The Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education is pleased to present this major one day social work conference, Social Workers’ Voices, on Wednesday 10 April 2013 from 9.15am – 4.00pm.

The conference will provide a forum to debate social work’s progress and discuss opportunities for its development. This is an opportunity to update your knowledge of best practice by attending workshops on current social work themes encouraging discussion among social work practitioners, service users, lecturers and students. You will also discover the latest research from the School of Social Work.

Plenary presentations will include ‘The Social Worker Speaks’, ‘Social Workers’ Voices’ and ‘Global Voices of Social Work’. These will be presented by:

• Dave Burnham Lancashire County Council
• Professor Ann Davis University of Birmingham
• Professor Viv Cree University of Edinburgh

This event will be held in the Kingston Business School on our Kingston Hill campus, address:

Kingston Business School

Kingston Hill Campus

Kingston Hill

Kingston Upon Thames

KT2 7LB

For further details please contact Jessica Baah-Achamfour: J.Baah-Achamfour@sgul.kingston.ac.uk or book online.

Social Work / Social Care & Media blog has moved to swscmedia.com.

Here is the link for our new Website.

http://swscmedia.com/

#workforchange tweet chat on Thursday, Feb. 28, at 6 p.m. PST/ 9 p.m. EST.

Join the University of Southern California School of Social Work and its online MSW@USC program for a tweet chat co-hosted with Social Work/ Social Care Media to kick off National Social Work Month! Meet us at #workforchange on Thursday, Feb. 28, at 6 p.m. PST/ 9 p.m. EST.

We will provide a forum that encourages social workers and social justice advocates to discuss the importance of dedicating your life to social change. We encourage you to share your stories of what inspires and motivates you to work for change. You will have the opportunity to ask questions, engage with one another and learn from fellow social workers.

Join us for what promises to be an educational and inspirational conversation with an active community of social workers online. Participants will be entered in to a drawing to win one of four copies of “Three Little Words: A Memoir“ by MSW@USC graduate Ashley Rhodes-Courter, who turned a foster-care childhood into fuel for child welfare advocacy. You must RSVP for a chance to win!

Consider using the following platforms to engage in the conversation*: • Twitter.com • Tweetchat.com • Hootsuite.com • Tweetdeck.com

*you must have a Twitter account to participate in the tweet chat.

The status of suicide prevention in my home state of Tennessee is improving but still markedly high according to the 2012 report released by the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network. Tennessee’s 932 deaths by suicide, a rate of 14.7 per 100,000, calculated in 2010, represent a downward trend, yet it is still above the national average. According to the report, accessible at the link above, Tennessee ranked 9^th in the nation in 2008, the last year for which there is a state-by-state comparison.

Suicide’s causes have been characterized in many ways. A person that commits suicide must have been depressed. He was bullied. She was desperate. He was mentally ill or “not in his right mind.” She made an unfortunate but personal decision to commit suicide. More support or less oppression would have prevented him from killing himself.

What would be the impact of learning more about suicide and its risk and protective factors?  Consider that 54% of mass murders in one sample committed suicide after the homicides were completed or interrupted. In the case of Adam Lanza who perpetrated the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, there is much anecdotal evidence that he went largely unnoticed and unassociated with throughout his life. And the end result of this horrific murder was suicide. Assuming that the involvement of aware and knowledgeable supports prevents suicide, as asserted and promoted by programs like the ASIST suicide prevention training by LivingWorks, could not only one but 27 lives have been saved that day?

At this point, the following questions are on my mind concerning suicide and suicide prevention:

1. Is suicide always the result of depression or a diagnosable mental illness?
2. How do societal, race, and gender factors play into suicide risk
3. Do the societal or mental health risk factors preclude suicide awareness or intervention being ultimately effective in preventing it?
4. On whom does the responsibility for preventing suicide rest?

What do you think? Looking forward to your views in our debates @SWSCmedia.

Glen Gaugh (@glengaugh) is a licensed master social worker. He is the Rural West Tennessee Program Supervisor for Youth Villages Specialized Crisis Services, which serves youths age 18 and younger who are in acute psychiatric crisis. Glen also has his own blog.

Join & share your views, experiences, and insights as we explore these and other relevant questions in @SWSCmedia Twitter debate on 30 January at 8:00 PM EST / 5:00 PM PST.

“Some mommy bloggers have argued that their need for total honesty trumps the responsibility to protect their child’s identity.”

Sarah argues that mothers hold the key to protecting children’s privacy and states:

“The greatest threat to children’s privacy online does not come from corporations. It comes from parents – specifically, the self-described “mommy bloggers” who reveal the most personal details of their children’s lives on the internet, often using their real names and photos.”

Therefore, Sarah will join us in tonight’s debate to discuss her views as we explore questions such as:

1. Should mothers, and parents in general, post detailed blogs about their children’s lives? When is this appropriate and when does it infringe on their children’s privacy?
2. Are some mothers using their children as a means for personal advantage?
3. Are mothers blogging about their children preparing for an increasingly digital world, or is this a sign of attention seeking on their part?
4. What are the limits of online privacy and engagement for children?

Join us with Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) tonight 8:00 PM GMT / 3:00 PM EST to explore these and other relevant questions @SWSCmedia.

Thank you for joining @SWSCmedia debate on “Social Media for Social Work and the ethics of online engagement: An evening with BASW”

This debate was used for crowdsourcing social workers opinions and will be considered by BASW for a further guide in relation to social workers’ engagement on social media.

We also would like to thank BASW, and in particular Fran McDonnell (BASW Policy Officer) for responding to the many requests by social workers and for producing much needed social media guide, and Nushra Mansuri for tweeting for @BASW_UK during the debate.

Below is the summary of the debate on “Frontline: The Fast-track Social Work Training Scheme…” and we look forward to seeing you on Tuesday in our debate on “Mommy Bloggers: A child’s right to online privacy” 8:00 PM UTC.

Click here or on the image below to download the debate summary.

Click here or on the image above to download the debate summary.

Join us for a debate on mothers’ engagement in blogging and social media. What are your views regarding Sarah Kendzior’s article “Mommy Bloggers: A Child’s Right to Online Privacy.” Join & Share your views @SWSCmedia debate Tuesday 8:00 PM GMT / 3:00 PM EST.

One of the most popular calls for action in the wake of this tragedy is for more gun control. In fact, President Obama has just released a plan to reduce gun violence.

According to a poll conducted by the New York Times and CBS, these shootings in particular have heavily swayed US public opinion towards stricter gun control laws. Other sources show similar support for gun control and the National Rifle Association has been upfront in their opposition.

Some facts on gun control:

• The United States has the highest gun murder rate among developed countries.
• We don’t know how many guns there are in the United States.
• There are enormous racial disparities related to violence and homicide that are not being addressed in the current debate.
• Gun ownership has “become one of the clearest examples of the partisan polarization in the country over the last two decades.”
• The United States has clear and significant cultural and  historical differences that make simply adopting the policies of other countries like comparing apples to oranges (part 1 and part 2).
• There is no clear answer regarding the relationship between mental health care and gun violence?

I wish I was more optimistic that gun control would work. I believe the President’s proposals show much promise. However, I know a good many people who are proud gun owners who own them for sport and hunting and do not feel these efforts will be effective at responding to  the root causes of violence in our society and put them through what they feel are additional, unnecessary hoops. After all, making one particular weapon more difficult to possess legally will not dissuade one who is truly committed to engaging in violent murder. So, how do we proceed? How can social work influence this debate?

1. Is violence preventable?
2. What does realistic gun control look like?
3. Is gun control a curtailment of civil liberties? Do we need to carry guns in a civilized society? Where do we draw the line?
4. What can social workers recommend to deter these types of crimes?
5. What role can communications technologies, such as social media, serve as avenues for empowerment, advocacy, connection, and dialogue?
6. How can we help survivors heal?

Karen Zgoda (@KarenZgoda) is a PhD. candidate at Boston College Graduate School of Social Work and a member of @SWSCmedia U.S. Team.

Join us and share your views and experiences regarding these and other relevant questions @SWSCmedia today 8:00 PM EST / 5:00 PM PST.

However, the National Rifle Association (NRA) with its 4.3 million members has continuously campaigned against any restrictions on gun ownership and NRA president has recently claimed that we need more guns and even armed guards in schools.

So in tonight’s debate we’ll explore some of the following questions:

1. Is gun ownership a question of civil liberties?
2. Does gun ownership lead to violence?
3. Do we need more guns to ensure our safety? What is the limit?
4. In a civilized society where most threats are symbolic threats, do we really need guns to protect ourselves?
5. Are they for our protection? If yes, why do we need such a protection?
6. Doesn’t the idea that we need guns to protect ourselves lead to increased arming of population and greater violence?
7. Do we need greater circulation of guns and other firearms or greater education and sense of civil rights and mutual respect?
8. What are the implications of these for civil liberties? for society? and practitioners/professionals?

Join us and share your views and experiences regarding these and other relevant questions @SWSCmedia today 8:00 PM EST / 5:00 PM PST.

We see its prevalence in discussions about our case work, in the press, in debates at conferences and, of course, in social media discussions. As the professional association for social work in the UK, members told us that it would help them if BASW produced a policy and guidance in this area, particularly relating to ethical dilemmas they are increasingly facing.

For example, what do you do if you find out that a looked after child in your care is using social media to contact their birth family in defiance of a contact order? Or how about the question of whether you should use social media as part of safeguarding investigations, or what you should do if you find your picture, name and address has been posted on the internet by a hostile group or individual?

Social media is not just a strong issue across the UK but international too – it was a major topic of discussion at the International Federation of Social Workers Conference in Stockholm in July.

The expert group of BASW members who worked with us on developing the policy drew on a range of evidence available, at home and abroad, to produce what I believe is a positive, balanced document that promotes the great benefits of social media while also highlighting the risks for social workers and service users.

The aim of the policy is to support social workers to use social media appropriately and ensure practice is based on BASW’s Code of Ethics. Even social workers who never use social media, or have no intention of ever doing so, may still find themselves confronted by practice dilemmas emergent from other people’s use of Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, LinkedIn or some other platform.

One of the key messages to emerge from developing the policy is the need for all social workers to be ‘e-professionals’, a term used particularly by one of our group, Claudia Megele. It involves the ability to understand and use social media, as well as how to develop and manage it for networking, communication, CPD and developing inclusive practice.

Our working group emphasised that blogs, social networks, email or Twitter are exciting new channels for people to communicate, share knowledge, express creativity and connect with others who share similar interests.

However, the growing use of social media also means that social workers need to reflect on the changing nature of communication in their practice. The group stressed that social workers should use supervision to consider how this impacts on practice issues at the heart of social work, such as professional boundaries, confidentiality and the collection and use of information about and by individuals, particularly as part of safeguarding investigations.

The policy emphasises how social workers need to ensure that their online presence is professionally appropriate and that they protect themselves and service users from abuse and harassment.

The working group emphasised that social media is part of modern life and that social workers, in their practice, should support service users of all ages to use the opportunities that social networking offers but also to be aware of its potential and risks.

New technology has the capacity to bring about a radical shift in access to information and care services. In turn, as well as impacting on community and social lives, it can also change how families care for people, or how we as professionals care for people.

We need to consider how social workers and their organisations embrace this and offer clear, prominent and accessible advice about internet safety to ensure people get the most from the services on offer, including accessing aspects of provision using social networking. Employers and educators need to support and facilitate social workers, foster carers and other carers to learn about social media and to have the appropriate training they need to enable them to provide effective advice.

The nature of social media is that it is dynamic and rapidly changing, so we intend that the policy will be revised regularly with the help of members. As part of this process, all social workers are encouraged to share with us, through social media if appropriate or other means if not, any useful information or advice they have, as part of adding to the policy development process and engaging in an ongoing debate.

Fran McDonnell is BASW Policy Officer.

Join us and share your views and experiences regarding these and other relevant questions @SWSCmedia today 8:00 PM GMT / 3:00 PM EST / 12:00 Noon PST.

This article has also been published on BASW website.