Board hears social‑work workload data as administrators press need for more staff

Administrators told the Southington Board of Education they are seeing substantial demand for social‑work services and provided incident counts to support an additional hire request. Mr. Pepe and staff described a "day in the life" survey and tracking that showed, for FY24–25, 595 recorded incidents across the district and 207 incidents where social workers took the lead; halfway through the current year the district had recorded 349 incidents with 102 incidents led by social workers.

"That the recorded by just the social worker was 207, and that's across the district. Right now, this year, we're already at 349 halfway through the year, so it's potentially, that would double," administration said, noting social‑work duties span crisis response, IEP/504 reporting, community referrals, and Medicaid tracking where families authorize cost recapture. Administrators argued social workers provide sustained relationships and follow students through crises, and board members asked for clearer case counts per social‑worker to evaluate the fiscal case for hiring.

Board members requested a clearer quantification of caseloads and the types of incidents (911 calls, DCF referrals, mobile crisis interventions, restraints/seclusions, truancy and threat assessments) that are generating district responses. Administration said it tracks DCF referrals, 211 calls, 911 calls, restraints/seclusions and crisis mobilizations and will provide more detailed counts to aid budget decisions.

The presentation framed social workers as a core operational need rather than an optional service and asked the board to consider workload evidence when weighing staffing in the final budget.