SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER

Social Worker Job Description

Job Description

• Mission Statement
  The principle tasks of the School Social Worker are to help students and families make the best use of available opportunities and resources and to fully develop each student's individual potential. The School Social Worker brings to the educational process an understanding of the psychosocial development of children and the influences of family, community, and cultural differences as they interact with the educational process.

Further, the School Social Worker provides the necessary professional skills to assist students and communities in problem solving and conflict resolution in a safe and healthy manner.

School Social Work is founded on the following premises:

Definite and identifiable reasons exist why some students are not successful in school and exhibit undesirable behavior (including at-risk factors, dropping out and truancy).

It is critical to assist families in alleviating adverse conditions in order to promote resiliency and academic success for at risk students.

It is important to assist parents in utilizing school and community resources to help children maximize their educational abilities.

Parental involvement with the school is essential to create positive academic and social outcomes for students.

It is essential that school staff listens to and respects the feelings and sensitivities of students and parents of all cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Education becomes a successful experience for students who are helped to overcome the social and emotional problems interfering with adjustment and achievement in school.

Special education and related services must be provided for students with physical, mental, social, emotional, or other educational disabilities.

Social justice and equal opportunity for all students and families will increase educational attainment and enhance the educational experience for everyone.

• Direct Services with students
  The School Social Worker employs appropriate social work methods in situations affecting the student's educational process.

The School Social Worker:

• Conduct assessment of student needs
• Promote regular school attendance
• Conduct home visits
• Promote safe, caring, and drug free schools
• Empowerment of/advocacy for students
• Provide culturally competent services
• Provide appropriate services for homeless students
• Anger management
• Impulse control
• Social skills training
• Substance abuse prevention
• Provide crisis intervention services
• Complete social developmental case studies
• Participate in the evaluation of special education placements
• Provide short/long-term case management services to individual students
• Referrals to community agencies
• Coordination of services with community agencies
• Coordination of services with other disciplines within the school
• Participate in transition planning for students
• Coordinate pregnancy prevention programs
• Coordinate drop out prevention programs
• Report suspected child abuse/neglect
• Direct Services with Families/Communities
  The School Social Worker employs appropriate social work methods to assure students' positive academic and social outcomes

The School Social Workers:

• Promote parental involvement in the schools
• Promote parental involvement in school conferences
• Promote parental responsibility for regular school attendance
• Conduct home visits
• Conduct family needs assessments
• Promote safe, caring, and drug free schools
• Empowerment of/advocacy for families
• Provide culturally competent services
• Provide appropriate services/referrals for homeless families
• Provide crisis intervention services
• Refer to community agencies
• Substance abuse awareness
• Special needs children
• Child abuse prevention
• Appropriate discipline
• Assist families with the interpretation of school policies and procedures

School Community

• Collaborate with community agencies
• Collaborate with support personnel within the school
• Participate in case conferences with other school specialists
• Participate in the identification and resolution of school-wide/community needs
• Interpret the School Social Work role to the community
• Serve as a liaison between the school/family/community
• Participate in referrals and case management of students/families involved in the court system
• Serve on school-based committee meetings
• Serve on community interagency teams and other task force teams relevant to School Social Work (Child Fatality Team, Child Protection Team, etc.)
• Serve on the school Crisis Team to promote a safe school environment
• Promote a safe, caring, and drug free school environment 

Advocacy
The School Social Worker operates as an advocate with all community populations utilizing skills that respect issues of cultural and ethnic diversity and equity for every student and family.

The School Social Worker:

• Facilitates the implementation of federal and state education regulations
• Addresses child abuse and neglect, due process, and liability issues
• Advocates for school environments to operate in the best interests of children
• Encourages parents to be actively involved in their children's educational experiences
• Adheres to the National Association of Social Workers code of ethical behavior and professional practice. (see attachment)

Consultation and Education
The School Social Worker provides specialized consultative services to school staff, community agencies and other professionals. Services are designed to assist families, students, and educational professionals in providing quality interventions, which allow students to reach their highest educational, developmental and social potential.

The School Social Worker:

• Preventive interventions
• Child abuse and neglect
• Mental health and emotional impairments
• Family and psychosocial functioning
• Parent involvement
• Maintenance of caring, safe and drug-free learning environments
• Identification of barriers to educational achievement

Professional Practice, Development and Management
The School Social Worker shows evidence of professional growth, development and management and adheres to a professional code of ethics.

The School Social Workers:

Professional Practice

• Adhere to the values and ethics of the social work profession and use the NASW Standards for School Social Work Services and Code of Ethics as guides in decision-making
• Model professional behaviors that contribute to addressing the needs of students, families, and the school community
• When necessary and appropriate, actively seek the supervision of a school social work supervisor or another School Social Work professional
• Keep abreast of current community resources and determine how these resources may be beneficial to the student, her/his family, and the family's involvement in the academic process
• Understand, and practice in accordance with, federal, state, and local laws, statutes, and/or policies that relate to students and families; such as, child protection/child abuse, special education, attendance, education rights and privacy
• Consult with school personnel to encourage compliance with laws, statutes, and policies

Professional Development

• Assume responsibility for her/his own continued professional development
• With support from the LEA, maintain professional materials for professional growth and development; including periodicals, books, and software
• Practice professional renewal through a variety of means; such as, attending regional and national conferences, participating in professional organizations, and remaining abreast of current research and literature
• Expand and exchange knowledge through consultation with coordinators, specialists, psychologists, counselors, and other colleagues
• Contribute to the development of the profession by educating and supervising social work interns
• Evaluate, interpret, and perform research with specific application to student, family, and community issues
• Develop and maintain skills that increase the social worker's initiative and effectiveness in working in school settings

 MINIMUM TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE
 

Bachelor’s degree in Social Work.  Master’s Degree preferred.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
 

Must be licensed by the State of North Carolina Department of Public Instruction in Social Work or able to obtain licensure in this area.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES
 

Extensive knowledge of human behavior, social systems and social work skills. General knowledge of the principles of organization and administration.

General knowledge of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. Skill in counseling, motivating students and talking with parents.

Ability to manage culturally sensitive topics.

Ability to coordinate the efforts of support services personnel and outside agencies.

Ability to maintain complete and accurate records and statistics and to develop meaningful reports from that information.

Ability to effectively express ideas orally and in writing.

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships as necessitated by work assignments.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS OR STANDARDS REQUIRED TO PERFORM ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS
 

Physical Requirements:

Must be physically able to operate a variety of equipment including computers, typewriters, copiers, calculators, etc.

Must be able to exert up to 10 pounds of force occasionally, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly to lift, carry, push, and pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body.

Light Work usually requires walking or standing to a significant degree.

Data Conception:

Requires the ability to compare and/or judge the readily observable, functional, structural or composite characteristics (whether similar or divergent from obvious standards) of data, people or things.

Interpersonal Communication:

Requires the ability to speak and/or signal people to convey or exchange information. Includes receiving instructions, assignments or directions.

Language Ability:

Requires the ability to read a variety of correspondence, reports, forms, press releases, etc.

Requires the ability to prepare correspondence, reports, forms, etc., using prescribed formats and conforming to all rules of punctuation, grammar, diction, and style.

Requires the ability to speak before groups of people with poise, voice control and confidence.

Intelligence:

Requires the ability to apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions; to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagrammatic form; and to deal with several abstract and concrete variables.

Verbal Aptitude:

Requires the ability to record and deliver information, to explain procedures, to follow oral and written instructions.

Must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently using a variety of technical or professional languages including counseling terminology.

Numerical Aptitude:

Requires the ability to utilize mathematical formulas; to add and subtract; multiply and divide; utilize decimals and percentages; and to apply the theories of descriptive statistics.

Form/Spatial Aptitude:

Requires the ability to inspect items for proper length, width and shape.

Motor Coordination:

Requires the ability to coordinate hands and eyes rapidly and accurately in using office equipment.

Manual Dexterity:

Requires the ability to handle a variety of items such as office equipment. Must have minimal levels of eye/hand/foot coordination.

Interpersonal Temperament:

Requires the ability to deal with people beyond giving and receiving instructions.

Must be adaptable to performing under stress and when confronted with emergency situations.

Physical Communication:

Requires the ability to talk and hear: (Talking: expressing or exchanging ideas by means of spoken words.

Hearing:

Perceiving nature of sounds by ear.) Must be able to communicate via telephone.

DISCLAIMER
 

The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees to this job.