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School Social Work Now!
Supporting Innovative Practice, Effective
Leadership & Applied Research
May 2012 - Vol 2, Issue 32 |
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Greetings! | |
Trying to decide whether to participate in the 3rd National ACSSW Research-to-Practice Summit, Evidence-Based Practices in Action? This interactive event will be held June 24-26, 2012 in Bloomingdale, IL, a Chicago suburb.
Consider: Research shows that girls struggle with identity development and low self-concept at record-breaking numbers compared to boys. According to the Dove Self Esteem Fund, seven in ten girls believe they are not good enough or do not measure up in some way, including their looks, performance in school and relationships with their friends and family members. This means that over half of our young girls feel inadequate, unworthy, inferior, and/or hopeless. "Real Girls" is an eight session group counseling program designed to assist middle and high school age girls develop a realistic self-concept, media literacy skills, and communication skills, while also learning about healthy behaviors and positive relationships. Meet Kiana Clayborn and Jessica Traylor as they present the "Real Girls" program.
And consider the first of the Top Ten Reasons to Attend Evidence-Based Practices in Action:
#10 - You are experiencing changes in responsibilities on the job and want to better understand them.
#9 - You want timely, practical and implementable information and tools to improve services to children and youth and their families.
#8 - You are ready to discover (or rediscover) a sense of empowerment, confidence and a new passion for who you are and what you do.
This Summit is designed for independent thinking school social workers, those who enjoy critical conversations, seek out what is important to the practice of school social work, and who understand that research and evidence-based interventions are foundational to success. Challenge yourself!
Download the ACSSW Summit Brochure. This is not your "average" learning experience. Earn up to 12.25 CEUs. Take advantage of the "Early Bird", Team, and Leadership discounts. Register online now!! Space is limited!
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May is National Mental Health Awareness Month.
Mental Health America (MHA) offers two downloadable toolkits to help in the area of mental health: Do More for 1in4 Toolkit and Healing Trauma's Invisible Wounds Toolkit. To print copies of these toolkits, click on the link above.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has interesting facts regarding children's mental health on their website. NAMI's 2004 Task Force Report, Children and Psychotropic Medication remains informative today.
Judith Kullas Shine
President |
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Recommended Read for May | |
This month, rather than focusing on one book, ACSSW is recommending a website that has dozens of books related to children's mental health, including books to be read by and to children and teens.
Do take the time to visit the website of
Books Dealing with Children's Mental Health
and discover a valuable resource for your practice.
Carol Watkins, M.D., a child psychiatrist and Nicole, a middle school student (now a high school student) . . . review books on
ADHD, depression, family problems, decision-making and many other topics related to children and teen's mental health. You will find something that will be of interest and, more importantly,
helpful in your work. |
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Professional Development | |
ACSSW's 3rd National Research-to-Practice Summit
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Practice Points | |
"My Friends" Clinical Technique
courtesy of Liana Lowenstein website
This strengths-based activity may be used to allow children to comfortably discuss their own relationship strengths and challenges in a non-threatening manner. Focusing on strengths and assets that a child brings to treatment is a vital component of the therapeutic process (Saleeby, 2002) and also serves to further build and enhance the therapeutic relationship between the child and clinician (Crenshaw, 2008). Acknowledgement of these strengths by professionals may promote feelings of empowerment and enhanced self-esteem of clients. These strengths may also be intertwined in the therapeutic storytelling process (Slivinske and Slivinske, 2011). Learn more.
Psychopaths, Children and Evil: To what extent are psychopaths born and not made?
How can you not be chilled and horrified by the tale of a 9-year-old who would throw a toddler in a pool so he could satisfy his curiosity about what it's like to drown? That is what it means to be evil.
But my thinking about dangerous, unemotional, and hurtful children had started before that, two weeks ago when I was talking to a friend of mine who teaches special ed in a local elementary school. She has a student in her class who she's afraid for. For years he's been hard to handle - spitting, punching, running around, and saying the crudest and most sexually repugnant things that might emerge from anyone's mouth, never mind that of a child not yet close to puberty. And hurtful too - grabbing and twisting a breast, pinching an arm or kicking.
But suddenly he's much worse. Complete article here.
States' Requirements for School Social Work Certification or Licensing
This listing by the National Association of State Board of Education includes school social work pre-service requirements, professional development requirements, and school social worker to student ratios. Only about 8 of the states address the student to social worker ratio in any type of state law or rule. Find my state. |
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Leadership News | |
When Threats Are Better Than Anger
Conventional wisdom about showing anger in negotiations is sometimes contradictory: You should hide your true feelings behind a poker face, some say. Others recommend acting angry even if you're not, as lawyers often do. New findings from negotiation researchers, however, reveal that both bits of advice are too simplistic, and they suggest a more effective tactic for tough negotiations would be making overt, well-timed threats. . .
A large body of previous work had shown that threatening to walk away from a negotiation is a powerful way to get the other party to give in to your demands. And from their own prior research, Neale and Sinaceur]knew that making these threats later in a negotiation worked better than doing it early, when your counterpart is more likely to think you're just posturing. The problem, though, is that we usually make threats when we're angry, Neale explains. Read more about this leadership strategy.
Data-Informed Leadership in Education
An argument can be made that educational leaders have always had "data" of some kind available to them when making decisions intended to improve teaching and learning. Effective leaders gathered whatever information they could readily access, and then drawing on accumulated experience, intuition, and political acumen, they chose the wisest course of action to pursue. The data they collected was likely impressionistic and rarely systematic, complete, or sufficiently nuanced to carry the weight of important decisions.
Converging trends have shifted the basic terms of this equation, creating new possibilities for leaders to attain a deeper level of understanding about the complexities of teaching and learning, and to learn how to maximize educators' efforts to meet students' needs. Full report. |
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Research Highlights | |
Multi-Tasking Studies Stress Value of Self-Control
. . . Those under 18 multitask more often and more extensively than previous generations, says Larry D. Rosen, the author of the 2012 book iDisorder: Understanding Our Obsession With Technology and Overcoming Its Hold on Us. On average, he found, 13- to 18-year-olds use more than six types of media simultaneously during out-of-school time.
The pervasiveness of technology and social media, coupled with a fear of missing out on something important, has led students to pay "continuous partial attention" to everything, but has resulted in their having difficulty concentrating deeply on anything, according to Mr. Rosen and other researchers who took part in the Web-Connected Minds Conference, held near Washington this month. They highlighted emerging research on the way the brain copes with doing too much. Learn more.
Studies: Multi-Tasking and Academic Performance, Cognitive Control in Media Multi-Taskers, Educational Impact of Text Message-Induced Task Switching |
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In the News | |
Young Children of Unmarried Parents Fare Worse When a Father's Support is Court-ordered
Young children of unmarried parents who live with their mother and receive court-mandated financial support from their father exhibit more aggressive behavior than those who don't get any formal support at all, according to a Rutgers University Study.
In analyzing data from a study of nearly 5,000 children born between 1998 and 2000, Lenna Nepomnyaschy, an assistant professor in the School of Social Work, also found that 5-year-old children have increased cognitive skills when their father provides cash support without being forced to do so by a legal agreement. The data comes from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study in 20 large U.S. cities.
"We want to be careful and not say that formal support is bad," says Nepomnyaschy who worked on the study published in Social Service Review with researchers from the University of Wisconsin. "For most mothers it is hugely important. But it might not be working for all types of families."
Nepomnyaschy says prior research focused only on how financial support affected the children of divorced parents. Today, however, nearly 40 percent of children are born to unmarried parents, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. And never married mothers represent the largest proportion of single parent families in the United States. Read more.
Research Finds Grandparents Accepting of LGBT Grandchildren
Older adults with negative attitudes toward the LGBT community are often still accepting of their LGBT grandchild, a Rutgers researcher has found.
"I was surprised to find that many of the grandparents who didn't have positive perceptions of homosexuality were nonetheless fiercely supportive of their grandchild,'' said Kristin Scherrer, an assistant professor in the School of Social Work who has worked with LGBT clients and their families.
Scherrer also found that grandparents may be more accepting than parents when children are open about their sexual orientation. Continue.
Autism Criteria Critics Blasted by DSM-V Leader
. . Susan Swedo, MD, of the National Institute of Mental Health, said a review released earlier this year by Yale University researchers was seriously flawed. That review triggered a wave of headlines indicating that large numbers of autism spectrum patients could lose their diagnoses and hence access to services. . .
She was especially incensed by reports in consumer media about the Yale group's study, led by a New York Times article with a "blaring" headline that read, "New Definition of Autism May Exclude Many, Study Suggests." The Yale study, according to the Times article, found that most patients with Asperger's syndrome and about 25% of those with overt autism would not qualify for those diagnoses under DSM-5.
Bloggers in the autism spectrum community then got the numbers wrong and claimed that DSM-5 would deprive 65% of all autism patients of their diagnoses, "striking fear in the hearts of families," Swedo said. Click to continue.
School Social Workers: Suicide an Issue Even in Elementary Schools, Study Finds
While suicide is not typically associated with young children, a new study finds that this problem is present even in elementary schools. Temple University researchers interviewed more than 400 school social workers about their experience with suicide or suicide threats in their schools. School social workers are usually the ones who deal with this kind of crisis when it surfaces. Ninety percent of them have encountered suicidal youths in their schools. Almost 100 percent of them work in high schools, and 75 percent work in elementary schools. Read more. |
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Webinars | |
The Institute of Education Sciences will host a series of funding opportunities webinars in April - August, 2012. These webinars will focus on a wide range of topics for applicants to the FY 2013 grant programs, including the application process, grant writing, and overviews of specific funding opportunities. Full descriptions of the webinars are available and registration is now open. For further information and 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.
ARCHIVED & AVAILABLE
Many schools and communities are struggling to find effective ways to prevent both bullying and suicidal behavior among youth. This webinar will provide the latest research and science on the relationship between bullying and suicide and will outline some of the shared risk and protective factors. The webinar also discusses the main principles of a comprehensive whole school approach to bullying prevention. This presentation was interactive, with opportunities to ask questions. Access here. |
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SSW Job Links | |
New this week: Flint, MI Hopkins, MN Long Island, New York
Minneapolis, MN Revere, MA
Continued this week: Bellevue, WA Bethel, AK (3 positions) Berwyn, IL
Bronx, NY Brooklyn, NY Burlington, VT Burr Ridge, IL Evanston, IL
Gary, IN Julian, CA New Orleans, LA Randolph, MA Rockland, MA
Topeka, KS Tucson, AZ White Bear Lake, MN
Connecticut (Various Locations)
IL PBIS Network, Research and Evaluation Director
Director of Social Work, Bilingual, Chicago, IL |
| Call for Papers | |
Special Edition of Social Work and Christianity: Towards A Christian Critique of Evidence-based Practice in Social Work
Deadline: September 1, 2012
Guest Editors: Michael S. Kelly, Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work & Cynthia Franklin, University of Texas-Austin
Evidence-based Practice (EBP) is now entering its second decade in social work scholarship and practice. This special issue seeks to add a Christian perspective to the literature on the implementation of EBP in social work practice, policy, and education. Many scholars and practitioners hail EBP's impact on client outcomes and argue that it represents a deepening of our ethical commitment to empowering practitioners with a process and tools that lead to the best possible client care, while other scholars point out the limitations of the EBP approach. This special issue of Social Work & Christianity seeks to expand the epistemological and practical discussions about EBP to add a further (and we believe, necessary) complication to the debate over EBP in social work: namely, how can EBP be practiced in the multitude of Christian social work contexts we see around the world? This special issue seeks to further debate the pros and cons of using EBP in social work by asking simply, "How can Christian social workers incorporate EBP into their work?" Papers for this special issue are encouraged to look at EBP as a process that integrates clinical expertise, client circumstances, research evidence, and client values and to formulate a paper discussing one or all of those dimension from a Christian perspective. Papers can employ a variety of methodologies, though special emphasis will be given to papers that use a conceptual lens to build a foundation to either critique or defend EBP from a Christian social work perspective. Papers can be up to 20 pages, double-spaced and in APA style (6th Ed.). Contact Michael Kelly at Loyola University Chicago with any questions and to submit papers as email attachments. |
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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.
Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program Grant Competition
The Department of Education recently announced the FY 2012 ESSCP grant competition. Grantees under this competition will use funds to support counseling programs in target elementary, K-12, or secondary schools. Schools will establish or expand school counseling programs through hiring qualified school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists, with a goal of expanding the range, availability, quantity and quality of school counseling services. School counseling services will use a developmental and preventative approach. This is a 3-year grant program and each annual award ranges from $250,000 - $400,000. Deadline: May 25, 2012. For more information view the Federal Register.
NFL Fuel Up to Play 60
The National Football League's Fuel Up to Play 60 will award grants up to $4,000 to K-12 schools enrolled in their wellness program. Grants may be used to support a variety of programs, activities, and tools including student engagement and motivation, family engagement, in-school promotions, staff development, and nutrition and physical education materials. The deadline to submit applications is June 1, 2012. For more information and to apply click here.
OJJDP: Underage Drinking Research Funding
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has announced the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Field-Initiated Research and Evaluation Program funding opportunity. This program will support methodologically rigorous research and evaluation studies that inform policy and practice consistent with the Department of Justice's mission. OJJDP will fund field-initiated studies to understand the factors that influence the prevention of underage drinking, the enforcement of underage drinking laws, and individuals' and communities' attitudes and behaviors about underage drinking. Applications deadline: 11:59 p.m. E.T. on June 4, 2012. More information.
HRSA Mental and Behavioral Health Education and Training Grants
The Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA's) Mental and Behavioral Health Education and Training Grants Program supports eligible institutions of higher education to recruit students and provide education and clinical experience in mental and behavioral health. The program aims to increase the number of social workers and psychologists who pursue clinical work with high-need and high-demand populations. For this funding opportunity, "high need" and "high demand" refer to rural, vulnerable, and/or underserved populations, and veterans and military personnel and their families. Eligible applicants are accredited schools of social work and psychology. Up to 20 grants at a maximum level of $480,275 will be awarded. The submission deadline is June 15, 2012. View full grant announcement.
CVS/Caremark Community Grants
CVS/Caremark Community Grants are currently accepting proposals for programs, targeting children under age 21 with disabilities, which address health and rehabilitation services or enabling physical movement and play. Maximum award: $5,000. Eligibility: non-profits located in states that also have CVS stores. Deadline: October 31, 2012. More info. |
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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 framework 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.
- presenting 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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