Dear OSSWA Members,  Welcome back to the 2021-22 school year!  If you have already started school, I hope you are off to a great start.  If you have not yet begun, I wish you the best of luck in this new year.  It has been a challenging year and a half professionally, personally and as an organization, but we also have many things to be thankful for and celebrate! Although Zoom and other online platforms may have been taxing to navigate and learn at first, it has opened up new opportunities for us.  During the shutdown, we were able to offer connection and self-care zooms as a way to check in with our members.  It has also given us the ability to continue offering professional development opportunities in these unprecedented times.  Our annual conference was one such event.  We had approximately fifty participants in attendance to discuss "Trauma, Grief, Fear & Racism: The Road to Healing by Leading Courageous Conversations in Schools,"  which leads me to our next positive. I was recently listening to a podcast that stated we are truly in the midst of two pandemics- the COVID-19 pandemic and the racism pandemic.  There have been so many disturbing, frustrating and outright heart-breaking events around the subject of race.  However, I am trying to see the ray of hope that it has truly opened our eyes and forced us to have courageous and meaningful conversations around racism and diversity.  I am hoping, as an organization, that we can continue these conversations to make a positive change in ourselves, our schools, our communities and in our world. Lastly, the pandemic has FINALLY opened the eyes of our school officials, boards of education, and legislators. There is increased awareness of mental health and trauma issues with our students and these groups of people have begun to recognize just how valuable School Social Workers are!!!  NOW is the time to really be advocating for our profession and pushing our school systems to hire more individuals trained specifically in School Social Work to help meet the needs of our staff, students and families. We are so thankful and grateful for each one of you.  We would like to extend the invitation for you to join our Board meetings and become more involved with OSSWA.  We will be offering CEU's at each meeting for a book study we will be completing on Better Together: Six Essential Conversations for Cultivating Adult SEL and Relational Trust in Your School.  Please see link below to register.  Again, I hope you have a fantastic school year and look forward to connecting with you through OSSWA! Sincerely, Jill Miller- OSSWA President osswadrive@gmail.com Click here to register for board meetings and book study CEUs!

Contact your state representative and state senator to tell them to stop attacks on trans youth in Ohio. The state legislature attempted late last week to sneak an amendment into an unrelated bill to ban transgender athletes from playing sports by amending HB61 into an otherwise bipartisan bill supporting college athletes. The Senate did not accept the amendment last week but the potential for passing the legislation remains high.  HB61 (and companion, SB132) the so-called "Save Women's Sports Act", seeks to single out transgender young people for increased bullying and harassment by preventing them from participating in the sports they love. This bill will have a devastating effect on transgender athletes. Sports are for everyone, and the Ohio High School Athletic Association and NCAA already have policies in place to ensure that sports are fair and accessible to all. Get more information and send an email to your legislators>>

What You Need To Know

• Bedford City School District’s Faith Gordon is 2020's “Ohio School Social Worker of the Year"
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• She pulls from her own life experiences in order to connect to families going through hard times
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• Helping teens is her passion, and social work is her calling

Read the full article here! 

Congratulations Faith on this well deserved public recognition! 

Budget Reconciliation Package – House Education and Labor Proposal

BACKGROUND: The budget reconciliation process is in full swing, with House committees beginning to submit their proposals for what programs should be funded. The House Education and Labor Committee has proposed nearly $130B in grant funding directly to state and local education agencies and significant funding for social programs. However, even with a Democratic House and Senate, this massive spending bill is not guaranteed to pass.   SSWAA has reached out to Congress to ask for additional funding to help families across this country and adequately fund education. However, now we need you to take action as well. Please write your Congressional delegation and urge them to provide this money for critical school programs.   PROPOSAL HIGHLIGHTS: Proposal Fact Sheet $128.5B for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSERF): This will go directly to state education agencies (SEAs), who are required to allocate at least 90% of the funding to local education agencies. This section also includes a clause that requires education agencies to maintain spending for FY 2022 and FY 2023. This includes fiscal equity guardrails, which ensure that any state budget cuts do not disproportionately affect low-income students or districts. Funding allocation will vary by state. Generally, allowable uses of ESSERF include staff training, mental health support, summer school and after school programs, funds for principals to address local needs, and other activities to continue school operations and employment of existing staff. $40B to support childcare and head start programs Increases federal minimum wage to $15/hour by 2025 • Nutrition Allows the P-EBT (Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer) program to be implemented for any school year where the COVID-19 public health emergency is in effect and provides for benefits to extend into summer. Improvements to WIC Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to temporarily increase the WIC Cash Value Voucher value to $35 per month for four months during the pandemic. $390M for WIC Program Modernization Expands the age of eligibility for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) at emergency homeless shelters from 18 to 25. Support for domestic/gender-based violence survivors  $800M total for CAPTA and FVPSA $4.5B for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)     TAKE ACTION: CALL or EMAIL your representatives. Find your Member of Congress here and your Senators here. Each office will have a different policy for reaching them that will be on their website. You might be able to email them directly or copy and paste your letter into the form provided on their website. You will also be linked to their websites and telephone numbers (or Google them!). Tell Congress to act!     HERE'S WHAT TO SAY: [Title and Last Name]: I am a school social worker in (city/county/school district) and a constituent of yours. I am writing to support the House Education and Labor Committee's proposal for the budget reconciliation bill. [INSERT PERSONAL STORY from your district about why we need funding for the programs listed above, or how it would impact you and your students if you get the chance!] I encourage you to show your support for school social workers and our students by voting in favor of the House Education and Labor Committee's proposal.

Please enjoy and share our FY 2020 Annual Report as it provides a fantastic snapshot of our organization's work and commitment to our profession. 

OSSWA Annual Report 2020.pdf

Clearly we have all showed up and showed out this past year. But, I have no doubt that there is one out there that has proven to be one of our brightest stars. This is the time to make sure everyone knows who they are by nominating them as School Social Worker of the year.

2021 SSW Nomination form

We know as professionals that we do not work in silos. As the world of School Social Work advances there are many allies (friends) who have assisted in helping others recognize and respect our work. This is our opportunity to do the same for our "friend" so nominate them for this award.

2021 Friend SSW Nomination form

Join us every Thursday at 11:00 a.m. between May 28 - September 24 for the 2020 Ohio Prevention Conference Virtual Training Series. All sessions are free. Attendees of live sessions will receive continuing education hours for social workers, counselors, prevention specialists, and chemical dependency counselors. Click on titles to register.

June HOPES in Schools: A Systems-Change Approach to the Whole Child Featuring: Kevin Lorson June 4 at 11:00 - 12:15 p.m. Problem Gambling: Hidden in Plain Sight   Featuring: Scott Anderson June 11 at 11:00 - 12:15 p.m. Prevention for the Resilient: Effective Strategies for Communities Experiencing Trauma Featuring: Chardé Hollins  June 18 at 11:00 - 12:15 p.m.  Collective Impact in the Urban Core Featuring: Rhonda Ramsey Molina June 25 at 11:00 - 12:15 p.m.

Updates 4/6/20

Google website made by OSSWA board member for her school 

NY Times article about SSW services in NY during COVID 19

CSWMFT board rule change Standards of practice and professional conduct: electronic service delivery (internet, email, teleconference, etc.)

Free CEU's available now

Video: Supporting Our Kids From a Distance: Tools and Strategies for SEL and SPED Services

Aunt Bertha The Social Care Network

Dougy Center for Grief and Loss

Editopia Seven Ways To Maintain Relationships During School Closure

Sharing the most pertinent resources being posted by our colleagues across the nation. 

1. SSWAA Resources

2. Schoolsocialwork.net Forum Resources

3. OCR Short Webinar on Online Education and Website Accessibility - YouTube

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) presents this short webinar on online education and website accessibility. Learn more about OCR: www.ed.gov/OCR

4. US DOE Supplemental Fact Sheet - Serving Children with Disabilities

5. Coronavirus: 8 Ethical Considerations for Social Workers

For parents/ students

1. Audible stories streamed for free while schools are closed

2. Covibook a coloring book to help children understand the COVID-19 crisis

3. Talking to Kids About the Coronavirus | Child Mind Institute

4. Home Chats: A Parents Guide to Healthy Conversations during the Coronavirus Outbreak - Growing Leaders

OCR Announces Notification of Enforcement Discretion for Telehealth Remote Communications During the COVID-19 Nationwide Public Health Emergency

Text below or here. 

Today, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced, effective immediately, that it will exercise its enforcement discretion and will waive potential penalties for HIPAA violations against health care providers that serve patients through everyday communications technologies during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency.

This exercise of discretion applies to widely available communications apps, such as FaceTime or Skype, when used in good faith for any telehealth treatment or diagnostic purpose, regardless of whether the telehealth service is directly related to COVID-19.

In support of this action, OCR will be providing further guidance explaining how covered health care providers can use remote video communication products and offer telehealth to patients responsibly.

"We are empowering medical providers to serve patients wherever they are during this national public health emergency," said Roger Severino, OCR Director. "We are especially concerned about reaching those most at risk, including older persons and persons with disabilities," Severino added.

The Notification of Enforcement Discretion on telehealth remote communications may be found at: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/special-topics/emergency-preparedness/notification-enforcement-discretion-telehealth/index.html.

For more information on HIPAA and COVID-19, see OCR's February 2020 Bulletin: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/february-2020-hipaa-and-novel-coronavirus.pdf - PDF

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