless of the way pay is determined, you should consider some additional factors.

First off, your pay is directly influenced by the actual reimbursement rate that has been negotiated with managed care companies. It is important to ask questions about the fee scale for services that are charged by the office, as well as the actual reimbursement rates that have been negotiated. Frequently, managed care companies have special negotiated rates for practitioners that participate in their networks. It is also important to know who negotiates these rates and how often the rates are reevaluated. In order to get the best reimbursements, you need someone competent in negotiations to work with the managed care companies on a regular basis.

Another factor to consider is collections. Once you have negotiated a fee and rendered a service, what does the organization do in order to make sure that the money due is actually collected? When I joined my practice, I hadn’t considered the number of hours that can be spent tracking money. The money received for each service rendered may have several payment sources. For me, I wanted to know that the money was collected, but I wasn’t interested in spending hours calling clients, parents, and insurance companies asking for my money. I was happy to discover that the practice I joined had an experienced staff well versed in collections with clear policies as to the expectations of when payment was expected and what procedures would transpire when that did not occur. I found it beneficial for me to not have to wear two hats.  While I do discuss client bills with them when there is an issue, I don’t have to spend extensive clinical time discussing reimbursement issues. Our office staff manages this well, and I find it helpful to have this division of responsibility.

Expenses
After discussing pay, the next major issue is to clarify exactly what expenses each clinician is individually responsible for. I once had a supervisor that talked about her first days as a clinician where her only supplies consisted of manila files, cardboard boxes, and a box of pens. We have come a long way since then. Today a typical office will require a computer, printer, possibly a fax machine, phone system, stationary, business cards, office furniture, educational materials, etc. It’s critical to know what expenses will be the responsibility of the organization and what expenses each individual will incur.

In conjunction with establishing a clear understanding of the division of office expenses, it is also important to understand how purchasing decisions are made. I have found that in an office with several practitioners, individuals will have different priorities in terms of office maintenance and resources. It helps to have a clear understanding how purchasing decisions are researched and determined. These expenses can quickly influence the pay check a practitioner takes home.

Policy and Procedure
There are many standardized practice procedures and imposed policies by affiliated agencies, but there is also great variability. Professionals often have specific needs and preferences in terms of the way they practice. It is important to know the office policies and to feel comfortable in your ability to work within the established policies. Some additional things to consider include: Do practitioners create their own forms of documentation? Is there a centralized charting system? How are policy decisions made? Who is included in these decisions?

Marketing
I have the advantage of working in an office with four psychiatrists and two other social workers. I am grateful to have inter-office referrals. That being said, I have always felt that it is important not to become a feeder fish relying on one referral source. I believe that it is important for individuals, as well as the organizations, to create a presence in the communities they work. This is hard work and takes money. It requires someone to spend time out of the office which in turns means he/she is not seeing clients. It is time-consuming work and difficult to find a balance between marketing and working. There is also some actual expense realized. In order to market yourself, you need resources to disburse and reference. There is no fixed formula to guide the right type of and amount of marketing to create a successful practice. It is important to understand the marketing practices of the organization. Are there practices or strategies in place? Will these practices support the type of clinical work that you wish to do? Are these practices consistent with your beliefs? Are these practices affordable and shared?

Referrals
Finally, it is important to know what happens when a potential client calls the office to make an appointment. You may work for a wonderful organization with effective policies, a good pay structure, and solid marketing practices, but none of that matters if you don’t get referrals. It isn’t always easy to think of things this way, but in a group practice you are as much a team as you are competitors. Unless there are clear, agreed-upon policies to determine how referrals are disbursed, you won’t survive professionally and work will be very unpleasant. Management of referrals needs to include how to handle both individuals that call and request a specific provider, as well as cold calls. The policy should be very clearly defined and agreed upon. You also want to have the ability to review this policy periodically, particularly when there is a change in providers. In the end, it is critical that everyone feel comfortable with how referrals into and within the organization are handled.

Conclusion
There are numerous advantages to a group private practice. The practical advantages are the shared resources, knowledge, reputation, and ideas. The secondary benefit is the camaraderie. It is a powerful thing to sit around a table and actively share ideas about practice, clinical cases, regulations, and life. The group practice allowed me to do what I love with a tolerable level of risk in a supportive environment. I have no regrets, but I am aware that not all practices are the same and it is vital to know what to expect.

Audrey LeMasters (PhD, Walden University; LCSW) has lived her whole life in the Peoria area. Though graduating from the high school in the early 1980s, she was unable to attend college immediately due to the economy. She returned to college as a nontraditional student in the mid 1980s, eventually graduating from Illinois State University in 1993 with a degree in psychology.

Audrey applied and obtained a job at a private agency working in child welfare. To this day, she is convinced that the reason she got the job was because of the fear she expressed during the interview at being able to adequately fulfill all of the responsibilities of the job. She continued her work at various private agencies for nearly eight years. During this time, she returned to school to complete her master’s degree in social work from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

After completing her master’s, she obtained a job as a clinical coordinator for a Partial Hospitalization program in Peoria. She was then offered the opportunity to work at a local private practice. She has worked for the past nine years in private practice. She also works part-time at the Heart of Illinois HIV/AIDS program.

I.  FEDERAL CLASS ACTION SUIT FILED ON CHILDREN'S MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

A class action lawsuit has been filed alleging that the state of Illinois has failed to meet its legal obligations to provide services to children with behavioral and emotional disorders under Medicaid's EPSDT mandate for children ages 0 through 21. The lawsuit, titled N.B. by Buchanan v. Hamos, was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois by attorneys Robert Farley, Michelle Schneiderheinze, Mary Denise Cahill, and Alysha Briggs-Miller. The complaint alleges that the state has failed to comply with federal laws which mandate that Medicaid-eligible children up to age 21 who have behavioral or emotional disorders be provided mental health and behavioral interventions to correct or ameliorate their conditions. The complaint further alleges that the state's failure has resulted in repeated unnecessary institutionalization and hospitalizations of some class members, and the "locking out" of some children by parents who cannot deal with the emotional or behavioral problems. The suit mentions, among other things, the state's very stingy use of Individual Care Grants (ICGs) to serve children with severe mental illness. Another issue raised by the lawsuit is the state's use of a waiting list of children waiting for services. Waiting lists are impermissible under federal law for services that are considered entitlements.

II. NASW ILLINOIS OPPOSES CHESTER MENTAL HEALTH CENTER CLOSURE

NASW Illinois Chapter Executive Director Joel L. Rubin has sent a letter to Governor Quinn in opposition of the proposed closure of the Chester Mental Health Center in Chester, Illinois. Joel and I have also contacted several members of the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) about the proposed closure. COGFA has the responsibility to hold a hearing on the proposed closure of any state-operated facility and to make recommendations. NASW Illinois' concerns include the fact that the services provided at Chester are unique in Illinois, that these services cannot be successfully assumed by other state mental health centers, and that closing Chester poses a serious threat to public safety and the health of current Chester residents. It should be noted that the establishment of Chester and its functions was created by statute; the statute would have to be repealed by act of the Illinois General Assembly before the facility can be closed.

The governor, citing a shortage of appropriations, has also proposed to close several other state facilities including the Tinley Park Mental Health Center, two centers for persons with developmental disabilities (Mabley and Jacksonville), and a youth correctional facility in Murphysboro. 

III.  VETO SESSION COMING UP

The fall Veto Session of the Illinois General Assembly is scheduled for October 25-27, 2011, and November 8-10, 2011 in Springfield, Illinois. The veto session is convened each year to consider bills for which the governor has issued either a total veto or an amendatory veto. The legislature can either override a total veto or an amendatory veto, meaning the bill will: be enacted over the governor's objection; accept an amendatory veto; or take no action on a vetoed bill, thus rendering the bill dead. Also under consideration will be budget line items that the governor has either reduced ("line item reduction") or zeroed out ("line item veto"). The Illinois General Assembly can also conduct other legislative business during the veto session.  

Some significant issues that could be taken up during the veto session include (1) SB 744, a major gambling expansion bill; (2) SB 1652, a bill that would allow utility companies to raise rates to pay for electrical grid improvements; (3) HB 1353, a bill dealing with the controversial legislative scholarship program that the governor wants to abolish; (4) the governor's veto action to eliminate state funding for Regional Offices of Education; (5) the proposed closures of seven state-operated facilties referenced above; and (6) legislation to put into effect the recommendations of a legislative study committee on a health benefits exchange in preparation for the implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act in 2014.

IV.  FEDERAL DEFICIT REDUCTION

I will be brief and to the point about this issue: We MUST be actively involved in advocating for the preservation of critical social service, health, and education programs funded in whole or in part by the federal government. Everything is on the table as the "supercommittee" of twelve legislators considers various ways to cut over $1 trillion in spending from the federal budget. Social workers have to understand that the social safety net and programs we have counted on for years could be slashed or eliminated if not enough voices are heard. Please call you United States Senators and your members of Congress and urge them NOT to cut vital programs for the poor, children, older adults,and persons with disabilities.

For a complete up-to-date list of ALL classified ads, be sure to visit the NASW Illinios Chapter Classified Ads: http://www.naswil.org/news/networker/networker-classifieds/.

CONSULT/SUPERVISION - Consumer Eyes
Looking to interview SWs who work with lower-income families to understand their attitudes, mindset, etc.
Pay = $150 for 1 hr interview in Chicago on 10/18
Contact: dave@consumereyes.com

OFFICE FOR RENT - Skokie
Sublet and/or lease in 3 office suite, waiting room, free parking in medical office bldg. Call Rosemary at 773-936-9955.

OFFICE FOR RENT - Buffalo Grove
BUFFALO GROVE/LONG GROVE:Small office available. Quiet & confidential waiting room. Large window. New paint & carpet. Ideal location with 13 other medical offices.Please call Susan (847) 913-140

NASW ILLINIOS CHAPTER JOB BOARD

For a complete and up-to-date list of job board postings, visit the NASW Illinois Chapter Job Board: http://www.naswil.org/education-career-development/association-job-board/.

• Clinician (Fraser Vaselakos & Associates)
• LSW Social Worker (Hospice of Kankakee Valley)
• Renal Social Worker (Nephron Dialysis Center, Ltd)

• Maneuvering Around Potential Landmines and Roadblocks in the Treatment of Eating Disorders
• The Hurting and the Hurt: Clinical Approaches to Help Those Who Are Bullied and Who Bully
• Planting Seeds and Hope: The Therapeutic Value of Gardening
• If I Don’t Look Like You, How Can I Be Like You? Skin Color and Attachment in Transracial Adoption
• Now What? Strategies for Eliminating Disproportionality in Child Welfare
• LGBTQ Transitions to Adulthood: Intersecting Development Trajectories
• The Alchemy, Art, and Craft of Teaching Storytelling for Social Workers
• Casa Hogar Los Angelitos: Lessons I Learned in a Mexican Orphanage
• Social Work with American Muslims
• Tell Them to Take Their Medicine: Adolescent Medication Adherence
• How Does Broken Find the bone? Developmental Trauma Disorder in Children and Adolescents
• Art of Mindfulness: The Intersection of Yoga and Child Therapy
• The Realities of Divorce: The Truth About the Legal Process and Its Impact on Emotions and the Family
• Empowering Youth Identified by Police Officers
• Surviving the Storm of Teen Depression: Opportunities for Hope and Healing
• Seeing Under the Surface: The Meaning of Out-of-Control Behavior in Adopted Children
• At-Risk or Model Minority Kids? Facts of Asian American Children

With over 80 courses and 100 speakers, the NASW Illinois Chapter Statewide Conference is THE place for school social workers to earn CPDUs! Click here to find out more about the statewide conference. Sign up today!

The NASW Illinois Chapter Statewide Conference meets the continuing education requirements for Illinois CADCs, CPDUs (TYPE 73), and licensed social workers in Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin per the National CE Provider Program.

There remain many barriers to full legal recognition of gay and lesbian couples’ relationships although this is an area of family law that is developing at a rapid pace.  In recent years many cases have been litigated across the country addressing foster care and adoption, child custody rights, and same-sex marriage.  Past NASW Legal Defense Fund Legal Issue of the Month articles have outlined earlier cases addressing these issues (NASW, 2006, 2008).  NASW continues to be involved as a “friend of the court” to support the family relationships of same-sex couples and their children and this Legal Issue of the Month article provides an update on the status of state laws addressing these matters.

To read the rest of the article, click here. NOTE: NASW login required.

Dr. Brieland, founding director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, was a true giant in the social work profession in the state of Illinois and in the country. He served as social work dean at both the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and at the University of Illinois at Chicago (Jane Addams College of Social Work). His obituary can found at: http://www.news-gazette.com/obituaries/2011-10-02/donald-brieland.html.

His obituary reads as follows:

Donald Brieland
Champaign—Donald Brieland, the founding director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and author of one of the foremost texts on social work and the law, died at 7:05 pm Friday September 30, 2011 at Provena Covenant Hospital in Urbana, Ill. He was 87.  A beloved father and husband, world traveler, a leader and pioneer in the field of Social Work and the law, Don's memory is a blessing to all those whose lives he has touched.

Brieland is survived by his wife, Wynne Korr of Champaign and his children, Lisa Castor (son-in-law Randy) of  Mahomet, IL and Joan Brieland (son-in-law Greg Shoultz), of Chelsea, MI; and grandchildren Joe Castor and Anna and Kathryn Brieland- Shoultz..
Visitation will be held at Morgan Memorial Home on Tuesday October 4, 2011 at 3:30 pm, memorial service immediately following at 5 pm. Burial service will be private.

Brieland, of Champaign, was dean emeritus of the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he served from 1980 to 1990. Previously, Brieland had been the dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1975 to 1980. His wife, Wynne Korr, of Champaign, is the current dean of the School of Social Work at the Urbana campus.

Brieland was professor and director of the Social Service Center at the University of Chicago from 1965 to 1970 and an associate dean of the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago from 1968 to 1970. He was the director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services from 1963 to 1965.

At Urbana, Brieland led the push for accreditation of the bachelor of social work program and the development of courses and texts in contemporary social work, and social work and the law.

Brieland's research and teaching focused on contemporary social work as well as child and family policy; social work and the law; human behavior and the social environment; and social work education.

He wrote "Social Work and the Law," with John Lemmon, and "Contemporary Social Work," with C. Atherton and L. Costin.

Brieland was a Fulbright Lecturer at the University of Peshawar, in Pakistan, and also a visiting professor at the University of Melbourne, in Australia. He served as a visiting professor during summer sessions at Virginia Commonwealth University, Iowa State University, Union College, the University of Omaha, and Macalester College.

He was a member of the National Association of Social Workers, the Council on Social Work Education, and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. In addition, he was editor in chief of the journal Social Work from 1976 to 1979.

Born in 1924 in Pencer, MN, Brieland earned his bachelor's degree at Carleton College, in Minnesota; his master's at Northwestern University; and his doctorate at the University of Minnesota. He was an ordained Episcopal Minister and served in the clergy at Saint Michael's Church in Barrington, IL.

The family has requested memorial donations may be sent to the Brieland Visiting Scholar Fund, in care of the University of Illinois Foundation, Harker Hall, 1305 W. Green St., Urbana, IL 61801. Flowers can be sent to Morgan Memorial Home.

There are a number of exciting professional events and news items I wish to bring to your attention:

The statewide conference will be held in just a few weeks in Oak Brook, Illinois. There are many interesting topics and speakers to choose from. It’s a great opportunity to obtain the CEUs necessary for license renewal and an opportunity to meet other social workers throughout the state. I’ll also be presenting on Friday afternoon on Managing a Mental Health Crisis in a Long Term Care Setting.

Speaking of CEUs, you can obtain all three ethics CEUs either online or at the chapter office. For a listing of all NASW Illinois Chapter events, please check out the website calendar at http://www.naswil.org/calendar/month/2011-09/.

Locally, we will host an in-service on Friday, October 21, from 12:00 to 1:00pm entitled, Working with Co-Occurring Clients: Walking Through the Maze of Treatment. In this lunch and learn, you will be given information and education on the current trends, impact, and the beginning process of working with co-occurring (dual diagnosis) clients. This will be held at Family Service of McHenry County at 4100 Veterans Parkway in McHenry, Illinois. A light lunch will be served. Please register to attend at www.naswil.org.

Finally,  let us welcome the following new district NASW members: 

I would first like to welcome our newest NASW Illinois East Central District Members: Lisa Brinkerhoff, Wendy Heeren, and Pamela Wingate. Welcome to all of you! We are so thrilled to have you as a part of our district.

As you know, the NASW Illinois State Conference is coming up quickly Novemer 9 through 11, 2011. There is still time to register. Please take the time to see what wonderful opportunities for continuing education and networking are available. Check it out!

District Events for October: We will be holding an NASW Informational Event at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Social Work on Monday, October 17, 2011 from 12:00 to 1:00pm. Event participants will include Candi Gray, NASW Illinois Chapter Vice President; Mary Garrison, East Central District Chair; as well as our NASW Illinois Chapter Interns Lindsey Burke and Jacob Gappa. During the event, we will be discussing NASW membership including all the benefits and resources available as well as have a question and answer session over lunch to engage our future social work colleagues!

I wish you all a great October!

Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) takes place October 2nd through 8th and is an opportunity to learn more about serious mental illnesses such as major depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.

Mental illnesses are medical illnesses. One in four adults experiences a mental health problem in any given year. One in seventeen lives with serious, chronic illness. People who live with mental illness are family members, friends, and neighbors.  

Look for activities or events in your neighborhood to increase your awareness of mental illness.

Look for the NASW Illinois Chapter booth at the Mental Health Fair this Saturday, October 1, 2011 at Cherry Vale Mall in Cherry Valley, Illinois, as we kick off Mental Illness Awareness Week!

Hopefully everyone has received an e-mail already concerning the upcoming Legislative Update event scheduled for October 4, 2011, at 6:30pm. The event will feature Phil Milsk, JD, the NASW Illinois Chapter Governmental Relations Director. The event is being held at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, Illinois at 405 West Jackson Street, Conference Room 1C. As many of you know the fall veto session will begin at the end of October. The veto session is held after the adjournment of a regular session when the General Assembly reconvenes to consider the governor's vetoes. It is vital that social workers attend this meeting to learn about the issues germane to the social work profession, to our clients, and to the agencies we work for. Please go here to register. One CEU will be provided FREE to members, $10.00 for non-members. Please come join us even if you don't need the CEU so that you will be informed in order to effectively advocate to your legislators. 

For those of you who still need your ethics CEUs, the Southern District will host an ethics CEU event on Thursday, November 17, 2011 from 9:30am to 12:30pm at the Chester Mental Health Center at 1315 Lehmen Drive, Chester, IL 62233. Travis Nottmeier, LCSW, CADC, and current Southern District Chair will be presenting a three-hour ethics presentation. Travis is a clinical social worker with sixteen years experience working within the criminal justice system, seven years of that working as a social worker. He has worked at Menard Correctional Center and is now employed at Chester Mental Health Center. He received his BSW and MSW from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He also has a certification in alcohol and other drug abuse counseling. Travis has been a member of NASW since 2003. The workshop will highlight the decision-making process that social workers face on a daily basis which come from the evolution of social work ethics and from the current NASW Code of Ethics. More often than not it is a "best choice" decision and not a "right or wrong" choice. Case vignettes and examples across all social work disciplines will be explored, as well as contemporary concerns, but some focus will be on the involuntary client given the speaker's experience in this area. Pre-registration will be required online. Go to the 'Calendar' section of the Southern District website to register. Three ethics CEUs will be granted for the cost of $30.00 for members and $60.00 for nonmembers. Remember the deadline for the licensure period for everyone is November 30, 2011.

Another great opportunity to get your last minute CEUs is the NASW Illinois Chapter Statewide Conference on November 9 through 11, 2011. Register online here: https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=16599&.

Last but not least, the NASW Illinois Chapter and the Southern District would like to welcome new members: Jacqueline Edwards, Angela Humphries, Alexandra Keys, Reagan Nelson, and Jennifer Wernsman. We look forward to meeting you at future meetings and events.

The event was fun and stimulated professional curiosity; it also provided an opportunity for all to earn CEUs. It was good to see so many NASW Illinois members. Thank you to those who participated! Photos of the event are available in the NASW Illinois Chapter Photo Gallery here: http://www.naswil.org/volunteer/gallery/092611-three-rivers-district-event/.

September 16, 2011

Governor Pat Quinn
2 ½ State House
Springfield, IL   62706

Dear Governor Quinn:

On behalf of the 7,000 members of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Illinois Chapter, we would like to express our concerns regarding your announcement to close the Chester Mental Health Center in Chester, IL.
 
We fully understand the realities of the current state budget and the many challenges you face as Governor.   The social work community’s concern is tied to providing service within the constraints of the budget.  However as our Code of Ethics states, social workers advocate for resource allocation procedures that are open and fair. When not all clients’ needs can be met, an allocation procedure should be developed that is nondiscriminatory and based on appropriate and consistently applied principles.  

The proposed closing of Chester Mental Health Center (CMHC) presents a challenge to some core social work values as well the provision of vital services to a very vulnerable population.   CMHC and its predecessor facilities have existed since 1910.  The facility has a successful and lengthy history of providing care to individuals who have significant histories of unsuccessful treatment attempts at other private and state operated facilities due to their violent and assaultive behaviors associated with their mental health condition.  Additionally, CMHC has successfully served forensic patients that due to the nature of their crime and behaviors are in need of a highly structured secure treatment environment.

The state of Missouri reduced the number of their inpatient psychiatric beds last year resulting in a community crisis.  This action in the state of Missouri significantly impacted the ability of community hospitals to provide emergency room services to the community due to the influx of patients who were no longer being served by the state hospital system.   In fact, this move was so problematic that the state had to assist with funding to reopen a psychiatric emergency room in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

We urge you, together with leadership in the Illinois General Assembly to reassess your recent announcement in the light of the dislocation, hardship and ultimately additional cost to implement this closing.

NASW Illinois Chapter leadership would be more than willing to meet with you and your staff to discuss these issues in more detail.

Sincerely,

Yolanda Jordan, LCSW      Joel L. Rubin, MSW, CAE
President                            Executive Director
 

September 16, 2011

Governor Pat Quinn
2 ½ State House
Springfield, IL   62706

Dear Governor Quinn:

On behalf of the 7,000 members of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Illinois Chapter, we would like to express our concerns regarding your announcement to close the Chester Mental Health Center in Chester, IL.
 
We fully understand the realities of the current state budget and the many challenges you face as Governor.   The social work community’s concern is tied to providing service within the constraints of the budget.  However as our Code of Ethics states, social workers advocate for resource allocation procedures that are open and fair. When not all clients’ needs can be met, an allocation procedure should be developed that is nondiscriminatory and based on appropriate and consistently applied principles.  

The proposed closing of Chester Mental Health Center (CMHC) presents a challenge to some core social work values as well the provision of vital services to a very vulnerable population.   CMHC and its predecessor facilities have existed since 1910.  The facility has a successful and lengthy history of providing care to individuals who have significant histories of unsuccessful treatment attempts at other private and state operated facilities due to their violent and assaultive behaviors associated with their mental health condition.  Additionally, CMHC has successfully served forensic patients that due to the nature of their crime and behaviors are in need of a highly structured secure treatment environment.

The state of Missouri reduced the number of their inpatient psychiatric beds last year resulting in a community crisis.  This action in the state of Missouri significantly impacted the ability of community hospitals to provide emergency room services to the community due to the influx of patients who were no longer being served by the state hospital system.   In fact, this move was so problematic that the state had to assist with funding to reopen a psychiatric emergency room in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

We urge you, together with leadership in the Illinois General Assembly to reassess your recent announcement in the light of the dislocation, hardship and ultimately additional cost to implement this closing.

NASW Illinois Chapter leadership would be more than willing to meet with you and your staff to discuss these issues in more detail.

Sincerely,

Yolanda Jordan, LCSW      Joel L. Rubin, MSW, CAE
President                            Executive Director
 

I have been working on a CEU event that will be held in Peoria on October 31st. Mary Garrison, the East District Chair and professor at Milikan University, will be presenting on The Ethical Challenges of Technology in Social Work. This event will qualify for four (4) ethics CEUs. In order to register, go to http://naswil.org/calendar/events/1906/.

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions for additional CEU events, please feel free to contact me at wcentral@naswil.org.

I have had several people contact me to let me know that they have had an e-mail change. Here are the instructions to correct your contact information:

You can update your contact information yourself through the member center portion of the NASW national web site (https://www.socialworkers.org). The link is in the upper right-hand corner in yellow. Otherwise, you can update your information with the national NASW office in one of two ways:

1. Phone: The NASW membership phone number is 800-742-4089

2. E-mail: membership@naswdc.org

If you think that your contact information has changed and needs to be updated, please do this so that you can receive up to date information about our district and upcoming events.

NEWS

New Members:
I want to welcome our newest member to our district: Brian Aterbridge. We are very excited to have you on board!

2011 NASW Illinois Chapter Statewide Conference:
Again, don't forget the statewide conference November 9th -11th. The event is sure to offer terrific educational and networking opportunities. I hope you consider attending. Register online here: https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=16599&.

Licensure Renewal:
Don't forget that we are approaching licensure renewal time. Many of your questions about licensure renewal can be answered by viewing the NASW Illinois Chapter website tab on licensure: http://www.naswil.org/social-work-practice/licensure/. Go ahead and check it out!

Networking Opportunities:
I continue to look for additional CEU and other networking events. I would appreciate any suggestions for events. Even better, if your agency would like to be the spotlight agency or host an event, please contact me at wcentral@naswil.org. If there is an agency you would like to recommend to be a spotlight agency, please forward me any information you have and I will be happy to arrange that.

Did You Know?
Did you know that you can earn CEUs through the NASW from the comfort of your own home? What's that, did you ask how? Let me tell you. Just go the 'Education and Career Development' tab on the NASW Illinois Chapter website and click on 'CEU Opportunities'. There you will find a list of articles available to read and then take the quiz. It's that easy. Check it out!

This Month's Challenge:
I have two challenges this month. First, if you are interested in the West Central Ethics CEU event on October 31st, please register. I think it will be an exciting event, and we will have time over the lunch hour to network. Secondly, send me an idea of an event/topic you would like to see. I would be happy to see what we can do to put it together.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Art making is a form of human development, at any age, and it works its agency through the shifting of what an individual perceives as possible. As long as there is possibility, there is hope; in its absence, there is only despair. The sense of the possibility, complexity, and essential mystery of the world is what keeps the soul engaged with reality. (Permuth, 2006, p. 23)

To read more, click here. (Note: Must be an NASW member to access.)