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School Social Work NOW!
Supporting Innovative Practice,
Effective Leadership, and Applied Research
Vol 4, Issue 22
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ACSSW is seeking school social workers who work with school athletes on a regular basis to be interviewed for a journal article. If you or someone you know "fits the bill", please contact me by clicking Judie.
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On October 6th, ACSSW will be hosting its 2nd annual Mental Health in Schools Institute in Pewaukee, WI, just west of Milwaukee. This will again be a multi-disciplinary event and will include community mental health providers. Details are still being finalized, but topics will include: anxiety and school refusal, boundaries/ethics and technology, Signs of Suicide Program, Act Now! bullying prevention program, assisting students in military families, managing conflict in the workplace, and more! Click here to learn more.
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As school mental health providers, school social workers need to be promoting good mental health for our children and youth. National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day is May 8th. The goal of this day is to raise awareness of children's mental health and the resources to assist challenged children and youth. Positive mental health contributes to successful academic achievement and healthy lifestyle. Plan now to make this a successful district-wide initiative this May. Check out the ACSSW Poster and Talking Points to help you make school personnel aware of how important Children's Mental Health is. Green pins to support Children's Mental Health are available.
Judith Kullas Shine
President
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Recommended Read for March
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Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys
 by Dan Kindlon, PhD, & Michael Thompson, PhD
Amazon: Kindlon and Thompson make a compelling case that emotional literacy is the most valuable gift we can offer our sons, urging parents to recognize the price boys pay when we hold them to an impossible standard of manhood. They identify the social and emotional challenges that boys encounter in school and show how parents can help boys cultivate emotional awareness and empathy--giving them the vital connections and support their need to navigate the social pressures of youth.
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2nd National School Social Work Survey
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Do you have 20 minutes to advance the profession of school social work? Of the 2400 responses, 231 have come from ACSSW members and readers. Let's improve this and help the researchers to get to 3000! The final reminder has been sent.
The 2nd National School Social Work Survey is underway. This important survey has two broad aims:
(1) to collect current data from the largest number of practicing SSWs; and
(2) to use that data to enhance our professional development and training.
This data can inform policy- and decision-makers at all levels, local to federal. Your input is essential. If you can't complete the survey in one sitting, you can return to it. Please participate. We need many, many more responses. Click:
National SSW Survey
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The last decade has seen a rise in the creation and use of social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter. Facebook has 1.15 billion monthly active users. Seventy-five percent of teenagers own cell phones, and 25% report using their phones to access social media outlets. More than 50% of teenagers visit a social networking site daily, with 22% logging in to their favorite social media network more than 10 times a day. The easy accessibility of social media outlets has prompted study of the association of that accessibility with anxiety, depression, and self-esteem. Although not a DSM-5 or ICD-10 diagnosis, internet addiction has been correlated with depression. More.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy statement on testing for drugs in adolescents states: "Involuntary testing is not appropriate in adolescents with decisional capacity-even with parental consent-and should be performed only if there are strong medical or legal reasons to do so". Definitions of decisional capacity, or competence, vary widely. The AAP policy states that competency "refers to the patient's ability to understand the relationship between the use of a drug, its consequences, and testing". Read case study and commentary.
Over 40 years of research has consistently found that particular student groups-especially Black males-have disproportionately received exclusionary discipline, placing them at increased risk of experiencing those negative outcomes. Disciplinary disparities have also been documented for girls of color; students with disabilities; Hispanic/Latino students; and students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and gender non- conforming. Disproportionality in discipline cannot be fully explained by higher rates of student misbehavior or the challenges associated with poverty. Hence, a more complete understanding of where and why disparities occur and developing approaches that effectively reduce both overall use of exclusionary discipline and the discipline gap, is an urgent national priority. . . In order to support the work of disparity reduction, the Discipline Disparities Collaborative (Collaborative)- an inter-disciplinary, multi-state, and highly diverse group of nationally recognized researchers, advocates, funders, content experts, and practitioners-engaged stakeholders across the country on both the problem of and solutions to disparities in discipline. Complete brief.
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Free 1.5 CEUs for School Social Workers
ACSSW is very pleased to offer an opportunity for any school social worker to earn 1.5 FREE CEUs due to ACSSW's sponsorship of an excellent program:
Plan, Prepare, Prevent: The SOS Online
Gatekeeper Training Module
The SOS Signs of Suicide® Prevention Program is an award winning, nationally recognized program designed for middle and high school-age students. The program teaches students how to identify the symptoms of depression and suicidality in themselves or their friends, and encourages help-seeking through the use of the ACT® technique (Acknowledge, Care, Tell). This course is available free to school social workers. With sponsorship from ACSSW, all learners will receive 1.5 contact hours upon completion. Click to Learn More. To register call 781-239-0071 or email SOS Registration and mention that you'd like to register.
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.
Would You Like to Participate in Field Research of the NEW BASC-3?
Pearson is currently developing the Behavior Assessment System for Children-3 (BASC-3) and is seeking professionals to aid in field testing. Accepted examiners will be recruiting children and young adults to be assessed with BASC-3 and other rating forms as part of the Standardization. Enroll as an examiner now to ensure your place in this exciting project. Click here to learn more.
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As the accounting manager, controller, and later director of finance for various associations, I have encountered my share of conflicts of interest and ethical lapses in others. In nearly every instance, the responsibility to correct the situation fell to me. I think this was in part because I project a sense of executive courage, an ability to deal with issues of governance and conflicts of interest with conviction and dignity.
But I have not always had this courage. In my youth I was more like the cowardly lion, shying away from difficult conversations. Over the years, however, I have gained an appreciation for my duty as an association professional to protect the financial assets of the association and its members. I have fulfilled that duty on several occasions, and each experience provided a bit more courage for the next one. Uncovering and correcting an ethical lapse is disheartening, but if handled with courage, it can be a growth experience for the association professional. Read full story.
Ethics in Organizations and Leadership
Ethics must begin at the top of an organization. It is a leadership issue and the chief executive officer must set the example. -- Former Chief Justice Edward Hennessey, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
No matter which culture is promoted by organizational leaders, the point is that the organizational culture needs to fit with the organization's strategy and environment. For a healthy organizational culture to flourish, elements of key values must be in place and practiced. These values begin with trust as an underlying and integrated premise. Complete article.
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It's hard to imagine what a child may feel when a mother or father dies. Studies have found this crisis can pose serious psychological and developmental problems for years. Now new research suggests kids' academic performance can also suffer.
The extensive study from Sweden finds that after a parent's death, kids tend to struggle with lower grades and even failure in school. If the tragedy was caused by something external -- such as accidents, violence or suicide -- the impact seems to be even more pronounced.
The problems typically hit the underserved hardest. Full article.
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| Request for Survey Help on ELL |
ELL Survey Request for Help
A request from school social work researcher, Professor Kerry Vandergrift, came to us. This represents an opportunity to assist in an area of research that is often overlooked--and in which we are not often included. If you work with ELL students or have an interest in them, please respond to this survey.
from Dr. Vandergrift:
You are invited to participate in a research study about school social worker perspectives on English language learners, administered by Dr. Kerry Fay Vandergrift at the Radford University School of Social Work. This online survey will take about 20 minutes and at the end of the survey you may choose to be entered into a drawing to win one of two $25 or one $50 Amazon gift cards. The survey has questions about your experiences with and knowledge of working with ELLs, resources, and your school. You do need to have a BSW or an MSW to participate, and over 18, but do not need to have any ELLs enrolled in your school. Feel free to share the link with other school social workers! Please click here (or copy and paste the following link into your browser:
http://radford.qualtrics.com//SE/?SID=SV_eR0WYOemVTTB79P ) to begin the survey.
The survey will close April 18.
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USC Offers Summer Program Opportunity to Military-Connected Students
April 1 Deadline
The USC Provost is offering eight four-week scholarships to its on-campus Summer Program for high school students who have a parent that is an active or veteran U.S. service member.
To qualify for the 2014 Provost's Pre-College Summer Scholarship for Military High School Students, students must currently be in 10th, 11th or 12th grade and must demonstrate academic ability, maturity and a commitment to education and developing community.
The USC Office of Continuing Education and Summer Programs, which is part of the Provost's office, will cover all expenses, including tuition, fees, airfare, room and board and course materials.
USC's Summer Program offers a wide range of subject areas and offers students a chance to preview freshman year at one of the the world's leading private research universities.
Completed applications, which are available here, as well as supplemental materials, must be postmarked by Tuesday, April 1. For additional information, email Sonny Hayes or call between 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time at (213) 740-5679.
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SAMHSA launched the Girls Matter! webinar series to discuss challenges, opportunities, and strategies for supporting adolescent girls. Professionals working with adolescents will have a chance to learn more about the unique needs of girls ages 12-18, and how those needs impact their behavioral health and development. Each month, Girls Matter! features a free 90-minute webinar, which covers a related behavioral health topic. Review archived webinars and register for the next 4. Next webinar is April 22nd.
Archived
The CSMH and the IDEA Partnership presented a webinar, School Mental Health: A Federal Perspective, on January 30, 2014. Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, the President put forward a number of initiatives aimed at making schools and communities safer and to increase access to mental health services in his plan, Now is the Time. As he said, "We won't be able to stop every violent act, but if there is even one thing we can do to prevent any of these events, we have a deep obligation, all of us, to try." This webinar provided an overview of federal efforts that have already been put in place, as well as those that have been proposed for the upcoming years. Presenters David Esquith, Director for the Office of Safe and Healthy Students (OSHS) Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), U.S. Department of Education, and Ingrid Donato, Branch Chief, Mental Health Promotion, Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), provided participants with information about other existing federal initiatives to prevent youth violence and promote positive student outcomes. Strategies that support students, schools, and communities as well as the importance of cross-system partnerships were highlighted. The webinar recording is available as well as the PowerPoint. Access here.
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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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