Statement on Buffalo Domestic Terrorist Attack

NASW-NYS/NYC

Thirteen people in Buffalo, NY woke up on Saturday morning. Some probably woke up thinking about the plans they made for the weekend. Others may have woken up thinking about the night before. Some connected with family and friends that morning. They did not wake up thinking that this would be their last day or that they would be shot. Thirteen people were shot. Ten died. Eleven of the thirteen people were Black. This community was targeted, and these people were shot because of hate. Racism is a deadly epidemic.

We mourn with the families of those who were taken from us.

Roberta A. Drury, 32, of Buffalo

Margus D. Morrison, 52, of Buffalo

Andre Mackneil, 53, of Auburn, New York

Aaron Salter, 55, of Lockport, New York

Geraldine Talley, 62, of Buffalo

Celestine Chaney, 65, of Buffalo

Heyward Patterson, 67, of Buffalo

Katherine Massey, 72, of Buffalo

Pearl Young, 77, of Buffalo

Ruth Whitfield, 86, of Buffalo

Every one of these people were loved and loved others. We mourn with the community of Buffalo as they process this tremendous loss. The brutal and deadly actions of white supremacy is nothing new to the Black community. As Black social workers, we process the consequences of white supremacy that is upheld by acts of terror. As racialized social workers, we stand with our Black loved ones in this time of grief. As allies, we offer our most heartfelt condolences to the families and communities affected by these attacks. Together, we mourn the 10 lives taken from us. Anti-Black racism and other forms of racism and discrimination threaten not only the individuals and communities that suffer from their effects, but also contribute to creating the toxic climate needed for extremism, terrorism, and violence to thrive.⁠

In order to combat white supremacy and the deadly epidemic of racism, we must all do our part to disrupt this ideology and the thousands of ways it manifests in our society. As social workers, we are called to dismantle racist systems and structures. We can and must work every day to end the terror of white supremacy by correcting false narratives, teaching accurate history, implementing racially just policies and ensuring equality of opportunity for all. We also need to create spaces of support for our Black colleagues and clients who are once again mourning and processing this horrific loss of life.

As we continue our work to dismantle racism in all its forms, we must never forget the lives of those who have been taken through senseless acts of racial terror. Today, we honor the lives of Roberta A. Drury, Margus D. Morrison, Andre Mackneil, Aaron Salter, 55, Geraldine Talley, Celestine Chaney, Heyward Patterson, Katherine Massey, Pearl Young, and Ruth Whitfield. Your lives mattered.

NASW on amicus brief before U.S. Supreme Court seeking to overturn Texas abortion law

Legislative, Press

NASW on amicus brief before U.S. Supreme Court seeking to overturn Texas abortion law

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) on Oct. 27, 2021 and 10 other civil rights organizations joined in an amicus brief led by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in the Whole Women’s Health v. Jackson case filed in the U.S. Supreme Court. This case involves Texas’s Senate Bill 8 (SB 8), banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy and allowing private citizens to enforce the law by suing anyone who performed, aided, or abetted an abortion in violation of the ban. The brief aptly describes this as “a scheme of state-sanctioned private vigilantism [designed] to prevent Texans from exercising their fundamental rights.”

To read the full briefing, click here.

2022 Chapter Election is Open!

NASW-NYS/NYC
Vote in the 2022 NASW-NYS Election!!
The New York State Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers is pleased to announce the opening of our 2022 Leadership Election. The Chapter Committee on Nominations and Leadership Identification (CNLI) has certified that the slate meets all the requirements of the bylaws. We invite you to take time to learn about the candidates before casting your vote.
Step 1) Click here to go to https://vote.associationvoting.com/nasw-nys/
Step 2) Log-in with your last name and the email associated with your NASW-NYS membership (the email you are currently using).
Step 3) Read the platform statements and bios of the candidates up for election.
Step 4) Vote on your preferred NASW-NYS leadership, and enjoy knowing that you contributed to the election of social work representatives of NYS!
Deadline: May 11, 2022 at 11:59PM EST!

NASW Action Alert: Ask your U.S. Representative to cosponsor the School Social Workers Improving Student Success Act

Legislative, NASW-NYS/NYC

NASW Action Alert: Ask your U.S. Representative to cosponsor the School Social Workers Improving Student Success Act

Click here to advocate now!

Social workers have long been an essential workforce in our nation’s preK-12 schools, providing a broad range of services aimed at helping students succeed in school and life. They help students, families and educators address their social, emotional, and practical needs. School social workers have been essential during the pandemic. They continue to play a key role in helping students recover from the devastating educational, psychosocial, and other impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The School Social Workers Improving Student Success Act (H.R. 7037) is a key step in increasing the availability of social work services in schools.

The School Social Workers Improving Student Success Act (H.R. 7037) amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a grant program to secure and retain school social workers. The legislation will:

  • Provide for grants to elementary and secondary schools to hire and retain the minimum ratio of one school social worker for every 250 students and one school social worker for every 50 students for high need areas
  • Establish the National Technical Assistance Center for School Social Work which would provide strategies on improving the effectiveness of school social work, identify areas of improvement for school social work programs, work with agencies on disseminating data on best practices, and establish school social work development programing.

Click here for more information.

NASW Guidance on No Surprises Act

NASW-NYS/NYC

The new federal rule to protect consumers from surprise health care bills went into effect on January 1, 2022, a rule that includes LCSW’s. We are working with our national team to provide more guidance and information on this rule change, however wanted to highlight for you a few things you should know.

As many of you know, the new federal rule to protect consumers from surprise health care bills went into effect on January 1, 2022. This rule includes LCSW’s. We are working with our national team to provide more guidance and information on this rule change, however wanted to highlight for you a few things you should know:
Who does this apply to?
This rule applies to both current and future patients who are uninsured or self-pay. GFE’s do not need to be provided to patients who are enrolled in federal health insurance plans.
What should we cover in the Good Faith Estimate (GFE)?
Providers must provide a GFE of expected charges that may be billed for items and services to individuals who are uninsured or who are self pay. The GFE must be provided both orally and in writing, upon request or at the time of scheduling health care items and service, and within specific timeframes.
What steps should I follow to comply?
  • Ask patients if they have any health insurance coverage and ascertain if they are uninsured or self-pay. If a patient is insured, make a copy of the insurance card for your files and ask the patient if they plan to submit a claim for the services they will receive.
  • Inform all uninsured and self pay patients of their right to a GFE. Written notice must be provided in clear language that the individual can understand in an accessible format, prominently displayed in the office and on the provider/facility’s website and must be easily searchable from a public search engine. Written notices should account for any vision, hearing or language limitations, including individuals with limited English proficiency or other literacy needs. It may be provided on paper or electronically, depending on the individual’s preference. The written notice should also state that information will be orally provided when the service is scheduled or when the patient asks about costs, and available in accessible formats, in the language(s) spoken by the patient.
  • Provide all uninsured or self-pay patients with a GFE. A link to what this should include is here.
What is the timeframe?
Information regarding scheduled items and services must be furnished within one (1) business day of scheduling an item or service to be provided in three (3) business days; and within three (3) business days of scheduling an item or service to be provided in at least 10 business days. A new GFE must be provided, within the specified timeframes if the patient reschedules the requested item or service. If any information provided in the estimate changes, a new GFE must be provided no later than 1 business day before the scheduled care. Also, if there is a change in the expected provider less than one business day before the scheduled care, the replacement provider must accept the original GFE as their expected charges.
How should I address GFE’s for Recurring Services?
If you expect to provide a recurring service to the uninsured or self-pay patient, you may submit a single GFE to that patient for those services, so long as the GFE includes, in a clear and understandable manner, the “expected scope of the recurring primary items or services (such as timeframes, frequency, and total number of recurring items or services)”. The GFE can only include recurring services that are expected to be provided within the next 12 months. For additional recurrences beyond 12 months, the provider must provide a new GFE and communicate any changes between the initial and the new estimates.
For example, if you have a patient whom you expect will need continuing services throughout the year, the GFE could say: “I expect that my care of you will require continued weekly therapy sessions continuing through the end of the year, at $X per session for a total of 50 weeks, accounting for vacations and holidays for an estimated total of AMOUNT.”
If the future course of treatment is less certain, the GFE could say: “Depending on the progress we make this year, I expect that you will need 10–20 more sessions this year. At $X per session the estimated total cost would be AMOUNT.”
What if I am in a group practice or other type of facility?
You should contact your compliance officer for guidance.
Is there a template?
You can find templates that can be used to prepare good faith estimates and model language for informing patients of their rights to GFE here.
You can learn more about this rule change, enforcement, disputes and future actions here. We will continue to monitor this policy and any developments and pass along new information as it becomes available.
We do recommend that you speak with your legal advisor in addition to reviewing this guidance as legal and regulatory issues are highly fact-specific.
For further information and NASW guidance on the No Surprises Act, click here.
The above summary is provided by the NJ Chapter of NASW.