 |
 |
 |
Western Illinois University and the Department of Social Work:
Part of Nationwide Movement to Prepare Social Workers
as Effective Advocates for Older Adults
Department of Social Work
Western Illinois University
Macomb, IL
www.wiu.edu/socialwork
Phone 309-298-1071
social-work@wiu.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
As the baby boom generation ages and life expectancy increases, demand for social workers continues to grow. To meet this need, social work education programs must prepare students with gerontological competencies to improve the care and well-being of an increasing number of older adults and their families. The common image of the social worker as a hardworking, dedicated child-welfare advocate, embodied by Maxine, Tyne Daly’s character in the TV show “Judging Amy,” no longer suffices as a portrayal of what our society needs from its well-trained social workers. Western Illinois University is one of 46 institutions nationwide participating in the Curriculum Development Institute (CDI) Program, focused on changing the shape of social work education at all levels, with the goal of preparing social work graduates to be just as effective as advocates and resources for the older citizens of our communities as they are for our children.
The CDI Program is administered through the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) National Center for Gerontological Social Work Education (Gero-Ed Center) and is supported by the John A. Hartford Foundation, which has committed over $69 million nationwide for its Geriatric Social Work Initiative. By participating in this national initiative, the Department of Social Work at Western Illinois University will develop innovative ways to infuse gerontological competencies into students’ required course work so that every student graduates with foundation knowledge and skills to work with older adults. To do so, it will form partnerships with agencies serving older adults, create resources to support the teaching of gerontological course content, and will make available stipends specifically for practicum students in gerontology-focused settings.
BACKGROUND
The Growing Need for Gerontological Social Workers
The number of older persons, particularly the oldest old (85+), is growing rapidly. As a result, social workers in all practice settings – child welfare, schools, mental health clinics, or health care facilities – increasingly interact with older adults and their families. When elders need assistance, they receive it mainly from their families or a combination of family care and community-based health and social services. Therefore, coordinating care with older adults, their families, and complex service networks is crucial.
Gerontological social workers serve as “navigators” and “expediters,” enabling older adults and families to understand and choose among the array of health and social services. They empower older adults and their family caregivers to find the assistance they need. They also facilitate family support, provide counseling and direct services, and coordinate care delivered through professional systems. And they advocate for addressing gaps in services for older adults.
As a result of faculty participating in the CDI Program, students in the Department of Social Work will be better prepared to play these roles in a wide range of practice settings. The Western Illinois University social work program is on the vanguard of a national movement among leaders in health and social services, funders, and policy-makers to expand the workforce of health care providers with much-needed expertise working with older adults.
For more information, please contact the project co-directors:
Debra Allwardt: 309-298-2460, D-Allwardt@wiu.edu
Karen Zellmann: 309-298-2109, KT-Zellmann@wiu.edu
The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is a nonprofit national association representing more than 3,000 individual members, as well as graduate and undergraduate programs of professional social work education. Founded in 1952, this partnership of educational and professional institutions, social welfare agencies, and private citizens is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the sole accrediting agency for social work education. The Cycle 2 Curriculum Development Institute (CDI) Program is a program of the CSWE Gero-Ed Center, which is funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation.
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 America’s older adults. Through its grant making, the Foundation seeks to strengthen the nation’s capacity to provide effective, affordable care to this rapidly increasing older population by educating “aging-prepared” health professionals (physicians, nurses, social workers), and developing innovations that improve and better integrate health and supportive services. Mr. John A. Hartford and his brother, George L. Hartford, both former chief executives of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, left the bulk of their estates to the Foundation upon their deaths in the 1950s. Additional information about the Foundation and its programs is available at www.jhartfound.org.