1. SERVICES & OUTCOMES in
SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK
Data Summary

2. In the 2007/08 school year:
Data was collected from 32 SSWs from 14 school divisions province-wide
Individual caseloads ranged up to 192
Data was collected from 1035 cases
The majority of referrals were behavioural, by over twice as much as any other reason for referral
Other major sources of referrals were mental health concerns, family issues, parental support, peer relationships, social skills and familial separation/divorce issues.
As members of the school team, School Social Workers (SSWs) provide multi-system assessments to determine the impact of various factors contributing to the success of students in the education system. The purpose of Services and Outcomes in School Social Work (SOS) is to develop a strength-based model that documents referred client needs, measures outcomes and provides a record of school social work services. Data was collected from 32 SSWs from 14 school divisions province-wide
Individual caseloads ranged up to 192
Data was collected from 1035 cases
The majority of referrals were behavioural, by over twice as much as any other reason for referral
Other major sources of referrals, in descending order of frequency, were mental health concerns, family issues, parental support, peer relationships, social skills and familial separation/divorce issues.

3. Referrals for an individual student are classified as Student Concerns
Referrals for an individual student are classified as Student Concerns. This category will allow you to track services provided to a specific student as well as services to family, classroom, schools, division or community in relation to that student. Outcomes will only be measured regarding Student Concerns.
In regard to Student Concerns, data shows that 35% of SSW time is spent in Consultation; 34% in Counselling and 18% in Prevention/Education. Minimal time is spent in Program and Policy Development and Crisis Services.
Data from is consistent with the data seen here. Minor increases were seen in time spent in counselling and consultation/advocacy, with corresponding small decreases in the other 3 areas.

4. A five-point resiliency scale was used to rate students in the following four areas:
Sense of self,
Relationships,
Skills, and
Meaningful Participation
The resiliency rating is completed prior to intervention with the student, and then completed again upon dismissal of the student from services or treatment year-end. In each area, percentages of students who were rated as stable or thriving more than doubled from pre-intervention to termination of services. In the area of sense of self, only 13% of students were rated as stable or thriving prior to intervention and at termination of services 37% were rated as stable or thriving.

5. In the area of relationships, only 13% of students were rated as stable or thriving prior to intervention and 37% were rated in this way at termination.

6. In the area of skills, only 13% received a rating of stable or thriving pre-intervention and at termination 33% received one of these ratings.

7. In the final area of meaningful participation, 22% of students were rated as stable or thriving pre-intervention and upon termination 45% were rated in this way. In three out of these four areas, percentages of students rated as in crisis were cut in half upon termination of services.

8. Service requests for groups of students, families, schools and/or communities, which are not related to one specific student are classified as “Associated Services”. Outcomes are not measured for these services as the outcomes from these services are broad, long term and beyond the scope of this measure. These services are documented however to accurately portray the range of services provided by SSWs. In the area of Associated Services, SSWs spend the majority of time in Consultation and Advocacy; almost half at 49%. The majority of the remaining time was spent in Prevention/Education and Counselling, 23% and 17% respectively.

9. In Summary
SSWs in this province are being called upon to deal with a vast range of student, family and school concerns
The majority of their time is spent in consultation, advocacy, and counselling roles
Based on the SOS data, SSWs had a significant effect on increasing resiliency for referred students in each of the four critical functioning areas
This initial year of Provincial SOS data demonstrates that the services provided by SSWs in Manitoba are important in enhancing resiliency and improving the outcomes for many of our school-aged learners, and contributing to the inclusive school communities in our province.