Topics: Social Services Industry News, Government, Nonprofit General
What We Learned From the Recent Presidential Election
Ever since Donald Trump was unexpectedly elected the next President of the United States the internet has been abuzz with speculation about how it could have happened. We think our colleagues at Generation Citizen, the civics nonprofit, summed it up in one sentence:
Topics: Insider, Government, Fun Stuff
The election is over and there are obviously mixed feelings across the board ranging from excitement about the future, devastation about the loss, to just a general level of uncertainty. We talked recently about how social workers can approach their clients during this uncertain time whether they are republicans, democrats, or undecideds. Staying impartial is critical and using the current situation to their advantage are keys to tackling the challenges we are seeing with helping clients. Social workers are able to dig deeper into underlying concerns, mental state, and the real needs of their clients, but what about social workers themselves?
Not only do we need to understand the effect politics has on the people social workers serve but we need to understand what affect is has on those providing these services. Everyone will handle this transition of power from President Obama to President Elect trump differently but the mission remains the same! There are still children and families in this country that need their help.
No matter what side of the political fence you fall on your clients are counting on you to show up! Unfortunately, you don’t get a day off from all the terrible things happening every day in our country to our most vulnerable population, children. That is a luxury not afforded to this field of work. No matter who the Commander in Chief is we still need you to show up and work towards improving our client’s lives and protecting children. Thanks for showing up when times are tough!
Topics: Social Services Industry News, Insider, Government, Fun Stuff
How to Turn the Current Political Climate into Something Positive for Social Work
Like all presidential elections, this one has stirred up a tremendous amount of emotion. The supporters of the winner feel exhausted, and the supporters of the runner-up are disappointed. While people from both camps may rarely see eye-to-eye, professionals in the field of social work must interact with both- and for social workers and others in the helping professions, a strong sense of impartiality is critical.
Topics: Social Services Industry News, Government, Nonprofit General
PSTD, Invisible Wounds and the Alarming Veteran Suicide Rate
Every Day - 20 U.S. Veterans Commit Suicide
In 2014, the latest year statistics are available, 7,400 veterans took their own lives.
Topics: Government, Veterans Issues
2014
Back in 2014 this blog was one of the first to report on the troubled Veterans Health Administration facility in Phoenix where 40 veterans died while languishing on an eternal wait list to see a doctor. Since then, we've maintained a set of blog posts and articles that have related updates and status changes at the VA, as well as other issues that are affecting our veterans. A subsequent investigation uncovered a system-wide inability to offer vets timely medical treatment. 57,436 newly enrolled veterans faced a minimum 90-day wait for medical care, and 63, 869 veterans who had enrolled over the past decade never received any appointment at all. In addition, a corrupt administrative culture was falsifying wait-time records in order to protect management performance bonuses and punishing whistle-blowers who tried to bring the wait-time mess to the public’s attention.
Topics: Social Services Industry News, Government, Elderly/Aging Long Term Care, Veterans Issues
This blog received an email in the past week from a social worker in Des Moines. We have reproduced it here in its original form.
Topics: Foster Care, Insider, Government
Much of the current political debate centers around:
- The loss of jobs and opportunities for the middle class-
- Whether college should be free for all Americans-
- How the Millennials can be expected to pay back the $ 1.3 trillion of college debt they have accumulated when they are left to default to jobs in McDonald’s-
- The job flight to third world countries causing the plight of our rust belt industrial inner cities-
- The cycle of crime and destitution that imprisons undereducated minorities-
Topics: Special Reports, Government
History
Back in March of 2014 the FAMCare blog reported on a controversy that erupted within the Phoenix VA Healthcare System. VA employees had reported that patients were dying while awaiting appointments and that administrators were issuing phony wait-time data while collecting bonuses. This local scandal led to inquiries across the nationwide VA Healthcare System revealing untimely care, false data, and problems with transparency, whistle-blower retaliation, and accountability throughout the system.
Topics: Social Services Industry News, Government, Veterans Issues