Dear CSCSW Members,

It has been awhile since I have written to you, and a lot has happened with CSCSW.  I am very happy to report that we now have 539 active members and over $55,000 in our bank account.  This is a major accomplishment, since we had almost no money before we started our fundraising and membership drives.   I want to thank those of you who have shown such great confidence in CSCSW through your contributions and membership renewals.   We are still continuing to receive renewals and new member applications almost daily.

Candidates for the open board positions have been chosen, and soon you will receive a ballot with short bios of each prospective board member.  I am very excited to have found such talented, committed people to serve on the board.  Our first board meeting has been scheduled for November 1 in Palo Alto.  If there are issues which you would like your board to discuss, please e-mail me to let me know.

The Clinical Social Work Association, a national organization, came to our rescue by providing us with a top notch administrator, Donna Dietz, free of charge for six months.  We would not be in such good shape without Donna’s help.  She has run our membership drive, answered our phone, communicated with district coordinators, and done all the myriad things which need to be done to keep an organization running smoothly.  We owe the Clinical Social Work Association a huge thank you for this invaluable help.  We are now paying for Donna’s services and have decided to do without an executive director, which has been a huge savings to us.

In the meantime, one of our major goals is to increase our membership.  If you have not yet renewed your membership, we encourage you to do so as soon as possible so that we can continue to offer you the programs which have benefitted you in the past.  You can renew on our website or by sending a check to CSCSW, PO Box 60937, Palo Alto, CA 94306.  Another great feature just added to our website exclusive for members is a Discussion Board (listserv) where members can post information and interact directly with the entire membership.  This page is just started so we encourage you to start posting and interacting with one another.  You can find the link by clicking here - CSCSW Discussion Board. 

We are still in need of an editor for the “Clinical Update.”  We have had offers from members willing to help with the “Clinical Update,” but no one has offered to serve as editor.  If you are interested in this position or know of someone who would make a good editor, please let Donna or me know.  Jean Rosenfeld, who was editor for many years, has agreed to mentor the next editor.

If you have questions or comments, feel free to contact Donna or me.  We need your help in rebuilding CSCSW into a new, stronger organization.  We will be letting you know of opportunities to help.

Respectfully,

Leah Reider, LCSW
CSCSW President