Department Lead - School Social Worker
About The Position
The Department Lead is responsible for the leadership, administration, and supervision of the department, including planning, organizing, and directing its overall functioning, staffing, and assignments to ensure social work needs are met at client schools. The role also functions as a School Social Worker, providing assessment and services to students. Salary compensation in lieu of an hourly rate can be discussed. The Department Lead oversees compliance, data management, and reporting related to special education eligibility and student needs. This includes developing compliant educational plans, evaluation and behavior reports, and other special education documentation, while mentoring and supervising staff to ensure their work is appropriate and compliant. The role participates in staff recruitment and onboarding, training, coaching, discipline, time-record review, performance evaluation, staff scheduling, utilization monitoring, and professional development. It also provides staff guidance on policies, procedures, protocols, and laws. As a practicing School Social Worker, the Department Lead researches trends and best practices, completes psychosocial assessments, determines and implements therapeutic services, provides individual and group counseling, connects families with community resources, and participates in IEPs as the social work subject matter expert. The role coordinates crisis intervention and trauma response, supports collaboration between families and schools, and contributes social work expertise to interdisciplinary teams. The work takes place in school settings that may have varied building systems, stairs, and no elevator. The role may involve working with individuals and teams across a variety of ages, and students may become physically or verbally aggressive. Noise levels may range from quiet to loud. The employee stands, sits, and moves around the school setting and may need to carry, lift, or shift up to 50 pounds.
Requirements
- Master’s degree in social work from an accredited institution.
- Valid State of Michigan Master’s Social Work license.
- Professional School Social Worker Certificate or School Social Worker Full Approval without a lapse in social work employment.
- Knowledge of special education requirements in a K–12 school setting.
- Advanced knowledge of social work services, facilitating individual or group discussions, and preparing social and family histories.
- Ability to use principles and methods of effective and persuasive speaking.
- Ability to communicate expectations clearly and use a teamwork approach with staff at all levels.
- Ability to use various computer and web-based software programs.
Responsibilities
- Improve management and oversight of the diagnostic, intervention, and referral process for special education eligibility.
- Develop compliant Individual Educational Plans, Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team Reports, Evaluation Review Reports, Functional Behavior Assessments, Behavior Intervention Plans, Manifestation Determination Reviews, 504 plans, and other special education reports.
- Mentor, coach, and supervise staff on IEPs, reports, assessments, and plans to ensure compliance and appropriate reporting.
- Participate in interviewing, selecting, and onboarding new staff members.
- Train, coach, and discipline staff as necessary.
- Review and approve time records, investigating as necessary.
- Conduct informal and formal performance evaluations as required.
- Mentor and supervise staff with limited licenses or preliminary certificates, where applicable, to support certification and licensure requirements.
- Communicate with client schools and staff to determine staff assignments and schedules.
- Calculate and monitor utilization and help staff understand and achieve utilization goals.
- Create agendas and professional development content for department meetings; schedule and facilitate meetings.
- Guide subordinates regarding policies, procedures, protocols, and laws.
- Research trends and best practices to support recommendations for student success.
- Complete psychosocial assessments to support special education eligibility determinations and identify learning obstacles.
- Determine and implement therapeutic strategies and services to affect students' and families' behavioral and social interactions.
- Provide individual and group therapeutic counseling.
- Connect parents with community resources for additional support as needed.
- Participate in IEPs as the Social Work subject matter expert.
- Coordinate and facilitate crisis intervention and trauma response services.
- Act as a liaison between families and schools, promoting collaboration in students' educational planning and encouraging parent or guardian participation in the school setting.
- Serve as the Social Work subject matter expert on interdisciplinary teams and provide meaningful information professionally and persuasively.
- Participate in meetings and conferences.
- Participate in special projects during non-instructional time, including summer projects, to provide feedback, generate ideas, and identify opportunities for department growth and improvement.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
