Congrats to NASW "Restoring Hope" Essay Contest Winners

The winners of the National Association of Social Workers' "Restoring Hope" essay contest have been announced. There are two winners, one social work student and one social work professional.

The student essay by Megan Salisbury, a senior at Arizona State University, focuses on homelessness. She wrote:

For social workers, there are no instant answers. Restoring hope is an act of blind faith and perfectly timed phone calls, and yes, even instant answers from a collaborative partner. It is about finding the means when you are unsure of the way.

Read her essay on the NASW web site.

The social work professional winner is Lauren Anzaldo, MSW, LCSW, CAP. Lauren's essay is entitled, "Conveying Hope to Every Client." In it, she said:

A social worker embodies the words “You are a life worth saving” every time she meets with a client and sits with him in his discomfort. We convey hope when we treat our clients like people, when we let them know that how they feel and what they want out of life is important.

Read Lauren's essay on the NASW site.

You can also now access photos and videos from the NASW Restoring Hope conference on the conference web site.

Happy Birthday, Jane Addams

Today, September 6, is Jane Addams' birthday. Addams, born in 1860, was a pioneer in the social work field and was a Nobel Peace Prize winner. She is known as a pioneer in the settlement house movement and the founder of Hull House.

THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER magazine published an article about settlement houses in 1998. You can read it here:
Settlement Houses: Old Idea in New Form Builds Community

In 2012, Hull House closed after providing social services in the Chicago area for 122 years. We published the following article about the closing:
Lessons from Hull House

And, in the Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, we published this 2009 article on Addams" influence on a social worker:
Following in Jane Addams' Footsteps

I remember reading about Jane Addams when I was a little girl, and I was very inspired by her.  When did you first hear about Jane Addams, what stood out about her, and how did her work influence the work you do today?

Learning from Social Work Interns

In THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER magazine, we publish an article on field placement in each quarterly issue. The current issue features an article entitled, "What I Learned From My First Intern," by Tina Landeen Panos, LCSW. Tina offers four lessons that she learned:

• question authority
• keep learning
• appreciate your knowledge
• perspective

You can read the full article by clicking here.

What lessons (expected or unexpected) have you learned from being a field instructor or supervising others (social workers or students)?

If you are a field instructor, student, practitioner, or educator who would like to write about field placement issues, please contact Linda Grobman, editor of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER, with your idea(s).

Are You Satisfied With Your Social Work Salary and Your Social Work Job?

According to this article released yesterday, social work is among the most underpaid jobs in the U.S. At the same time, social workers report high job satisfaction. To quote the article, "Despite the high stress, social workers report to Glassdoor that they like working with people, and get a thrill out of positively impacting the lives of others. Their tender hearts don't translate to loads of legal tender, though."

The amount of student loan debt (see http://www.socialworker.com/home/Feature_Articles/General/Loan_Forgiveness_Eases_Debt_Burden_for_New_Social_Workers/) combined with salaries that are lower than those of other professionals makes for some difficult decisions when it comes to accepting a social work job offer. How does one reconcile the desire to do good in his/her chosen profession with the need to make a livable wage?


What has your experience been? Have you found that you have had to turn down a dream job because of the salary?  Have you found effective ways to get the salary that you feel you deserve and need?  Have you found salaries to be acceptable in your area of practice and geographic region?

College, civil rights, the past, and the present

Earlier this week, my alma mater, the University of Georgia, commemorated the 50th anniversary of its first African American graduate. Mary Frances Early received her master's degree in music education from UGA on August 16, 1962. The commemoration took place in the Fine Arts Building, a place I knew well during my undergraduate years.

Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes were the first black students at UGA in 1961. However, Early transferred to Georgia from the University of Michigan and was the first of these pioneering students to graduate. She eventually became the first African American president of the Georgia Music Educators Association, and later was the head of the music department at Clark Atlanta University.

Later, around 1968, the first African American professor arrived on the UGA campus. That professor was Dr. Richard M. Graham, a pioneer in the field of music therapy, who became my professor and a major influence in my life in the same school of music from which Mary Frances Early had graduated.

In addition, Dr. Maurice Daniels, dean of the UGA School of Social Work, spoke at the commemoration, addressing the historical significance of Early's graduation on the civil rights movement. Dr. Daniels arrived at the University of Georgia during the time that I was a graduate student there.

When I read about the commemoration, I felt proud that both my undergraduate and graduate schools were involved in this historical event. By the time I arrived at UGA, there was a lot of diversity within my school and on campus overall. How could it be that it had been within my own lifetime that African American students were even admitted as students there?

It sometimes seems that the beginning of the civil rights movement was a long time ago, but 50 years really isn't that long at all.  When I look around in everyday life, I think we have come a long way, and still have a long way to go in the area of race relations and civil rights. I see way too little diversity and way too much misunderstanding in our society.

I must say that within the social work profession, I see a great deal of diversity, and I see great efforts to move us toward a society in which there is respect for cultural and social diversity, and in which discrimination and exploitation are eliminated. These are part of our professional, ethical mandate to promote social justice and create a society in which basic human needs are met for all people.

What are we doing to go to that next level of true diversity, understanding, and social justice in everyday life?  What more can we do?  When will it be EVERYONE's ethical mandate as a human being?

The Social Work Graduate School Site: Version 2.0

 I am happy to announce the redesign and relaunch of The Social Work Graduate School Site! This site is brought to you by the publisher of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER and focuses on issues related to applying to, getting in, and making the most of social work graduate school programs. I will be posting articles, excerpts from THE SOCIAL WORK GRADUATE SCHOOL APPLICANT'S HANDBOOK, and other items of interest to those who are seeking a master's degree in social work (and beyond).


Please check out the site, and be sure to "follow" and/or subscribe, so you will not miss anything!

The Power of the Face-to-Face Conference

I just returned last week from attending, exhibiting, and presenting at the national NASW Restoring Hope conference in Washington, DC.  I network with professional social work colleagues every day online, but this does not take the place of the power of being in rooms full of like-minded people, where in-depth conversations take place, ideas are shared, and new collaborations are begun.

Standing (left to right): Susan Mankita, Kryss Shane, Linda Grobman. Seated: Karen Zgoda

A highlight of the conference was the opportunity to see friends and colleagues face-to-face.  I met up with Susan Mankita, Kryss Shane, and Karen Zgoda, all of whom have been involved with THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER over the years. Being in the presence of these three outstanding women, each of whom is brilliant and funny and a wealth of ideas, would have made it worth it to attend the conference, just in itself. With each of them, I had meaningful conversations that could result in future collaborations.

But there were many more highlights.  Here are a few:

1.  Keynote addresses:  These are informative and inspirational speeches that are usually given at the beginning and end of a conference, to tie the theme of the conference together for all attendees.  These were held in a ballroom large enough to hold all 1,000 conference attendees.  The theme of the conference, "Restoring Hope," ran through the various keynotes throughout the 3 1/2 days of the meeting.  After a Monday morning introductory speech by NASW Executive Director Elizabeth Clark, the attendees heard Bob and Lee Woodruff speak.

Bob and Lee Woodruff

Bob is a journalist who was injured in an explosion while providing news coverage in Iraq. Bob and his wife Lee spoke candidly about his traumatic brain injury and his recovery from this injury. They have a very nice back-and-forth style of presenting, and they provided a very human face to the issue of TBI.

2.  Sharing with other professionals:  I submitted an abstract, which was accepted, to do an individual presentation entitled, "That Was Awesome! Hope Through Live Music at the Bedside During Illness and End of Life."

Roberta Gastineau, Christina Risley-Curtis, Linda Grobman

Through this presentation, I had the opportunity to share with social workers my passion for using live music at the bedside to provide a therapeutic, healing, peaceful environment in hospital, nursing home, and hospice settings. I became certified as a Certified Music Practitioner several years ago, and I wanted to let social workers know about this practice and how they can use this with their own clients by referring them to certified practitioners and/or become certified themselves.

The format of the presentation was a panel with two other presenters.  The conference planners did an excellent job of matching three presentations that were different, yet complemented each other.  Roberta Gastineau did a humorous reading on social work and ethics, and Christina Risley-Curtis presented on the importance of animals in social work, including assessing clients' relationships with animals, as well as using animals in therapy. It was a pleasure to meet and present with these two innovative social workers.

3.  Entertainment:  On the conference agenda for Tuesday night was a special performance by the Capitol Steps, a wonderfully zany musical comedy troupe that "puts the mock in Democracy."

Capitol Steps

Laughing is great for self-care, which as we know, is crucial for social workers!  The political satire of Capitol Steps was just what the doctor ordered for this group of social workers.

4.  Exhibiting and more networking:  When I go to a social work conference, I am often there as an exhibitor, as was the case at this one.

Linda Grobman and Carmela Isabella, who wrote a chapter in MORE DAYS IN THE LIVES OF SOCIAL WORKERS about her incredible experience as a BSW intern in Hillary Clinton's office.

From my perspective, this is a great opportunity for me to let social workers know about THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER, the books we publish, and our other resources.  From conference attendees' perspective, where else can you go and find all things social work in one big room AND have the opportunity to meet the people who have created these resources, ask questions, and maybe take a few goodies home?  Think of the exhibit hall as the "center" of the conference--a place to meet up with people, get information, network, and make connections.

I have just touched the tip of the iceberg.  Much of the "good stuff" that happens at conferences occurs outside of the educational sessions, during informal conversations, in the exhibit hall, at receptions, or even at a political comedy performance.  Not to mention that you can learn a great deal from the variety of excellent workshops, presentations, and symposia--and be energized and inspired by the keynotes and just being in a place with so many like-minded folks with whom you can share ideas and make connections.

What are your best conference experiences?