Books by Michael S. Kelly
This chapter will describe how many school social workers are often the first (and sometimes only... more This chapter will describe how many school social workers are often the first (and sometimes only) point of contact for youth and families with mental health problems, making it essential that school social workers develop strong mental health assessment, referral, and evidence-informed practice skills in this domain. This chapter will provide an overview of mental health issues and mental health services typically delivered in the schools. It reviews mental health policy at the federal level, specifically focusing on major changes in the last 10 years that are impacting how school social workers deliver mental health interventions in school settings. Additional content in the chapter will cover the ways that school social workers can assess students for specific disorders identified in the DSM-5V, as well as possible interventions to address students with those mental health problems. Throughout this chapter as well as the entire book, special attention will be given to an evidence-informed practice (EIP) process that can empower school social workers and clients to use the best available evidence to address common children’s mental health problems.
Rather than advocating that school social workers learn only a few evidence-informed practices (E... more Rather than advocating that school social workers learn only a few evidence-informed practices (EIP) or engage in the EIP process described in Chapter 2, we argue that the process of becoming an evidence-informed practitioner is closer to our notion of what EIP looks like when it is delivered in actual school settings. In our view, evidence-informed school social work practitioners adopt a process of lifelong learning that involves regularly posing questions of direct practical
importance to clients and engaging in a search for the best available evidence. Because there is accumulating evidence that school contextual features relate to
the quality of both prevention and intervention programming (Gottfredson et al., 2002; Payne, 2008; Payne et al., 2006), we place emphasis on research generated on school-based prevention and intervention that is grounded in contemporary education frameworks and considers the multiple players in school settings as
well as their goals and preferences. Many times, this will involve deciding with them to implement the most empirically validated treatment available, but only
after the school social worker and child, teacher, or parent have joined in the EIP process outlined in this chapter.
(From the chapter introduction): Through a series of five case studies, school social workers sh... more (From the chapter introduction): Through a series of five case studies, school social workers show how they adapted solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) to their school contexts. Using a variety of treatment modalities (family, small group, and macropractice), these school social workers show how fl exible and powerful SFBT ideas can be in a school setting.
Papers by Michael S. Kelly
As American PreK-12 schools shut down and moved into online learning as a response to the global ... more As American PreK-12 schools shut down and moved into online learning as a response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, there was little information about how school social workers (SSWs or SSW) were responding to the crisis. This was particularly concerning given the fact that SSWs serve some of the most vulnerable and marginalized populations within PreK-12 schools, and do so in ways that typically involve hands-on, in- person approaches.
This report summarizes initial findings from a national survey of SSWs (n=1,275) practicing across the United States. Findings highlight serious challenges facing schools, school staff, and students. Some of these challenges are specifically related to educational goals, but many are related to basic needs that are a prerequisite to academic and social emotional learning.
• For example, many SSWs reported having limited to no contact with some of their students because they couldn’t establish a connection with them during the shutdown.
• They also expressed significant concerns about the motivation and engagement of the
81% of students with whom they did work.
• Additionally, SSWs reported that a majority of their students and families had
profound, immediate, and urgent needs related to food insufficiency (62.4%), housing instability (42.8), health issues (61.6%), individualized student tutoring (62.3%), and mental health services (75.7%) that indicate the need for a coordinated and comprehensive response from federal and state policymakers, as well as national educational leaders.
Recommendations and implications from these initial findings are shared here, including a call to action for the various school social work organizations to join together in this crisis moment to help SSWs and their school communities respond effectively as the pandemic continues to rage across the country and threaten the safe re-opening of American schools.
Social Work & Christianity, 2020
This special issue of Social Work & Christianity emerged from hard conversations between people o... more This special issue of Social Work & Christianity emerged from hard conversations between people of faith and diverse backgrounds; my co- editor and I struggled with our thoughts, our feelings and beliefs before arriving at a point where we agreed that this conversation required a broader platform. As an African American woman, a woman of faith and co-editor of this special edition, I continue to struggle with the feelings, thoughts and challenges this conversation induces within me. However, my faith informs my approach to the steps needed to move the conversation forward, and for me it must begin on Bended Knee. (Linda D.)
This special issue of Social Work & Christianity poses provocative and ultimately still-elusive questions for me: what would racial reconciliation look like in 21st-century American life? What has it looked like in specific
towns, states, and regions of the U.S. where it’s been tried, as well as other countries where it’s been attempted? And finally, what should social work- ers, who also identify as Christian, do to be faithful servants to God and to fight to dismantle white supremacy in this very urgent time? In addition to the four articles that we have here in this special issue, I want to offer some thoughts on what racial reconciliation work might look like from a Christian social work perspective in this pivotal time, taking the deeply painful historical legacy of racial terrorism and lynching (spanning from 1877 to 1950) as our starting point. (Mike K.)
International Journal of School Social Work, 2019
Starting in late Summer of 2015, the two authors began collaborating on the pilot testing of a sc... more Starting in late Summer of 2015, the two authors began collaborating on the pilot testing of a school social work (SSW) time-study tool with a sample of SSW in suburban Detroit (n=9). This article details the path towards the development of the time-study tool, drawing from the extant literature on workload and caseload issues in related special education fields, and resulting in the time-study tool that was first piloted with SSW in 2015-2016. Initial data from year one of the two-year 2015-2017 pilot project is shared in this article, along with qualitative data based on interviews with the SSW in the project, as well as reflections by the two authors on the implications of the work in this first pilot year. This article describes in detail the background for this project, the procedures followed, the initial results after year one, and how these findings informed plans for year two.
International Journal of School Social Work, 2019
School mental health practitioners, including social workers, are mandated through federal, state... more School mental health practitioners, including social workers, are mandated through federal, state, and professional entities to provide evidence-based practices to students. Nevertheless, rates of use of evidence-based practices among mental health professionals in schools remain low, even as knowledge about effective practices increases. This study aimed to further knowledge about how to promote and support the use of evidence-based practices among school practitioners using online technology. School social workers attending a summer professional development event took part in focus groups exploring (a) their current perceptions of evidence-based practices, (b) their experiences finding evidence-based
practice information online, and (c) their preferences for the formatting and content of online resources. Participants described a willingness to use evidence-based practice, efforts to find information, and difficulties encountered with online sources. Preferences for readily available, searchable, brief, and understandable online information were expressed. Implications for meeting the needs of school social workers with online resources are discussed.
Journal of Evidence-Informed Social Work, 2019
Purpose: In 2012, leading social work scholars gathered to discuss the formation of a Grand Chall... more Purpose: In 2012, leading social work scholars gathered to discuss the formation of a Grand Challenges initiative for the field of social work. The Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative (GCSWI) claims to offer an agenda for social workers that want to solve major social problems e.g. poverty, environmental issues, and violence. GCSWI researchers utilized 21 GCSWI papers to identify innovative ways in which social workers could resolve these problems within 10 years. This paper examines the quality of the evidence for each paper, as well as exploring how much of the research was conducted by social workers. Methods: This paper uses a directed content analysis approach to explore the evidence of each of the original GCSWI papers. All 21 GC papers were independently coded by two members of the team, and after getting to acceptable inter-rater reliability, data from the coding was analyzed to assess the quality of evidence and degree of social work research involvement in the specific GCSWI paper. Results: Data from this study indicate that few GCSWI papers presented compelling evidence to support the goals of the specific GC, and few of the papers prioritized the work of social work researchers and publication in social work journals. Conclusion: Implications for the GCSWI are discussed, as well as suggestions from the analysis on how the GCSWI project can be more fully situated within the science of social work if it wishes to accomplish its ambitious goals of improving the outcomes for major social problems.
Campbell Systematic Reviews
1 | PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY 1.1 | The review in brief Despite growing support and increased rate o... more 1 | PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY 1.1 | The review in brief Despite growing support and increased rate of which trauma-informed approaches are being promoted and implemented in schools, evidence to support this approach is lacking. 1.2 | What is this review about? Exposure to different types of trauma have been associated with varying types and complexity of adverse outcomes, including adverse effects on cognitive functioning, attention, memory, academic performance, and school-related behaviors. Given the growing research on trauma and increased knowledge about the prevalence, consequences and costs associated with trauma, there have been increased efforts at the local, state and federal levels to make systems "trauma-informed" (Lang, Campbell, & Vanerploeg, 2015). While the intent of creating trauma-informed approaches in schools is a noble one, relatively little is known about the benefits, costs, and how trauma-informed approaches are being defined and evaluated (Berliner & Kolko, 2016). Adopting a trauma-informed approach in a complex system such as a school building or district is a time consuming and potentially costly endeavor and thus it is important to assess the effects of this approach to inform policy and practice. This aim of this review was to assess trauma-informed approaches in schools on trauma symptoms/mental health, academic performance, behavior, and socioemotional functioning. Trauma-informed approaches include programs, organizations, or systems that realize the impact of trauma, recognize the symptoms of trauma, respond by integrating knowledge about trauma policies and practices, and seeks to reduce retraumatization. At least two of the three key elements of a trauma-informed approach must have been present: Workforce development, trauma-focused services, and organizational environment and practices, which differ from trauma-specific interventions designed to treat or otherwise address the impact/symptoms of trauma and facilitate healing. What is the aim of this review? This Campbell systematic review sought to examine the effects trauma-informed schools on trauma symptoms/ mental health, academic performance, behavior, and socioemotional functioning. Although we conducted a comprehensive search to find studies testing trauma-informed approaches in schools, no studies met the inclusion criteria.
Youth & Society, 2018
This mixed-methods research evaluates Conversation Club (CC), a Canadian after-school group mento... more This mixed-methods research evaluates Conversation Club (CC), a Canadian after-school group mentoring intervention for newcomer youth. The study's main objectives are to examine the effects of CC on newcomer youth's experiences of belonging, connectedness, hopefulness, and integration into Canadian society. Using a quasi-experimental design, CC (n = 67) and a comparison group of immigrant youth (n = 25) completed questionnaires focused on sense of ethnic identity, community, belonging, and hope for the future. In addition, a subset of CC participants (n = 13) completed in-depth interviews focused on their experience of the Club. Interview findings suggest that participation in the Club results in an increased sense of belonging and connection for these young people. Implications for research and programs are discussed, focused on ways to enhance and expand innovative group mentoring programs to the important populations of immigrant and migrant young people across Canada and beyond.
Advances in Social Work, 2018
This paper evaluates Conversation Club, a Canadian after-school group mentoring intervention focu... more This paper evaluates Conversation Club, a Canadian after-school group mentoring intervention focusing on the expansion of the program across three separate regions of Ontario. The authors use a multiple methods design, including questionnaires (n=101), post-session process data, and qualitative interviews (n=18), to evaluate how Conversation Club impacts members' feelings of hope, belonging, sense of ethnic identity, and social support. A focus group (n = 7) with program facilitators was also conducted to explore the process of dissemination of the Club across regions. Findings suggest that Conversation Club holds promise for newcomer youth across settings. Quantitative data showed significant change (p <.01) in levels of hope and sense of belonging. Interviews revealed an increased sense of belonging, possibility, and social support, as well as improved confidence in communicating with others. Insights regarding use of the Club manual suggest the importance of integrating Conversation Club values with flexibility in facilitation to incorporate the strengths and opportunities of context across regions. Study limitations, as well as implications for further social work research and dissemination of best practices in services for migrant and refugee youth, are discussed.
The Qualitative Report, 2019
Professional learning communities (PLCs) have become commonplace in K-12 schools for helping teac... more Professional learning communities (PLCs) have become commonplace in K-12 schools for helping teachers collaborate to build their professional capacities and address school-based problems. However, rigorous research on the key components, mechanisms, and impact of PLCs has been limited overall, with virtually no research conducted on PLCs with school social workers (SSW). This article examines the first-year experiences of school mental health professionals (SMHP) in a two-year PLC made up largely of SSW from an array of schools and districts throughout metropolitan Chicago. Drawing on qualitative data gathered from three rounds of in-depth interviews with participants during the first year of the PLC, we find that the PLC drew participants who sought specific opportunities through the PLC to improve their knowledge and skills to lead their schools in advancing social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) services and supports in their schools. Through the professional camaraderie they quickly found among their PLC colleagues, participants engaged collaboratively to develop an array of interventions for their schools, strengthened their professional capacities, and enhanced their sense of professional self-efficacy. By the end of the first year, participants overwhelmingly cited their PLC experiences as beneficial to reducing SMHP professional isolation, creating a supportive, resource-rich group of SMHP colleagues, and rejuvenating their commitment to the profession and their ability to lead their schools in advancing SEMH services and supports. Implications for further research on PLCs and advancing the professional development of SSW are discussed.
Advances in Social Work, 2019
Major depression is a treatable and common mental health disorder for youth. Untreated depression... more Major depression is a treatable and common mental health disorder for youth. Untreated depression is a major risk factor for youth who become suicidal and die by suicide. Recent focus in the school-based literature on creating universal mental health promotion programs have recognized the need for effective depression awareness education programs to assist youth in identifying symptoms of depression in themselves and their peers, and to encourage those youth to seek trusted adults for help. A quasi-experimental design (QED) was employed in two suburban Chicago high schools (n=652) to evaluate the intervention, Real Teenagers Talking About Adolescent Depression (RTTAAD), a video-based universal classroom discussion intervention created by clinical social workers, parents, and youth. The analysis showed that RTTAAD led to statistically significant changes in adolescent knowledge about depression and their stated willingness to seek help from trusted adults at 6-week follow-up compared to a control classroom condition. This study supports the notion that school social workers and other school mental health professionals need to allocate more time to primary prevention work to help build mental health awareness in their school communities and to help prevent depression and suicidal behavior.
School Mental Health Journal, 2019
The present study uses a national sample (N = 3769) and a latent profile framework to examine pro... more The present study uses a national sample (N = 3769) and a latent profile framework to examine profiles of school social workers who engage in various levels of ecologically oriented practices at school and in the home and community. Three profiles emerged from the data that consisted of school social workers who reported engaging in low, medium and high levels of ecological practice behaviors across school, family, and community domains. Further examination revealed that school social workers fitting into the profile marked by high levels of self-reported practices at school, with families, and to facilitate community-school linkages were more likely to have a graduate degree, work in a state with certification standards, and have 10 or fewer years of experience compared to school social workers in the other two profiles. Additionally, school social workers who reported high levels of ecological practices were more likely to use evidence-based assessments, programs/practices, and engage in universal school-level prevention efforts more frequently compared to those in the low and medium profiles. Practical implications include the need for pre-service and targeted in-service training as well as policies that support minimum—if not lofty—competencies and state or national certification standards for school social work professionals.
Families in Society, 2017
School social work practice decisions have been the focus of local and national surveys for sever... more School social work practice decisions have been the focus of local and national surveys for several decades, most recently in 2014. The need to better understand these findings, particularly school social workers' practice decisions that appear counter to what the field's evidence base indicates is sound practice, led to the current qualitative study. Our inquiry focused on developing a deeper understanding of the impact of professional models (particularly the multitiered systems of support), training, and school context on practice. Data from 16 focus groups (N = 60) revealed that practitioners struggled with contextual constraints upon their work and encountered limited learning opportunities and support, to the extent that they could not consistently implement contemporary practice models. Implications for school social work policy, training, and practice are considered.
The social work profession has long wrestled with how to prioritize the needs of those in poverty... more The social work profession has long wrestled with how to prioritize the needs of those in poverty while maintaining its professional identity. While the debate continues at a conceptual level, the struggle may not be represented through information provided to social work students. Through a content analysis of course syllabi of Catholic MSW social work programs, analysis suggests an absence of textual reference to those clients who live in poverty. Instead, requiring that students confront issues of poverty in their courses, and in particular their practice courses, is surprisingly rare. Further analysis suggests increasing the importance placed on the concept of diversity, at times as a proxy for a more direct confrontation of the role of social class and its impact on client well-being and experience. Implications for social work educators and researchers are discussed, with particular attention to the ways by which findings inform pedagogy in foundation social work courses. S ocial work has historically been identified by its dual focus on change at the individual and societal levels. Conversations among the founders of the profession are well known for the struggle to identify the most appropriate way to address issues of justice among marginalized populations (
Social Work, 2015
The Second National School Social Work Survey in 2014 aimed to update knowledge of school social ... more The Second National School Social Work Survey in 2014 aimed to update knowledge of school social work practice by examining how practitioner characteristics, practice context, and practice choices have evolved since the last national survey in 2008. This second survey was also developed to assess how the new national school social work practice model created by the School Social Work Association of America aligns with early 21st century school social work practice realities. The second survey was conducted from February through April 2014 (3,769 total responses were collected) and represents the largest sample of American school social workers surveyed in two decades. Data from the Second National School Social Work Survey showed a eld that still has not fully responded to calls to implement evidence- informed and data-driven practices. This article notes the need to better integrate pre- and postservice training in data-driven practices and provides recommendations for ways to overcome barriers that school social workers report facing.
School social workers frequently serve as the primary mental health providers to youths with ment... more School social workers frequently serve as the primary mental health providers to youths with mental health problems. Although school social workers play a primary role in care, many students also receive outside counseling services. Previous research has not examined whether practice approaches differ when considering mental health practice with students for whom school social workers are the primary providers versus those who receive outside counseling. This article uses respondents from the 2008 National School Social Work Survey who worked primarily with students with either emotional or behavioral problems to examine whether practice approaches differed between groups of school social workers for whom all or most of their students received outside counseling and those for whom few of their students received these services. Results demonstrate that the groups were different with respect to practice choices, as school social workers who worked with students receiving outside counseling reported greater engagement at all levels of the ecological system except for the school domain and the practice approach of group counseling. Both groups cited work with teachers as the least used aspect of school social work practice. Implications for the future of school social work research, practice, and policy are discussed.
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Books by Michael S. Kelly
importance to clients and engaging in a search for the best available evidence. Because there is accumulating evidence that school contextual features relate to
the quality of both prevention and intervention programming (Gottfredson et al., 2002; Payne, 2008; Payne et al., 2006), we place emphasis on research generated on school-based prevention and intervention that is grounded in contemporary education frameworks and considers the multiple players in school settings as
well as their goals and preferences. Many times, this will involve deciding with them to implement the most empirically validated treatment available, but only
after the school social worker and child, teacher, or parent have joined in the EIP process outlined in this chapter.
Papers by Michael S. Kelly
This report summarizes initial findings from a national survey of SSWs (n=1,275) practicing across the United States. Findings highlight serious challenges facing schools, school staff, and students. Some of these challenges are specifically related to educational goals, but many are related to basic needs that are a prerequisite to academic and social emotional learning.
• For example, many SSWs reported having limited to no contact with some of their students because they couldn’t establish a connection with them during the shutdown.
• They also expressed significant concerns about the motivation and engagement of the
81% of students with whom they did work.
• Additionally, SSWs reported that a majority of their students and families had
profound, immediate, and urgent needs related to food insufficiency (62.4%), housing instability (42.8), health issues (61.6%), individualized student tutoring (62.3%), and mental health services (75.7%) that indicate the need for a coordinated and comprehensive response from federal and state policymakers, as well as national educational leaders.
Recommendations and implications from these initial findings are shared here, including a call to action for the various school social work organizations to join together in this crisis moment to help SSWs and their school communities respond effectively as the pandemic continues to rage across the country and threaten the safe re-opening of American schools.
This special issue of Social Work & Christianity poses provocative and ultimately still-elusive questions for me: what would racial reconciliation look like in 21st-century American life? What has it looked like in specific
towns, states, and regions of the U.S. where it’s been tried, as well as other countries where it’s been attempted? And finally, what should social work- ers, who also identify as Christian, do to be faithful servants to God and to fight to dismantle white supremacy in this very urgent time? In addition to the four articles that we have here in this special issue, I want to offer some thoughts on what racial reconciliation work might look like from a Christian social work perspective in this pivotal time, taking the deeply painful historical legacy of racial terrorism and lynching (spanning from 1877 to 1950) as our starting point. (Mike K.)
practice information online, and (c) their preferences for the formatting and content of online resources. Participants described a willingness to use evidence-based practice, efforts to find information, and difficulties encountered with online sources. Preferences for readily available, searchable, brief, and understandable online information were expressed. Implications for meeting the needs of school social workers with online resources are discussed.
importance to clients and engaging in a search for the best available evidence. Because there is accumulating evidence that school contextual features relate to
the quality of both prevention and intervention programming (Gottfredson et al., 2002; Payne, 2008; Payne et al., 2006), we place emphasis on research generated on school-based prevention and intervention that is grounded in contemporary education frameworks and considers the multiple players in school settings as
well as their goals and preferences. Many times, this will involve deciding with them to implement the most empirically validated treatment available, but only
after the school social worker and child, teacher, or parent have joined in the EIP process outlined in this chapter.
This report summarizes initial findings from a national survey of SSWs (n=1,275) practicing across the United States. Findings highlight serious challenges facing schools, school staff, and students. Some of these challenges are specifically related to educational goals, but many are related to basic needs that are a prerequisite to academic and social emotional learning.
• For example, many SSWs reported having limited to no contact with some of their students because they couldn’t establish a connection with them during the shutdown.
• They also expressed significant concerns about the motivation and engagement of the
81% of students with whom they did work.
• Additionally, SSWs reported that a majority of their students and families had
profound, immediate, and urgent needs related to food insufficiency (62.4%), housing instability (42.8), health issues (61.6%), individualized student tutoring (62.3%), and mental health services (75.7%) that indicate the need for a coordinated and comprehensive response from federal and state policymakers, as well as national educational leaders.
Recommendations and implications from these initial findings are shared here, including a call to action for the various school social work organizations to join together in this crisis moment to help SSWs and their school communities respond effectively as the pandemic continues to rage across the country and threaten the safe re-opening of American schools.
This special issue of Social Work & Christianity poses provocative and ultimately still-elusive questions for me: what would racial reconciliation look like in 21st-century American life? What has it looked like in specific
towns, states, and regions of the U.S. where it’s been tried, as well as other countries where it’s been attempted? And finally, what should social work- ers, who also identify as Christian, do to be faithful servants to God and to fight to dismantle white supremacy in this very urgent time? In addition to the four articles that we have here in this special issue, I want to offer some thoughts on what racial reconciliation work might look like from a Christian social work perspective in this pivotal time, taking the deeply painful historical legacy of racial terrorism and lynching (spanning from 1877 to 1950) as our starting point. (Mike K.)
practice information online, and (c) their preferences for the formatting and content of online resources. Participants described a willingness to use evidence-based practice, efforts to find information, and difficulties encountered with online sources. Preferences for readily available, searchable, brief, and understandable online information were expressed. Implications for meeting the needs of school social workers with online resources are discussed.
We are thrilled with this year’s program, a combination of expert practitioners from our SMHAPP certificate (more on them in a minute), along with keynotes from:
•SSW expert trainer Ali Hearn from Midwest PBIS, one of the national leaders in PBIS/MTSS training
•Youth mental health leaders and advocates from the VOYCE Project (Voices of Youth in Chicago Education) (Check out their “Rethinking Safety” campaign and other amazing advocacy work http://voyceproject.org/
•Here’s the FSPP 2019 Program Booklet with all the details, including bios of all the awesome 2018-20 School Mental Health Advanced Practice Program (SMHAPP) students who will be presenting their school-change projects.
1) Overall, school social workers are not promoting universal/macro-practice strategies in their schools. These interventions are often referred to in the current MTSS parlance as Tier 1 interventions.
2) Even when they are involved in Tier 1 work, school social workers report they aren’t able to do it consistently through the school year and report feeling unsupported in their schools due to their high caseloads and the need to be compliant with special education and Medicaid mandates.
3) Overall, school social workers report they don’t have the tools to engage in data-driven, evidence-informed practice. They also report that they didn’t acquire training in these skills in their pre-service social work training and field placements to feel ready to use data to demonstrate the impacts of their services.
4) Though some school social work practitioners with fewer than 10 years of experience are showing more facility with collecting data, engaging in prevention work, and using evidence-informed practice, the field as a whole is still not engaging in these practices consistently in ways that would allow them to respond to the Grand Challenges outlined above or many of the policy initiatives within U.S. K-12 education (e.g. establishing effective MTSS in schools to help address achievement and discipline gaps for minority youth).
A Plan for Addressing our SSW Practice Challenges
Over the past few years, in numerous national and local presentations (including a well-received one at SSWAA’s national meeting in March 2016), I’ve asked SSW researchers and practitioners to help me identify some of the key components of how we might address the above issues in both our pre-service training in social work programs as well as post-service training for SSWs in the field. To be sure, while this is not an exhaustive list, these 4 areas have resonated with the various audiences and stakeholder groups I’ve talked with. I share them now, with additional information on how we are trying to implement these ideas as part of Loyola’s Family and School Partnership Program (FSPP).
Developing Online Tools that are Free, User-Friendly, and Evidence-Informed. In focus groups we’ve led over the past 3 years, school social workers have told us that they are very interested in using online tools to improve their practice. They use social media outlets like Pinterest to get ideas for groups, ask colleagues for advice in Facebook groups, and go to databases like SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP; http://www.nrepp.samhsa.gov/01_landing.aspx). What they tell us is that they don’t feel that they have a few excellent, free, and evidence-informed online sites that can act as “go-to” sites for when they are stuck with a student or school situation. Meanwhile, most of the great SSW research is still in journals hidden behind subscription pay walls, and may not always be written in accessible language for practitioners to use right away. Along with a team of researchers and practitioners here and at Ohio State University, we are planning to re-launch the website www.schoolsocialwork.net to try to collect online resources that are free, user-friendly, and evidence-informed. Please contact us at [email protected] if you’re interested in contributing to this project.
Moving the Field Forward: Developing Data-Driven, Prevention-Oriented Field Placement Opportunities for New School Social Work Students. On July 14th this year, along with colleagues from Midwest PBIS (http://www.midwestpbis.org/home) and University of Illinois-Chicago, I led a meeting of school social work field educators, field supervisors, and researchers to look at our pre-service field placements. Over the course of a spirited 3-hour meeting, we reach consensus on the need for our students to have more exposure to interventions across all 3 tiers of MTSS and more time in their field placements to engage in data-based decision making. Almost 20 of us came together from 8 schools of social work to commit to a process this year to engage our field partners in ways that we can support this work. We plan to post updates on our progress and to invite others to join us in other schools of social work across the country.
A Network of Master School Social Work Mentors to Close our Consultation Gap. For most of us, the first and last time we had a close professional relationship with another SSW was in our field placement. Given that the average years in the field ranges from 12-14 years based on our survey data, that’s a long time for most of us to have limited chances for professional consultation with a trusted senior colleague. To that end, we are planning at Loyola’s FSPP, in conjunction with my colleagues at Midwest PBIS, and the Oxford Symposium for School-based Family Counseling (http://www.schoolbasedfamilycounseling.com/) to develop a roster of School Social Work Master Mentors who are interested in serving as volunteers in providing consultation help to their colleagues.
Creating Effective Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to Bolster School Social Worker Skills and Morale. PLCs are a growing area in K-12 education, and offer another opportunity to address the practice challenges noted earlier, as well as decreasing SSW isolation and building community. In an essay in this issue, I detail a number of PLC projects I’ve been involved in since 2010 around the country, and offer ideas about how SSW can consider implementing PLCs that are school social work-specific.
July 25th and 26th, Loyola Chicago Water Tower Campus
The 13th Annual Family and School Partnership Program (FSPP) Summer Institute Program Booklet
http://www.luc.edu/ssw/2018fspp to register
The Family and School Partnership Program (FSPP) was launched in 1996 to provide post-master's training and consultation to school social workers and other school mental health professionals. To date, the FSPP has trained over 1,000 SBMHP's via our Annual Summer Institutes, bi-monthly Consultation Groups, and 15-credit post-master's School Mental Health Advanced Practice Certificate Program.
This is the Program Booklet for our 12th Annual FSPP Summer Institute, to be held July 14th-15th at Loyola University Chicago's Water Tower Campus. Any and all ideas for how we can continue to build our work at the FSPP are welcome!
Moving the Field Forward: Developing the Traits of Highly Effective School Mental Health Professionals
Join us for two exciting days that will help you move your school mental health practice to the next level. Through interactive sessions, learn how to become more visible, valuable, and vital in your school practice--the three traits of highly effective school mental health professionals. Earn 13 CEU's for both days, or 6.5 CEU's per day. Join Dr. Michael Kelly, FSPP Director at Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work, along with over 20 school mental health professionals from our Professional Learning Community (PLC) Project, who will share how they became more visible, valuable, and indispensable to their schools over the 2016-2017 school year. Come to this dynamic and interactive two days, where our conference will become a community to help you extend your learning beyond the summer and into next year!
1) Overall, school social workers are not promoting universal/macro-practice strategies in their schools. These interventions are often referred to in the current MTSS parlance as Tier 1 interventions.
2) Even when they are involved in Tier 1 work, school social workers report they aren’t able to do it consistently through the school year and report feeling unsupported in their schools due to their high caseloads and the need to be compliant with special education and Medicaid mandates.
3) Overall, school social workers report they don’t have the tools to engage in data- driven, evidence-informed practice. They also report that they didn’t acquire
training in these skills in their pre-service social work training and field
placements to feel ready to use data to demonstrate the impacts of their services. 4) Though some school social work practitioners with fewer than 10 years of
experience are showing more facility with collecting data, engaging in prevention work, and using evidence-informed practice, the field as a whole is still not engaging in these practices consistently in ways that would allow them to respond to the Grand Challenges outlined above or many of the policy initiatives within U.S. K-12 education (e.g. establishing effective MTSS in schools to help address achievement and discipline gaps for minority youth).
A Plan for Addressing our SSW Practice Challenges
Over the past few years, in numerous national and local presentations (including a
well-received one at SSWAA’s national meeting in March 2016), I’ve asked SSW researchers and practitioners to help me identify some of the key components of how we might address the above issues in both our pre-service training in social work programs as well as post-service training for SSWs in the field. To be sure, while this is not an exhaustive list, these 4 areas have resonated with the various audiences and stakeholder groups I’ve talked with. I share them now, with additional information on how we are trying to implement these ideas as part of Loyola’s Family and School Partnership Program (FSPP).
Developing Online Tools that are Free, User-Friendly, and Evidence-Informed. In focus groups we’ve led over the past 3 years, school social workers have told us that they are very interested in using online tools to improve their practice. They use social media outlets like Pinterest to get ideas for groups, ask colleagues for advice in Facebook groups, and go to databases like SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP; http://www.nrepp.samhsa.gov/01_landing.aspx). What they tell us is that they don’t feel that they have a few excellent, free, and evidence- informed online sites that can act as “go-to” sites for when they are stuck with a student or school situation. Meanwhile, most of the great SSW research is still in journals hidden behind subscription pay walls, and may not always be written in accessible language for practitioners to use right away. Along with a team of researchers and practitioners here and at Ohio State University, we are planning to re-launch the website www.schoolsocialwork.net to try to collect online resources that are free, user-friendly, and evidence-informed. Please contact us at [email protected] if you’re interested in contributing to this project.
Moving the Field Forward: Developing Data-Driven, Prevention-Oriented Field Placement Opportunities for New School Social Work Students. On July 14th this year, along with colleagues from Midwest PBIS (http://www.midwestpbis.org/home) and University of Illinois-Chicago, I led a meeting of school social work field educators, field supervisors, and researchers to look at our pre-service field placements. Over the course of a spirited 3-hour meeting, we reach consensus on the need for our students to have more exposure to interventions across all 3 tiers of MTSS and more time in their field placements to engage in data-based decision making. Almost 20 of us came together from 8 schools of social work to commit to a process this year to engage our field
partners in ways that we can support this work. We plan to post updates on our progress and to invite others to join us in other schools of social work across the country.
A Network of Master School Social Work Mentors to Close our Consultation Gap. For most of us, the first and last time we had a close professional relationship with another SSW was in our field placement. Given that the average years in the field ranges from 12-14 years based on our survey data, that’s a long time for most of us to have limited chances for professional consultation with a trusted senior colleague. To that end, we are planning at Loyola’s FSPP, in conjunction with my colleagues at Midwest PBIS, and the Oxford Symposium for School-based Family Counseling (http://www.schoolbasedfamilycounseling.com/) to develop a roster of School Social Work Master Mentors who are interested in serving as volunteers in providing consultation help to their colleagues.
Creating Effective Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to Bolster School Social Worker Skills and Morale. PLCs are a growing area in K-12 education, and offer another opportunity to address the practice challenges noted earlier, as well as decreasing SSW isolation and building community. In an essay in this issue, I detail a number of PLC projects I’ve been involved in since 2010 around the country, and offer ideas about how SSW can consider implementing PLCs that are school social work-specific.
After reading our attached definition, please answer these questions:
1) Do you consider SBFC to be an evidence-based practice (EBP)? Why or why not?
2) What are the key components of SBFC that you think have the strongest research base, and what parts do you think are particularly lacking?
3) Finally, would you like to be part of helping us build the research base of SBFC further?
1) Overall, school social workers are not promoting universal/macro-practice strategies in their schools. These interventions are often referred to in the current MTSS parlance as Tier 1 interventions.
2) Even when they are involved in Tier 1 work, school social workers report they aren’t able to do it consistently through the school year and report feeling unsupported in their schools due to their high caseloads and the need to be compliant with special education and Medicaid mandates.
3) Overall, school social workers report they don’t have the tools to engage in data- driven, evidence-informed practice. They also report that they didn’t acquire
training in these skills in their pre-service social work training and field
placements to feel ready to use data to demonstrate the impacts of their services. 4) Though some school social work practitioners with fewer than 10 years of
experience are showing more facility with collecting data, engaging in prevention work, and using evidence-informed practice, the field as a whole is still not engaging in these practices consistently in ways that would allow them to respond to the Grand Challenges outlined above or many of the policy initiatives within U.S. K-12 education (e.g. establishing effective MTSS in schools to help address achievement and discipline gaps for minority youth).
A Plan for Addressing our SSW Practice Challenges
Over the past few years, in numerous national and local presentations (including a
well-received one at SSWAA’s national meeting in March 2016), I’ve asked SSW researchers and practitioners to help me identify some of the key components of how we might address the above issues in both our pre-service training in social work programs as well as post-service training for SSWs in the field. To be sure, while this is not an exhaustive list, these 4 areas have resonated with the various audiences and stakeholder groups I’ve talked with. I share them now, with additional information on how we are trying to implement these ideas as part of Loyola’s Family and School Partnership Program (FSPP).
Developing Online Tools that are Free, User-Friendly, and Evidence-Informed. In focus groups we’ve led over the past 3 years, school social workers have told us that they are very interested in using online tools to improve their practice. They use social media outlets like Pinterest to get ideas for groups, ask colleagues for advice in Facebook groups, and go to databases like SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP; http://www.nrepp.samhsa.gov/01_landing.aspx). What they tell us is that they don’t feel that they have a few excellent, free, and evidence- informed online sites that can act as “go-to” sites for when they are stuck with a student or school situation. Meanwhile, most of the great SSW research is still in journals hidden behind subscription pay walls, and may not always be written in accessible language for practitioners to use right away. Along with a team of researchers and practitioners here and at Ohio State University, we are planning to re-launch the website www.schoolsocialwork.net to try to collect online resources that are free, user-friendly, and evidence-informed. Please contact us at [email protected] if you’re interested in contributing to this project.
Moving the Field Forward: Developing Data-Driven, Prevention-Oriented Field Placement Opportunities for New School Social Work Students. On July 14th this year, along with colleagues from Midwest PBIS (http://www.midwestpbis.org/home) and University of Illinois-Chicago, I led a meeting of school social work field educators, field supervisors, and researchers to look at our pre-service field placements. Over the course of a spirited 3-hour meeting, we reach consensus on the need for our students to have more exposure to interventions across all 3 tiers of MTSS and more time in their field placements to engage in data-based decision making. Almost 20 of us came together from 8 schools of social work to commit to a process this year to engage our field
partners in ways that we can support this work. We plan to post updates on our progress and to invite others to join us in other schools of social work across the country.
A Network of Master School Social Work Mentors to Close our Consultation Gap. For most of us, the first and last time we had a close professional relationship with another SSW was in our field placement. Given that the average years in the field ranges from 12-14 years based on our survey data, that’s a long time for most of us to have limited chances for professional consultation with a trusted senior colleague. To that end, we are planning at Loyola’s FSPP, in conjunction with my colleagues at Midwest PBIS, and the Oxford Symposium for School-based Family Counseling (http://www.schoolbasedfamilycounseling.com/) to develop a roster of School Social Work Master Mentors who are interested in serving as volunteers in providing consultation help to their colleagues.
Creating Effective Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to Bolster School Social Worker Skills and Morale. PLCs are a growing area in K-12 education, and offer another opportunity to address the practice challenges noted earlier, as well as decreasing SSW isolation and building community. In an essay in this issue, I detail a number of PLC projects I’ve been involved in since 2010 around the country, and offer ideas about how SSW can consider implementing PLCs that are school social work-specific.
KEY POINTS FROM THE SESSION:
1. Focus was on the EBP for Trauma-Informed Care at a Tier 1 and whole-school level;
2. Much of the EBP for TIC in schools is at a Tier 2 & 3 level (e.g. CBITS) but is often conflated with the notion that there is EBP for TIC at a whole-school level;
3. Our 2019 empty systematic review (led by SLU SSW Associate Professor Brandy Maynard and available at Campbell Collaboration & on my academia.edu page) found no rigorous evaluations of TIC at a Tier 1 and/or whole-school level, even after screening over 7,000 studies over a 10-year period (through late 2017);
4. The Trauma-Responsive Schools Implementation Assessment (TRS-IA) is a useful tool to evaluate how well your school is doing in implementing TIC best practices (though when I ran it on my twins’ middle school a lot of the practices weren’t happening yet);
5. The combination of limited empirical support for school-based TIC at Tier 1 is concerning, and reflects a possible reality that TIC has spread and been adopted without considering the EBP and other possible unintended consequences of implementing TIC;
6. An emerging racial inequity lens (highlighted by the recent NYT “1619 Project” special issue and Gorski’s Equity Literacy work) indicates the need for districts to recognize the need to adopt both a trauma-informed and racial inequity-informed lens that is infused into all of their work, including making time to prioritize dismantling racial inequity and other facets of white supremacy in individual schools and districts while engaging in rigorous evaluation of the TIC programs themselves.