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Speaker Bio

Jolene Becher, MSW, LICSW, LSSW

Assistant Professor, Winona State University 

Jolene Becher is a licensed clinical social worker with more than 30 years of experience in the field. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from The College of St. Benedict and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Michigan. She currently serves as a faculty member in the Graduate Social Work Department at Winona State University, where she teaches and coordinates the SOAR (Strengthening Opportunities for Advancement and Representation) grant, supporting graduate students pursuing school social work pathways.

 

Before transitioning to higher education, Jolene spent 18 years as both a school social worker and clinical social worker with Rochester Public Schools, specializing in clinically focused school social work and trauma-responsive student support. She has also worked as a psychotherapist at Mayo Clinic, providing therapy across diverse client populations. Her extensive professional background includes chemical health, corrections, residential treatment, birthparent counseling, and adoption services. Her research interests center on professional identity formation, workforce retention, and supervision in school social work, areas that align with her longstanding commitment to strengthening and sustaining the profession.

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Breakout 4D

Staying Power: What 400+ School Social Workers Reveal About Thriving in This Work

Dr. Denise Moody & Jolene Becher

School social workers are leaving the field at alarming rates as student mental health needs continue to rise. This interactive session shares findings from a study of more than 400 school social workers exploring the factors that influence retention, including role demands, workplace support, professional identity, supervision, and access to resources. Using the Job Demands-Resources framework, participants will examine evidence-based protective factors that support sustainability and leave with practical strategies to strengthen well-being and retention in school social work practice.

 

Learning Objectives:

  1. Identify at least three key job demands and three job resources that influence school social worker retention based on research findings.

  2. Analyze how the balance between workplace demands and resources in their own school setting impacts their professional wellbeing and sustainability in the field.

  3. Reflect on personal motivations and protective factors that sustain them in school social work practice, and develop at least one strategy to strengthen job resources or address job demands in their current role.

 

CEUS: 1.5 BOSW Clinical

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