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Ventura Unified highlights expanded social‑worker services supporting unhoused and at‑risk students
Summary
District staff updated the board on an expanded general‑education social‑worker program: an eight‑person team providing home visits, short‑term therapy, attendance interventions and community referrals, reporting 678 unhoused students served in 2024–25 and roughly 450 referrals from school sites.
Ventura Unified presented a detailed update on its general‑education licensed clinical social‑worker program, which staff said now operates as an eight‑person team delivering home visits, short‑term therapeutic services, case management and community referrals for students outside of IEP‑driven services.
Maria Lisaras, head of student support services, told trustees the program provides short‑term therapeutic interventions (typically six to eight sessions), conducts proactive outreach for unhoused students and assists with school re‑engagement and attendance. Staff reported the program provided services for 678 unhoused students in 2024–25 and handled roughly 450 referrals districtwide, leading to more than 4,500 total service contacts and supports over the year.
Social workers described their work on chronic absenteeism and attendance review meetings (more than 600 individual attendance meetings), home visits in partnership with school staff and law enforcement for welfare checks when appropriate, and cross‑agency referrals to partners including Ventura Behavioral Health, Ventura County Family Justice Center, Shelter Care, Kids & Families Together and Nate’s Place. Staff noted that some partners face budget uncertainty, and the district is reviewing contingency plans should partner capacity change.
A social‑work associate said caseloads for students seen individually are around 25 per clinician, with additional case‑management and outreach responsibilities beyond that figure. Staff emphasized that the program focuses on tier‑three students — those who have exhausted school‑level supports — while also supporting broader family engagement events when requested by sites.
Trustees thanked staff for the work and asked for additional metrics, including current‑year unhoused student counts, case‑management time breakdowns, and early projections for reimbursement under the district’s Healthy Campus cost‑recovery efforts. Administration said it will return with supplemental data for upcoming budget discussions.
