The Latest News

Social Workers Should Promote More Attention to Reducing Psychological Maltreatment, Says May 20 Instructor Stuart Hart

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Hart defines PM as “a repeated pattern of extreme incident(s) of caretaker behavior that thwarts a child’s basic psychological needs (e.g., safety, socialization, emotional and social support, cognitive stimulation, respect) and conveys a child is worthless, defective, damaged goods, unloved, unwanted, endangered, primarily useful in meeting another’s needs, and/or expendable.”

He notes that teenagers are most likely to experience PM. “Recognizing that bullying is primarily PM, social media experiences of late childhood and adolescence appear to be increasingly corrupting and destructive,” Hart says. “… It is not fully appreciated by many mental/behavioral health providers that PM has been found to be one of the most powerfully destructive components of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and that it deserves systematic assessment and centrality in interventions.”

The pandemic has only worsened matters. “It appears probable that the severe limitations on face-to-face human relationships considered necessary for protection have increased depression and suicidal behavior – both of which are strongly related to [PM],” says Hart. 

In response, he co-developed the NASW chapter course to help social workers understand child PM’s “nature, significance, most promising interventions, and relevance for their service responsibilities and opportunities.” The course, which includes 3 ethics CEs, also aims to strengthen social workers’ “capacity to advance attention to and reduction of PM in the policies and practices of their systems of service.

“Additionally, it is our intention to promote the strengthening of ‘upstander’ behavior--the readiness to intervene where PM is occurring at the interpersonal level through ‘soft start-up’ communication and compassionate empathy to generate respectful, supportive, and caring relationships.”

Save your live-virtual seat for this training by registering by May 18.

Social isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as high social media usage among teens and children, are among the reasons why health care providers such as social workers are seeing an increase in psychological maltreatment (PM) and need to better understand it, according to researcher Stuart Hart, PhD.

Dr. Hart, who is principal of strategic initiatives for the International Institute for Child Rights and Development in Canada and a professor emeritus at Indiana University, will be among the panelists at a PM training May 21. Co-hosted by NASW Virginia, NASW Metro DC, and NASW Texas chapters, the 4-CE training--Psychological Maltreatment--Cognitive and Emotional Violence to Children: Its Nature and Intervention—runs 1-4 p.m. EDT and requires an additional one-hour pre-course viewing of a video.

Registration is now open! Earn 12 CEs at the NASW Virginia “Encore Conference” May 1-2

Join your peers this Saturday and Sunday, May 1-2, for an NASW Virginia “Encore Conference” that lets you earn up to 12 CEs, including six ethics CEs! It’s a great chance to earn ALL of your required six ethics CEs for your Virginia license in one weekend!

DC-licensed social workers also can earn three public health priorities CEs.

Thanks to the generosity and support of our presenters, the chapter is offering this live-virtual event to provide more opportunities to earn CEs via a selection of popular sessions from the chapter’s March 25-27 Annual Conference.

NASW members pay the discounted rate of $160. Nonmembers are welcome and pay $242.

Not an NASW member yet but want to save that $82, as well as enjoy year-round discounted trainings and other benefits?
Join NASW today!

Earn 12 CEs at the Just-Announced NASW Virginia
“Encore Conference” May 1-2

Missed the NASW Virginia Annual Conference March 25-27? Registration opens shortly for an NASW Virginia “Encore Conference” Saturday and Sunday, May 1-2! You can earn up to 12 CEs, including six ethics CEs!

Thanks to the generosity and support of our presenters, the chapter is offering a live-virtual event that features a variety of popular sessions from the March conference.

Members, check your inbox regularly—a registration link will be sent shortly, but meanwhile, save these dates! It’s a great chance to earn ALL of your required six ethics CEs for your Virginia license in one weekend!

NASW members pay the discounted rate of $160. Nonmembers are welcome and will pay $242. Nonmembers can check here later for the registration link.

Not an NASW member yet but want to save that $82, as well as enjoy year-round discounted trainings and other benefits?
Join NASW today!

NASWVA Responds to Chauvin Verdict, Offers Support to Black Social Workers and Others

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter April 20. This verdict offers a small glimmer of hope that we can live in a community where police are held accountable for harming and murdering Black and brown people.
 

However, this verdict will not bring murder victim George Floyd back. Our hearts are still broken over his death.
 

We thank all the advocates who have worked on the front line to tirelessly seek justice for Mr. Floyd and his family and friends. Although this feels like a victory in one sense, we continue to echo NASW’s national call for dramatic reform of the current police state in the United States. We must look at how white supremacy, imperialism, and capitalism compel us to fundamentally reshape community safety and protection for one another. We must invest in care and community.
 

If you have not yet read NASW Virginia’s statement on racial justice, equity, and equality, you’ll find it here.
 

To all Black social workers and members, please know that the chapter stands beside you in solidarity at this difficult time. As your professional home, we want to support you however you find meaningful, knowing full well that the social work profession must itself continue candid conversations about its own role in systemic racism. We know that looking within is as critical as working toward external change. We promise that we as a chapter and wider organization are working to do better. 

Gold Exhibitors:

Family Insight

Good Neighbor

Gardner-Webb University

Virginia Victim Assistance Network 

Silver Exhibitor:

Deer Oaks

Bronze Exhibitors:

Devereaux Advanced Behavioral Healthcare

Patient Advocate

Smiles for Children

NASWVA 2021 Annual Conference Attracts Record Attendance 

Thank you to the 376 social workers, exhibitors, and sponsors who attended the NASW Virginia Annual Conference March 25-27! Using the Social Work Month theme, "Social Workers Are Essential," the event provided nearly 30 breakout sessions on a range of practice-related and social justice issues, as well as four outstanding keynote speakers--civil rights "songstress" and storyteller Bettie Mae Fikes, PostSecret.com founder Frank Warren, Platinum-selling musician Jim Donovan, and poetry slam duo Adios America.

"Although the conference had to be virtual again due to the pandemic, the format enabled attendees to conveniently engage in their professional development in new ways," says Executive Director Debra Riggs, CAE. "They also benefited from the peer-to-peer expertise of social workers from 10 other states and even overseas, since the event could be borderless."

The Call for Proposals for the 2022 Annual Conference will open in June.

Meanwhile, the virtual Exhibit Fair is still ongoing with its 16 exhibitors and sponsors until April 27; it remains available to all registrants, some of whom may not have had a chance to complete their one-on-one meetings and shopping during the March 25-27 meeting. To access, please login into the conference and click on "Exhibitors." An encore Exhibit Fair is scheduled for April 14--look for more information in your inboxes soon.

Thank you for helping to make the conference a success, exhibitors and sponsors! Here is the list of those with virtual booths at the Exhibit Fair: 

Lead Sponsors:

NASW Assurance Insurance Inc. (Lead sponsor)

Anthem HealthKeepers Plus (Lunch & Learn sponsor)

Diamond Exhibitors:

Angel Flight East

Brain Injury Association of Virginia

Dominion Behavioral Healthcare

Newport Academy

NorthSpring Behavioral Healthcare

Virginia Relay

NASW Virginia Chapter Honors Five Social Work Leaders, Students for Outstanding Achievements
RICHMOND, VA: The Virginia Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers presented its 2021 Annual Awards for professional and academic excellence to three social workers, a state legislator, and a social work student March 27 during its Annual Conference.

​

Lifetime Achievement in Social Work Award, the chapter’s highest individual honor recognizing a social work professional with a proven career-long commitment to strict ethics and the social work profession, as well as outstanding professional performance and leadership:

Recipient: Kimberly Jones, MSW, LCSW, behavioral health provider, Horizon Health Services, Sutherland, Va.
 

Social Worker of the Year, the chapter’s highest annual honor of a social worker and an NASW member who has demonstrated service beyond job requirements, has taken risks to achieve results, has contributed to the public's knowledge and positive image of social work, and has demonstrated clear, ethical leadership qualities:

​

Recipient: Alison Sampson-Jackson, PhD, LCSW, MSW, CEO, Integrated Solutions, 
 

Legislator of the Year, in recognition of policy leadership and achievements in the political and public arena of mental and behavioral health advocacy and policy making:

Recipient: Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (D-25th District)

​
 

Public Citizen of the Year, the chapter’s highest honor for an outstanding community member who is not a social work or legislator but whose achievements exemplify the values, ethics, and mission of professional social work:

Recipient: Jorden Costen-Sumpter, founder and executive director, Safe Space NOVA, Alexandria, Va.

​
 

Bachelor of Social Work Student of the Year in recognition of exemplary performance and leadership by a BSW student:

Recipient: Emily Hewett, Christopher Newport University

“Through their many achievements and leadership during the past pandemic year, these five honorees have demonstrated deep commitment and high performance within the public and social work fields,” says Debra Riggs, CAE, executive director of NASW Virginia. “At a time when social workers have emerged as essential mental and behavioral health heroes in the COVID-19 pandemic, NASW Virginia is especially proud to applaud each of these award recipients.”

NASW Virginia Distributes Social Work Month Press Release to Educate Public about Social Workers as Important Advocates, Resources

The NASW Virginia Chapter asks members to keep an eye out for articles published in local newspapers, magazines, and elsewhere that are or could be based on its press release sent statewide March 2 to 155 print media and wire services. The release aims to increase awareness of what social workers do, why the public is encouraged to tap into these professionals for their advocacy abilities and resource knowledge, and what Social Work Month and its "Social Workers Are Essential" theme mean. 

Please send any print or digital articles mentioning Social Work Month or content from below to Executive Director Debra Riggs, CAE, driggs.naswva@socialworkers.org. The chapter also invites members to cut and paste the release to send to their own media contacts!

Social Work Month in March Showcases the Many Roles of Virginia’s “Unsung Heroes” in Providing Mental and Behavioral Health Care

RICHMOND, VA—The Virginia Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and its nearly 3,000 members are celebrating Social Work Month this March with the national theme “Social Workers Are Essential.” The campaign educates the public about social workers as advocates and resources, and highlights the valuable contributions social workers make statewide, especially during the pandemic.

Social work is one of the fastest growing professions in the U.S, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, rising from a current 700,000 to an estimated 800,000 professionals by 2029. Virginia has nearly 10,000 licensed clinical social workers, and demand for social work services continues to outpace availability of behavioral health providers.

“Few people realize that social work professionals comprise the largest behavioral health group in the country, or that many of our members work alongside doctors, nurses, and other frontline workers, thus experiencing similar risks and exhaustion,” says Executive Director Debra Riggs, CAE. “The profession has exploded over the past decade and is poised to grow exponentially. Even Ashley Biden, daughter of President Biden, is a social worker!”

Riggs notes that Virginia social workers “have worked extra-long hours and executed a radical pivot to telehealth to respond to skyrocketing public needs for more mental and behavioral health services in our state. We are grateful that the General Assembly, Gov. Northam, and leaders such as Sen. Creigh Deeds recently boosted funding and established a new oversight entity to strengthen Virginia’s mental health care systems.”   

While TV and movie versions of social workers have generated an unfair stereotype of these professionals as people “who just take away kids from their families,” social workers are embedded in many work settings throughout society. They provide mental health and substance use disorder treatment, assist active military and veterans, help schoolchildren, transition the returns to society of people who have been imprisoned, help corporations better serve communities, and protect children from neglect and abuse. They also work in nonprofits, private practice, the court system, and local and state agencies.

However, the profession has other challenges beyond public confusion. A severe shortage of social workers in schools, colleges, and universities has often left young people inadequately supported when faced with complicated issues such as trauma, addiction, anxiety, loneliness, grief, and online learning stressors—all of which have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

And although social workers play a critical role in the nation’s health care system, they could and should be much better compensated for their efforts, according to a 2019 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

“We hope Social Work Month will help the public realize that social workers are highly educated and well-trained professionals who subscribe to one of the healthcare industry’s most stringent codes of ethics,” says Riggs. “People should feel confident turning to social workers, who work tirelessly to advocate for their clients and communities.”

She notes that “social workers often are unsung heroes, and their natural tendency toward humility and discretion mean their extraordinary work is often undervalued or unseen. Please consider saying a kind word to the social workers in your lives and at work, especially during Social Work Month. Like our chapter, they are always fighting for policies that benefit families, individuals, and the vulnerable populations they serve such as children and older adults.”

Happy Social Work Month! NASW Virginia will be celebrating the 2021 Social Work Month throughout March as a recognition of the diverse ways that social workers contribute to their communities. Look for stories from our members and others about why they love social work and how they know that "Social Workers Are Essential," the theme for this year AND for our chapter's conference March 25-27. Thank you all for your hard work and commitment!  

NASW Virginia Supports Texas Social Workers Fighting Code of Ethics Changes That Enable Potential Discrimination

The NASW Virginia Chapter stands in solidarity with Texas social workers who are fighting their Governor’s removal of protections against discrimination for disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression from the Social Work Code of Conduct!

The Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners (TSBSWE) accepted the language from the Governor, whose rationalization is that agency rules cannot be more expansive than those in state law. However, the board has the explicit statutory authority to propose and adopt rules regarding “the scope of practice of and standards of care and ethical practice for social work.” 

This includes defining anti-discrimination protections under the Code of Conduct, which “should receive protected status,” says the chapter. “Social workers already have the ability to decline to provide services to a client based on their competencies and training, but they cannot discriminate based on selective personal values … [the new language] could send the erroneous message that [discrimination] is allowed. This might deter a client from coming in for services or cause a social worker to withhold a service they are ethically obligated to provide.”

Sign this petition to show Texas social workers you oppose any changes to their Code of Conduct!

NASW Practice Alert on Home Health: Telehealth During COVID-19 and New Payment System

The Medicare home health benefit, which includes medical social services, has long been essential to beneficiaries living with acute, chronic, and advanced health conditions. Access to home health services is of utmost importance during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. 

A new NASW Practice Alert provides an overview of the Medicare home health benefit, describes NASW’s advocacy on behalf of both home health social workers and beneficiaries served during the COVID-19 pandemic, and clarifies the status of home health social work under the Patient-Driven Groupings Model.

NASW Virginia Chapter Calls for Justice, Healing, and Further Action on Racial Equality

​

At this painful historical time, social workers statewide strongly condemn the May 25 murder of African American George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers and urge Virginia residents to unite for healing that enables collaboration and a recommitment to genuine progress toward racial equality, says the Virginia Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

Virginia is home to 1.6 million African Americans—19% of its total population and the ninth highest percentage in the country, according to the 2010 Census. Many Black residents feel disenfranchised, their cries for attention to inequities around education, housing, employment, health, and criminal justice carrying over from generation to generation without redress.

Social workers witness the short- and long-term harm and agony caused by these injustices every day in their jobs—from schools to hospitals, government agencies to private practices. As the largest behavioral health providers in the country, social workers already receive extensive diversity and inclusiveness training, follow a code of ethics and cultural values grounded in respect and tolerance, and advocate fiercely for the advancement of equality whether based in race, gender, sexual orientation, or other characteristic.

Now, others are waking up to the tremendous need to add their voices to ours. The shock of watching Mr. Floyd murdered in front of pleading bystanders and complicit peers has traumatized Americans to the point that indignation has moved into outrage and action.

We see and affirm the pain of the African American community and acknowledge four centuries of harassment, degradation, and injustices done to fellow community members due simply to skin color. The massive, largely peaceful protests show that larger society is finally demanding the end to atrocities such as police brutality against people of color. Like our NASW national leaders, we in Virginia echo the call for policing reform as a vital step toward racial unity.

A separate but related reform to diminish police violence would be adoption of a “Marcus Alert,” a de-escalation approach named for teacher Marcus David-Peters, who was fatally shot by officers in 2018 after having a mental health crisis. A Marcus Alert would require law enforcement to activate a mental health professional as a first responder with possible police backup in a situation identified as a suspected or confirmed mental health crisis. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, who has advocated for a Marcus Alert system, reports that the city’s police department is already exploring how that intervention would work.  

Social workers are well-educated in violence and systematic racism of all types. We as social workers stand poised to give informed input needed for deeper law enforcement training and procedural reforms. But we also support NASW’s demand that “before America can end racial disparities in use of force, there must be a change in police culture. Police departments must root out the many officers who continue to view Black lives as being less valuable than that of other Americans.”

As society comes to terms with the robust agenda needed to dislodge deeply embedded systemic racial bias, NASW Virginia pledges to step up more to do what it does best: advocate for the protection and equal human rights of our clients and the social workers who serve them. We pledge to scrutinize public policy even closer for signs of inequity in outcomes, fight effort to legitimize wrongdoing as acceptable norms, and further leverage the strengths of our members to offer solutions and insights that help Virginia and America truly become a place where “liberty and justice” is for all.

Trouble registering for an event or purchasing something?

Try these tech solution tactics:

1. Click on “Forgot your password?” on the login page.

2. Enter your email address.

3. You will receive an email to reset the password. Check your junk folder if it doesn’t arrive in a few minutes, since many workplaces regularly adjust their security filters.

4. Cut and paste the URL from the email directly into a new browser. Clicking straight from an email may trigger a workplace firewall.

5. If you click the email link, and it doesn’t work, do NOT try to cut and paste it into the browser, since all links are for single use only. Instead, please return to the main web page and click again on “Forgot your password” to re-send the email. Follow the directions above.

6. Contact professionaldevelopment.naswva@socialworkers.org if you still have problems.

ARTS and DMAS Guidance Available on Business Re-opening 

Governor Ralph Northam has announced a “Blueprint for Easing Public Health Restrictions” starting Friday, May 15, 2020. While Behavioral Health and Addiction and Recovery Treatment Services (ARTS) and the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) understand that some providers may be eager to resume more face-to-face services, they are reminding everyone that the provider flexibilities, allowances, directives, and limitations related to delivery of behavioral health and ARTS services extend throughout the declared public emergency in Virginia until otherwise formally notified.  

Health providers and stakeholders are invited to sign up for automatic notifications of business re-opening guidance from ARTS and DMAS.

​

To access archived ARTS’ COVID-19 guidance, directives, recordings, webinars, and FAQs effective until the state emergency ends or otherwise notified, visit https://www.dmas.virginia.gov/#/emergencywaiver. 

Richmond Newspaper Publishes NASW Virginia Op-Ed on Social Workers as Pandemic Heroes

The Richmond Times Dispatch has published “Unrecognized Heroes Adapt Mental Health Services in a COVID-19 Era,” an op-ed by NASW Virginia Executive Director Debra Riggs, CAE, about social workers as “invisible” essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The May 4, 2020, article describes what social workers do and how some are adapting in a COVID-19 era. It also calls for more workplace safety measures, including adequate personal protection equipment and legal enforcement against employers who retaliate against social workers for raising safety concerns in the execution of their daily duties. 

The chapter continues to reach out to media outlets to build awareness about the social work profession and its contributions as behavioral health experts both in general and during the pandemic.

The full text of the op-ed can be read here.

NASW Victory! CMS Approves Medicare Reimbursement for Audio-only Device Delivery of Mental Health Services by Social Workers

A strong advocacy campaign led by the National Association of Social Workers and its chapters has resulted in victory with the May 1 announcement by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that it will permit clinical social workers to receive Medicare reimbursement for psychotherapy services provided via audio-only devices such as landlines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CMS made the rule adjustment, along with other temporary waivers and changes, to increase access to healthcare and mental health services for the millions of older adults who currently cannot safely receive services in person. The agency had previously enabled greater deployment of telehealth by allowing healthcare providers such as clinical social workers to use smartphones with video chat apps to provide services in addition to pre-pandemic-approved video conferencing platforms.

“This CMS change will directly assist thousands of Medicare beneficiaries in Virginia, especially those living in rural areas or with low incomes who may not have smartphones or reliable internet access,” says NASW Virginia Executive Director Debra Riggs, CAE. “Audio-only capability for delivering mental health services adds another valuable telecommunications tool that clinical social workers can use to better serve diverse populations such as older adults and people living with disabilities.”  

A Special Thank-you to Social Workers Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic

Virginia social workers continue to rely on their training, professionalism, and experience as they adapt their daily duties to troubleshoot issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Rarely have social workers been so needed by their clients and organizations, whether schools or hospitals, private businesses or government agencies.

Because they are integrated into nearly every element of society, social workers are leading calmly and competently to help ensure children are safe, families receive needed services, and individuals are supported.

The work is stressful and exhausting at the best of times, but never more so than during an international public health crisis. However, social workers are—as always—resourceful, creative, and committed. They continue to develop special resources, master new communication tools, shift to a telehealth business format, and more. Especially moving is their consistent rallying of each other as they offer optimistic and empathetic phone calls, emails, and texts. This is when the strength and diversity of Virginia’s social work community counts most. This is when NASW Virginia is needed most.  

We thank you! Please turn to us for support and help during this difficult period!

​

• Bookmark the chapter’s COVID-19 web section and check it often for news curated just for Virginia’s thousands of social workers.

• Scan the revised NASW Virginia Calendar of Events and consider earning your required CEUs virtually by registering for the many workshops and courses that have moved online for safe, easy access from your home.

• Share Your Story! NASW Virginia is collecting stories of how COVID-19 is affecting the daily lives and workloads of social workers around Virginia. Please email driggs.naswva@socialworkers.org to share how the pandemic has changed your organization, personal activities, and experiences.

These stories will be shared as part of the NASW Virginia COVID-19 website and publicized to build awareness of what social workers do and, from a peer-to-peer standpoint, how they are adapting in this disruptive but temporary period. Read the first story of two NASWVA members—2020 Social Worker of the Year recipient David Lewis and Central Virginia social work leader Heather Stone—here.

​

​

​

NASW Calls for Greater COVID-19 Protections for Social Workers 

NASW has asked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to remind employers that retaliation is illegal against social workers and other healthcare employees who raise legitimate concerns about their personal safety while caring for patients with COVID-19. NASW urges any social workers experiencing acts of retaliation on the job are urged to file a whistleblower complaint online with OSHA or call 1-800-321-OSHA.

​

The organization also announce March 19 that it continues to vigorously advocate to Congress and the White House for social workers and other healthcare workers to have much greater access to optimal personal protective equipment, and for the federal government to invoke a wartime production law to require mass-production of PPE and other critical medical supplies. For more information on both stories, visit the NASW Virginia COVID-19 site. 

​

​

NASW 2020 Virginia Training Opportunities

The many unknowns related to the pandemic mean specifics around locations and formats of NASW Virginia trainings are ever-changing. Please check the Calendar of Events for the latest information and email professionaldevelopment.naswva@socialworkers.org before registering for a course or workshop. Whenever possible, we will offer either virtual formats or webinars until told that in-person meetings are safe. Your health and safety remain a priority for us. Thank you for your understanding and patience under these extraordinary circumstances.  

CEU Requirement Deadlines Extended One Year

The Virginia Board of Social Work has extended the deadline for LCSWs to complete their 30 hours for this cycle by a year (until June 30, 2021), unless you are newly licensed and not required to complete continuing education requirements this year. However, this does not change the next two-year cycle—LCSWs must also complete an additional 30 hours by June 30, 2022.

Each LBSW or LMSW will have until June 30, 2021, to complete the required 15 hours of CE. Every LCSW is still required to complete the required 30 hours of CE for the June 30, 2022, renewal, and each LBSW and LMSW is still required to complete the 15 hours of CE by the June 30, 2022, renewal, as well. The extension does not apply to those individuals who must complete CEs as part of a Board order. If you have questions, please contact your compliance manager. 

Look online at our CE Institute for many training courses and/or at the chapter’s Calendar of Events. Local training will be scheduled continuously. Our 2020 conference  also offers numerous opportunities for ethics contact hours.