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Exposure to traumatic events in childhood and adolescence can have lasting negative social, emotional, and educational effects. For schools, or any environment that serves children, to be truly trauma-informed, they must address three crucial areas: safety, connection, and emotional and behavioral regulation. This article, which is excerpted from the authors' book "Creating Trauma-Informed Schools: A Guide for School Social Workers and Educators," explores these three areas as the foundational pillars of a trauma-informed school environment.

The 2004 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act introduced the concept of Response to Intervention (RTI). In part, this is an educational prevention approach to maximize student academic achievement and minimize behaviors that interfere with school success. It consists of assessment and intervention practices on multiple levels, including schoolwide, classwide, and individual services. School social work consultation services are in compliance with this federal perspective; however, they are not typically thought about or described in RTI language. This article presents six different school social work consultation models often used in daily school social work practice and maps out their consistency with the RTI paradigm.

This study of individualized family service plans (IFSPs) addresses two questions. First, do IFSPs include family-centered assessment and outcome data (an indicator that the practices established by the legislation are taking place)? Second, does the family-centered data recorded in the IFSP vary with the presence or absence of a school social worker? (Author)

This article presents the results of a study of six low-income women, each of whom is raising a child with a suspected or diagnosed disability while also serving as an active member of the armed forces. Their experiences as they attempt to strike a balance between the highly demanding work role of the military and their role as a mother of a child with disabilities are examined. This article also discusses the personal strengths these women display, the barriers they confront, the strategies they use to negotiate competing demands, and the impact of this effort on their personal and professional lives. Practice and policy implications are drawn for early intervention and family support programs., Although many American families struggle to manage both parenting and employment, the additional time and attention required to parent a child with disabilities complicates the task considerably (Booth & Kelly, [...]

Implementing scientifically based research is a complex process, especially when trying to match research to schoolwide, classwide, and individual needs consistent with a response to intervention (RtI) practice framework. This article seeks to strengthen school social workers' ability and confidence to fulfill federal priorities to demonstrate accountability for services and provide scientifically based interventions. The first part of the article examines the difference between evidence-based practices and empirically supported interventions by discussing their principles, processes, and procedures. The second part of the article maps out the steps for locating scientifically based programs and practices that address school-based issues and guide change strategies. The results of a literature search organized according to the RtI framework are provided as an exemplar, with the intention of expanding school social workers' understanding of the various pathways to fulfilling federal priorities and developing their own resource list of effective services according to the RtI multitiered framework. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The authors discuss the need to support the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) through consultation in response to the pace of educational reform in the U.S. They highlight the important role that can be played by school social workers and other specialized instructional support personnel as consultants. The authors also elaborate on the definition of consultation.

The authors address the evaluation mandate component of Race to the Top grants to U.S. states and its implications for school social work. They offer a summary of the results under the reporting category "Improving Teacher and Principal Effectiveness Based on Performance." They say that half of the states aimed to start the full implementation phase from 2011 to 2012 after the first year of the grant. Student growth and achievement are determined by change in state test scores.

The article discusses a rationale for the creation of a national school social work model. It cites the increase in the prevalence rates of students who are not deriving maximum benefits from schooling. It describes steps to refine the model using an iterative process. The authors believe that the draft presented in the article is a good starting point to develop such a model.

The article reports on the social work education and certification processes which are required to develop highly qualified school social workers. A discussion of competencies which school social workers must possess in order to be considered highly qualified is presented. The challenges that are associated with creating a national definition in the U.S. of a highly qualified school social worker are discussed.

This quantitative research examines interrelationships among immigration stressors, resettlement challenges, and protective factors of resilience and spirituality of 56 economically disadvantaged young immigrant women in order to understand how these risk and protective factors influence their resettlement and roles as resources for family well‐being. The findings highlight resilience, cultural connectedness, spirituality, and hope for the future as mediating protective factors for economically disadvantaged immigrant women as they cope with the stressors and challenges inherent in immigration and resettlement. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents evidence that school attendance is a critical variable in improving homeless children's low self-esteem and sense of loneliness. Although there is disagreement about the actual numbers, it suggest that children constitute a significant portion of the homeless populations there is a paucity of knowledge about school-age children apart from those staying in shelters. The research study described in this article sought to obtain a non-shelter-based sample of children to explore the demographic characteristics of 6- to 11-year-olds and their mothers, issues in school attendance and achievement, and the impact of school attendance on the children's sense of well-being as measured by self-esteem and loneliness. The literature suggests that homeless children have experienced poverty and deprivation in such a way that they have lost environmental constancy not only in generic terms of food, clothing, and shelter but also in terms of their personal physical space, possessions and relationships. They have lost a sense of belonging and a sense of self as cared for and valued. In addition to these internal and external losses, homeless children have experienced negative reactions and isolation from others for being poor and different.

The informational inputs of teachers, educational psychologists, and school social workers to the decisions made in special educational placement were first studied separately in order to discover what variables played a part in group decisions about handicapped children. Next, stepwise multiple regression of classroom behavior items, school performance items, child characteristics, and family characteristics yielded 11 items which contributed most to the variance accounted for (r2 = .462). The findings about educational classification of handicapped children supported a multidisciplinary approach to the service delivery issues raised by PL 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This exploratory survey of 723 kindergarten and first grade children in eight inner‐city and five more affluent urban Catholic elementary schools presents demographic characteristics, information about assets and vulnerabilities of children's psychosocial coping in the classroom, and comparisons of these items by school grouping. Chi square and analyses of variance yielded statistically significant differences in that schools located in the lower income neighborhoods were found to have more children who were younger, African‐American, and living with one parent and fewer who were Catholic. Children in inner city schools demonstrated more classroom behavioral assets supporting learning and fewer behavioral vulnerabilities inhibiting the process. Fewer inner‐city children were identified as having many behavior problems. The implications of this study are considered for future program development in school social work service provision. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]