Over the last few weeks I have been interviewing staff members involved in the local school systems. My most memorable interview was with a School Social Worker who covers about half of a local school district. Her work includes case management for students and families, community meetings and developing programming. K-12 students are referred to her by teachers or counselors. She meets with the students and their families, connecting them to resources in the community and providing individualized support. Individualized support could mean one-on-one counseling for anger management, goal setting or impulse control. “Programming” also falls into the workload of this particular school social worker. Partnering with school counselors she develops preventative and supportive programs for youth in the district. She described some programming as responding to the crisis of a student death with a support group or partnering with a community organization to provide education on eating disorders.

This work sounds meaningful and important for the students. However, I am left with lingering questions around what constitutes a referral for services. My suspicion is that there are behaviors that fly under the radar, that do not result in a referral for support. My contact expressed passion and determination for her work. She also expressed the desire for more resources and a united, systematic approach between schools. In my experience, those desires are very common. Moving forward, I will continue to interview, adding teachers to the list of professionals. My goal is to get a clear picture of the referral and intervention process within the school, from start to finish.