In this video, social workers discuss how issues like hunger and mental health issues impact school security, and how social workers and campus police can work together to improve student safety.
Students face a wide variety of issues, such as hunger, mental health challenges and homelessness, that can directly impact the safety and security of a school.
In one survey of educators, 67 percent said that students who are hungry act out at school.
Additionally, according to the National Center of Family Homelessness, 2.5 million of children in the United States (one in 30) experience homelessness each year. By the time they reach the age of 12, 83 percent of them have been exposed to at least one serious violent event.
At the Colorado Safety Schools Conference held Oct. 1, Campus Safety magazine spoke with school social workers Katie Koldenhoven and Mary Alex Dill from the Cheyenne Mountain School District 12 in Colorado Springs, Colo. They discussed the connection between social work and school safety and security.
In this video they also cover some of the most common issues social workers face at K-12 schools, as well as how schools, teachers, first responders, emergency management, administrators and other stakeholders can work together to address these issues.
