Group Questions Snyder's Plan to Put Social Workers in Schools

LANSING, Mich. – Governor Rick Snyder's plan to put family resource centers in Michigan schools is getting some criticism from the state chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).

It says the governor is misleading the public by suggesting he's adding more licensed social workers to schools – when in reality, the group says, they are Department of Human Resource caseworkers.

Maxine Thome, executive director of NASW Michigan, says caseworkers are not trained to properly help at-risk children. She explains the caseworkers can only make referrals to Community Mental Health services, which are already underfunded.

"At the same time, school social workers are being cut from some districts,” Thome adds. "They're being laid off, hours are being cut down, and the workforce is slowly eroding for school social workers."

According to Snyder, the Pathways to Potential program would focus on truancy and removing barriers to attending school, such as hunger, transportation, child care and behavioral issues. It began as a pilot program last summer in Detroit, Flint, Pontiac and Saginaw.

The governor has proposed spending $5 million to expand the Pathways to Potential program. Thome says it's a paltry sum compared to the governor’s plans to fix the state's roads and bridges.

"One of my biggest concerns is that Governor Snyder wants $1.2 billion to fix the road(s) and $5 million – only – to fix the children," she says.

Rob South, Public News Service - MI