At-Risk Students

My name is Patricia and I am a Social Worker. I am pleased to be addressing other Social Workers that have the same concerns as I do. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss and decide what is the role of a Social Worker with at-risk students and when should a Social Worker intervene?

There are many indicators of youth at-risk.

• I will identify eight of those indicators:
• Alcohol and other drug use.
• Students with learning disabilities.
• Dysfunctional families
• Youth crime and violence
• Hunger
• Homelessnes
• Health and mental health problems
• Poverty

These Students are among Us!

Effects and Implications of At-Risk

• Poverty- It has a particularly adverse effect on the academic outcomes of children, especially during early childhood. It affects the child's concentration and memory.(apa.org)
• Homelessness- Half of school age homeless children experience problems with depression , anxiety and one in five preschoolers have emotional problems that require professional cares.
• Hunger- Hunger reduces a child's motor skills, motivation and activity level. Protein energy malnutrition, iron deficiency anemia and other vitamin deficiencies can cause brain impairment.(apa.org);
• Teen Pregnancy- preclude youth from experiencing typical adolescent events, sometimes graduating from school or developing friendships with peers.
• Alcohol and Drug Abuse- affects youth by disrupting their normal development.
• Gangs- this behavior causes criminal activity and possible death.
• Students with learning disabilities show poor performance in one or more specific areas of academic curriculum, have difficulty with tasks involving abstract reasoning and have poor social skills.(Ormrod, J.,(2014) Students with Learning Disabilities)

Short and Long-Term Implications of At-Risk

• Children living in poverty are at greater risk of behavioral and emotional problems.(apa.org)
• Schooling for homelessness children is often interrupted and delayed., with homeless children twice as likely to have a learning disability, repeat a grade or to be suspended from school.(apa.org)
• School-age children who experience severe hunger are at increased risk for the following negative outcomes: homelessness, chronic health conditions, stressful like conditions, psychiatric distress, behavioral problems and Internalizing behavior, including depression, anxiety, withdrawal and poor self-esteem.(apa.org)

At-risk youth are often identified after running away, skipping school, drinking under age, engaging in sexual behavior, displaying disruptive behavior, bullying/harassment, fighting and committing acts of vandalism.(schoolengagement.org)

Solutions/

• Schools create activities/sports/clubs and organizations programs that every student is able to participate in.
• Schools create academic related events such as science fairs, spelling bee, etc. that students can join and compete in.
• Schools create after-school events, parties, proms and social events to allow each students have that experience of socialization.
• Youth should have multiple opportunities and choices in their educational future.(schoolengagement.org)
• A successful program in the school that involve everyone is their annual Field Day program. The entire school staff, the parents and the community participate in this activity.
• Another successful program in my school district is the (INOK) It's Not OK. This is a program to discourage any negative behavior such as gang, bullying, drug abuse, etc.

Participant Activity
The participants will divide into groups of four and given a scenerio of an at-risk student problem. They will develop a short-term solution and a long-term solution. Also an the participants will be give a chance to evaluate the presentation.

References

• schoolengagement.org
• apa.org
• Ormrod, J.,(2014) Students with Learning Disabilities

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