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School Social Work Now!
Supporting Innovative Practice, Effective
Leadership & Applied Research
February 2012 - Vol 2, Issue 19 |
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Greetings! | |
Where has January gone?
We at ACSSW were so busy with daily operations and Louisiana conference planning that it's difficult to believe that January is the past and February is zipping by as well. ACSSW is continually working to provide you with information, toolkits, professional development opportunities, job openings, resources, newsworthy tidbits that give a "flavor" of what's happening across the nation, webinars, funding opportunities, and more. Each article and effort is a choice made in an attempt to keep you abreast of some of the many activities in education that impact you and/or the children, youth and families you serve.
Similarly we, as school social work professionals, must strive to continually create ourselves. John Dewey said:
The self is not something ready-made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action.
Each day we make choices that define who we are and what we value. This is true in the more routine, mundane choices--what we eat, where we park the car, what we do with our leisure time--and in the choices and decisions we make on behalf of those we serve. These choices in particular need to be made carefully as they impact not only our students but also ourselves and our character. Each choice helps to affirm or recreate who we are. They speak to who we are as individuals. Therefore, we must choose wisely and with kindness.
Just an update . . . the 1st school social work conference in Louisiana was a wonderful success! Many thanks go out to Louisiana State University, Tulane University, the LA Department of Education, sponsors/exhibitors, our excellent presenters, the planning committee, all of the school social workers who participated, and the Parishes who sent them. The quality of presentations was tremendous and the enthusiasm of LA SSWs is contagious. ACSSW has been asked to return next year and early planning has begun. Stay tuned!
On another topic, School Social Work Week, March 4-10, 2012 will be on us in just a few weeks. Start now to plan your "publicity campaign." To help with those plans, you can download the ACSSW list of suggested School Social Work Week Activities. They are low cost but some require a little time to accomplish. Start now! In the next few weeks a School Social Work Week Poster will be available via the newsletter and on the website. Keep an open eye!
Last--but not least!--check out the Quick Link to Black History Month Activities in the column on the left. Celebrate the many contributions that African Americans and their ancestors have made. This year's theme is "Black Women in American Culture and History."
Judith Kullas Shine
President |
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Recommended Read for February | |
The Glass Castle
by Jeannette Walls
New York Times Sunday Book Review
The transparent palace that Walls's father often promised to build for his children functions as a metaphor for another fanciful construct, the carefree facade with which two people who were (to say the least) unsuited to raise children camouflaged their struggle to survive in a world for which they were likewise ill equipped.
REX WALLS was a gifted, seductive and deeply damaged man whose ''little bit of a drinking situation'' made it impossible for him to hold the jobs (as a mining engineer and an electrician) he procured through a dazzling mix of prevarication and charismatic charm. Rose Mary Walls, a painter, writer, free spirit and self-styled ''excitement addict,'' entertained certain convictions about life in general and parenthood in particular that, all too predictably, helped pave the road to grief and disaster.
Reared by a mother who believed that kids should be left alone to reap the educational and immunological benefits of suffering, Jeannette Walls, her brother and two sisters rapidly discovered that their peripatetic, hardscrabble life -- constantly moving from one bleak, dusty Southwestern mining town to another -- had no end of painful lessons to teach them. . .The memoir offers a catalog of nightmares that the Walls children were encouraged to see as comic or thrilling episodes in the family romance.
Resiliency at its best! Full review.
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Practice Points | 
New DSM-V Disorder Proposed
Over the past several years, an increasing number of children and adolescents in the U.S. have been diagnosed and treated for bipolar disorder. As part of their treatment, a majority receive psychotropic medications, often a mood stabilizer and an antipsychotic medication. When the diagnosis is clear, then the benefits of these medications often far outweigh the risks. However, there is growing concern over the accuracy of some of these diagnoses. Concern over high rates of community bipolar disorder diagnosis in young patients has led the DSM-5 Task Force to propose a new diagnosis: disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. Read more. New Guidance from the Office of Civil Rights contributed by Nic Dibble, Education Consultant, WI State School Social Work Services
On December 19th [2011], the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released new guidance regarding the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments on public elementary and secondary education programs.
The following documents discuss how Section 504 and the ADA amendments define disability and the obligation of school districts to evaluate students for disability, provide a free appropriate public education to students with disabilities, and provide procedural safeguards for identification, evaluation, and educational placement.
Analysis of State Bullying Laws and Policies (2011)
From NASDSE: This report reviews states' bullying laws and model antibullying policies and school districts' antibullying policies. Key findings include: As of April 2011, 46 states had bullying laws, 45 of which directed school districts to adopt antibullying policies. Forty-one states had model antibullying policies. Thirty-six states included provisions in their education codes prohibiting cyberbullying or bullying using electronic media. Thirteen states specified that schools have jurisdiction over off-campus behavior if it creates a hostile school environment. For the complete report, including executive summary, click here.
MindUP Program Can Help SEL
MindUP™ is anchored in current research in cognitive neuroscience, evidence-based classroom pedagogy, best-practices mindful education, precepts of social and emotional learning (SEL), and guiding principles of positive psychology. MindUP™ is a family of social, emotional, and attentional self-regulatory strategies and skills developed for cultivating well-being and emotional balance. To review the curriculum and training opportunities, visit the MindUP Web Page. |
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Leadership News | |
The Resilient Leader
Although written with traditional school leaders in mind, this article highlights a trait school social workers demonstrate often.
"Budget cuts, program closures, pink slips, workforce reductions, school closures, changes in teacher and administrator evaluation processes, and accountability. These issues came up during a recent webinar for leaders in education who signed in to talk about failure, loss, and the need for resilience. With the world economy in dire straits, educators have never faced more changes and challenges day-to-day. As a result, thoughtful leaders in education are eager to learn how to be more resilient.
This interest in resilience could not be better placed; effective leaders of sustainable change are highly resilient. Imagine what it would mean if all our schools had effective leaders as they confront the current climate. What if most school leaders were happy and believed they were doing meaningful work, even during times of loss and change within schools?" For complete article, click here.
Want to Be a Leader? Act Like One!
Small differences can make a big impact. What affects others' perception of your ability to lead a project, a division, an organization, or a movement? Consider the [listed] habits, attitudes, skills, and characteristics of a leader to see how you measure up and then determine how you can step up to be more effective. Continue here. |
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Research Highlights | |
An Analysis of the Localization of School Social Work in the Chinese Mainland: Comparison among Three Patterns in Operation
Abstract: School social work is in its infancy in China, yet it has its special advantages in overcoming some increasingly evident social problems among contemporary college students, and it has become the necessary supplement to strengthening and promoting the ideological and political education in colleges and universities. According to the ownership of school social workers, this paper classifies them into three categories: engagement pattern out of school system, coexisting pattern within school system, and integration pattern within school system. After thorough SWOT analysis, the author puts forward that the integration pattern within school system is the best choice for the localization of school social work in China. Full text.
Does Early Childhood Intervention Affect the Social and Emotional Development of Participants?
The 2002 National Survey of America's Families verified that 82% of 3- and 4-year-olds with employed mothers spend part of their day in nonparental care (Barnett, Robin, Hustedt, & Schulman, 2004). Of these children, two-thirds attend some form of preschool intervention (Belsie, 2002).
As a result of the large proportion of children in nonparental early childhood settings, policy makers and the public have a strong interest in ensuring that early childhood interventions are devised on a "results-based accountability" paradigm that not only mandates that intervention programs be successful, but cost-effective. Because of this, most research studies of early childhood intervention programs have focused on clearly identifiable outcomes such as language development, prereading skills, letter knowledge, and numeracy (Reynolds, 2000; Schultz, 2000). Complete study here. |
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In the News | |
Bullying and Suicide: The Dangerous Mistake We Make
... Mental health professionals and those who work in suicide prevention say bullying-related suicides that reach the spotlight are painted far too simplistically. Bullying and suicide can indeed be connected, though the relationship between the two is much more complicated than a tabloid headline might suggest. To imply clear-cut lines of cause and effect, many experts maintain, is misleading and potentially damaging as it ignores key underlying mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety. "Bullying is so at the top of our consciousness that we're bending over backwards to get it into the story," said Ann Haas, a senior project specialist with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. "Years and years of research has taught us that the overwhelming number of people who die by suicide had a diagnosable mental disorder at the time of their death." Haas argues that failing to look at the other contributing factors, from depression to family life to the ending of a relationship, is problematic and even perilous from a suicide prevention standpoint. "I am very concerned about the narrative that these stories collectively are writing, which is that suicide is a normal, understandable response to this terrible [bullying] behavior," said Haas. "In suicide prevention, we tend to favor the explanation that there are multiple causes. Read more.
Common School Program Reduces Signs of Bullying
A widely implemented school program aimed at improving kids' behavior helps to slow the increase in bullying during the elementary grades, according to a new study. Researchers found that teachers at schools with the behavior program reported fewer displays of aggression, teasing and rejection among their students. . . About 16,000 schools have been trained to implement School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, a program supported by the U.S. Department of Education that provides a framework for discipline and for encouraging good behavior. Read more.
Why Spanking Doesn't Work
A new analysis of two decades of research on the long-term effects of physical punishment in children concludes that spanking doesn't work and can actually wreak havoc on kids' long-term development, according to an article published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Studying physical punishment is difficult for researchers, who can't randomly assign children to groups that are hit and those that aren't. Instead, they follow children over many years, monitor how much they're spanked, and then take measure of their aggression over time. "We find children who are physically punished get more aggressive over time and those who are not physically punished get less aggressive over time," says Joan Durrant, the article's lead author and a child clinical psychologist and professor of family social sciences at the University of Manitoba. In fact, regardless of the age of the children or the size of the sample, none of more than 80 studies on the effects of physical punishment have succeeded in finding positive associations. "If someone were to hit us to change our behavior, it might harm our relationship with that person. We might feel resentful," says Durrant. "It's no different for children. It's not a constructive thing to do." Children who are spanked may feel depressed and devalued, and their sense of self-worth can suffer. Harsh punishments can wind up backfiring because they can foster lying in children who are desperate to avoid being spanked. Later in life, physical punishment is linked to mental-health problems including depression, anxiety and drug and alcohol use. There's neuroimaging evidence that physical punishment may alter parts of the brain involved in performance on IQ tests and up the likelihood of substance abuse. And there's also early data that spanking could affect areas of the brain involved in emotion and stress regulation. More.
Justice Department Launches Website to Improve Outcomes for At-Risk and Delinquent Girls
The Department of Justice announces a new resource-the National Girls Institute website-to better meet the needs of at-risk and delinquent girls, their families and the agencies and organizations that serve them. The institute is supported by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) through a grant from the Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).
. . . OJJDP established the National Girls Institute in 2010 to develop and provide a range of training, technical assistance and other resources to local, tribal and private organizations serving girls and young women in, or at risk of entering, the juvenile justice system. Through this website, professionals can submit requests for training and technical assistance, as well as find current information about best practices, gender-responsive tools, research and related events. Click for National Girls Institute Website.
Asset-Poor Families Increase by 21%
The Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) has released its 2012 Assets and Opportunity scorecard, which finds that the number of asset-poor families -- those lacking savings or other assets to cover basic expenses if income loss occurs -- has increased by 21 percent since the last scorecard in 2009-2010. The asset-poverty rate is now nearly twice as high as the Census Bureau's official income-poverty rate of 15.1 percent. The scorecard also includes a measure for "liquid-asset poverty," which excludes assets that can't easily be converted to cash, and provides a more realistic picture of the resources with which families can meet emergency needs. According to this measure, 43 percent of households nationwide are "liquid-asset poor," with little or no savings to fall back on if emergency strikes. The scorecard assesses states across 100 outcome and policy measures in the areas of financial assets and income, businesses and jobs, housing and homeownership, health care, and education to project ability of residents to achieve financial security. The scorecard found sizable differences between states, with asset-poverty rates ranging from a high of more than 45 percent in Nevada to a low of 15.7 percent in Vermont; liquid-asset poverty rates ranged from 64.5 percent in Alabama to 22.8 percent in Hawaii. Find your state's information. |
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Webinars | |
Bipolar Disorder in Adolescents: What Primary Care Providers Need to Know
Bipolar disorder can present some of the most difficult challenges in pediatric primary care. Symptoms often mimic those of ADHD, and presentation can overlap with other mental illnesses. Despite the complexity of diagnosis and management, primary care providers have an important collaborative role in referring and partnering in the management of adolescents with bipolar disorder.
This webinar will focus on improving the identification of symptoms and determining first-line strategies for collaborating with mental health specialists. Register for this February 29, 2012 webinar that will take place from at 1 pm EST.
Wraparound Milwaukee: The Family Connection
Wraparound Milwaukee provides comprehensive, individualized and cost-effective care to children with mental health and emotional needs a will be hosting a free webinar on family connection. The director, Bruce Kamradt, will discuss the successes of the program using a strength-based and individualized service approach and pairing families with care-coordinators to assist in identifying resources to "wrap" those services around the youth and family. The webinar will take place Tuesday, March 27, 2012 at 2 pm EDT. To register click here.
ARCHIVED & AVAILABLE
This Teen Screen Webinar has been archived and is now available for your viewing. Listen to a discussion on the signs and symptoms of eating disorders, the latest treatment strategies, and co-managing these disorders with the clinical team to avoid relapse and achieve a successful outcome. Access archive. |
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SSW Job Links | |
New this week: Austin, TX Benton Harbor, MI Brooklyn, NY Chelsea, MA
Colorado Springs, CO (3 Openings) Long Island City, NY Milwaukee, WI
Stoughton, MA (PT)
Continued this week: Cedar Knolls, NJ Central Falls, RI Dolton, IL
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Grants & Funding | |
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.
The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes
The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, founded by author T. A. Barron in honor of his mother, celebrates outstanding young leaders. Each year the Barron Prize honors 25 inspiring young people who have made a significant positive difference to people and our planet. These outstanding young leaders have focused on helping their communities and fellow beings and/or on protecting the health and sustainability of the environment. Maximum award: $2,500. Eligibility: youth 8-18. Deadline: April 30, 2012. Nomination information here. |
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ACSSW Activities | |
ACSSW's present activities include:
- 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 2nd Louisiana State-wide School Social Work Conference, winter 2013, in New Orleans, LA. Exact dates to be determined.
- 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. |
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