School Social Work Now!

Supporting Innovative Practice, Effective

Leadership & Applied Research 

Preventing Multiple Risky Behaviors Among Adolescents  Seven Strategies  

For School Social Workers: The Changing Role of the School Social Worker  

This well-written article, available in the NASW-IL newsletter, addresses the changing role of the school social worker with emphasis on Response to Intervention, Social-Emotional Learning, and working with students from a strengths perspective.  Read more.
 

Sexual Abuse Survivors Have Increased Psychiatric Disorders 

New research finds that a history of sexual abuse, regardless of the victim's gender or age when the abuse occurred, correlates strongly with a lifetime diagnosis of multiple psychiatric disorders. 

  
5 Leadership Tips for 2012  

. . . I wanted to give readers 5 key items to focus on if they're serious about becoming better leaders in 2012 - my holiday gift to you.  There are lots of things I could have included on my list, so many will probably wonder how I chose the following 5 items.  Learn the 5 tips.   

 Good Leaders Ask for Help 

Leadership consultant and bestselling author Patrick Lencioni says a social psychology course he took in university taught him that the best way to endear yourself to someone is not to offer to do something for them but rather to ask them to do something for you. In the Table Group e-newsletter, he suggests applying that recipe to your staff. Learn more.

Making Stone Soup  Evidence-Based Practice for a Suicidal Youth with Comorbid Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder      

 Abstract:  Crisis intervention for suicidal youth with comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)/major depressive disorder (MDD) presents special challenges for evidence-based practitioners. This article reviews the treatment literature on suicide and comorbid ADHD/MDD. The findings are applied to a clinical case vignette. A 2-phase intervention based onexpert consensus guidelines is introduced as a way of addressing both the suicidal crisis andthe underlying comorbid diagnosis. Implications for practice and research are discussed.  [Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 6:234-247 (2006)].

Influence of School Level Socioeconomic Status and Racial Diversity on Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support Implementation  

This evaluation brief examines the capacity of schools of varying levels of socioeconomic and racial diversity to implement Tier I (Universal) of schoolwide positive behavior support (SWPBS) with integrity.  The three main evaluation questions addressed are: (a) "What percentage of schools are able to achieve 80%-80% implementation status on the School-wide Evaluation Tool (SET) within 1 year?" (b) "Is school socioeconomic status associated with implementation effectiveness?" and (c) "Is school racial diversity associated with implementation outcomes?" PDF version of report.

A Surge in Child Poverty    

The nation's child poverty rate rose from 18 to 22 percent from 2007 to 2010, according to an analysis by the Brookings Institution, Education Week reports. During that period, the number of poor children surged by 3 million to 16 million. Those figures are based on U.S. Census Bureau poverty measures, roughly $17,000 for a family of three and $22,000 for a family of four. Mississippi had the highest child poverty rate, at 32.5 percent, followed by the District of Columbia and New Mexico, while New Hamsphire's rate was lowest, at 10 percent. There have also been significant geographic shifts in child poverty in recent years. Before the recession, child poverty was concentrated mostly in the Southern and Southwestern United States. Since the recession, it has worsened significantly in a number of Midwestern and Western states. The severe impact of the economy on children and families is evident in other data, too, with 6.5 million children under age 18 living in families with an unemployed parent during an average month of 2011, a jump from 3.8 million in late 2007 when the recession officially began. One potential positive, however, is that the number of children with out-of-work parents fell between 2010 and 2011.  (Public Education Network)  Read more.

Emotionally Charged Curricula in Tucson   

". . . an administrative law judge in Arizona, Lewis Kowal, just upheld the decree by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction that Tucson's Mexican American Studies program violates state law. Judge Kowal found that the Tucson program was teaching Latino history and culture "in a biased, political, and emotionally charged manner." According to CNN, one lesson that the judge objected to taught that the historic treatment of Mexican Americans was "marked by the use of force, fraud and exploitation."  Read the full story in Rethinking Schools. 

Bibliotherapy & School Social Workers

I am a doctoral student at Dominican University's Graduate School of Library and Information Science, River Forest, Illinois. I am seeking school social workers to complete an online survey about bibliotherapy for use towards research for a doctoral dissertation. For the purposes of this research bibliotherapy is defined as the use of books or other reading materials (poetry, magazines, comic books, etc) to assist with the counseling process.  Participation is voluntary, confidential and anonymous.  Even if you do not currently use the bibliotherapy counseling technique, any feedback on this topic will help with this study. Completion of the survey should take approximately 30 minutes and can be done from any computer with internet access.  If you are an interested school social worker, or know of a school social worker who would be interested, the survey link is below.  For more information, contact: Elizabeth Garcia, Doctoral Student, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Dominican University. Thank you in advance for your participation.  Bibliotherapy Survey Link.  

New this week:           Brooklyn, NY     Detroit, MI     Hartford, CT    

Highland Park, IL (3 PT intern)   Mountain Lakes, NJ (LT Sub)   Onondaga County, NY                

Search Tool Helps Users Find Grants to Fund Youth Programs 

The Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs has created an online Web Tool that allows users to search for federal grant opportunities by youth topic or federal agency. The tool uses a filter to search for grants that are likely to fund youth programs. To learn more and determine if you are eligible, click here.

ING Unsung Heroes Award  

ING Unsung Heroes began in 1995as a way for ING to demonstrate its commitment to the education community. Grants are given to K-12 educators utilizing new teaching methods and techniques that improve learning.  Each year, educators submit applications for an ING Unsung Heroes grant by describing projects they have initiated or would like to pursue. Each project is judged on its:

innovative method, creativity, and ability to positively influence the students.  All K-12 education professionals, whether or not they are clients of ING, are eligible. Specifically, these individuals must be:  (1)  Employed by an accredited K-12 public or private school located in the United States, or (2)  Full-time educators, teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, orclassified staff with effective  projects that improve student learning.  Deadline:  April 30, 2012.  Details here.   

Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Invites Applications for Dissertation Fellowships in Education    

• increasing research projects and their application within the school environment;
• developing a national school social work role paper;
• establishing a National Center for School Social Work Practice, Leadership and Research, a long-term goal,
• hosting the first Louisiana State-wide School Social Work Conference, January 30-31, 2012, in New Orleans, LA, and
• developing the 3rd National School Social Work Research Summit to be held June 24-26, 2012, in Bloomingdale, IL (a Chicago suburb) at the Hilton Chicago/Indian Lakes Resort.

If you have interest in participating in any of these activities, contact Judie Shine.  ACSSW strives to be inclusive and transparent in all of its activities and welcomes, whether lengthy or short, the participation of its members.