Aug sept oct 2014 newsletter

From Where I Sit 2

The President’s Letter 3

PACE Endorsements 4

You Can Help 6

A Call to Action 7

MUSC Conference 8

Gen Silent 9

NASW Links 10

B U S I N E S S N A M E

Chapter Update Aug-Sept-October 2014 Newsletter Date

Chapter Update Aug-Sept-October 2014

WHAT’S INSIDE:

In August of 2014, NASW-SC chapter membership

survey was sent via electronic mail (E-mail). We

are pleased to announce that 137 members com-

pleted the survey during the survey’s month long

active period. The number of respondents equates

to approximately ten percent (10%) of the South

Carolina Chapter of National Association of Social

Workers membership. It is an honor to be affiliated

with an organization of dedicated service givers

who are willing to go a step further in providing

valuable feedback to aid the chapter in program

planning for the betterment of our association.

The following is a synopsis of what was learned

from the SC NASW membership survey. The sur-

vey’s summary in its entirety is available by con-

tacting NASW-SC. The greatest majority of re-

spondents (n=114/83%) do report reading the

NASW-SC quarterly newsletter.

Respondents indicated they would like to re-

ceive chapter updates (different from newsletter)

monthly (n=80/58%)

62% of respondents recalled attending the

NASW Annual Symposium

As it is with daily life and professional practice,

there is room to be made for growth, development

and improvement. The NASW-SC found the fol-

lowing areas as opportunities to address with the

Board, develop strategic plans, and outreach. One

of the more disconcerting findings was that:

54% of all respondents (n=73) reported feeling

somewhat not connected/not at all connected to

the NASW-SC.

In the open-ended questions of the survey, there

were some ambiguities whether the dissatisfaction

was with their unit or the SC chapter as a whole.

Further exploration is needed to see if members are

satisfied or dissatisfied regarding the availability

for meetings, continuing education, and networking

provided at unit and chapter level.

The SC chapter has put into action a birthday out-

reach— in August, members who have an e-mail

address listed began receiving birthday greetings

with a gift coupon attached. (Continued page 4)

Chapter Update Editorial Committee

Sandra Grimble, Chair

Carla Damron, staff

Juliana Palyok, staff

Tawanda Rouse, MSW Intern Contributor

Alek Dolge, MSW Intern Contributor

Sally Hayes, proof reader

NASW-SC Member Survey Results

By Tawanda Rouse, MSW Intern

From Where I Sit

Carla Damron, LISW-CP, Executive Director


When our Political Action for Campaign Election

(PACE) committee opted to endorse Senator Vincent

Sheheen for governor, and to present him with a

check, we thought it would be a good idea to meet

with the Senator in person. I wanted a photograph for

our newsletter.

The committee had chosen Senator Sheheen based on

several criteria:

During his years as state senator, Vincent

Sheheen consistently worked for the peo-

ple social workers serve, including low-

income working folks, children, and other

vulnerable groups. He understands and he

serves ALL South Carolinians.

As candidate for this highest office in our

state, Senator Sheheen has been vigilant

about staffing issues and funding shortag-

es at SCDSS—because saving children is

more important than saving money.

Senator Sheheen promotes accepting

close to 15 billion federal dollars to ex-

pand healthcare in SC—because saving

lives is more important than political

rhetoric.

These are issues critical to social workers in our state.

Medicaid Expansion and finding appropriate reme-

dies for the problems at SCDSS have been key advo-

cacy issues for our chapter. PACE chose well when

they selected Senator Sheheen.

When we contacted the campaign office about the

endorsement, we requested ten minutes to meet with

the senator. Jim Manning, long-term NASW-SC

member and friend, serves on the PACE committee

and agreed to help schedule the endorsement. On

Monday, September 8th, Jim called to say Senator

Sheheen could come by the office the following day

around lunch time. No problem, we said. I had a

point-and-shoot camera to take the photo and Marjo-

rie Brittain Hammock, another PACE member,

agreed to present the check. Our social work interns,

Tawanda Rouse and Alek Dolge, along with Jim

Manning and several of his students, agreed to be in

the picture. Carmen Julious also came to help out.

At 12:30 on Tuesday, I opened the front door to find

a TV camera crew on our porch. Five minutes later,

two other TV crews arrived. By 1 PM, we had report-

ers from The State and the Post and Courier in our

conference room.

I put my little Canon camera away.

Senator Sheheen’s arrival signaled the beginning of

an actual press conference. Ms. Hammock gave a

lovely speech about how social workers take care of

SC’s most vulnerable citizens, and Sen. Sheheen re-

plied about how much he respected and honored our

profession. He remained with us for forty-five

minutes, fielding questions from the reporters

(continued, page 4)


The President’s Letter

Jeanne Cook, MEd, MSW, PhD, LISW-CP Chapter President

In 1966, Simon and Garfunkel recorded their third

studio album entitled Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and

Thyme. The last song on the album was 7 O’Clock

News/Silent Night. The duo sang the Christmas hymn

Silent Night while a newscast was read in the back-

ground. The newscast included reports on the Vi-

etnam War, a serial killer (Richard Speck), govern-

ment efforts to stop anti-war protests, and a civil

rights march being planned by Dr. King. The combi-

nation of a song about peace, calm, and a holy birth

against the backdrop of a newscast about violence and

efforts to protest violence and gain civil rights was

quite powerful. I was thinking about that song as I sat

down to write this newsletter column.

Imagine that the newscast now moves forward to re-

cent times. (Silent Night is still playing.)

In Sanford, Florida, George Zimmerman was acquit-

ted for the killing of 17 year old Trayvon Martin who

was walking through Zimmerman’s neighborhood. In

Jacksonville, Florida, Michael Dunn is being retried

for killing Jordan Davis in a case that started when the

17 year old and his friends were sitting in a car listen-

ing to rap music in a gas station parking lot. The first

trial ended in a hung jury. Eighteen year old Michael

Brown was killed by a police officer in Ferguson,

Missouri. Reports indicate that the unarmed Brown

and a friend were stopped by the officer for jaywalk-

ing (they were walking down the middle of the street).

In other news, several prominent professional football

players, including Baltimore Ravens player Ray Rice

and Charlotte Panthers player Greg Hardy were con-

victed of domestic violence against their partners but

initially received only minimal consequences from the

courts or their teams. In the Rice incident, the Ravens

released him and the NFL suspended him indefinitely

only after a video was publically released by a televi-

sion tabloid site. And player Adrian Peterson was tak-

en out of play by the Minnesota Vikings after indict-

ment for child abuse. In Charlotte, NC, former pro

football player Jonathan Ferrell was killed by police.

Reports are that Farrell had been in a car accident and

knocked on the door of neighborhood resident to seek

help. The police responded to the resident’s telephone

call of someone knocking on her door. Ferrell came

toward the officers (presumably seeking assistance)

and was shot multiple times.

Meanwhile in local and state news: In the Columbia

area, Levar Edward Jones, an unarmed 35 year old

man was shot by Lt. Kelley Hughes, a SC Highway

Patrol officer, during a routine traffic stop. Hughes

was later fired from his job with the Highway Patrol

and has since been arrested and charged with assault

and battery of a high and aggregated nature. And 70

year old Bobby Canipe was wounded by York County

Deputy Terrance Knox during a traffic stop when

Canipe reached for his walking cane which Hughes

mistook for a rifle.

Five Lexington County children, ages 1-8 years, were

murdered allegedly by their father, Timothy Ray

Jones, who will stand trial for the crime. Information

released by the Department of Social Services indicat-

ed that Mr. Jones had been the subject of a recent

child protective services report. And Jones’ now ex-

wife had been referred to a domestic violence program

at one point during their marriage.

According to the Charleston News and Courier, as

many as 75 children died while in the custody of the

Department of Social Services in SC.

(continued, page 5)


Other PACE Endorsements:

Bakari Sellers: Lt. Governor (with campaign

donation)

Jinny Deerin: Secretary of State

Thomas Thompson: Superintendent of Edu-

cation

Please let your voice be heard in November by

casting a ballot!

From Where I Sit, continued from page 2

shaking hands, and letting us take photos. You may

have seen the event on WACH-TV news.

Below is what Sheheen’s campaign released about

our endorsement, which he has mentioned several

times during the course of the campaign.

I’m grateful to our PACE committee, chaired by

Shirley Furtick, for its diligence in carrying out its

task. And I’m especially thankful to Marjorie Ham-

mock and Jim Manning, true advocates and friends of

NASW-SC.

Member Survey, Continued:

This is only one idea that the chapter has implement-

ed in order to improve connectivity/relations with our

members. The Board will explore other outreach initi-

atives in the coming meetings.

The data suggests that our organization has signs of

great potential of members wanting to be more in-

volved in advocacy.

72% of respondents stated that the advocacy alerts

are useful and relevant to them

While 66% of respondents shared their interest in

participating in more advocacy efforts for clients

This finding is encouraging and exciting, as advocacy

is a very big part of the chapter’s mission and will

continue to be a guiding force.

To help the chapter’s outreach efforts and future sur-

veys, please add or update your e-mail address by

contacting the national office at 1-800-742-4089.

Please feel free to contact the chapter office via tele-

phone 803-256-8406 or e-mail [email protected]

with questions, comments and concerns. Let’s stay

connected!

Works Cited NASW-SC-. (2014). NASW -SC Mem-

bership Survey Report. Columbia: NASW-SC.

mailto:[email protected]


President’s Letter Continued

In a report just released, SC ranked second in the

nation in the number of deaths due to domestic vio-

lence. The Violence Policy Center’s annual report

notes that South Carolina has been in the top 10 for

deaths due to domestic violence for the past 10

years. This ends the 7 O’Clock News Report.

Several themes emerge from the selected news sto-

ries. Each involved an act of violence that should

not have happened. In each, the perpetrator (or al-

leged perpetrator) was a male. Several involved of-

ficials who violated their responsibility or failed in

their responsibility to protect others. Several in-

volved violence against young African American

males, while others involved violence against wom-

en or children. All impacted individuals, families,

and communities in ways that are still reverberating.

Admittedly, I have selected examples from the news

to make a point. And, sadly, I could have added

many more stories with similar themes. Violence

does not exempt any race, ethnicity, religion, socio-

economic group, gender, age, sexual orientation or

sexual identity. As social workers, we have a re-

sponsibility to assist those who have been directly

and indirectly victimized by acts of violence. In ad-

dition, we are professionally obligated to advocate

for a stop to the discrimination that besets too many

of our neighbors and communities and lead to vio-

lence. There are opportunities at the micro, mezzo,

and macro levels to positively impact both preven-

tion and intervention.

We can advocate through our services to individuals

impacted by violence, including treatment services

for perpetrators of violence. We can help contribute

to best practices that address violence more effec-

tively. We can urge the passage of better laws, such

as the bill currently in the General Assembly that

will create stronger penalties for criminal domestic

violence and extend coverage to same sex couples.

We can demand that existing laws be consistently

enforced no matter who the perpetrator is. We can

educate our neighbors and leaders about the causes

of violence, help dispel myths about who is respon-

sible, and increase awareness of the prevalence of

family and community violence in society. We can

educate our youth that violence is not the way to re-

solve our differences. Finally, we can insist that the

media continue to shine a light on acts of violence as

a public service, not just when the incident involves

someone famous or the details are particularly lurid.

Many of us do address acts of violence in our pro-

fessional work with agencies, our community volun-

teer activities, and our churches, mosques, and syna-

gogues. I applaud what you are already doing and

encourage you to raise your voices individually and

collectively whenever and however you can to op-

pose the idea that violence is acceptable or unavoid-

able. We simply must find a better way to relate to

one another to be sure that all of us will be able to

“sleep in heavenly peace”.

“We are professionally obligated to

advocate for a stop to the discrimi-

nation that besets too many of our

neighbors and communities and

lead to violence.”

You Can Help!

Remember back when you were in social work

school? Does the phrase “starving student” ring a

bell? The pennies pinched. The Ramen noodles con-

sumed. The internal chant, “If only I can make it to

May …”. Today’s social work student has a more

challenging road: tuition costs are high, and the

availability of grants and scholarships have de-

clined. Still, students flock to social work programs,

knowing that they’ll incur debt and that the career

they’ve chosen might not be a lucrative one. They

choose this path for many reasons: the desire to help

people. To advocate for change. To be a part of the

solution rather than part of the problem.

Several social work programs offer some help to

starving students, but they rely on donations. Win-

throp’s Social Work department has the Winthrop

Foundation Social Work account into which general

student scholarship money may be donated. They

also offer other scholarships:

*The Player Endowment for Graduate Studies in

Social Work

*The Mortimer Endowed Scholarship – For stu-

dents interested in affordable housing or emer-

gency services.

*The Ashley Fund – For nontraditional age

students enrolled in social work.

The University of South Carolina has an emergency

loan fund for students to which folks can contribute.

A donation made to the Carolina Fund can be

tagged “for MSW (or BSW) student support.” Con-

tributions can also be made to:

*Frank B. Raymond, III Bicentennial Scholar-

ship Fund, which supports full-time Foundation

Year MSW students. (Students should possess

superior undergraduate academic records and

demonstrate financial need.)

*I. DeQuincey Newman for Peace and Social

Change, which provides program support for the

Newman Institute. The Institute promotes social

justice through interdisciplinary education, con-

sultation, and research at the community, state,

national, and international levels.

Other Social Work schools and departments may

offer similar student support, but all rely on dona-

tions. Please consider a contribution to your alumni

institution, or any social work program, to help stu-

dents struggling to “Make it to May.”

It’s a win-win: you get the tax deduction, and a hun-

gry social work student may enjoy a non-Ramen

noodle meal or two.

Request for Abstracts

Symposium 2015

Our Symposium committee is already hard at work

preparing for next year’s event, which will be held

March 23-25, 2015, at the Marriott Hotel, downtown

Columbia.

The “Request for Abstracts” has been sent out. If you

are interested in presenting, please visit:

http://www.scnasw.org/resource/resmgr/symposium_

2015/Request_for_Abstracts_2015.doc

We LOVE diversity in our offerings, so please con-

sider joining our Symposium faculty!

Half way through college I decided to change my area

of study—I wanted to become a social worker. While

it seems that many enter the profession of social work

with a desire to create change, some enter the field

because of a direct call to action. My call to action

moment occurred while volunteering in a small com-

munity outside of Cancun, Mexico. A mother of four

with a child on the way had expressed her concern of

human trafficking. Each day her children would sell

small trinkets the family had made at the downtown

loading dock. Money was needed for the family’s sur-

vival; nonetheless, the mother began to wonder if it

was worth the chance of losing a child. The fear of

either losing a child to human trafficking or not having

money to put food on the table are two separate issues

yet they are interrelated. While this was the initial

moment of awareness my call to end human traffick-

ing has not stopped.

The Attorney General’s office of South Carolina re-

leased a state plan to address Human Trafficking in

June of 2014. The state plan can be found at: http://

www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Human-

Trafficking-State-Plan.pdf. After attending the last

task force meeting, I was encouraged. The room was

filled with people who all held the same goal—to seek

justice and stop human trafficking in South Carolina.

Social workers, lawyers, law enforcement officials,

pastors, students and concerned community members

were all in attendance.

One concern the group focused on is the needs of re-

sources. Turning an international or domestic survi-

vor away because of the lack of resources is not the

goal; yet, unfortunately, this has happened. Other

areas of concern include: implementation, prevention

tactics, protocol and public awareness. There’s a say-

ing that there’s power in numbers and the task force

has proven this statement to be true; nonetheless, the

fight does not end in the number of people who want

it to end but it what they do to end it. My concern is

that the state plan may begin to collect dust on a

bookshelf somewhere if it is not carried out. More

women and children will fall to victim.

I would like to see communities grow in knowledge

and awareness in human trafficking. Since cases in

South Carolina have been found in neighborhoods

why not go to the source? Community members have

the ability to fight against human trafficking.

The first step is through education. The opportunity to

educate others about the issue can happen anywhere

and anytime. I’ve discussed it when walking my dog,

Georgia, or even when waiting on tables (my part-time

job). Through these conversations I believe I am

spreading the word about not only a national issue but

a local one. Change has begun.

What is your call to action?

A Call to Action By Alek Dolge, MSW Student Intern

BE ON THE LOOKOUT!

NASW-SC was awarded the Ruth Fizdale Grant to issue a sur-

vey about social workers’ perception of safety in the field. If

you are a new social worker, or are a seasoned, career social

worker, or if you are a student pursuing a BSW or MSW: We

want to hear about your experiences!

Links to the survey will be sent out soon. Please take the time (less than fifteen minutes!)

to complete it. We’ll also hold some focus groups and have a print survey available soon.

We’ll post the results next spring.

http://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Human-Trafficking-State-Plan.pdf



Western Unit Rep. Amy Knight

Presents Gen Silent

On Sept 25, new board member Amy Knight led

discussions following the film “Gen Silent,”

which aired at the Pelham Medical Center in

Greer, SC as part of the Upstate Senior Network

Professional Education Series. Over seventy so-

cial workers and other professionals watched this

riveting documentary about the special needs and

concerns for the aging LGBT population.

A panel of advocates and professionals followed

the film, taking questions from an energized

group of attendees. More info about the film can

be found here:

http://stumaddux.com/GEN_SILENT.html


NASW-SC Welcomes new MSW Student Interns Tawanda Rouse and Alek

Dolge.

We love your stories!

CEUSchool’s goal is to provide you with quality on-line course content in a format that is convenient to use, afforda-ble, and relevant for today's social worker. Their site offers fully accredited NASW classes that meet all of your CEU needs. You will receive the same academic benefits that you would enjoy at an onsite facility,

along with the flexi-bility and self-paced learning that comes with an online edu-cation. Register with CEUSchool through NASW South Carolina and you will automatically receive 3 FREE credits !!

The PACE online fundraising tool has been official-

ly launched! It can be found at :

http://socialworkers.org/pace/default.asp

There’s also a link to it from www. socialworkers.

org. Please remember that all online contributions

will be shared with the chapters, just like contri-

butions we receive through membership renewals.

So it’s in our interest to promote the new online

fundraising capability.

NASW SC encourages everyone to contribute noteworthy information for Chapter Update. All material should be typed

and emailed to the Chapter Office. Chapter Update is published by the National Association of Social Workers South

Carolina Chapter.

For information about advertising in the newsletter or renting membership labels, contact the chapter office at (803) 256-

8406. NASW reserves the right to accept, reject or edit advertisements and notices of events based on publication sched-

ule, space limitations and appropriateness. The views expressed in Chapter Update do not necessarily represent positions

of NASW. Because of the commitment of NASW to nondiscriminatory personnel practices, advertisers in NASW publi-

cations, by action of the NASW Board of Directors, must affirm that they are equal opportunity employers. For viola-

tions of professional ethics or personnel practices, a person may file a complaint with the NASW SC Chapter Committee

on Inquiry. For information, write the Chapter Office at 2537 Gervais Street, Columbia SC 29204 or call 803-256-8406.

For information regarding: Social work licensure, call or write the Board of Social Work Examiners, PO Box 11329, Co-

lumbia, SC 29211-1329, 803-896-4665, www.llr.state.sc.us

http://nasw.interactyx.com/

http://joblink.socialworkers.org/jobs

http://www.ceuschool.com/?PageID=newmembers.ascx&chapter=NASWSC





http://joblink.socialworkers.org/jobs

Aug sept oct 2014 newsletter

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