USC has been steadily building a world-class program in the education of school social workers  for decades. Social work in schools and educational settings is woven into the DNA of the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, with roots stretching back to the school’s first dean, Arlien Johnson, who led the school from 1939 to 1959 and authored one of the first books on social work in school settings, School Social Work: Its Contribution to Professional Education, in 1962.

The specialization grew during the 1980s and 1990s under the leadership of Frances Caple, then Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, to become a prominent program within the school, with a prevention and early intervention-based curriculum and strong focus on hands-on experience for both students and faculty. When the torch was passed to Marleen Wong, clinical professor emerita and renowned researcher in school interventions, she added a trauma-informed approach into the school social work program, curriculum and practicum placements, based on her experience of how trauma impacted student success and the overall learning environment.

Today, the social work in schools and educational settings track at USC is one of the premier programs in the field, with highly-skilled alumni exposing school districts in approximately 40 states across the country to the benefits of having social workers imbedded in their schools. 

Theory immersed in real-world experience

One of the hallmarks of the school social work specialization at USC has always been its emphasis on learning from faculty who are actively engaged in school social work themselves. Armed with an exceptional foundation in research and practicum experience in some of the most diverse school districts in the country, graduates are prepared to begin work in schools immediately, deploying groundbreaking interventions to address the issues of high-need students.

Caple, who led the school social work program from 1981 until her retirement in 2004, embodied the principle of working in virtually every aspect of school-related social work throughout her career. She began as a school teacher in South Carolina, became a child and family social worker at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services, and then a school social worker for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Under Caple’s leadership, social work in school and educational settings at USC grew into one of the largest programs in the nation, producing hundreds of Master of Social Work (MSW) graduates practicing social work in school settings. She directed the school’s nascent program for the preparation and credentialing of school social workers and USC Social Work became one of the few curriculum programs in California that offered the opportunity to pursue a Pupil Personnel Services Credential (PPSC) in conjunction with an MSW. The PPSC is required in order to practice social work in schools in most states.

Meeting children where they are means being in schools

A key component of social work practice is to “meet people where they are.” For the vast majority of children, the way to do that is by being present in public schools and prepared with necessary skills to address their unique needs. Many people associate social workers only with the important work they perform in protecting children through Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS). However, educational settings put social workers one step closer to intervening in the challenges and disparities that children may be facing, often preventing them from later involvement with DCFS.

“DCFS is almost totally problem-focused,” Caple said. “Every investigation, every concern that comes up about the care of children always involves the extreme end of family/child problems.” She notes that working with children in schools on a preventative level can allow social workers to have an impact on a problem before it is profound enough to warrant DCFS intervention. Working in school environments also allows social workers to address systemic issues and group experiences using mezzo and macro social work skills, in addition to individual interventions.

Nancy Jefferson Mance, MSW ’82, has particular experience in this area, serving as a psychiatric social worker at LAUSD for 32 years. 

“I like to say that as school social workers we are in a host setting,” Mance said. “Teachers’ priority in the school system is the academic education of children, not mental health. As people who understand child development, mental health and social-emotional development, we need to mediate within that system.” At LAUSD, Mance, in collaboration with several colleagues, initiated an innovative program to train interns in mental health services and then place them in local schools, ensuring that each school received services from well-trained social workers. The program provided schools with everything from counseling and crisis intervention to parenting workshops and community outreach and was unprecedented for LAUSD at the time. Mance wrote the guidelines for the district’s social work interns, as well as its school mental health handbook for practicum instruction.

Mance brought her experience to USC Social Work, first as a practicum instructor and then teaching core classes for the social work in schools and educational settings specialization. She was instrumental in expanding and streamlining the practicum placement process for MSW students at USC within LAUSD, as well as serving as a mentor and role model.

Since 2005, the specialization has been led by Steve Hydon (EdD ’16), director of social work in schools and a nationally recognized expert on secondary traumatic stress, who has built on the legacy created by Caple, Mance and Wong and extended it nationwide. The school has recently introduced a new Trauma-Informed Practices in Educational Settings Graduate Certificate, the first of its kind in the nation, where students learn evidence-based practices and interventions along with holistic options for addressing grand challenges in school social work. The school also continues to explore grants and potential endowments to expand on its research, provide workforce development and influence impact on school mental health. 

“People come here from across the country, whether virtually or in person, to learn from the leadership and laboratory that is school social work in Los Angeles and bring it back to their communities nationwide. We’re proud of that impact.” Hydon said.

Alumni of the social work in schools and educational settings specialization are recognized for their leadership skills and contributions to the integration of social work into the classroom. Beatriz Baron, MSW '15, and Kerri Bjork, MSW '14, were honored with School Social Workers of the Year awards for 2023 by the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE), which also awarded its School Social Work Intern of the Year award to Lito De Luca for 2023 and Jennifer Weck in 2022. Maria Ruelas, MSW ’13, was chosen as School Social Worker of the Year by the California Association of School Social Workers in 2018. Leading the Student Health and Human Services Division for LAUSD is Joel Cisneros, MSW ’05, who oversees the social and emotional well-being of the 565,000 schoolchildren at over 1,000 schools in the second largest school district in the nation.

“I’m honored to be part of growing the legacy that USC Social Work brings to social work in educational settings,” Hydon said. “Our graduates are meeting children where they are and helping to address the issues that shape their futures. There is no better work.”