Message from Chapter President by Katharine Campbell, Phd, LCSW
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Florida Chapter NASWBulletin Spring 2017 Edition Message from Chapter President by Katharine Campbell, PhD, LCSW reetings everyone! The Social Work Month theme ensure your voices are being Gof Social Workers Stand Up is continuing to shine heard as well. For example, here in Florida as NASW Florida has been quite busy our Delegate Assembly during the past several months. I was so proud to will be meeting shortly and see the several hundred social workers standing up we have elections coming at this years’ LEAD. What an amazing turnout and up for a number of units. everyone was so engaged and prepared. LEAD Our chapter is strategically coordinator Seth Berkowitz and Legislative Chair developing a social media Dawn Brown worked hard to keep plan Katharine Campbell, PhD, LCSW NASW-FL President communication going throughout (have you LEAD with on-site communication signed as well as securing a shout out on up for our text messages or liked the floor to social workers by Rep. our Facebook page yet?) along Daisy Baez from District 114. If with continuing work on ensuring you missed LEAD or want to get diversity is addressed within the more involved, there are a lot of profession. opportunities, just talk to your local unit chair or contact the I want to take a moment to state office (http://www.naswfl. recognize the chairs of NASW org/local-units.html). Florida Units. They are each volunteers that work hard to Additionally we have been planning ensure that opportunities are for the upcoming 2017 Social Work Conference. You being offered across the state for members, such should have received your conference brochure in as networking events and continuing education the mail. The Conference Committee has done a opportunities. NASW Florida is a very active chapter great job of offering a variety of workshops and this that has a lot happening that impacts you whether is one packed conference where you can get up to 19 you are in private practice, an aging agency, medical contact hours. You will find at the conference the new social work, children’s social work, educational social required courses “Laws and Rules Update” (a 3-hour work or any other field. course), “Supervision Update” (a 4-hour course) for qualified supervisors and some great pre-conference Please take a minute to read about all the active intensives. work happening and consider getting involved. It is when Social Workers Stand Up that we accomplish so We continue to work with a variety of other tasks that much more. Now you can call or TEXT NASW-FL at 1-800-352-6279. Plus, you can sign up to receive periodic text alerts. Text ‘NASW’ to 1-800-352-6279 to sign up today*! *Message and data rates may apply. Spring 2017 Edition Katharine Campbell, PhD, LCSW Executive Director’s Update President by Jim Akin, ACSW, NASW-FL Executive Director George Jacinto, PhD, LCSW President-Elect he NASW-FL Board of Directors met March Paula Lupton, LCSW T24-25, 2017. Highlights from the Board Secretary meeting include: Wendy Snee, LCSW, ACSW 1. The financial health of the Chapter is Treasurer positive, the income from July 2016- February Rikki Vidak, LCSW 2017 continues to stay ahead of expenses. Northwest Unit The 2015-2016 Audit was reviewed with Carol Campbell Edwards, LCSW Jim Akin, ACSW an increase in unrestricted net assets, no Big Bend Unit NASW-FL Executive Director operational problems noted. 2. The Chapter, primarily through the units Sha’Leda Mirra, MS, LCSW, CAP Gainesville Unit has offered over 125 workshops serving 2,000 participants. 3. The 18 units all celebrated very successful social work month Cecily Hardin, LCSW events with 900 people in attendance and 61 social work awards Northeast Unit presented. Brian Machovec 4. Membership continues to improve with a slow growth in the last Central Unit two months. Unit leadership, board leadership and staff will work on informing membership on what the Chapter is doing to benefit Nancy Mills, LCSW Emerald Coast Unit social work practice in Florida. 5. 2017 LEAD was very successful with 800 participants. Please see Susan Wade-Infanzón the article on LEAD on page 6. Tampa Bay Unit 6. 2017 Legislation was reviewed and more information on the DeAnn R. Collins, LCSW session is found on page 7. Space Coast Unit 7. The Diversity Task Force presented a membership survey which will be sent electronically to the membership to record their views on Joyce Lampert, LCSW Palm Beach Unit what NASW-FL should be doing to promote diversity. 8. The Supervisor Leadership in Aging grant was funded by the Stephanie L. Diez, MSW, CAP, ICADC Hartford Foundation and NASW National. The Florida Chapter Broward Unit completed its second and last year of training at the end of April. Edith Caballero, LCSW 9. The Supervision Task Force presented NASW-FL course outline Miami-Dade Unit for the Supervision Update workshop and the plan to rewrite the Robert Stryker, LCSW, MCAP, ACHP-SW supervision guidelines. Southwest Unit 10. NASW-FL will be updating the required CE information sheet for 2017-2019. Melva Dorsey, MSW 11. Two areas, the need for more school social workers and increasing Heartland Unit the passage rate of the LCSW exam, need to be reviewed for action Kristina Bilicki Paape, LCSW in the future. Sarasota/Manatee Unit 12. The Chapter Committee on Nomination Leadership Identification Marybeth Hrim, MBA, LCSW (CCNLI) is reviewing unit award winners to select the State award Treasure Coast Unit winners and establishing the 2017 election slate. 13. A social media plan was reviewed by the Board for Chapter Annette Becklund, LCSW improvements for the website, texting, Facebook, tweeting, email Helen Burrows, LCSW and other types of electronic communications. Nature Coast Unit 14. Plans to have a social work leadership summit were discussed. Diane M. Lucas, LCSW, ACSW Lake/Sumter Unit Join NASW-FL Today! Call 1-800-742-4089 or http://www.socialworkers.org/join.asp Elizabeth Ferguson, LCSW Volusia/Flagler Unit 2 Spring 2017 Edition Statement: NASW Strongly Opposes Legislation to Repeal Affordable Care Act he National Association of Social Workers approaches have led to coverage with very T(NASW) strongly opposes legislation to repeal high premiums, benefit exclusions, annual and the Affordable Care Act because it would have a lifetime limits, and other problems. devastating impact on the health of our nation’s • The bill also decimates Medicaid allocations to most vulnerable citizens and make it more difficult states with more than $800 billion in budget cuts. to provide affordable health care for poor and low- This will deeply limit access to health insurance income Americans. for individuals between the ages 55 and 64, younger people with disabilities, and children. The House narrowly passed a revised version of the We should be reminded that Medicaid subsidizes American Health Care Act (AHCA) by a vote of 217- care for half of the children born in America in 213. The revisions included new amendments that each year. were fashioned to appeal to both conservative and • The House version of AHCA continues to moderate members of the Republican majority. be committed to discontinuing Medicaid enhancements and Medicaid expansion after A change which is being referred to as the Upton 2019. This will mean that most of the 31 states Amendment – named after the Congressman who (and Washington, D.C.) that have ACA’s Medicaid introduced the new language — adds $8 billion to expansion will soon drop it. The 11 million people cover costs for the “risk pool” of persons with pre- who were covered through Medicaid expansion existing medical conditions. will likely become uninsured. • In the face of the opioid overdose and suicide While the changes were successful in garnering epidemics, it is essential there be equitable access sufficient votes to pass AHCA they did nothing to a full continuum of mental health and substance to alleviate the devastating impact of AHCA on use disorder treatment services. Substance use the nation’s most vulnerable citizens. In fact, the disorders and mental illness should also be bill passed will likely exacerbate the challenge of covered on par with other medical conditions. providing affordable health care for poor and low- income Americans. The House passed their version of the AHCA without it being “scored” by the Congressional Budget The following helps to explain why: Offoice (CBO). Therefore, we have no idea of the cost of this legislation. • The $8 billion in the Upton-Long Amendment is woefully insufficient to cover high-risk pools. More importantly, we do not have a CBO analysis of According to the Center for Budget and Policy the human impact of the provisions in AHCA. Priorities, over a 10-year period the $8 billion increase would not be enough to cover funding Without a doubt, the gutting of $800 billion from shortfalls for the states of Michigan, Missouri, and Medicaid will leave millions of single adults uninsured, Colorado, let alone being able to take care of the as well as greatly reduced access to health care for risk pool shortfalls for the remaining 47 states. millions of low-income children and their families. • In its current iteration, AHCA allows states to choose to “opt-out” of covering pre-existing We must now turn to the United States Senate to conditions of enrollees. In the states that choose right the wrong caused by the House version of not to guarantee coverage for pre-existing AHCA. NASW and other health care advocates conditions, persons with life-threatening ailments, must use their resources and energy to ensure the pregnant women, and older adults would have to Senate strips out provisions in AHCA that are most pay exorbitant premiums for insurance coverage devastating to vulnerable Americans.