The Early Childhood School Social Worker is a mental health professional responsible for helping individuals, groups, and families to improve, restore, or enhance their capacities for personal and social functioning through the application of social work values, knowledge, principles, and methods.  The early childhood social worker is primarily engaged in collaborating with others to remove barriers that interfere with students’ success in school. This position serves the Early Childhood Department’s early intervention and student parent program, both serving children and their families year round. This position requires in-person attendance and use of the employee’s personal vehicle for reliable and dependable transportation to locations in the Lincoln community. This position requires 15 additional days during June/July.

PERFORMS THE FOLLOWING TASKS:

 1. Works with families, caregivers, school personnel, community agencies, and other stakeholders to help make learning  a successful and relevant experience for all children;

2. Provides leadership for staff to create supportive learning environments for students affected by trauma;

3. Participates on Early Childhood Department’s MTSS-B (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support-Behavior) teams, particularly Tiers 2 and 3;

4. Effectively records and uses data to monitor student needs and progress;  

5. Supports families and caregivers for students with identified needs;

6. Administers mental health assessments and interprets results to stakeholders;

7. Collaborates with other department professionals in order to address the needs of students and families;

8. Consults with staff and caregivers regarding students who are experiencing social-emotional, behavioral, academic, or other difficulties;

9.Shares knowledge of community resources with stakeholders and refers students/families to appropriate community resources;

10. Works with community service agencies to facilitate communication with the school and assist in obtaining needed services for students/families experiencing difficulties;

11. Serves as a liaison between department staff and therapists who meet with students in the community;

12. Provides crisis intervention and postvention services to students and the department/school community;

13. Consults with caregivers to help them better understand their child’s social-emotional, behavioral, or academic strengths and needs;

14. Promotes an understanding of students’ perspectives, behaviors, and values in the context of their family and the school environment; and 

15. Provides short-term problem-solving to caregivers who have a child experiencing difficulty in school or who request assistance regarding a family concern. 

Provisional Certification as a Master Social Worker (PCMSW) and Provisionally Licensed Mental Health Practitioner (PLMHP) required; full licensure must be completed by March 15 of Year 3 for continued employment.