Above: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass with Chief Michel Moore | Bass’ USC scholarship had come under scrutiny during the 2022 election, when her opponent in the mayoral race, Rick Caruso, blasted her for accepting it and later offering legislation that would have given USC and private universities wider eligibility for federal funding. Bass denied any wrongdoing, and the House Committee on Ethics cleared her request to accept the tuition award.
‘Incredible leadership’: U of T provost Cheryl Regehr leaves an enduring legacy
Dr. Regehr was first appointed vice-president and provost in September 2013, before being reappointed in January 2015 and one more time in January 2020 – racking up awards and honours along the way. She previously served as vice-provost, academic programs and as dean of the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, where she has been a faculty member since 1999.
How much school are Illinois students in foster care missing? The state doesn’t track.
Each year, hundreds of children in the state’s foster care system get stuck in limbo — in psychiatric facilities, juvenile detention centers, or even social workers’ offices — as caseworkers try to find suitable placements. The problem has become so intractable that people in legal circles refer to it as “placement crisis docket.”
Scottish Parliament Petitions Committee agrees further actions in support of social work bursary petition
Maryland Study Suggests Changes in Child Labor Trafficking Approach
Neil Mallon, a senior research specialist with the Prevention of Adolescent Risks Initiative at the University of Maryland School of Social Work and the study’s lead author, highlights the challenges in quantifying the issue. “Unlike sex trafficking, which is defined as a form of child sexual abuse, labor trafficking is not defined in that sort of way within our child abuse laws,” Mallon explains. This lack of clear definition complicates the enforcement and the identification of responsible agencies for investigating and providing services to these children.
Grenfell should have been a wake-up call – but the UK still doesn’t take fire safety seriously because of who is most at risk
The Grenfell disaster – the UK’s worst post-war residential fire – claimed the lives of 72 people in London’s richest borough, Kensington & Chelsea. The inquiry into the disaster is expected to make a host of recommendations about the need to strengthen residential fire safety when it is finally published, after yet more delays, in 2024. Above: A Justice for Grenfell march through the centre of London, July 2017.
Why do some men commit domestic violence? Trauma and social isolation may play a role
I am a social worker who has spent the past 10 years studying how men come to use violence against their intimate partners, since the effects of their violence is often the most severe. My research has found that consistent supportive relationships with attentive adults in childhood and adulthood, along with stress management that takes trauma into account, are two promising approaches to prevent domestic violence.
NNS Spotlight: How The Community Fills Information Gaps for Those who Have Been or are Incarcerated
Shannon Ross, executive director of The Community, says his organization helps those who have been incarcerated “see themselves as human beings.”
Most Public Flagships Are Booming. Why Are a Handful Flailing?
The answers are complicated. The flagging flagships are victims, experts say, of a complex set of factors that include their locations, regional demographics, and institutional strategy. But their current troubles also signal that big public research universities, once considered indomitable, aren’t immune from the forces now buffeting higher education.
The Ups and Downs of Bipolar Disorder
He credits this combined effort—therapy, coping mechanisms, perfecting his routines for eating and sleeping, and mindfulness practice—as playing a significant role in his recovery.
Plans for children’s homes register after abuse
While children’s homes must comply with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 when recruiting staff, and managers are required to register with Ofsted, there is no professional register for all staff, in the same way as there is for social workers in England.
Empowering Health Care Professionals to Provide Evidence-Based Care
Hong Kong’s first government-led ‘community living room’ opens to subdivided flat tenants
The 4,700 sq ft venue on Fuk Wah Street provides extra space for people and families to do homework, shower, cook and eat
Here’s why we fear a dystopian future for Florida’s universities
It’s time for all of us to say, “Enough.” No more Newspeak. No more lies. No more censorship. No more indoctrination. Above: Long faces fall over a group of students as the New College’s Board of Trustees as Richard Corcoran is voted in as the next president of the public liberal arts college
Winchester woman dreams of bringing mobile bookshop to community
Kayla Linkous, a Pike County native, is a social work supervisor for New Vista by trade, but her passion is for the written word.
48 million Americans live with addiction. Here’s how to get them help that works.
Treating addiction is hard and often heartbreaking.
America’s working class is struggling to survive the gauntlet of middle age
According to new research from Anne Case and Angus Deaton, the authors of the 2020 book Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism, life expectancy for those without college degrees peaked around 2010 and has been sinking ever since.
Explainer: What we learned about the Irish gender pay gap this week
In Ireland, on average, women are paid less than men. This statement is true – last year, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) estimated average hourly earnings for men were almost 10% higher than for women. However, it is also often a major source of controversy, with different claims over exactly why men tend to earn more and how the differences between the genders arise.
Social workers accused of teaching ‘trans ideology as fact’ to vulnerable children
The guidance comes from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), an independent body under the Ministry of Justice. Cafcass practitioners act as social workers representing children in family disputes in the courts.
Suicide prevention service calls for action on Derry bridges
An artist’s impression of how Foyle Reeds would look.
Falling apart: Students and educators in Idaho show us what it’s like when a state fails to fund school repairs
At Heyburn, a teacher’s lounge is in an old locker room, where showerheads are still attached to the wall.
How Police Have Undermined the Promise of Body Cameras
Nicole Napolitano, as director of policy and advocacy at the Civilian Complaint Review Board, argued for a law that would take away the New York Police Department’s sole control over camera footage. She was let go in November 2020.
Overseas staff ‘exploited and trapped’ at UK care home
An undercover reporter for Panorama took a job as a care assistant at Addison Court in Crawcrook, to the west of Gateshead – one of 15 care homes in the north-east of England owned by Prestwick Care. He worked there from September to November this year, after hearing allegations from local health professionals about conditions in the home. Above: Carer and resident at Addison Court care home, near Newcastle
How anti-abortion pregnancy centers in Florida get taxpayer funds with almost no oversight
Mary’s Pregnancy Resource Center, a crisis pregnancy center in Broward County, Fla., had received more than $2.2 million in taxpayer funds over the last decade from the state’s alternatives-to-abortion program.
How one woman’s tragic death inspired national loneliness plan
Theo Nienhuijs, 74, says a scheme which paired him with Bickel the dog means people now recognise him, and say hello
Man who said he wanted to cut up two social workers in a voice note handed a suspended sentence
Dublin Circuit Criminal Courts
17 drug overdoses in Cork in 10 days linked to nitazene
The HSE warns that users of the drug face “a substantial risk of overdose, hospitalisation and death.” Nitazene is a synthetic opioid which was sold more than 60 years ago as a morphine alternative but never approved for the medical market.
As housing costs skyrocket, homelessness in U.S. hits record high
The number of people in shelters, temporary housing, and unsheltered settings across the United States set a new record this year, “largely due to a sharp rise in the number of people who became homeless for the first time.” …. On a single night in January 2023, “roughly 653,100 people — or about 20 of every 10,000 people in the United States — were experiencing homelessness,” with about 60% in shelters and the remaining 40% unsheltered, according to HUD. That’s a 12% increase from 2022 and the highest number of unhoused people since reporting began in 2007.
NIH panel calls for fewer, better-paid postdocs in bid to halt loss of scientists to industry
The group called for raising minimum postdoc salaries to $70,000 beginning next year — an increase of more than 20% — and adjusting wages for annual inflation, as well as limiting postdoctoral work to no more than five years in most cases.
The world that municipal socialists built
Urban socialists blazed a path toward social democracy. Leftists who want to reclaim this tradition face a whole new set of obstacles.
A 30-fold rise of measles cases in 2023 in the WHO European Region warrants urgent action
“We have seen in the Region not only a 30-fold increase in measles cases, but also nearly 21 000 hospitalizations and 5 measles-related deaths. This is concerning” explained Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe. “Vaccination is the only way to protect children from this potentially dangerous disease. Urgent vaccination efforts are needed to halt transmission and prevent further spread. It is vital that all countries are prepared to rapidly detect and timely respond to measles outbreaks, which could endanger progress towards measles elimination.”
Why LGBTQ+ Nigerians fear heading home for Christmas
LGBTQ+ Nigerians who celebrate Christmas face a double whammy of social stigma and a legal ban on gay sex in the deeply religious country, where many reject homosexuality as a corrupting Western import.
Through their eyes: A social worker in Singapore shares the emotional highs and lows of their profession
She is in her late 20s. She carries the responsibilities of a social worker, even amid the significant challenges she faces amid the complex landscape of youth rehabilitation over the last five years. This path has been filled with moments of success that bring hope, as well as setbacks that cause distress. Nevertheless, her determination to create positive change remains solid and unwavering.
College and University Governance: Spartanburg Community College (South Carolina)
This is the report of an investigating committee concerning the dissolution of the faculty senate at Spartanburg Community College in South Carolina. In April 2023, the SCC administration unilaterally abolished the faculty senate, an action it admitted taking to prevent the senate from voting that day to oppose the administration’s imposition of a policy requiring faculty members to be present on campus for almost forty hours each week. Above: Spartanburg Community College’s Evans Academic Center
How Colleges Became Recruitment Hubs for the Gen-Z Right
Right-wing Zoomers are outflanking their MAGA elders in enthusiastic embrace of radically anti-democratic, exclusionary and bigoted beliefs.
From an orphan in Ukraine to FSU grad: Meet Katarina Daniels
This is Katarina Daniels. She’s finishing a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work.
This is Home: A housing insecurity photo exhibit finds a home at Mary Baldwin University
Dr. Lora Cantwell, an Assistant Professor and Field Director of Social Work at Mary Baldwin University, hangs one of the photos that’s part of an housing insecurity photo exhibit called “This is Home.” The project, created by the Community Foundation, will be permanently on display at Mary Baldwin.
A good public bathroom is hard to find
The city’s homeless services coordinator, Velma George (above), said that the city is interested in building a public bathroom on or around the Green. “What we are trying to figure out is funding,” she said, noting that she’s interested in collaborating with Ninth Square community members on figuring out how to finance a public bathroom.
Social work pays tribute to one of its own as Mark Drakeford announces resignation
Outgoing first minister of Wales trained as social worker and then worked as a social work academic before entering politics
Improvements to Children’s Services – but past flaws still having an impact
Eileen Milner, Chair of the Bradford and Families Trust, said: “The outcome of this latest visit from Ofsted shows that we are making progress in the crucial areas of children in need and child protection.
Residents should be allowed to drink in care homes, staff guide suggests
Care homes must find the balance between minimising risk and maximising quality of life when it comes to allowing residents to drink alcohol, according to a guide for care staff.
Homeless camp sweeps result in police citations as often as housing offers, survey finds
More than half of 346 people participating in the survey experienced an encampment sweep which the researchers defined as “forced relocation” from where they were sleeping. Most were moved more than one time during the six months of the study.
Remembering School of Social Work Professor Glenda House
Dr. Johanna Thomas remarked: “[e]veryone has so many memorable quotes from Glenda, but one of her best came from when she was asked by a student interviewer about the public’s perception of social work, and she reminded us that for many years people thought social workers were the ones who ‘hand out the cheese!'”
Top CT Department of Children and Families official stepping down. Gov. Ned Lamont nominates successor
Jodi Hill-Lilly holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in social work. For more than a decade, she has served as a national consultant, trainer and speaker for a number of initiatives including the minority professional leadership development, making Baltimore a trauma-informed system and training on adoption competencies, according to DCF.
Called a ‘model for success,’ advocates seek to bring Durham’s HEART program to Raleigh
For the past year and a half since launching in June 2022, the Holistic Empathetic Assistance Response Team (HEART) has been working with 911 call centers to get social workers and crisis teams to respond to non-emergency mental health calls. 8,000 plus calls later, it has been touted as a success, earning them a major expansion – they now cover the entire city and operate every day 12 hours a day. Above: Dorine Martin is a mental health professional at Mindology Raleigh, and even off the clock living downtown, she sees the crisis firsthand.
Scotland’s National Care Service delayed by three years
In a bid to avoid costs rising to an estimated £2.2bn, ministers have proposed scaling back the scheme. The Scottish government had described it as the “biggest public service reform in Scotland since devolution”…. Its aim was to simplify community health and social care across the nation.
Brighton and Hove social workers strike over pay
The social workers are calling for a 12.5% increase, which the union Unison said would bring them into line with other city employees who work with children.
Adults with disabilities under state care will now live in family-type homes
The social protection sector of Georgia meets the year 2024 with important news – within the framework of the initiative carried out with the help of the Government of the Czech Republic, persons with disabilities living in large boarding houses in Dusheti and Martkofi municipalities will move to new, family-type homes.
Thousands of Patients May Be Undergoing Vascular Procedures Too Soon or Unnecessarily
We analyzed Medicare claims records for people who had first-time atherectomies between 2019 and 2022 and found that nearly 1 in 4 patients underwent the invasive procedure after only a diagnosis for claudication, indicating an early stage of vascular disease. This amounts to nearly 30,000 patients who may have undergone procedures too soon or possibly even unnecessarily. Some doctors stood out because of the money they made. Dr. Amiel Moshfegh, a Beverly Hills radiologist, received $45 million from Medicare over five years for performing thousands of atherectomies, according to public Medicare records.
8 free holiday wallpapers, illustrated by neurodivergent artists
The Los Angeles Times partnered with Creativity Explored, which supports a neurodiverse community of artists with developmental disabilities, for its annual holiday wallpaper project.