NASW-IL Web Blog

Over 800 participate in Social Work Advocacy Day advocating for a fair budget

This past Wednesday was the Social Work Day of Advocacy in the state of Illinois, highlighted by a record number 809 participants.  The social workers and social work students who participated, went to the capitol stressing the importance of raising revenue to fund crucial human services, as well as education and healthcare in the state.  This was my 11^th Advocacy Day and the event has really grown over the past three years.  Our panelists and leaders of the breakout sessions included:

· Stephanie F. Altman, Programs and Policy Director, Health & Disability Advocates

· Michael Gelder, Senior Advisor on Health Policy, Office of Governor Quinn

· Gina Guillemette, Director, Policy and Advocacy, Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

· Ralph Martire, Executive Director, Center for Tax and Budget Accountability

· Kari Smith, MSW, MA, President, Illinois Association of School Social Workers

 

The panel was moderated by our NASW IL lobbyist Phil Milsk.   The panelists covered issues related to the state budget, health care, poverty and school social work.

 
On Wednesday afternoon, NASW IL participated in a press conference convened by the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability (CTBA) announcing the release of  their study chronicling the state’s waning support for human services, entitled, Illinois State Funding for Human Services in Context. The study notes the the underfunding of human services in the state of Illinois by $4.4 billion from FY02 through FY10.  The full report can be found at  http://ctbaonline.org/.  Along with Ralph Martire from CTBA, I participated with the following people in the news conference:

· Donald Dew, President of Habilitative Systems, Inc and Co-Chair of the Black Executive Directors Coalition

· Gina Guillemette representing Illinois Partners for Human Services and Director of Policy and Advocacy for the Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights;

· Sean Nobel, representing the Responsible Budget Coalition and Director of Government Relations for Voices for Illinois Children;

·  Rev. Daniel Schwick, Director of Church and Government Relations at Lutheran Social Services of Illinois.

· Dale Strassheim, President and CEO of The Baby Fold.

 

A great deal of emphasize of emphasis at the news conference was placed on the importance of social work and human service sector jobs to local economies throughout the state.The Blue Room at the Capitol where the newsroom took place was packed with social workers and social work students participating in Lobby Day.

 

Our Day of Advocacy also coincided with Governor Quinn, posting parts of the FY2011 on his website, providing Illinois citizens an opportunity to provide comments on the Office and Management Budget website.  With a $13 billion deficit looming, we urge all social workers to submit comments.  A direct link to the budget can be found at:

 http://www2.illinois.gov/budget/Pages/default.aspx.

 

To submit your comments directly to the Governor Quinn’s office, go to: http://www2.illinois.gov/budget/Pages/Suggest.aspx. 

 

As we head into Social Work Month beginning on Monday, I urge all social workers to express your opinion on the state budget.  Please do so in advance of the Governor’s budget speech on Wednesday, March 10, 2010.  Here are some things to consider when submitting your comments:

 

· Emphasize the need for a tax increase that will raise sufficient revenue to fund human services, healthcare, education and public safety.

· Relate you personal experience at your agencies regarding the reduction of services with increasing demand.

· For students, it may that your faculty are being furloughed or that finance aid is becoming harder to attain.

· Stress that services that social workers provide are needed more than ever as individuals and families struggle during this recession. Cutting the budget more is not the right approach.

· Illinois has the nation’s lowest income-tax rate and a narrow sales-tax base—we’re out of step and falling further behind. We need tax reform to invest in our communities, not more cuts to public services and jobs.

· Stress that the effects of the state’s waning support for human services, as documented in the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability’s study released this past Wednesday on the underfunding of human services in the state of Illinois by $4.4 billion from FY02 through FY10.  The full report entitled, Illinois State Funding for Human Services in Context can be found at  http://ctbaonline.org/

 

Chapter President Dennis Crowell and I will be traveling around the state for a good part of the month participating in Social Work Award celebrations.  We look forward to seeing many of you.

Take Action Today

Today over 700 social workers and social work students will be in Springfield for Illinois' Social Work Day of Advocacy.   Even though you may not be able to be present in our state capitol, you can play an important role in today's event by contacting your elected officials via email or by phone about some of the more vital issues facing the state of Illinois and its citizens.

 

We made it easy for you!

 

1.) Click the  link below, click take action, then scroll down on the webpage.

2.) Either leave it alone to send or modify the subject and body of the letter

3.) Enter in your name and address
4.) Click Send!

 

With just a few minutes of your time, you can help NASW IL advocate for change.

 

Illinois State Budget

• Encourage your State Representative and State Senator to pass a state budget that funds human services, education and health care. In order to do that in FY2011, additional revenues are needed to address the $13 billion deficit in the state's General Revenue Fund. Encourage them not to leave Springfield in May without passing a fair and just budget.
• Relate your own situations and how your job, agency, and clients have been impacted by the lack of funding. If you are a student, this could mean your faculty being furloughed, or the availability of financial aid being in doubt, or the shortage of jobs available when you graduate.

Poverty - Support HB 5950 TANF Grant Increase

• Illinois' unemployment rate has doubled since 2008, from 5.6% to 11.1%.
• One in three workers who lose their jobs do not qualify for unemployment insurance.
• TANF is the between-jobs safety net for these workers' families.
• A family of 3 in Chicago receives a monthly TANF grant of $432, only 28% of the federal poverty line (FPL). 28% FPL is the lowest that cash assistance to families in Illinois has ever been, having fallen from 79% in 1973. 
• HB 5950 increases TANF grants by 15% annually until they reach 50% Federal Poverty Line and then maintains them at that level.
• This increase is needed to achieve Illinois' official goal of cutting extreme poverty (families living below 50% FPL) in half by 2015.
• The federal government currently covers 80% of the cost.

 

Nursing Home Reform - Support SB3473

• Urge elected officials to implement an overhaul of the state's troubled long-term care system.
• Support SB3473 - Post Admission Screen for Individuals Entering Medicaid Funded Long-Term Care Facilities. The goal of this legislation is to ensure that people with disabilities and older adults in Illinois are cared for in the least restrictive appropriate setting.

http://capwiz.com/socialworkers/il/home/

NASW Illinois website temporary down

This is to inform you that the NASW Illinois Chapter Web site is temporarily down due to a hardware failure at the data center of our web host WestHost. This is something that is completely out of our control, and WestHost administrators and engineers are currently working around the clock to restore our service. Due to the multiple numbers of Web sites they host, our Web site may not be restored until Friday, February 26, 2010.

In the interim, please note the following important information:

1.      All upcoming events that require registration on our Web site will be shifted temporarily to this NASW IL blog, This includes registration for Wednesday's Advocacy Day in Springfield, IL.

  2.      All NASW IL e-mail addresses are functioning.  General questions can be sent to office@naswil.org.

All updates about the status of our Web site will be available on the NASW IL blog for the remainder of the week.

We appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.

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Advocacy Day Registration Link  - Click Here   (Please Note: This link is only valid until 10:00PM Tuesday February 23rd. After this time we will be only accepting registrations on-site at the full $20.00 fee.)

• Download Agenda

• Download Legislative_Agenda

• Download Important Illinois Issues

Day of Service - Click Here   Please click the link to register to volunteer for the NASW IL Day of Service on March 9, 2010 at the Greater Chicago Food Depository 4100 W. Ann Lurie Place, Chicago, IL 60632 from 1pm-4pm.

Review Course 4/17/10  - Please click the links below to register for the Saturday, April 17, 2010 LSW/LCSW Review Course scheduled from 8:00am-5:00pm in the Auditorium at The Forum located at Carle Hospital 611 W Park, Urbana, IL.

• Member Registration
  
  
• Non-member Registration

Review Course 4/23/10 - Please click the links below to register for the Saturday, April 17, 2010 LSW/LCSW Review Course scheduled from 8:00am-5:00pm in the Auditorium at The Forum located at Carle Hospital 611 W Park, Urbana, IL.

• Member Registration
  
  
• Non-member Registration

Book Club 4/18/10 - Please Click the forms below to register for the NASW IL Book Club on Thursday, April 8, 2010 from 5:30pm - 7:00pm at the NASW IL Office 404 S. Wells St. 4th Floor, Chicago, IL 60607.

• NO CEU Registration (FREE)
  
  
• CEU Registration ($10.00)

American Red Cross Training -CLICK HERE -  Please click the link to register for the March25, 2010 Red Cross Training Foundations of Disaster Mental Health from 8:30am-4:30pm (8 CEUs).

Get ready for the Social Work Day of Advocacy…February 24, 2010, Illinois a happy state?

Advocacy Day in Springfield on February 24, 2010 is the “unofficial “ start of a myriad of activities that will take place during Social Work Month in March.  Actually, February 24^th  will be the Social Work Day of Advocacy in the State of Illinois.  The major event of that day will be taking place in Springfield where we expect close to 700 participants.  A tentative agenda for the day, as well as the Chapter’s 2010 Legislative Agenda and registration information can be found at http://www.naswil.org/lobby.htm.  If you can’t join us in Springfield, we will be sending out a legislative alert on the morning of February 24^th via our Capwiz alert system with specific information, bills etc.. that we will be promoting.  Much of our advocacy this year, as well as the advocacy of the entire human services community will revolve around our state’s troubled budget.  Governor Quinn will now be making his budget speech on Wednesday, March 10^th after he signed legislation, Public Act 096 0881, http://ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=096-0881, late last week allowing him an additional three weeks to prepare.  One of the requirements of this legislation is that the Governor’s office will make detailed budget information available to the public by February 24th.  Illinois citizens interested in making suggestions on how to fix the state’s budget problems will then have two weeks to submit their ideas to the governor’s budget office.

Some recent research by the United Kingdom’s University of Warwick and Hamilton College here in the United States noted that Illinois ranked 45^th in a survey of “happiest states.”  http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/research_finds_the/ The happiest state according to their survey?  Louisiana (and the survey was conducted before the Saints won the Super Bowl!) Whether you put a lot of credence in this types of surveys or not, upcoming events during Social Work Month around the state will hopefully move us up a bit in rank! 

2010 Emerging Leaders, Chapter Board meeting, Membership Task Force & immigration advocacy

For those of us that are referred to as “seasoned” social workers, this past Thursday night’s Emerging Leaders Awards Dinner was extremely gratifying.   We initiated this recognition last year. Our four Awardees are all “early” career social workers who have demonstrated exemplary leadership, expertise, and dedication to the profession in the state of Illinois, whose contributions enhance practice knowledge and/or the capacity of the profession and the human service to obtain resources and influence.  They have all demonstrated excellence in a variety of areas, including public or nonprofit agency-based practice, policy/legislative advocacy, academia, resource development and administration. 

 

All four of the awardees not only are “emerging” but have emerged in many ways as the future of our profession in Illinois.  We look forward to the awardees pursuing additional leadership positions in the Illinois Chapter in the future. The following are short bios of our accomplished 2010 awardees.

 

Sara Johnson, MSW, PhD, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker with over ten years of administrative and clinical experience. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Augustana College and her Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Social Work from Loyola University Chicago. She has worked with children, adolescents, and adults in a variety of settings including a child welfare agency, a therapeutic day school, a substance abuse program, and outpatient counseling centers. In addition, she has been an adjunct professor in the social work program at Loyola University.

 

Sara has focused much of her work and published articles on how to best support youth impacted by the child welfare system. She also has extensive experience coordinating and evaluating services for children and families in the foster care system, as well as providing supportive services to individuals with special needs and disabilities. She is currently the Program Director for Respite and Mentoring Services at Jewish Child and Family Services.

 

Erin C. Vogt, MSW, MA, LCSW, ACSW, CCM, CSW-G,  holds a master’s degree in social work from Aurora University as well as a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Lewis University. Erin is an active member of numerous local aging coalitions and professional aging-related organizations. Her passion for the older adult population resulted in a specialty certification in geriatric social work from the National Association on Social Workers. Most recently she served as the manager of the Alexian Brothers Hospital Network’s Resource Center for Seniors and coordinated the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind and People who have Low Vision Program. She is adjunct assistant professor at Lewis University in the Department of Criminal/Social Justice and Public Safety Studies and at Aurora University School of Social Work. Erin and her husband, Peter, have two children: five-year old Johnathan and two-year old, Hailey Rose.

 

Mackenzi Huyser (PhD, 2004, Andrews University; MSW, 2000, Grand Valley State University), serves as professor and chair of the social work department at Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights, IL. After serving as a practitioner in the field of child welfare, she moved to Illinois to develop a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program at Trinity. The program was granted initial accreditation in 2005 and was reaffirmed in 2009 by the Council on Social Work Education. She currently teaches courses in policy and research. In addition to her teaching responsibilities Mackenzi is involved in scholarship and service. She recently published an article on the New Monastic Movement in Social Work and Christianity and contributed decision cases in Thinking like a practitioner: Decision cases for generalist practice. She serves as Director of Assessment for the college and is part of the leadership team preparing for a Higher Learning Commission Reaccreditation Visit.

 

Abby Kiddy, MSW, LCSW, received her bachelor’s degree in social work from Illinois State University and her master’s degree in social work from the University of Illinois. Abby is an active member of NASW, and currently serves as Nominations Committee Representative in the East Central District. She is also Vice President of the EAPA Central Illinois Chapter. Abby has worked in several areas of mental health including as a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, a residential specialist, an on-call crisis intervention therapist, as well as an EAP case manager. She is currently the EAP Triage Coordinator at Chestnut Health Systems in Bloomington, IL.

 

On Friday, the Chapter Board of Directors held its quarterly meeting in Chicago.  In addition to approving the FY2009 Chapter audit, the Board also established a Membership Task Force.  A membership projection report was presented to the Board, the aim of which is to project changes in membership and income related to membership for the next 10 years, from FY2011 through FY2020.  Overall the data indicates a decline in membership. The task force will looking at this new reality of our membership situation and develop future steps to sustain and increase membership. Its report will be presented at the June Chapter Board of Directors meeting.

 

In the afternoon, Lawrence Benito, Deputy Director of the Illinois Coalition of Immigration and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) and Monika Starczuk, Field Coordinator, New Americans Initiative at ICIRR gave a presentation to the Board. Lawrence discussed building support for workable comprehensive immigration reform.  ICIRR’s vision of reform is immigrants and native-born U.S. citizens working shoulder to shoulder to achieve an immigration system that benefits all in our economy. Lawrence also provided Chapter leadership some relevant statistics on Illinois immigrants by immigration status.  In the state of Illinois the total foreign-born population is 1,700,000 persons, of which 425,000 are undocumented, 500,000 are legal residents, 735,000 are naturalized citizens and 1,500,000 are US born children of immigrants. Monika discussed the importance of the New Americans in the 2010 Census.  The New Americans Initiative (NAI) is administered by the ICIRR in partnership with the Illinois Department of Human Services.  There are significant fiscal consequences to the State if an accurate count is not achieved.  She noted that mere 3% increase in some undercounted communities could mean a financial return to the state of over $23,394,000 per year ($234 million over the next ten years).   Each person counted means $1,114 to the state per year from the federal government.

Black History Month, DuSable Museum “Freedom’s Sister’s” Exhibit, Whitney Young

As Black History Month celebrations begin around the state and country, there are numerous social work related activities and events taking place.

 

African-American NASW members are encouraged to publish a personal profile on the NASW consumer Web site, Help Starts Here.  Please click this link for details: http://www.helpstartshere.org/?p=2262”

The DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago, which is the first and oldest institution of its kind in the country, is now featuring “Freedom’s Sisters” exhibit through April 4, 2010. The lives of twenty African American women who fought for civil rights are featured in this exhibit.  One of the women featured is renowned social worker, Dorothy Height.  Dr. Height participated in almost all of the major civil and human rights efforts of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1990s.  The NASW’s major federal reinvestment legislation bears her name as well as the Whitney Young, Dorothy I. Height, and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act.  http://www.socialworkreinvestment.org.  A full biography of Dr. Height can be found on the NASW Foundation page of the NASW national Web site,  http://www.naswfoundation.org/pioneers/h/height.htm.

More information about the exhibit can be found on the DuSable Museum Web site: http://www.dusablemuseum.org.

If you weren’t aware from your social work history, Whitney Young, in addition to being one of the major civil rights leaders in the 1960s, was also a social worker, and president of NASW from 1969-1971.  The Whitney Moore Young Film and Leadership Development Project, made possible in part by grants from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, presents an opportunity to teach students about Whitney Young and his unique leadership philosophy. The project seeks to develop leadership skills among social work students to carry out Young’s philosophy of equality and social justice. The National NASW office and the NASW Foundation are also supporters of this project. Whitney Young is a social work role model whose legacy can provide a stronger understanding of the concepts of peace, justice and equality at a time when these are vital for societal success.   Additional information about the Project is available at http://www.socialworkers.org/whitneyyoung.