In This Issue | MARCH 2022
| Upcoming events
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BE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR THESE UPCOMING MEMBER EVENTS!!
GWSCSW COCKTAIL PARTY (FORMERLY THE ANNUAL DINNER) - September 18, 2022
NEW MEMBER BRUNCH - April 10, 2022
President's Message
Lynn Grodzki
As I write this, in January, I have just had a small dinner party at my home with four boosted and tested friends, the first social event I have been part of since the weather turned cold. I am reminded of how isolated many of us feel, both personally and professionally. We, in the leadership team, wish that we could move off of Zoom and resume our monthly meetings together; I have never met most of my hardworking leadership team in person. The meet and greets that used to take place in living rooms around the tri-state region have moved online and all of our programs are done with us facing screens. I miss the immediacy of real-life connection with my team and all of our membership.
But since we are still Zoom-bound, let me share that our Society is working well on many levels. We are staying on top of the new legislative issues that affect our practices, like the no-surprise measure and coordinating with our sister societies and our home base association, the CSWA, to find solutions. We are focused on new bills that are coming before our local state legislatures and coordinating with our lobbyists. Our listserv is active, relevant and immeasurably valuable for keeping us informed about changes quickly. I always say that our membership is our greatest asset, and let me thank those of you who use the listserv to find and receive referrals, or share needed information. You are a treasure!
We are using social media (for the first time, finally) to boost greater interest, awareness, membership and program attendance in GWSCSW. It’s working! Our new website redesign also makes life easier and connects us better to our public.
We are also hosting solid, clinical, cutting-edge educational programs and proud that our first ever “Trauma Treatment Conference” in February features two nationally-known experts, who are both members of our Society! Lisa Ferentz and Deany Laliotis stepped forward to share their current thinking and teaching during this time of trauma as the new normal. We are thrilled at the response from members in registering for the programs and salute the generosity of Lisa and Deany to give back and present for us.
It is also time for me to begin to reach out to the membership to find my replacement. My term as your President will be over this summer and our elections for a new Board take place in April. I welcome the chance to mentor the next person who moves into this position. We will be actively recruiting members to consider running for open positions on the Board and I hope you will think about stepping forward to join in the governance of the GWSCW. It’s a wonderful way to meet others and to have a say and impact in the important social work issues we face right now.
I will stay on the Board as “past President” to help guide whoever comes next, so that your transition can be as easy and seamless as possible. Please let me know if you have interest in this or any other position and I will help you learn about the process of running and be glad if I can help welcome you to consider being a part of the next GWSCSW leadership team.
The Annual GWSCSW Cocktail Party (formerly the Annual Dinner & Meeting)
The Annual GWSCSW Cocktail Party Committee, comprised of Beverly Magida, Nancy Harris, Catherine Lowry, Irene Walton, and Phil Callahan, has begun to explore possibilities for a special event for September 2022. We haven’t met as a group in person for a L-O-N-G time. Wouldn’t it be great if we could meet on September 18, 2022, for a large, in-person event?
The committee is in the beginning stages of planning this annual event, now a cocktail party, to be held from 4-7 pm on Sunday September 18, 2022.
We welcome recommendations and ideas for an outdoor venue that would accommodate 100-150 attendees in the Washington Metro area. Please contact Bev Magida at: bev.magida@verizon.net.
Legislation & Advocacy | National
Laura Groshong, LICSW, CSWA Director of Policy and Practice
Exempt LCSWs from GFE - 1-26-22
I hope everyone is feeling well-informed about the Good Faith Estimate rule, part of the No Surprises Act, which went into effect on January 1. There have been several webinars on this topic and one can be found at the CSWA website in the Members Only Section.
CSWA is working on two fronts to get LCSWs exempted from the GFE. One is a letter we co-wrote with the Psychotherapy Action Network (attached). The other is a campaign to let members of Congress know about the fact that LCSWs in private practice do not need to be part of the GFE; we already do everything that it requires and there are vanishingly low numbers of LCSWs who have had actionable complaints filed against them for surprise billing.
Please send your members of Congress at www.Congress.gov the following message: “I am a constituent and a member of the Clinical Social Work Association. The No Surprises Act requires me as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker to give my patients a Good Faith Estimate. I am in private practice and have patients pay me directly. The GFE interferes with the mental health treatment process (detailed in the attached letter). Please exempt LCSWs from the Good Faith Estimate requirements.”
Joint Advocacy by CSWA and PSian on our Behalf | NSA Letter to CMS (fin.) - 1-25-22.pdf
Legislation & Advocacy | District of Columbia
Adele Natter, DC Legislation and Advocacy Co-Chair
The DC Board of Social Work, meeting virtually, has been busy with adapting policies and regulations to function during the covid pandemic, as well as addressing other issues that have come to the Board’s attention.
For example, telehealth continues to be permitted, with no end date currently in view. Social workers seeing clients in DC must be licensed in DC, whether they are seeing clients using telehealth or not. Clinical supervision is permitted in person, through video, or telephone. On February 28, the DC Board of Social Work extended the permission for use of telephone or video for supervision until Dec. 31, 2022.
By order of the Mayor, all health professionals, including clinical social workers, must attest to having been fully vaccinated, including a booster shot. Social workers must attest to meeting this criterion by reporting it on the vaccine reporting portal that was created: https://doh.force.com/ver/s/vaccinereporting. Attesting is simple and quick, and must be completed by March 1, 2022.
Spurred by community agencies’ requests for supervised practice for the BSW and MSW graduates employed in their agencies, the Board created a Supervised Practice Letter. This enables BSWs and MSWs to practice under supervision of an LISW or LICSW for 90 days, while they are waiting to take the licensing exam. Such supervised practice will be approved only one time, and cannot be renewed. If the applicant fails the exam, he or she will be required to stop practicing immediately.
The GWSCSW brought to the attention of the Chairperson of the Board the fact that the pass rate for graduates of color is lower than for other graduates. The Chairperson brought this to the attention of the Association of Social Work Boards, which maintained that the exam is not biased. GWSCSW is currently processing ways of addressing this problem.
Board of Social Work meetings are held the fourth Monday of the month at 10:00 am. You can find the agenda and the link at https://dchealth.dc.gov/publication/board-social-work-agendas. The Board takes notice of our Society’s participation and has respectfully considered our input and feedback as to how Board policies affect us and our practices.
Adele Natter, LICSW, Co-Chairs the GWSCSW Legislation & Advocacy Committee for DC.. Adele has been an active participant on the Committee for the past four years; she represented GWSCSW on a Board of Social Work sub-committee, which included NASW and CSWA representatives. Adele maintains a private practice focused on helping individuals with anger and emotional regulation issues. She is also a Clinical Instructor in the Psychiatry Residency Program of the George Washington University Medical School. She holds a BA in Psychology from UCLA and received her MSW from the University of Maryland.
Legislation & Advocacy | MARYLAND
Judy Gallant, MD Legislation and Advocacy Chair
In late September, 2021, Pam Metz Kasemeyer (our Maryland lobbyist) and I met via zoom with Stanley Weinstein, Executive Director of the MD Board of Social Work Examiners (BSWE). At the meeting, we raised concerns with Dr. Weinstein that our members have expressed for a long time: slow responsiveness, apathy, unprofessional behavior and unhelpfulness of staff to inquiries; problems with applications for licensure not being acted on in a timely way; and the great contrast of Maryland’s BSWE with Boards of Social Work of other states and jurisdictions. Although our membership has been frustrated for a number of years, our discussion was also in the context of the pandemic. At that time, staff was working in a hybrid manner, coming to the office just 3 days/week, working from home the rest of the time. Prior to July, staff was working virtually 5 days/week.
What I found most illuminating was Dr. Weinstein’s discussion of how the Board operates in terms of staffing and budget. The State (Governor and Legislature) controls how much money is spent on the Boards, and the Department of Health assigns who gets hired as staff. They have only 15 staff members to deal with 18,000 applications for all levels of licensure/year. By contrast, when Dr. Weinstein began his position 7 years prior, 10,000 applications were processed by the same number of staff.
I raised the issue of denials of Continuing Education credits because of staff’s lack of knowledge of the applicability of a specific course to clinical social work. He acknowledged that one member of the CE department at that time was not a clinical social worker, and indicated that licensees can ask to go before the CE Committee if they feel an incorrect decision was made about a training they have taken. The Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners accepts continuing education units offered by Association of Social Work Boards, National Association of Social Workers, and Board Authorized Sponsors.
Dr. Weinstein indicated they were reassessing how they operate, esp. via telework, and that he would be reviewing all staffing. We agreed to stay in touch.
New Information
In December 2021, there was a cyber attack on the MD Department of Health which affected the professional licensing Boards, the hospital system and health clinics. As a result, BSWE has had additional difficulty functioning, since BSWE has been unable to use their old computers, cannot print licenses, and cannot deposit checks. They now use a mobile hot spot from Verizon and have gotten a few new computers, but there are not enough for all staff. They are extremely frustrated that the Department of Health has downplayed this and that the public has little information about what is going on. I know several of our members have had problems with license applications, reaching the Board for other business, and have been extremely frustrated by the complete lack of responsiveness. While we know about the historical difficulties the BSWE has had with their responsiveness, this has decreased their response times even further. At this writing, we are planning to join with other organizations to write to the Department of Health and to Governor Hogan.
In early January, the Maryland General Assembly started their annual 90-day legislative session. As of this writing in February, we have submitted testimony on 11 bills, supporting the bills’ aims, but for several bills our support is dependent upon the inclusion of amendments offered.
Bills addressing insurance reimbursement
As some of you already know, Optum, the administrative services organization (ASO) that administers the delivery of specialty mental health services under the Maryland Medicaid Program, has an abysmal record of paying claims in a timely manner. Senate Bill 549 is a direct result of the inability of the State’s ASO to process claims or pay health care providers for services rendered since inception on January 1, 2020. As a result, the Maryland Department of Health has had to resort to making advanced but estimated payments to health care providers, based on historic 2019 billing data that did not account for the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has now placed health care providers in the precarious position of having to pay back the difference between the estimated payments and the claims amount submitted.
Senate Bill 549 requires Optum to give health care providers the tools needed to substantiate the processing of claims. Our testimony in support of the bill argued that health care providers should not be disadvantaged due to the failure of Optum (and the State) to employ a workable billing and claims processing system.
House Bill 912 addresses health care coverage of non-participating providers. In our testimony supporting this bill, we stated: ensuring that individuals have access to critical mental health and substance use disorder treatment services continues to be an area of concern to the clinical social work community. … House Bill 912…ensures that the insured has coverage for mental health or substance use disorder services at no greater cost to the member than if the services were provided in-network by allowing an insured to go out of network if the carrier’s provider panel has an insufficient number or type of participating specialist or non-physician specialist for the required services.
Addressing issues around Health Care staffing shortages
HB 625 would establish a Commission to study the health care workforce crisis in Maryland. In our testimony supporting the bill, we emphasized the importance of examining the additional support the Department of Health could give to the Boards to assist with workloads, overhead, improved staffing and technology improvement. We expressed concern that BSWE has been unable to respond in a timely way to licensing issues of our members, which is greatly impacted by the tremendous workload the inadequate number of staff is attempting to handle.
HB 407 would authorize the Secretary of Health to declare a health care staffing shortage emergency in the State and require each health occupations board to establish processes for the issuance of initial licenses, temporary licenses, and temporary practice letters on an expedited basis for such an emergency. The bill would relax licensure standards to bolster the current health care workforce, specifically targeting (1) an applicant for an initial health occupation license; (2) an individual who holds a valid, unexpired health occupation license issued in another state; (3) an inactive licensee; (4) a retired health care practitioner; and (5) a nursing graduate. We expressed support of the bill provided that amendments would be offered that will allow the health occupation boards more discretion in how to expedite licenses.
We are currently monitoring many other bills of interest to clinical social workers in Maryland. Look for our June newsletter for final decisions on these and other bills.
Judy Gallant, LCSW-C, is chair of the Maryland Clinical Social Work Coalition, our GWSCSW legislative committee in Maryland. She is also Director of the GWSCSW Legislation & Advocacy Branch. She maintains a private practice in Silver Spring.
Legislation & Advocacy | Virginia
Judy Ratliff and Wayne Martin, Co-Chairs, VA Legislation and Advocacy Committee
Looking for a Lobbyist
As you may know, GWSCSW and VSCSW share a lobbyist. Sue Rowland has been our lobbyist over the past several years and she is leaving to go into semi-retirement. She was very helpful in arranging zoom meetings between members of our committee and Senators George Barker and Janet Howell of Fairfax. Dan Campbell joined us in meeting with Senator Howell, who was very appreciative of his input with VOICES in trying to obtain full funding for Crisis Receiving Centers and the STPE VA System. We will sorely miss Sue's lobbying efforts on our behalf and that of our clients.
Responding to Our Members' Insurance Concerns
Last fall, our members voiced numerous concerns about pressures from insurance companies, including justifying certain payment codes and withholding or delaying payments. We heard you. Our lobbyist contacted the Virginia Bureau of Insurance (BOI) and the VSCSW took the lead in setting up a conference with a BOI representative in October, 2021. Many concerns were voiced during that conference. One of the most serious concerns is that the BOI, by law, can only accept complaints from our clients who are the insurance recipients and cannot accept complaints from therapists. Sue Rowland took this concern to Senator Barker, who agreed to submit legislation to change the existing law to allow treatment providers to contact BOI directly. Unfortunately, we were unable to get it on the legislative docket for this year. We understand that there will be strenuous pushback from the insurance companies. We also understand that the psychiatrists have expressed the same concerns and it may be possible to "join forces" with them during the rest of this year, to push for this much needed change in the law during the 2023 Legislative Session.
The Joys of Sharing
I stated above that the GWSCSW and the VSCSW share the cost of a lobbyist who will represent our interests, and those of our clients, in the Virginia Legislature. However, we share even more. We jointly sponsor meetings and allow full members of each society to attend each others' workshops for free or at member rates. This allows members of both societies to benefit from a greater range of low-cost CE programs. Additionally, Wayne Martin and I regularly attend quarterly VSCSW zoom board meetings, which the lobbyist also attends. This facilitates smoother coordination of efforts toward the same goals.
Telehealth
There will be telehealth legislation proposed this year. We will keep you posted.
Contributions from Our Members
Below, please see an article by Roger Rothstein, who documents the power of our members working together to deal with a request from Medicare for case documentation to justify the use of procedure code 90837.
In January 2021, I received a letter from Novitas Solutions, the Medicare administrator for the DC Metro Area, which is summarized below:
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services continually strive to reduce the improper payment of Medicare claims . As a Medicare Contractor, Novitas is tasked with preventing inappropriate Medicare payments. One of the ways this is conducted is through medical review of claims. Medical review of claims helps to ensure that Medicare pays for services that are covered, correctly coded and medically reasonable and necessary. Services you billed to Medicare were chosen for a post-payment service specific review for procedure code 90837 (psychotherapy 60 minutes) because data analysis has identified these services are frequently not billed and coded correctly per the Medicare guidelines.
As a result of this data, we have selected a post-payment sample of 20 claims reporting code 90837 from 2019 . You are responsible for providing documentation for the services identified by March 8, 2021 (6 weeks).
Translation to the above: Here are 20 claims for services rendered in 2019. You need to document your justification for these services provided with procedure code 90837 by sharing your records of each of these 20 encounters. After the review, we are authorized to require you to reimburse us for monies paid to you for those services if we deem them not justified as needing 60 minutes of clinical time.
After reading this several times and noting my anxiety level elevating by the second, I started to call a few colleagues about this. One person said she had received the same letter, but others did not. I am sure my news elevated their anxiety as well. I decided to put this out to the GWSCSW listserve soon after I received the letter. By a few days later, it became clear that these letters had arrived at many offices: specifically they seemed to have targeted Northern Virginia clinicians in social work and psychology.
What to do? Having a live meeting in January 2021, didn’t seem like a wise idea so a zoom meeting was offered to anyone interested in discussing this situation and planning a response. Within a week or so, we had identified a Saturday morning to meet and about 18 people were on the call. This group came together in ways to strategize and support each other. Various record-keeping templates were exchanged electronically; members were tasked to contact the Clinical Social Work Association and consult with an attorney; research for documentation on rationales for using various ICD codes were shared; “talking points” on what Medicare was looking for in patient records was discussed; how and whether to inform clients of this review was discussed (two of the client’s whose cases they wanted me to document had died since 2019). At the end of this first meeting, we had developed a strategy to work together with the goal of helping each person prepare to provide the information requested.
Over the next couple of weeks, much information was gathered and we again met as a group . The reduction in anxiety was evident as members of the group talked about how they had begun to approach this task. There was much appreciation expressed to everyone who had contributed their time, thoughts and clinical knowledge. What a great example of how in this digital age, people can exchange ideas and research both in text and online chat to help manage challenging tasks! The Clinical Society’s listserve networking technology and being able to tap into it’s vast informed membership were invaluable to our meeting this challenge.
I was able to submit my documentation late in February and was notified shortly afterward that I “passed” and therefore would not need to reimburse Uncle Sam for my efforts.
We welcome input from members. If any of you are out there advocating for clients or legislation, please let us know and submit an article for us to include here in the GWSCSW quarterly newsletter.
Judy Ratliff, Co-Chair, jratliff.lcsw@gmail.com | Wayne Martin, Co-Chair, wamnoles@aol.com
Judy Ratliff, LCSC , recently retired from work but not from GWSCSW or from life. She is the Co-Chair, VA Legislation and Advocacy Committee.
IN-PERSON! NEW MEMBER BRUNCH
APRIL 10, 2022 | 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
The Membership Brunch to welcome new members to GWSCSW will be held April 10th at the home of Cindy Crane, in her backyard. It will be from 11:00 am – 12:30 pm.
We also invite people who are not new to join us in welcoming new members.
The brunch will be outdoors. We request that only vaccinated and boosted members attend. In addition please wear a mask while indoors.
For further information contact Nancy Harris (nlharris1214@gmail.com), Cindy Crane (cindy@cranecounselingllc.com) or Catherine Lowry (lowrycath@comcast.net).
Senior Seminar Update
Are you a later-career social worker beginning to think about scaling back? Have you set a date for your retirement and could benefit from a supportive group with others also actively planning retirement? Are you already retired and want to remain more connected?
Consider joining a Clinical Society Senior Seminar
Our Clinical Society has active seminar groups in Virginia, Maryland and D.C that meet monthly, nowadays by zoom. If you are interested in participating, you are welcome to phone me, Grace Lebow (240-858-4738), for further detailed information and for any questions.
Group leaders were asked to provide a yearly review of their groups, to give you a sense of the various ways the groups function.
N.W. D.C. Seminar: Estelle Berley and Carolyn DeVilbuss
Our Clinical Senior Seminar has continued to meet by zoom throughout the past year, usually on a monthly basis.Our group was the first, started by Grace Lebow in 2006. Estelle Berley assumed leadership and we met at her home until the COVID pandemic required us to meet virtually. Several of our members have moved away during this time. Zoom access has enabled one member to join us frequently from her home in Boston. Currently, eight members remain active with the group. Most are fully-retired, though we offer CEU’s for members who still maintain their license. Our discussions are led by rotating leadership, and alternate between non-fiction and fiction books that focus on current social and political issues, as well as more personal topics relevant to our circumstances in retirement.
N.W. D.C NOVA Seminar: Susan Miller
My group is starting its sixth year together. We continue to be a group of nine. We continue to meet online. Attendance is excellent. Satisfaction is high. Since the beginning of the group six years ago, two members have fully retired. Four members have cutback. Three members continue to work full throttle.
Virginia Seminar: Paula Donovan (in behalf of Rebecca Harrison)
Our group of nine members is now in its fifth year! When we began, we had a mix of already-retired clinicians, others scaling down, and others still working full time. In the intervening years we have shared our professional and personal transitions drawing on many of those same capacities that we brought to our social work practice. Those who were still working full time when they joined the group are now either fully retired or have scaled back significantly.
Our group is precious to each of us. We moved on-line due to Covid, and these connections continue to help us all a great deal. We would like to thank you, Grace, for this wonderful initiative, which encourages retiring and retired social workers to convene as professional and personal support groups for each other.
NOVA Seminar: Patti Gibberman and Hannah Craven
We have eight members in our Senior Seminar which is facilitated by Hannah Craven and Patti Gibberman. Our first meeting was in April 2021, and the group has coalesced quickly. We meet monthly virtually, and interest and attendance have been excellent. We are reading the book Forced Endings in Psychotherapy by Anne Power, and discussing both the book and our feelings about retirement. So far only one member of our group is actually retired. The rest are either contemplating retirement or moving towards retirement. Everyone is grateful that the Clinical Society has sponsored this type of gathering for the membership.
N.W. D C. Seminar: Marcie Solomon
Our group has been meeting for just under four years. We began with nine members and have been at six for the past two years, although one of those six is currently on a "leave of absence" due to a major move to a new residence. At the onset of the pandemic, we chose to double up on the frequency of our meetings, going from monthly to bi-weekly and the group has indeed become increasingly meaningful and intimate. Until recently we were meeting exclusively via zoom, but we have had a few in-person meetings recently. Zoom does continue to be an attractive option if one of our members is medically unable to attend in-person but would otherwise like to attend. It is a support group that we all value.
Bethesda Area Seminar: Karen Goldberg
Our group has now been meeting monthly for three years, initially at the Connie Morella Library, now on zoom We currently have 11 members, eight women and three men. Since we started, two members have completely retired, three were retired when the group began, three work part-time, one sees a single client, and two are actively transitioning into retirement. All of the retired or nearly retired members continue to be engaged in service oriented activities, participation in GWSCSW, and/or offering supervision. With the pandemic, we started meeting virtually. The members have many times commented on how much support the group has been in coping and adjusting to uncertain and constantly unfolding circumstances. More recently, with everyone vaccinated, we have held discussions about meeting in-person, but since two members have compromised immune systems, we are continuing to meet virtually for the time being. The scope of the group continues to focus on the transition to retirement and moving forward, as well as on life transitions in general, including aging. We draw on the experiences and wisdom of the members, as well as on other's resources, i.e. books, articles, podcasts, etc. that members suggest. The group also serves to bring a range of life-building resources to the members' attention.
Grace, I am honored to facilitate a group of such wise and caring members and appreciate your having created the Senior Seminar program. If you ever are in need of assistance with growing it further, please feel free to reach out.
Silver Spring Seminar: Judy Gallant and Nancy Harris
We began with two good meetings in the summer, one at each of our houses. Due to health and other interruptions, we have not yet had a third meeting. Our group hopes to start up again in the spring and will welcome new people to join us. For more information please contact me, Nancy Harris at nlharris1214@gmail.com
Membership committee
The Membership Committee (Cindy Crane, Catherine Lowry, & Nancy Harris) wants to welcome you to GWSCSW. We encourage you to take a moment and look through the website (GWSCSW.org) and familiarize yourself with all that GWSCSW has to offer. Join a committee! Get involved! If you’re a brand-new social worker, please check out the Early Career Committee or the Mentor Program. If you’re an established social worker, please check out our continuing education programs and the informative listserv. GWSCSW has something for everyone. Please contact one of us for questions about the organization.
Nancy Harris – nlharris1214@gmail.com
Cindy Crane – Cindy@cranecounselingllc.com
Catherine Lowry – lowrycath@comcast.net
MENTOR PROGRAM
Nancy Harris, Mentor Liaison
The Mentor Program is available for GWSCSW members still in school, newly-graduated, approaching their clinical licensure and wondering about the next steps. Mentors can assist with questions about career direction, licensing, continuing education, relationships with supervision, and decisions about what to do after clinical licensure. Mentorship is a powerful tool to enhance new social workers’ development.
If you are a member of GWSCSW and interested in signing up, please fill out the Mentor program form or contact Nancy Harris, LCSW-C, coordinator of the mentor program, for questions. Her phone is (301) 385-3375, email is nlharris1214@gmail.com or.www.gwscsw.com/mentoring
Experienced social workers are always welcome to be mentors themselves. The application form to be a mentor is found at the same place on the GWSCSW website.
Communications Branch
Steve Szopa, Communications Branch Director
Our new website is looking good but we are still interested in your feedback and suggestions. Please write to me at: steveszopa@gmail.com with any ideas.
The listserv continues to be a very popular member benefit. We encourage you to reach out to fellow members. For those of you who are advertising workshops that are not sponsored by the Society, please remember to limit your postings to twice per month. If you would like your workshops to have more visibility, contact Donna Dietz, our Executive Administrator, for ideas: admin@gwscsw.org
Our newsletter is a source of pride. We put out four high-quality newsletters per year. We are no longer offering printed copies of the newsletter. We are aware that a small group of members prefer a written newsletter but eliminating printing and mailing of the newsletter saved us thousands of dollars that we have put toward elevating our social media activity and visibility. As I mentioned in my last report, many members, not just younger members, take in news and information via social media and we are adapting to this reality.
The biggest news in the Communications Branch is the dramatic increase in our visibility and participation in social media sites including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. Our Social Media Committee Chair, Chana Lockerman shares the following announcement:
Those who follow the Social Media Committee’s doings know that we have been exploring ways to best use our resources to meet the needs of our members. Thank you to everyone who weighed in! We are excited to welcome Allie Dietz as our new social media consultant!
If you are active on social media, you may have noticed changes to the Society’s social media presence over the last few months. Allie is helping us to be a part of the conversation, publicize events, and expand our reach. Check out our Tech Talk column for more information about how you can connect with the Society on social media.
If you would like to get involved with our expanding social media presence, our Tech Talk column, or anything else media- related, we would love to hear from you!. Please contact Chana Lockerman: chana@rockcreekcounseling.com with any ideas or questions.
PLEASE LIKE US AND FOLLOW GWSCSW ON ALL SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS!
COMMUNITY BRANCH
Patricia Gibberman, Community Branch Director
The Community Branch is the largest branch and the heart of our Society. As its name suggests, it is all about community! It provides many rewarding opportunities for involvement and connection.
Currently, I am looking for new Chairs for the Volunteer Committee and the Networking Committee (formerly the Wine and Cheese Networking Committee), as well as a prospective new Community Branch Director for the upcoming term of 2022-2024. I would be willing to mentor the new director and possibly serve as co-director with them. If you know anybody who would be interested in any of these positions, please let me know at community@gwscsw.org.
The Volunteer Committee Chair recruits new volunteers and helps new volunteers find their respective committee of interest at events such as the annual cocktail party, wine and cheese networking events, and other member gatherings as the pandemic permits.
The Networking Committee Chair provides monthly informal opportunities for GWSCSW members to meet, socialize, and network over zoom until such time as we can resume in-person wine and cheese networking events. These events can be themed according to the needs of our members.
The Community Branch Director oversees and assists with the activities of the many committees of the Community Branch.
Remember, you get more out of the Society if you put more into it! This is the perfect time to get involved!
LEGISLATION BRANCH
Judy Gallant, Legislation & Advocacy Branch Director
I want to thank the hard-working, committed Legislation and Advocacy stalwarts that stepped in for me during the fall: Judy Ratliff, Acting Branch Director; Betsy Amey and Rob Zelikoff, Acting Co-Chairs of the Maryland L&A Committee. I have picked up my practice again and am working again on Legislation & Advocacy issues. I will continue to do as much as my time and energy allow, as I start the next phase of my treatment.
If you have ideas about issues you, your colleagues or your clients are experiencing, be sure to contact one of us to volunteer to work on a specific task, or to join one of the committees: in DC, contact Margot Aronson at malevin@erols.com or Adele Natter at anatter@verizon.net; in Maryland, Judy Gallant, judy.gallant@verizon.net; in Virginia, Judy Ratliff, jratliff.lcsw@gmail.com or Wayne Martin at wamnoles@aol.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
TECH TALKIt is perhaps not wise for the chair of the Social Media Committee to admit to anything less than complete confidence in using social media, so let’s keep it to ourselves. Between you and me, I have a passingly adequate skill set. I know enough to fake it, until my ineptness outs me. My grandmother would be aghast that I am about to reveal my age, so if you run into a 90-year-old retiree in Florida who resembles me, keep it to yourself: (cue the whisper) I’m in my 40’s. Members who like me squint into the mirror, noting that we have both a growing population of silvery hairs and an inability to see them, will possibly relate to my media habits. I love seeing baby pictures, even the occasional cat, and enjoy keeping up with family and friends. Some of us promote businesses or ourselves via social media. However, I have come to find that as the social media sandwich generation, my usage is completely unlike those both older and younger. We are excited to offer outreach to all, no matter what your comfort and familiarity with social media. The Social Media Committee is committed to using our platforms to draw people closer and forge a sense of connection. To that end, we have some fantastic new offerings. We are now on multiple media! Look for us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. If you are using any of those platforms, please connect. Here’s a link to our website where you will find links to our various social media profiles in the top right corner: https://www.gwscsw.org/ We’re working with a wonderful social media consultant (see the Social Media Committee Board Report for an introduction), who is helping us to amplify our voice. For those who identify as social media-hesitant, we have offerings for you! Stay tuned for a helpful video that will explain some of the privacy settings on social media, as well as an upcoming course on social media, privacy, and ethics. As always, let us know how we can best serve you! Please write to: chana@rockcreekcounseling.com |
Denise Jones, LICSW, LCSW-C, LCSW, recently became a Consultant-in-Training (CIT) at The Center for Excellence in EMDR Therapy. While in training, CIT's at The Center are able to provide EMDR consultation at a reduced cost under the guidance of international trainer, consultant, and psychotherapist, Deany Laliotis, LICSW.
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News & Views
Nancy Pines, Editor
News & Views is published four times a year: March, June, September and December.
Articles expressing the personal views of members on issues affecting the social work profession are welcome and will be reviewed and published at the discretion of the editor. Signed articles reflect the views of the authors; society endorsement is not intended. Articles are subject to editing for space and clarity.
News & Views Submission Guidelines
If you have a submission, please send it to me: npines12@aol.com. I edit the articles and reports and send them on to the proofers who check up on me. BTW, we have two dedicated proofers, Shoba Nayar and Adele Natter, but could use another one. Please let me know if you are interested. Email address is above.
Articles: Focus on your area of expertise and practice, ethical dilemmas, responses to events in the media or other topics relevant to clinical social work. Articles should be 500–700 words.
Reports: For each newsletter, I hope to hear from all branch and committee people to inform us of their activities.
Out & About – Share news about you: an article you’ve written, if you’ve been in the news, taught a class, earned a new certification or are a singer, artist or writer. Submissions should be 50 words or less. Send all submissions to npines12@aol.com.
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Next submission deadline: April 30, 2022
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