social work and schools
... School-based social services allow for close cooperation between children and adolescents, teachers and school administrators, parents, and the community. One specialized field that focuses on services to children, youth, and families is school social work, or social services offered in a school based setting. ... Social workers in schools perform preventative services such as parent education and facilitate the development of positive mental health for children through special outreach programs in the school. The responsibility of school social worker can be defined by the tasks that they are required to perform. The task will differ based upon the kind of school the social worker is in, also the age group and socio-economic status of the students (Anderson & Ashton, 2004). School social work includes, but it not limited to, individual, family and group counseling, as well as crisis intervention services. School social workers deal with suicidal students; with students and their families and friends after a serious injury or death has occurred; and with students in conflict with family members, peers, or school authorities. School social workers may also serve as members of intervention teams who work with children with developmental disabilities or other special needs, often serving as the liaison to parents and the community when special services are needed. In the text written by Heffernan, Shuttlesworth, and Ambrosino (1997), there are several examples given of an account of a school social worker named Deborah Selbin in an inner-city elementary school in central Texas. These examples reflect the diversity and complexity of situations that a social worker in a school may encounter on a daily basis: “A student is in my office waiting to talk. ... I ask the social work intern to try and help the little boy find a quiet place to rest as he had not slept the night before. ... These examples demonstrate that a school social worker is an integral part of a school system. ... However, in order to perform the role of school social worker effectively, there are skills and knowledge that are necessary. Not every social worker will find school social work satisfying (Allen-Mears 2004). Today’s school social worker must be prepared to work in a multicultural context and to be competent with people from widely diverse cultural and economic backgrounds.