Facing Tide of Red Ink, State Cuts Services to the Most Vulnerable
from The Chicago Tribune
Illinois might have a working budget in place, but there is a broader story behind the numbers: Real people are hurting. If they have not lost care, they worry the thin reed of stability provided by non-profit, community-based organizations will disappear without state support. Cuts at social service agencies are tearing holes into safety nets for the state's most vulnerable residents. More

Perfection...Buerhle, SB1507 and the 2009 Statewide Conference
from NASW IL
When was the last time you had a perfect day in your practice? Not recently? Well last Thursday, two perfect events took place, the first of which was White Sox pitcher Mark Buerhle’s perfect game against the defending American League Champion Tampa Rays. Not a bad day at the office for Mr. Buerhle, who shared his feelings about his pitching gem with President Obama following the game and appeared in a taped segment on Late Night with David Letterman last night along with teammates Josh Fields and Dwayne Wise. More

Study: Half of Chicago's HIV-positive Men Unaware
from The Associated Press via The Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Public Health Department estimates 17 percent of gay men in Chicago are HIV-positive, with half of them unaware they are infected. Health officials also say although black men who have sex with other men have double the HIV infection rates of white and Hispanic men. Public Health Department assistant commissioner Christopher Brown says it isn't known why black men are disproportionately affected by HIV. He said the health department is working with social service groups to expand testing and increase contact with the city's gay and bisexual population. More

Hunt for Alzheimer's Disease Treatment Intensifies
from The Chicago Tribune
Just two weeks ago, word came from an international science meeting in Vienna that Abbott Laboratories had halted a study of an Alzheimer's pill, the latest in a growing number of pharmaceutical company failures related to treatment of the disease. But the North Chicago-based medical products company and its rivals are hardly giving up. "This is an area where the reward is so great and the unmet need is so high we are going to continue to be involved," said James Summers, head of Abbott's neuroscience drug discovery. More

Gov. Pat Quinn Signs Bills Benefiting Veterans
from The Chicago Tribune
Gov. Pat Quinn signed more than 20 bills into law aimed at helping veterans get jobs and providing other benefits for returning service members. Among highlights are measures that will double the tax credit for employers who hire veterans from $600 to $1,200 and another to make it easier for school bus drivers who serve in the military to return to their jobs once they leave active duty. More

Understanding Evidence-Based Practice in Behavioral Health
from Social Work Today
Clarifying misconceptions about evidence-based practice is the first step to reducing professional resistance to it. During the past 10 to 15 years, there has been an increased focus in the behavioral health community on delivering what is known as evidence-based practice. Some of those practices, such as motivational interviewing and psychoeducational-supported employment, are now common practice in many behavioral health settings. More

Police, Social Workers Going Door-to-Door to Boost School Attendance - and It's Working for a North Carolina School Districts.
from The Gaston Gazette
If they miss the class bell, Gaston County students know they’ll be answering the doorbell. A truancy prevention program that pairs school social workers with police officers to visit chronically absent students at home has seen sweeping success, boosting attendance rates above the state average and leapfrogging Gaston over 62 other North Carolina school districts. More

The Imperfect Eating Disorder
from The New York Times
In high school, I was a skeleton of who I am now. With pangs of hunger and a jutting rib cage, I was waiting for confidence and determination to flesh me out, fill me and protect me. The story of eating disorders, of young girls starving themselves for the sake of perfection, is a common one, written on the bathroom walls amid the graffiti of rumors and insults. Despite its ubiquity in high school, I believed my hunger was mine alone. Only later did I discover just how truly commonplace my story was. My eating disorder did not make me special. Only curing myself would. More

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