School Social Worker/Adjustment Counselor

School Social Worker/Adjustment Counselor

The role of the school social worker/adjustment counselor is to work with identified at risk students and their families to address social, emotional, and behavioral health concerns and supporting students in order to positively guide their intellectual, emotional, and social development. In addition, the school social worker/adjustment counselor collaborates with all stakeholders involved with assigned students in improving personal and academic success.

Essential duties and responsibilities include:

• Collaborate with school administration and school staff to identify at risk students
• Develop behavior and emotional management techniques for students to help them become successful throughout the school day
• Coordinate and facilitate short-term individual and group counseling sessions relevant to specific needs of identified students
• Assist support staff in developing behavior intervention and safety plans for assigned students
• Consult and collaborate with parents/guardians and community supports and/or providers to encourage an atmosphere conducive to the emotional and developmental needs of the student
• Work with students in escalated situations and assist in determining appropriate interventions
• Work as a member of the School All Hazards/Crisis Team and be trained in the de-escalation and physical restraint techniques utilized by the District
• Participate and support in parent/guardian-teacher conferences, IST, IEP, 504, Re-entry, and Discharge/Community-Based (i.e. PHP and CBAT) meetings of assigned students
• Knowledge of and collaboration with outside/community-based agencies to assist with obtaining those needed services to help families support their children/students in a school setting
• Conduct home assessments/visits when deemed necessary with the approval of the Assistant Superintendent for Student Support Services that will be useful in determining how best to meet the needs of the student and his/her family toward making the overall school experience more meaningful
• Respect and embrace students and families of diverse backgrounds and experiences
• Monitor student attendance and collaborate with students, families, and the attendance clerks/Supervisor of Attendance to address attendance concerns
• Assist in the communication and enforcement of federal and state laws and regulations as well as district policies and procedures

Required minimum qualifications include:

1. Master's degree from an accredited college or university in Social Work or Counseling
2. LICSW, I-MHC, or LCSW with a strong mental/behavioral health background preferred
3. Initial License by the Massachusetts Department of Education as a School Social Worker/School Adjustment Counselor (Levels: All)
4. Preferred minimum of three years of experience in the mental/behavioral health field working with students and families as a social worker/adjustment counselor in a school, inpatient/outpatient facility, or social service agency
5. Excellent time management skills, including the ability to triage/prioritize competing needs
6. Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the proven ability to effectively communicate with students and families from diverse backgrounds and experiences
7. Proven ability to relate to and work with a variety of constituencies including but not limited to: administrators, teachers, other school staff members, parents/guardians, students, visitors, and community and social service agencies

ADA & Minimum Qualifications to Perform Essential Job Functions:

Physical Requirements: Must be physically able to operate a variety of equipment including mop, buffer, snow blower, shovel, etc. Must be physically able to operate a motor vehicle. Must be able to exert up to 15 pounds of force, and enough force to constantly lift up to 35 pounds, carry, push, and pull or otherwise move small and large objects. Work requires walking, standing, kneeling, squatting to a significant degree.

Interpersonal Communication: Requires the ability to speak and/or signal people to convey or exchange information. Includes giving instructions, assignments or directions to staff, students, parents, and visitors.

Language Ability: Requires the ability to read a variety of correspondence, reports, forms, newsletters, schedules, manuals, invoices, requisitions, menus, recipes, journals, etc.

Intelligence: Requires the ability to apply principles of logical thinking to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.

Verbal Aptitude: Requires the ability to deliver information, to explain procedures, to follow oral and written instructions. Must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently.

Form/Spatial Aptitude: Requires the ability to inspect items for proper length, width and shape.

Motor Coordination: Requires the ability to coordinate hands and eyes rapidly and accurately in using equipment.

Manual Dexterity: Requires the ability to handle a variety of items such as office equipment and hand tools. Must have minimal levels of eye/hand/foot coordination.

Interpersonal: Requires the ability to deal with people beyond giving and receiving instructions. Must be adaptable to performing under stress and when confronted with emergency situations.

Physical Communication: Requires the ability to talk and hear: (Talking: expressing or exchanging ideas by means of spoken words. Hearing: perceiving nature of sounds by ear.) Must be able to communicate via telephone or radio