The Power of School Social Work within NCLB

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The Power of School Social Work within NCLB

• School Social Work Institute
• October - 2004

Heather Hotchkiss Jennifer Lundman
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Outcomes

• Introductions
• National trends, NCLB, IDEA and other acronyms
• What do Special Education Directors Want?
• SW in an Educational Organization No Social
  Worker Left Behind!

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Studies Show

• One in five children and adolescents (ages 9-17)
  have a diagnosable mental or addictive disorder
  (1999 Surgeon Generals Report on Mental Health).
• 76 of children with an identified MH need
  receive no treatment or services.
• 70-80 of children who receive MH services
  receive them in the schools.
• Unmet need is highest among minority children.
• Average age of the homeless population in
  Colorado is 9 yrs. old
• Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for
  youth ages 15-24 in CO (ranked 3rd Nationally)

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OSEP Report

• Psychological counseling services are not always
  provided
• Inadequate supports for students with behavioral
  disorders
• Services and supports are not always provided
  (adequate number of qualified personnel)
• Inadequate supports for students to access
  general education curriculum (LRE)
• Inadequate amount of participation by general
  educators

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The No Child Left Behind Actof 2001

• On January 8, 2002, President Bush signed into
  law the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
• Most sweeping reform of the Elementary and
  Secondary Education Act since its enactment in
  1965.
• Redefines the federal role in K-12 education.
• Requires accountability for all children,
  including student groups based on poverty, race
  and ethnicity, disability and limited English
  proficiency (LEP).
• Will help close the achievement gap between
  disadvantaged, disabled and minority students and
  their peers.

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NCLB

• Four basic principles
• Increased accountability
• Increased flexibility and local control
• Expanded options for parents and,
• An emphasis on teaching methods that
• have been proven to work.

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Fulfilling Education Reforms Promise to Our
Children

• This is education's moment. For the first time
  in years, our two major parties are in agreement
  on education. For these critical tasks, America's
  children depend on us. We must not thrust that
  burden onto our posterity. It is ours to bear.
  -- U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige,
  January 9, 2002
• The academic achievement gap must be closed.
• All children in America must have the chance to
  learn and succeed.
• No child should be left behind.

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Presidents Commission Report

• Vision
• We are committed to a future where recovery is
  the expected outcome and when mental illness can
  be prevented or cured. We envision a nation
  where everyone with a mental illness will have
  access to early detection and the effective
  treatment and supports essential to live, work,
  learn and participate fully in their community.

www.mentalhealthcommission.gov
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Presidents Commission Report

• Focus on results Not process
• Embrace a model of prevention not a model of
  failure
• Consider children with disabilities as general
  education children first

www.mentalhealthcommission.gov
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What we are hearing about the Reauthorization of
IDEA

• Eligibility requirements are changing
• Discrepancy model
• Community participation in the process
• Transition services at age 14
• Other items
• Reducing the paperwork burden
• Reform of sped finance funding
• Address the problem of over identification of
  minority students

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Our Services are Compatible with NCLB IDEA
Reauthorization

• Prevention and pre-referral intervention
• Research Based interventions for high frequency
  problems
• Strategies to address severe MH problems that
  involve community collaboration

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Tertiary Prevention Specialized
Individualized Systems for Students with
High-Risk Behavior
CONTINUUM OF SCHOOL-WIDE INSTRUCTIONAL
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT
5
Secondary Prevention Specialized Group Systems
for Students with At-Risk Behavior
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Primary Prevention School-/Classroom- Wide
Systems for All Students, Staff, Settings
80 of Students
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Teaching Behavior (Kellem et al.)
Message Teach to read well in effective host
environments
NO Literacy Improvement
Literacy Improvement
NO Literacy Improvement
NO Literacy Improvement
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Message

• Pupil achievements and behavior mental health
  can be influenced (for the better or worse) by
  the overall characteristics of the school.this
  means a focus on the features promoting good
  functioning at the classroom, departmental or
  whole school level.
• Rutter Maughan, 2002, pp. 470-471

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Defining Our Roles

• IDEA social histories, counsel children
  families, mobilize community resources, and work
  with home, school community to facilitate
  student adjustment
• More recently school violence
• Allen-Meares Who is the school social worker?
• Hare - Influence policy in the education arena
• Tower - Adopting and communicating clear
  professional roles
• Article message Competition does not appear to
  be pervasive
• -Children Schools, (July 2004)

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Futures

• School Psychology Futures
• Special Education Re-Design
• Colorado Futures Leadership Team
• Capacity Building
• Parent-School Partnerships
• Collaboration

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Special Education Directors Survey

• August 2004
• In order to support programs in my district, I
  would like our school psychologists to have
  access to training in the following areas

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Survey Says
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Our Role

• All about Justice, Equity Fairness
• Advocate
• Home, school, community liaison
• Administrator
• Organizer
• Educator

• Consultant
• Facilitator
• Therapist
• Mediator
• Planner
• Counselor
• Case manager

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Our Unique Qualities

• Heres What!
• So What?
• Now What?

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Overview of current issues in school mental
health programs

• PBIS Positive Behavioral Interventions
  Supports (School-wide)
• Resource Mapping
• Research based interventions
• Linking interventions/supports to academic
  achievement
• The lines between special and general education
  are disintegrating
• Special education eligibility, programming, and
  services are changing
• Our services must be connected with student
  achievement and accountability

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Resource Mapping

• Can improve the use of existing resources
• Change agents analyze whats available,
  effective and whats needed
• Develop a continuum of care by melding school,
  home and community resources

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The range of interventions needed is a continuum
with

• Systems for promoting healthy development and
  prevention of problems
• Systems to intervene early to address problems as
  soon after onset as possible
• Systems for assisting those with chronic and
  severe emotional disorders

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Interventions with most potent effects on at-risk
population

• Positive behavior management culture
• Social skills instruction
• Schedule changes and/or academic tutoring

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Essential components of school mental health
programs

• We must routinely and explicitly link the
  interventions that we have selected to academic
  achievement.
• Use the best programs/interventions available
  based on scientific research.
• Ensure that the whole process is data driven.
• Develop a system for coordinating and integrating
  interventions.

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Emerging Trends

• Move from problem-specific and discipline
  oriented to less categorical, cross discipline
  programs
• Move from narrowly focused to comprehensive
  approaches
• Move from waiting for failure to early
  intervention
• Move from fragmentation to coordinated/integrated
  intervention
• Move from viewing MH programs as supplementary
  services to recognizing MH services as an
  essential element in enabling learning for
  significant numbers of students

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Carnegie Council Task Force on Education of Young
Adolescents

• School systems are not responsible for meeting
  every need of their students. But when the
  need directly affects learning, the school must
  meet the challenge.