GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Provides assessment, counseling, and consultative services for the purpose of supporting positive academic and social outcomes for students.

ESSENTIAL TASKS

The following duties are normal for this position. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude other duties if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment for this position.  While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise the job description.  Other duties may be required and assigned.

CORE AREAS FOR ASSESSMENT:

• Assures Compliance with Federal Mandates (504 staffing, IDEA compliance, Medicaid documentation).
• Completes requested evaluations as the primary methodology for ensuring compliance.
• Assessment & Screening (special education, socio-cultural assessments, manifestation determinations, behavior interventions, mental health).
• The social work staff completes social histories as a function of eligibility determination in situations where the child study team has determined that this type of assessment is necessary to make an appropriate eligibility decision.
• The social work staff may also serve as part of a team completing behavioral observations of a student and providing feedback to the teaching staff on interventions and strategies. The social work staff may also be utilized as referral sources for students with mental health issues to agencies outside of the school system.
• Management (organizes time, resources, and workload in order to meet responsibilities and maintain accurate case records and documentation). This may be demonstrated through phone logs, related services sign in/out sheets, documentation of social history completion, documentation of parental contacts, etc.
• Prevention and Intervention Services (strengthening the school system’s relationship with home and school; fostering healthy climates). This is accomplished by meeting with teachers and families to ascertain a student’s current level of functioning in the school and home environments and conveying information regarding each of those to all members of the educational team to facilitate decision-making.
• Parent and Community (home-school-community liaison, engaging community and parents in student success, home visits).
• Social workers conduct visits to families to secure involvement in educational initiatives at the request of administrators.
• Professional Practice and Development (shows evidence of professional growth and development and adheres to a professional code of ethics).

DISCRETIONARY AREAS FOR ASSESSMENT:

• School Involvement (classroom presentations, school-wide assembly presentations, participation in school committees).
• Information on available resources and building strong parent/teacher relationships is provided on an as needed basis.
• Counseling Services (family counseling, small educational support groups).
• The social work staff may conduct counseling sessions with families in the course of obtaining social histories or in response to a request from a family to become involved in their child’s educational programming.
• The social work staff does not conduct formal, clinical counseling sessions, but may advise families on strategies to help make their students successful and on how to work with schools to make their students successful.
• Consultation (classroom observations, teacher consultations, case conferences, consultation with administrators).
• The social work staff will consult, as requested, with teachers or administrators on programming that may affect families domestically. Additionally, social workers may be utilized to observe students in the classroom and provide feedback.
• Reducing Violence (child abuse recognition and reporting, crisis intervention).
  While all employees of the school system are mandatory reporters, school staff frequently utilize the social work staff to report chronic neglect and concerns regarding the domestic situations of some students.
• Social work staff may intervene by reporting to social services or by providing parents with community resources to assist them in caring for their children.
• Referrals, Collaboration & Advocacy (linking students to community resources, collaborating with outside agencies).
• In their frequent contact with families, the social work staff will make an assessment of the domestic situation and may offer information on accessing community resources. This may also result from an inquiry from school based staff.
• Training (social skills training, parenting skills, staff in-service, parent-teacher organization training).
• Conducts individual and group crisis intervention/short-term counseling.
• Conducts counseling consistent with IEP goals and objectives of students with disabilities.
• Consults with teachers, parents, students, and outside agency personnel concerning student needs.
• Presents training and workshops for students, parents, school personnel, and community members.
• Serves as school-based service coordinator for student referrals.
• Consults with teachers on developing and implementing classroom interventions.
• Serves as chairperson for triennial review cases.
• Follows up on eligibility committee recommendations related to social work issues.
• Contributes to total school and division programs.
• Engages in professional growth activities.
• Maintains accurate, complete records and reports as required by law, district policy, and administrative regulation.
• Performs other related duties as assigned by supervisor.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Possess high moral standards and integrity. Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills. Demonstrates professional and personal characteristics necessary for working effectively with all students, parents, school personnel, and other members of the community. Possesses the ability to quickly learn and apply new technology. Demonstrates strong organizational and managerial skills. Demonstrates an ability to prepare and disseminate written reports within required timelines. Possesses the ability to travel to more than one work location in the course of the day if assigned to an itinerant position. Possesses sufficient strength, ability, dexterity and mobility to carry out all performance responsibilities. Demonstrates ability to conduct trans-disciplinary and interagency professional interactions. Possesses the ability to develop and implement a comprehensive family systems intervention model for addressing student issues. Demonstrates a commitment to an integrated consultative service delivery model.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Holds a Master's Degree from an accredited school of social work. Holds a Virginia teaching license with a school social worker endorsement. Has completed a supervised practicum or field experience in an educational agency through an approved program or a minimum of one year of full-time successful experience as a school social worker. Has a minimum of six graduate semester hours in the area of educational foundations, curriculum, or administration.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Significant standing, walking, moving, climbing, carrying, bending, kneeling, crawling, reaching, handling, pushing, and pulling. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential tasks.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Primarily controlled temperature and clean classroom environment. Will also spend considerable time in students’ homes and other professional offices.

RCPS is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age in its programs and activities.  The following person(s) has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Hayley Poland – Title IX Coordinator (540) 853-1393.