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School Social Work NOW
Supporting Innovative Practice, Effective Leadership & Applied Research
January 2011 - Vol 1, Issue 12 |
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| Greetings! |
The Board and members of ACSSW extend their heartfelt sympathies to the families and friends of the Tucson, AZ shooting victims. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was seriously injured along with twelve other persons attending a town hall meeting. Six others were fatally injured and include 9 year old Christina Taylor Greene; congressional aide and social worker Gabe Zimmerman, 30; federal court judge John Roll, 63; Dorothy Murray, 76; Pastor Dorwin Stoddard, 76; and Phyllis Scheck, 79. At times such as these, words do little to ease the sorrow and pain of families. As the nation mourns this tragic loss, we are once more reminded of the necessity to continue to provide appropriate and timely mental health services to those who indicate need. The U.S. can ill afford to suffer the repeated pain and confusion of more tragic episodes.
ACSSW is dedicated to supporting school social workers. One way to do that is to inform them about trends, reforms and initiatives that impact their work and the children and families they serve. If you find these newsletters of interest or value, ACSSW encourages you to forward them to your peers and colleagues. Simply click on the orange tab, below left and type in their email addresses. You are also encouraged to "Like" or "Tweet" these e-newsletters on Facebook or Twitter.
SAVE THE DATES! The 2nd National Summit on School Social Work Research will be held June 26-28 at the Hilton Chicago Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale, IL. This will be a forum in which to (1) learn about current research projects, (2) become familiar with research models you can apply in your setting and practice, and (3) showcase your projects to colleagues. Watch this newsletter for more information. Plan to join your colleagues for this unique experience! School teams are encouraged to attend.
If you wish to submit a proposal for the Summit, download the Summit Proposal Form and return to ACSSW by the February 1st deadline. Presentation time slots are very limited so don't delay.
As mentioned in previous e-blasts, the ACSSW website is undergoing some changes and updating and is currently unavailable while "Under Construction." The delay should not be long. ACSSW extends its apologies for any inconvenience you may encounter.
Due to this technological "glitch", if you wish to become an active ACSSW member, please download the ACSSW Membership Registration Form and return by fax:1-224-649-4408; email: ACSSW@milwpc.com; or the USPS (address below). On-line registration will be available shortly. If you have questions, concerns, or ideas on how to improve the newsletter, don't hesitate to contact ACSSW. Several articles and ideas have already been submitted by our members. President |
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In the News | |
Home Visit Case Pits School Against Village
This article provides more background on last week's article: "Are Home Visits Normal?" |
| Request for Research Assistance | |
An Examination of Homophobia and Social Work Practice Among a Sample of School Social Workers
Milka Ramírez, MSW, a member of the American Council for School Social Work and the School Social Work Association of America and a school social worker in Chicago, is conducting her doctoral research and would like you to participate in the 30 minute survey. Please take time to support this important research. Click the following link to participate in this essential work: Homophobia & Social Work |
| Practice Points |
This guest editorial and a resulting . . . "special issue was inspired by what we see as the persistent disconnect among school social work practice and our discipline's commitment to an ecological orientation, educational effectiveness research, and trends in education policy and practice", say the authors. This article talks about these three issues and comments on the resulting journal issue. Click for more thoughtful comments on this current topic.
Nearly Half of School Social Workers Feel Unequipped to Handle Cyberbullying
Instances of cyber bullying continue to make news nearly every day, and while it's recognized as a problem among most school-aged children, a new study published this month in Children & Schools and coauthored by Temple University social work professor Jonathan Singer finds that nearly half of school social workers feel they are ill equipped to handle it.
"School social workers provide more crisis intervention services than any other school staff member - more than counselors, nurses, teachers, or psychologists," said Singer. "As a result, school social workers are a very important component to school-based mental health services, yet there is little research that looks at their perceptions of cyberbullying." Read more.
Bully Prevention in Positive Behavior Support
This curriculum gives "students the tools to reduce bullying behavior through the blending of school-wide positive behavior support, explicit instruction, and a redefinition of the bullying construct." Among other things this booklet covers stop/walk/talk, gossip, inappropriate remarks, cyberbullying, social responsibility skills, checking in, and more. To dowload click here. |
| Leadership News |
For children and youth to thrive in their schools and communities, they need to feel safe and be safe - socially, emotionally, and physically.
That is the opening sentence on BullyingInfo.org, a Web site created by the federal government's Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs to identify and disseminate "promising and effective strategies" to combat bullying as well as to promote partnerships between stakeholders. And bullying, as research has shown, occurs in school buses just as it does on school campuses or elsewhere in the community. School bus drivers see it every day.
School social workers, as leaders in social/emotional functioning, school safety, and mentally healthy students can also "Tell the Feds." To learn more about how to contribute, read more. |
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| Research Highlights |
 Results from the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Findings
This report presents results pertaining to mental health from the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an annual survey of the civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the United States aged 12 years old or older. This report presents national estimates of the prevalence of past year mental disorders and past year mental health service utilization for
youths aged 12 to 17 and adults aged 18 or older. Among adults, estimates presented include
serious mental illness (SMI), any mental illness, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, major
depressive episode (MDE), treatment for depression (among adults with MDE), and mental
health service utilization. Estimates presented in this report for youths include MDE, treatment
for depression (among youths with MDE), and mental health service utilization. Measures
related to the co-occurrence of mental disorders with substance use or with substance use
disorders also are presented for both adults and youths. The report focuses mainly on trends
between 2008 and 2009 and differences across population subgroups in 2009. A separate report
focusing on 2009 substance use data was published in September 2010. Click for complete report.
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| Diversity News | |
Promoting Wellness in American Indian Youth: The Role of School Mental Health
This issue brief is intended for school mental health stakeholders interested in helping to increase
wellness in American Indian youth and communities. The brief is written from the perspective that a collaborative partnership approach to wellness promotion is the most appropriate and effective way for outside professionals to work with American Indian communities. The brief begins with background information regarding common American Indian beliefs about wellness, then presents risk and protective factors and common outcomes for American Indian youth, continues by describing potential resilience-building roles and activities for school mental health clinicians, and ends with recommendations and resources. For full brief, click here.
This is a working document. If you would like to provide any feedback or additional information please contact Jennifer Gibson (jgibson@psych.umaryland.edu) at the University of Maryland Center for School Mental Health (410-706-0980). |
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Request for Proposals | |
CSMH Request for Proposals
Proposals are now being accepted for the 16th Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health to be held September 22-24, 2011 at the Charleston Area Convention Center, Charleston, S.C. The Conference is sponsored by the Center for School Mental Health (CSMH) and the IDEA Partnership (funded by the Office of Special Education Programs [OSEP], sponsored by the National Association of State Directors of Special Education). The theme of this year's conference is School Mental Health: Achieving Student Success through Family, School, and Community Partnerships. The conference features twelve specialty tracks and offers speakers and participants numerous opportunities to advance knowledge and skills and to network related to school mental health practice, research, training, and policy. The deadline for submissions is January 31, 2011--all proposals must be submitted online: University of Maryland, Center for School Mental Health |
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ACSSW Activities | |
ACSSW's present major activities include:
- increasing research projects and their application within the school environment,
- developing a national school social work role paper,
- a more long-term goal, establishing a National Center for School Social Work Research, and,
- developing the 2nd National School Social work Research Summit to be held June 26-28.
If you have interest in assisting with one or more of these projects, don't hesitate to contact Judie Shine. ACSSW strives to be inclusive and transparent in all of its activities and welcomes the participation, whether short or lengthy, of its members. |
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