Abstract: Personal and Professional Impact of the Pandemic on School Social Workers (Society for Social Work and Research 26th Annual Conference - Social Work Science for Racial, Social, and Political Justice)

Schedule:

Friday, January 14, 2022

Liberty Ballroom J, ML 4 (Marriott Marquis Washington, DC)

* noted as presenting author

Beth Gerlach, PhD, LCSW, Associate Director, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

Xiao Ding, MSSA, Doctoral student, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

Cynthia Franklin, PhD, Professor and Associate Dean of Doctoral Education, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

Eboni Calbow, PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

Mary Beer, Clinical Assistant Professor, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

Swetha Nulu, MPH, Assistant Research Director, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

Monica Faulkner, PHD, Director, Texas Institute for Child & Family Wellbeing, Austin, TX

Background/Rationale

School social workers provide vital support to school communities, including teachers, staff, families and students. As concerns about Covid itself diminish in the U.S., public health focus is shifting from physical health, to emotional health associated with quarantining, anxiety, isolation, and grief and loss. Education focus is shifting to the impact on widening student achievement gaps, lost learning and student retention. Further attention is centered on the strain felt by those on the front-line during the pandemic. School social workers are impacted by the intersection of these factors as they often function on the front-line, and are tasked with addressing student engagement, crisis intervention and mental health needs. Without targeted support, these combinations of personal and professional burdens could put school social workers at particular risk for burn-out and compassion fatigue.

Methods

The Texas School Social Work Covid Impact Survey collected information related to: demographics; professional roles, practice adaptations due to Covid, perceptions of safety, perceptions of changing needs of their community, personal impact of Covid, concerns related to returning to campus, and innovative practice solutions. A convenience sample of school support personnel in Texas was recruited from the Texas School Social Workers Conference, which occurred on-line in February 2021. To date, a total of 185 school support professionals completed the survey. The majority of those completing the survey were school social workers (n=150). Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the survey responses.

Results

Almost every school social worker expressed increased concern about the impact of the pandemic on students and families, including mental health, school engagement, equity, and family stability. At the same time, school social workers described significant personal and professional stressors. School social workers reported 42.8% had a close friend or family, or themselves personally, that contracted Covid and 14.7% had a close friend or family die from Covid-related complications. Many struggled with family job loss (12.7%), child or elder care issues (19.5%), and were concerned about Covid safety on campus (61.2%). Almost one-third (32.2%) had increased work hours and availability to be reached online. Most school social workers (89.4%) had significantly increased the amount of support they were providing to teachers and staff. Many described new and increasing responsibilities like providing technology assistance, truancy recovery, basic needs support, and acute mental health screening and intervention. Finally, almost half of the school social workers (49.4%) were concerned about a lack of clinical supervision and consultation, 64.0% were concerned about Covid-related ethical issues, and 79.5% expressed concern about self-care and compassion fatigue.

Conclusion/Implications

Results clearly demonstrate that school social workers are facing increased student, family and staff need, increased expectations on their time and responsibilities, while also grappling with personal stress, anxiety and loss. While school social workers have expertise meeting the needs of their community, these stressors could impact their capacity to serve the increasing demands. The findings indicate the need for additional guidance for school social workers and a call for action to organizations that support school social workers in the field.