School Social Workers
Role of the Social Worker
- Provide crisis intervention, counseling services, support, and case management.
- Build trusting relationships with students, families, and school personnel.
- Maintain the confidentiality of student and family.
- Provide home visits/meet families to understand and address barriers to learning.
- Link students and families with school and community resources.
- Encourage families to effectively participate in their child’s education.
- Collaborate with all school personnel to assess students’ social/emotional obstacles to academic success.
- Gather information from family.
- Help families understand school policies, services, and programs.
- Assist teachers and administrators in developing plans to help students with academic and behavior problems.
- Follow-up on student issues referred by teachers or administrators.
- Develop/facilitate/coordinate prevention activities and intervention strategies.
Social Worker Referrals
Issues that May Prompt a School Social Work Referral:
- Mental health issues
- Abuse or neglect
- Lack of basic needs/homelessness
- Pregnancy teen parent needs
- Change in academic performance
- Chronic attendance or tardiness issues
- Gang affiliations
- Coping or social skills deficits
- Facilitation of school-home-community communication
- Student advocacy
- Referral, monitoring, collaboration to and with community agencies
- Staff support and/or development
When should I refer a student to my school social worker?
A student should be referred to the school social worker when the student shows signs of social and/or emotional difficulties which are interfering with the student’s success at school.
How do I make a referral?
Parents can contact their student’s counselor.
Teachers must complete a social work referral form.
Students can self-refer themselves by talking to their grade level social worker.