SSW

NASW SPECIALTY PRACTICE SECTIONS

FALL/WINTER 2017

SECTION
CONNECTION

Letter from the Chair

SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK

NASW Practice
NASW adopted an updated version of Standards for Technology in Social Work

& Professional
Practice on August 4, 2017. The standards provide guidance on the use of technology in social

Development Blog
work services. They encompass such technology as computers, cell or landline phones, tablets, video
technology or other electronic digital platforms, Internet, online social media, text messaging, e-mail,
and emerging digital applications. They apply to all types of social work services, including

Where can you find the latest

psychotherapy; individual, family, or group counseling; community/organization; administration;

information posting about social advocacy; mediation; education; supervision; and research evaluation.
work practice? Visit the NASW
Practice and Professional
Development Blog. Designed for
Client confidentiality is an integral part of social work practice. Because client privacy can be

NASW Section members and social compromised, social workers should not electronically share confidential information. Reasonable
workers in practice, it offers trending
topics, valuable resources, and
safeguards must be taken, such as encryption, firewalls, and passwords, when using electronic

professional development
communication like e-mail, online posts, online chat sessions, mobile communications, and text

opportunities. Learn more at messages. This means that social workers should avoid posting identifying or confidential
www.socialworkblog.org/practice- information about clients on social media. Searching or gathering client information electronically is
and-professional-development/. also prohibited, unless there is a compelling reason.

The Standards for Technology in Social Work Practice should be used in conjunction with the NASW
Code of Ethics (updated version to take effect January 1, 2018) along with relevant statutes and
regulations. These useful resources are available to help social workers address the benefits,
challenges, and risks of technology.

Chair Brenda Lindsey

750 First Street NE, Suite 800 Resources

Washington, DC 20002-4241 NASW Standards for Technology in Social Work Practice:
SocialWorkers.org/includes/newIncludes/homepage/PRA-BRO-33617.TechStandards_FINAL_POSTING.pdf
2017 National Association of Social Workers. The new NASW Code of Ethics will be available in print and online in November 2017.
All Rights Reserved.
 SSW
Committee
Members
Brenda Coble Lindsey, EdD, MSW, LCSW, Chair
Megan Love Berkowitz, MSW, LICSW
Gregory P. Drozdowski, ACSW
Michael S. Kelly, PhD, LCSW
D. Natasha Scott, EdS, MSW

NASW PRESIDENT NASW STAFF

Kathryn Conley Wehrmann Director, Professional and
PhD, MSW, LCSW Workforce Development
Raffaele Vitelli, CAE

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Specialty Practice Section Manager

Angelo McClain Yvette Mulkey, MS
PhD, LICSW
Senior Practice Associate
Takia Richardson, LICSW, LCSW

Project Coordinator
Rochelle Wilder

IDENTIFYING & SUPPORTING

STUDENTS Affected by Prenatal
Alcohol Exposure
SANDRA J. GONZALEZ, MSSW, LCSW

As a school social worker, when
was the last time you considered
prenatal alcohol exposure
when working with students
who just dont seem to get it educational needs are met in the
and keep making the same
mistakes over and over? Or the
student who can communicate
effectively verbally but has
significant difficulty with math
or reading comprehension?
School social workers are often
challenged to meet the unique
and varied psychosocial needs
of students who have a wide
range of developmental and
intellectual disabilities. These
practitioners play a vital role
alongside teachers, guidance
counselors, and parents in
ensuring that the childs
worker, considered prenatal
most appropriate, evidence-
based, culturally relevant, and
responsive manner. School
social workers routinely use
their expertise as mental health
practitioners to assess and
develop service plans for
conditions that affect the
students ability to succeed in
the classroom. In this role,
school social workers commonly
encounter children with
neurodevelopmental disorders
such as autism spectrum disorder
and attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) but how often
have you, as a school social
recognized as the leading
alcohol exposure when working
with a child who has academic
and behavioral difficulties?
The causal link between prenatal
alcohol exposure and
developmental, intellectual, and
physical disabilities is well
documented. The Institute of
Medicine reported in 1996,
Of all the substances of abuse,
including heroin, cocaine, and
marijuana, alcohol produces
by far the most serious
neurobehavioral effects in the
fetus. Indeed, today, prenatal
exposure to alcohol is
preventable cause of birth
defects and intellectual and
neurodevelopmental disabilities;
it remains a significant ongoing
public health concern. For
school-aged children, the effects
of prenatal alcohol exposure
may present as learning and
attention difficulties, problems
with socialization, or poor
executive functioning.
Developmental and physical
disabilities also may be present.
FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM
DISORDERS
Children with fetal alcohol
spectrum disorders (FASDs) can
have a range of lifelong
cognitive, behavioral, and
physical consequences caused
by prenatal alcohol exposure.
FASDs may affect up to one in
20 school-aged children. The
actual prevalence could be
higher: A 2015 clinical report
from the American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP) notes the true
FASD prevalence remains
unknown and the actual impact
underappreciated. FASDs
remain vastly under
recognized because alcohol-
related disabilities are widely
misdiagnosed or undiagnosed
(Williams, Smith, & AAP
Committee on Substance
Abuse, 2015).
While the term FASD is not in
itself a diagnosis, it encompasses
several specific diagnoses with
associated cognitive, behavioral,
adaptive, and, in some instances,
physical manifestations that
vary across the spectrum from
mild to severe (Hoyme et al.,
2016 Williams et al., 2015).
Social workers may have heard
of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
and be familiar with the
distinctive facial features and
growth deficits that characterize
it; however, FAS is only one
diagnosis under the FASD
umbrella and is the tip of the
iceberg, identified in 0.2 to
1.5 infants per 1,000 live births
(compared with up to 48 cases
per 1,000 births for FASD
overall; Williams et al., 2015).
Other diagnoses in the spectrum
capture FASD symptoms that
are present in individuals who
may not have obvious physical
features of prenatal alcohol
exposure (Table 1).
Neurobehavioral disorder
associated with prenatal
alcohol exposure (ND-PAE) is
a diagnosis to be considered TABLE 1:
when children display FASD: SPECIFIC DIAGNOSES ALONG THE SPECTRUM
neurobehavioral symptoms.
Introduced in the DSM-5, ND-PAE: Neurobehavioral disorder-prenatal alcohol exposure
ND-PAE is the diagnosis that Criteria: Impairments to neurocognition, self-regulation, adaptive functioning
applies to the vast majority of *DSM-5 diagnostic code intended to be used in clinical settings by psychologists, social
children with an FASD (American workers, nurses, occupational therapists, etc. This code triggers payment for services
Psychiatric Association, 2013; and helps individuals access interventions/treatments.
Hagan et al., 2016). ND-PAEs
neurobehavioral features ARND: Alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder
including problems with
Criteria: Confirmed prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE); neurobehavioral impairments
learning, memory, executive
*A complex medical diagnosis, best assigned by multidisciplinary FASD team evaluation
function, impulse control, and
social interactionare what a
ARBD: Alcohol-related birth defects
teacher and/or school social
worker would observe in a Criteria: Confirmed PAE; specific physical malformations
student. After reviewing the
teachers concerns and the PFAS: Partial FAS with confirmed maternal exposure
childs academic performance, Criteria: Specific facial anomalies; neurobehavioral impairment; when no confirmed
the school social worker may PAE, growth deficiencies or deficient brain growth must also be present
want to initiate a conversation
with the childs parent/caregiver FAS: FAS with/without confirmed maternal exposure
about referral for evaluation Criteria: Specific facial anomalies; growth deficiency; deficient brain growth;
and diagnostic services. neurobehavioral impairment
By becoming familiar with the *As noted by Hoyme et al. (2016).
neurobehavioral features of See Hoyme et al. (2016) and Hagan et al. (2016) for full diagnostic details.
ND-PAE and related diagnoses,
school social workers can make
referrals for evaluation of
introduces the potential for sources of disability in FASD,
potential FASDs. If confirmed,
stigma and guilt that can impede and recent clinical guidelines
they can facilitate appropriate
treatment. If the initial school- identify specific domains of
treatment planning, map
based assessment suggests an functioning (Table 2) that may
educational needs, and identify
FASD, responsibility for be affected (Hoyme et al.,
resources to support overall
confirming an FASD diagnosis 2016). Additionally, youths
student functioning. FASD-
is best managed by pediatric with FASDs are likely to have
informed diagnostic and
specialists. secondary mental health
intervention services often
disorders. ADHD, for example,
require a multidisciplinary
FASD: AN INVISIBLE is a co-occurring disorder in
approach, and that may mean
DISABILITY more than half of individuals
that children and their
Children with FASDs are often with FASDs. Oppositional
caregivers are linked with
misdiagnosed or undiagnosed defiant disorder, conduct
multiple providers, including
all together and may be disorder, reactive attachment
social workers, psychologists,
inadvertently seen as simply disorder, depression, anxiety
pediatricians, occupational
problematic or difficult. At times, disorders, and sleep disorders
therapists, or speech therapists,
parents and educators may see often co-occur with FASDs
to name a few.
them as willfully disobedient or (Weyrauch, Schwartz, Hart,
lazy when, in fact, their Klug, & Burd, 2017).
It is important to emphasize that
behavior can be attributed to
interactions with family regarding
impairments due to central Assessment and correct diagnosis
a potential or actual FASD
nervous system and brain is important because evidence-
require extreme sensitivity to
damage from in-utero alcohol based interventions that address
avoid stigmatizing both the
exposure. Neurocognitive the neurologically based
child and the family. The topic of
impairment and abnormal problems of FASD can maximize
alcohol use during pregnancy
behavior are the principal educational outcomes. Various
educational accommodations
have been effective in helping
children with FASDs reach their
developmental and educational
potential (Petrenko & Alto,
2017). At the same time,
appropriate diagnosis will help
avoid overmedication or the
use of medications prescribed
for other conditions, such as
ADHD, that may be ineffective
or exacerbate the behavioral
issues of an FASD.
The Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA), federal
legislation that mandates early
intervention and special
education services for children
with disabilities from birth to 21
years of age, is a helpful
resource for children needing
evaluation for intervention
services. Under IDEA, children
who receive special education
services are required to have
an individualized education
plan (IEP). Children with
behavioral and developmental
difficulties associated with
FASD may qualify for special
education services and other
educational accommodations
(Williams et al., 2015). In
many cases, school social
workers participate formally or
informally on IEP teams and
have the ability to explain the
childs unique needs to
teachers, administration,
caregivers, and others involved
in the childs education.
That said, it is also important to
remember that not all children
with FASDs are enrolled in
special education services.
The reality is that some students
affected by FASDs have IQs
within normal range but their
learning may be compromised
by behavioral or social
problems. Given this difference,
the exact role of the school
social worker may vary from
student to student based on
individual needs.
Although FASDs are lifelong
conditions, developmental and
educational interventions that
optimize instructional
modifications, parenting
strategies, and social supports
can help students maximize
their academic potential. Social
workers in school settings can
help improve educational
outcomes and lives of children
and families who are or may
be affected by FASDs, by doing
the following:
Staying informed about
FASDs, evidence-based
interventions, and the
educational, social, and
support needs for affected
individuals and families
Adapting and tailoring
behavioral interventions and
therapeutic services
Providing in-service training
on FASDs to school personnel
Developing policies to improve
delivery of educational and
support services to children
in the school setting
Connecting children and
families with FASD-informed
providers (if available in your
area) who offer evidence-
based interventions to address
secondary disabilities.
Using nonjudgmental
language and a strengths-
focused approach, and
avoiding actions that may
stigmatize the child and family
For more information, visit the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention web page on
FASDs: https://cdc.gov/fasd
NASWs Spring 2017 Practice
Perspective, Fetal Alcohol
Spectrum: A Guide to
Resources, provides links to
current research and clinical
TABLE 2:
NEUROBEHAVIORAL FUNCTIONAL DOMAINS IN
FASD DIAGNOSES
FASD presents a constellation of impairments across
several domains identified in diagnostic criteria
Domain Potential Impairment
Global intellectual ability Full-scale IQ, verbal performance, spatial IQ
Cognitive Executive functioning, learning, memory and
visual-spatial skills
Behavior/self-regulation Mood, behavioral regulation, attention,
impulse control
Adaptive skills Communication, social interaction, daily living skills,
motor skills for young children
Hoyme et al., 2016
guidelines: socialworkers.org/ clinical guidelines for
practice/standards/Fetal_Alco diagnosing fetal alcohol
hol_Spectrum_Disorders.asp spectrum disorders. Pediatrics,
138(2). doi:10.1542/peds.
Sandra J. Gonzalez, MSSW, LCSW, is 2015-4256
an instructor and the director of
operations for the Center for Primary Petrenko, C.L.M., & Alto, M.E.
Care and Population Health Research, (2017). Interventions in fetal
Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, alcohol spectrum disorders:
Texas. She can be reached at An international perspective.
Sandra.Gonzalez@bcm.edu European Journal of Medical
Genetics, 60(1), 79-91.
doi:https://doi.org/10.101
REFERENCES 6/j.ejmg.2016.10.005
American Psychiatric
Association. (2013). The Weyrauch, D., Schwartz, M.,
diagnostic and statistical Hart, B., Klug, M.G., & Burd,
L. (2017). Comorbid mental
manual of mental disorders:
DSM 5. Arlington, VA: Author. disorders in fetal alcohol
spectrum disorders: A
Hagan, J.F., Balachova, T., systematic review. Journal of
Bertrand, J., Chasnoff, I., Developmental and Behavioral
Dang, E., Fernandez-Baca, Pediatrics, 38(4), 283-291.
D., Zubler, J. (2016). doi:10.1097/DBP.0000000
Neurobehavioral disorder 000000440
associated with prenatal
alcohol exposure. Pediatrics, Williams, J.F., Smith, V.C., &
138(4), e 20151553.doi: American Academy of
10.1542/peds.2015-1553 Pediatrics Committee on
Substance Abuse. (2015).
Hoyme, H.E., Kalberg, W.O., Fetal alcohol spectrum
Elliott, A.J., Blankenship, J., disorders. Pediatrics, 136(5),
Buckley, D., Marais, A.S., e1395-1406. doi: 10.1542/
May, P.A. (2016). Updated peds.2015-3113
 NASW SPECIALTY PRACTICE SECTIONS WEBINARS

Translating Evidence-Based Dementia Interventions to the In this presentation, we will examine the myriad of therapeutic and

Community: A Report on Administration on Aging Grants diverse ways that animals seem to help humans overcome trauma.
This is an opportunity for social workers to learn best practices in
Thursday, January 11, 2018 (1 - 2 pm ET)
trauma informed animal assisted intervention.

CREDIT HOURS: 1 Pain/Symptom Management CEU(s)

PRESENTER: Elizabeth Gould, MSW, LCSW Making Sure School Social Work Meets Its Own Grand
Challenges
This presentation will provide a brief overview of barriers and
Wednesday, February 28, 2018 (1 - 2 pm ET)
considerations for community translation and focus primarily on the
ADSSP grantee experience translating evidence-based dementia
CREDIT HOURS: 1 Clinical CEU(s)
interventions to the local community.
PRESENTER: Michael S. Kelly, PhD, LCSW

Criminal Injustice Competency: A Missing Component of This presentation will describe three Professional Learning Community

Social Work Education To End Mass Incarceration (PLC) training and research projects currently underway at Loyola
Chicagos Family and School Partnership Program (FSPP) that are
Thursday, January 25, 2018 (1 - 2 pm ET)
attempting to address the gap between the best practices called for in
the SSW literature and what is happening in the field.
CREDIT HOURS: 1 Social Work CEU(s)
PRESENTERS: Warren Graham, MSW, LMSW and
Alexis Jemal, JD, PhD, LCSW Complex Ethical Issues: Working with Children,
Adolescents, Young Adults, and Families
This webinar will introduce participants to the idea of criminal injustice
Friday, March 16, 2018 (noon 3 pm ET)
competency and will discuss the importance of social work education in
preparing students to resist being tools of oppression and to take action
CREDIT HOURS: 3 Ethics CEU(s)
to end mass incarceration, the social justice issue of our era.
PRESENTER: Frederic G. Reamer, PhD
Trauma Informed Animal-Assisted Interventions: Research
Developments, Models, and Practice Methods This webinar will explore complex ethical issues involved in the delivery
of social work services to children, adolescents, young adults, and
families. Frederic Reamer will provide an overview of challenging issues
Friday, February 2, 2018 (1 2 pm ET)
pertaining to client privacy and confidentiality, boundaries, dual
relationships, conflicts of interest, documentation, management of
CREDIT HOURS: 1 Clinical CEU(s)
clinical records, and use of digital technology and social media. Dr.
PRESENTER: Philip Tedeschi, LCSW
Reamer will provide an overview of key ethical standards and practical
What happens when you cant trust people? When a life event so risk-management strategies.
completely shakes the foundation of our willingness to have human
Visit: socialworkers.org/sections for details.
relationship that traditional therapeutic trusting relationship is no
longer a viable approach to therapeutic intervention?
UTILIZING HOME VISITING as a
Proactive and Preventive School
Social Work Strategy
Home visiting programs for
school social work can be
traced back to the late
1800s, when visiting
teachers met with immigrant
families in their homes to explain
the mission of public education
and to bring information back
to the school about the barriers
families faced in the community
that impacted student learning
(Oppenheimer, 1925). Visiting
teachers, the forerunners of
school social workers, provided
school information, social
support, and links to other
services in order to strengthen
families and promote school
success. Today, the federal
government recognizes and
affirms the value of home visiting
programs in the Affordable Care
Act through the Federal Home
Visiting Program that was
reauthorized as part of the
Medicare Access and Childrens
Health Insurance Program, CHIP
Reauthorization Act). Thus, it is in
the best interest of school social
workers to revisit this historical
service plan and adapt it for
our modern era.
Home visiting is an umbrella
term for a type of service
delivery rather than a specific
treatment intervention (Sweet &
Appplebaum, 2004). Home
service programs differ based
on their goals, interventions,
outcomes, and basic assumptions,
and even though they are
complex and multifaceted, recent
meta-analyses of home visiting
programs have found that they
yield positive results (Folger et
al., 2016; Filene, Kaminski,
Valle, & Cachat, 2013).
Of particular interest to school
social workers is recent research
in the area of early childhood
development; schools are
currently inundated with students
who have difficulty with self-
regulation when they are
transitioning from home to school.
In Helping Children Succeed
MEGAN BERKOWITZ, MSW, LICSW
CHRISTINE ANLAUF SABATINO, PHD, LICSW, C-SSWS
(2016), Paul Tough reviewed
the outcome research for three
home visiting interventions
aimed at increasing parental
capacity with young children in
the following areas: maternal
and childrens health,
vocabulary and literacy skills,
and building secure attachment
between children and caretakers.
In one program, 61 percent of
the young children who received
targeted home visiting services
were deemed securely
attached, whereas only 2
percent of children in the
control group were found to
be securely attached.
In another study, Johns Hopkins
University researchers found
that elementary and middle
school students who received
just one structured home visit at
the beginning of the school year
were more likely to perform on
a proficient level on certain
academic assessments, and on
the whole, they missed 2.7 fewer
days of school than those who
did not receive a home visit
(Sheldon & Jung, 2015). The
program also emphasized
consistent teacher-parent
communication via telephone and
e-mail as well as school-based
parent-teacher conferences
throughout the year, with parent
surveys indicating that families
who received home visits felt
more connected to school than
families who did not (Sheldon &
Jung, 2015).
Professional literature on
resilience suggests home visiting
programs may be sorted into
three categories (Masten &
Coatsworth, 1998): risk-focused
home visits are designed to
prevent, reduce, or eliminate
stressors that impact child and
family well-being; resource-
focused home visits are designed
to provide assets that counter-
balance risk factors; and
process-focused home visits are
designed to change patterns of
interpersonal interaction and
promote family competence. For
school social work home visits,
this means addressing
educational risks, providing
resource information and
referrals, and fostering adaptive
relationships between and within
the home, school, and community
settings. In all three types of
programs the aim is to ease
barriers to learning, improve
school success, and strengthen
child and family self-efficacy, and
all can be conducted reactively
(after a specific concern has
been presented) or proactively
(as a preventive measure).
What follows are some of the
steps you may wish to consider
when creating a home visiting
program for your school and/or
clinical school practice; they
are designed as a prevention-
intervention approach.
Approval: First and foremost,
ensure buy-in for establishing a
home visiting initiative from
school leadership in accordance
with your schools policies. Make
sure to check with your direct
supervisor or principal about
your home visit proposal. When
you create your proposal, consult
the school handbook regarding
related policies. Dont plan for
something you are not allowed
to do!
Purpose: Use data and reflection
from the previous school year to
decide on the main rationale
for conducting proactive home
visits. Consider the three general
categories: risk-focused (e.g.,
meet with the families of students
who previously have had poor
attendance to create a plan for
this school year), resource-
focused (e.g., meet to assess or
provide proactive resources to
reduce an identified barrier to
access), or process-focused
(e.g., meet with families of
students on your caseload to
begin to build positive rapport
and strong relationships early
in the year). Additionally, ensure
that your purpose aligns with
your specific job duties; if you
focus mainly on providing
therapeutic or special education
services, concentrate in this area.
Goal: After you have determined
your purpose, home in on a
desired goal for the home visits.
For example, if you are
conducting risk-focused home
visits targeting attendance, your
goal could be to reduce the
truancy rates for a specific
caseload of students. As with
any goal, include data (e.g.,
the previous years attendance
statistics) by which progress
could be measured.
Target Group: Once you
determine your purpose and
your goal, you will have a
clearer picture of the set of
students you will be targeting.
For example, if you are
conducting resource-focused
visits to assess for needs, your
initial target group could be
families experiencing housing
instability or homelessness. Next,
determine your own workload
capacity and prioritize
accordingly. The beginning of
the year is busyas is the
middle and the end! Look at
your schedule and set a realistic
expectation for how many home
visits you can accomplish. Are
you only able to visit three to
five students? It is okay to
prioritize which students to
pursue; your visits will still have
an impact.
Time Frame: Based on your
goal, determine when your
home visits will occur. The time
frame will be determined by
your own schedule (e.g., year-
round versus school-year
employees), the schools
schedule, and the purpose and
goal of your visits. For example,
if you are targeting students
who had high absentee rates
during the school year, then
visits should happen close to
the start of the year to engage
in true prevention. Or, if you
are engaging in process-
focused visits and targeting
students on your clinical or case
management caseload, then
you could schedule staggered
visits throughout the year based
on when new students are
added to your caseload.
Preparation: Based on the goal
for your visit, create a concrete
plan before meeting with the
student and family (Byrd, 2012).
If you are addressing attendance,
draft a script to discuss the
previous years barriers and
collaborate on a plan for the
current year. If you are meeting
with new students on your
caseload, create a getting-to-
know-you activity and share
what services will look like for
the year.
Safety. Develop a process and
protocol to ensure safety. It is
recommended never to do a
home visit alone (Byrd, 2012).
Seek out a colleague who has
duties related to the goal of
your visit such as a special
education teacher or a staff
member who handles
attendanceto join you and
collaborate in planning.
Additionally, it is imperative to
connect with the family before
the visit via phone or e-mail to
introduce the purpose, receive
permission to visit, and confirm
an agreed-upon date and time.
Confidentiality and
Boundaries: Make sure to
examine your population and
the family situation along with
the NASW Code of Ethics to
ensure that you are acting and
planning appropriately (Allen &
Tracy, 2004). For example, if a
student on your caseload lives
with extended family members,
check to make sure that those in
the home are aware that he or
she receives clinical services
before visiting. Additionally,
following a home visit, teachers
or administrators may request
information from you regarding
your discussion. Consider
which information, if shared,
may violate the Code of Ethics.
Also, consider boundaries.
When determining your
caseload, assess whether
visiting a home would enhance
the relationship or possibly
damage or blur therapeutic
boundaries. This is especially
relevant for resource-focused
visits. Think to yourself, Will I
empower or inadvertently
enable this student or family
with a visit? Finally, be sure to
understand any cultural
considerations that may need to
be addressed before visiting a
home, such as language and
social interactions (Byrd, 2012).
Documentation: As with any
important interaction with a
client, documentation of your
visit is imperative (Byrd, 2012).
In accordance with the Code of
Ethics, record important
takeaways from the visit and any
plans created that require follow-
up. Finally, it is important to
monitor progress and provide
evidence to your school
leadership about changes
and improvements in student
performance based on
home visits.
In conclusion, in a variety of
professions, home visiting
practices have shown to be a
powerful tool when working
with children and families.
Utilizing a well-planned home
visit as a preventive measure or
relationship-building strategy,
with the aim of reducing or
eliminating a barrier to learning,
can also become a powerful
tool for school social workers.
Megan Berkowitz, MSW, LICSW, is the
positive behavior support manager and
social work supervisor for AppleTree
Early Learning Public Charter Schools in
Washington, DC. She can be reached at
megan.berkowitz@appletreeinstitute.
org.
Christine Anlauf Sabatino, PhD,
LICSW, C-SSWS is ordinary professor
at The Catholic University of America
and director of the Center for the
Advancement of Children, Youth, and
Families at the National Catholic
School of Social Service. She can be
reached at sabatino@cua.edu.
REFERENCES
Allen, S.F., & Tracy, E.M. (2004).
Revitalizing the role of home
visiting by school social
workers. Children in Schools,
26(4), 198-208. Retrieved
from www.researchgate.net/
publication/275163900
Byrd, D.R. (2012). Conducting
successful home visits in
multicultural communities.
Journal of Curriculum and
Instruction, 6(1), 43-54.
Retrieved from www.joci.ecu.
edu/index.php/JoCI/article/
download/128/PDF
Filene, J.H., Kaminski, J.W.,
Valle, L.A., & Cachat, P.
(2013). Components
associated with home
visiting program outcomes:
A meta-analysis. Pediatrics,
132(2), 100-109.
Folger, A.T., Brentley, A.L.,
Goyal, N.K., Hall, E.S., Sa,
T., Peugh, J.L., Teeters, A.R.,
Van Ginkel, J.B., &
Ammerman, R.T. (2016).
Evaluation of a community-
based approach to strengthen
retention in early childhood
home visiting. Prevention
Science, 17, 52-61. DOI
10.1007/s11121-015-
06000-9.
Masten, A.S., & Coatsworth,
J.D. (1998). The development
of competence in favorable
and unfavorable environments:
Lessons from research on
successful children. The
American Psychologist,
53(2), 205-220.
Oppenheimer, J. (1925). The Sweet, M.A., & Appelbaum,
visiting teacher movement M.I. (2004). Is home visiting
with special reference to an effective strategy? A
administrative relationships meta-analytic review of home
(2nd ed.). New York: Joint visiting programs for families
Committee on Methods of with young children. Child
Preventing Delinquency. Development, (75), 5,
1435-1456.
Sheldon, S., & Jung, S.B.
(2015, September). The Tough, P. (2016). Helping
Family Engagement Children Succeed: What
Partnership: Student outcome Works and Why. New York,
evaluation. Johns Hopkins NY: Houghton Mifflin
University, School of Harcourt.
Education, Center on
School, Family, and
Community Partnership.
[Online.] Retrieved from
http://flamboyanfoundation.
org/wp/wp-content/uploads/
2015/09/JHU-STUDY_
FINAL- REPORT.pdf.
 Call for
NASW invites current social work practitioners to submit brief
Social Work Practitioner
Submissions

articles for our specialty practice publications. Topics must be

relevant to one or more of the following specialized areas:
Did You Know?
Administration/Supervision Health
Aging Mental Health Effective communication among
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Private Practice school personnel, families, and
Other Drugs School Social Work
communities is vital to reach the

Child Welfare Social and Economic

goals set for each student.

Children, Adolescents, Justice & Peace

and Young Adults Social Work and the Courts

For submission details and author guidelines, go to

SocialWorkers.org/Sections. If you need more information,
email sections@naswdc.org.

For more information, visit

SocialWorkers.org/Sections

750 FIRST STREET NE, SUITE 800

WASHINGTON, DC 20002-4241