News & Updates

On behalf of SSWAA's Legislative Committee and Board of Directors, we first would like to express our deepest sorrow in regards to the recent tragedies in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio this weekend. Once again we are faced with the reality that we are in the midst of a public health crisis that requires immediate action. The grief, pain and trauma caused by these egregious acts of violence not only have a devastating effect on the families of those whose lives were lost and the injured individuals but are significantly impacting our communities and nation as a whole. We mourn with the families who have lost their loved ones. SSWAA will be issuing a statement in response to these events as well as the President's recent statement linking the cause of these mass shootings to be the result of mental illness. Once we have issued our statement, we are also planning to send an action alert to urge our policy leaders to come together once and for all to create legislative action to eliminate gun violence and to create a climate of inclusion, unity and peace where every human is treated with dignity and respect.

Another critical issue facing our nation is our human rights crisis at the border. Last week, Senator Lindsey Graham (SC) introduced the Secure and Protect Act of 2019. This bill would effectively ban refugees from asylum protections and punish those that seek safety in the United States. SSWAA strongly opposes the bill as we believe it punishes those seeking safety and denies our national and international obligations towards refugees seeking asylum as outlined in U.S. law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Our government should invest in protections and resources to ensure that every case where families, children and individuals seeking asylum are treated with dignity, fairness and processed with efficiency. WE NEED YOU TO CONTACT YOUR SENATORS TODAY!!! PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHED ACTION ALERT TO GUIDE YOUR ADVOCACY. Our urgency to act is due to the fact that this bill has moved quickly to committee for a vote despite just being introduced last week. Thus, we are concerned about the devastating impact this legislation will have if passed. 

We need all of our voices and we appreciate your advocacy as always. Thank you for taking action today and stay tuned for SSWAA's Statement and another Action Alert to address the immediate need end gun violence in our nation. 

Christy McCoy MSW LICSW
MSSWA Legislative Chair & Secretary; Midwest School Social Work Council Recognition Chair; SSWAA Secretary & Legislative Chair
School Social Worker
Agape High School 

SSWAA_ACTION ALERT oppose S 1494 8:1:2019 (1)

Join us at the 52nd Midwest School Social Work Conference - From Trauma to Resiliency: Oct 3-4, 2019  https://ksswa.wildapricot.org/events

A message from our SSWAA Legislative Chair Christy McCoy on June 27, 2019:

Good Morning School Social Worker Leaders:

I am writing today on behalf of the SSWAA Legislative Committee and SSWAA Board. Our nation is in the midst of a Human Rights Crisis. As you are all aware, recent news reports over the past few days have shed light on the deplorable conditions of the Detention Facilities holding Migrant Children. The current border crisis stems from the Trump administration’s "zero tolerance policy" implemented last year. The policy resulted in thousands of children being separated from their families while attempting to enter the U.S. seeking asylum through the Mexican border.

In addition, in response to President Trump's Tweets last weekend about increasing ICE Raids and his deadline for Congress to reach an agreement on immigration reform in the next two weeks and a solution to the border crisis, SSSWA felt is was pertinent to respond as an organization.

Attached is a copy of our Social Justice Response and a Call to Action to School Social Workers to contact their Senators urging them to pass the following 2 Senate bills – S. 874 and S. 879 – which would provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers brought to this country as minors, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, and people granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for humanitarian reasons—populations that included tens of thousands of educators across the country. On June 5th, the House passed a bill that would offer a path to citizenship to more than 2 million undocumented immigrants, including “dreamers” who were brought to the United States as children. The vote was 237 to 187 for the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019, which would grant dreamers 10 years of legal residence status if they meet certain requirements. They would then receive permanent green cards after completing at least two years of higher education or military service, or after working for three years. Now it is time for the Senate to support the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019. 

As School Social Workers, we need all of us to unite, mobilize, stand up and make our voices heard on this issue. Please share the SSWAA Social Justice Statement on Migrant Children's Human Rights and Action Alert with your Boards and Members! The injustices that are occurring require us to be a voice for those whose voices are being suppressed. As always, we appreciate your leadership. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Thank you so much for taking Action!!!! 

SSWAA Action Alert - Dream Promise Act

Migrant Children's Rights final

The Iowa School Social Workers' Association (ISSWA) is accepting nominations for our annual awards ceremony. Each year ISSWA recognizes three outstanding individuals for their service to children, families, schools and the educational community. Requirements for each award are described below:

School Social Worker of the Year

ISSWA's School Social Worker of the Year honors a school social worker employed by either an AEA or local school district who exhibits dedication to the school social work profession. This individual will be honored for their work, innovative practice, outstanding achievements, and contributions to school social work through demonstrated leadership and professional participation and community involvement and volunteerism.

●     School Social Worker of the Year nominees MUST be a current ISSWA member and a current school social worker in the state of Iowa.

●     School Social Worker of the Year MUST have a minimum of two years experience in the field.

●     Strong priority is given to candidates who have been actively involved in ISSWA through the Board or through committee work.

Leahgreta Spears Career Achievement Award

The candidate for the Leahgreta Spears Career Achievement Award may be an ISSWA retiree or a practicing Iowa school social worker who is a member of ISSWA.  Considerations include a progressive career with leadership contributions, patterns of accomplishments, and significant levels of setting examples.

Friend of Children Award

Candidates for the Iowa School Social Workers Friend of Children Award need to have demonstrated outstanding support for the mission of school social work to facilitate the education of all children. Nominees need not be a school social worker. ISSWA members are encouraged to nominate educators or non-educators who have made a significant impact in the lives of a child or students.

To nominate an individual for any award, please write a nomination letter detailing why you believe he/she should be our 2019 award recipient. Up to three letters of support from colleagues (both AEA and LEA) are strongly encouraged. Email nominations to ISSWA Recognition Chair, Kevin West, at Kevin.West@dmschools.org  by May 15, 2019.

Warm regards,

Emilie Souhrada

ISSWA President

 

ISSWA would like to thank our generous conference sponsors for supporting us with this year's annual conference!

Plan to attend this exciting conference for relevant professional development and connect with school social workers throughout the Midwest! Click here for the conference website: MidwestConference2018

The Iowa School Social Workers' Association (ISSWA) is accepting nominations for our annual awards ceremony. Each year ISSWA recognizes three outstanding individuals for their service to children, families, schools and the educational community. Requirements for each award are described below:

School Social Worker of the Year

ISSWA's School Social Worker of the Year honors a school social worker employed by either an AEA or local school district who exhibits dedication to the school social work profession. This individual will be honored for their work, innovative practice, outstanding achievements, and contributions to school social work through demonstrated leadership and professional participation and community involvement and volunteerism. 

• School Social Worker of the Year nominees MUST be a current ISSWA member and a current school social worker in the state of Iowa.
• School Social Worker of the Year MUST have a minimum of two years experience in the field.
• Strong priority is given to candidates who have been actively involved in ISSWA through the Board or through committee work.

 

Leahgreta Spears Career Achievement Award

The candidate for the Leahgreta Spears Career Achievement Award may be an ISSWA retiree or a practicing Iowa school social worker who is a member of ISSWA.  Considerations include a progressive career with leadership contributions, patterns of accomplishments, and significant levels of setting examples.

 

Friend of Children Award

Candidates for the Iowa School Social Workers Friend of Children Award need to have demonstrated outstanding support for the mission of school social work to facilitate the education of all children. Nominees need not be a school social worker. ISSWA members are encouraged to nominate educators or non-educators who have made a significant impact in the lives of a child or students.

To nominate an individual for any award, please write a nomination letter detailing why you believe he/she should be our 2018 award recipient. Letters of support from colleagues (both AEA and LEA) are strongly encouraged. Email nominations to ISSWA Recognition Co-Chairs Jean Boger at jboger@heartlandaea.org or Kim Phillips at kphillips@gwaea.org by May 15, 2018.

One of the groups SSWAA is connected to has reached to all their community partners to mobilize TODAY in a united Call for Action to extend full funding of the Children's Health Insurance Program. For those who have already called or emailed your legislators as a result of our previous request for action, we thank you and hope you will reach out again. We also understand that if some of us missed the last action alert, we ask that you take a moment today to call or email.

I have once again attached SSWAA's Action Alert on CHIP that we have sent our previously. You can use these talking points once again when you contact your legislators today and don't forget to personalize with a story of how this impacts a student or family with whom you work. Let's embrace this effort and join together with our partners in advocating for this essential program that impacts over 9 million children and pregnant women TODAY January 10th. 

Thank you for your advocacy and leadership! :)

SSWAA Action Alert CHIP Oct 2017.docx

Christy McCoy MSW LICSW
MSSWA Legislative Chair & Secretary; Midwest School Social Work Council Recognition Chair; SSWAA Secretary & Legislative Chair
School Social Worker
Agape High School 
1037 University Avenue West
St. Paul, MN 55104
651-890-9988 (cell phone)

National School Social Work Conference - Register NOW!

SSWAA is happy to announce that we are now accepting workshop proposals for our 21st National School Social Work Conference to be held in Columbus, OH on March 14-17, 2018.

Click here to register!

REGISTER NOW for the 2015 ISSWA Conference on November 13 in West Des Moines!  You may now register ONLINE or by sending in your registration and check payable to ISSWA.  Please make sure to also update your membership - also now available online or when you register for the conference.  We are excited to see you all in November at our conference! Check out our conference flier on the Home Page!