School Social Worker

School Social Worker

A Social Worker in the public education setting promotes and enhances the overall academic mission by providing services that strengthen home, school, and community partnerships and address barriers to learning and achievement.

A Social Worker in the public school setting significantly contributes to the development of a healthy, safe, and caring environment. Such an environment is achieved by advancing the understanding of the emotional and social development of children and the influences of family, community, and cultural differences on student success along with the implementation of effective intervention strategies. The major functions of a social worker in the public school setting incorporate the North Carolina State Board of Education guiding mission that every public school student will graduate from high school globally competitive for work and postsecondary education and prepared for life in the twenty-first century.

Education, Training and

Experience:

• Master of Social Work (MSW) from an accredited school of social work
• Have or ability to obtain school social work credentials
• Training and/or experience that provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities

Duties and Responsibilities:

In a public school setting, the Social Worker's primary task is to empower students, families, and school personnel to access available opportunities and resources that develop each student's potential. Integrated into all major functions are home, school, community assimilation; diversity and cultural competence; dropout prevention; graduation awareness; adherence to federal and state statutes, professional development and practices, School Social Work Standards and the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics.

Effectively and appropriately assesses and addresses the needs, characteristics, and interactions of students, families, LEA personnel, and the community.

• Conducts assessments and evaluations in accordance with family and student rights.
• Uses student, family, and school assessment results to identify needs that affect student learning.
• Uses assessment and evaluation results to develop appropriate interventions for students, families, schools, and communities.
• Develop long-term and short-term intervention plans consistent with curriculum; students' needs, strengths, diversity, and life experiences; and social and emotional factors.
• Uses a variety of appropriate formal and informal tools and techniques including observations and interviews to evaluate the progress and performance of students and families.

Uses knowledge and understanding of the reciprocal influences of home, school, and community to intervene for student success via such practices as assessment, crisis intervention and response, home visits, conflict resolution, individual and group counseling, consultation, program development, dropout prevention, graduation awareness, and coordination of school and community services.

• Promotes family support of students' learning experience within the context of multicultural understanding and competencies.
• Provides services to students in ways that build upon individual strengths and offer students maximum opportunities to participate in the planning and direction of their own learning experience.
• Develops and provides training and educational programs that address the goals and mission of the educational institution.

Advocates for appropriate services for students and their families.

• Advocates and facilitates change that effectively responds to the needs of students, families, and school systems using appropriate statutes, case law, policies, and procedures.
• Promotes services to students and their families within the context of multicultural understanding and competence that enhances families' support of students' learning experiences.
• Assists students and their families in gaining access to formal and informal community resources.

Consults and collaborates with stakeholders on behalf of students and their families.

• Consults with stakeholders to facilitate an understanding of factors in the home, local education agency, and community that affect students' educational experiences.
• Consults on such issues as attendance, diversity, mental health, behavior management, delinquency, crisis intervention, homelessness, child abuse, neglect, and the importance of confidentiality.
• Works with internal and external individuals, groups, and organizations to develop programs or systems of care that support and enhance the health, social and emotional well-being, and safety of students.
• Helps to build effective school-community teams and orients community providers to school climate, culture, structure, and to the laws and regulations governing practice in educational settings.

Effectively plans, implements, and evaluates programs that promote…