Amid an urgent need for more support personnel in K-12 schools, Augsburg University is piloting a new program to train the next generation of school social workers and school-based therapists.

“Lots of social work students want to work in education,” says Associate Professor Erin Sugrue, who chairs Augsburg’s social work department. But the requirement to complete at least one year-long internship in a school setting creates a structural hurdle for students who can’t afford to spend a year or more in an unpaid position. As a result, many internship placements in public schools go unfilled each year.��

Augsburg’s new program, developed by Sugrue and led by Assistant Professor Christopher Thyberg, aims to support a cohort of students through the critical internship year and ultimately into careers in education. In its first year, 28 undergraduate and master’s social work students are interning as school social workers and school-based mental health providers. Participants receive a monthly living stipend and reimbursement for transportation and licensure expenses thanks to .��

In addition to financial support, the students gather multiple times a semester to build community and explore key issue areas in education. These sessions have tapped into the expertise of faculty colleagues in Augsburg’s education department, delving into topics like multilingual learners with Assistant Professor Yacoub Aljaffery and special education with Assistant Professor Sergio Madrid-Aranda during the fall semester. Sugrue hopes that this collaboration will lead to more formal partnerships between the education and social work programs in the future, including co-listed classes.��

Augsburg participants in the initial cohort are completing internships in K–12 school districts throughout the metro area, including Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Robbinsdale, Rosemount–Apple Valley–Eagan, Champlin, Brooklyn Park, Anoka–Hennepin, Spring Lake Park, Hopkins, Columbia Heights, and charter schools. After graduation, they will be prepared to pursue careers as either school social workers or school-based mental health providers. Both play a key role in supporting students in K-12 settings.

“School social workers serve as the link between family, home, and school,” said Sugrue, who spent more than a decade as a school social worker herself. “They are concerned with students’ overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being.” Typically employees of the school district, school social workers triage many different issues that may arise in a day, including attendance, conflict resolution, and substance use.��

School-based mental health providers focus more specifically on students’ mental health concerns. While they deliver counseling and other therapeutic services on-site at school, they are often employed by an outside agency and can bill insurance.��

To date, Augsburg has received $411,000 to develop the new cohort model from the state , administered by the Minnesota Department of Education. The grant program aims to support students in completing accredited programs and becoming licensed school psychologists, school nurses, school counselors, and school social workers, and to increase the number of student support personnel providers who identify as people of color or Indigenous. A separate $125,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development supports students in the program with a specific interest in becoming school-based mental health providers.��

Learn more about Augsburg’s Master of Social Work and Bachelor of Social Work programs.

The post Augsburg Builds Pipeline of School Social Workers and Counselors appeared first on News and Media.

These are the issues Katie Klemme ’09 is exposed to every day as a master of social work student at Augsburg. Klemme’s internship has partnered her with Simpson Housing Services, in Minneapolis, a program that has provided shelter, affordable housing, and support services to men, women, and children for more than 25 years.

Klemme came to Simpson with a strong interest in public policy and developing public awareness to support a political position. She wanted specifically to find out how to move volunteers from hands-on work to advocacy. “We need to recognize that our voices are really powerful and we can make a difference.” Klemme’s work led her to the State Capitol where she observed committee hearings and learned about bills that could affect Simpson and its clients.

With a committee from Simpson, Klemme organized a “Signing for the Streets” advocacy event, recruiting and training 85 volunteers to raise awareness about local homelessness. Volunteers were stationed at 25 freeway exits with signs bearing messages like “Half of state’s homeless are children…Call your State legislator.” The group also distributed postcards with talking points to help citizens have conversations with policy makers.

“We need to create an attitude change and raise awareness about homelessness,” says Klemme. “We are losing jobs and the average Joe is losing his home. It’s an issue we need to attack holistically, as a community.”

Over the course of a year Simpson will help 187 families, 253 single adults in housing, 2,106 men in shelters, and 283 women in shelters. Last year there was a 27 percent increase in the number of families served—that figure is expected to double this year.

Go to www.simpsonhousing.org for more information about homelessness and how you can help.

Article by Jennifer Hipple

The post MSW student is raising awareness appeared first on News and Media.