North Carolina Public Schools - School Social Work February Update
North Carolina Public Schools sent this bulletin at 02/08/2023 09:35 AM EST
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Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month
Did you know that February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness month? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, teen dating violence affects millions of young people every year and can include physical violence, sexual violence, psychological abuse, and stalking. Schools and IHEs, in their missions to ensure the safety and well-being of the school or campus community, can take steps to both prevent and address teen dating violence, which can be considered an adversarial and human-caused threat in the context of school and higher ed emergency preparedness planning. Consider taking part in this awareness month by
- Learning more about the effects of teen dating violence on schools and campuses and considering implementation of prevention programs;
- Educating your school or campus community about the warning signs of teen dating violence, as well as indicators of safe and healthy relationships;
- Creating or enhancing a Domestic Violence Annex in your emergency operations plan (EOP) that outlines courses of action to be taken before, during, and after known incidents of teen dating violence; and
- Offering students further resources and connections to support services for teen dating violence, such as the love is respect Website and hotline.
Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month 2023
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Making Connections
In the year 2 submissions of the NC School Mental Health Policy, the report found that teenage dating violence is, for the second year, the highest not addressed training topic. It also found that PSU's reported needing additional resources to support training in teenage dating violence and substance use. This need mirrors the above YRBS data, where our youth are also reporting a higher rate of incidence.
Kindergarten Readiness Resources For Families
As you engage with families in the community please add these resources to your toolkits. The Office of Early Learning has released a number of new resources related to kindergarten registration.
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February is Black History Month During this month we celebrate Black Americans, past and present, who have made indelible contributions to U.S. and North Carolina history with their artistry, professional achievements and community activism. North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources has some great materials to explore. |
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Helpful Updates
Hundreds of people in North Carolina each day are waiting inside hospital emergency departments for behavioral health care. One reason is that a real-time list of operational beds isn’t available, which makes it difficult to connect people in emergency departments to care in more appropriate settings. To address the growing behavioral health crisis, the NC Department of Health and Human Services is today launching a new tool to help hospitals and other providers quickly find an open bed where people can get the behavioral health treatment they deserve.
On April 1, 2023, approximately 55,000 children receiving NC Health Choice coverage will move to NC Medicaid and begin receiving additional physical and behavioral health services. This change will help save families money and increase access to care.
In North Carolina and nationally, emergency allotments for COVID-19 in the Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) program will end in March 2023. Households that have been receiving extra FNS benefits (called "emergency allotments") each month since March 2020 or after will see a reduction in benefits because of a federal change that ends emergency allotments for all states.
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School Social Work Week March 5-11, 2023 The theme for National School Social Work Week 2023 is “We Rise.” School Social Workers rise up - supporting their students, families, and school communities. School Social Workers rise to share hope. They rise to listen and understand. They rise to challenge inequities. They rise to support all students. |
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During this week, plan to take the opportunity to “toot your own horn” and let others know how you
are impacting the lives of students as you address barriers to learning and increase successful
academic and wellness outcomes.
A state level "tooting of horns" will be developed and promoted during this week. Please prepare
photos, letters, videos, infographics, statements, data reports, or anything that expresses the work
your district is doing. These items will be shared with stakeholders.
All materials due by February 17th.
Email pachovia.lovett@dpi.nc.gov
SSWAA has created free resources for you to use in the promotion of School Social Work Week. Please feel free to use them all or pick and choose what is beneficial to you and your district. View here.
Random Acts of Kindness
Random Acts of Kindness Day® is Wednesday February 17, 2021
"We are upholding this annual tradition of celebrating kindness because we know everyone can use
more kindness in their lives. Scientific evidence shows us the positive effects of doing kind acts for
others as well as receiving or even witnessing kindness. Even the smallest act of kindness can change
a life. In 2023, we encourage everyone to Explore the Good and Make Kindness the Norm." -RAK
988 Is Now Live!
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988 offers 24/7 access to trained crisis counselors who can help people experiencing mental health-related distress. That could be:
People can call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for themselves or if they are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support. 988 serves as a universal entry point so that no matter where you live in the United States, you can reach a trained crisis counselor who can help. Printable PDF handouts in English and Spanish explain the basics about 988. |
New Resource
To help address critical and emerging school safety issues and support K-12 communities with relevant resources and information, SchoolSafety.gov launched a new Child Exploitation topic page on the site today. The new page features child exploitation information, resources, and guidance from government agencies as well as non-profit organizations, and outlines ways members of the K-12 school community can help identify, prevent, and respond to the victimization of students. The launch is an important expansion of the site’s content to better support schools and districts in creating safe and supportive learning environments.
Infographic : Child Exploitation Resources for the K-12 Community
FREE Webinar
| Transitioning McKinney-Vento Students Into Higher Education |  |
Time: February 15, 2023 at 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM (EST)
Presenters:
- Jessica Biel, McKinney-Vento Coordinator at Pender County Schools- NC
- Lisa Jackson, Senior Program Director of Academic Support and Engagement at Florida State University
Description: This free NAEHCY webinar will present local school and higher education perspectives on the transition to higher education. The first part of the presentation will highlight real life experiences of a local school as they help transition a McKinney-Vento student from high school to college. The second part will introduce attendees to the higher education Single Point of Contact (SPOC) system as it is used at a university and how this system will be promoted nationally.
The National Center for School Mental Health
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Register - Organizational Well-Being
Learn more about the School Mental Health Virtual Learning Series and register for future webinars below. The recordings and slides from all previous webinars in this series can be found online at www.SchoolMentalHealth.org.
Legislative Updates
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View the K-12 Education Office of Government and Community Affairs Update from Friday, February 3, 2023. |
Resource Rewind
| As we approach School Social Work Week, review and use this Administrator Guide for SISP. It is great for looking at the unique roles of the SISP team. |
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NC School Social Work Association News
NEW Live Website! https://www.ncsswa.net
Spring Day Conference
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February is American Heart Month
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Threat Assessment Training
The Center for Safer Schools will offer free, virtual School Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Training during the first quarter of 2023. The sessions will be hosted by the CFSS in partnership with the BeTA Unit of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and will be conducted by SIGMA.
Behavioral threat assessment is a best practice for helping to identify potential active shooter incidents, stalking and other targeted violence in K-12 schools and school districts. An effective, functioning behavioral assessment team is a critical component of keeping schools safe and preventing violence. Behavioral threat assessment and management provides a proactive, evidence-based approach for identifying individuals who might pose a threat and for providing intervention before a violent incident occurs.
BTAM training provides fundamental information about school violence and how prevention is possible. The sessions cover how to build and operate a school threat assessment team at the school or district level.
BTAM training provides detailed instructions on specific procedures to use when addressing threatening behavior in school, including how to screen cases, gather information, analyze the information, make an assessment and implement an intervention plan when needed. The sessions include multiple group exercises in which participants can practice using these procedures.
For more information on School Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Training, contact SAC Brent Culbertson (bculbertson@ncsbi.gov, 828-782-0324).
Threat Assessment Training
(Registration is free)
Feb. 15: https://ontic-co.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_h3O3SEumS4ugooix6dlQBg
Feb. 22: https://ontic-co.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_HcQj7gsETSuD0L6RKeYLKw
March 1: https://ontic-co.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_G-bkgQAuS5mko8Pt2mcZoA
March 8: https://ontic-co.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__oFYGApVRpWcgYk39Bbhng
March 15: https://ontic-co.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_iOPcyLMkQqamNu8DAZEUqQ
March 22: https://ontic-co.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XQec2Uy3TH2r4ZuLEbkecA
March 29: https://ontic-co.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gXX0Cil8SSW5yt5HMQUzjQ
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Thank You, School Counselors! The work you do to help students dream big is valuable, and we are all better because of each one of you. Shout out to the NC Consultant for School Counseling, Dr. Kisha Bryant. |
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