School Social Worker

SCHEDULE:

• FTE
• Work hours may vary based on program needs

REPORTS TO:

Assistant Superintendent of Specialized Instruction, Supervisor of Special Education, Building Principal

SUPERVISION:

School Social Worker Interns, when applicable

SALARY RANGE: $49,141 - $90,362 /year

QUALIFICATIONS:

Required

• Licensed by the Minnesota State Board of Social Work and Minnesota Department of Education as a School Social Worker

Preferred

• Previous work experience in a public school system

School Social Workers assist mainstream and special education teachers and administrators in fulfilling their duties and responsibilities with all students. School Social Workers participate in screening, evaluation, and/or intervention with preschool and school-age persons suspected of having emotional, social, behavioral, and/or learning difficulties. In addition to contact with these persons, assistance may also involve consultation with parents, siblings, teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, school nurses, school administrators, and appropriate non‑school personnel to inform, as well as advise on issues of student functioning and needs.

Services may also include school intervention strategies, behavioral management, in‑service activities, and program evaluation. All such services are intended to help school staff recognize and provide for the individual differences and needs of all children.

Duties and responsibilities are include crisis prevention and intervention, direct/indirect services specified on student IEPs, and mandated due process procedures for which special education monies are allocated, and are seen as core special education school social worker services.

Plans for and provides crisis intervention services to individual students, groups of students, and staff

• Keeps current with literature on crisis prevention and intervention planning
• Participates in district and building level planning for crisis prevention and intervention
• Engages in crisis intervention

Attends Evaluation Planning, Eligibility Determination and IEP meetings to participate in decision making for evaluation, eligibility, and individual education program development; functions as representative of the district, as appropriate

• Develops and maintains a regular building schedule
• Informs building level staff of variations in schedule availability
• Is punctual for appointments and meetings within buildings
• Has knowledge of the building special education meeting schedule
• Meets with building staff to set priorities for attendance at building meetings
• Has appropriate materials ready and is well prepared to present information at meetings
• Actively participates in building meetings

Assesses functioning and needs of referred students through appropriate evaluation and diagnostic practices

• Selects evaluation techniques appropriate to the referral concern
• Follows best practice guidelines in all evaluation and diagnostic practices (e.g. standardized administration, rapport building, ethical evaluation behaviors)
• Adheres to the ethics involved in evaluation as outlined by State and National Association and Professional standards

Communicates/interprets social‑emotional‑behavioral evaluation results and environmental observations to school personnel and parents via verbal and/or written formats

• Provides information in as clear and/or nontechnical manner as possible
• In written and oral communication to the team and parents, provides an accurate and technically correct interpretation of the evaluation data available
• Actively listens to and assists with questions regarding evaluation data and information provided by other members of the team
• Participates in integration of all available data pertaining to students (home, school, community‑based)
• Participates in team decision making regarding eligibility for special education services and contributes to documentation of eligibility in written reports
• Effectively makes determination of need for outside resource referral and need for further evaluation or consultation with other staff

Provides direct service to individuals or groups of special education students

• Provides input to IEP team when direct…