Become a Member
Upcoming Events
Apr 13, 2012
KU Social Work Day
Jun 15, 2012 8AM-4PM
KSSWA Summer Institute
Topeka Public Library
Topeka, KS
Nov 8-10, 2012
2012 Midwest School Social Work Conference
Green Lake, WI
KSSWA Board Meetings
Nov 4, 2011
Chisholm Life Skills Conference Room
Minutes from the Meeting
2515 E Osie
Wichita, KS
Jan 28, 2012 11AM-2PM
Emporia Public Library
Minutes from the Meeting
Emporia, KS
Apr 21, 2012 9AM-12PM
Topeka Public Library
Topeka or Kansas City, KS
National and Regional
Debbie Gudenkauf selected KSSWA 2010-2011 School Social Worker of the Year!
Debbie Gudenkauf has served the De Soto School District in De Soto, Kansas for the past twenty years. Known as "Mrs. G" to her students, Debbie has remained a leader within the social work community and strives to promote the role of social work in schools. Debbie distinguishes herself by caring, compassionate, and professional work with students, families, and staff. She is a mentor, leader and advocate in her role, and her peers express gratitude for her energy and willingness to go above the call of duty every day. Over the past 20 years, Debbie has served in many roles for the De Soto School district. Debbie currently services Mill Valley High School and Sacred Heart Elementary.
Debbie grew up in a rural community in SE Kansas, before moving to Kansas City in 1974. She and her husband Bob have two adult children, Jared and Amy. Support for education runs in her family: her father served on the local school board for 25 years, and her mother, sister, aunts and daughter-in-law all currently work as educators. In addition to her outstanding work as a school social worker, Debbie enjoys quilting, gardening and reading.
Nominate Your 2011-2012 School Social Worker of the Year
Now it's your turn, complete the Nomination Form for Your KSSWA 2012
School Social Worker of the Year. Completed forms should be emailed to
nla1@cox.net.
Welcome KSSWA Members!
We are very excited to show you our new web design and to share with you what our Board has been doing to further the needs of our profession. We want you to know that we value your feedback and consider it in every decision that we make. Please email us with your ideas and any questions or concerns that we can address.
From the President
Greetings and Welcome to Kansas School Social Work Association!
We are only as strong as our members. Our purpose is to promote excellence among school social workers and enhance social and human services in the educational system. Becoming a member or renewing your membership is one way to ensure that KSSWA will continually strive to develop and maintain communication among school social work practitioners within our state, disseminate information, methods and materials relating to our practice, educating the public, legislators and other professionals who work in education about the role of school social work in supporting our students, families, and communities, and our continued liaison with other national organizations whose purpose is to enhance the social work services in schools.
Your KSSWA Board is made of School Social Workers (SSW) elected by members to represent your interests as licensed qualified mental health professionals working in many different capacities within the school system whether the school is urban, suburban, or rural. We collaborate with fellow educators, families, and community agencies to determine how to best meet the needs of our students. We educate the public, legislators, and other professionals about the role of School Social Work and what we, as professionals, do to contribute to reauthorization of Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), formerly the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 and what our role is in the different tiers of the Multiple Tier Support System as well as our role in the Response to Intervention (RTI) process.
School Social Workers are recognized and licensed by the Kansas Behavioral Science Regulatory Board (BSRB) as mental health professionals who are accomplished in the following skill sets:
- Conducting comprehensive assessments of biological, psychological and sociological variables that affect the development and behavior of individuals and systems of all sizes.
- Articulating diagnostic impressions with a range of client systems and problems.
- Developing and implementing intervention plans based on assessments.
- Culturally appropriate practice and consideration of client strengths.
- Analyzing the impact of social policies on client systems, workers, and agencies, particularly as they relate to inhibiting or advancing social and economic justice.
- Engaging in practice within organizations and service delivery systems and participating in necessary organizational and system change.
- Evaluating the effectiveness of their clinical practice interventions by applying evaluation strategies to client outcomes, and subsequently using the feedback from those strategies to modify case plans on an ongoing basis.
We continue to work with our national organizations in determining "best practice" for defining what a School Social Worker's role should be within the educational system, what determines "highly qualified" and how do we contribute to students succeeding under the MTSS process so that No Child is Left Behind.
Again welcome to the KSSWA Organization. We look forward to working with you and for you. Please free to share information, ask questions, and participate in the organization.
