Brewer: Triple amount of school social workers
BY GABE HERMAN
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is calling
on Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza to increase
the number of social workers in city schools.
Brewer said the current number is inadequate, and
that investment is needed in school mental-health
services.
Brewer started her Feb. 20 letter to Carranza by
praising him for making mental health a priority in
city schools, but said more needs to be done.
She cited a 2017 report by her offi ce that found
that, in Manhattan, there was one social worker for
every 800 students. The National Association for Social
Workers recommends one social worker for every
250 students, and one for every 50 students in vulnerable
populations.
Brewer said the fi scal year 2020 budget should provide
funds for those recommended ratios of school
social workers.
“Social workers have overwhelming caseloads and
are stretched too thin,” Brewer said.
“Research shows that appropriate mental-health
services correlate with better educational outcomes,
reduced suspensions, reduced absenteeism and improvements
in school climate,” Brewer wrote.
She cited Department of Education data that show
more than 70 percent of city students face economic
hardship. And 82 percent of students in a 2017 survey
said harassment, bullying and intimidation occurred
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.
at their school — a 17 percent increase from fi ve years
earlier.
“By examining poverty, discipline and school climate
data,” Brewer wrote, “we see that there is a great
need in our public schools for a drastic increase in
social workers, school-based mental-health directservice
providers and additional socio-emotional supports.”
D.O.E. did not respond to a request for comment
about the letter.
Along with calling for more social workers, Brewer’s
recommendations included considering a greater
role for social-work interns to support students at
schools; investing in restorative training for everyone
in “the school environment,” going beyond the current
anti-bias training for teachers and administrators
to include social workers, parents and others; and
investing more in the School-based Mental Health
Prevention & Intervention Program to provide more
services and support for high-needs students.
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18 March 7, 2019 TVG Schneps Media
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