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School Social Work NOW!
Supporting Innovative Practice,
Effective Leadership, and Applied Research
Vol 5, Issue 22
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Thunder Clap and Twitter Storm - Important
Next week, April 13-17, is National Specialized Instructional Support (SISP) Personnel Awareness Week. School social workers are part of SISP school personnel (formerly called related service or pupil service providers). SISP need to raise awareness of our services!
As part of the celebration, NASISP--of which ACSSW is a member--is doing a Thunder Clap and a Twitter Storm on April 13th. This is an important effort to get the attention of Congress and will take, literally, 3 minutes of your time. We advocate for students and families. Let's now advocate for ourselves by joining in this important effort. Isn't 3 minutes worth it? Learn more; links.
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As educators, it may seem overwhelming that, in addition to addressing overt racism in our classrooms and schools, we also need to tackle unconscious racial prejudices, known as "implicit bias," not only in our students, but in ourselves. However, it is possible to address implicit bias, and the solutions are in our hands... For many of us who strive for equity and social justice in our rapidly diversifying country, the next big hurdle in our path is tackling aversive racism and stereotyping-also known as implicit bias... Several research experiments have deepened our understanding of implicit bias... More.
"This review identified 95 tools for screening and/or assessing mental health or social-emotional development in children and adolescents. Results are grouped into three sub-sections: tools or screening and assessment, tools for screening only, and tools for assessment only. Each of these three sections begins with a table that provides an overview of the tools, followed by text that describes each of them in more detail. The text includes descriptions of each instrument, outlines some advantages and disadvantages of the tools for the purposes of the present project, and provides author and publisher information.
This report culminates in a discussion section that compares and contrasts the advantages and disadvantages of a select few tools that are expected to be the best options for the purposes for the purposes of implementing universal screenings (with follow-up assessments) within child welfare agencies in Northern California. These tools were selected because they: are applicable to a wide age range of children and adolescents, measure clinically-relevant aspects of mental health, and are appropriate for use in social work and/or clinical practice. All of them also had to demonstrate acceptable validity and reliability." Read more.
The nation's growing prison and jail population has raised serious questions about the collateral effects of incarceration on children, families and communities. Whatever one's views about the appropriate role of incarceration in the criminal justice system, it is clear that imprisonment disrupts positive, nurturing relationships between many parents-particularly mothers-and their children. In addition, many families with children suffer economic strain and instability when a parent is imprisoned. Research suggests that intervening in the lives of incarcerated parents and their children to preserve and strengthen positive family connections can yield positive societal benefits in the form of reduced recidivism, less intergenerational criminal justice system involvement, and promotion of healthy child development. In the words of one prominent researcher, "[s]tudies . . . indicate that families are important to prisoners and to the achievement of major social goals, including the prevention of recidivism and delinquency."...
This report proposes a list of [such] questions, each followed by a discussion that is intended, not so much as a definitive answer, but as general background information. The information identifies only general trends, since specific answers to the questions posed will differ by state, depending on factors such as the existing policy context and service array, demographic trends and available data. Full report.
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In his new book, Leadership Pain, Dr. Sam Chand says, "There is no growth without change, no change without loss, and no loss without pain. Bottom line: if you're not hurting, you're not leading."
Ouch! (No pun intended.) But that is just the opposite of what most people have been taught about leadership and all its accompanying power, glory, fame, and riches.
The truth is ... leadership and pain go hand in hand. And Dr. Chand knows better than most people. He started as a janitor at a southern college and ended up being the President of that same college some time later. Learn more.
The Leadership Legacy Assessment Test: Identifying Your Instinctive Leadership Style
You might be your company's biggest rainmaker. You might be a brilliant strategist. You might be hitting and exceeding performance goals for your unit, your division, your company - every quarter.
But if you jumped ship or disappeared today, what would you leave behind?
What would the people you've worked with do differently because they worked with you? What would they think about differently? Would they emulate your behaviors in any way? Or would they be saying "I'm never going to do that/be that/act that way?"
The way that people think, behave, approach work and life as a result of having worked with you - is your leadership legacy. And it has very little to do with your abilities, your measurable performance, your strategic savvy. It has everything to do with who you are, as a person, at work. It has everything to do with your natural role, (as opposed to your title and responsibilities). Read more and take the test.
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Abstract: School principals understand that no one professional person can be all things to all people. There must be an organized pattern of services in which each member of the school administrator's staff has a clear knowledge of how everyone contributes to the goals of the larger system (Demsch, O'Connor, & Friedman, 2001). By utilizing specialists as components of the school community, a principal can facilitate teamwork, with school social workers as an important part of that team. School social workers focus on school-community-child-parent interaction and work to help children reach their potential through the most effective use of their educational opportunities. However, the role of the school social worker can only be realized if school leadership accepts the value of such service. The principal is responsible for ensuring that social work services are being used to their fullest extent; therefore, it is imperative that administrators fully understand the role of service providers available to students in their school (Demsch, O'Connor, & Friedman, 2001). Sources note the striking lack of literature addressing the similarities and differences among school social workers and administrators' perceptions of services and their associated outcomes (Bye, Shepard, Patridge, & Alvarez, 2009). Continue here.
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Recommended Read for April
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recommended by reader Mallory Knipe, SSW, Black River Falls, WI
The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog and Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook: What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us About Loss, Love, and Healing
By Bruce Perry, Maia Szalavitz
What happens when a young brain is traumatized? How does terror, abuse, or disaster affect a child's mind--and how can that mind recover? Child psychiatrist Bruce Perry has helped children faced with unimaginable horror: genocide survivors, murder witnesses, kidnapped teenagers, and victims of family violence. In The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog, he tells their stories of trauma and transformation through the lens of science, revealing the brain's astonishing capacity for healing. Deftly combining unforgettable case histories with his own compassionate, insightful strategies for rehabilitation, Perry explains what exactly happens to the brain when a child is exposed to extreme stress-and reveals the unexpected measures that can be taken to ease a child's pain and help him grow into a healthy adult. Through the stories of children who recover-physically, mentally, and emotionally-from the most devastating circumstances, Perry shows how simple things like surroundings, affection, language, and touch can deeply impact the developing brain, for better or for worse. In this deeply informed and moving book, Bruce Perry dramatically demonstrates that only when we understand the science of the mind can we hope to heal the spirit of even the most wounded child.
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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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Bethel, AK
Tucson, AZ
Los Angeles, CA
Connecticut (various)
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Barrington, IL Summer
Chicago, IL
Palatine, IL '15-'16
Schaumburg, IL
Waukegan, IL
Evansville, IN
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Topeka, KS
Wichita, KS
Boston, MA '15-'16
Clark, NJ
Utica, NY
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NY School Psychologists Earn C on Child Abuse Reporting Test
The 274 school psychologists participating in the study, which was published in November's issue of Psychology in the Schools, scored a 72 percent on a written test of their overall knowledge of child maltreatment reporting. These participants work at elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools throughout New York state. "It was nowhere near what I'd like to see people get," said Dr. Victoria Lusk, the school psychologist in New York who led the study. "I'd like to see them get in the A range." When asked to analyze a scenario of sexual abuse, only 65 percent of the psychologists surveyed believed it might be maltreatment, and only 44 percent of them said they would report the incident to child protective services (CPS). Read more. What is the GAF Score for Social Work? I never thought this would be a problem. These people are relentless fighters, the kind of people who sacrifice money for a higher cause. If anything was certain, social workers fighting for social work should be in the bag. I've been fortunate to have a cat-birds seat on this. The benefit of a social media organization is that you have plenty of data, but as is so common in life sometimes things come down to a simple number, a telling metric... [Yet] 23,000 is the number of signatures on the Social Work Reinvestment Act (SWRA) petition that SJS has spearheaded, in conjunction with the Congressional Research Institute of Social Work and Policy, for the last few years. It is a number that shows promise and commitment, a seriousness beyond the normal trivialities of the internet. But it also reveals a weakness in the structure of social work: why is is so hard for social workers to organize around a single important issue when it relates to social work itself?... As SJS has struggled to do our part there has been minimal help, outreach, or communication from any of the 30 organizations listed above. This is not sour grapes, it goes beyond that. I do not hear the same message from the National Association of Social Workers as the Clinical Social Work Association. The School Social Work Association of America is not preaching the same message as the Council on Social Work Education. In fact, there does not seen to be any unifying force or issue binding social work together on the macro levels... Full article. |
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Suicide Prevention in Schools is Essential: Understand the Liability and Mental Health Issues
Wednesday, April 22 at 2 p.m. EDT - free
Screening for Mental Health is offering a free webinar featuring Dr. Scott Poland, a national expert on suicide prevention education in schools. The increase in youth suicide means that schools cannot ignore the issue and instead need to face it head on. However, schools have many concerns about suicide prevention education that Dr. Poland can answer, such as:
- How do we deliver the most effective suicide prevention programming while considering liability?
- What do our students and community believe about youth suicide that we need to address first?
- Unfortunately there has been a suicide in my community, now what can I do to prevent further suicides from happening?
Death and grief will affect the lives of almost all children at some point, often leading to struggles with academic performance, social relationships, and behavior. The death of a loved one is immensely challenging for anyone, but children and teens can find it particularly difficult. Scholastic.com, through the generosity of the New York Life Foundation, hosted a live, interactive webcast on the subject of Children and Grief. Using actual scenarios from children and parents, childhood grief expert, pediatrician, and author Dr. David Schonfeld, MD, and Chris Park, president of the New York Life Foundation, talked about misconceptions, and imparted valuable advice on how educators and all other caring adults can best support grieving children-whether it's right after the loss or years later. Download webcast.
Archived by SAMHSA & KSOC-TV
Various Archived Webinars from the Center for School Mental Health, University of Maryland
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SchoolGrants
SchoolGrants was created in 1999 as a way to share grant information with PK-12 educators. Grant writing can be intimidating to those who are new at it. SchoolGrants helps ease those fears by providing online tips to those who need them. Finding suitable grant opportunities requires a great deal of time and research - SchoolGrants reduces the effort by listing a variety of opportunities available to public and private nonprofit elementary and secondary schools and districts across the United States. Sample grants are available as well as the opportunity to sign up for a listserv and newsletter. More info.
(for students affected by MS)
Deadline: April 30, 2015
2nd Quarter Deadline: June 30, 2015
Grants of up to $1000 are available for "innovative programs, events, or projects" from the Meemic Foundation for Michigan, Wisconsin or Illinois. 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 second quarter cycle ends June 30th. Grants are up to $1000. Recipients will be notified by August 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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