2021

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Fostering system at risk of reaching ‘breaking point’, warns Ofsted

Community Care

England’s care system needs an “urgent boost to the number of foster carers” to avoid reaching “breaking point”. That was the warning from Ofsted as it released its annual fostering statistics last week , which showed there were 88,180 approved fostering places, 55,990 of which were filled, and 45,370 approved fostering households, as of 31 March 2021.

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When Your Partner Sits Around Playing Video Games and You’re Carrying the Family

Gary Direnfeld

Remember that movie from 2006, “Failure to Launch?” They finally get the guy in his thirties out of his parent’s house long enough to meet a gal. The movie was based on a social trend of men who never left home. Some had sporadic jobs but otherwise lived in their bedroom or the basement mostly playing video games. Since then, I am seeing another social trend; women who married those men now seeking to separate from them.

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Remembering The Connection Between Physical and Mental Wellness

My Brains Not Broken

As someone who celebrates Christmas, this past week was a busy one. The holiday season can take its toll on us in many ways, and while I tend to shine a spotlight on mental wellness during the holidays, there are other areas of wellness that are important to remember. Sometimes I forget about the connection between my physical health and my mental health, but when I forget to take care of my wellness, my body reminds me in a major way.

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Alone Together

What a Shrink Thinks

We need each other and we harm each other. We serve each other and threaten to devour each other. We yearn to rely on each other, and we profoundly disappoint each other. We can’t live with each other and we can’t live without each other. Psychoanalytic models struggle with these conflicting demands.

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5 Must Haves for Case Management

Thousands of nonprofits rely on case management software to help collect data, manage programs, coordinate with agencies, and provide life-changing health and human services. Adopting a cloud-based case management platform is essential for nonprofits and government agencies to operate more efficiently and make better use of their funding and budget.

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An important moment for social work and social care

Social Work With Adults

Reform has social work values built in. I am so pleased to be writing this blog, celebrating the publication of ‘ People at the heart of care ’, the Government's adult social care reform White Paper. Social work and social care values are at its core. This is about valuing people and what matters to them, appreciating those who care for and support them, supported by a vision reminding us of our commitment to personalising care and support.

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7 Powerful Morning Routine Starters for Social Workers

The New Social Worker

Do you have a morning routine? Your morning routine doesn’t have to be elaborate. It’s more important to just begin. Here are 7 ideas to get your day started. Give your best self to your clients and manage your stress before your stress manages you.

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Navigating The Festive Juggle: When School Activities Add More “Stuff”

Blurt It Out

As the festive season approaches, diary dates stack up, another “please could you bring/remember/note…” message seems to come through daily, and it’s never long before we feel the festive frazzle. We’re eternally thankful to all those who work so hard to put smiles on our children’s faces and create wonderful memories. But navigating it without.

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Mental Illness Can Prevent Daily Hygiene

Nnatasha Tracy

Mental illness can prevent daily hygiene. I've been a victim of this and so have so many other people. Some people have come to me in confidence and said that they can't brush their teeth and it's causing major dental problems. Other people have said, in hushed tones, that they can't do their laundry so they don't leave their houses. These kinds of hygiene tasks are just too hard for some people disabled with serious mental illnesses.

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What Do You Know About Disability Cultural Competence?

Swhelper

Elspeth Slayter. Recently, I had the opportunity to give a webinar on disability cultural competence to social service workers, but was met with many blank stares. As a disabled social worker myself, I often notice that the disability community is not recognized as a cultural group. Disability is also not considered as a social identity in diversity […].

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World Social Work Day 2022

The International Association Of Schools Of Social

The next World Social Work Day takes place on the 15th March 2022. The theme: ´Co-building a New Eco-Social World: Leaving No One Behind´ coincides with the theme of the people´s summit that will take place on the 29th June to the 2 nd July. The theme presents a vision and action plan to create new global values, policies and practices that develop trust, security and confidence for all people and the sustainability of the planet.

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Get Connected: Using Social Media for Social Work Success

Speaker: Gary Direnfeld, MSW, RSW.

You may have the clinical skills to manage a private practice, but your success could actually hinge on marketing skills. For a thriving practice, you need to differentiate yourself from others and present yourself in a way that attracts referrals. These days, much of that happens online, including on social media. In this webinar, Gary Direnfeld will discuss how social media marketing can help you build your private practice and grow your client base.

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Zahawi: take children into care when ‘any inkling of harm’

Community Care

Children should be removed from their families if there is “any inkling” of harm to them, the education secretary has said. Nadhim Zahawi made the comment in response to a question from fellow Conservative MP Bob Blackman following his statement on the government’s response to the Arthur Labinjo-Hughes case yesterday. Blackman had said that what Arthur’s case had in common with those of Peter Connolly (2007), Victoria Climbié (2000) and Jasmine Beckford (1984) was that &

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The Perfect Child, Also Unwell.

Gary Direnfeld

The call was about the one child who was continually acting out, skipping school, getting into trouble. The other child was described as perfect, a perfectionist actually. That child had great grades and only concentrated on school work. The child was seemingly obsessed with that and as such, didn’t have time for trouble. That child was considered fine.

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Teenagers and Mental Health: A Q&A with Tilly’s Life Center

My Brains Not Broken

Mental health is important for everyone, but it’s especially important to spotlight teenagers and mental health. For today’s post, I was able to talk with Monica Utley, the Executive Director of Tilly’s Life Center. Located in Irvine, California, Tilly’s Life Center teaches life skills to teenagers that build confidence, inspire compassion, and encourages adolescents to pursue their dreams.

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Saturday Dream Workshop

What a Shrink Thinks

This is an educational/experiential workshop designed to support therapists and counselors, artists and creatives, meditators and those engaged in spiritual practices and anyone who wants to learn to work with their dreams in service of healing, creative or contemplative processes.

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Holding fast to collectivist values in a health emergency

Reimagining Social Work

Aotearoa New Zealand is currently grappling with an outbreak of the Delta variant of Covid-19. Since a recent returnee from Australia tested positive for Delta in mid-August 2021, we have been under public health emergency measures, with T?maki Makaurau, our largest city, in Level 3 and 4 lockdowns for 88 days (at 13 November). The … Continue reading Holding fast to collectivist values in a health emergency.

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Self-Care A-Z: Self-Care Can Be Needed Most When You Least Expect It

The New Social Worker

We’re inherently worthy of self-care. Thank you for your service, values, commitment to the social work profession, and for taking care of YOU. Corinna shares her self-care story.

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Lorraine Gutiérrez Appointed the Edith A. Lewis Collegiate Professor of Social Work

Michigan Social Work

Lorraine Gutiérrez has been appointed the Edith A. Lewis Collegiate Professor of Social Work. Gutiérrez is an internationally renowned scholar in empowerment theory and anti-oppressive practice. Her teaching and scholarship focus on multicultural praxis in communities, organizations and higher education. Her current projects include identifying strategies for multicultural community-based research and practice, multicultural education for social work practice, and identifying effective methods

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“12 Truths”·Anne Lamott·TED2017

Sober Courage

Anne Lamott is an American novelist and non-fiction writer. She is also a progressive political activist, public speaker, and writing teacher and a person in long term recovery from Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). Her nonfiction works are largely autobiographical. Wikipedia In 2017 Anne Lamott recorded a Ted Talk about the 12 Truths that she knows … Continue reading “12 Truths”·Anne Lamott·TED2017.

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A Pennsylvania case illustrates again why, for children, “best interests of the child” is among the most dangerous phrases in the “child welfare” lexicon

NCCPR Child Welfare Blog

Consider a recent case involving the family policing system in a county in Pennsylvania. Everything I am about to recount is true except for one detail: Two young children are taken from their mother. Their father is eager to take them in, but at the time of the removal he’s in the hospital. That’s because after he was hit by a drunk driver and confined to a wheelchair it led to medical complications that sometimes require hospitalization.

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How Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Schools Prepares Young People to Thrive in a Multiracial Society

Swhelper

Linda R. Tropp. Debates about the value and meaning of public education are not just about report cards and standardized test scores. The hope is that public education will equip youth with what they need to reach their full potential and flourish as the next generation of citizens. To achieve this goal, most people realize that public schools […].

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IASSW Announces The Release Of Social Dialogue Magazine # 25

The International Association Of Schools Of Social

IASSW Announces The Release Of Social Dialogue Magazine # 25. Dear Friends, International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) is ready with an excellent volume of Social Dialogue. on the theme “The Pandemic that Shook Social Work Education It is a collaborative effort from academics, students, practice teachers and service users from across the globe exploring social work’s educational response to the current COVID-19 pandemic, focusing specifically on how they have responded to the ma

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Children adopted from care falls to lowest in 21 years, government figures show

Community Care

The number of children adopted from care fell to its lowest level in 21 years in 2020-21, Department for Education (DfE) figures show. Their number fell by 18% on the year to 2,870, the lowest total since 1999-2000. Delays in family court proceedings during Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the latest annual decline in adoptions, but the number has fallen each year since a peak of 5,360 in 2014-15.

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Why Are You Doing The Work of The Other Parent When Separated?

Gary Direnfeld

It’s not uncommon for one to really want to do what’s right for the kids while the other seems to work against their interests. In wanting to do what’s right, some believe that they should make life appear as much as it did after the separation as before. With that, the other parent is invited in for special occasions. That parent may even be chased, so to speak, to continue to see the kids.

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The Holidays Aren’t Easy for Everyone

My Brains Not Broken

As I’ve written before, I tend to get sad during the wintertime. At this point, it’s become something to expect and prepare for more than anything else, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating when it happens. But it’s not just the wintertime – it’s the holidays, too. Last year, I wrote that it’s okay not to be okay during this festive period , and while the sentiment remains true for this year, I also wanted to issue a gentle reminder that many pe

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Reform will be driven by an empowered workforce

Social Care

"Care certificates will create a new delivery standard recognised across the sector, which will facilitate more rewarding career paths for all colleagues and make sure there is a knowledge baseline for every care role." [Photo by Lauren.hurley@dhsc.gov.uk, DHSC]. Making the most of our people. With or without reform, the quality, reliability and effectiveness of our adult social care system depends on a workforce that feels valued, supported and encouraged to be the best.

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Trigger Warnings Don’t Work — Don’t Use Trigger Warnings

Nnatasha Tracy

Trigger warnings don't work. I know that's a controversial statement as trigger warnings have crept into seemingly all aspects of media. But trigger warnings did this without anyone studying the effects of including a trigger warning. People started including them with good intentions, but that doesn't mean including them actually produces positive responses.

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NASW on amicus brief before U.S. Supreme Court seeking to overturn Texas abortion law

Social Work Blog

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) on Oct. 27, 2021 and 10 other civil rights organizations joined in an amicus brief led by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in the Whole Women’s Health v. Jackson case filed in the U.S. Supreme Court. This case involves Texas’s Senate Bill 8 (SB 8), banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy and allowing private citizens to enforce the law by suing anyone who performed, aided, or abetted an abortion in violation of the ba

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All The Birds

What a Shrink Thinks

I recently had the opportunity to talk out loud on the phone with a friend I’ve been talking to in my head and that I’ve known through social media for over a decade. We talked about how, and why we try to hold empathy for those who see reality in diametrically opposed ways. […].

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The 2022 World Social Work Day Poster Launched

International Federation of Social Workers

The 2022 World Social Work Day Poster Launched The 2022 World Social Work Day Poster was launched today. It highlights the theme ´Co-building a New Eco-Social World: Leaving No One Behind´. The theme coincides with the name of the people´s global summit that will take place on the 29th June to the 2nd July. The […].

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A Very Thoughtful Gift Guide: 2021

Blurt It Out

Just like that, the festive season is upon us again, and our feeds are filling up with picture-perfect families in unrealistically tidy spaces. For some, it really is “the most wonderful time of the year”, but it can also be overwhelming, emotional, and stressful. With that in mind, we’ve created this years’ thoughtful gift guide. The post A Very Thoughtful Gift Guide: 2021 appeared first on The Blurt Foundation.

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Guest Post: Why Diagnosing Bipolar Disorder is So Tough by G. Alex Patten, MD

Bipolar Bandit

Since its original description over 160 years ago, Bipolar Disorder has been a tough diagnosis to make accurately. At different times called “circular insanity,” “manic depressive psychosis,” and “manic depression,” Bipolar Disorder was not officially recognized as a standalone mental illness until 1980. Now we know that Bipolar Disorder is actually a group of four distinct illnesses with different severities and diagnostic criteria.

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Digital exhibition: Making the Invisibility of Social Work Interventions in Climate Issues Visible

The International Association Of Schools Of Social

Digital exhibition: Making the Invisibility of Social Work Interventions in Climate Issues Visible. Professor Lena Dominelli is a qualified social worker and holds a Chair in Social Work at the University of Stirling. Lena has specific interests in climate change and extreme weather events. Through her research, she has created the concept of ‘green social work’ as a new paradigm for theory and practice.

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Lower caseloads key to improving child protection following Arthur case, say social workers

Community Care

Social workers have said more resources and lower caseloads are the top priority for improving child protection following the murder of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes. Over three-quarters of 3,490 respondents to a Community Care poll selected this option over better multi-agency working, lower thresholds for intervention or the creation of a dedicated child protection service.

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Racism and Mistreatment in the Mental Health Field: A Practitioner’s Voice

inSocialWork

Danielle Hamner. The social work profession places a high value on diversity, inclusion, and social justice. In the context of working with marginalized populations – specifically Black clients – to what degree is this story of social work values reality versus myth? Even while the NASW Code of Ethics places emphasis on racial and social justice, a number of people and scholars have mentioned an “empathy gap” when it comes to social work practice involving White social worker interactions with B

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Five Ways to Manage Perfectionism

My Brains Not Broken

This week on My Brain’s Not Broken, we’re talkin g about perfectionism. While it’s something that comes up in everyday life, perfectionism can be hard to spot, and even harder to deal with. When I was looking up how to manage and deal with perfectionism, I saw the same results as when I looked up how to manage self-doubt , which was that every article I found used terms like overcoming and get rid of when talking about perfectionism (which seems like an example of perfectionism