N.H. Admin. Code § Ed 508.03

Current through Register No. 45, November 7, 2024

Section Ed 508.03 - School Social Worker

(a) For an individual to be licensed as a school social worker, the individual shall:

(1) Have completed a master's level specialist program in school social work consisting of a full time, or its equivalent in part-time, coordinated sequence of specifically focused study at the graduate level, culminating int:minor-latin;color:windowtext'>

a. Have completed an approved conversion program in school social work which shall include a 2-year internship supervised by a licensed school social worker; or

b. Have acquired the knowledge and skills of a school social worker under Ed 505.04, or Ed 505.05.

(b) A candidate for licensure as a school social worker shall have skills, competencies, and knowledge in the following areas:

(1) Social welfare and educational policy, including:

a. History of education, social work, and human services systems;

b. Role of policy at local, state, and national levels in education and school social work practice;

c. Process of policy formation and implementation and its impact on student and family systems, schools, organizations, and communities;

d. Use of policy practice to analyze, influence, and advocate; and

e. State and federal laws related to school social work practice, such as education, special education, 504, child welfare, homeless and displaced students, mental health, and juvenile justice;

(2) Social work values and ethics, including:

a. Mission of public education;

b. Mission of school social work to insure student learning, educational equity, and social justice for every student by reducing or eliminating the social, economic, and environmental barriers;

c. Demonstration and promotion of the values of the profession as delineated in the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics (2017), as specified in Appendix II;

d. Professional school social work and pupil services standards as stated in the NASW Standards for School Social Work Services (2012), as specified in Appendix II; and

e. Ability to use an ethical decision-making model to guide practice;

(3) Social and economic justice and populations at risk, including:

a. Understanding risk/resiliency factors for populations at risk;

b. Understanding the dynamics of risk factors for school failure and the strategies to address them;

c. Understanding how group membership and various forms of oppression affect access to resources and educational opportunities;

d. Strategies to combat discrimination, oppression, institutional racism, and economic deprivation;

e. Advocacy for non-discriminatory social and economic systems; and

f. Identification of inequities in access to school and community programs and services for children, youth, and families;

(4) Skills in systematic assessments, data gathering, and interpretation at multiple levels using a variety of methods to assess the needs, characteristics, and interactions of students, families, and school personnel;

(5) Effective prevention and intervention with individuals, families, schools, and communities including:

a. Utilization of a strength-based approach to enhance students' capacities, with special emphasis on students in populations at risk;

b. Design and implementation of practice strategies with persons from diverse backgrounds;

c. Partnership with families and others to resolve challenges in the home, school, and community;

d. Counseling;

e. Crisis intervention and other mental health services;

f. Casework and case management;

g. Group work;

h. Mediation and conflict resolution;

i. Advocacy;

j. Development of positive behavioral intervention strategies for all students;

k. Program development and management;

l. Provision of professional development and community education;

m. Collaboration, consultation, and coordination as leaders or members of interdisciplinary teams and community partnerships; and

n. Community organization, including mobilization of school and community resources;

(6) Human behavior and social environment, including:

a. Biological, psychological, and sociological variables affecting development, learning, and educational achievement; and

b. Application of theoretical frameworks to understand the interaction among individuals and between individuals and social systems such as families, groups, organizations, and communities;

(7) Diversity, including:

a. Cultural factors in race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and social class and how culture affects individual, family, group, organizational, and community behavior;

b. Understanding of, and affirmation and respect for, people from diverse backgrounds and recognition of diversity within and between groups;

c. Development of trust, open communication, mutual respect, and ongoing collaboration with members of diverse populations; and

d. Ability to take cultural and other diversity factors into account in assessments and interventions; and

(8) Research, including:

a. Qualitative and quantitative methodologies; and

b. Use of practice literature and empirically-based knowledge in the areas of children, youth, families, and schools to:

1. Provide school social work services and educational interventions;

2. Monitor and assess programs and services;

3. Monitor and assess academic and social progress; and

4. Initiate change and improve practice, policy, and programs.

(c) For the purposes of Ed 507.14, populations at risk shall include, but not be limited to:

(1) Children with special educational needs;

(2) School age parents;

(3) Homeless youth and families;

(4) Students affected by mental health and substance misuse issues;

(5) Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth;

(6) Abused and neglected students;

(7) Students living in poverty;

(8) Children of color;

(9) Adjudicated and incarcerated youth;

(10) English language learners;

(11) Students whose families are in crisis; and

(12) Other marginalized groups of students.

N.H. Admin. Code § Ed 508.03

#6349, eff 10-5-96; amd by #7923, eff 7-24-03; paragraph (a) EXPIRED: 10-5-04; ss by #8229, eff 12-17-04; ss by #10362, eff 6-15-13

Amended by Volume XL Number 41, Filed October 8, 2020, Proposed by # 13102, Effective 10/5/2020, Expires 10/5/2030.