Winter 2020 Edition
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2020 Student Advocacy Day – February 27th – register today www.nasw-md.org WINTER EDITION | 2020 5750 Executive Drive, Suite 100 • Baltimore, MD 21228-1979 410.788.1066 [email protected] • www.nasw-md.org Fax: 410.747.0635 NASW-MD, through advocacy, education and collaboration with diverse stakeholders and guided by its Code of Ethics will: promote social justice, promote the social work profession, support professional development of social workers and advance professional social work standards. NASW-MD 2020 Annual Social Work Month Conference Social Workers: Generations Strong BY MICHAEL LEWANDOwsKI, pression through programming, training, passing information between generations MSW STUDENT INTERN, and consultation. In 2014 Blair received to build stronger networks, finances, and NASW-MD CHAPTER a BMe Community Award and was rec- communication. Friday will also feature ognized as one of the 100 Black LGBTQ/ the annual awards luncheon celebrating ocial Workers are involved with SGL Emerging Leaders to Watch by the Na- the social workers of the year from seven every generation, from neo-na- tional Black Justice Coalition, and in 2016 categories: Lifetime Achievement Award; tal medical practice to aging in was selected as a Gardarev Center Fellow Social Worker of the Year Award; Social place and hospice care. March is to produce work at the intersections of so- Work Educator of the Year; New Profes- National Social Work Month, cial justice activism and the creative arts. sional of the Year; MSW Student of the Sand NASW-MD holds the Annual Social Born and raised in Southwest Baltimore, Year; BSW Student of the Year; and Public Work Month Conference on Thursday In this role, they lead a team that devel- and Friday, March 26-27, 2020. This Blair has worked in youth and community Citizen of the Year. Nominations for all ops and supports youth leadership; provides organizing, LGBTQ equity, and racial jus- categories are being accepted through year’s theme is Social Workers: Generations case management, workforce development tice in the philanthropic, public, and non- February 24th at www.nasw-md.org. Strong, celebrating the diverse age ranges and rapid rehousing services, and engag- profit sectors. The personal inspiration for each social and cultures with whom we work. es in systems-level reform across the city Our Generations Strong theme is show- worker is different. Some of us have been Thursday’s focus topic is cultural aware- and state. Previously, Blair was the HIV cased on Friday with workshops spanning inspired by parents to follow in their foot- ness, and the day will open with the key- Prevention Program Manager at the Star note address by M. Blair Franklin’s, Anti- Track Adolescent Health Program at the the ages. Directed and non-directed play steps to help others and make a difference Oppression and Social Work in Practice, University of Maryland School of Medi- therapy will be presented by Sonia Hinds, in their community. Others have been on which will focus on the ways structural op- cine, where they oversaw sexual health APRN, PMH-BC, RPT-S. Michael the receiving end of services and want to pression shows up in the lives of the people outreach and testing, community mobili- Friedman, retired Director of the Men- give back to the community that support- we serve while examining how we often zation efforts, public health provider train- tal Health Association of New York City ed and inspired them. Every social worker replicate that oppression in the practice of ing, and advocacy work for youth and bookends the day with Aging Well in Amer- from newly-licensed and recent-graduates social work. young adults. Blair currently sits on the ica. The generations in between are reflect- to those with decades of experience have M. Blair Franklin is the executive di- Advisory Board of Baltimore Racial Justice ed in workshops about family caregivers, something to add to the field in which we rector of the Youth Empowered Soci- Action, an organization working against individual resiliency, working with and practice. All of us together create a breadth ety, a drop-in center created by youth and racism and other forms of institutional op- supervising individuals and groups from and depth of knowledge which is Genera- young adults experiencing homelessness. a generation different than you own, and tions Strong. SOCIAL WORK LICENSING (and another “little” bill) BY DAPHNE MCCLELLAN, PHD, working within their scope. This PAID Senate Bill 245 / House Bill 527: PLEASE RUSH MSW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR is not an expansion of scope. It is Permit #5507Permit Baltimore, MD U.S. POSTAGE Non-Profit Org. Health Occupations - Social Workers DATED MATERIAL a clarification of what they can al- It has been said that there is a ‘three- - Scope of Practice, Supervision, and Application Decision Appeal Process ready do, which is counseling (not legged stool’ of social work: education, diagnosis or treatment). the profession, and regulation. Educa- We are grateful to Senator Chris West tion is represented by the Council on and Delegate Bonnie Cullison for intro- • Clarification that the grandfather- Social Work Education (CSWE) which ducing this important legislation. The ing element of the 2017 legislation al- is made up of members of social work bills are a response to repeated concerns lows LMSWs and LBSWs who were li- academia who write standards for social we have heard from social workers around censed before Jan. 1, 2008 to become work education and accredit BSW and the state during the past year. The legisla- independent practitioners under the MSW social work programs. The Pro- tion accomplishes the following: grandfathering clause OR by the same fession is represented by professional as- method as any other social worker li- • The bill alters the definition of “prac- censed after Jan. 1, 2008. sociations of social workers who work tice social work” to clarify that social to support those in practice. The largest workers at all license levels, including ƅ The form the board developed for of these is NASW which developed the the LBSW, may engage in counseling LBSWs and LMSWs to apply for Code of Ethics, has established standards for alcohol and drug use and addictive the independent practice status for excellence in fields of practice, and behaviors. requires those who were licensed provides excellent continuing education before Jan. 1, 2008 to sign an af- (among other services). Regulation is ƅ The existing statute, amended in fidavit stating that they actively the leg of the stool which protects the 2017, addresses work in the area of practiced social work for ten years public by establishing minimum stan- drug and alcohol treatment which and they did so under proper su- dards for practice and monitoring ethi- requires an LCSW-C or supervi- pervision. Some people licensed cal behavior which is done through li- sion by an LCSW-C. However, it before Jan. 1, 2008 have not prac- does not address work performed LICENSING Cont. on page 6 by an LBSW, LMSW, or LCSW SB 245/HB 527 Cont. on page 6 National Association of Social Workers Maryland Chapter Suite 100 5750 Executive Drive, MD 21228 Baltimore, Page 2 The Maryland Social Worker WINTER EDITION | 2020 employee to a contractor. As a contractor, would not count toward licensure. When be granted licensure. PRESIDENT’S the applicant maintained the required su- the applicant asked why they had to get the These complaints highlight a grow- pervision and the agencies they contracted notarized form if the board was going to ing need for NASW-MD to advocate and REPORT with were aware of the supervision process deny the applicant, the staff person’s reply and approved it. The applicant appeared was, “The previous information requested respond in a way that helps address these concerns, and NASW-MD is now advo- By Anthony Estreet, to have followed all directions (including was not a guarantee that we would approve Ph. D., LCSW-C, LCADC starting all supervision contracts prior to your application errors but to provide more cating through the legislative process for the start of supervision). The applicant was information in order for us to make a deci- the BSWE to establish an appeals process both excited and anxious about the up- sion.” The applicant was denied because of if an applicant is denied the opportunity coming licensure. The furthest thing from a minor oversight and technicality even af- the applicant’s mind was being denied by ter following through at the request of the to take the social work licensing examina- An Open Letter the BSWE. However, that is what hap- BSWE staff person. tion (see SB 245). Moreover, NASW-MD to Maryland Social Workers pened because the supervision contract had The major charge for BSWE is to protect would like to invite the leadership from not been signed by the administrator of the the public that we serve. While I under- Over the course of my tenure as NASW- the BSWE to meet and discuss how we can agency where the applicant was contract- stand this is a difficult task and the board is MD president, I have worked with the staff work together to improve this process for ing. As any social worker would do, the responsible for making some tough deci- and board to meet and exceed the expec- applicant contacted the staff person who sions, it is difficult to see how some of those all Maryland Social Workers. tations of our members and social workers made the denial to determine if there was decisions help the public. Instead, they ap- Social Work Month is in March and this across the state. Over the past year there any way to correct the minor oversight.