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Sign up to receive text
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erts. Text 'NASW' to
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Message from Chapter President
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Greetings,
It has been one-month since the Annual Conference and I am still feeling excited about the excellent workshops and networking opportunities I experienced that week.
First, a debt of gratitude to the 2019 Conference Planning Committee and our volunteers for providing guidance in planning the Conference Program. Your sacrifice of time and counsel is greatly appreciated. Second, the Chapter Office worked tirelessly to ensure each and every component of the conference was executed with professionalism. Thanks to each of you for the tireless service you provided before, during, and after the Conference.
For those in attendance, I hope you provided us with your feedback and suggestions. We will be reviewing all feedback and incorporating as many suggestions as possible into the next conference. We will be extending an invitation for those interested in serving on the next Conference Planning Committee.
One component of the Conference I would like to highlight is the Student Summit. The generous donation of 28 scholarships from the Florida Association of Deans and Directors made it possible for students in any Florida social work program to be selected for a scholarship. The participation and energy during the Summit was positive and engaging as students shared their passion for service, advocacy and social work practice in clinical and macro environments. I left filled with hope for our profession.
If you had an opportunity to attend the plenary session with Monticello Campbell (my mom), I must tell you that the feedback she received was amazing. She said next year she will sell t-shirts! LOL! Seriously, although I witnessed her social work practice first-hand, I was as captivating as anyone when I heard her speak at the conference. If you would like to send her a follow up message, you may email her at:
montyhc@aol.com
. She would be delighted to hear from you.
Two weeks ago, I attended the national NASW Leadership Meeting and had the opportunity to learn more about the Association and strategies to implement as we move forward. I will share ideas for revisiting some of our Board operations and committees at our Florida Board of Directors meeting next month. I will keep you informed as we implement changes.
Finally, I encourage each of you to lend your voices, time and energy to the pressing issues of social injustice. Regardless of political affiliation and position on immigration issues, the separation of families, detainment of children, and examples of inhumane treatment is a call to action. Please join us in the advocacy efforts that are aligned with our Code of Ethics. We cannot be silent.
In gratitude,
Carol
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Florida Telehealth:
Bill Establishes Practice Standards
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In 2019, Florida passed the Telehealth Bill which establishes standards of practice for telehealth services, including patient evaluations, record-keeping, and controlled substances prescribing. The bill also authorizes out-of-state health care practitioners to perform telehealth services for patients in Florida upon meeting certain eligibility requirements and registering with the department.
The Florida Department of Health has created a website that allows interested parties to sign up for updates and register to become an out-of-state telehealth provider.
More information, please visit:
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Vote for Your 2019
Association Leadership
Election Closes Friday
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Open positions are:
- President-Elect
- Second Vice President for Budget and Finance
- Secretary
- Chapter Committee on Nominations and Leadership Identification (CCNLI) - 5 Positions
- MSW Student Representative
- BSW Student Representative
You may also be voting for one of the following Unit Chairs:
- Miami-Dade Unit Chair
- Northwest Unit Chair
- Sarasota-Manatee Unit Chair
- Tampa Bay Unit Chair
You will need your NASW member number to logon.
If you do not have your member number, please contact us at 1-800-352-6279 or email: info.naswfl@socialworkers.org and we will provide it to you.
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Student Representatives Column
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Happy July NASW Family!
As our terms on the board come to an end, we fondly reflect on the time spent collaborating with social work leaders and advocating for students to enhance the capacity of the NASW-Florida Chapter for everyone.
We were energized by the NASW-FL Annual Conference in June, which offered many incisive and educational sessions and opportunities to connect with diverse professionals and advocates. The Student Summit was a huge success, bringing together dozens of students from around the state to network to learn about professional development, licensure, and constructive self-reflection.
We were reminded of how welcoming and inclusive the social work space is, constantly striving to find and implement innovative and comprehensive strategies to make our communities better.
In light of Pride Month, it was heartening to see Conference materials and workshops that were thoughtful and proactive in making space for marginalized populations and creating an environment of tolerance and acceptance. As community advocates and service providers, we have a long and often difficult road ahead of us as we face systemic and institutional challenges to our work, but the Annual Conference reminded us that the NASW Family has our backs.
Respectfully,
Kathryn Casello and Kapria Lee
Outgoing BSW and MSW Representative
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Shining Lights for Liberty and
the NASW-FL Immigration
Justice Task Force
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by Martha L. Vallejo
NASW-FL Immigration Justice Task Force Chair
On July 12, 2019, thousands of human rights defenders gathered nationwide and internationally to shine Lights for Liberty against the inhumane detention of immigrant children and adults at more than 700 locations[1] around the globe.
NASW has reiterated our commitment to social justice and to continue pushing against harmful immigration policies and tactics, which are an affront to our nation's values.
[2]
Inspired by our social justice values we have created an NASW-FL Immigration Justice Task Force. Our Task Force members joined grassroots organizations, such as We Count and Friends of Broward Detainees, in the Lights for Liberty event outside the for-profit Homestead children detention center housing more than 2,600 children who are seeking safety and asylum after undergoing horrific journeys while fleeing from violence.
Great fear and persecution have increased for thousands of hard-working and vulnerable undocumented immigrants in Florida and around the country because President Trump has announced that he will intensify horrific raids. Some of the targeted immigrant families have lived in the United States for more than 10 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Statistics. Their labor has been vital to American prosperity.
Most of immigrant parents in deportation proceedings have American born children. These children are terrorized with the threat of being separated from their parents and are developing mental health challenges.
Children are witnessing their homes invaded by ICE armed officers and their parents, who have never committed a crime, handcuffed and detained in inhumane conditions in around 200 for profit detention centers following the government's "zero-tolerance" policy. Experts on the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study - ACE Study - and the American Pediatrics Association have widely shared the science related to the effects on children affected by this inhumane policy.
The American Academy of Pediatrics published in 2018 that "highly stressful experiences, like family separation, can cause irreparable harm, disrupting a child's brain architecture and affecting his or her short- and long-term health. This type of prolonged exposure to serious stress - known as toxic stress - can carry lifelong consequences for children."
[3]
Among the many other issues related to the terrible experiences of persecution our immigrant community is facing, social workers need to be aware of the potential implementation of SB 168,
which would put our profession at an ethical dilemma as we will be legally mandated to report undocumented immigrants seeking services.
School social workers also need to manifest their compassion for the suffering of immigrant children and develop interventions that will be conducive to feeling safe and supported.
Immigrant rights' violations are part of the generalized violations of Human Rights to all vulnerable populations in the US. The NASW-FL Immigration Justice Task Force encourages all social workers to join us in visualizing the human rights challenges for our communities and proposing guidelines for social work practice and social justice.
NASW Guidance on How Social Workers Can Help
In addition to Martha's article, here are additional resources from NASW:
Please share these resources.
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2019 Legislation Impacting LCSWs
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Below are three summaries of HB451, SB1418 and HB501 all which impact social work practice for LCSWs. The telehealth bill (HB23) which is also listed in this newsletter provides additional updates for practice. For more information on these bills contact Jim Akin at jakin.naswfl@socialworkers.org or 1-800-352-6279.
House Bill 451 (HB 451), Nonopioid Alternatives, was approved by Governor DeSantis and became effective July 1, 2019. The bill requires that before providing anesthesia or prescribing, ordering, dispensing, or administering an opioid listed as a Schedule II controlled substance to treat pain, the patient must be informed about available nonopioid alternatives. A healthcare practitioner will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using nonopioid alternatives.
Under the new law, the Florida Department of Health developed an educational pamphlet about using nonopioid alternatives and posted the pamphlet on the department's website.
Healthcare practitioners must provide the patient with this educational pamphlet. Those healthcare practitioners providing emergency services and care are exempt from these requirements.
The pamphlet is posted on the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling's web page under the "
resources
" section
Senate Bill 1418 (SB 1418) Mental Health,
adds additional circumstances when information from the confidential clinical record may be released to ensure that communication of a specific threat to cause bodily injury or death is timely reported to law enforcement. It further requires that when a patient communicates a specific threat against an identifiable individual to a mental health service provider, the provider
must notify law
enforcement of the potential threat. This is a major change, the old language permitted a therapist to disclose information, now you will be required to disclose the information. The language provides that the disclosure of the threatening confidential communications may not be the basis of civil and criminal legal action. To assist with understanding the changes in law, words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
The law is effective July 1, 2019
.
More specifically, SB 1418 amended section 394.4615, F.S., to provide additional confidential records release circumstances and section 491.0147, F.S., to require persons licensed or certified under chapter 491, F.S., to notify law enforcement if a patient or client communicates a specific threat to cause serious bodily injury or death.
House Bill 501 (HB 501), Alternative Treatment Options for Veterans, created section 295.156, Florida Statutes, allowing alternative treatment options for veterans starting July 1, 2019.
The Department of Veterans' Affairs may contract with a state university or Florida College System institution to provide any of the following alternative treatments:
- Accelerated resolution therapy
- Equine therapy
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which must be provided at a registered hyperbaric oxygen facility
- Music therapy
- Service animal training therapy
Veterans qualify for the above treatments if he or she:
(1) Has been diagnosed by a health care practitioner* with service-connected post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or a service-connected traumatic brain injury;
(2) Voluntarily agrees to such alternative treatment; and
(3) Can demonstrate he or she has previously sought services for PTSD or a traumatic brain injury through the federal Veteran Affairs service delivery system OR through private health insurance, if available.
* An individual licensed under chapter 458 (Medicine), chapter 459 (Osteopathic Medicine), chapter 460 (Chiropractic Medicine), chapter 464 (Nursing), chapter 490 (Psychology), or chapter 491 (Clinical social worker/Marriage and family therapist/Mental health counselor).
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Overview of a Capstone
Program Evaluation
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Evaluating a Faith-based Outreach Program for Liberian Refugees
by:
Dimanche Y. Tubman Harmon, MBA/HCM, MSW, DSW Candidate
Refugees experience tremendous difficulties resettling in their new environment, complicated by poverty and language barriers while in a strange land. Liberian refugees have exhibited prolonged struggles as their population continues to increase in the United States significantly. Liberians in the diaspora have come together to create a house of worship, a church, which, through a selfless act of kindness, quickly partnered with an international relief and faith-based humanitarian agency to help Liberian refugees. The church provided exceptional services to Liberian refugees in the community, but then abruptly stopped. This led to an evaluation of a church's faith-based outreach program to determine how the refugee program of a church was implemented, and why was it discontinued. This study is a non-numerical, formative program evaluation that used a qualitative design. Participants in the study were 40 years of age and older, males and females, residing in a southern state, who were current or previous church members working with the program when it was operational. Participants in the study were Liberians or Americans of Liberian heritage. Although ten participants were recruited the sample size was six. Even though the sample size was small, it did not threaten the validity because the point of saturation was reached. This inductive reasoning evaluation drew on conventional qualitative techniques that used a phenomenological culture-centered approach for data collection and analysis. The Findings indicated that a lack of professionals to design and develop the program and unforeseen funding problems were the main reasons for its abrupt closure. The church members who initiated and implemented the program never involved professionals experienced with program development; neither did they have enough funds to sustain the program that was put in place. This lack of insight is evidenced by a cluster of themes: lack of professionals to develop the program and lack of funds to sustain it.
Overview of Findings
The study found multiple reasons why the program failed were the lack of funding and the lack of professionals to develop and design the program. The church had no insight to the magnitude of the program that was at hand.
Stakeholders' Recommendations
- It is recommended that prior to developing a program, it is important to conduct a needs assessment that can provide information to develop goals, set priorities, and identify the types of resources that will be needed to create the program.
- It is also recommended that social workers understand refugees' lives prior to them became refugees. This will enable better relationships, and refugees can easily disclose information.
- It is recommended when developing program, it is necessary to include heterogeneous/diverse group of professionals to help refugees instead of only homogeneous/same-culture individuals. Diverse group of individuals is richer in resources.
- It is also recommended that program development be inclusive of multiple diverse cultures for the betterment of those being helped or served.
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2019 Annual Conference CEs Reported & Certificates of Attendance E-Mailed
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Thank you everyone who attended and participated in the NASW-FL 2019 Annual Conference in Orlando.
All of the Conference CEs are reported and Certificates of Attendance were sent electronically.
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An Hour With Private Practice: Questions & Answers
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July - December 2019 Schedule
An Hour With Private Practice: Questions & Answers (HOPP) is a free question and answer session for NASW members. Unless noted otherwise on the schedule, the monthly call-in sessions focus on a specific private practice subject and are led by Mirean Coleman, LICSW, Clinical Manager at NASW.
No pre-registration is required and members can join in the discussion, ask questions, and make comments. These sessions provide members with important clinical social work updates impacting the delivery of mental health services in a private solo or group practice.
HOPP is held every third Wednesday of the month from noon to 1:00 pm ET. No session is held in December due to the holidays. Beginning February 2019, an audio recording is available online a week after the HOPP session at:
Teleconference Dial-In Number
Members can join "An Hour With Private Practice" by dialing the following teleconference line at least 5-10 minutes prior to the start time:
- U.S./Canada toll-free number: 1-888-378-4398
- Participant passcode: 185608
- August 21, 2019: "Reducing Practice Risks when Working with Suicidal Patients", Presenter: Mirean Coleman, LICSW, CT, NASW Clinical Manager
- September 18, 2019: "Common Insurance Questions for Social Workers Performing Tele-Therapy", Presenter: Lonnie Ropp, ASI Director, Product Management and Underwriting
- October 16, 2019: "Ethical Considerations when using Technology in Private Practice", Presenter: Dawn Hobdy, LICSW, NASW Director of Ethics and Professional Review
- November 19, 2019: "Preparing your Practice for 2020: What's New", Presenter: Mirean Coleman, LICSW, CT, NASW Clinical Manager
- December 18, 2019: Holiday
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July 2019
Because We Care, We Are Security Aware
Did you know that recently the City of Baltimore suffered a cyber attack that froze its ability to operate, including processing parking tickets?
In early June of 2019, Philadelphia's court system was attacked which froze its ability to operate. Cyber attacks span a wide variety of categories that cause disruption, steal money, extort money from victims, and/or steal information, usually to sell for identity theft purposes.
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What's Going on Near You!
NASW Florida is broken up into
18 volunteer-led units that hold meetings, continuing education events, community projects, and social events for its members. This local network is one of our greatest membership benefits! Use the links below to find out what's going on in your local area.
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UNIT NAME
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COUNTIES INCLUDED
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Ecambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton
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Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor, Wakulla
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Gainesville Unit
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Alachua, Bradford, Dixie, Gilchrist, Lafayette, Levy, Marion, Putnam, Suwannee, Union
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Baker, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Hamilton, Nassau, St. Johns
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Central Unit
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Orange, Osceola, Seminole
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Emerald Coast Unit
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Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Washington
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Tampa Bay Unit
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Hillsborough, Pinellas
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Space Coast Unit
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Brevard
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Palm Beach Unit
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Palm Beach, Glades
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Broward Unit
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Broward
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Miami-Dade Unit
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Dade, Monroe |
Southwest Unit
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Charlotte, Collier, De Soto, Hendry, Lee
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Heartland Unit
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Hardee, Highlands, Polk
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Sarasota/Manatee Unit
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Manatee, Sarasota
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Treasure Coast Unit
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Indian River, Martin, St. Lucie, Okeechobee
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Nature Coast Unit
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Citrus, Hernando, Pasco
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Lake/Sumter Unit
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Lake, Sumter
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Volusia/Flagler Unit
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Flagler, Volusia
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Here's a listing of events for the coming month. Additional details are available on our
Calendar of Events or, if a unit event, on the
local unit's page.
July
July 25, 2019 * Fort Lauderdale, FL
*NASW-FL Broward Unit presents "Self-Regulation Techniques for Social Workers and Your Clients" with Paty Hernandez, MSW, MPH, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at Holy Cross Hospital. Registration is FREE for NASW Members and $20 for non-members. This workshop is sponsored by
Delphi Behavioral Health Group.
September 16, 2019 * Boca Raton, FL
*NASW-FL Palm Beach Unit - South presents "Introduction to Brainspotting: A Rapid and Effective Therapy" with Cynthia Schwartzberg, LCSW, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. Registration is FREE for NASW members and $10 for non-members. Space is limited. Early Registration is recommended. This event is sponsored by
Fort Lauderdale Behavioral Health Center.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE
October
October 14, 2019 * Palm Beach Gardens, FL - New Date!
*NASW-FL Palm Beach Unit - North presents "Maternal Voices: How to Engage Women with Substance Use Disorder to Healing and Recovery" with Heather Howard, MSW, LCSW, PhD, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Barry University. Registration is FREE for NASW Members and $10 for Non-members. RSVP is requested but not required.
This workshop is sponsored by Brightstar Care.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE
October 21, 2019 * Boca Raton, FL
*NASW-FL Palm Beach Unit - South presents "Fundamental Concepts of Schema Therapy" with Joshua Kates, LCSW, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. Registration is FREE for NASW members and $10 for non-members. Space is limited. Early Registration is recommended.
This workshop is sponsored by Brightstar Care.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE
November 2019
November 18, 2019 * Boca Raton, FL
*NASW-FL Palm Beach Unit - South presents "Relationships in Addicted Families: When Normal People are Impacted by Abnormal Situations" with Kathryn Shafer, PhD, LCSW, CAP, E-IAYT, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. Registration is FREE for NASW members and $10 for non-members. Space is limited. Early Registration is recommended.
This workshop is sponsored by Retreat Behavioral Health.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE
January 2020
January 20, 2020 * Boca Raton, FL
*NASW-FL Palm Beach Unit - South presents "Dementia: Clinical Issues that Arise in Working with Patients and Caregivers" with Alyse November, LCSW, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. Registration is FREE for NASW members and $10 for non-members. Space is limited. Early Registration is recommended. This workshop is sponsored by CSI Caregivers Services.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE
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