New SCHIP Law Gives Kids Mental Health Coverage
from U.S. News & World Report
Hidden in the new children's health insurance plan signed by President Obama is a gift to millions of low-income parents: increased insurance coverage for children with mental-health problems. Before, 60 percent of the states had more limited coverage for mental health. The new law for the State Children's Health Insurance Program not only expands health coverage to 4 million more children beyond the 6 million already covered, but also brings mental-health parity to the state programs that provide insurance for children in low-income families, requiring that they get the same access to treatment for bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, and other serious disorders as they do for physical ailments. More

Emerging Leaders, Strategic Planning and Social Work Reinvestment Act Reintroduced
from NASW IL
I always enjoy recognizing the achievements of social workers. This past Thursday evening, we did just that, as the Chapter acknowledged the six 2009 NASW IL Emerging Leaders Awards that included Yolanda Jordan, Dan Potter, Ireta Gasner, Alicia Beck, Stephanie Record and Sara Blumberg. The six awardees are featured in the December 2008/January 2009 Networker. More

Social Workers Feel Pressure
from The Columbus Dispatch
Some public employees who help the poor deal with Ohio's faltering economy are themselves finding out what life is like without a job. Workers in county departments of Job and Family Services are losing their positions amid a series of state-funding cuts totaling $44.4 million since July 1.Those still on the job are working harder than ever. More

Virtual Reality System Uses Exposure Therapy to Treat Veterans with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
from The Chicago Tribune
The helicopter is visible for only a moment from the front seat of a military Humvee, swooping out of the bright sky as barren desert gives way to a palm grove. The dark shape of an armed figure appears suddenly to the right of the road. Then more figures pop out of nowhere. Gunfire erupts, followed by explosions. Bright red blood soaks the uniform of the soldier slumped in the passenger's seat. The jarring scene plays out on a high-tech, virtual reality system that uses exposure therapy to treat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. The program allows veterans to relive combat scenarios hundreds of times, if necessary. More

President Barack Obama Reverses Course on Faith-based Office
from The Chicago Tribune
It seemed like a firm campaign promise. Barack Obama pledged to continue President George W. Bush's faith-based office in the White House, but with a key change: Groups receiving federal money would no longer be allowed to discriminate in hiring on the basis of religion. As Obama disclosed the details of his faith-based program, he left the controversial Bush policy in place. Religious groups such as Catholic Charities and Salvation Army have long received government money, but the faith-based office was intended to direct federal help to smaller churches and organizations. More

Homeless Men Find Field of Dreams
from The Chicago Tribune
Since 25 homeless men started working with Jason Holmes a few months ago, eight have gotten apartments and another is in transitional housing. Three others are conquering personal demons of smoking, alcohol abuse and heroin addiction. The reasons might be complicated, but the core of their rehabilitation is a simple therapy: soccer. More

Job Loss Hits Seniors Especially Hard
from The Baltimore Sun
At 68, Aurelia Dillon gives no thought to retirement. She needs to work and wants to work, she says, if only she could find a job. Laid off from a Carney flower shop Thanksgiving week, she has been looking for employment ever since. Dillon, a widow, has pension and other income, lately boosted by unemployment benefits. But she cares for two grown children: a mentally disabled son and a brain-injured daughter. She has hefty food costs, too, and a car payment. Her latest monthly electric bill was a sizzling $394. More

Suicides: Watching for a Recession Spike
from Time magazine
When Bernard Madoff's huge Ponzi scheme burst, the New York Post reported, in its typical cut-to-the-jugular style, that suicide hotlines were lighting up in Greenwich, Connecticut, home to many of the financial high-rollers snared by the alleged $50 billion scam. But the deadly fallout from it was no joking matter. Only a couple of weeks after Madoff's mischief was revealed, French financier Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet killed himself in his New York City office, apparently distraught by his having lost more than a billion of his clients' (and his own family's) money to the unprecedented fraud. More

Two Genes Implicated in Autism
from U.S. News & World Report
Multiple, interacting genetic risk factors may influence the severity of autism, a new study suggests. Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers said they've pinpointed two genes that cause autism-like symptoms in mice. The findings support a long-held theory that more than one gene is involved in people with genetic-based autism. More

Bill Would Increase Support for Social Workers
from The Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Rep. Edolphus “Ed” Towns, D-Brooklyn, introduced the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young Social Work Reinvestment Act (H.R. 795) — a bill that seeks to increase support for America’s social workers by establishing a Social Work Reinvestment Commission. The commission would analyze and oversee the authorization of grants for education, training and community based programs that support the work of social workers. More

Upcoming Events Domestic Adoption (2/11/09) LSW/LCSW Review Course (Chicago: 2/13/09) Beyond a Shadow of a Diet: The Treatment of Compulsive Eating (2/27/09) Are You Sure About Positive Psychology? (3/6/09)