Lately I have been reading about early radical social work and be damned if most of the tactics she employed weren’t prescribed and acted upon during the 70s by radical social workers.  Even today structural/radical social workers are encouraged to dig in with their unions as a way forward to fight for change.

Well, when we spoke the other day she told me, more or less, that she had mellowed  or as she said it “I integrated” finally.  Her workplace remains a war zone though, under constant threat of more cutbacks and increasing demands for efficiencies (aka higher caseloads).  She does not fight it anymore she told me.  She will retire in a couple of years.

Wish I had known about those early radical social workers.  I would have understood her better and held her in a kinder light.  More importantly I would have listened and might have comprehended sooner what was happening to our programs.  It was a great gift, though, to see her in a different light.

Financial Post:  http://business.financialpost.com/2011/11/10/where-did-transcanada-and-the-oil-sector-go-wrong/ (Keystone XL victory for advocates)

The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/occupy-wall-street (Editors picks for Occupy)

CNN: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/03/more-americans-supporting-occupy-wall-street/ (64% of US heard of wall st protests).

Naomi Klein acknowledged recently that victory against the Keystone XL could not have happened without the Occupy Movement.  I agree wholeheartedly.  It must also be recognized that the success of these movements are due in large part to the creative use social media and the resulting increased exposure to alternative media such as Alternet, Adbusters, Democracynow, and DailyKos.  The results are truly astounding.  It appears the balance is finally shifting, in spite of the limitations of our democracies, toward those of us formerly pushed off to the side (often called the silent majority).  Participating in these discussions and contributing in many ways are very often just a mouse click away.  Though we may not always be able to converge physically, we are joining together virtually, supporting those on the ground by making all our causes/voices visible on social media.   

These victories deserve cautious attention, though, as the waking beast  is bound to present more challenges than before.  This means we will need to be more.  We will need more vigilance and creativity, and we will need to do more if we expect to continue to make our contributions to these discussions more visible.   As the saying goes:  there is no time bask in glory.  We must keep our heads together, and stay involved until the real conversation starts between the powers that be and the people.  Real democracy is, after all, an evolving creative work and we are all its’ contributing artists.

My other piece advice would be to visit a local college or university and ask about the prospects of a career in social work.  Some social work jobs offer a solid middle-income, but many do not.  A lot of social work jobs are contract and temporary and some of the best jobs are also not the most lucrative.  Generally though, you can’t expect to get rich doing social work.  A person has to look at their circumstances and decide what is the best path to take.  When I chose social work I already had experience working as a para-professional in non-profits with elders, people with disabilities and youth. I was able to get some of this experience counted as credits toward my degree.  So, I think it is important to shop around to see where the best fit is when embarking on getting a degree in social work.

I had no idea there was such a foundation, so thank you taxi driver.  I don’t know what it is about taxi drivers here in Canada, but they are some of the most worldly and politically astute people.

In a unanimous decision, the court ruled that not allowing the clinic to operate under an exemption from drug laws would be a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Congratulations to all the folks who do such great work at InSite.  This organization is also such a shining example of  how service users and professionals can come together and work to preserve a great program.  The face of social work would shift dramatically if all our services were as inclusive, participatory and truly client driven as this program.  A shining moment for our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

First, around the world. the WHO reports that though infant deaths have declined substantially, where you live is still a stark predictor of outcomes for children.  99% percent of these deaths occur developing nations with:

half of these deaths now happen in just five large countries – India, Nigeria, Pakistan, China and Democratic Republic of the Congo. India alone has more than 900,000 newborn deaths per year, nearly 28% of the global total. Nigeria, the world’s seventh most populous country, now ranks second in newborn deaths up from fifth in 1990.

I greatly admire Dr. Stephen Hwang, the physician-researcher at the St. Michael’s Centre for Research on Inner City Health who has done extensive research on homelessness in Canada.  He has just had his longitudinal survey results published in the International Journal of Public Health . The health and housing in transition study: a longitudinal study of the health of homeless and vulnerably housed adults in three Canadian cities found 85 percent of study participants had health issues.

According to researchers inattention is a more important indicator than hyperactivity, and requires more proactive support.  Côté and Pingault’s research will be published in the American Journal of Psychiatry on November 2011. Their research findings are no surprise to me, inattentive children have been long neglected in schools and mental health systems and my experience has been that applying the same treatments for ADHD to ADD is harmful.  So I think this research is very good news.

You may have read the headline Mother And Son Bonds Influence Teen Behavior, well as you might expect, the researchers are much more circumspect in their predictions recognizing the implications of the study are very preliminary and that there is a complex interplay of factors involved in child development and relationships. PITT PARENTS AND CHILDREN LABORATORY has a great repository of free research and that includes this research paper.

This research on mother’s depression and child development is very important for social work:

Although this study cannot clarify the causes of enlarged amygdala, the researchers note that the adoption studies have also shown that children who were adopted earlier in life and into more affluent families than others, did not have enlarged amygdala. “This strongly suggests that the brain may be highly responsive to the environment during early development and confirms the importance of early intervention to help children facing adversity,” Lupien said. “Initiatives such as prenatal and infancy nurse home visits and enriched day care environments could mitigate the effects of parental care on the developing brain.” Séguin added that “future studies testing the effects of these preventive programs and observational studies involving children exposed to maternal depressive symptoms at different ages, and consequently for different lengths of time, should provide more insight into how this occurs, its long term consequences, and how it can be prevented.”

Social workers already know early intervention and enriched resources are key, but it is great to see it in the research! Have a great long weekend everyone.

The current establishment also tells us that we must continue to export asbestos because of our dependence on jobs in these mines.  To that end, our government fought hard to keep asbestos off the international list of hazardous substances.  They won, and I have to assume that means some investors and purchasers of these products have the mistaken impression, because after all it is branded Canadian, that all is okay with this asbestos.

Simultaneous to the heightened scrutiny on our dirty oil, the current PM has been brokering agreements in regions of South America where human rights abuses are a part of everyday business, and more than 60 percent of the population live in abject poverty.

Last year Canada’s brand rated second in the world, and there is clearly some serious currency at stake, otherwise why bother right?  So, our brand is a beautiful and safe environment, and by all appearances we still have a many places that meet this description, but those abroad will be wise to heed Tourism Canada and “discover our true nature” and “keep exploring” beneath the brand.