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Social Work Interns and Service Coordination:

A Win-Win Proposition

American Association of Service Coordinators – August 2018

Sarah Swords, LCSWClinical Associate Professor

Steve Hicks School of Social Worksaswords@mail.utexas.edu

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Getting to know you…….

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Today’s Learning Objectives

▪ Gain understanding of unique contributions of social work

interns to programming for residents

▪ Understand how to leverage your program’s strengths and

challenges to support social work interns’ educational needs

▪ Create your unique plan for engaging local university

programs to explore internship opportunities

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Aging and Service Coordination

▪ What’s the connection here?

▪ Provide context on experience with service coordination and

social work interns

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Support from HUD for the connection….• “The Service Coordinator Program provides funding for the employment

of Service Coordinators in insured and assisted Multifamily housing that is designed for the elderly and persons with disabilities. The Service Coordinator plays a critical role to support HUD assisted housing as a platform for financial security, physical security, social connections, and the delivery of long-term community based supportive services, especially for vulnerable populations such as the elderly….

• Shift away from the “refer and link” approach and towards a proactive and collaborative approach

• Assess resident’s needs; help identify, access and coordinate services and monitor receipt and follow through of services

• Seek to establish and sustain strong coordination that help residents to identify and effectively manage their preventative health and social service needs

• Create and sustain partnerships with community based supportive service providers, hospitals, health agencies service providers and other community stakeholders.“ https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/housing/mfh/scp/scphome

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Demographics Trends in Aging

▪ 47.8 million = the number of people age 65 and older in the United

States on July 1, 2015. This group accounted for 14.9 percent of the

total population. The age 65 and older population grew by 1.6 million

people since 2014. https://www.factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=PEP_2015_PEPAGESEX&prodType=table

▪ Today, and every day until 2030, about 10,000 people will turn 65.

▪ 98.2 million = the projected population of people age 65 and

older in 2060. People in this age group will comprise nearly one

in four U.S. residents. Of this number, 19.7 million will be age 85

or older.https://www.census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2014/summarytables.html

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Workforce Issues Facing Social Work

▪ How can social workers support healthy aging for our growing population?

▪ More qualified social workers needed to provide effective services

▪ 60,000-70,000 qualified social workers needed by 2020

▪ Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 12 percent growth in jobs for social workers by 2024, a rate that is much faster than the average for all occupations. The greatest growth (19 percent) is expected to be in the health care arena, with the aging of the baby boomer generation cited as a contributing factor.

http://online.brescia.edu/social-work-news/geriatric-social-work/

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Aging Boomers and Healthcare

http://hin.com/blog/2013/06/27/infographic-how-baby-boomers-consume-

healthcare

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Aging Boomers and Mental Health and

Substance Use Issues• According to SAMHSA, between 2005 and 2030, the number of older adults

with major psychiatric illnesses will more than double from an estimated 7 to

15 million individuals.

(http://gsa-alcohol.fmhi.usf.edu/Substance%20Abuse%20and%20Mental%20Health%20Among%20Older%20Adults-

%20The%20State%20of%20Knowledge%20and%20Future%20Directions.pdf)

• The number of older Americans with SUD is expected to rise from 2.8

million in 2002–2006 to 5.7 million by 2020.

(https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/report_2792/ShortReport-2792.html)

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Effects of Ageism on SW Practice

▪ Fewer students report interest in geriatrics

▪ Misperceptions about focus of clinical work

▪ Lack of awareness of opportunities available

▪ Other evidence?

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The Field Education Effect

▪ As the signature pedagogy, field experience can “tip the scales” for a

student.

▪ Research shows that having a positive experience with an older adult is the

most predictive factor for a career in gerontological social work.

▪ Think about what experiences you have had that connect you to

geriatrics……..

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Goals of the GRACE Program

▪ To increase the number of professional social workers serving older adults

▪ To provide quality field education to MSSW students interested in

gerontology

▪ To contribute to improving services provided to older adults

▪ To create mutually beneficial partnerships between the university and

community

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Brief History of the GRACE Program

▪ Hartford Partnership Program

▪ Field Instructors and Community Agencies

▪ Program growth since 2010

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Overview of Program Components

▪ Field education

▪ Educational enrichment

▪ Curriculum coordination

▪ Professional support

▪ Fellowship funding

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Building a Successful Internship Program

Required components:▪ Master’s level social worker with 2+ years of experience

▪ Management structure and support

▪ Programming to adequately support student learning

▪ Dedicated physical space

▪ Computer access

Useful ingredients:▪ Energy and commitment to next generation of social

workers

▪ ‘School spirit’

▪ Ability to advocate for and ‘protect’ interns

▪ Stipend or fellowship funding

▪ Creativity and challenge

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Brainstorming Activity

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References and Resources▪ Council on Social Work Education Gero-Ed Center

▪ www.cswe.org/CentersInitiatives/GeroEdCenter.aspx▪ Curl, A. L., Larkin, H., & Simons, K. (2005). Factors affecting willingness of social work students to

accept jobs in aging. Journal of Social Work Education, 41(3), 393-406

▪ Diwan, S., & Hooyman, N. (2006). Need for increasing gerontological competencies in MSW advanced curriculum areas: mental health, substance use, and health. Council on Social Work Education, 1-11. Retrieved from www.cswe.org/File.aspx?id=24324

▪ Fortune, A., Lee, M., & Cavazos, A. (2013). Achievement motivation and outcome in social work field education. Journal of Social Work Education, 41(1), 115-129. Retrieved February 15, 2015, from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.5175/JSWE.2005.200300318.

▪ Gellis, Z. D., Sherman, S., & Lawrance, F. (2003). First year graduate social work students' knowledge of and attitude toward older adults. Educational Gerontology, 29(1), 1-16.

▪ Grant Makers in Aging: https://www.giaging.org/issues/affordable-housing/

▪ Gutheil, I.A., Heyman, J.C. (2010). A partnership among a university, foundation and community agencies for training gerontological social workers. Educational Gerontology, 36, 1-11.

▪ Institute of Medicine, The Mental Health and Substance Use Workforce for Older Adults: In Whose Hands?

▪ http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2012/The-Mental-Health-and-Substance-Use-Workforce-for-Older-Adults.aspx

▪ Nelson-Becker, H. (2011). Advancing an aging-prepared community: Models and lessons from training initiatives in gerontological social work. Journal of Religion, Spirituality and Aging, 23(1-2), 92-113.

▪ Scharlach, A., Damron-Rodriguez, Robinson, B., & Feldman, R. (2000). Educating social workers for an aging society. Journal of Social Work Education, 36: 3, 521-538.

▪ Swords, S. & Smiley, S. (2016). Innovating with GRACE: Workforce development in geriatric social work. The Field Educator