The problems of the adolescents with which the school social workers in the district are confronted range from lovesickness to suicidal thoughts. Now the offer is permanent.
County - Sometimes it doesn't take much to unbalance a young person. The consequences can be serious, Susanne Grimm now informed in the youth welfare committee of the district council. "The entire spectrum is represented from heartache to suicidal thoughts," said the social pedagogue, taking stock of the first year and a half of school social work at the seven secondary schools in the Miesbach district. It is all the more important that the advice offered is well received. "Many students make follow-up appointments on their own," said Grimm. Numerous problem cases were thus mitigated at an early stage, thus preventing a possible escalation.
As reported, the district committee decided at the end of November 2017 to introduce the new offer at secondary schools, high schools and technical secondary schools - initially limited to the 2018/2019 school year. The school social workers of the Association for Youth and Family Aid are on site at the schools for 20 hours a week. After an extension for the school year 2019/2020, the district administration now proposed the exemption. Cost: 250,000 euros per year.
The need is undoubtedly given, said district administrator Wolfgang Rzehak (Greens). "We drove very well with it." The school leaders also saw social work as a benefit and would have spoken out in favor of continuing it. It was good that the district had stepped out of the eternal "back and forth" with the Free State on the question of financing and had taken the money in hand. “You shouldn't wear something like that on the back of a child,” says Rzehak. Since it is always difficult with annual contracts to find enough qualified personnel, an unlimited term is the only viable option.
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The demand is there anyway, Grimm reported. Between seven and ten counseling sessions would take place at schools every week - across all grades. Focal points in the short consultation with one or two meetings are school conflicts and bullying (29 percent), learning difficulties and fear of exams (ten percent) as well as problems with teachers (nine percent). For long-term individual help, the focus would be on psychological / emotional problems (32 percent) and difficulties at home (31 percent). In conflict-prone classes, two to three hours a week would also be spent on project work to improve the classroom atmosphere. Unfortunately, there is no capacity for more prevention.
There are other offers for this, emphasized youth welfare director Robert Wein. The primary goal of school social work is individual help. And every euro was well spent for that, Rzehak thought. The youth welfare committee members also: The decision to freeze was made unanimously.
