Older Adults Participating in Social Service Activities Can Improve Brain Functions

From Social Work Today: Volunteer service can help older adults delay or reverse declining brain function, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the researchers found that seniors participating in a youth mentoring program made gains in key brain regions that support cognitive abilities important to planning and organizing one’s daily life. The study is the first of its kind to demonstrate that valuable social service programs, such as Experience Corps—a program designed to both benefit children and older adults’ health—can have the added benefits of improving the cognitive abilities of older adults, enhancing their quality of life. The study is published in the Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences. Read more...

Facebook: Ethical & Clinical Considerations

Written by Traci Bartley Young, LCSW, from the New Social Worker Online: Facebook permeates everyday social chatter, whether someone is sending a request to join or a friend is posting pictures of family. I had a recent discussion with a friend who joined Facebook as a way to market her growing business and to network. As a social worker, I am always looking at ways to network and thinking about new technologies that may enhance client functioning. The more I considered Facebook and social networking sites in general, the more I realized the ethical implications for social workers who use these sites and the possible clinical impact for our clients. This is by no means an exhaustive discussion of all the things one must consider before using a site, nor does it address all of the ways such use could affect clients. This article is intended to be a snapshot of a few issues social workers should contemplate with regard to social networking sites. The NASW Code of Ethics (1999) will be used as a reference, citing particular standards that provide a guide for each ethical issue. Read more...

World AIDS Day

The library staff recommends that you take a look at the World AIDS day Website. It features stories from people who are living with HIV/AIDS, statistics on the disease, and resources for those who want to help with efforts to combat this epidemic.

NASW Health Care Reform Roundup

From the NASW Advocacy Blog:

Senate Opens Floor Debate on Health Reform

On Saturday, November 21 the U.S. Senate agreed to hold debate on health reform legislation known as the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” (H.R. 3590). The bill is expected to be on the floor for several weeks after Thanksgiving and will require significant changes to clear the filibuster hurdle of 60 votes to secure passage. NASW plans to strongly support passage, but will also support changes in the bill including those that improve coverage and protect against any weakening amendments of women’s rights to reproductive choices. NASW expects to be very actively involved in this debate; members wishing to keep up to date on our activities should visit our health reform webpage here.

Urgent Need for Adoption

Targeting potential families, especially for older children who have been in foster care for many years, is essential, writes Graduate School of Social Work Professor Ruth McRoy, in conjunction with National Adoption Month. From the Boston Herald..

New Americans Agenda for Massachusetts

The text of the Massachusetts New Americans Agenda report to the Governor was made public November 17. The report was produced by the Governor's Advisory Council on Refugees and Immigrants, co-chaired by Westy Egmont.

From the Massachusetts government page on the New Americans Agenda:

"On July 9, 2008, Governor Patrick signed Executive Order 503, "Integrating Immigrants and Refugees into the Commonwealth," thus launching the New Americans Agenda for Massachusetts.

The Executive Order calls for the Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants (MORI) and the Governor's Advisory Council for Refugees and Immigrants (GACRI), in partnership with the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) and other community organizations, to develop and deliver a series of policy recommendations that emphasize the positive integration of these communities into the economic and civic life of the Commonwealth.

The information for these recommendations was generated over the last year by a series of public meetings across the state in addition to research, interviews with experts, and input from state agencies in issue-based policy working groups.

The GACRI delivered its final recommendations to Gov. Patrick on Oct. 1, 2009. The Governor publicly released the report on Nov. 17, 2009. These recommendations will form the basis of the work of an inter-agency work group convened by the Governor to develop an implementation plan and timeline."

The full text of the report is linked from this page.

Recommendations from the report were featured in this Boston Globe article:

Tuition, driver's licenses urged for illegal immigrants.

A Day in the Life...

From Planet Social Work: "A Day in the Life..." highlights the experiences of social workers in a number of different settings, working in the United States and various countries across the globe. Read more...