The Division of Social Work to Launch Innovative Program to Train Social
Workers in Older Adult Care
$75,000 Grant from Hartford Foundation is Part of Nationwide Initiative to
Grow the Social Work Workforce Needed for Aging Boom
Morgantown, WV, 2/28/08ā?? The Masters of Social Work program at West Virginia
University, together with its agency partners, is one of 25 of schools
awarded $75,000 over three years to develop an innovative program that
prepares social workers to specialize in older adult care. The Division of
Social Work joins 59 other schools around the country that have adopted the
model developed by the New York Academy of MedicineĀ¹s Social Work Leadership
Institute, with support from the John A. Hartford Foundation. Called the
Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education, the program addresses the
growing demand for social workers as the nationĀ¹s aging population is
expected to more than triple by 2050.
West Virginia is aging. With the second largest population of older persons
in the nation, the Mountain StateĀ¹s older residents face unique challenges
in older adulthood, including poverty, obesity, and disability as well as
limited access to medical and social services. Given this challenge, the
Division of Social Work at West Virginia University is committed to
providing quality educational experiences to students in preparing them to
work effectively with the growing number of older West Virginians and their
families. As part of this commitment the Mountain State Partnership Program
for Aging Education has been launched. Assistant Professor Dr. Kristina
Hash, Professor Dr. Karen Harperā??Dorton and Field Instruction Coordinator
Mr. Samuel Leizear are the Principal Investigators on the project.
The Hartford Partnership Program for Aging EducationĀ¹s (previously known as
the Practicum Partnership Program) innovation is in building partnerships
between universities and community agencies that offer students handsā??on and
varied experience caring for older adults across a range of settings,
including homeā??based care, community centers, hospitals, and nursing homes.
The program differs from traditional MSW programs because it offers students
multiple field rotations rather than just one clinical setting, and because
the university and agencies collaborate on curriculum development to better
bridge academic and practice learning.
Within the next three decades, 70 million, or one in five Americans will be
65 or older. As life expectancy grows, the needs of older adults have become
more diverse. Many Americans live independent and productive years far
beyond retirement, while illness and chronic disease eventually plague some.
As families balance caring for their older relatives with work,
childā??rearing, and other life issues, the demand for skilled professionals
who can help navigate the personal, logistical, and health issues of older
adults is increasing. Yet, according to a 2004 survey by the National
Association of Social Workers (NASW), only four percent of social workers
currently specialize in aging. Nearly 30 percent of licensed social workers
are over 55 and poised to retire in the next decade.
The Division of Social Work and its agency partners will invite students to
specialize in the Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education starting
in the Fall 2008 semester, with the first crop of graduates expected in
2009. The project will include students in the DivisionĀ¹s Morgantown,
Charleston, Martinsburg and Wheeling programs. To date about 600 students
have graduated from Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education around
the country, and 80 percent of them have gone on to pursue careers in the
aging field.
Social Work Leadership Institute is a national initiative working to ensure
that America’s older adults receive the care they need to live life to the
fullest ā?? and that their caregivers also get the support they deserve. It is
housed at The New York Academy of Medicine, an independent, nonā??partisan,
nonā??profit institution whose mission is to enhance the health of the public
through research, education, advocacy, and prevention. More information can
be found at www.socialworkleadership.org.
Founded in 1929, the John A. Hartford Foundation is a committed champion of
training, research and service system innovations that promote the health
and independence of AmericaĀ¹s older adults. Through its grantmaking, the
Foundation seeks to strengthen the nationĀ¹s capacity to provide effective,
affordable care to this rapidly increasing older population by educating
Ā³agingā??preparedĀ² health professionals (physicians, nurses, social workers),
and developing innovations that improve and better integrate health and
supportive services. Additional information about the Foundation and it
programs is available at www.jhartfound.org.
For more information about this exciting program, contact Dr. Kristina Hash,
Assistant Professor, WVU Division of Social Work, 304ā??293ā??3501 X3119,
kmhash@mail.wvu.edu