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Presentation Suggestions

This Power point is designed for use by school social workers who may be making presentations about school social work to various audiences such as school boards, parent or community groups, school staffs, legislators or policy makers, etc.

Users should feel free to modify slides to fit the practice of school social work in their school district or add or delete slides according to their own preference.

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The California Associationof

School Social Workers

in cooperation with theThe School Social Work Association

of America

present

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California School Social Workers

Develop Successful Students and Engaged Families and Communitieswith our Public Schools

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• Want to learn and succeed in school!

• Have families that want them to succeed in school and in life!

ALL CHILDRENALL CHILDREN

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YET MANY FAIL

In 2002 only 32 percent of fourth-

graders could read skillfully at

grade level as measured by the

National Assessment of

Educational Programs

• (United States Department

of Education, 2004).

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BECAUSE OF BARRIERS TO LEARNING

40% of American children are at risk 40% of American children are at risk

for school failure due to poverty, for school failure due to poverty,

race, immigration, poor English race, immigration, poor English

language skills, living in a single-language skills, living in a single-

parent family, parents with little parent family, parents with little

education or health problemseducation or health problems

(National Commission on Children, 1991)(National Commission on Children, 1991)

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EMOTIONAL BARRIERSEMOTIONAL BARRIERS

About 19% of all children About 19% of all children seen by Primary Care seen by Primary Care Physicians have behavioral Physicians have behavioral and emotional problems.and emotional problems.

1 in 5 have a diagnosable mental, 1 in 5 have a diagnosable mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder.emotional, or behavioral disorder.

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BUT FEW RECEIVE HELP…

• Fewer than 1 in 5 of the 17.5 million children needing mental health services actually receive them.(Report of the Surgeon General’s Conference

on Children’s Mental Health, 11/8/01)

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ECONOMIC BARRIERS

• One in five children under five years old, living in the US in 2003 lived in poverty

One in 10 American families in the One in 10 American families in the US in 2003 lived in povertyUS in 2003 lived in poverty

(US Census, 2003)(US Census, 2003)

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““I cannot teach the I cannot teach the head when the heart head when the heart is broken or the mind is broken or the mind

is troubled”is troubled”

Parkway School District Parkway School District

Missouri Teacher of the YearMissouri Teacher of the Year

ONE TEACHER SAID, ONE TEACHER SAID,

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““No teacher having a No teacher having a

problem with a student problem with a student

should feel responsible should feel responsible

for solving it alonefor solving it alone.”.”

TEACHERS CAN’T DO IT ALONE!TEACHERS CAN’T DO IT ALONE!

Smith Mills Elementary School Smith Mills Elementary School

Henderson County, KentuckyHenderson County, Kentucky

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Help teachers, Help teachers, students & students &

families families overcome overcome barriers to barriers to learning.learning.

SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS

California School Social WorkersCalifornia School Social Workers

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A RESOURCE FOR STUDENTS A RESOURCE FOR STUDENTS IN SCHOOLSIN SCHOOLS

School social workers are School social workers are

mental health professionals mental health professionals

licensed to provide services licensed to provide services

that promote social, emotional that promote social, emotional

and behavioral adjustment in and behavioral adjustment in

school and in society.school and in society.

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SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS HELP STUDENTS DEVELOP INTERNAL ASSETSHELP STUDENTS DEVELOP INTERNAL ASSETS

Individual and group counseling Individual and group counseling

to develop:to develop:

• positive social skillspositive social skills

• anger managementanger management

• improved self conceptimproved self concept

• self advocacy self advocacy

• time managementtime management & study skills& study skills

• stress management skillsstress management skills

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School Social Workers Help Students

• Facilitate activities that increase:

• the motivation to learnthe motivation to learn

• attachment to schoolattachment to school

• community involvementcommunity involvement

• mental and physical mental and physical healthhealth

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DEVELOPING EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE• Jason is a 15-year-old boy in a special education

class. His skills have improved and he could return to the regular class. But Jason is overweight and embarrassed. He has anxiety attacks when he is around other students because he thinks they are making fun of him.

• The school social worker teaches Jason how to relax when he gets nervous. She also planned a service learning project for Jason and invited several students from the regular class to join him. With her help Jason started making friends. When they completed the project he returned to his regular class.

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SUPPORTING TEACHERS

• Providing information about the mental health needs of students

• Showing how poverty, race,Showing how poverty, race,

language or disabilitieslanguage or disabilities

affect learningaffect learning

• Helping build partnerships Helping build partnerships

between teachers and parentsbetween teachers and parents

• Listening to their concernsListening to their concerns

• Supporting their effortSupporting their effort

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SUPPORTING TEACHERS• Sue Sweet, a second grade teacher, privately

tells the school social worker in her building that she is afraid to talk to the Principal about problems with students because she thinks that he doesn’t like her.

• The social worker helps Sue to look at how the principal interacts with other people. Sue realizes that the principal has a way of being sarcastic with people, even people that he likes. After her talk with the school social worker Sue feels more comfortable sharing her concerns with the Principal.

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HELPING FAMILIES BUILD ASSETS

Connecting students and families with community support services

Listening to family concernsListening to family concerns

Responding to crisisResponding to crisis

Providing parent education Providing parent education programsprograms

Showing families ways to support Showing families ways to support their child’s learningtheir child’s learning

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HELPING FAMILIES BUILD ASSETS

• Bridging the gap between schools and culturally diverse families

• Empowering families to beEmpowering families to be

advocates for themselvesadvocates for themselves

and their childand their child

• Bringing families togetherBringing families together

to support one anotherto support one another

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BUILDING UNDERSTANDING• Mr. and Mrs. Culpepper didn’t listen when Veronica’s

kindergarten teacher recommended a special program, just as they hadn’t listened when school staff told them that Veronica wasn’t ready to start kindergarten.

• The principal sent the school social worker to tell Veronica’s parents that she needed extra help. The school social worker didn’t start by telling Mr. and Mrs. Culpepper anything. She started by listening to Mr. and Mrs. Culpepper instead!

• Over the next year the social worker continued to talk to Veronica’s parents and her teacher. With her help, they began to understand and respect each other. Her parents decided to accept some of the school’s recommendations. Her teacher began to ask her parents for suggestions about ways to help her learn.

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BUILDING SCHOOL CAPACITY TO:

• Use research based approaches that prevent problem behavior and create a safe and supportive school climate

• Implement culturally competentImplement culturally competent policies and practicespolicies and practices

• Engage families as partners in Engage families as partners in thethe

student’s education programstudent’s education program

• Connect with community service providersConnect with community service providers

• Create a safe and healthy environmentCreate a safe and healthy environment

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The number of students with The number of students with

problem behaviors has gone down since problem behaviors has gone down since

Washington Elementary began Washington Elementary began

implementing school-wide positive implementing school-wide positive

behavior supports three years ago. behavior supports three years ago.

The principal recognized The principal recognized

Washington’s school social worker, Tom Washington’s school social worker, Tom

Benson, for his leadership on the PBS Benson, for his leadership on the PBS

Team. The principal said that Tom’s Team. The principal said that Tom’s

enthusiasm and commitment helped the enthusiasm and commitment helped the

staff overcome problems to make the staff overcome problems to make the

school-wide effort work!school-wide effort work!

HELPING SCHOOLS SUCCEEDHELPING SCHOOLS SUCCEED

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MANY PATHS TO SUCCESS!

Reducing Absences & Dropouts

Improving Student Behavior

Bullying Prevention

Conflict Resolution & Anger Management

Assisting Parents & Teachers

Counseling & Mental Health Interventions

Accessing Community Resources

Helping Students Learn Social

Skills

Crisis Intervention

SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS

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FUNDING SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK

School social work positions are funded with:

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

• Safe and Drug Free Schools GrantsSafe and Drug Free Schools Grants

• Federal at-risk fundsFederal at-risk funds

• Medicaid ReimbursementMedicaid Reimbursement

• Other state and federal programs/grantsOther state and federal programs/grants

• Individual school and/or school district budgetsIndividual school and/or school district budgets

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• For supporting school social workers in your public

schools!

THANK YOU THANK YOU

Together we can Together we can

do great things!do great things!

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CONTRIBUTORS

• The California Association of School Social Workers (www.cassw.net)

• The National Association of Social Workers

California Chapter, School Social Work Council

(www.naswca.org)

• The School Social Work Association of America

(www.sswaa.org)

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THE VITAL LINK• School social workers link home, school & community to enhance student success

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Pupil Services Resources• UCLA / School Mental Health Project (Espanol)

Center for Mental Health in SchoolsDepartment of PsychologyUniversity of California, Los AngelesLinda Taylor and Howard S. Adelman, Co-DirectorsWrite: Center for Mental Health in Schools, Box 951563

Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563Phone: (310) 825-3634 Toll Free: (866) 846-4843 Fax: (310) 206-8716Email: smhp@ucla.edu Website: http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu

• Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice (CECP)Website: http://cecp.air.org

• Mental Health Education Integration Consortium (MHEDIC)Website: http://www.units.muohio.edu/csbmhp/mhedic/index.html

• National Alliance of Pupil Services Organizations (NAPSO)Website: www.napso.org

• National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (Espanol)booklet “Parents and Teachers as Allies”Website: www.nami.org Phone: (703) 524-7600

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Pupil Services Resources• Council for Children with Behavior Disorders (CCBD)

Website: http://www.ccbd.net• Center for School Mental Health Analysis and Action

University of Maryland School of MedicineWebsite: http://csmha.umaryland.edu

• National Institute of Mental Health (Espanol)Website: http://www.nimh.nih.gov

• National Dissemination Center for Children with DisabilitiesWebsite: http://www.nichcy.org (Espanol)

• National Assembly on School-Based Health CareWebsite: http://www.nasbhc.org

• Research and Training Center on Family Support and Children’s Mental HealthPortland State University, Portland, OregonWebsite: http://www.rtc.pdx.edu

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CA Pupil Services Organizations:• California School Nurses Organization (CSNO)

– http://www.csno.org• California Association of School Psychologist (CASP)

– http://www.casponline.org• California Association of School Social Workers (CASSW)

– http://www.cassw.net

• California Association of Resource Specialist and Special Education Teachers (www.carsplus.org)

• California Association of Pupil Personnel Administrators• California Association of Supervisors of Child Welfare and Attendance

(www.cascwa.org)

• California Speech-Language-Hearing Association (www.csha.org)

National School Social Work OrganizationsNational School Social Work OrganizationsSchool Social Work Association of America (SSWAA) School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA) (www.sswaa.org)(www.sswaa.org)National Association of Social Workers (NASW)National Association of Social Workers (NASW)

((www.nasw.orgwww.nasw.org))