Social Services School Still Helps 100 Years Later
from The Chicago Tribune
A hot-button buzzword of the recent presidential election — "community organizer" — has roots tracing to an institution founded 100 years ago on the South Side of Chicago. The term itself came later. The Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy, which later was renamed the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago, is the nation's oldest university program for training social workers and community organizers. More

A New Face for A.D.H.D.
from The New York Times
When pediatricians diagnose attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, they often ask their patients whether they know anybody else with the problem. These days, children are likely to reply with a household name: Michael Phelps, the Olympic superstar, who is emerging as an inspirational role model among parents and children whose lives are affected by attention problems. More

Study Shows Autism's Financial Strain on Families
from The Associated Press via The Chicago Tribune
More than half a million U.S. children have autism with costly health-care needs that often put an unprecedented financial strain on their families, national data show. Compared with parents whose youngsters have chronic health-care needs but not autism, those with autistic children are three times more likely to have to quit their jobs or reduce work hours to care for their kids. More

Wired World Makes it Hard to Leave Work
from The State Journal-Register
Lois McConomy, a licensed clinical social worker with the Mental Health Centers of Central Illinois said many businesses have instituted employee-assistance programs to teach their work force stress-management techniques. McConomy said her company often conducts these programs for businesses throughout central Illinois, and its clientele list has grown in recent years to nearly 40 companies. More

More Men Take the Lead Role in Caring for Elderly Parents
from The New York Times
When Peter Nicholson’s mother suffered a series of strokes last winter, he did something women have done for generations: he quit his job and moved into her West Hollywood home to care for her full time. The Alzheimer’s Association and the National Alliance for Caregiving estimate that men make up nearly 40 percent of family care providers. More

Hopes for AIDS Vaccine Still Alive Despite Setbacks
from The Washington Post
Nobody said HIV would give up without a fight. As World AIDS Day arrived this week, scientists are taking a sobering look back at what went wrong in recent, high-profile failures of two human trials of candidate AIDS vaccines. The consensus: A viable vaccine is still very possible, and with it comes the potential to wipe out HIV/AIDS. More

Illinois Budget Troubles Raise Plenty of Questions
from The Associated Press via Forbes
Illinois government faces a budget crisis. A big one. The deficit is growing, bills are piling up, state services are being cut and officials have no easy ways of cleaning up the mess. More

Cambridge, Mass., Reaches Out to Those Who Can't Stop Hoarding
from The Boston Globe
Their homes overflow with stacks of newspapers, piles of clothes, or even toilet paper tubes. Hoarders - people who accumulate objects to the point that it interferes with their ability to carry out daily activities - are sometimes trivialized as best suited for assistance from Oprah or the Container Store. But an estimated 15 million Americans suffer from the condition. More

Depression Leads to Internal Fat in 70-Somethings
from The Associated Press via The New York Times
Older people who are depressed are much more likely to develop a dangerous type of internal body fat - the kind that can lead to diabetes and heart disease - than people who are not depressed, a disturbing new study found. The connection goes beyond obesity and suggests some biological link between a person's mental state and fat that collects around the internal organs, scientists said. More

Fayetteville State University, Army Link to Train Social Workers
from The Fayetteville Observer
Keemia Hurst is on the front lines of a vital battle on American soil. As a social worker at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, she helps scores of former soldiers confront and cope with problems from depression to substance abuse. And thanks to a first-ever partnership between the Army and Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, N.C., more social workers are being trained to deal with the unique problems facing soldiers and their families. More