Collaborative Model of Social Work
Education with Strong University –
Agency Partnerships
Michael A. Patchner, Ph.D.
Indiana University
School of Social Work
November 16, 2012
GSA Annual Program Meeting
San Diego, CA
Master of Social Work
Requirements:
 2 years of Full-time study or equivalent
Components:
 Coursework
 Field Education
Master of Social Work
Core Competencies
 Identify as a professional social worker and conduct oneself accordingly.
 Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional practice.
 Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments.
 Engage diversity and difference in practice.
 Advance human rights and social and economic justice.
 Engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research.
 Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment.
 Engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being and to
deliver effective social work services.
 Respond to contexts that shape practice.
 Engage, assess, intervene, and evaluate with individuals, families, groups,
organizations, and communities.
Master of Social Work
Coursework
Foundation:
 Human Behavior and the Social Environment
 Social Work Practice
 Social Welfare Policy
 Research
Advanced Practice:
 Specialized Concentration

e.g., Geriatric Practice, Mental Health, Health, Advanced Clinical Practice, etc.
Field Education
 Concurrent or Block
 Relies on agency-university partnerships
 Is systematically designed, supervised, and coordinated
 Is evaluated
Field Education is Signature Pedagogy in
Social Work Education

It occurs in settings that reinforce student’s identification with
the purposes, values, and ethics of the profession.

It fosters the integration of empirical and practice-based
knowledge.

It promotes the development of professional competences.
CSWE Accreditation Standards Require

900 hours of field education for MSW students

Specific policies, criteria, and procedures for selecting agencies
and field instructors

Field liaison contacts with students and field instructors

Orientation, training, and continuing dialog with agencies and
filed instructors

Evaluation of student learning and agency effectiveness in
providing field instruction
HPPAE Model
 Exceeds Accreditation Requirements
 Innovations in Field Education with Expanded Field Instructor
Role
 Focused on strengthening agency-university partnerships
 Established collaborative relationships of mutual benefit
Additional Numbers and Types of Aging
Agency Field Placements
 Aging field agencies at the beginning of the 3 years of the
demonstration phase was 0-86
 At the end of demonstration period aging agencies numbered 18
to 201.
 Through HPPAE schools markedly increased the number of
aging agencies field sites from 13% to 23% of the total agencies
in a three year period
 For the Adoption phase, the range in number of aging field
agencies in year 1 was 4-63, and in year 3 was 5-71
Developed Geriatric Labor Force for
Agencies

HPPAE Agencies hired HPPAE graduates

At the demonstration sites 40% of the graduates were hired by a field
placement site

At the adoption sites 25% of students were working at one of their
HPPAE field practicum sites one year after graduation.

Over the 12 years since the program began, many graduates have gone
on to become field instructors and supervisors.

Enhanced quality of services through university-agency partnerships

Local aging networks strengthened - Increased communication,
collaboration and resource sharing among agencies
HPPAE Resulted in Strong University –
Community Partnerships
 Commitment of agencies sustaining HPPAE programs
 Enhanced Models of Field Education
 Enhanced Curriculum Development
 More Competency-Based Education
 Student Skills for Interprofessional Practice
HPPAE Results of Strong University –
Community Partnerships (Cont.)
 Additional Formal University-Agency Partnerships (5 to 25 more
agencies for each school)
 Relationship Enhancement (Advisory Committees, Meetings
between Agencies and Faculty, etc.)
 Significant Increase in Students in Agency Placements –
Increased knowledge of social work in other disciplines
 Significant Increase in MSW Graduates Prepared for Geriatric
Practice (2600 graduates, 72 MSW Programs, 33 states) with
More to Come
Interprofessional Education &
Interdisciplinary Learning
Fostered by HPPAE
University of Utah

Interdisciplinary Seminars offered to Social Work, Medical, Nursing, and
Gerontology Students
St. Louis University

Center for Aging Successfully focused on Interdisciplinary projects,
grant and funding opportunities, and educational activities for Social
Work, Medical, Public Health, Health Sciences Professions, Public
Policy, and Arts and Sciences students
Interprofessional Education &
Interdisciplinary Learning
Fostered by HPPAE
College at Brockport, SUNY

Geriatric Assessment Consultation Clinic utilizes Academic
Geriatricians, Geriatric MD Fellows, Neurophysiologist, Nursing, and
Social Work
Florida State University

HPPAE is a consortium member of the Live Oak Geriatric Education
Center. Geriatric Teams with Community Partners include Medicine,
Nursing, PT and OT, Exercise Physiology, and Social Work
Interprofessional Education &
Interdisciplinary Learning
Fostered by HPPAE
California State University, Chico

HPPAE in partnership with Chico Interdisciplinary Center on Aging had
37 community service providers and 19 faculty from different
departments at CSU work to institutionalize Gerontology into the MSW
program.
The Bottom Line
• HPPAE Impacted Social Work
Education
• HPPAE Impacted Geriatric Labor
Force
www.socialworkleadership.org