Hello Washington School Social Workers, WASSW is excited to announce the release of a key document that is being used to support ESA groups across Washington State and the nation, including school social workers. Born by a couple different ESA members in a coffee shop, including our own Carrie Syvertsen, LICSW, the Behavioral Health Coalition has been a force for defining and defending our important roles in schools. To that end, the updated documents, which are titled the ESA Behavioral Health Professionals' Roles Specific to Social and Emotional Health and Wellness "are based on the best practice models from each of our national organizations, and refer to the education provided in nationally-approved training programs for each profession. This is not to imply that all professionals in these roles are providing all of these services, nor is this to be seen as an exhaustive list of all services these professionals may provide. All four professions promote the use of evidence based practices and interventions, and this is to be implied in the information provided below. These documents specifically address the social and emotional health and wellness of our students, which is only one domain of service each profession provides. " (Source: WSASP website)
Regardless if you advocate for specific children, stand with families, work at the district level to shift systems, or work at the legislative level, you make the difference our profession demands:
NASW Social Work Code of Ethics: Social Workers' Ethical Responsibilities to the Broader Society Section 6.01-6.04 6.01: “Social workers should promote the general welfare of society, from local to global levels, and the development of people, their communities, and their environments. Social workers should advocate for living conditions conducive to the fulfillment of basic human needs and should promote social, economic, political, and cultural values and institutions that are compatible with the realization of social justice.”
We, as a volunteer led organization of working school social workers, inspire each other, learn together, and renew our efforts to support our organization and profession. We are excited to continue our partnership with the University of Washington SMART Center to support our profession, you as practitioners and the next generation of school social workers.