CSWE Gero-Ed Center

The Council on Social Work Education Gero-Ed Center (National Center for Gerontological Social Work Education), funded since 2004 by the John A. Hartford Foundation of New York City, aims to "gerontologize" accredited social work programs throughout the United States. "Gerontologizing"these programs means embedding gerontological competencies into the foundation curriculum and the overall organizational structure of social work programs.

Mission

The CSWE Gero-Ed Center’s mission is to promote gerontological competencies in baccalaureate and master’s level social work programs nationwide to prepare students to enhance the health and well-being of older adults and their families.

Rationale

By 2020, one in six Americans will be age 65 and over, with the most dramatic growth among elders of color, women and those age 85 and older. A gap persists, however, between the demands on the social work profession to work with older adults and their families and the preparation of the social work workforce to do so. Nearly 75% of social workers in a national NASW survey report that they work in some capacity with older adults, but most have no formal preparation to do so. And, in the coming years, even more social workers in all practice settings – child welfare, mental health, schools, health care, domestic violence and substance abuse – will interact with older adults and their families.

The CSWE Gero-Ed Center aims to address this workforce changes by preparing faculty and student leaders with the knowledge and skills to enhance the health and well-being of older adults and their families. We do so through faculty and organizational development programs and by providing extensive no-cost teaching resources.

Educational Policy

As the sole accrediting body for BSW and MSW social work programs in the United States, CSWE, through the Gero-Ed Center , promotes the inclusion of gerontological competencies in foundation courses and programmatic structure. A section of the 2000 CSWE Educational Policy Statement relevant to this goal states:

3.7. "Use theoretical frameworks supported by empirical evidence to understand individual development and behavior across the live span and the interactions among individuals and between individuals and families, groups, organizations, and communities."

3.1. Concentration Objectives, whereby programs at the Master’s level specify program objectives relative to advanced practice in an area of "concentration."

Principal Investigators

Dr. Nancy Hooyman, Hooyman Endowed Professor in Gerontology, University of Washington School of Social Work

Dr. Julia Watkins, Executive Director, Council on Social Work Education

National Advisory Board

The CSWE Gero-Ed Center’s National Advisory Board members were selected both for their gerontological and curriculum change expertise, and for their leadership in major social work professional organizations. Board Members.

Hartford Geriatric Social Work Initiative

In 1998, The John A. Hartford Foundation began funding programs through the Geriatric Social Work Initiative to strengthen geriatric social work education, prepare gerontologically competent social workers, and improve the care and well-being of older adults and their families.