SSW Standards / Roles & Responsibilities
Summary
School social workers use a wide range of evidence-based strategies to ensure that students are in the classroom physically and mentally ready to learn. They utilize a strength-based approach that views students and organizations as parts of systems. The functioning of and relationships within and between systems are enhanced to improve student learning.
School social workers understand how to go out into the greater community to engage families and community organizations to create better outcomes for students (e.g., increased academic achievement, safety, attendance, and social-emotional-behavioral functioning). School districts usually focus their school social work services on students who are struggling in school due to barriers to learning that may exist within the students or their environments. Their key practice domains include home, school and community with focus on academics, school climate, social and emotional needs and mental health.
WSSWA has reviewed NASW’s new Standards for School Social Work Services to identify the portions that are not specifically addressed in a generic Masters-level social work program. Practicing social workers returning to school who wish to work in schools complete these requirements in a post-graduate program prior to School Social Worker licensure. The NASW Standards for School Social Work Services can be found at https://www.socialworkers.org/Practice/NASW-Practice-Standards-Guidelines/NASW-Standards-for-School-Social-Work-Services.
Below is an outline of the NASW Standards for School Social Work Services. The narrative below describes the portions of these Standards that are not addressed in a generic Masters-level social work program that would result in APSW certification. However, these should all be addressed in specific school social work licensure programs.
Introduction – The role of the school social worker as a critical link between the school, the home and the community and how that role continues to evolve.
The Evolving Context of Education – Public education, specifically critical federal laws that mandate services in public schools, how school social workers are responsible for removing barriers to learning, and the multitier service approach used in schools.
Guiding Principles
1. Theoretical Training and Philosophy
2. Social Justice – How to use data to identify inequities in school programs and services to remove barriers to learning for students.
3. Multitier Interventions – The school social worker’s role in a 3-tier system of interventions for instruction and services to students.
Standards
1. Ethics and Values – Knowledge of local, state, and federal policies and laws that govern public schools. How to manage ethical predicaments school social workers encounter in public schools. How to function as a social worker in a host setting where co-workers are unaware of the ethical responsibilities* of school social workers.
*NASW Code of Ethics and SSWAA Supplemental Ethical Standards for School Social Work Services
2. Qualifications – Knowledge of historical and current perspectives in public school education. Evidence-based practices to address barriers to learning.
3. Assessment – Reliable and valid assessments used by school social workers, including how to conduct and interpret them (e.g., special education assessments, student behavioral assessments). Federal and state laws that apply to public schools and the assessments that must be provided for students under specific circumstances.
4. Intervention – Multitier systems of support used in schools. Federal and state laws that apply to public schools and the instruction/services that must be provided under specific circumstances. How small groups are conducted in schools. Conflict management, de-escalation techniques, classroom instruction and intervention, and many other school-specific interventions.
5. Decision Making and Practice Evaluation – Collecting, analyzing, and utilizing school data to identify and address barriers to student learning.
6. Record Keeping – State and federal laws and local school policies that govern how records are established and maintained and under what circumstances they can be shared.
7. Workload Management – How to identify and prioritize services that will be provided within a multitier system of support in collaboration with other educators. How workload management will affect the evaluation of their work performance.
8. Use of Technology – Use of electronic data systems in schools, including how to control access to confidential information about students and families.
9. Professional Development – The necessary expertise to provide professional development to other educators in school.
10. Cultural Competence – Knowledge of evidence-informed practices, skills, and techniques that reflect the role of culture in the school setting.
11. Interdisciplinary Leadership and Collaboration – How to provide leadership for and service on school-based teams that are utilized in a multitier system of support.
12. Advocacy – How to advocate for safety, equity and inclusivity for students in school instruction and services, including relevant state and federal laws, school policies, and court decisions.
13. School Safety – The school social worker’s role in the assessment of and interventions for students who may be at risk of harming themselves or others. How to function on a school-based crisis response team.
14. Emergency and Disaster Preparedness and Response – School policies and protocols to follow in emergencies and disasters, including responses and interventions that address both immediate needs and potential long-term effects on students and families.
15. Confidentiality – State and federal laws and school policies that govern how confidential information about students is gathered and stored and under what circumstances that information may be shared with others both within and outside of the school.
Appendix A. Administrative Structure and Support – The administrative structure in school districts, including administrative support, supervision, job tasks, work setting, professional development, leadership, and staff-student ratios.
Appendix B. National Resources - The specific information and supports for school social workers and changing laws and policies in education overall.
