Individualized Education Program (IEP)

 

The IEP is a written statement of the child's present levels of academic achievement, functional performance and developmental level. The IEP team determines how the child's disability affects the child's involvement and progress in the general education curriculum. Part of developing the IEP includes specifying "the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services to be provided to the child or on behalf of the child, and a statement of the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided for the child." The IEP is a written commitment for the delivery of services to meet a student's educational need.

 

School Social Workers provide direct services to a child with a disability if it is determined to be a necessary service related to the student's disability and needed for the child to make progress on the IEP. Direct services are tied directly to an IEP goal and are measurable in order to determine student progress toward achieving the goal. Counseling services and positive behavior interventions and supports are examples of direct services that School Social Workers provide to students in the educational setting.

 

Social Work Services in the IEP process include:

 

• Preparing a social or developmental history on a child with a disability.

• Group and individual counseling with the child and family.

• Working in partnership with parents and others on those problems in a child's living situation (home, school and community) that affect the child's adjustment in school.

• Mobilizing school and community resources to enable the child to learn as effectively as possible in his or her educational program and

• Assisting in developing positive behavioral intervention strategies.