Michigan’s Missing Link: School Social Workers and Firearm-Access Screening

Abstract

School Social Workers (SSWs) support non-academic barriers to student learning by providing assessment, intervention, and prevention services related to social and material needs. This case study examines 3,725 Michigan SSWs’ methods for identifying, screening, and supporting students' needs. It analyzes referral types, frequencies, and SSWs’ perceptions regarding the importance, feasibility, and readiness to screen and support students' social and material needs. Responses exhibited variability, highlighting the need for an established screening protocol. The most surprising finding was that firearm access was the least discussed topic with students; 21.4% of SSWs almost never inquired and only 25.5% sometimes asked. The majority of referrals (73.9%) addressed students' material needs, while only 10.5% targeted social needs, including mental health services, revealing a significant gap. Notably, 15.6% of students received no referrals at all. The findings on referrals for social needs, including biopsychosocial factors such as mental health, coupled with the perceived lack of preparedness among SSWs to screen for challenges like firearm access, underscore the pivotal role SSWs can play in violence prevention. This emphasizes an urgent call to action for training, further research, dedicated policies, and resources to maximize the impact of SSW practice in schools, homes, and communities.