Job Description

Title:   LEAD SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER

Position Type: Exempt

Primary Function:

The position provides leadership for:

• Assessment, counseling, and consultative services that support positive academic and social outcomes for students.
• Supervision of school social workers and providing administrative support.
• Development of prevention and intervention strategies and resources to support students and families.
• Referring students and families to community providers.
• Student access to services such as individual, group, and family counseling.
• Crisis intervention, family counseling and support, education and engagement, linkage to community resources, outreach and advocacy.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Holds a Master's Degree from an accredited school of social work and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker or will fulfill licensure requirements in one year.
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills.
• Demonstrates professional and personal characteristics necessary for working effectively with all division mental health professionals, students, parents, school personnel and members of the community.
• Possesses the ability to quickly learn and apply new technology.
• Demonstrates strong leadership, organizational, and management skills.
• Demonstrates an ability to prepare and disseminate written reports and presentations within required timelines.
• Possesses the ability to travel to more than one work location in the course of the day.
• Possesses sufficient strength, ability, dexterity and mobility to carry out all performance responsibilities across multiple schools.
• Demonstrates ability to conduct multidisciplinary and interagency professional interactions. Possesses the ability to assess the needs of students and families and to provide intervention and referrals to address identified needs.
•  Holds a valid driver’s license.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bi-lingual preferred.
• Holds a Virginia license in Supervision and Administration preferred.

Performance Responsibilities:

• Provides guidance to school social workers to include, but not limited to, assessment, intervention, consultation and education, and advocacy.
• Provides professional development to school social workers to complete home visits and socio-cultural assessments as part of the special education evaluation process and to develop a well-written summary of findings.
• Provides supervision to school social workers to complete Suicide Risk and Threat Assessments.
• Completes Suicide Risk and Threat Assessments. Supports the implementation of school and home safety plans and refers students to community mental health assessment and service organizations as appropriate.
• Organizes time, resources, and workload in order to meet job responsibilities.
• Leads school social workers to implement training, prevention and intervention services to strengthen school and family relationships and to facilitate communication between the school and home environments.
• Provides in-service training and workshops for teachers and staff regarding mental health issues and proper procedures for the identification and referral of students.
• Develops, reviews and engages in professional growth and development to ensure maintenance of school social work licensure for all school social workers.
• Adheres to The National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics.
• Participates on division-level multi-disciplinary teams to coordinate and implement tiered school, family, and community supports for students demonstrating emotional and behavioral difficulties in school.
• Provides leadership around developing and implementing classroom interventions, conducting functional behavioral assessments, and positive behavior intervention plans with individual, group, and family input.
• Conducts individual and group crisis intervention or short-term counseling with a child and with his/her family, as appropriate.
• Participates as part of the division’s crisis management team and collaborates with community mental health in the event of a school or division crisis.
• Coordinates with the Director of Student Services and appropriate staff on the school assignments of social workers.
• Represents the division on the Family Assessment and Planning Team (FAPT) through meeting attendance, maintaining documentation compliance with the Children’s Services Act (CSA), and communicating meeting outcomes to the Director of Student Services and appropriate staff.
• Maintains necessary records and reports and ensuring confidentiality of students and their families as required by law, division procedures, and administrative regulation.
• Completes special education socio-cultural assessments as part of the special education evaluation process.
• Conducts home visits to secure family participation including obtaining parental consent to evaluate, collecting data for Impact Aid, and assisting with truancy interventions.
• Perform other related duties as assigned by supervisor.

Reports to:

Director of Student Services

Terms of Employment:

Twelve months per year. Salary according to School Board Pay Plan

Evaluation:

Performance on this job will be evaluated in accordance with School Board policy and administrative regulations on evaluation of licensed personnel.

2/10/2022