Are School Social Workers Prepared for a Major School Crisis? Indicators of Individual and School Environment Preparedness

School Social Workers’ Perception of School Climate: An Ecological System Perspective

“…Kelly, Berzin, Alvarze, Shaffer, & O'Brien (2010) asserted that school social workers must have a solid understanding of the environments that make up the child's ecological system, such as school, community, and family. Accordingly, depending on their level of preparedness, school social workers can utilize preventive strategies that help reduce children's reactions to crisis by focusing on children's feelings and by introduce more constructive and positive activities (Werner, 2015).…”

Crisis Preparedness in Schools: Evaluating Staff Perspectives and Providing Recommendations for Best Practice

“…Specific recommendations include having an appointed crisis team with designated roles and responsibilities for members, explicit procedures for responding to a variety of school crises, regular emergency drills, and assessment of the quality of plan implementation (Brock et al., ; Brock, Louvar Reeves, & Nickerson, ). As demonstrated in a national study conducted by Werner (), school social workers reported feeling more prepared for potential school crises when schools implemented a comprehensive plan and practiced school crisis procedures at least once per year. Further, crisis preparedness through plan implementation and practice can help mitigate adverse effects on mental and physical health (Brock et al., ) by maintaining student safety and minimizing exposure to traumatic scenes or images during and after a crisis (Brock et al., ).…”

“…Further, these respondents considered local trainings vital to maintaining adequate crisis preparedness in their schools (Nickerson & Zhe, ). In another study, 92% of school social workers worked in districts that required schools to implement a crisis response plan, with 81.6% of the schools also having a crisis response team (Werner, ). However, more than half of the respondents were only minimally or not at all involved in the creation of the plan (Werner, ).…”

“…In a different study with school counselors, more than half (57%) reported that the education and training they received prior to employment did not adequately prepare them for dealing with school crises (Allen et al., ). Although Werner () did assess perceived preparedness in school social workers, the study again did not include other school staff members. Furthermore, while surveyed school social workers believed they were moderately to extremely prepared for a school crisis personally, they suspected their respective schools were less prepared to handle a crisis overall (Werner, ).…”

“…Although Werner () did assess perceived preparedness in school social workers, the study again did not include other school staff members. Furthermore, while surveyed school social workers believed they were moderately to extremely prepared for a school crisis personally, they suspected their respective schools were less prepared to handle a crisis overall (Werner, ). Findings from these studies further underscore the importance of ongoing training and assessing levels of preparation at the school level for all school employees.…”