Characteristics and Outcomes of School Social Work Services: A Scoping Review of Published Evidence 2000–June 2022 (original) (raw)
Related papers
The State of School Social Work: Revisited
School Mental Health Journal, 2015
The purpose of this paper is to report the results of the 2nd National School Social Work Survey. Here, we review the responses of 3,769 school social workers using descriptive and bivariate statistics to better understand the current state of school social work in the United States. We also describe the characteristics and utilization patterns of students accessing school social work services, summarize the level (primary prevention versus secondary/tertiary) of practice focus of school social workers, and review practitioner responses to items summarizing their utilization of resources to identify, implement, and evaluate evidence-based practices. In addition to these descriptive analyses, we report bivariate analyses that aim to examine the relationship between prevention orientation and caseload, grade level, community setting, geographic region, and licensure status. Results suggest the workforce characteristics and service provision trends of school social workers remain largely unchanged from 2008, and that students accessing school social work services are exposed to many factors placing them at increased risk for school failure. Pre and post service training recommendations arise from our assessment of the state of school social work in America to better serve children and youth who struggle with mental and behavioral health issues.
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.
School Social Work Practice and Response to Intervention
Children & Schools, 2010
School social workers have historically had a great deal of flexibility in the practices they use, yet few studies have systematically examined them. This study used data collected as part of the National School Social Work Survey to examine the practice of school social workers within the context of the principles of the response to intervention (RtI) framework-building capacity, using high-quality interventions, organizing interventions within a multitiered framework, and using data-based decision making. The descriptive data presented in this study provides a preliminary indication of how the practice of school social workers nationally fits within these guiding principles of RtI. Results suggest that whereas some aspects of school social work practice are consistent with RtI principles, other aspects appear to be inconsistent or even at odds with these principles. Specifically, although school social workers see the system's perspective as a major strength of the profession, their ability to approach student problems through primary prevention efforts and systems change seems limited. The implications for school social work practice and education are discussed.
BACKGROUND: While school-based mental health professionals obviously must provide mental health services to students directly, the literature is increasingly identifying an empowerment role for these professionals, whereby they support teachers as primary service providers. The purpose of this study was to identify subtypes of school social workers within the context of collaborative practice, and to identify individual and contextual factors associated with these classifications as well as overall levels of collaboration.
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 field that still has not fully responded to calls to implement evidenceinformed and data-driven practices. This article notes the need to better integrate pre- and post-service training in data-driven practices and provides recommendations for ways to overcome barriers that school social workers report facing.
School Social Work: An Evidence-Informed Framework for Practice
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.