From January 2002 NASW NEWS
Copyright ©2002, National Association of Social Workers, Inc.

Standards Set for Review

The standards were last revised in 1992.

Members who wish to review and comment on NASW's revised Standards for School Social Work Services can view them on the association's Web site at www.socialworkers.org/pubs/standards/revise.htm.

The comment period will close March 31, 2002.

NASW Senior Staff Associate La Voyce Reid said that the standards, developed in 1978 and revised the first time in 1992, needed to be updated to reflect legislative changes over the past 10 years, reflect the changed atmosphere in schools regarding issues like violence and bullying and deal with some areas not adequately addressed earlier, like retention and destruction of records.

The 1992 version of the standards recommended school social worker-to-student population ratios that don't reflect the realities in schools today, said Reid.

The eight-member task force to revise the standards includes school social workers, state consultants, school district leaders, university educators and a school board member.

"We have tentative plans to present a draft of the standards at a national school social work conference in Atlanta in March 2002," said Loretta Lopez, who chairs the task force and is past chair of the NASW School Social Work Section's Steering Committee.

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