Introduction to Human Services Unit 9 seminar

 School social workers date back to the late 1800’s.  They were called: Visiting Teachers, Home Visitors, Special Visitors, and Visiting Social Counselors.  By the 1940’s these positions began to specialize in more social work type jobs and broke apart from the teaching positions.  National Association of School Social Workers

 The struggle to define roles and responsibilities  Overlaps with the role of School Social Worker  Deals more with academic concerns and career guidance.  School Pychologist  A Nation at Risk (1983) and No Child Left Behind Act (2001).

 The “Achievement Gap” between the urban youth and the suburban youth.  Urban youth are far more likely to ◦ Drop out of school ◦ Fail to meet the minimum standard on national standardized test ◦ Have issues with excessive absenteeism There is also a big concern about obtaining and retaining qualified teachers in urban schools.

 All human service workers (social workers, counselors and psychologist) will encounter similar issues while working in public schools.  Depression: 3% of children and 8% of adolescents suffer  There is a limit to the amount of mental health services that a school can provide to its students

 The Human Service Professional must evaluate anything that might be contributing to the student’s mental health status.  The student’s relationships with peers, family members and teachers must be evaluated.  Human Service Professionals must look at the entire context within which the student is operating.

 Human service professionals must advocate for diverse students.  Human service professionals can assist teachers and administrators in recognizing and addressing discrimination and prejudices.  Assist with cultural diversity training  Develop culture competencies among counselors and other human service professionals.

 Students that are questioning their sexuality or are among the group of sexual minorities are often the victims of physical and verbal violence.  They feel different and isolated.  High rate of suicide  75% admit to being verbally abused and 15% admit to being physically abused.

 Students were very fearful after September 11 th  Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)  Vicarious Victimization  Students symptoms included: fear, worry, anxiety, sadness, anger and aggression.  Human service workers need to be trained to be responsive in the event of a future attack and need to be sensitive to the needs of students that still feel fearful in wartime.

 Continues to be a growing problem across US  Mostly found in high schools, but is present in middle schools as well  Human service professionals need to be able to identify signs of substance abuse and be prepared with the knowledge to intervene properly.  Awareness of outside referral sources  A systems perspective

 Mandated reporters of child abuse and neglect  Often have to determine if a call needs to be made to Child Protective Services  Disclosure  Compassion, support and encouragement  Promises should not be made

 Rates have been on the decline, but it is still a serious concern.  Religiosity  Peer influence  Appropriate parental supervision  Good and direct parental communication  SES  Race  Involvement in sports

 Referral for evaluation and assessment  Largest referrals coming from schools ◦ Larger class size ◦ Disruption  Significant challenges in the classroom  Classroom management  Human service professionals need to advocate for these kids.

 This is our final seminar….  What questions or concerns do you have to share with me?  We still need to complete Unit 10 Discussoin Boards & the Reading and The final deadline for all work is Tuesday, September 8 !  Please remember that while I have been flexible all term with due dates, I cannot be with this final date. All work, the final project and all late work, must be turned in by midnight, Sept. 8 (no exceptions)- the grades need to be in- per deadline  I wanted you all to know that it has been my privilege to facilitate this class and my pleasure to meet all of you, learn with you and share the field of Human Services with you. Please do not hesitate to contact me through your or AIM if you have any questions regarding your Final Project due by 09/01/09. I am here to help. Again, Congratulations as you complete Unit Nine and Unit Ten!