Diona Shelton, DSW, LCSW, CATP, CCTP
Southern District Chair
Welcome to the Month of May!
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and the time of year when our society brings awareness to the importance of mental and emotional health. While social workers work tirelessly to bring awareness, education, and support to individuals with mental health conditions all year, this month is a time to pause and reflect. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (2023), nearly one in five Americans have a mental health condition. With stressors including the effects of COVID-19, racial and social injustices, economic and food insecurity, and various other life stressors that many Americans encounter in their everyday lives, it is imperative that we bring awareness and remove the stigma associated with mental health. I have included some resources that I hope are helpful to you as we seek to normalize the importance of mental health to our clients, families, communities, and also ourselves.
All the best,
Dr. Diona Shelton, DSW, LCSW, CATP, CCTP
NASW-IL Southern District Chair
Reference
National Institute of Mental Health. (2023). Mental illness. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness
Resources
10 Common Warning Signs of a Mental Health Condition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt4sOjWwV3M
Know the Warning Signs: https://nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Warning-Signs-and-Symptoms
DISTRICT EVENTS
Our May CEU Event is SOLD OUT! You can join the waitlist by clicking on the link below.
NASW-IL Southern District CEU Event: Supporting LGBTQ+ Clients at Every Level of Social Work
Date: Saturday, May 13th 2023, from 9:30 AM to 12:30pm
Venue: Collinsville Library - 408 W. Main Street, Collinsville, IL 62234
Presenter: Ky A. Miller, MSW, LMSW/LSW
Cost: 3 Cultural Competency CEUs / $45 Nonmember / FREE NASW Member
Description: This NASW-IL Southern District event will enhance social workers’ ability to support LGBTQ+ clients at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. Social workers will learn how to uphold the key social work principles to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of LGBTQ+ people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. A historic and defining feature of social work is the profession’s dual focus on individual well-being in a social context and the well-being of society. Social workers will explore environmental forces that create, contribute to, and address problems created within the context of society.
Waitlist: https://naswil.wufoo.com/forms/naswil-workshop-waiting-list
CHAPTER NEWS
Rules Filed to Remove In-Person CE Requirement
As much as we’d love to report an update, there is still nothing new to announce with regards to the department’s removal of the in-person CE requirement for licensure. Please continue to share our last article (with update) about the removal. Read it here: https://www.naswil.org/post/2021-2023-licensure-renewal-update-rules-filed-to-remove-in-person-ce-requirement. If/when new rules have ben adopted, rest assured that we will post an update to the NASW-Illinois Chapter community in MyNASW as well as the NASW-Illinois Chapter News page: https://www.naswil.org/blog
March 2023: NASW-Illinois Chapter Advocacy Update
As we approach the final weeks of the spring Illinois legislative session, you can check out some of the legislation that the NASW-Illinois Chapter has been either working on to address issues with or supporting. Read the full article here: https://www.naswil.org/post/march-2023-nasw-illinois-chapter-advocacy-update
Ask NASW-IL: Can a CEU course fulfill 2 CEU specialties at once?
Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation (IDFPR) renewal requirements for the current 2021–2023 licensure cycle increased with the addition of new training requirements (implicit bias awareness, mandated reporter with a section on implicit bias, and Alzheimer's disease and other dementias) in addition to the previous requirements (ethics and cultural competency). Due to the potential overlap in training topics, it's possible that a CEU course may appear to cover topics applicable to two specialty CEU requirements, such as cultural competency and ethics; or a training on mandated reporter with implicit bias might appear to fulfill the implicit bias training requirement. As such, members have been asking the chapter: Can you use one course to fulfill more than one specialty CEU requirement? Read more here: https://www.naswil.org/post/ask-nasw-il-can-a-ceu-course-fulfill-2-ceu-specialties-at-once
Other Chapter News
· NASW opposes anti-LGBTQIA2S+ legislation: https://www.naswil.org/post/nasw-opposes-anti-lgbtqia2s-legislation
· Gender-Affirming Health Care Saves Lives: https://www.naswil.org/post/gender-affirming-health-care-saves-lives
· Social Work Profession One Step Closer to Interstate Licensure Compact: https://www.naswil.org/post/social-work-profession-one-step-closer-to-interstate-licensure-compact
· Ask NASW-IL: Will this course count for CEUs in Illinois? - https://www.naswil.org/post/ask-nasw-il-will-this-course-count-for-ceus-in-illinois
· February 14, 2023 Update on the Social Work Interstate Compact: https://www.naswil.org/post/february-14-2023-update-on-the-social-work-interstate-compact
For more news, go to the NASW-Illinois Chapter News page: https://www.naswil.org/blog