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School Social Work NOW!
Supporting Innovative Practice,
Effective Leadership, and Applied Research
Vol 4, Issue 17
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The other day I was musing about the fact that unlike "days of old" today's school social workers--and in fact nearly all professionals--do not join their professional organizations. Certainly the advent of the Internet and the concomitant free availability of knowledge and resources has had an impact. But beyond that, one must question the seeming lack of support for organizations whose mission and goals are to support the interests of particular professionals.
One of the first reasons people share is the cost. While this can be true, one must wonder why we are willing to spend $100 or more in a hair salon for effects that may last 8-12 weeks or spend an equal amount to attend a sporting event--which lasts a few hours--and yet find it difficult to join for $110 or $125 annually to help to insure that a particular profession thrives and is represented nationally. Perhaps it's because the "product" is not always immediately tangible. . .?
ACSSW is interested in your thoughts. Please email them to me by clicking: Here's an Answer. All responses are welcome.
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Only a few more days until the 3rd ACSSW School Social Work Conference opens. It's been sometimes hectic, sometimes challenging, but always a privilege to develop a program that fits the needs of today's school social worker. We hope to see you there. You can still register!
NEW CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS
- Dealing with Stress in the School Setting: Taking Care of Children, Families, and Yourself
- Resilience as a Career Strategy: A Marathon, Not a Sprint
- Motivational Interviewing as a Tool to Enhance Practice
Click brochure to read brief descriptions.
NEW ORLEANS!
Why attend?
- Become a stronger resource for your administrators and colleagues
- Learn new ways to address your district's or parish's goals
- Gain an understanding of national education initiatives and reforms that affect your school's students
- Increase your knowledge base and freshen old skills
- Participate in all-day Psychological First Aid training
- Challenge yourself with new ideas and ways of thinking
- Gain insight into programs that affect student learning
- Network with colleagues from across the country
- Meet and interact with expert presenters on various topics
- Earn up to 12.5 CEUs (included in conference cost)
- Have FUN!
Discounts are available for teams of 3 or more from the same school, parish, or district.
Judith Kullas Shine
President
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Recommended Read for February
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Twelve Years A Slave
by Solomon Northup, Ira Berlin (introduction), &
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (editor)
Perhaps the best written of all the slave narratives, Twelve Years a Slave is a harrowing memoir about one of the darkest periods in American history. It recounts how Solomon Northup, born a free man in New York, was lured to Washington, D.C., in 1841 with the promise of fast money, then drugged and beaten and sold into slavery. He spent the next twelve years of his life
 in captivity on a Louisiana cotton plantation. After his rescue, Northup published this exceptionally vivid and detailed account of slave life. It became an immediate bestseller and today is recognized for its unusual insight and eloquence as one of the very few portraits of American slavery produced by someone as educated as Solomon Northup, or by someone with the dual perspective of having been both a free man and a slave.
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There are a lot of changes in the
Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) that have social workers talking. Some of the revisions are seen as positive. However, there are several that are raising concern among clinicians. . .
People have told me that they are overwhelmed, confused, and even a bit disoriented by all the changes. They have some anxiety with the . . . conversion to the DSM-5 and the many ways it will affect them as they diagnose people, and the major adjustments that agencies will need to make to adapt. I'll share with you three of the areas that arouse the most passionate responses from people. Read more.
Why Develop a Culturally Sensitive Approach to Social Work with African American Clients?
Although written by social worker who does not work in the schools, this article contains relevant information for school social workers who work with multiple cultures and ethnicities.
"Being an Afro-Caribbean American social worker, I have always found it personally difficult to be receptive to therapy. I am by no means exempt from the vicissitudes of life and have entered therapy several times with varying degrees of success. I always start with good intentions, but I am the ultimate resistant client with attitude and too much information. As a black woman, I learned early that authority figures generally could not be trusted. I learned to distract them from focusing on my issues with my sense of humor and an outgoing attitude. I knew instinctively that it was important to look okay so "they" left me alone.
Growing up in a household with Afro-Caribbean parents, I was brought up to neither share confidences nor admit emotional pain to outsiders. The personal disclosure and behavioral changes that therapists typically suggest were often embarrassing and totally unimaginable to me even from a cultural point of view. Most women from my background would rather "handle their own business" than seek outside help from a stranger. It was considered an embarrassment to one's family and upbringing to admit that any issue is so severe that only a "head doctor" could help." More.
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2nd National School Social Work Survey
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This important survey has two broad aims: to capture data from the largest number of practicing SSWs in order to enrich the understanding of the daily practices, skills, competencies, and barriers; and second, to inform state association and university efforts to enhance our professional development and training.
Your input is
essential. If you can't complete the survey in one sitting, you can return to it.
Click:
National SSW Survey
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Fifteen Effective Play Therapy Techniques
A plethora of innovative play therapy techniques have been developed in recent years to implement the therapeutic powers of play. The purpose of this article is to concisely describe 15 techniques that are effective, enjoyable, inexpensive, and easy to implement. Included in the description of each technique are the therapeutic rationale, materials needed, step-by-step implementation guide, and applications. The techniques selected are appropriate for 4-12-year-old children and cover an extensive array of playapproaches (e.g., art, fantasy, sensorimotor, and game play). The chosen techniques address several pertinent presenting problems such as anxiety, depression, impulsivity, distractibility, and noncompliance. Complete article.
Free Guides for School Social Workers
Columbia University Teachers College Press published 4 guides geared to support teachers, administrators, student personnel staff, and parents. For a limited period, and as supplies last, TCP has agreed to provide FREE copies of the guides to social workers and educators working with military kids in schools including: teachers, school administrators, PPS workers, and military parents. School social workers should be aware of this wonderful, time-limited, FREE offer from TCP. Many school social workers will benefit from these guides.
The process is simple. Each individual desiring a free book would need to click on the link, select the type of book s/he desires, and fill out name, mailing address, etc. on the Qualtrix form after selecting the book desired. The book will be mailed in a few weeks.
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Many of us are approached with requests that seem unreasonable. If you want to stay productive and happy in your role, it's essential to know how to deal with these demands.
"Unreasonable" means "beyond the bounds of reason and fairness." This is clearly quite subjective, and what may seem reasonable to one person may seem quite unreasonable to another. So, what could an "unreasonable request" actually encompass? To learn more click here.
The word "negotiation" conjures up images of high-pressure situations, where people have a lot to lose if they get things wrong. In fact, you probably negotiate several times each day. You do it at home and at work for all sorts of things, from deciding what to make for dinner, to settling on terms for a job promotion. Because of this, you are a negotiator, even if you don't think of yourself as one! But how well do you negotiate? Do you know how to recognize situations where negotiating is appropriate? And do you understand the elements of an effective negotiation? In this article, we'll discuss some of the fundamentals of negotiating successfully, so that you can meet your needs without causing conflict when you do have to say "no". Read on. |
The current trend in foster care has shifted toward kinship care, also known as relatives caring for relatives. In many cases, this relationship involves grandparents caring for their grandchildren. While it is not the first time these grandparents are parenting, they face new challenges the second time around. The purpose of this study was to determine what support services grandparents viewed as most beneficial in caring for their grandchild. A total of four grandparents and two great grandparents were interviewed for this qualitative study in order to determine their personal experiences as a kinship caregiver reaching out for support. Data was then coded and several themes emerged. Types of services used included counseling, and reaching out to others for support. Other themes also surrounded positive and negative feelings and beliefs about being in the parenting role again. While some of the findings matched well with previous literature, new areas for future study were also discovered including fear for the future of a grandchild and facing rejection from others after taking in a grandchild. These findings suggest the need for a variety of formal and informal supports that address the needs of grandchildren and grandparents. Advocating for changes in the system and process can provide caregivers with the tools necessary to find their voice in this experience.
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Subprime Learning: Early Education in America Since the Great Recession
compliments of Public Education Network
An analysis by the New America Foundation gauges indicators since 2009 across the birth-through-eight age span regarding student achievement, family well being, and education funding. It finds that the financial crash from subprime lending has led to subprime learning for too many kids in America. School funding has fluctuated wildly, millions lack access to quality programs, the K-3 grades have received scant attention, dual-language learners are underserved, and achievement gaps in reading and math have widened between family-income levels. Child poverty rates have shot up. In 2009, Congress helped newly sworn-in President Obama make good on a $10-billion pledge, but since then the federal government has barely maintained its baseline investment year after year. The report found progress in home-visiting programs, infrastructure-building, standards, and accountability across states and federal policies, as well as PreK-3rd alignment within a small but growing number of places. Yet with years of reduced state funding, sequestered federal funding, lackluster access to good public pre-K and full-day kindergarten, and neglect of K-3 teacher preparation, the past five years have not favored children who need a strong start in school and life. The report urges lawmakers, policymakers, and philanthropists to become more strategic about policies and investments that address the income gap so as to immerse more children in better learning experiences over the next five years. Access report. |
19th Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health
Proposals are now being accepted for the 19th Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health to be held September 18-20, 2014 at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown in Pittsburgh, PA. Last year, there was an increase in school-employed presenters--school social workers, school psychologists, and school counselors--and this was not only well received but enriched the conference.
The Conference is hosted 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 the conference is School Mental Health: Enhancing Safe, Supportive and Healthy Schools. The conference features twelve specialty tracks, including one co-facilitated by ACSSW, ASCA and NASP, and also includes a special topic area on funding and sustainability in school mental health. This Annual Conference offers speakers and participants numerous opportunities to advance knowledge and skills related to school mental health practice, research, training, and policy. It emphasizes a shared school-family-community agenda to bring high quality and evidence-based mental health promotion, prevention, and intervention to students and families. The intended audience for the conference includes school mental health providers, clinicians, educators, administrators, youth and family members, researchers, primary care providers, advocates, and other youth-serving professionals.
The deadline for submissions is extended to February 11, 2014.
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Deadline: February 14, 2014, 5 p.m. EST
For more than 65 years, Lowe's has supported the communities we call home. At a time when schools and community groups are struggling to support the basic needs of their communities, the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation recognizes the importance of financial support. This year, as a foundation, we are challenging ourselves to seek ways to provide the tools that help our educators and parent groups through today's challenging times efficiently, while providing the greatest impact, with basic necessities taking priority.
The Spring 2014 cycle is now open. However, if 1500 applications are received before the application deadline, then the application process will close. Learn more.
Children's Foundation Medical Grants for Children in Need
These grants are designed to cover financial expenses for a child's medical needs beyond a family's health benefit plan. Families can directly apply online for these grants of up to $5,000. Details.
Do Something Seed Grants
Do Something Seed Grants for youth can be used towards project ideas and programs that are just getting started, or to jump-start a program and realize ideas for the first time. These grants can also be used towards projects that are already developed and sustainable, towards the next steps of a project and organization as it looks to expand and grow impact. Maximum award: $500. Eligibility: community projects that are youth-led and driven. Deadline: rolling. Application.
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archived
Group mentoring is an increasingly popular strategy for providing positive relationships and activities to youth in need. In fact, over 20% of youth mentoring programs offer some form of group mentoring, while a survey of American volunteers finds that over half say they work with more than one young person at a time. But compared to one-to-one mentoring, the research on the group approach is still emerging, and programs often wonder when group mentoring might be the right fit and how to implement these models for maximum effectiveness. Access online.
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