Special Ed - Social Worker

BASIC FUNCTIONS:The primary function of the special education social worker is to assist student, parents and school personnel indealing with student needs through direct services in the schools, facilitating communication with community socialservice agencies, obtaining necessary collaboration with social, mental health and juvenile justice service providersand coordinate alternative and residential student placements.PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:Reports to the director of special education and is responsible for:Serving as the primary liaison between the schools and parents of students with disabilities, to assist withlinking students, parents and school personnel to needed educational and community services.Providing direct services to students through group and individual counseling, social skill developmentgroups, student-parent conferences, and assisting with review and modification of behavioral intervention plans.Providing direct assistance, in assigned schools, to teachers, support staff and principals in the areas of crisisintervention, individual student casework, and collaboration with social services, mental health and juvenile justice agencies.Participating in student multidisciplinary team evaluations and case conferences by assisting with parentinterviews, completion of social/developmental histories, formulation of behavioral intervention plans andimplementation of placement follow-up services, when necessary.Participating in the case conferencing process placing students in the School City of Hammond alternativeprograms, monitoring students during placement, and assist with the student's transition back to the home school.Assisting with the identification of students with alternative or residential placement needs and coordinatewith the case manager the development and process of alternative service applications with the IndianaDepartment of Education, including the identification of placement options and annual renewals.Maintaining primary follow-up contact with placement agencies serving students on an alternative orresidential basis, including ongoing monitoring, communication, periodic reporting of student progress andfollow-up with the students transition back to public school.Working with outside placement agencies as students re-enter the public school setting following thestudent's discharge from residential, hospitalization, or alternative programs.Facilitating parent involvement through home visits, parenting groups, utilization of the parent mentor andspecial education resource center, and maintaining parental communication in critical cases.Providing assistance to parents and families to provide them access to county wide wrap-around servicesincluding social security, Medicaid, Medicaid Waiver, Autism Waiver, Bureau of Developmental Disabilities,Vocational Rehabilitation, Family and Children, Respite Care and mental health, in addition to many other specific and personalized duties.Assisting with the implementation of staff development activities for parents and school personnel, relativeto qualitative instruction, including student and program intervention, curricular adaptations, modifications,strategies for inclusive programming and assessment of program effectiveness.Delivering technical assistance to support school-based planning teams with the formulation of school-basedimprovement plans effective for special education students served within the building and with theimplementation of site-based instructional initiatives developed by school planning teams.Assisting with the development of written curricular guides, manuals, curriculum reports and administrativeregulations to ensure district compliance with Board policies and state regulations.Contributing to the development of periodic papers, newsletters, memoranda and other vehicles for thedissemination of professional information.Setting personal and professional objectives and achieving them to the extent possible.Performing other duties as assigned by the director of special educations.EXPECTATIONS:Ability to effectively communicate with teachers, districts personnel, parents and community participants.Competence to effectively and efficiently carry out duties, directives and special projects and assignments.High level organizational skills.Superior oral and written communication skills.Commitment to site-based decision making.Knowledge of and ability to use interactive technologies.Demonstrated conflict resolution skills.Participates in professional conferences and meetings to maintain and expand professional knowledge an expertise.REQUIREMENTS:Master of Social Work (MSW)Indiana certification as a School Social Worker or statement of eligibility for this license from a universitycertifying official or the State Division of Teacher Education and CertificationSuccessful social work backgroundExperience with children and/or adults with disabilities, desirableIt is the policy of the School City of Hammond not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age,or disability in its programs or employment policies as required by the Indiana Civil Rights Act (I.C. 22-9.1), Title VI and VII (Civil