School Social Workers

School Mental Wellness Needs Assessment
    School Social Workers assess the mental wellness needs of students, families, and the school district as a whole. Assessments are conducted through surveys, individual conversations, and referrals. Once needs have been identified, the Social Workers seek out or create services to offer support and meet those needs. 

MTSS/IEP/PST Consultation/Participation
    School Social workers participate in special education assessment meetings, as well as, Individual Educational Planning (IEP), 504, and Problem Solving Team (PST)  Meetings when a social, emotional, mental health, and/or behavioral need is identified.  School Social Workers are also active participants in development of Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) for the district and individual schools. 

School Social Workers provide staff with essential information to  better understand factors (cultural, societal, economic, familial, health, etc.) affecting a student’s performance and behavior. School Social workers are instrumental in developing  staff in-service training programs, ( i.e. trauma-informed schools, social-emotional learning). We also assist teachers with behavior management plans for students and provide direct support to staff.

Crisis Intervention
School Social Workers are active members of the school’s Crisis Response and Safety Teams and play a crucial role in crisis intervention. When a student, family, or staff member is in crisis, School Social Workers appropriately assess the nature and severity of the crisis. Once assessed, the Social Worker offers support, provides resources, and assists students and families with next steps to protect physical and psychological safety.

Vaping Prevention Class-Middle and High School 
    At the beginning of the school year, all 7th-12th grade students work through a self-paced module that educates them about the dangers and risks of tobacco products and vaping. When a student breaks the school’s policy on tobacco products and vaping, they are referred to a Vaping and Informed Decision Making Course facilitated each week by the School Social Workers to educate students and parents about the risks associated with vaping. 
 

Coordinate School-Based Mental Health Services (SBMH)
    School Social Workers, along with school counselors and parent/guardian, provide an initial assessment to determine if SBMH services are appropriate for students. Once services are initiated, School Social Workers in collaboration with Highland Health System’s therapists work together to ensure your students receive individual counseling services in their schools.

NOTE: There are times when SBMH is not appropriate for students so the School Social Worker will provide a list of outside agencies for parents/guardians and students to choose the therapist that best meets their needs.

Risk Assessment Services
    When a crisis arises, School Social Workers use assessment tools to determine the severity of risk of harm to self or others. Once assessed, School Social Workers can provide crisis intervention and work with students and families to offer support and guidance for next steps.

Individual and Group Social and Emotional Services
    School Social Workers conduct brief individual and group sessions with students to teach things like: coping skills, social skills, emotional regulation, anxiety reduction, resiliency strategies, conflict resolution, friendship skills, and more. When applicable, parent/guardian permission is obtained before Social Workers facilitate these sessions. 

Home Visits
School Social Workers will make home visits for students to offer resources, discuss attendance, conduct a check in with families we service, and deliver food or necessary items if the family does not have transportation. This helps to remove the barrier of families getting to school for meetings. In some cases home visits are the only way a social worker can meet with the family face to face.

Attendance Monitoring & Support
School Social Workers work with the school’s attendance team to reduce chronic absenteeism and truancy issues in order to improve student success and graduation rates. School Social Workers partner with families and students to identify barriers to regular school attendance and to assist them in creating an individualized Attendance Success Plan.
 

Coordinate Delivery of Child-Welfare Services
    School Social Workers collaborate with outside agencies to ensure families and students receive the services they need. This may look like partnering with other agencies to provide continuity of care for students and families. 

Home Visits
    School Social Workers will make home visits with families to offer resources, discuss attendance, conduct a check in with families we service, and deliver food or necessary items if the family does not have transportation. This helps to remove the barrier of families getting to school for meetings. In some cases home visits are the only way a social worker can meet with the family face to face. 

Resource Referrals
    School Social Workers often make referrals to outside agencies on behalf of families. These referrals may be for utility or financial assistance, food assistance, clothing assistance. These referrals are made confidentially and are made with the families consent and acknowledgement of needs. 

Medical Referrals
    School Social Workers may work with parents to locate low cost healthcare for our students who are uninsured. The Social Workers make referrals to community clinics or advocate for financial assistance from local nonprofits to assist with costs. The School Social Worker may also help parents locate pediatric offices or make referrals to intervention services if the student requires specific medical needs. 

Mental Health Referrals
The School Social Worker can make Mental Health referrals for students and help to locate services for students and guardians. The School Social Worker works with the parent or guardian of the student to locate mental health services and help to get an appointment if needed. The School Social Worker may also help the parent or guardian locate mental health services for themselves if needed. 

Community Resource Guide
    School Social Workers are continuously growing their resource guide. This is a document that school social workers can share with families that has information about food, financial, medical, dental, social services, and mental health resources. This guide lets the social workers have the information at their fingertips to share with families and make referrals. 

School Social Workers often assess students and families for potential McKinney Vento qualification. The School Social Workers work with families who are experiencing any kind of unstable housing and connect with the families, offering support and making referrals to resources within the community. 

McKinney Vento is a federal act that states
The following is the policy of the Congress:
(1) Each State educational agency shall ensure that each child of a homeless individual and each homeless youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as provided to other children and youths.
(2) In any State where compulsory residency requirements or other requirements, in laws, regulations, practices, or policies, may act as a barrier to the identification of, or the enrollment, attendance, or success in school of, homeless children and youths, the State educational agency and local educational agencies in the State will review and undertake steps to revise such laws, regulations, practices, or policies to ensure that homeless children and youths are afforded the same free, appropriate public education as provided to other children and youths.
(3) Homelessness is not a sufficient reason to separate students from the mainstream school environment.
(4) Homeless children and youths should have access to the education and other services that such children and youths need to ensure that such children and youths have an opportunity to meet the same challenging State academic standards to which all students are held.

(Pub. L. 100–77, title VII, §721, as added Pub. L. 107–110, title X, §1032, Jan. 8, 2002, 115 Stat. 1989; amended Pub. L. 114–95, title IX, §9101, Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 2124.)

School Social workers obtain and coordinate community resources to meet students' needs, as well as, help school districts receive adequate support from social and mental health agencies. School Social workers advocate for new and improved community/school service to meet the needs of students and families which helps the system respond effectively to each child’s needs.