“For years, a mysterious figure preyed on gay men in Atlanta. People on the streets called him the Handcuff Man—but the police knew his real name.”
Ethics commission won’t answer Kotek’s first spouse request while investigating complaints
First Lady Aimee Kotek Wilson is not a paid state employee and she does not hold outside employment. She has a master’s degree of social work from Portland State University, and Kotek’s office confirmed Kotek Wilson has attended behavioral health meetings, attends weekly meetings related to the governor’s schedule and travel, and occasionally attends events on behalf of the governor’s office. Above: Gov. Tina Kotek and First Lady Aimee Kotek Wilson admire Oregon artwork
Fayetteville State faculty votes against academic leader
The document alleges failures in multiple aspects of Leach’s leadership, including fostering a culture of fear, retaliation and intimidation; poor communication with faculty; and what the resolution says are “misallocated resources.” The resolution said senior leaders in Leach’s office, Academic Affairs, have “a pattern of governance by administrative fiat,” handing decisions down. It later accuses the leaders of “unprofessional conduct.”
Young Adult Employment Patterns Impact Health in Middle Adulthood
Wen-Jui Han, Ph.D., from the Silver School of Social Work at New York University in New York City, examined how employment patterns throughout working lives, based on work schedules, may shape health (sleep hours and quality, physical and mental functions, and the likelihood of reporting poor health and depressive symptoms) at age 50 years. The analysis included longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-1979 with employment patterns starting at age 22 years (approximately 7,336 participants).
Foster children deprived of benefits: How a loophole affects the most vulnerable
The issue here: in most states, foster kids receive their care for free. The only children who are singled out to pay for their own care are those receiving federal benefits, either because they are disabled, or have a deceased parent.
Leeds charity tells tribunal of fears over Christian social worker’s views
The Cameroon-born former asylum seeker, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, is a grandfather-of-two who has also worked as a youth pastor, housing officer and teacher. The tribunal, which continues, has heard he has been a Christian since the age of four and believes in the literal truth of the Bible.
Hong Kong’s academic freedom saw ‘substantial’ decline over past decade, index finds
In the latest Academic Freedom Index, Hong Kong scored 0.24 out of 1 in terms of the extent to which academic freedom was respected in the city in 2023. It marked a significant decrease compared to 0.69 recorded in 2013.
Gunshots in American cities twice as likely at night, potentially disrupting sleep for those in earshot, study finds
In a cross-institutional collaboration from Mass General Brigham’s founding members, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, researchers examined the number of nights and people potentially affected by the sound of nighttime versus daytime gunshots and the relationship between the sound of nighttime gunshots and median household income in the United States.
B.C. government is trying to be a better parent to vulnerable kids. Read how they’re doing
SS is a former youth in care who is grateful for improved support services from the province, but says youth are still confused about what is available to them and how to access it.
Healing the Children of Horse Nations
The family has a long history of forced displacement. John Spence (Gros Ventre/Sioux) is a child of boarding school survivors, and he and his descendants were robbed of their lands and livelihoods under the 1956 Indian Relocation Act. In the 1970s he found a way to overcome, becoming steeped in “guerilla social work,” which Spence’s memoir describes as “unconventional actions from the heart and fearless advocacy for the poor.”
Two-thirds of social workers report children living in dangerously mouldy homes
John McGowan, General Secretary of the SWU, said: “While politicians try to kid themselves that the cost of living crisis is over, the reports from our members show just how dangerous this winter has been.”
Ofsted reform delays ‘put more lives at risk’, Ruth Perry’s sister will warn
Professor Julia Waters will tell the annual conference of the National Education Union (NEU) she is worried that those who can bring about change with the watchdog could be “paying lip service” and she will demand faster action from the Government and Ofsted. Ofsted has come under greater scrutiny in the past year following the suicide of headteacher Mrs Perry.
Policy reforms urgently needed to mitigate racial disparities in perinatal mental health conditions
Significant reforms in U.S. health care and economic policies are needed to mitigate the stark disparities in perinatal mental health diagnoses and treatment that place women of color at greater risk of mortality and morbidity, according to Social Work Professor Dr. Karen Tabb, the senior author of a paper published in Health Affairs.
Your college’s top lawyer has never been more powerful
The growing power in the counsel’s office can have negative consequences. Caution about legal vulnerability can lead campuses to overreact to restrictive laws, or even shield allegations of abuse from public scrutiny. It has led to the prevalence on college campuses of what one critic calls “repressive legalism.”
The scourge of lookism
With most jobs, our looks should be regarded as irrelevant to our suitability and remuneration. What matters is that we have the skills for the job and put them to good use. Yet appearance discrimination, or ‘lookism’, is pervasive and consequential in the workplace. Can lookism in employment ever be justified? And, when it can’t, should we legislate against it?
Schools are using research to try to improve children’s learning – but it’s not working
This push for evidence to back up teaching methods has become particularly strong in the past ten years. The movement has been driven by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), a charity set up in 2011 with funding from the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government to provide schools with information about which teaching methods and other approaches to education actually work.
SA social worker registration board revealed
Director of the scheme Professor Sarah Wendt will work with Dr. Carmela Bastian (above), who has been appointed as the board’s presiding member to establish the program.
Asian-American social workers witness rise in anti-Asian racism
Amid the aftermath of heightened xenophobia and racism toward Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health exposed the challenges and resilience of these communities in three publications.
State-Level marijuana legalization has been a stunning success
According to data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of high schoolers who use marijuana actually fell 30 percent over the past decade. Compliance check data from California, Colorado, Nevada, and other legal marijuana states show that licensed marijuana retailers do not sell products to underage patrons. Also contrary to some critics’ claims, legalization states have not experienced any spike in either psychosis or mental illnesses.
Loneliness can kill, and new research shows middle-aged Americans are particularly vulnerable
We used survey data drawn from over 53,000 middle-aged adults from the U.S. and 13 European nations from 2002 to 2020…. Our study makes clear that middle-aged Americans today are experiencing more loneliness than their peers in European nations. This coincides with existing evidence that mortality rates are rising for working-age adults in the U.S.
BSW Student Receives Grant Funding to Provide Free Child Care for Therapy Clients
While working her internship at a brand new outpatient mental health and resource navigation program Cook noticed a problem for some of the program’s clients.
Leaving care, mental illness and recovery: ‘There is always the possibility of a better future’
In 1976, Tony Inwood was on the cover of Community Care. Forty eight years later, he talks to us again about his experience of care, the advice he would give to social workers today and how he has created a fulfilling life. Above: Tony outside Mersham-le-Hatch, the Robert Adam designed stately home that housed Caldecott when Tony was a resident.
End of Internet Subsidies for Low-Income Households Threatens Telehealth Access
Nonprofit groups like Link Health worked in health centers to sign patients and community members up for discount internet through a national program that is set to run out of funds this spring.
NC’s ‘institutional bias’ favors mental health care in facilities, not communities
This is the third in a three-part series investigating North Carolina’s psychiatric residential treatment facilities where children with complex behavioral needs are sent for care. Above: A bathroom in a patient room of the UNC Youth Behavioral Hospital in Butner, North Carolina.
Social Work Stands Against Poverty
BASW is campaigning for a more socially just context. We want to reduce poverty and inequality, and challenge austerity policies.
More than one billion people around the globe are facing obesity
Obesity is now the most common form of malnutrition in most countries, with the rates rising in all categories of men, women, children and adolescents since 1990. Obesity rates in adult men have nearly tripled since 1990, with obesity rates in woman doubling in that time. The rates of obesity in children and adolescents quadrupled in that time frame, as well. As of 2022, nearly 880 million adults and nearly 160 million children were living with obesity.
Crackdown on illicit drugs detects rise in ‘designer’ drug substitutes
In a new study as part of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission’s National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program, researchers identified 20 different novel psychoactive substances (NPS) in wastewater treatment plants across Australia (between Feb 22-23) with pentylone detected at every collection site. Other NPS, eutylone and phenibut were also commonly detected.
A 32-Hour Workweek Is Ours for the Taking
The fight for shorter hours can unify workers everywhere.
Age as an overlooked factor in higher education DEI initiatives
“Age as an identity factor is not given much attention in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in higher education,” said Dr. Nancy Morrow-Howell, the Betty Bofinger Brown Distinguished Professor of Social Policy and lead author of the study Age as a Factor in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives in Higher Education
Bernie Sanders sits down with ‘Seven Days’ to talk about aging Vermont
“We have fallen far behind in what we owe, as a democratic and humane society, to the people who raised us.”
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS
Upon taking office, Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak pledges to prioritize community safety
In her remarks Monday night, Mulvaney-Stanak said she was “eager to rebuild a police department that is right-sized for Burlington” and which includes officers, social workers and first-responders. Above: Mulvaney-Stanak is the first woman and the first openly LGTBQ+ person to be elected mayor.
I spent a day at the UK’s first mental health crisis cafe – this is what I learned
The Circle, is the UK’s first mental health crisis cafe for young people and children. It’s run by the charity Mind for Hammersmith and Fulham, Ealing and Hounslow (HFEH), and one of the 10 existing early support hubs for young people in England. Above: Sadhbh O’Sullivan outside Circle in Ealing
Vietnam’s efforts to protect women, girls against gender-based violence
Representatives from different organisations in HCM City sign commitments to eliminate violence against women and girls.
In Montana, an avalanche of wealth is displacing workers
The people who feed, clothe and clean up after the West’s rich newcomers can’t afford to live alongside them. Above: RV stands on a street in Bozeman, Montana, in December 2022, a housing “fix” many locals are turning to as rents rise.
Capitalist welfare under AMLO: a critical analysis of Mexico’s cash transfer and minimum wage policies
As the six-year term of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) draws to a close and the country prepares for the upcoming presidential election, plenty of attention has been given by the pseudo-left press to the cash transfer programs as well as to the raises to the minimum wage that have been implemented under his administration. Above: Artisan in Capácuaro, Michoacán
Can Chicago manage its migrant crisis
Dr. Aimee Hilado, at the University of Chicago’s Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, and chair of the Coalition for Immigrant Mental Health, has worked with frontline staff on helping migrants feel settled in communities… Before they arrived in the United States, these migrants had already endured a hard journey, Hilado told me. “They witnessed so much loss of life. They take pictures of people that are floating in the rivers, and they see people that can’t make it or who will die by suicide on the path to come to the United States.”
In Memoriam: UConn School of Social Work Professor Emerita Ruth R. Martin
Martin ’70 MSW, ’80 Ph.D., was a former Associate Dean and Professor Emerita at the UConn School of Social Work.
Find out why Isle of Wight social work team are considering possible strike action
UNISON Isle of Wight’s local government branch secretary, Mark Chiverton said he was non-plussed with the council’s stance. “This is an award-winning social work team that’s always worked extremely hard to ensure Isle of Wight residents are provided with an excellent service, seven days a week, 24 hours a day,” Chiverton said.
Social workers’ concerns about welfare not dealt with by authorities
In the last 18 months two-fifths (40%) of social workers have raised concerns about cases where they don’t believe appropriate action was taken. Of these, almost a third 29% have highlighted more than 5 cases in that time. The findings come in an exclusive report in The Independent which commissioned research among members of the Social Workers Union (SWU).
Oranga Tamariki IT overhaul leaves social workers without access to some information
A multimillion-dollar IT platform vital to safeguarding children at risk of abuse has lurched into the danger zone and had to be reset. Oranga Tamariki is trying to overhaul technology so old its frontline social workers and analysts cannot get the information they need.
Arab Fund for Social Work launches new bank accounts for public donations to Gaza
Minister of Social Solidarity Nevine El-Qabbaj announced that the Arab Fund for Social Work has opened special bank accounts for the public to donate for aid and relief to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The achievement society is burning us out, we need more play
This is about more than a self-help switch – we need structural changes that reject capitalism’s productivity obsession
Child Welfare in Montana: The Kolstad Family (Part 1)
Without an initial understanding of their family unit — it’s hard to comprehend the complicated nature of child welfare cases.
Two GOP bills putting restrictions on SNAP are headed to Hobbs’ desk
Republicans in the Arizona Legislature have voted to pass two bills that would make it more difficult for Arizonans to receive or keep government benefits to help them buy food. The bills passed through both the House of Representatives and Senate on a party-line vote but are likely to get a veto from Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, MSW
Key Bridge Collapse Shipowner Could Legally Skirt Liability
The opaque shipping company that owns the ship that crashed into the bridge, Grace Ocean Private Limited, filed an action in federal court using the Limitation of Liability Act, an antiquated law from 1851, to argue that the damages it owes for the crash should be capped at $43 million — the remaining value of the ship and its cargo. This is despite the fact that by some estimates, it may cost hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild the bridge. Justice in America?
Comparing Side Effects of Prostate Cancer Treatments
“Given the similar survival rates, the choice of treatment for patients may be influenced by the adverse effects of the treatments,” says Dr. Bashir Al Hussein Al Awamlh, of Vanderbilt University, who helped lead the study.
Editorial: We know what needs to be done to tackle the housing crisis, we just need the will to do it
Despite warnings, we seem to be drifting towards some kind of tolerance of the notion that homelessness is an issue which we can not solve. Any acceptance of such an insidious idea renders it all the easier to treat the men, women and children who have no roof over their heads, as invisible.
Social workers the unsung heroes of Da Nang’s hospitals
Apart from doctors and nurses, social workers who work at many hospitals in Da Nang City, central Vietnam are the glue that holds the lives of underprivileged patients together.
IFSW Europe implements sustainable small-scale farming initiative in the new renovated social centres in Ukraine
In its commitment to promoting eco-wisdom and bolstering sustainability and community engagement, IFSW Europe has introduced a initiative within social centers across Ukraine: small-scale farming. Acknowledging the significance of offering nutritious food while nurturing a sense of community, these centers have set out on a path toward self-sufficiency. After the completion of essential repairs and renovations under the project implemented by IFSW Europe, social centers like the one in Zhvanchyk turned their attention to long-term sustainability. With a significant proportion of the local population comprising older people, the center aims to extend its services beyond its walls to support the wider community.
“We are in times that require us to listen”: Tessa Thompson’s lessons from playing a helpline worker
Tessa Thompson gives a lovely, thoughtful and empathetic performance as Beth, the title character in “The Listener,” director Steve Buscemi’s eloquent film about callers to an all-night helpline called Softline.