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School Social Work NOW!
Supporting Innovative Practice,
Effective Leadership, and Applied Research
Vol 5, Issue 2
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Only two more weeks to take advantage of the $15 savings offer from ACSSW when you join or renew your professional membership. You know you want to! Many initiatives are occurring in education. School social workers need to be at the table now--not in the kitchen cleaning up!! Don't put it off any longer. Act by September 30th for $95 instead of the regular $110. There IS strength in numbers. More info. Read the following for an examples of your dues at work and reasons why we need to stay alert and united.
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In Mid August Education Week highlighted a report from the Thomas Fordham Institute, The Hidden Half: School Employees Who Don't Teach, which states that non-teaching school staff have increased 130% since 1970 and that schools need to re-examine this expenditure, inferring that these personnel do not substantially contribute to students' educations. NASISP, the National Alliance of Specialized Instructiona l Support Personnel of which ACSSW is a member, wrote a letter of response to the editor.
Also, according to SchoolSocialWork.net Illinois has blurred the line between school social work and school counselors with the enactment of a new state law, Public Act 98-918, which expands the role of the counselor to include social developmental histories and liaison work with families and community agencies, roles for which school social workers have specific training and experience.
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On October 6th, ACSSW will also be hosting its 2nd annual multidisciplinary, Wisconsin-based WI Mental Health in Schools Institute. Check out the WI Mental Health in Schools Brochure to view the topics which include child maltreatment and related trauma treatment, anxiety and school refusal, threat assessment, boundaries/ethics and technology, Signs of Suicide Program, bullying prevention, assisting students in military families, managing conflict in the workplace, and more! Register today. Space is still available but seating is limited.
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JANUARY 26-27, 2015 . . . NEW ORLEANS
Save these dates!!
The 4th ACSSW National School Mental Health Institute, Standing Up for Children's Mental Health In Schools, is off and running! In collaboration with Louisiana State University and Tulane University ACSSW will again be hosting an interactive professional development offering for school social workers. This mental health institute is the only national offering of this type designed for school social workers!
Excellent presentation proposals have been submitted from experts from around the country--trauma and alternatives to suspension; maternal depression and poverty and the impact on schools; understanding psychotropic medication; girls' relational aggression and bullying; developing a coping culture, supporting LGBTQ students, and more. The brochure is being developed and should be out in mid October. Watch this newsletter and the ACSSW website for details in the near future. There are terrific presentations planned!! Pre-registration is open.
President
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Abstract: This article discusses how to use the SOAP (subjective, objective, assessment, and plan) note format to provide clear and concise documentation of the clients continuum of care. Not only does this format allow for thorough documentation, but it also assists the counselor in representing client concerns in a holistic framework, thus permitting practitioners, paraprofessionals, and case managers to better understand the concerns and needs of the client. Whereas counselors working in certain settings (eg, public funded institutions) are likely to find various recommendations in the article easy to incorporate into their current practice, the authors believe the recommendations are relevant to a wide array of settings. Full article.
from Liana Lowenstein
Understanding and Helping Children Who Dissociate: Tips for Therapists
"Children who have experienced trauma, especially complex trauma, may dissociate. Dissociation occurs when some part of the child's mind and behavior becomes separated (dissociated) from the child's awareness as a whole. When a child feels very afraid and helpless and cannot physically escape from the situation, he/she may dissociate. This is a survival technique that can be helpful to the child at the time of the frightening event. It is when this separation continues to occur with other threatening events or with reminders of the traumatic event that it is problematic (International Society for the Study of Dissociation, 2003)...Information about child dissociation is still evolving. The practitioner who treats traumatized children, then, need to keep abreast of recent literature on the treatment of dissociation in children. Any guidelines followed for treating dissociative symptoms in children 'should avoid encouraging an overly mechanistic approach that could undermine the treatment relationship' (American Psychological Association, 2000, p. 2)." Read more.
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Conventional wisdom suggests that Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials in the United States are fundamentally different from one another. And certainly there are real differences-including the way we dress, the way we consume information, the music we listen to, and ideas about appropriate personal behavior.
Many organizational leaders are anticipating a substantial upheaval in work culture and expectations as more Millennials enter the workforce and more Baby Boomers retire. But will there need to be wholesale changes in how leaders need to behave to be effective?
To better understand the generational dynamics at work, we asked a cross section of leaders
what they think makes a leader effective. What we found is that-when it comes to leadership-
the generations are more alike than different. Read more.The growing need for change leadership in organizations is widely acknowledged as some estimates are as high as 70% of all large scale change initiatives fail to meet the objectives delineated at the beginning of the process. The research and literature on change indicates that a primary reason for the success or failure of a change initiative hinges on the skills and knowledge of the individuals responsible for leading the change. In light of this, one obvious question arises: What leadership behaviors or competencies are most strongly associated with effectively leading or overseeing change initiatives? Check out the rest.
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Abstract: With the advent of multi-tiered problem solving frameworks, including positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS), has come increasing emphasis on general education classroom teachers serving as data collectors, assessors, and interventionists for students demonstrating problem behavior. As such, there is need for teachers to have access to strategies that can be used as a foundation of service delivery and that are appropriate in assessment, intervention, and communication across a wide range of students and situations. Research suggests that Direct Behavior Rating (DBR) is a particularly promising tool for tracking student progress, affecting change in student behavior, maintaining and generalizing treatment effects over time and settings, and enhancing communication between school professionals and families. This article offers an overview of DBR and its various uses and suggestions for practitioners in implementing it as a tool for Tier 2 support. Full article.
Abstract: For many parents and educators, school safety is one of the most important issues in the United States. Despite anecdotal evidence that students receiving special education services are often negatively stereotyped by school administrators and educators for behaviors threatening school order and safety, and despite increased media attention to the interaction between students receiving special education services and law enforcement officers in schools, no research has examined perceptions of school resource officers toward these students. Because school resource officers are now a permanent part of the school culture, and because disproportionate numbers of students receiving special education services are disciplined (e.g., school suspensions and arrests) each year, research is needed to examine attitudes of SROs regarding the presence and behaviors of students receiving special education services. Data collected from 130 School Resource Officers (SROs) in Kentucky revealed that large portions of SROs perceived that behaviors of students receiving special education services had a negative impact on the school environments and these perceptions had little association with the SRO's demographic and experiential variables. Implications for policy and future research are addressed. Access study.
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January 26-27, 2015
ACSSW 4th National SSW Institute on Mental Health
Standing Up for Children's Mental Health in Schools
Tulane University -- New Orleans, LA
Brochure out soon!
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October 6, 2014
A multi-professional perspective
Pewaukee, WI
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Recommended Read for September
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Beginnings, Middles, & Ends: Sideways Stories on the Art & Soul of Social Work
by Ogden Rogers
Ogden Rogers has written a collection of essays, poems, and other writings about life in social work, and about life in general. . .This book of 99 stories reads easily, and the author tells tales that operate at many levels. The stories exemplify role modeling and transformational learning theories, and readers are encouraged to reflect and consider their own thoughts and reactions to each piece. It's written in an easy, non-linear style that is filled with wit, wisdom, and drama. In many ways, it is a book that looks at social work from the inside out, and seeks to provide the reader with opportunities for validation, surprise, critique, and reading enjoyment. Read more.
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This toolkit assists high schools and school districts in designing and implementing strategies to prevent suicide and promote behavioral health. It includes tools to implement a multi-faceted suicide prevention program that responds to the needs and cultures of students. Toolkit.
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.
Helping Traumatized Children Learn, vol. 1 & 2, are available for purchase or free download on the website. Click here to learn more about this.
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School Social Work Positions
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Continued - listed by state abbreviation
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Mt. Diablo, CA
Denver, CO
Connecticut (various)
Washington, DC
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Savannah, GA
Chicago, IL #2
Evanston, IL #1
Evanston, IL #2 |
Harper Woods, MI
St. Paul, MN
Carson City, NV
Las Cruces, NM
Brewster, NY
Ohio Univ Lecturer of Human Services Technology-Lancaster, OH
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Ohio Univ Assist/Assoc/Full Prof-Athens, OH
Bluffton, SC
Austin, TX
Georgetown,TX
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According to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in a new federal video resource called "Bullying, Harassment, and Civil Rights: An Overview of School Districts' Federal Obligation to Respond to Harassment," federal civil rights laws require that all schools address discriminatory harassment.
Schools are also expected to prevent school bullying and harassment and learn the differences in the two, he said.
It's all part of the U.S. Department of Education's collective action to foster a safe, strong environment for students to learn. Read more.
Is the MSW the New MBA?
Recent corporate failures demonstrate the need for the very skills that social workers bring. Now a few schools are recognizing this and offering joint tracks that merge the interests of businesses and the communities they work in.
The MBA is now the most popular master's degree in the U.S., making up one quarter of all such degrees conferred. But a few schools are recognizing that a different course of study might better serve both aspiring business leaders and the world at large: a master's in social work. Continue.
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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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Grants of up to $500 are available for "innovative programs, events, or projects" from the Meemic Foundation. Apply online using their easy application that takes less than 30 minutes to complete. These grants are open to any employee of a K-12 public or private school. Universities and colleges may also apply. Fill-in-the-blank application.
Grants are accepted year round, but the third quarter cycle ($500 max per grant) ends September 30. Funds will be available in mid-November.
The foundation says it supports "basically anything that supports teachers and enhances the student's educational experience" - from field trips to books to behavior modification programs; science, music, or art equipment to professional development.
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