Since 1978, PASSWP has been actively involved in the professional education of Home & School Visitors and School Social Workers in Pennsylvania.

Our Board works with the Department of Education, and other professional organizations, to stay on the cutting edge of trends in the field.  We look to experts to provide training for the school social workers and home and school visitors who are delivering critical support services to students across the Commonwealth.

We are devoted to maintaining the highest possible standards for school social work personnel employed in our schools.  To that end, we work with Schools of Social Work and programs that provide education for Home & School Visitors in colleges and universities located within our state.

PASSWP strives to offer a variety of continuing education options and networking opportunities for our members and the broader social services community.

Check out our FEATURED MEMBERS page!  Interested in nominating someone?  GO FOR IT!  We all benefit from sharing positive stories and ideas!

The 2017 PASSWP Home & School Visitor/

School Social Worker of the Year Award

goes to...

HSV/SSW of the Year! 

My name is Joe Werner and it is my turn to try and carry the torch as president of PASSWP.  The good news is that I have all past presidents at my beck and call and a great team to support me in this venture!  I have been a school social worker for the past 14 years.  It was about 10 years ago that a colleague said to me “you should come join us at PASSWP to advocate for social workers/home and school visitors”.  As president, my goal is to continue to promote SSW/HSV as we fight the good fight of providing an array of services in school setting to students and families across Pennsylvania. We are an important group because we represent a voice.  We have shown our importance in school settings and continue to earn respect of colleagues from other disciplines.  PASSWP is important because we are closely linked to PDE, PSEA, NASW, SSWAA, and ACSSW.  We are able to have a seat at many state and national conferences because of our ability to communicate what is happening locally and how this affects SSW/HSV’s and the people we provide services to.  We must continue to work together as we show our strength and the value of our services.  We never really know what is around the corner as far as the future, but we know what our students and families need and that is our services to help them through adversity and challenging times.

Some immediate needs that we have at PASSWP are filling vacancies on the Board.  We are in need of 1) a Secretary and 2) an Eastern Representative.  Thank you Laura and Kirsten for your years of helping PASSWP!  If you have interest in filling one of these positions, please contact me or one of the Board Members.  Please know that we completely understand that schedules are crazy!  The position is what you want it to be, with the overall focus on helping school social workers in your area and across the state.  One of the most important things that we want to know is “what is happening in you area?” and “how can PASSWP strengthen school social workers?” We hope to be the tool that helps us stay connected and on top of issues, but we need all of you to make this work.  We are using social media and our web site to stay connected and would be happy to post and site more news from all of you.

A big event that takes the most time is our state conference.  This happens every other year as we just met Oct. 2017 at Messiah College (thank you Messiah!)  Our next state conference will most likely be in the fall of 2019 at a location to be determined.  In about a year, we will be looking to form a conference planning committee.  We’d love to get more people and ideas involved in this process, so if you are interested, have an idea, or know of a speaker, please let us know!

Other news… It will be one of my goals to continue to connect with our members and other school social workers in the western region. Kyoko Henson has already taken on the task of creating positive energy to increase membership.  We’d love to support the west in any way we can.  One way would be to have members head out that way so we can connect with our colleagues and share ideas and strategies that make SSW’s so needed in our schools. Collaborations can happen anywhere.  If you are looking to put on a training or small conference and we can help spread the word, let us know.  So keep an eye on our website for news of things that may be happening.

That’s all for now. I hope the second half of your school year goes well!  Please stay safe and keep in touch!

Joe Werner, MSW, LSW, HSV

PASSWP President