Advocating for School Social Work to Advance Student Social, Emotional, and Mental Health: Strategies from Two Case Studies

Abstract

Advocacy is a critical aspect of our social work profession, but attention to advocacy has mostly focused on the ways social workers advocate for clients’ needs and not for their own positions. School social workers (SSWs) experience increasing challenges in which devaluation, role ambiguity, and misperceptions of their work persist (Teasley, 2018). More discourse is needed on strategies SSWs can use to advocate for their continued employment and the growth of their profession. This Practice Highlights column describes the challenges and successes of a member of a community where the single SSW position was under threat (case 1) and an MSW student who rallied for school social work services in a particular district (case 2). Both the community member and the MSW student approached the School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA) for guidance. The first case involves a longtime SSW of a combined middle and high school located in a rural community in the northeastern United States. This SSW serves 350 students in seventh through 12th grades. The school student body is 56 percent male, 44 percent female, 3 percent minority population, and 43 percent economically disadvantaged based on students receiving free or reduced-price lunch. The SSW had long-existing ties with students and families in the community. A concerned member of the community contacted SSWAA when a new school administrator proposed a budget restructure that would eliminate the SSW’s position. The national association connected the community member to the first author of this article, who shared research information to boost the advocacy efforts of the community member and the SSW. Ultimately, the community’s grassroots advocacy efforts swayed the school board members and the SSW position was added back into the budget.

Topics & Concepts