COUNSELING, ASSESSMENT, AND SOCIAL WORK SERVICES

A. ABOUT CASWS

The Clerc Center’s Department of Counseling, Assessment, and Social Work Services (CASWS) has available a broad range of services guided by the needs of the student population. Students can benefit from counseling and social work services at any time. Services are also available for students who have specific needs as indicated in their IEP.

The CASWS department consists of a diverse group of professionals with specialized skills in school psychology, counseling, and/or social work. These professionals work as a team to ensure that students are supported in a way that enhances their personal, social, and academic development.

The department works in conjunction with other programs at MSSD to promote self-directed, independent, and resourceful learners who demonstrate essential knowledge, literacy, and especially the social and communication skills necessary to be effective, productive, and contributing members of society.

Throughout the year, staff members provide workshops and outreach assistance to professionals, parents, school personnel, community agencies, and preparatory programs from around the country and the world. They address a broad range of issues related to programming needs, assessment, and services for students and families with deaf or hard of hearing children.

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B. STUDENT OUTCOMES

Here at MSSD, we emphasize student enrichment through the teaching of five outcomes. Those outcomes include: academics, communication, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and life planning. The CASWS team works closely with students to ensure that those outcomes are not only learned but applied on a daily basis. A strong foundation in social skills and socio-emotional development is necessary for a student to be successful in the classroom, in the residential education program, and in life.

CASWS professionals integrate actively into the academic and residential educational programs to support the goal of promoting positive mental health. With a focus on prevention, our school psychologist, counselors, and social workers are trained to work with deaf and hard of hearing students, and are available on site to provide direct services to students and their families. These specialists work as a team to assess a student's needs and implement services. Specialists work closely with families to help identify and coordinate more extensive services with private practitioners in the community when such a need arises.

The CASWS team works closely with MSSD students. CASWS staff members check in regularly with individual students and provide one-on-one support on regular basis to those who need it. The department is always available to students who may need to see someone on urgent basis.

Furthermore, group counseling and support are provided by the CASWS team. Students may be grouped for counseling services based on needs and current trends. Throughout the academic year, CASWS conducts groups related but not limited to social skills, coping with peer pressure, grief, anger management, conflict resolution, cultural diversity, etc., during school and dorm hours. The CASWS team collaborates with Residence Education personnel with providing training for the peer mediators.

Included in the CASWS team are the school psychologist and social worker. The psychologist performs psycho-educational testing, psychological evaluations, and assessments. The social worker provides appropriate referrals to outside agencies, serves as the designee for mandated child abuse/ neglect reports, and serves as the liaison between the school, families, and community agencies.

The CASWS team works with teachers and administrators to develop strategies that best accommodate the individual needs of students in the classroom. Team members also participate in regular staff and Student Review Team meetings as a means of monitoring students’ growth and wellbeing.

At the beginning of the school year, the CASWS team provides support to New Student Orientation and Orientation to School Programs by coordinating and facilitating team building activities with the students. Throughout the year, the CASWS team plans school-wide events, such as Alcohol & Drug Prevention Week, Mix It Up at lunch, and a variety of workshops in the evenings.

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