Division News
New Grant from Hartford Foundation is Part of Nationwide Initiative to "Grow" the Social Work Workforce Needed for Aging Adults Laramie, WY – The Division of Social Work program at University of Wyoming received notice that they were awarded $75,000 over a three year period to develop an innovative graduate education initiative that prepares social workers to specialize in older adult care. The Division of Social Work joins over 20 other Schools of Social Work around the country that have adopted a new focus on gerontological content for the programs' curricular model. Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education is a program developed by the New York Academy of Medicine's Social Work Leadership Institute, with support from the John A. Hartford Foundation. This national social work leadership program addresses the growing demand for social workers as the nation's aging population is expected to more than triple by 2050.
Dr. Murdock is very excited that this new grant will partner with the University's Wyoming Geriatric Education Center (WyGEC), a newly funded university-based statewide center in the College of Health Sciences. "We are going to work with the field educational agencies that our social work students are in during their graduate program. Students will become a resource link for social agencies and the WyGEC," states Dr. Murdock.
The Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education's (previously known as the Practicum Partnership Program) innovation is in building partnerships between universities and community agencies that offer students hands-on and varied experience caring for older adults across a range of settings, including home-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, child-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.
Our Division of Social Work 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. 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 - and that their caregivers also get the support they deserve. It is housed at The New York Academy of Medicine, an independent, non-partisan, non-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 America's older adults. Through its grantmaking, 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. Additional information about the Foundation and it programs is available at www.jhartfound.org. Posted on Monday, February 04, 2008
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Division of Social Work
Health Sciences Bldg
Room 328
9th & Clark
Dept. 3632
1000 E. University Ave.
Laramie, WY 82071
Phone: (307)766-6112
Fax: (307)766-6839
Email: socialwork@uwyo.edu
