When: January 9th
Time: 9am-10:30am
What: Magan Lagasse, MDE:
“Matching Best Practices to Target Behaviors based on Root Cause”
Participants will review key considerations for selecting interventions to use in their practice such as target behavior and root cause, and learn about a handful of free or low-cost, easy-to-implement interventions that have demonstrated impact for students. Participants will walk away with tools to support their work including a menu of interventions and a decision-making tree to guide team intervention decisions.
Free for MSSWA members $20 for non MSSWA members. Prizes will be drawn for those in attendance.
MSSWA Region 8 Winter Meeting 2026
When: January 27th
Time: 12:00-2:30
Where: The Piggy - Address: 123 3rd St E., Thief River Falls
"The Ever Changing Role of the School Social Worker"
The role of the school social worker is always changing and each individual might be taking on different tasks and roles throughout their school district. We are excited to be addressing these differences within the school districts. We will be discussing a variety of topics such as macro practice within your school district, supporting staff/school goals, our role in supporting teachers, if/when we hold people accountable, how to address burnout, and professionalism.
Please come prepared to discuss what's going well in your role and any challenges you may have had past or present with like minded individuals who want to help each other grow!
Please RSVP by January 15th!
Contact Jeri Nomeland (jnomeland@nwric.com) or Katelyn Larson (klarson@grygla.k12.mn.us) if you have any questions.
2026 MSSWA Virtual Winter Conference Tuesday, February 10th, 2026 7:30am to 4:00pm Earn 7 CEUs Documenting with Integrity: Legal, Ethical and Practical Perspectives Presenters: Laura Tubbs Booth and Christian Shafer Dr. Karen Goodenough School Law Attorneys Executive Director NASW - MN & ND Megan Lagasse, MSW, LICSW Kris Christensen, MSW, LICSW MDE, Student Support Personnel Specialist St. Paul Public Schools Julie Beaufeaux, LICSW, LSSW Anoka Hennepin Schools When: 02/10/2026, 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM Location: Virtual via Zoom. Zoom link will be provided a few days prior to the conference Schedule of the Day 7:45am - 8:00 am Welcome & Housekeeping 8:00am-10:00 am Documentation - The Rules, the Reasons, the Reality Laura Tubbs Booth and Associates 10:00-10:15 am Break 10:15-12:15 pm Clear, Consistent, and Ethical: Documentation in Schools Through the Lens of the NASW Code of Ethics Dr. Karen Goodenough 12:15-12:45 pm Lunch Break 12:45 - 3:45 pm SSW Documentation: Developing Sustainable Procedures Megan Lagasse, MSW, LICSW Documentation in School Social Work- Building, Implementing, & Sustaining the System Kris Christiansen, MSW, LICSW and Julie Beaufeaux, LICSW, LSSW 3:45 pm Q&A 7 Ethics CEUs (2 can be used for Supervision) Registration: click here to register (depends on selected options) Our Early Bird Rate ends January 23rd Through January 23 After January 23 MSSWA Member $90 $125 Non-Member - Includes MSSWA Membership $155 $190 Related Service Professionals, School Psychologists, Administrators & Other Professionals (Does NOT Include MSSWA Membership) $175 Retired MSSWA Member (Must have a Retired School Social Worker MSSWA membership). $15 Student Rate (must include a copy of student ID). MSSWA Membership for graduate students (not working in the field) & undergraduate students join MSSWA at no charge. $15 Board Members (Board members must have active MSSWA membership). $15 *Presenter rates are available. For more details and to receive you code, please reach out to msswafandm@gmail.com This Winter Virtual Conference WILL be recorded! Zoom login and Google Conference Folder link will be emailed to you no later than Monday, Feb 9, 2025 Documenting with Integrity: Legal, Ethical and Practical Perspectives The MSSWA Winter Virtual Conference focuses on one of the most critical - and often misunderstood - aspects of school social work practice: documentation. Across legal, ethical, and systems-level perspectives, this full-day virtual conference will support licensed school social workers in strengthening consistent, accurate, and defensible documentation practices. Participants will deepen their understanding of why documentation matters beyond compliance, including its role in advocacy, service coordination, evaluation, and professional protection. The morning sessions provide a strong foundation in both the legal requirements and the NASW Code of Ethics as they relate to documentation in school settings. Participants will examine legal rules governing documentation, confidentiality, access, and compliance, alongside an ethics-focused exploration of how the NASW Code of Ethics informs documentation decisions. Together, these sessions support participants in understanding what documentation must include, what ethical standards require or allow, and how to navigate competing expectations within school environments using both legal and ethical frameworks. The afternoon learning shifts from theory to practice, integrating state-level guidance with district-level implementation. Participants will explore how documentation expectations translate into sustainable systems within a school district, including procedures for progress notes, risk assessments, maltreatment reports, and external legal documents. Through real-world district examples, attendees will gain practical strategies for developing, refining, and embedding documentation procedures that align with legal standards, ethical responsibilities, and professional licensure expectations. Throughout the day, participants will receive practical guidance, real-world examples, and actionable tools to establish, refine, or advocate for documentation systems that are legally sound, ethically grounded, and sustainable within complex school settings. Learning Objectives: 1) Participants will understand and apply the legal requirements, ethical responsibilities (NASW Code of Ethics), and confidentiality standards that govern documentation in school social work practice. 2) Participants will analyze current documentation practices and use legal, ethical, and licensure-informed frameworks to navigate competing expectations, advocacy needs, and system limitations within school settings. 3) Participants will gain practical strategies and tools—grounded in state guidance and district-level case examples—to develop, implement, and sustain consistent, system-wide documentation procedures. Questions? Contact: Kate Adams pdchairs@msswa.org www.msswa.org Our Early bird rates will be available through Jan 23rd. Regular Registration closes on Feb 4th. This will be a HARD CLOSE on Feb 4th at 5pm.
2026 MSSWA Virtual Winter Conference
Tuesday, February 10th, 2026
7:30am to 4:00pm
Earn 7 CEUs
Documenting with Integrity: Legal, Ethical and Practical Perspectives
Presenters:
Laura Tubbs Booth and Christian Shafer Dr. Karen Goodenough
School Law Attorneys Executive Director NASW - MN & ND
Megan Lagasse, MSW, LICSW Kris Christensen, MSW, LICSW
MDE, Student Support Personnel Specialist St. Paul Public Schools
Julie Beaufeaux, LICSW, LSSW
Anoka Hennepin Schools
Location: Virtual via Zoom. Zoom link will be provided a few days prior to the conference
Schedule of the Day
7:45am - 8:00 am Welcome & Housekeeping
8:00am-10:00 am Documentation - The Rules, the Reasons, the Reality
Laura Tubbs Booth and Associates
10:00-10:15 am Break
10:15-12:15 pm Clear, Consistent, and Ethical: Documentation in Schools Through the Lens of the NASW Code of Ethics
Dr. Karen Goodenough
12:15-12:45 pm Lunch Break
12:45 - 3:45 pm SSW Documentation: Developing Sustainable Procedures
Megan Lagasse, MSW, LICSW
Documentation in School Social Work- Building, Implementing, & Sustaining the System
Kris Christiansen, MSW, LICSW and Julie Beaufeaux, LICSW, LSSW
3:45 pm Q&A
7 Ethics CEUs (2 can be used for Supervision)
(depends on selected options)
Our Early Bird Rate ends January 23rd
Through January 23
After January 23
MSSWA Member
$90
$125
Non-Member - Includes MSSWA Membership
$155
$190
Related Service Professionals, School Psychologists, Administrators & Other Professionals (Does NOT Include MSSWA Membership)
$175
Retired MSSWA Member (Must have a Retired School Social Worker MSSWA membership).
$15
Student Rate (must include a copy of student ID). MSSWA Membership for graduate students (not working in the field) & undergraduate students join MSSWA at no charge.
Board Members (Board members must have active MSSWA membership).
*Presenter rates are available. For more details and to receive you code, please reach out to msswafandm@gmail.com
This Winter Virtual Conference WILL be recorded! Zoom login and Google Conference Folder link will be emailed to you no later than Monday, Feb 9, 2025
The MSSWA Winter Virtual Conference focuses on one of the most critical - and often misunderstood - aspects of school social work practice: documentation. Across legal, ethical, and systems-level perspectives, this full-day virtual conference will support licensed school social workers in strengthening consistent, accurate, and defensible documentation practices.
Participants will deepen their understanding of why documentation matters beyond compliance, including its role in advocacy, service coordination, evaluation, and professional protection. The morning sessions provide a strong foundation in both the legal requirements and the NASW Code of Ethics as they relate to documentation in school settings. Participants will examine legal rules governing documentation, confidentiality, access, and compliance, alongside an ethics-focused exploration of how the NASW Code of Ethics informs documentation decisions. Together, these sessions support participants in understanding what documentation must include, what ethical standards require or allow, and how to navigate competing expectations within school environments using both legal and ethical frameworks.
The afternoon learning shifts from theory to practice, integrating state-level guidance with district-level implementation. Participants will explore how documentation expectations translate into sustainable systems within a school district, including procedures for progress notes, risk assessments, maltreatment reports, and external legal documents. Through real-world district examples, attendees will gain practical strategies for developing, refining, and embedding documentation procedures that align with legal standards, ethical responsibilities, and professional licensure expectations.
Throughout the day, participants will receive practical guidance, real-world examples, and actionable tools to establish, refine, or advocate for documentation systems that are legally sound, ethically grounded, and sustainable within complex school settings.
Learning Objectives:
1) Participants will understand and apply the legal requirements, ethical responsibilities (NASW Code of Ethics), and confidentiality standards that govern documentation in school social work practice.
2) Participants will analyze current documentation practices and use legal, ethical, and licensure-informed frameworks to navigate competing expectations, advocacy needs, and system limitations within school settings.
3) Participants will gain practical strategies and tools—grounded in state guidance and district-level case examples—to develop, implement, and sustain consistent, system-wide documentation procedures.
Questions? Contact:
Kate Adams
pdchairs@msswa.org
www.msswa.org
Our Early bird rates will be available through Jan 23rd. Regular Registration closes on Feb 4th. This will be a HARD CLOSE on Feb 4th at 5pm.
President Julie Campanelli
President Elect Abbey Pierce
Secretary Nadine Rooney
Treasurer Brianna Nelson
Legislative Chair Christy McCoy
Professional Development Chair Abby Refsland
Social-Media Cara McGlynn
If you are having difficulty with your on-line membership or conference registration, please contact msswafandm@gmail.com