[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 4025-4026]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   CELEBRATING SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Woodall). The Chair recognizes the 
gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, the month of March is when social workers 
throughout the country celebrate Social Work Month. I am here today to 
honor a special group of social workers who work in one of the most 
important institutions in our society: our schools.
  To honor the vital role school social workers serve in our 
communities, I am proud to introduce H.R. 171, to recognize the many 
contributions of school social workers and to designate this week, 
March 5 through 11, as School Social Work Week.
  School social workers are critical members of a school's educational 
team. They strengthen partnerships between students' homes, schools, 
and communities as they work to ensure student academic success. School 
social workers are uniquely trained and specially equipped to mentor 
students who face emotional, academic, and behavioral barriers to 
learning.

[[Page 4026]]

  Their expertise guides students through serious life challenges, 
including poverty, disability, sexual and physical abuse, addiction, 
bullying, and various forms of familial separation such as military 
deployment, divorce, and incarceration. We now understand how these 
adverse childhood experiences and chronic exposures to the stressors 
affect the developing brain, particularly in a school setting where the 
academic demands are high and the social pressures can be life 
changing.
  We must better support these students to overcome these barriers to 
success. We now have the science and research to inform our policies so 
that we are not just funneling these children out of a school system 
and into a prison system. We must prioritize the economic benefits of 
effective and preventive solutions and provide the necessary supports.
  School social workers provide these services in our schools by 
connecting students and families to available resources in the 
community, particularly in areas that have been hit hardest by poverty. 
School social workers improve the success rate of children coming from 
a disadvantaged background, lending a much-needed hand in our efforts 
to create a more equal society. Families and communities want these 
services for their children. School districts should prioritize and 
invest in staffing models and programs that offer mental health 
services.
  Research tells us that individuals who suffer from mental illness 
will have developed these symptoms by age 14. The Centers for Disease 
Control finds that behavioral disorders are increasing in youth and 
presenting themselves at younger ages. Fewer than one in five of these 
children will ever receive needed mental health services.
  We also know that suicide is the second leading cause of death for 
young people ages 10 through 24. School mental health programs provided 
and enhanced by school social workers are critical to early 
identification of mental health problems.
  Research indicates that school mental health programs improve 
educational outcomes by decreasing absences, decreasing disciplinary 
referrals, and improving academic achievement. Our students deserve the 
support. Our students need school social workers to help them succeed.
  Unfortunately, there are often not enough school social workers 
available in school districts to meet the many, many needs of at-risk 
youth. The 1-to-250 maximum recommended ratio of school social workers 
to students is exceeded in almost all school districts in the United 
States, with some experiencing ratios as high as 1 to 21,000.
  As we seek to improve our educational opportunities, maximizing the 
new opportunities and flexibility of the Every Student Achieves Act, 
let us use this week to recognize the contributions of school social 
workers and the vital role they play in helping our children reach 
their fullest potential.

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