Elizabeth J. Tower
Lockport,NY
Summary
Compassionate School Social Worker specializing in social skills development, crisis intervention and individual and group counseling, demonstrated over 30-year career. Provides behavioral assistance to help all students. Flexible and personable approach to building rapport with staff, students, parents and community agencies.
Overview
31
31
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
NY State Certified School Social Worker
Starpoint Central School District
03.1993 - 06.2023
- Enhanced student well-being by providing individual and group counseling sessions addressing various social, emotional, and behavioral issues.
- Collaborated with teachers and administrators to develop intervention strategies for students in need of additional support.
- Assisted parents in navigating the special education process, ensuring proper identification and provision of services for their children.
- Connected families with community resources to address needs such as housing, healthcare, and financial assistance.
- Developed and implemented professional development workshops for school staff on topics related to social-emotional learning and mental health awareness.
- Conducted comprehensive assessments of students'' social-emotional functioning to inform interventions and service planning.
- Created a safe space for students experiencing crises by providing immediate support and appropriate referrals.
- Served as a liaison between the school, family, and community agencies to ensure effective communication and collaboration around student needs.
- Established supportive relationships with at-risk youth through regular check-ins, goal-setting activities, and consistent followup.
- Coordinated multidisciplinary team meetings to discuss individual student needs holistically.
- Prepared comprehensive documentation of services provided following ethical guidelines while maintaining client confidentiality.
- Provided crisis intervention services and collaborated with school staff to create safety plans for students at risk of self-harm or violence.
- Supported students, teachers and families during crisis situations.
- Collaborated with students, teachers, administrators, parents and outside agencies.
- Helped clients develop new coping mechanisms and techniques to drive behavior modification.
- Worked with teachers to implement behavioral improvement plans based on established assessments.
- Participated in IEP, RTI and other related meetings that determined and implemented school-wide policies.
- Provided clinical supervision to Social Work Interns over the course of 20 years.
- Participated in numerous building and district wide committees.
Primary Therapist, L.C.S.W.-R
Martha H. Beeman Child Guidance Clinic
10.1994 - 08.1995
- Responsibilities included providing ongoing individual and family counseling based on psychiatrist recommendations, monitoring symptomology and communicating with attending psychiatrist.
- Enhanced patient progress by collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, including psychiatrists, social workers, and case managers.
- Increased client engagement in therapy sessions through the use of empathetic listening and motivational interviewing techniques.
- Collaborative work with service providers, schools and agencies.
- Contributed to a positive treatment environment by maintaining an organized caseload and thorough documentation records.
Social Worker
Niagara Co. Dept. Of M.H., Alcohol And Drug Abuse
05.1992 - 03.1993
- Community Facilitator for community wide substance abuse prevention project in North Tonawanda.
- Responsibilities included administrative duties, community organization and supervision of over thirty community volunteers.
- Supervision of support staff and clinical supervision of student intern.
- Facilitation of committee meetings, networking with area agencies, schools and businesses.
- Conducting needs assessment and development of prevention plans.
Education
Masters of Social Work - Concentration in Family And Children
State University of New York At Buffalo
Buffalo05.1992
Bachelor of Science - Social Work
Buffalo State College
Buffalo05.1991
Associates Degree in Liberal Arts - Humanities And Social Sciences
Niagara County Community College
Sanborn, NY12.1988
Skills
- Family Collaboration
- Solution-Based Interventions
- Confidential Case Documentation
- Behavioral Intervention Plans (BIP)
- Multidisciplinary Team Collaboration
- Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBA)
- Proficient in ESchool, Kinney Systems and Google
- Student Advocacy
- IEP Understanding
- Risk Assessments
- Crisis Intervention
- Individual and Group Counseling
- Strong Organizational Abilities
- Attendance Monitoring
- Documentation
- Verbal and Written Communication
- Family Support
- Classroom Observations
- Emotional Support
- Social skills training
- IEP collaboration
- Special education knowledge
Accomplishments
The Linda Weygandt Award - 2015
NYSUT Leadership Award - 2014
Anthony L. Bax Good Neighbor Award - 1997
Foster Parents of the Year Award - 1996
Excellence in Social Worker Award - 1991
Certification
New York State Licensed Clinical Social Worker, # R069344-1
The State Education Department of NY, Permanent Certification as School Social Worker since 1997
Timeline
Primary Therapist, L.C.S.W.-R
Martha H. Beeman Child Guidance Clinic
10.1994 - 08.1995
NY State Certified School Social Worker
Starpoint Central School District
03.1993 - 06.2023
Social Worker
Niagara Co. Dept. Of M.H., Alcohol And Drug Abuse
05.1992 - 03.1993
Masters of Social Work - Concentration in Family And Children
State University of New York At Buffalo
Bachelor of Science - Social Work
Buffalo State College
Associates Degree in Liberal Arts - Humanities And Social Sciences
Niagara County Community College
Similar Profiles
Emmerae McDonaldEmmerae McDonald
School Librarian at Starpoint Central School DistrictSchool Librarian at Starpoint Central School District
Ashlee SheaAshlee Shea
Long-Team Substitute Teacher's Aide at Starpoint Central School DistrictLong-Team Substitute Teacher's Aide at Starpoint Central School District
Laura K. CorrellLaura K. Correll
Childhood Education Substitute Teacher at Indian River School District, Indian River Central School DistrictChildhood Education Substitute Teacher at Indian River School District, Indian River Central School District
Jordan WhiteJordan White
Shift Supervisor at Kelton EnterprisesShift Supervisor at Kelton Enterprises
Emily KostyoEmily Kostyo
Kitchen Prep Cook at Big Ditch BrewingKitchen Prep Cook at Big Ditch Brewing