September 2022
Greetings friends and welcome to fall 2022. I send my greetings to you as our lovely Minnesota days are shortening and we prepare for autumnal events all while awaiting the latest political news and updated reports on Covid-19 and the newest virus, Monkeypox. It seems there’s never a dull moment these days.
Your Board at MSCSW has continued working over the summer months to prepare for our 2022 Annual Meeting on Thursday, September 22nd when we are hosting the first in-person event since 2019! We’re excited to be gathering at the Nicollet Island Inn for some time to gather with old friends and welcome some new colleagues. We are planning this event to be a fun evening to connect in person, enjoy a cash bar and some heavy appetizers (no sit-down meal this time) and a brief program. We hope you will join us and consider bringing a colleague who is not yet a member, our “buy one, get one free” offer to increase our membership.
At our Annual Meeting, we will be celebrating another year of advocacy for clinical social workers through our combined efforts with the Coalition for Licensed Social Workers and partnership with NASW. Dr. Karen Goodenough recently announced the long-awaited 2022 ASWB Exam Pass Rate Analysis which reveals “glaring disparities in pass rates among racial groups – particularly Black test-takers – and raised concerns about disparities in pass rates for other demographics including older adults.” Dr. Goodenough will be hosting a Minnesota Social Work Listening Session on Tuesday, September 13th, 12 – 1:30 pm via Zoom. More information about that will be posted on our website and announced through our listserv.
This ASWB Exam Pass Rate data reminds us that we must continue to confront systemic bias and racism when we encounter it even within our profession and that we have much work yet to do to ensure equitable processes for all.
Other advocacy efforts have been aimed at faulty marketing practices of some online mental health platforms. We have been closely monitoring the online mental health platforms, CareDash and BetterHelp, and their marketing efforts. Thanks to the CSWA Director of Policy and Practice, Laura Groshong, LICSW for her diligence in leading efforts to challenge their unethical marketing practices which have already been modified,
In response to the increase in gun violence such as the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, the Board crafted a Statement on Recent Gun Violence in June as a call to action that I hope will be one step along the path of doing more advocacy for sensible gun control and to use our collective experience and wisdom to identify possible remedies to increased gun violence.
Our Education Committee has been busy planning the 2022-23 Educational webinars which, as always, will expand our knowledge and enhance our clinical practices. Stay tuned for more details on upcoming events! I thank their on-going efforts to present high quality educational webinars that continue to be well attended and appreciated by our membership.
And while our recruitment efforts this past year have filled some key Board roles, we do not yet have a President Elect. If you’re interested in knowing more about this role, please reach out to me or any other Board Member.
I thank all our current Board members for their continued time and attention given to our organization and look forward to working with them over this upcoming year. One priority for me will be to hold a Board Retreat to continue finding ways to strengthen our recruitment efforts and build upon the strong foundation set by our founding members and leaders.
Be well and I hope to see many of you in September at our Annual Meeting!
