Nikki York is a Program Operations Specialist at the University of Washington’s SMART Center, where she supports the Washington School Social Work (WSW) Initiative. Her work focuses on expanding the school social work workforce in Washington state through post-graduation support, policy development, and statewide advocacy. Previously, Nikki worked at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), leading efforts in school social work policy and school-based threat assessment implementation. Her current work includes policy initiatives aimed at improving student access to school-based behavioral health services and strengthening systems of support for school social workers.
In response, Washington state was recently awarded $6 million from the U.S. Department of Education to create a pipeline from Washington state’s five accredited Masters in Social Work training programs to Washington state’s K-12 schools. Called the Workforce for Student Well-being Initiative or WSW, 100 aspiring school social workers will receive conditional scholarships based on their financial need so the cost of getting an education is not a barrier to their getting an advanced degree and then committing to working in a high-need public or tribal school.
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