January, 2010

Service Protection Resources

Webmaster's Note: To help people navigate the Michigan Association of School Social Workers’ website (masswmi.org), I will periodically be sending out an article on website tips. This article’s theme is job protection. Please note that any items in blue are direct links to the pages being discussed. It is important that you log in first before you click on these links.

INDEX TO LINKS IN THIS ARTICLE:

Advocacy ideas: School Social Worker Effectiveness Package (see sections III and V)

Conference Highlights: 2009 MASSW/Midwest Conference

Data Collection:
- Positive Behavior Support Page 
- Practice Tools
- School Social Worker Effectiveness Package (see section IV)

Discussion areas:
- Meeting Place Discussion Forum
- Questions
- What’s Going on Out There

Laws Regarding SSW's: School Social Worker Effectiveness Package (see section I)

Medicaid Information: Meeting Place Discussion Forum (Medicaid Page)

Presentations about SSW's:
- School Social Worker Effectiveness Package (see section II)

School Board Presentation Tips: Conference Handout Page (see session G-6 towards the bottom of the page).


ARTICLE:

Happy New Year! 

With these challenging economic times, it is important to do everything we can to insure that students have access to the services that we provide. Districts all throughout the state are cutting back on various services. Unfortunately, school social workers have been part of those cutbacks in some districts. In times like these, we need to effectively advocate for our services and positions. I wanted to take a moment and let you know of several resources that are on the Michigan Association of School Social Workers’ website, masswmi.org. While these tools might not guarantee job protection, they will help you in advocating for your continued services.

At the 2009 MASSW/Midwest Conference, Nic Dibble (from the Wisconsin Department of Education and a community school board member) discussed advocating with school boards to justify and maintain school social work services. While making many points, two key ideas were 1) making sure boards know that school social workers generate revenue (and when they lay a school social work off, the district will lose money) and 2) making sure school boards know how school social workers contribute to test scores. 

Nic talked about several ways that school social workers generate revenue for a district. The major source was Medicaid Revenue. Since the conference, a number of school social workers throughout the state have been discussing (on-line) how Medicaid is working in Michigan. To learn more about how Medicaid Monies have been a calculated and changes in funding in the near future, you can go to the Meeting Place Discussion Forum. Please feel free to share your experiences on the forum by clicking on REPLY or NEW THREAD. To be informed of new postings in this section, click on SUBSCRIBE.

Nic also spoke about “selling ourselves” to school boards by showing how we impact performance. It doesn’t have to be as thorough as a research study. We don’t even have to show a direct correlation between our services and achievement. What we do have to show is that we were involved and that somehow that involvement helped improve grades, behavior, attendance, school climate, etc. For some ideas of how to do this, check out Nic’s handouts from the conference and the follow up documents on the Conference Handout Page (see session G-6 towards the bottom of the page).

Besides these resources, I would like to point out the School Social Worker Effectiveness Package which was spearheaded but Sue Welcome, Region F President. This section is divided into five areas and features a great deal of information on the history of our profession, the law and advocacy. The first section includes a historical perspective of how our services are grounded in both Federal and State law. Our current state laws or rules about school social work are included in this section.  

The second section highlights the diversity in our profession and the initiatives in which we might be partaking. It includes job descriptions and presentations that some school social workers have made about their services to their board members and administrators.  

The third section features many advocacy ideas and examples. The fourth section features ideas and examples on gathering data to be used in presentations.  This section includes a discussion of how social workers support the academic standards.

Finally, in the fifth section, some examples and tips on advocacy are presented. A major theme in this section is that if school social workers are included in the teachers’ contracts, then they are considered instructional staff and therefore cannot be outsourced unless approved by the union. The complete Michigan Special Education Rules are included here as well.

If you need additional ideas or forms on data collection, you might want to check out the Practice Tools and Positive Behavior Support pages.

This upcoming year, communication is going to be key to support each other in these tough times. Two areas of our discussion forum, What’s Going on Out There and Questions,  are both places that you can share what’s going on with your positions and how you are advocating for your professional services. Please share both success stories and battles that have yet to be won so that others can share ideas and comments. You may post by clicking on NEW THREAD or REPLY. (Please make sure you click on SUBSCRIBE when you post so that you will be notified if someone replies to your posting.) 

Speaking of the discussion forum, there is a place here for you to share web resources. Just click on NEW THREAD under the Web Resources section.

As always, if you have difficulties logging in to www.masswmi.org, then feel free to contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . I usually can get back with you in 24 hours.

As always, we at MASSW appreciate your continued support. Thank you for all you do for Michigan’s Children and our profession.

Steve Whitmore, LMSW
Webmaster
www.masswmi.org