Illinois Association of School Social Workers



IASSW BOARD MINUTESDate: November 15, 2014Holiday Inn Express, Bourbonnais, IL_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The Board meeting was called to order at 9:13 a.m. on November 15, 2014 by Tom Tebbe, President.Roll Call: Jill ClodfelterWelcome past president Wynne Crosby and Washington University student Jamie Redding.Quorum: 25 Sonja Collins-Fordson Welcome: Tom TebbeApproval of Minutes:Approved Jill ClodfelterPresident’s Report: Tom TebbeThere have been several requests for information about confidentiality. In one situation a teacher confided in the school social worker that she was feeling suicidal. The social worker did not believe there was imminent danger. She called ISBE for some confirmation of her decision (??) and ISBE called the district alerting them that one of their staff was suicidal. The principal and superintendent threatened the social with consequences if she didn’t reveal the teacher’s name. Eventually, the social worker convinced the teacher to speak with someone at a crisis center to address the suicidal behavior. The consensus of our group was that the social worker did not have to reveal this information. (Sandie Kopels pointed out later that teacher was not a client of the social worker and that guidelines of confidentiality did not directly apply). The union advised the social worker to reveal the teacher’s name which she did because she didn’t want to hire an attorney and go through a fight with the district.In another situation the district was asking for information from the school social worker after 3 students had been expelled from school for threats made on Instagram. It was not clear what information the school was asking for. Again Sandie Kopels provided some guidance and direction. I have not heard back from that person.A UIC intern who is a member of the Chicago Mental Health Movement caucus and IASSW member asked about IASSW lending support to their initiative which began in 2009 with the closing of several clinics. Chicago Mental Health Movement is advocating the reopening of two clinics. They wanted to know if school social workers referred students and families to the clinics and if CPS social workers would help raise awareness about the issues. I will follow up with this organization to get a better understanding of what referrals they want from CPS school social workers. On Friday I attended the NASW Illinois Chapter Council titled “The Business of Social Work.” There were about 200 people in attendance. I spoke with one of the presenters at lunch Mike Cavanaugh who is the Executive Director of the Small Business Advocacy Council in Chicago. I spoke of our conference and he said he had a contact with State Farm and he would put our information in her hands for consideration of being a sponsor for next year’s conference or a supporter for the Foundation.In Executive Committee, it was decided to use $300 from the President’s budget to place an advertisement of support for SSWAA in their 2015 Conference Brochure.Vice President Report: Rise’ DavisToday regional reps met and 12 of 18 regions were represented. Topics of discussion included regional rep obligations, how to join a committee, email issues, thinking about how to celebrate SSW week, holding a regional workshop and contacting new and renewing members. At the next board meeting regional reps are to bring their ideas to celebrate SSW week in March. Treasurer’s Report: Donna Johnson-SchroederSee attached sheets.Executive Director’s Report: Phil KoehlOn February 8-10, I will be representing IASSW at the Illinois Association for Gifted Children (IAGC) Conference. I believe that gifted children are an underserved population by school social workers and IAGC is interested in working with us to increase services, and hopefully positions although gifted education is an unfunded mandate in our State. I continue to work with the Membership/Newsletter/Public Relations/Technology joint committee. We are working on getting a webinar up and running. At Conference, I surveyed our presenters to see if they would be interested in conducting a webinar for us. I received fifteen positive responses. In addition, I attended the workshop on “Erin’s Law” and think that is a very hot topic and one that would highlight our abilities as school social workers. Our other goal is to increase membership. If anyone would like to join or just drop in on our meetings, please feel free to do so. We will be meeting on every Friday prior to Board meetings. At the October meeting of the IDFPR Social Work Examining and Disciplinary Board, I was elected as Chairperson. Unfortunately, I did not know the increased responsibility and time that accepting that position would require. It is the Chairperson’s responsibility to review all complaints that come into IDFPR about licensed social workers. In addition, when it is determined that a “Conference” needs to be held with the respondent, the Chair or one of the Board members needs to be in attendance to render an opinion. The final decision on any discipline measure is determined by the IDFPR Social Work Board liaison attorney.Speaking of IDFPR, as you may remember, I reported that an audit for CEU compliance would be conducted probably by Spring 2014. I believe that because of a shortage of staff, like most of our State agencies, that audit is delayed until the one auditor is able to get to the task. I have been told that it is still going to be done. I will let you and the membership know if there are any changes.Sandie Kopels and I have talked and met about proposing some changes to the Social Work Licensing Act. We plan to continue that discussion. As an example, should an applicant who was convicted of a drug offense 10 years ago be allowed to have a license? The Nursing Licensing Act has specific provisions while the Social Work Licensing Act does not. I have been busy trying to organize a coalition of student service personnel professional organizations for the purpose of increasing dialogue among the groups and to collaborate on legislative and other educational issues. I have contacted the professional associations of the school counselors, school psychologists, school nurses, and speech/language specialists. All of their representatives indicate that they are interested in participating in this coalition. We have talked about including the Government Relations Specialists in the discussion. Now, we just need to find a mutually agreed upon meeting place and date. I think this coalition could be a very exciting venture and one that will benefit the children of Illinois.Legislative Liaison: Phil MilskI.? ELECTIONWe have a new Governor-Elect, Bruce Rauner, a Republican businessman from Winnetka.? He will be sworn in on January 12, 2015.? ?What this means is that all State executive agency heads and high level managers will be replaced.? Other staff whose positions are not protected under a collective bargaining agreement or term appointment are in jeopardy of losing their jobs. All State legislative liaisons will also be replaced.? ? Rumors are flying around about who might be appointed to various positions in State government.? ?The Governor-elect has named a chief of staff, Mike Zolnierowicz, who formerly worked for US Senator Mark Kirk.? A transition team has been named, chaired by Lt. Gov.-Elect Evelyn Sanguinetti, a Wheaton Republican.? ?Former Governor Jim Edgar, former State Sen. James Meeks, former SIU President Glenn Poshard, and former US Commerce Secretary and Obama chief of Staff Bill Daley are among the transition team leaders.The General Assembly remains essentially the same.? ?The House Democratic Majority remains 71-47, and the Senate Demcratic Majority is 39-20.? The Senate Democrats lost one seat in the election when Sen. Mike Jacobs lost his race in the Quad Cities area.?Some new House members were elected, but the new members are replacing members from the same party.? Familiar names who are leaving the House include veteran legislators Rep. Tom Cross, Rep. Tim Schmitz, Rep. Mike Bost, Rep. Renee Kosel, Rep. Naomi Jacobsson, and Rep. JoAnne Osmond.II. VETO SESSIONThe 2014 veto session begins on November 19th.? Very little action is expected because there were only a few total vetoes in 2014.? ?The one noteworthy veto has to do with a bill that regulates ride services such as Uber and Lyft.? ?There is also a chance that a minimum wage increase bill may be moved, but Governor-Elect Rauner has asked that no major bills be passed before he takes office.? ?The veto session days are 11/19 -11/20, and 12/2, 12/3 and12/ 4.The Spring Session calendar will be issued during the second week of Veto Session.III. STATE INCOME TAXThe State Income Tax rates automatically roll back on January 1st.? Unless something is done to extend the current rates, the State will lose approximately $2.5 billion in revenue between January 1 and June 30.? ?Senate President Cullerton has indicated that no action will be taken during the veto session or lame duck session in January to extend the current rates because the fiscal crisis?is now in Governor-elect Rauner's hands.? ?This means cuts to human services, health care, education and other services.? The Governor-elect has stated that he wants to extend the current rates and reduce them gradually over 4 years.? If that?is his approach, it will not sit well with many of his Republican colleagues.On pensions, Mr. Rauner has stated that he wants to leave current pensions alone and start new hires on 401(k) plans.? The pension reform package passed in December, 2013, is in the courts and the IL Supreme Court is likely to strike it down.IV. SB 16(School Funding Reform)SB 16, which would change the way State aid is distributed to schools in Illinois, passed the Senate and is now in the House.? It is generally thought that the House will not pass the bill in its present form.? ?There is strong opposition from districts that would lose funds.? However, there is a subject matter only hearing of the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and the House Elementary and Secondary Education Appropriations Committee on November 18, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. in Room 114 of the Capitol.? You can watch and/or listen to the hearing online at the ILGA web site.V.? FOID ReportingSen. John Sullivan (D-Rushville) is developing legislation to change the requirements for reporting individuals who are determined to have developmental disabilities. A draft was written by the State Medical Society and I received a copy.? I will share with Sandie for her comments and suggestions.? I will review the draft this weekend and will try to see Sen. Sullivan next week in Springfield.VI.?US CONGRESSThe Republicans won control of the US Senate and expanded their majority in the House, starting in January.? Both?chambers will be more conservative than the current Congress.? One issue to watch is?the reauthorization of IDEA. We will work closely with SSWAA and Myrna to monitor and attempt to influence any changes to IDEA, should this issue?even come up during the next Congress.? The federal budget is also an area we need to be prepared to influence because it has a direct bearing on the availability of educational and social services in Illinois.STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS_____________________________________________________________ Awards Michelle WashingtonThe following recipients received awards at our 2014 annual conference:School Social Worker of the Year - Heidi GroveLegislator of the Year - Sen. Julie Morrison?Citizen of the Year - Lockport Firefighters UnionEach recipient was present at the conference to accept their awards, and they were most honored by the recognition.? An article was submitted in the Oct/Nov IASSW Newsletter, and press releases will be sent out this month regarding the awards recipients.? An article was published in the Champaign News-Gazette highlighting our School Social Worker of the Year.This year, we only had one nomination for each of the awards.? While this made the job easy, I would like to work with the board in thinking of worthy candidates and ways to solicit more nominations for awards this year.? Nominations forms can be found on the association's website, and nominations can come from anyone.? Please send any nominations or ideas my way. This year, we only had one nomination for each of the awards.? While this made the job easy, I would like to work with the board in thinking of worthy candidates and ways to solicit more nominations for awards this year.? Nominations forms can be found on the association's website, and nominations can come from anyone.? Please send any nominations or ideas my way.Conference 2014 Keli Swierczek736 attended conference 2014 (660 professionals, 43 students and 33 retired). Final payments are still being made for conference 2014 and income is still coming in. We received the CEU evaluations for the speakers and these were sent out to the speakers. Overall these were favorable. Conference 2015Keli SwierczekThe theme for next year’s conference is “School Social Workers: Healing Hearts Theirs and Ours”. Reviewed post conference notes and concerns. Discussed the change of having a two day conference this year and how this will affect the cost charged to attendees, schedule, hospitality and time. The timeline expectations for each subcommittee will be emailed to the conference committee. Still securing some subcommittee positions. Conference Development Sona ChalianNearly all presenters have been paid at this point. I am waiting on travel receipts from 1-2 presenters, as well as a purchase order to be processed so School District 202 can be reimbursed $26.00 for a presenter discount. I have given a November 18 deadline for presenters to submit travel receipts. Program expenses are at $10,145.45 as of today before these payouts.CEU Evaluation results have been sent to all presenters with the exception of the keynote speaker. In reviewing these evaluations, determining a positive evaluation would be at least 50% of these attendees giving a rating of 5, or a vast majority of attendees giving ratings of 4 or 5, 83% of the workshops were given a positive evaluation. Top ratings were given to the following:Billy Kaplan: Connecting the Disconnected Larry Thompson: Difficult Students: Becoming a Master of Challenging Moments Holmberg and Malcome: Becoming an anti-racist social worker Carolyn Strong: Black Girls Blues: An Examination of Intra Racial Bullying Dwayne Williams: Rethinking Teaching and Instruction Prior to Qualifying African-American Students for ED Services Moller and Koehler: The Application of Third Wave Evidence-Based Interventions for Anxiety within Schools Eileen Klemm: Check and Connect: A Comprehensive Student Engagement and Dropout Prevention Intervention Jason Washburn/Denise Styer: Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Jackie Rhew/Patrick McGrath: Assessment and Intervention Strategies for Children and Adolescents Struggling with School Anxiety and School Refusal Sandie Kopels: FOID Clear and Present Danger Act Itedal Shalabi: Understanding and Working with Arab/Muslim Students and their Parents Dr. Michael Feld: Psychiatric Medication update for Children and Adolescents Ali Hearn: Managing Change: The Role of the School-Based Clinician in a Multi-Tiered System of SupportMany presenters replied thanking us for giving them such prompt feedback.I have taken notes on suggestions for improving the process for next year’s conference and have comments/suggestions from attendees as well as possible workshop topics.Exhibits and Sponsors:The conference went very well. All exhibitors indicated they would return next year except for two who only provide services in the Chicago area. Concerns were made about the drawing at lunch so next year vendors will be asked to note when the drawings will be held and whether or not participants must be present to win. Over $7700 was collected for advertising, sponsorships and exhibiting. -Risé DavisLocal Arrangements:Things went remarkably well during the conference. The biggest issue was ventilation in the breakout sessions that were out of our control. Attendees and presenters were very patient while waiting for technology glitches. There were a number of needs with AV and technology during the event. I believe having the technology person available for these needs was invaluable. This is should be evaluated to get incorporated into the budget line item for AV annually. Next year’s conference will be October 22nd and 23rd in Bloomington at the Marriott.-Sona Chalian and Sheri Olsen Continuing Education Sonja Collins-FordsonNo reportFinance Ellie ZoerinkThe finance committee has spent significant time reviewing the policies to make this IASSW FINANCIAL POLICIES 2014 version more congruent with current practice. These financial policy changes were emailed to the board to look at. These will be discussed and voted on at the February’s board meeting.Job Clearinghouse Scott CarchediNo report. Journal Sandie KopelsThe newest journal is currently at the printers and should be out soon. Looking at the advisory board for revisions and updating the board manual to reflect current operating procedures. Looking and discussing options of being an online journal in the future. Legislative Report Michael LangendorfPAC auction raised about $1800....thank you Lindsay Okray for your hard work on behalf of the PAC fund.We made contributions to about 7 different campaigns. There is about $12,000 in the PAC fund. We will be pursuing an increase in the number of school social workers in Illinois public schools. The Legislative Committee will be working with IASSW President Tebbe to develop an outreach team to present to many of the public school administrators about what school social workers do in the schools. This would include presenting at different professional conferences. We will be reaching out to the governor-elect to be involved in his transition team.We continue to support keeping the income tax increase in place in order to maintain payment to the pension funds and properly fund public education and mental health services.Member Relations Gail GroffConference sales were very good.? The store made a profit of around $700.00.? We are in the process of mailing out fleece jackets to members who ordered them.? We will be turning our attention to School Social Work Week in the near future in order to insure members receive packets in a timely manner.Membership Kathryn NirdeCurrently we have 882 members. 744 of these are full, 56 student, 82 retired.Newsletter Carlos Evans,Jr. No reportNominations Tracey ParkerNominations are currently looking for candidates for the position for Treasurer.Past Presidents Mary BraggWe are closing in on completing the update of the Board Manual. Thank you to the past presidents who have recently made contact with board members to remind/assist members to complete assignments. Also, thank you to those who have completed their reviews and updates. If anyone has not reviewed and/or updated his/her section and would like assistance, please feel free to contact Mary Bragg, mmbragg@. Professional Practice Chris DiesenChris Diesen has recently taken over professional practice and there is no report. Public Relations Sonya PerezNo report submittedTechnology Scott CarchediThe biggest issue facing technology is the impact of the expanding amount resources the website is consuming. Our web hosting company has indicated that the website is consuming more resources than is allowed on our current plan. The web host operates on a three strike system, wherein a website will receive a strike for each instance of going over the allotted resources. On the third strike the web host will permanently suspend the account. We have already received 2 strikes from the web host.Over the past week I have done many things to decrease the amount of resources being used without sacrificing popular features. Unfortunately, I was only able to make mild improvements. While we are currently operating within the set limits of the web host, we are still at risk of overage. Another overage could occur due to a number of uncontrollable events such as a surge in web traffic.The biggest hog of resources is the membership software that runs in the background of the website. The membership software is required to maintain membership accounts on the website. It is responsible for protecting restricted content from non-members, allowing members to update their information, sending reminder emails for membership renewal, and allowing members to receive discounted conference registration. As these features have been well received I do not believe that removing the membership software is the best solution.A different solution would be to find a larger hosting package. Unfortunately our current web host does not offer an affordable solution. Through a considerable amount of research, I have found a web host that will offer us the resources we need (with room to grow) at a price that won’t break the bank. Or current hosting package is approximately $7.00 per month ($250 for 3 years). The new host will cost $25 per month. Their pricing is quite low in comparison to similar packages by other providers. Here’s a quick rundown of why I recommend Bluehost:1. I currently use Bluehost for my personal websites and have been happy with the service.2. Bluehost is the number one recommended hosting company by Wordpress (the software that our site runs on) 3. The package will give us dedicated (non-shared) resources—meaning our site won’t be slowed down by other sites on the same server4. The package is scalable. As we grow, we can choose to add only the resources we need. This prevents us from having to upgrade to an excessive plan should we outgrow what we currently need. 5. The servers are custom engineered to specifically support Wordpress websites (this is important as Wordpress has technical needs that are very different from other web development software). 6. Automated backups and security updates7. 24/7 support by Wordpress technicians (this would help me tremendously as Google searches have been my only resource for technical problems). Details regarding my recommendations regarding the timing and logistics of moving to the new host will be discussed at the board meeting. University Relations Cassandra McKay Marriage and Family Therapy Association McKay-Jackson (UIC) will follow up if MFT are now working in schools and providing counseling services to youth and families. Committee member updates on School Social Work (SSW) Programs and EnrollmentOverall there is a need for policy change in the implementation of the TAP.In the midst of this need, there are various methods by which SSW programs are supporting students with TAP exam prep:C. Wilson Smith (UIUC) and E. Essex (GSU) offered textbooks regarding prep resourcesE. Essex of GSU offers a prep course, which is available to non-GSU students at a nominal fee.J. Meade of U of C also shared a powerpoint of the review course for the Social Work content exam offered at SSA. Student NeedsInternship stipendsIt is at the discretion of a school district how stipends are handled and if they are offered to students. Stipends range from $4800- $15,000 and special education discretionary funds can be used to support these stipends within a given school district. Curriculum IssuesSEL integrationMost programs have integrated SEL within the curriculum and do not use it as a separate evaluation toolISBE reading mandateMost programs have integrated reading into the SSW curriculum, but L. Godbold of CSU has created 2 separate online modules for students to complete in addition to receiving the special education content through the Exceptional Child course. ISBE Annual ReportAt present the ISBE online report is not available for input due to technical difficulties. The initial deadline for submission of the report will most likely be extended to late December. Marketing campaign neededAt the local, statewide, and national levels there is a need to market the value of and need for more school social workers within school districts.Across the country there has been a drastic decline in student enrollment in school-based professions (teachers, social workers, counselors etc.). This decline has several implications for not only the racial and ethnic diversity of the school professional population but also the health of pre-service programs such as school social work. At the State LevelOverall a statewide organization such as IASSW is needed to advocate for the school social work specialty at multiple levels.At the Program Accreditation level The Council of Social Work Education (CSWE), which accredits all US social work pre-service programs, is promoting a more integrative approach to social work programming and moving away from specializations. This approach to curriculum development may have additional implications for the health of school social work as a viable social work specialty.At present, these suggested changes as indicated in the 2015 CSWE Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) revisions are now open for public comment (October 10-December 31, 2015). This is the last time that members as well as Non-members can comment before adoption in 2015. At the Research LevelResearchers and practitioners are exploring a Cost Benefit Analysis project across the country in order to showcase the cost benefit of having social workers in schools. Although a potentially arduous process, this project is necessary for ensuring the health and sustainability of the school social work specialty. E. Essex, J. Meade, C. Wilson- Smith, and C. McKay-Jackson stated interest in working on this project. IASSW conferenceMcKay-Jackson to follow up with C. Sebian regarding how should students apply for the scholarships offered through the IASSW Dee-Yeck foundation.Next IASSW University Relations meeting will be scheduled for Spring 2015AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORTS_____________________________________________________________Archives Brenda LindseyA special THANK YOU to Mike Langendorf for helping me go through all archives!? We reviewed each and every item then made difficult decisions about what to discard and what to keep.? I propose that we scan our archives and create a digital file that can be accessed by members.? I have submitted a request for $400 to the Finance Committee to pay a student to assist with this project.?Parliamentarian Sonja Collins-FordsonNo reportDelegates_______________________________________________________________________________________Foundation Carol SebianThe Foundation launched a fund raising campaign with the assistance of Scott Carchedi and the website. The appeal at the IASSW conference brought a very good amount of over four hundred dollars in donations. The Foundation will partner with the Newsletter to publish the names of our donors. Publishing a list of donors will also hopefully promote continued donations from Association members. Before the end of this year, we hope to launch a campaign to friends and benefactors such as hospitals and other organizations. IAASEThere will be a new delegate from IAASE in the future.Midwest Ellie ZoerinkNo reported submittedNASW This position is not filled at this time. SSWAA Kari SmithTom will look at report sentProfessional DiscussionThe board discussed the roles of roles of school social workers, school counselors and school psychologists. An email from a member concerned that school counselors are trying to transition to the school social work roles. A discussion was had about how to promote our role. Other ReportsNoneUnfinished BusinessNoneNew BusinessA reminder was made to the board that there is an expectation to contribute to the Dee Yeck Foundation.Brenda Lindsey made a motion to approve a special allocation in the amount of $400. This allocation will be used towards expenses to scan archives to digital files. PASSEDDonna Johnson made a motion to that we pay our bulk mailing permit account out of contingency fund for $220.00. PASSEDTom Tebbe made a motion that a one-time stipend, in the amount of $500.00, be given to Scott Carchedi, Technology Chair, for the many hours of work he gave to convert the IASSW website into the interactive and updated website that we presently have. The changes that Scott made allow members to renew their memberships, register and pay for conference and access resources concerning school social work. The initial discussion was to take this money from the contingency fund. Further discussion lead to a suggestion that the $500.00 stipend be awarded from the Conference 2014 budget since Scott’s work benefited the Conference most. A vote was taken on the motion to award the stipend. That motion passed by a majority. The stipend was awarded from the Conference 2014 budget.Discussion was had about giving a volunteer board member a stipend for this work. Tom Tebbe discussed the contract for conference assistant, Lynn Sloyan. Tom discussed Lynn’s performance this past year and her new contract. Tom Tebbe, as President, will renew Lynn Sloyan’s contract as Conference Assistant from November 15, 2014 until the end of the IASSW Board Meeting in November 2015. The parliamentarian needs to look at the positions on the board that are filled and determine a quorum based on that number. This needs to be established at every meeting. Meeting was adjourned at 1:13 pm. Respectfully submitted, Jill Clodfelter, Secretary ................
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