American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare Fellows discuss a drop in violent crimes, speak about the state of social work in Kazakhstan, outline person-centered employment practices for caregivers, and study a drug overdose intervention. .

Fellow Discusses FBI Data Showing Drop in Violent Crime

October 17, 2024 — Fellow Daniel Flannery, PhD, director of the Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, discussed the latest FBI data showing a 3% drop in violent crime and 12% reduction in murder and non-negligent manslaughter from 2022 to 2023—the largest in 20 years. “We’re getting better at understanding what drives violent crime, which tends to be a small number of people in a community committing repeat offenses,” he said.

Read more in BBC News 

UN General Assembly Event Focuses on Social Work in Kazakhstan

October 17, 2024 — Fellow and George Warren Brown Distinguished University Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, Michael Sherraden, PhD, spoke during the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly Third Committee, at a discussion titled,  “Strengthening the Human Capacity in Social Services for the Protection of Children and Women in Kazakhstan and the Critical Role of Social Work as a Profession.” Organized by the National Professional Alliance of Social Workers of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, the dialogue centered on the importance of investing in social work education, promoting ethical practices, and creating supportive environments for social workers. 

Read more in DKN World News

Person-centered Employment Practices for Care Professionals

October 21, 2024 — Fellow and executive director of the Center for Assisted Living at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (CEAL@UNC), Sheryl Zimmerman, PhD, wrote a guest column in Mcknights Senior Living about the importance of person-centered employment practices for assisted living workers. Direct care professionals in particular, who are often women of color and immigrants, experience low wages, limited flexibility, few career advancement opportunities, and high turnover rates. Zimmerman outlines CEAL@UNC’s approach, designed to balance the respect due to both residents and their professional caregivers.

Read more in Mcknights Senior Living

Expanded treatment options linked to 37% reduction in drug overdose deaths

October 21, 2024 — A study of the Communities That HEAL intervention evaluated its impact on drug overdose deaths and overdose deaths involving combinations of opioids with psychostimulants or benzodiazepines. Among the results: death rates involving an opioid and non-cocaine psychostimulant together were reduced at a statistically significant reduction of 37%. The intervention involved increased overdose education and naloxone distribution, medications for opioid use disorder, safer opioid prescribing practices, and communication campaigns, in communities in Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio. One of the investigators of the federally-funded study is Fellow and Columbia University Professor, Nabila El-Bassel, PhD.

Read the full study in Jama Network Open