February 2010


Dear Colleagues:

March is an important month. Not only is it Social Work Month, but the first week in March is School Social Work Week. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Representative Patrick Kennedy tried unsuccessfully to sponsor a bill in Congress which would have officially proclaimed the first week in March as School Social Week. I was equally unsuccessful in asking Governor Charlie Crist to make a similar proclamation for Florida School Social Work Week. So, as president of the Florida Association of School Social Workers, I hereby proclaim:

Florida School Social Work Week
March 1- 5, 2010

This got me thinking about the history of school social work. School social work had its early roots in 1906-07 New York, Boston, Chicago, and New Haven. There was great concern for underprivileged students at that time. We were known as “Home Visitors” back then. The first Visiting Teacher program was instituted in Rochester, New York, in 1913.

By 1918 all states had compulsory attendance laws, making education a right not a privilege. In the 1922 book, What Is Social Casework, Mary Richmond has a whole chapter on visiting teaching. The focus of school social work in its early days was on poverty, poor health, and attendance. School social workers were seen as liaisons between home/school/community.

In the 1920’s the Mental Hygiene Movement shifted attention to nervous disorders and behavioral problems. After a decline of growth in the 1930’s, the 1940’s-60 saw an emphasis in collaboration and communication with teachers and other school personnel. There was also a call to school social workers to become involved in policy development. It was during this time, in 1942, that our predecessors organized as FAVT/SSW and became the first statewide school social work association in the nation. Eventually, the school social work profession was formally recognized with the passage of the Education of All Handicapped Children’s Act of 1975.

During the 1980’s school social workers were being replaced by other school personnel doing similar work, as a result of inflation and budget cuts. This led to NASW establishing a national school social work credential in 1992. In 1994 a group of 64 school social workers formed the School Social Work Association of America as the premier professional national organization for school social workers.

With the advent of the 21st century School Social Work once again is undergoing a shift in focus. These days there is a greater emphasis on evidence based practices and intervention methods that will focus on successful outcomes, known as Response to Intervention (RtI). We have come a long way but still close to our roots.

Happy School Social Work Week!
 

Doug Spohn, MSS/AC SW

President

Florida Association of School Social Workers

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