POSITION SUMMARY

The School Social Worker significantly contributes to the development of each student's social-emotional well-being and ability to achieve success in graduating from high school ready for college and a family-sustaining career. Accountable to the Principal, the School Social Worker promotes the overall Carmen mission by providing instruction, evaluations, interventions, services and resources that strengthen home, school, and community partnerships and address barriers to student learning and achievement. The School Social Worker uses evidence-based strategies and uses both preventive and intervention approaches in the delivery of services.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Ability to communicate effectively to achieve assigned duties
• Master's degree or equivalency in related field of study, Masters of Social Worker
• Licensed in the state of Wisconsin as a School Social Worker (DPI license #50)or with emergency permit until license requirements are completed
• At least three years of experience working with low income at risk youth in a school or similar setting
• Knowledgeable about mental health, AODA, behavioral, academic, and family assessments, interventions and resources
• Skilled in the assessment, treatment planning, counseling and interventions of typical psycho/social disorders
• Ability to build trusting relationships with students and families
• Passion for quality education and student achievement
• Spanish proficiency preferred

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES 

DELIVERY OF STUDENT SERVICES

• Develops and implements policies, procedures, interventions and resources that maximize positive behaviors of all enrolled students and enhances school culture, safety, and achievement.
• Maintains records on all students that have individual learning plans or have special needs or require accommodations.
• Assesses students' needs and applies appropriate interventions and/or referrals to outside services. Assessments by school social worker generally include one or more of the following areas: adaptive functioning, behavior, social-emotional functioning and individual development. Formal and informal assessment tools are used to conduct evaluations and screenings.
• Provides case management services to students and/or families. This may involve collecting and maintaining a variety of student and family resources and referring students and families to community services as appropriate.
• Provides short-term individual student counseling, initiates formal assessments to determine needs, and differentiates short-term from long-term needs and refers to outside support as necessary.
• Manages 504 case plans.
• Monitors student attendance and create responses for chronic absenteeism.
• Meets with students and families on a regular basis to assess, intervene and refer to community or in-school services as needed.
• Serves on student IEP committees and attends IEP meetings as required/requested.
• Delivers School Social Worker services as required by student IEPs.
• Uses knowledge and understanding of the reciprocal influences of home, school, and community to intervene for student success via such practices as assessment, crisis intervention and response, home visits, conflict resolution, classroom presentations, individual and group counseling, consultation, program development, dropout prevention, graduation awareness, and coordination of school and community services.
• Provides and tracks progress in RtI tier 2 and tier 3 behavior interventions when applicable.
• Enters case management data as required in Infinite Campus and ensures documentation of information (e.g., at risk assessment, truancy, child protective services reports, court-related documents, mental health-related documents, 504 plan information, and IEP information) is maintained in secure and confidential location.

TEACHER AND STAFF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

• Provides consultations to staff and teachers on social problems or mental health interventions and needs of individual students with the goal of improving classroom performance.
• Assists teachers in identification of urgent vs. emergency service needs for students.
• Consults with building leaders and teams regarding appropriate behavior interventions with students in the classroom setting and relevant programming based on needs assessments.
• Consults with advisory leads to provide relevant programming based on school-wide needs assessment.
• Collaborates and plans with Deans of Students and School Culture, RtI Coordinator and Directors of Curriculum and Instruction about specific student needs, accommodations and/or interventions.
• Serves as state and local compliance authority on such issues as attendance, diversity, mental health, behavior management, delinquency, crisis intervention, homelessness, child abuse, neglect, and the importance of confidentiality.
• Provides professional development for teachers and staff on behavior interventions, mental health awareness, social/emotional learning and other topics, as necessary.
• Provides and maintains current knowledge of federal and state laws and regulations and abides by said laws and regulations with emphasis on persons with disabilities, child welfare, immigration, mental health, confidentiality, and student and parent rights.
• Assists in creating medical alerts as necessary
• Provides direct supervision to student social work interns, as appropriate.

STUDENT, PARENT, AND FAMILY EDUCATION

• Promotes services to students and their families within the context of multicultural understanding and competence that enhances families' support of students' learning experiences.
• Assists students and their families in gaining access to formal and informal community resources.
• Provides workshops for students, parents and/or families based on needs identified in Youth Risk Behavior Survey, school climate surveys, RtI universal behavior screener, and student and parent requests.

 GENERAL

• Supports the mission, vision and values of Carmen Schools of Science and Technology.
• Provides semi-annual and annual reports to Principal on services provided.
• Provides counsel to Principal and leadership team on legal and ethical guidelines and best practices related to social services access and delivery.
• Fosters a school environment and culture that promote learning, respect, responsibility and trust.
• Adheres to the policies and procedures of Carmen Schools of Science and Technology.
• Serves as a member of the school leadership team as requested.
• Serves as a member of the school RtI team.
• Serves as a member of the site-based School Improvement Committee.
• Leads in an entrepreneurial, fast paced environment with a mature approach to challenges.
• Serves as the liaison between state, district and school as it relates to matters of compliance, reporting and other regulatory compliance.
• Conforms to the National Association of Social Work (NASW) Code of Ethics and WI DPI Standards for School Social Work practice.
• Attends any trainings or professional learning communities offered by Milwaukee Public Schools as needed/required
• Maintains continuing education and licensure.
• Organizes time, resources, energy, and workload in order to meet responsibilities and needs of students.
• Takes on other duties and responsibilities as assigned