School Social Workers and School Psychologists are uniquely qualified members of school teams who provide direct and indirect social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health services for children and youth, as well as work with families, school administrators, educators, and other professionals to create supportive learning and social environments for all students. These services reflect the qualifications aligned with licensure requirements and graduate education training. There are two items required to be a special service provider (SSP) at DPS:
- A valid Colorado SSP License and/or Temporary Educators Endorsement
- An endorsement in their respective occupation relative to their position
The Department of Mental Health supports the following areas:
- School Social Workers
- School Psychologists
- School Psychologist and School Social Work Graduate Students
- Substance Prevention and Intervention
- Diversion and Truancy
- Crisis Intervention
- Applied Behavior Analysis and Behavior Supports
- Universal Screening
- Transformative Social Emotional Learning
Graduate Student Programming
The Department of Mental Health in Denver Public Schools (DPS) is dedicated to fostering the growth of school psychologists and social workers through comprehensive internship opportunities aligned with the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) practice standards and the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) guidelines. Our internships aim to provide multifaceted experiences across the NASP Domains of Practice, helping to develop core competencies essential for independent practice for school psychology interns. Additionally, we support Master's level social work internships that offer practical field education, ensuring that students are well-prepared for their roles in the field.
Transformative Social Emotional Learning
The tSEL team supports all students in learning and developing the Social Emotional Learning (SEL) skills and competencies as these are an integral part of education and human development. The Collaborative for Academic Social Emotional Learning (CASEL) defines SEL as the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions. CASEL understands and recognizes that many of the evidenced based and CASEL approved SEL curriculum are not necessarily culturally responsive for all students. DPS embraces the movement to focus on “Transformative SEL” in order to implement the teaching of SEL skills in culturally responsive and affirming practices.
