School social workers are designated as related service providers under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to support students with disabilities and their families. Despite this, state requirements for school or special education-specific training among social workers providing these services vary significantly. This mixed method study explored the potential impact of preservice training on school social workers’ self-reported knowledge and skills to prepare them as related service providers. School social workers across the United States participated in an online survey to report knowledge and skills for special education practice upon beginning work in schools and at present. Analysis found a statistically significant difference in self-reported knowledge and skills for special education practice between school social workers who reported specific preservice training and those who did not. Findings highlight the potential importance of preservice training in special education to prepare social workers as related service providers in schools.

The current environment for school social work presents great challenges and great opportunities. Amid promising shifts in programs and policies, many school social workers feel marginalized. Despite sustained efforts at definition, the role of the school social worker remains unclear to many outside the field. More important, this role is often characterized as being peripheral to the core beliefs, goals, and practices of schools. To fulfill the promise of efforts toward role definition, school social workers must find ways to integrate their role with the central aims and activities of educational institutions. Whereas in the past school social work has largely been conceptualized as the practice of social work in schools or for schools, these characterizations have limited understanding of the potential contributions of social workers to education. In response, the authors present a conceptual model for the practice of social work with schools. This model calls for increased attention to educational policy and practice, improved skills for consultation and collaboration with educators, and an expansion of the field of educational issues to which school social workers can provide critical expertise.

The COVID-19 pandemic presented unique health and social challenges for hospice patients, their families, and care providers. This qualitative study explored the impact of the pandemic on this population through the experiences and perceptions of social workers in hospice care. A survey was distributed through national and local listservs to social work practitioners throughout the United States between May 15 and June 15, 2020. The study was designed to learn the following: (1) Concerns patients experienced as a result of the pandemic, (2) strengths/resilience factors for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, and (3) the personal and professional impact of the pandemic on social workers. Themes uncovered in hospice care included isolation, barriers to communication, disruption of systems, issues related to grieving, family and community support, adaptation, and perspective. The authors provide recommendations for social work practice related to virtual communication, emergency planning, and evidence-based intervention for Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder. Recommendations for policy include uniform essential worker status for social workers, telehealth reimbursement and expanded caregiver respite benefits.

The global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and related closures that began in spring of 2020 created an unprecedented challenge for higher education broadly and social work education specifically. This article describes qualitative data collected from a survey of social work educators in the spring of 2020. Social work educators from across the United States representing diverse institutions described the challenges their students experienced as well as sources of strength and resilience they witnessed in students during the early phases of the pandemic. Findings highlight challenges that social work education will continue to face in the coming years in addition to clear actions that social work educators and programs can take to support student resilience. Findings also highlight ways in which the experiences of the pandemic could serve to strengthen social work education.