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The State of School Social Work: Revisited

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Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to report the results of the 2nd National School Social Work Survey. Here, we review the responses of 3769 school social workers using descriptive and bivariate statistics to better understand the current state of school social work in the USA. We also describe the characteristics and utilization patterns of students accessing school social work services, summarize the level (primary prevention vs. 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 that 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 of 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.

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Notes

  1. ES = Effect Size, a standardized statistic communicating the strength of the relationship between an independent variable and the dependent outcome (Cohen, 1988).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, Loyola University, Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Michael S. Kelly

  2. School of Social Work, University of Missouri at Columbia, Columbia, MO, USA

    Aaron M. Thompson & Heather Klemp

  3. Kent School of Social Work, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA

    Andy Frey

  4. South New Hampshire University, Hooksett, NH, USA

    Michelle Alvarez

  5. Boston College School of Social Work, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA

    Stephanie Cosner Berzin

Authors
  1. Michael S. Kelly
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  2. Aaron M. Thompson
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  3. Andy Frey
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  4. Heather Klemp
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  5. Michelle Alvarez
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  6. Stephanie Cosner Berzin
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Correspondence to Michael S. Kelly.

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Kelly, M.S., Thompson, A.M., Frey, A. et al. The State of School Social Work: Revisited. School Mental Health 7, 174–183 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-015-9149-9

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