HISTORY OF WASSW
The Washington Association of School Social Workers has a long and rich history. The origin of school social work is traced to 1907 with the concept of "visiting teachers". School Social Work began in Washington State in 1947 when Principals, and Speech Therapists requested help for children experiencing emotional and social problems. "Counselors" were hired and the qualification for the position was a Masters in Social Work (MSW). These positions were funded by general education. WASSW as a professional organization was formed in the late 1950's
In 1962 "Counselors" were officially titled Social Workers and funding changed to Special Education. Tacoma is the first district known to hire School Social Workers. Now of the 225 school districts, over 100 districts hire School Social Workers in a variety of titled positions depending on the needs of the district and funding options. There are approximately 223 school social workers certified and over 150 - 175 currently employed in schools. WASSW has 11 board members which are elected at the annual fall conference, and a part-time Executive Director. WASSW has historically provided annual fall conferences with high quality training, and peer review classes for certification. WASSW now offers a spring peer review class.
Training for School Social Workers has changed over time, currently there are two Universities (University of Washington and Eastern Washington University) who offer School Social Work course required for certification. Because of the various ways School Social Work positions are funded, practice models can vary from district to district. At this time we have no legislation requiring social workers to be in schools, unlike the federal legislation. All School Social Workers must be MSW's and have certification by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).
WASSW has currently increased it's advocacy, visibility and promotion of the profession of School Social Work. It is WASSW's strong belief that the broadbased services provided by School Social Workers highly increase student learning, contribute to a healthy learning environment and is a cost/benefit service to schools.
In 1962 "Counselors" were officially titled Social Workers and funding changed to Special Education. Tacoma is the first district known to hire School Social Workers. Now of the 225 school districts, over 100 districts hire School Social Workers in a variety of titled positions depending on the needs of the district and funding options. There are approximately 223 school social workers certified and over 150 - 175 currently employed in schools. WASSW has 11 board members which are elected at the annual fall conference, and a part-time Executive Director. WASSW has historically provided annual fall conferences with high quality training, and peer review classes for certification. WASSW now offers a spring peer review class.
Training for School Social Workers has changed over time, currently there are two Universities (University of Washington and Eastern Washington University) who offer School Social Work course required for certification. Because of the various ways School Social Work positions are funded, practice models can vary from district to district. At this time we have no legislation requiring social workers to be in schools, unlike the federal legislation. All School Social Workers must be MSW's and have certification by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).
WASSW has currently increased it's advocacy, visibility and promotion of the profession of School Social Work. It is WASSW's strong belief that the broadbased services provided by School Social Workers highly increase student learning, contribute to a healthy learning environment and is a cost/benefit service to schools.
