Collective Care Team - New York State School Social Workers' Association

Collective Care Team

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The New York State School Social Workers' Association (NYSSSWA) has been working closely with the NYSUT as well as leadership from the New York school psychologists (NYASP), school counselors (NYSSCA) and school nurses (NYSASN) to develop "The Collective Care Team".

"Student success takes a village, and Collective Care Teams - made up of school social workers, school counselors, school nurses, and school psychologist - are fighting to build that village in every school in the state." New York State United Teachers (NYSUT).

What is the Collective Care Team? Collective Care Teams are the school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers and school nurses who work tirelessly every day to support and care for our students.

As part of our partnership, this group has begun to develop materials to not only explain to others what the "The Collective Care Team" is but to also advocate on behalf of our professions at the state level. As we reported earlier, NYSUT has agreed to provide their lobbyist's support and assistance in advocacy. The Collective Care Team held their first Advocacy Day in May with teams of 4 representing each discipline as they visited legislators. See report below.

NYSUT--The Collective Care Team -- NYSUT webpage. Includes infographics of the 4 disciplines, downloadable posters/palm cards and publications.

Advocacy Day, May 2025

Report by Peg Barrett, NYSSSWA Past President.

Once again on May 7th, 2025, the Collective Care team members including School Social Workers, School Counselors, School Psychologists and School Nurses traveled to Albany to advocate for ensuring the growth and achievement of our students academically, emotionally and behaviorally in school.

NYSSSWA members James Garner, Carrie Frost, Mollie Jenne-Phalen, Wendy Castiglia and I traveled to Albany to meet with Senate and Assembly members to educate them about the integral services School Social Workers provide to support student mental health and academic achievement. The Collective Care Team members met early for breakfast with Senate and Assembly members and shared a power point presentation about each professional's role.

The teams of 4 then had individual appointments set up by NYSUT with their legislative members. Each group had about (6) appointments with Legislators and staff and even met on the Assembly floor to discuss specific bills relating to The Collective Care Team. Each team discussed their role in the school setting and the special needs of their students with examples of how their services are so critical to students and staff. Providing real life examples of intervention and support to the families in their district really made an impact.

Our Legislative Committee meets and advocates with personal calls and face to face meetings to support the following bills currently in the Education Committee:

S5024, AA610 This legislation, sponsored by Senator Robert Jackson (here pictured) along with Assemblymember Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, amends the education law in relation to requiring the State Education Department to develop school health and mental-health-professionals-to-student ratios in public schools.

S376 The other bill S376, amends the education law in relation to requiring the State Education Department to report information regarding school counselors, social workers and psychologists in schools.

What Can YOU DO?c
Tell Lawmakers to Support Mental Health Access in Schools:

😕 Lacking in support. Despite the obvious benefits that Collective Care Teams provide, they are currently not being supported as they should be. Our Collective Care Team members are often overworked and understaffed as they try to meet students' needs.

🌟 Improving the quality of care. Two proposed bills aim to establish appropriate ratios of mental health professionals to students and to set specific ratios for each role within Collective Care Teams. By ensuring that all students have access to the care they need, and that Collective Care Teams have manageable workloads, these bills prioritize our students' mental health and academic success.

TAKE ACTION: Tell your lawmakers to support our Collective Care Teams and the mental health of our students.

The support provided by Collective Care Teams is crucial for our students' well-being, both now and in the future. These bills are a vital step towards prioritizing mental health in our schools and ensuring that students receive the care they need. Join me in urging our lawmakers to back these essential measures and make a difference in the lives of our students.

Our partnership with NYSUT has made it easy for us:

Click Here for Member Action Center