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In partnership with schools, Youth First, Inc. places Master’s level clinicians in school settings to help students who are identified as having substance abuse risk factors. Youth First assesses individual, family and school needs, provides prevention and early intervention programs, and makes referrals to community providers for additional services.  The ultimate goal is to reduce the prevalence of youth substance abuse in Southwestern Indiana, which is higher than state and national averages.

Since 2002, Youth First has grown to provide social work staff to more than 47 schools. Youth who are at-risk have various behavioral concerns, and Youth First’s philosophy is to address student needs using research-proven prevention and early intervention approaches.

The key components of the School Social Work program are:

  1. MSW or LCSW credentials
  2. Individual and Group Supervision provided on an ongoing basis
  3. Promotion of the use of the Student Assistance Team concept within each school to help the SSW dialogue within the environment about the needs of students
  4. Individual assessment and referral services
  5. Provides or refers students and families to research-based prevention and early intervention programs that are studied, approved, implemented, and evaluated by Youth First
  6. Individual, group, and family counseling
  7. Home visits
  8. School consultation and provision of informational resources
  9. Linking to community resources as needed by individuals and families
  10. Annual training and education about substance abuse issues relevant to the SSWers

Collaboration with school partners is essential for the provision of services. Each school social worker is responsible for integrating into the school(s) assigned as a part of that environment and establishes working relationships therein. Each school social worker also looks for ways to promote the mission of Youth First.

Youth First Inc. data compiled during the 2004-05 school year provided the following results: The number of total unduplicated students served were 998 in elementary schools and 560 students in High Schools.  The reason for referral to the Youth First, Inc. SSWer was most often substance abuse concerns, followed by depression among high school students. Among elementary school students the reasons for referral were school behaviors, followed by academic problems. The referrals made to other agencies were largely to outpatient therapy followed by referrals to the family physician.

Dan Diehl, PhD, of Diehl Evaluation and Consulting Services studied the School Social Work program for the 2003-04 and 2004-05 school years. School Social Workers gathered data to reflect their work with individual students who were on the caseloads. Data was gathered from different parties involved with the student, including parents, teachers and the students themselves.

The research indicated the following:

  • Students who receive school social work services showed statistically significant decreases in behavioral concerns as reported on the intensity scores by parents and teachers. Teachers reported a decrease in intensity from baseline to 1 month and from baseline to 3 months.  Significant effects were found across baseline, 1 month, 3 month and 6months as reported by teachers.

  • Parental observation of change also was statistically significant change in student behavior. Significant effects were found across baseline, 1 month and 3 month periods.

  • Students themselves reported statistically significant changes in the concerns that brought them to the social worker over baseline, 1 month, 3 month and 6 month intervals.

According to Dr. Diehl, these outcomes indicate the work being completed by the School Social Work program is valuable and promotes change among students and their families.

Youth First works in partnership with school collaborators to recruit and hire staff that are a good fit within each respective school placement. Youth First also provides the following support for School Social Work programs:

  • Individual supervision
  • Group supervision
  • Educational and networking opportunities for social workers
  • Up-to-date information on substance abuse issues
  • Training in proven prevention and early intervention programs and approaches
  • Evaluation of outcomes
  • Technical assistance as needed
  • Crisis support as needed
  • Collaborative problem-solving
  • Fundraising and revenue development, including grant-writing expertise

 

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