System Social Worker/Homeless Liaison

School social workers provide an important link between families, schools and the community with the goal of helping every child reach his or her greatest potential. Your school social worker considers how social, emotional, behavioral and family factors all affect a student's development.

Contact

Kirsten A Thornante

School Social Worker/ Homeless Liaison

Rome City Schools

706-314-2123 (phone)

Who Is Your System Social Worker?

Kirsten Thornante, LCSW is the System Social Worker/Homeless Liaison/Foster Care Point of Contact for Rome City Schools.
She works closely with the counselors, teachers and other administrators to meet the needs of students at all 10 of our schools.
Ms. Thornante works for Rome City Schools but serves as the Liaison between Rome City Schools and several community agencies (Department of Juvenile Justice, Juvenile Court, Department of Family and Children's Services, Northwest Georgia Health Department).
She can be reached at 706-236-5050 or kthornante@rcs.rome.ga.us

What Does a Social Worker Do?

Advocates for students and families
Monitors attendance of students in Rome City Schools to ensure that each child is attending within the legal guidelines
Conducts home visits
Fosters communication between school and community leaders
Attends IEP or other student centered meetings
Has individual meetings with parents or facilitates meetings between families and the school
Serves on community committees to help provide resources for families
Develops programs to service students and families in need
Is a mandated reporter to protect children being abused or neglected
Provides assistance when a crisis occurs at home
Offers referrals to community agencies for families in need. Examples are mental health, employment or school supplies. Not sure if your system social worker can help you with a problem? Call her and ask!

McKinney Vento - What defines a homeless student?

Homeless students are defined as lacking a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence, including children who are:

Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing or economic hardship;
Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
Living in emergency or transitional shelters;
Are abandoned in hospitals;
Awaiting foster care placement;
Living in public or private places not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, transportation stations or similar settings;
Migratory children living in conditions described in the previous examples; and
Unaccompanied youth who are not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian.

How Can You Help?

Donations of new/slightly used winter coats or new tennis shoes for children and adolescents are always appreciated. Children grow out of these garments from year to year and we often encounter families who are unable to afford to replace them when the winter comes.

Toiletry items are not often considered but can make a wonderful, easy donation and they really come in handy! Grab those samples in the hotel bathroom or consider purchasing some items form the dollar store to help our supply closet to assist families. Some items that we can use are shampoo, conditioner, body wash, soap, feminine hygiene products, and toilet paper. We also come across families in need of laundry detergent from time to time.

If you have gently used goods to donate (clothing, household items or furniture) please contact Kirsten Thornante at 706-236-5050. If we are not aware of a family in need of those items at the time, she can refer you to a local organization that would benefit from the donation.

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Challenge the way you think about poverty and homelessness.
Work hard.
Do the right thing.
Homelessness is something that will never happen to me.
Sometimes all it takes is on life-changing experience to land you on the streets: a job loss, death of a loved one, natural disaster or serious illness.
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