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School Social Work NOW!
Supporting Innovative Practice,
Effective Leadership, and Applied Research
Vol 5, Issue 15
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The "Spread the Word to End the Word" 2015 Awareness Day is Wednesday, March 4th. The R-Word Campaign website has many resources and ideas to help you develop activities for your school or district.
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February is National Black History Month. Learn more and get ideas to celebrate from NEA. Check out the month's themes. Have you ever thought that most persons of color learn virtually nothing of their heritage or contributions to the growth of the U.S. in their history courses? This is a gap which much be corrected, not only during this month of February but in the texts and curricula that schools employ.
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Request for Proposals: 20th Annual Conference on
Advancing School Mental Health:
Getting Jazzed About School Mental Health
November 5 - 7, 2015 ~~ New Orleans, LA
Submission Deadline: February 20, 2015
School social workers are encouraged to submit!
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Steve Whitmore, Oakland Schools (MI) Social Work Consultant, is interested in applications and websites used on I-pads and other tablets that address the learning, practice and/or improvement of specific skills, resources, functions and tasks. Please take a few minutes to help with this research. Deadline is February 28th--but why not do it today?
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The best practice for healthy anger management involves proactive behaviors. One of the most prevalent reasons people struggle with appropriately expressing anger is because steps aren't taken before the anger rises to mitigate the intensity of the emotional expression. Toward that end, [here's a] quick, simple, meditative practice you can use throughout your day to help increase mindfulness, a healthy mind-body connection, and to expand your toolbox for interacting effectively with your emotions. This one-minute meditation is grounded in body awareness. Learn how.
Medicaid & School Social Work Services
courtesy of Nic Dibble, WI DPI Education Consultant for School Social Work Services
"A change in federal policy could significantly increase the school social work services that are billable through Medicaid. The federal HHS Center for Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a short memo stating the 'Free Care Rule' now applies to schools. They did not give any details on impact or how this would affect schools' reimbursements through Medicaid, though the implication is that it would expand Medicaid funding for schools providing health, including mental health, services to eligible students. For example, it is not clear if this applies to all students eligible for Medicaid (implied) or only those in "School-Based Services", which is restricted to students with an IEP. Which services are eligible for reimbursement is also not clear. The National Alliance for Medicaid in Education (NAME) is collecting questions here regarding the "free care" guidance until February 20th. The executive director of NAME will be meeting with CMS in April to share these questions." Please don't hesitate to send your questions.
Being an English Language Learner in the classroom can be a very overwhelming experience for students regardless of age. It's important for educators to build an atmosphere that fosters a safe and empathetic environment for ELL students. . . There are a few things that teachers [and school social workers] can adopt and model in their classrooms to help build a kind and empathetic social atmosphere for ELL students. Click here for tips and ideas.
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Growing up in the culture of affluence can connote various psychosocial risks. Studies have shown that upper-class children can manifest elevated disturbance in several areas-such as substance use, anxiety, and depression-and that two sets of factors seem to be implicated, that is, excessive pressures to achieve and isolation from parents (both literal and emotional). Whereas stereotypically, affluent youth and poor youth are respectively thought of as being at "low risk" and "high risk," comparative studies have revealed more similarities than differences in their adjustment patterns and socialization processes. In the years ahead, psychologists must correct the long-standing neglect of a group of youngsters treated, thus far, as not needing their attention. Family wealth does not automatically confer either wisdom in parenting or equanimity of spirit; whereas children rendered atypical by virtue of their parents' wealth are undoubtedly privileged in many respects, there is also, clearly, the potential for some nontrivial threats to their psychological well-being. More.
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If you work for a large organization, you might have a communications, press or public relations department to write press releases and manage media inquiries. If you don't, it's important to know what to put in a press release, plan how to make it attract the media's interest, and understand how to respond to enquiries. You may also need to know how to issue one quickly in a crisis or emergency, or to counter bad publicity about your organization. To get tips and learn more, click here.
How Do You Respond to a New Idea?
What happens at work when you're presented with a new idea? Do you shut it down, with a quick retort or dismissive gesture? Do you start playing devil's advocate, punching holes in the idea or pointing out roadblocks? Or do you ignore it, hoping the idea (and the person who had it) will just go away?
What a leader says and does when someone comes to them with an idea can either spur innovation - or stifle it. In fact, studies show that 20-67 percent of the variance on the climate for creativity in organizations is directly attributed to the behavior of the leader. Read more.
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Parental Rearing and Psychopathology in Mothers of Adolescents With and Without Borderline Personality Symptoms
A combination of multiple factors, including a strong genetic predisposition and environmental factors, are considered to contribute to the developmental pathways to borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, these factors have mostly been investigated retrospectively, and hardly in adolescents. The current study focuses on maternal factors in BPD features in adolescence. Read study.
A Study of Select Barriers to Grief Counseling Groups for Adolescents by School Social Workers in Georgia Public Schools
Abstract: This study explores select barriers to grief counseling groups for adolescents by Georgia public school social workers. The purpose of this study is to determine if there are select barriers in place in school systems that may prevent school social workers from conducting grief counseling groups within the school setting for adolescents. Seventy five (75) survey participants were selected for the study utilizing non probability convenience sampling from among the participants of the selected Savannah site for the study. The survey participants were composed of school social workers who are members of the state chapter of School Social Workers Association of Georgia (SSWAG) organization, which is the state charter of the larger School Social Workers Association of America (SSWAA), national organization. The research study employed a survey questionnaire entitledA Study of Barriers to Grief Counseling Groups for Adolescents in School and a four point continuum Likert scale. The findings of the study indicate that there is no statistical significance between select barriers: amount of time provided during a school day, administrative support, and social work case loads when compared to conducting grief counseling groups. The data indicates that there is no relationship between the selected barriers and conducting grief counseling groups. However, responding school social workers agree that grief impacts adolescents and interferes with teaching and learning in school and that a comfort level with the topic of grief is required in order to conduct grief counseling groups. The overall findings of this research study indicate that grief counseling groups are underutilized interventions by Georgia public school social workers, who are members of the School Social Workers Association of Georgia organization. Although Georgia public school social workers recognize the importance of grief counseling groups as effective interventions for adolescents, based on the frequency distribution data grief counseling groups are not being conducted at higher levels by school social workers for adolescents. Full abstract. Contact Kiana Battle for more information.
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Recommended Reads for February
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10 Recent Non-Fiction Books to Read for Black History Month
- Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward
- The Warmth of Other Suns: the Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
- The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable
- Mo' Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove
by Ahtnir "Questlove" Thompson and Ben Greenman
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How to Be Black by Baratunde Thurston
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The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
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White Girls by Hilton Als
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How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America by Kiese Laymon
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Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King
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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. Or 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.
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School Social Work Positions
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Continued - listed by state abbreviation
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School District Distributes Work of School Social Workers to Psychologist and School Counselors
The Pocatello, ID director of special services stated that although school social workers have been removed from the elementary level, students are still getting "identical services." One social worker has been replaced with a psychologist, and the remaining 2.5 school social workers have been moved to middle and high school. Watch to learn more.
U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder, has called the rise in overdose deaths from heroin and prescription painkillers an "urgent public health crisis." According to the CDC, one in five high school students has taken prescription drugs without a doctor's prescription. And heroin abusers often report that their foray into heroin began with prescription drug abuse. Despite what people think, heroin is an equal opportunity destroyer. More.
Spearheaded by former Congressman Edolphus "Ed" Towns and joined by former Congressman Ronald V. Dellums and current Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA13), Tuesday March 17, 2015 has been declared Social Work Day on the Hill. A reception will be held in Room B-340 of the Rayburn House Office Building from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. to highlight the day dedicated to celebrating contributions social workers make to Congress and the federal government. The event's theme is Engaging Congress in the Pursuit of Social Justice. More than two dozen social work organizations and schools are collaborating to create the event in conjunction with the Congressional Social Work Caucus, founded by Mr. Towns in 2010 during the 111th Congress. Congresswoman Lee chairs the Social Work Caucus. A focal point of the day will be stepping up efforts to pass the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act. Read more. |
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1st Quarter Deadline: March 31, 2015
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 first quarter cycle ends March 31st. Grants are up to $1000. Recipients will be notified by May 15th.
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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