School social workers tell committee staffing gap hampers prevention; urge targeted hires and recognition under QBE
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Summary
The School Social Workers Association of Georgia told the committee the state averages one social worker per 1,100 students (recommended 1:250), highlighted local initiatives that lowered absenteeism, and urged a targeted, tiered funding approach and credential recognition to grow the workforce.
Corey Lowe, president of the School Social Workers Association of Georgia and a licensed clinical social worker in Walker County, told the Student Attendance & Chronic Absenteeism Study Committee that social workers are a central link between families, schools and community services and that Georgia currently lacks sufficient staffing to take a prevention-oriented approach.
"The state of Georgia currently averages 1 school social worker for every 1,100 students," Lowe said, contrasting that with a recommended ratio of roughly 1:250. He described Walker County’s "Making Sense of Attendance" initiative, which uses early-warning flags (five unexcused absences), family visits at seven absences, and school-based interventions; Lowe reported a 29% reduction in unexcused absences and a seven-point rise in third-grade reading proficiency associated with the program.
Lowe urged the committee to adopt a tiered approach that targets the counties with the highest chronic-absence rates, rather than attempting an immediate statewide ratio change. He also recommended that Georgia acknowledge school social-work credentials in the state’s funding/compensation framework — described in testimony as recognition "similar to how other specialist degrees are acknowledged" — to help retain experienced clinicians and attract new hires.
Members pressed on workforce availability, Medicaid billing and practical first steps for appropriators. Lowe said licensed clinicians exist in rural areas but that long-term retention requires incentives; he noted Medicaid therapeutic billing is currently allowed in Georgia when services are written into a student’s individualized education program (IEP) and that other states allow broader billing under different licensure rules.
Legislators asked the Department of Education to provide county-level staffing and unfilled-position data for nurses, counselors and social workers to help the committee design targeted investments. Lowe and committee members said those data — plus local examples of successful partnerships — will inform the final report and any phased appropriation strategy.
