Sat.Aug 26, 2023 - Fri.Sep 01, 2023

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Seven lessons for practitioners from the review of children’s social care in Northern Ireland

Community Care

By Ray Jones The report of the Independent Review of Northern Ireland’s Children’s Social Care Services was published in June, following 16 months’ work. As the independent reviewer, I had the privilege of meeting many hundreds of children and young people, parents and other family carers, and those working within and alongside children’s social care during this time.

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‘Invisible, endless, relentless’: the reality of care work in England

The Guardian

Sarah, an adult social care worker, has seen lower wages, more insecure work and years of staff shortages • Exploitation and low pay causing poverty among care workers, says TUC “Unless you’ve actually experienced some sort of care in your life, it’s an invisible job,” says Sarah*, a senior adult social care worker who has more than two decades of experience.

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Children’s social care gets fifth minister in two years

Community Care

Children’s social care has its fifth minister in two years, following today’s cabinet reshuffle. David Johnston has succeeded Claire Coutinho as minister for children, families and wellbeing , after her elevation to the cabinet as energy secretary. Coutinho spent just 10 months in post , though this was longer than her two immediate predecessors with responsibility for the sector – Kelly Tolhurst and Brendan Clarke-Smith – each of whom lasted two months, amid the turbulen

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MBNB Song of the Month – You Are Enough

My Brains Not Broken

As part of a new recurring series on the blog, I’m going to be sharing a ‘Song of the Month on MBNB. It might be a song I can’t stop listening to at the moment, or a song I have a history with. It could be a song I don’t know much about, or I’ve listened to a thousand times. Regardless of the reason, these songs have inspired me and my mental health, and I want to share them with you.

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Why Every Small Business Needs an HCM Solution: A Comprehensive Guide

Managing HR tasks like payroll, compliance, and employee data can overwhelm small businesses. That’s where a Human Capital Management (HCM) solution comes in. Our eBook, Why Every Small Business Needs an HCM Solution: A Comprehensive Guide , shows how an HCM system automates tedious processes, ensuring your business stays compliant and efficient. You’ll learn how to simplify payroll, eliminate costly errors, and empower your employees with self-service tools.

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When injustice hides in plain sight

NCCPR Child Welfare Blog

The New York Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is examining racism in the New York family policing system (a more accurate term than “child welfare” system). New York’s institutional providers of family defense prepared in-depth written testimony that is a report in itself. As I read it, I had to stop every few pages. Just reading the first-hand accounts of soul-crushing injustice visited upon overwhelmingly poor nonwhite families was tough.

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Social Work’s Critical Role in Prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Social Work Blog

Article by Diana Ling, MA, Program Manager; and Anna Mangum, MSW, MPH, Senior Health Strategist; Health Behavior Research and Training Institute, Steve Hicks School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin. Drinking during pregnancy is more common than you might think. About one in 20 pregnant people report binge drinking in the past 30 days, and up to five percent of school children in the U.S. may have fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs), a range of lifelong behavioral, intellect

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Why Habits Don’t Need to Be Permanent

My Brains Not Broken

On this blog, I have a tendency to write posts that build on each other. After writing about habits last week, I thought more about how we create and maintain healthy habits. In my research, it’s clear that any type of significant habit formation takes time. And during that time, we can become extremely committed to these new habits and the impact they’ll have in our life.

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What part of “no evidence” does this child welfare “scholar” not understand

NCCPR Child Welfare Blog

Meet the "scholar" who is turning the concept of "evidence based" upside-down (Photo by Nick Youngson, pix4free.org) This post quotes from many tweets. I have not tried to correct the typos in those tweets. Have you noticed something new about the “child welfare” establishment lately? You know, the wonderful people who created the child welfare surveillance state that tears apart at least 200,000 families a year and subjects more than half of all Black children to traumatic child abuse investiga

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Free Mental Health Webinars, September 2023

Social Work.Career

This post is part of the monthly series, Free Webinars for Social Workers and Mental Health Professionals, featuring over 65 free webcasts that we could find for you this month in the field of social work and mental health. This month is National Recovery Month and National Suicide Prevention Month. To make it easier for […] The post Free Mental Health Webinars, September 2023 appeared first on SocialWork.Career.

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IFSW hosts side-event during the 2023 UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development

International Federation of Social Workers

During the 2023 UN High Level Political Forum (UN HLPF) on Sustainable Development, IFSW hosted a side-event , “Co-building an Eco-Social World for Sustainable Development”.

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Best Practices to Streamline Compensation Management: A Foundation for Growth

Speaker: Joe Sharpe and James Carlson

Payroll optimization can be one of the most time-consuming and complex factors of small business management. Yet, organizations that crack the code on streamlining employee compensation often discover innovative avenues for growth. With the right strategies in place, outsourcing and streamlining payroll processes can result in substantial time and resource savings.

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I Was Harmed by Truehope, EMPowerplus – My Story

Nnatasha Tracy

In February 2022, I decided I wanted to go off my antidepressants. This is what led me to find the company Truehope and their supplement EMPowerplus. I wish I never had. The direction from the staff at Truehope has damaged my health more than I ever thought possible. I have depression and have been greatly injured by Truehope. This is my story.

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NCCPR news and commentary round-up, week ending August 28, 2023

NCCPR Child Welfare Blog

● Law schools at the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University released a joint report on the state’s “central registry” of those whom a caseworker decided were slightly more likely than not to be child abusers. Their conclusion: Do what Georgia did with its registry: Get rid of it. The report highlights how the Registry system provides ample opportunities for racism, denies procedural fairness to the accused, and ultimately traps children and families in a cycle of poverty.

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Social Work’s Critical Role in Prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

NASW Foundation

Drinking during pregnancy is more common than you might think. About one in 20 pregnant people report binge drinking in the past 30 days, and up to five percent of school children in the U.S. may.

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Katie Lopez Has Received the 2023 U-M President's Award for Distinguished Service in International Education

Michigan Social Work

Office of Global Activities Director Katie Lopez has received the 2023 U-M President’s Award for Distinguished Service in International Education. “This recognition is an amazing honor and particularly meaningful to me because I was nominated by former social work students and colleagues whom I highly respect. I feel incredibly lucky to have this job at the School of Social Work where I get to work at the intersection of my passions for social justice and international education.

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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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Whole Person Care: What It Means, How To Use It, and Why It’s Important

Relias

Western medicine has traditionally segmented the body into different parts. This has been especially true for psychology, where mental health has traditionally been seen as something wholly separate from physical health. Recently, however, research has uncovered just how connected every aspect of health truly is. This has led to increased attention to whole person care.

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Summer Theater 2023

Center for Child Protection

Launched in 2017, Summer Theater is a group therapy program created by our clinical department to help support our families. It offers a unique chance for our staff to incorporate NMT core principles while also demonstrating that not all relationships are harmful. Over the summer, our team was dedicated to nurturing secure relationships, enhancing self-awareness, guiding clients in achieving inner calm and safety, and fostering resilience during trying moments.

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Embracing Morning Self-Care: A Journey to Improved Well-being

Abuse Survivor

In today’s fast-paced world, self-care has become a buzzword, but for me, it’s been a lifeline. I’ve always known that the mornings are the most challenging part of my day. The daunting prospect of facing the world can sometimes be overwhelming. That’s why I’ve embarked on a journey to prioritize self-care and make my mornings a time of nurturing and rejuvenation.

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So’Phelia Morrow Writes in the Chicago Tribune on Emotional Abuse

Michigan Social Work

PhD student So’Phelia Morrow recently published an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune on the underrecognized dangers of emotional abuse. “I can’t say that I was ever hit, slapped or punched, but I know that a prison of abuse can be built without the abuser ever laying a hand on the victim.” Morrow is a Public Voices Fellow on Advancing the Rights of Women and Girls.

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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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Midwives and Doulas Offer Personalized Care — and New Opportunities

Relias

Midwives and doulas are making strides in very different populations. Parents-to-be who intentionally seek a birth experience outside of a hospital might choose the services of a midwife and/or doula. In other — and very different — circumstances, birthing persons who do not have access to a hospital or physician could benefit greatly from alternative forms of care.

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Inspectors to probe agencies’ response to serious youth violence

Community Care

Inspectors will probe agencies’ responses to serious youth violence in the latest series of joint targeted area inspections (JTAIs). They will visit a sample of areas, from September, to examine how well youth offending teams, children’s social care, the police and other partners are working to reduce risks and safeguard affected children, including those who have carried out offences.

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Exploitation and low pay causing poverty among care workers, TUC finds

The Guardian

TUC says urgent investment needed in ‘Cinderella sectors’ to head off demographic timebomb ‘Invisible, endless, relentless’: the reality of care work in England Chronic under-investment, exploitation and low pay is leading to widespread poverty among workers in the care sector, according to damning research from the Trades Union Congress. As it publishes its first workforce blueprint for the care economy, the TUC argues that the “Cinderella sectors” of social care and childcare need urgent inves

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Educational Assistants in Ontario – Important Report of the OWSIAT

Gary Direnfeld

In July 2023, there was a decision by the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal. The case involves an Educational Assistant seeking leave for Traumatic Mental Stress owing to an incident with a six-year-old boy. The incident occurred in October 2018. The child’s behavior included physical outbursts requiring the other children to be cleared from the classroom.

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Empower Your Nonprofit With Effective Payroll & HCM Services

Managing a nonprofit involves many challenges, but payroll and HR shouldn’t be among them. Our guide, "A Buyer’s Guide to Payroll & HCM Services," helps nonprofits choose the best provider. Efficient payroll services ensure timely, accurate payments, vital for maintaining staff and volunteer morale. Compliance support helps navigate complex labor laws and avoid costly fines.

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5 Ways to Show Appreciation for DSPs Year-Round

Relias

For organizations that provide services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) , employee retention must always be top of mind. In fact, every day presents great opportunities to make your direct support professionals (DSPs) feel appreciated. Showing appreciation to your DSP staff can go a long way in boosting employee morale and retention.

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Social Work England consults on best interests assessor training standards

Community Care

Social Work England is seeking views on proposed standards it will use to approve and monitor best interests assessor (BIA) training courses. It has launched the consultation in the wake of the government’s decision in April to delay introducing the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) – its planned replacement for the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) – beyond the next election, due in 2024.

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‘It’s almost magical’: how robotic pets are helping UK care home residents

The Guardian

Animatronic cats and dogs have helped staff at a Bedfordshire care home to avoid medicating some residents with dementia “You’re bloody lovely ain’t you,” said Frances Barrett, as the robotic cat she was stroking flicked its ears and whiskers one lunchtime this week at the Oak Manor care home in Bedfordshire. The resident was one of several who live with dementia playing with the home’s small menagerie of animatronic animals that were originally designed to entertain American girls aged four to

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Divorcing? Invest in Learning with These Tips

Gary Direnfeld

Divorce always ranks as one of the most stressful life events, often only second to the death of a loved one. With divorce, life as you knew it is thrown up into the air. You don’t know the configuration life will take until those pieces land. To say it’s a wild ride is an understatement. The nature of the person whom your are divorcing plays into that stress.

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Contested Disability: Sickle Cell Disease

Social Work Blog

The world’s first “molecular disease,” sickle cell disease (SCD) has captivated the medical community’s attention as a multisystem blood disorder linked to abnormalities in one molecule: hemoglobin. While the molecular model of SCD has led to advances in medical management, its reductionism obfuscates the sociopolitical dimensions of the condition, affording little attention to the racialized, gendered, classed, and disabling disparities faced by people with SCD.

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101 Words of Encouragement to a Friend Feeling Down Quotes

Social Work Haven

Life has its ups and downs, and sometimes, it’s our dear friends who need a little extra support and encouragement during the tough moments. Words of encouragement to a friend feeling down quotes can be handy in such situations. If you have a friend who’s feeling down, remember that your words can be a source of strength and comfort. In the realm of social work, where empathy reigns supreme and every day brings new challenges, one powerful tool stands out as a beacon of hope and resi

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Educational Assistants’ Advice to Parents for the Start of School

Gary Direnfeld

Parents: On my Facebook page I asked Educational Assistants what they would like to know about your child and what they would like you to know. There were 175 comments. I read them all. Here is a very brief summary. I will place a link to the original post and comments in a comment to this post for those who would like to read them. It is informative.

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That First Job: Be a Mentor

Gary Direnfeld

My first part time job was selling shoes. I was about 16-years-old. I lasted 3 months. I didn’t know how to sell. I was let go. I crossed the mall and applied for a job at another shoe store. “Sure,” I said, “I have experience.” I was hired, but still couldn’t sell. This manager took me under his wing. He literally taught me how to sell and also how to upsell.

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Couple Counseling: Is It Safe?

Gary Direnfeld

It’s not uncommon for me to decline a request for couple counseling. The reasons typically have to do with safety and/or substance use and/or serious mental health issues. Safety is code for concerns of domestic violence. Risk indicators includes screaming, name calling, breaking of objects, hitting, pushing, shoving, choking, threatening harm, abuse of pets, limiting access to resources, police or child protection agency involvement.