Honor School Social Workers Week

Assembly Resolution No. 218 BY: M. of A. Barrett MEMORIALIZING Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim March 26-31, 2017, as School Social Workers Week in the State of New York WHEREAS, School social workers serve as vital members of a school's education team, playing a central role in creating partnerships between the home, school, and community to ensure student academic success; and WHEREAS, School social workers are especially skilled in providing services to students who face serious challenges to school success, including disability, poverty, discrimination, abuse, neglect, mental illness, homelessness, bullying, familial stressors, and other barriers to learning; and WHEREAS, One in five school age children in America has a diagnosable mental disorder and one in 10 has a mental health problem severe enough to impair home, school, and/or community functioning; and WHEREAS, Seventy-five to eighty percent of children and youth in need of mental health services do not receive them, the discrepancy being greater for minority children and children of poverty; and WHEREAS, Those who wish to access community mental health services often find them unavailable, inaccessible, or inadequate; and WHEREAS, Nationally, about 50 percent of adolescents with mental illness drop out of high school, the highest dropout rate of any disability group; and WHEREAS, School mental health programs are critical to early identification of and early intervention for mental health problems; and WHEREAS, School social workers, being licensed mental health professionals in our schools, provide necessary assessment, interventions, counseling, family outreach, and community referrals; and WHEREAS, School social workers are part of the New York State Safe Schools Task Force because their knowledge of school culture and school climate are necessary for responsible school safety planning; and WHEREAS, In 2015, the high school graduation rate in New York State was seventy-eight percent, and approximately 13,840 high school students dropped out; and WHEREAS, Research indicates that school mental health programs improve educational outcomes by decreasing absences, dropout rates and discipline referrals, while improving academic achievement; and WHEREAS, The celebration of School Social Workers Week highlights the vital role school social workers play in the lives of students in New York State; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim March 26-31, 2017, as School Social Workers Week in the State of New York, and to honor and recognize the contributions of school social workers to the success of students in schools across the State, as well as encourage the people of New York State to observe School Social Workers Week with appropriate activities that promote awareness of the vital role of school social workers, in schools and in the community helping students prepare for their futures as productive, engaged citizens; and be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New York.