2021 Gumbo final - Book - Page 130
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social work
A
new partnership between the Louisiana
Department of Education and the University’s
School of Social Work aims to fulfill the mental
health needs of the Louisiana public school system.
The ratio of social workers to students in Louisiana public
schools is 1,277:1, over five times the ratio recommended by
the National Association of Social Workers.
The new Louisiana School Social Work Expansion Project
allows graduate students to participate in internships at
Louisiana public schools under the supervision of public
school social workers. The goal is that students gain field
experience from the time spent on the job, and Louisiana’s
school-based mental health workforce grows with the
addition of each intern. The program will assist children in
high-need K-12 schools.
Assistant Professor of Professional Practice Brandi Conrad
serves as the principal investigator for the project.
“The graduate student interns have the amazing
opportunity to work closely with the students in elementary,
middle, high school, charter and alternative schools in
Louisiana,” Conrad said. “Our students assist school social
workers with both the mental health and academic needs of
our students.”
Conrad said the program will also have the state create a
School Social Work Chapter of Louisiana. The new chapter
hopes to bring in more resources and representation for
social workers.
“The creation of a new SSW Chapter of Louisiana will
bring much needed resources to our school social workers
in the state,” Conrad said. “We hope to increase networking,
resources, workshop CEUs, consultation and supervision for
our school social workers.”
Another action the state will be taking is the creation of a
new social work position within the LDOE.
“The social work position within LDOE will ensure proper
credentialing of school social workers in the state and
advocate for policy issues important to Louisiana social
workers providing mental health services in schools,” Conrad
said.
The program pays public school social workers to take on
LSU graduate students as interns. One supervisor at THRIVE
Academy, LSU alumna Chelsea Trice, said funding has
exacerbated the shortage of social workers in public schools.
“With the budget, you are basically faced with the decision
of ‘Do you hire another teacher or do you hire another SPED
educator or do you hire someone who can teach English as
a second language or an elective teacher, or do you hire a
social worker?’” Trice said. “The classroom sizes are already
so large, so in many situations I think it’s a very difficult
choice for administrators to make.”
During the internship, graduate students will gain
hands-on experience in their field. Trice said the interns do
everything from group therapy to crisis response.
“We do a lot of group therapy, and they’ll help plan
different groups that we lead; social skills groups,
intermanagement groups, other social and emotional
development groups,” Trice said. “They get experience doing
psychosocials, which is how you get history-taking and
background information, as well as symptoms a child might
be experiencing. We also do a lot of crisis response and crisis
management plans.”
The grant will fund the program for the next five years,
according to a press release by the Office of Research and
Economic Development, and the school plans to continue
with the internships this semester through the hybridization
of public school classroom settings.
LSU’s School of Social Work was
awarded a $2.5 million grant
to continue growing its mental
health workforce.