GSWI - Programs & Services

CSWE Gero-Ed Center
National Center for Gerontological Social Work Education

Julia Watkins, Council on Social Work Eduation Executive Director, and Nancy Hooyman, Endowed Professor in Gerontology at the University of Washington School of Social Work are the Co-Principal Investigators of the Gero-Ed Center, which is funded for three years by the John A. Hartford Foundation. The rationale for the Gero-Ed Center is that social workers play critical roles in a wide range of settings that serve older adults and their families, yet rarely have the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills for effectively enhancing elders' health and well-being. The Gero-Ed Center aims to promote aging content and expertise at the baccalaureate and master's levels in order to prepare all social work students to work effectively with older adults and their families. A long-range aim is curricular transformation in which gerontology becomes embedded within the curricular and organizational structure of social work programs. Achievement of these goals will involve:

Faculty education to infuse competency-based gerontological content in foundation courses and sustain curricular changes through two training formats: regional Curriculum Development Institutes (CDIs) for social work programs, and national Faculty Development Institutes (FDIs). Through both a series of regional CDI meetings and ongoing consultation, participants will learn how to teach gerontological social work competencies and create internal support for curricular change and sustainability within their local social work education programs. The focus is on programmatic participation in order to increase sustainability. Close to 100 social work education programs have already been selected for CDI participation through a national application process. Selected GeroRich Project Directors (www.gerorich.org) will serve as regional mentors/coordinators for the CDIs across the three-year period. Faculty from programs selected in January 2005 began participation in CDIs beginning in March 2005. The FDIs are held in conjunction with national conferences (APM/NGSWC, BPD, etc.), and focus on providing individual faculty with the resources and pedagogy for infusing gerontological social work competencies in their courses.

Dissemination of state of the art educational resources and best practices to the social work education community through the annual National Gerontological Social Work Conference in conjunction with the Annual Program Meeting; the CSWE Gero-Ed Center website, listservs, web-based instruction, and e-learning for CEUs; a textbook project to infuse gerontology into foundation texts; and an annual Report on the Status of Gerontological Social Work Education.

Policy analysis, development, and dissemination related to gerontological social work education in collaboration with the National Leadership Coalition and other professional associations. This will also involve comprehensive data collection related to gerontological social work education within CSWE's existing data collection and dissemination activities, and dissemination of workforce data gathered by national professional associations.

Leadership development for gerontological social work education, including partnerships with major professional associations regarding educational policy, advocacy, marketing, and fund-raising for sustainability of the Center. The CSWE Gero-Ed Center will promote organizational transformation, structural changes, and advocacy at the individual social work program level that ensure the sustainability, institutionalization, and ongoing development of innovative competency-based gerontological social work learning experiences for all students.

Translation of gerontological research into implications for social work education and practice. In collaboration with professional research organizations (the National Leadership organization, SSWR and IASWR), initiatives will focus on disseminating the educational implications of promising research on the effectiveness of gerontological social work interventions.

A National Advisory Board will be composed of representatives of the major professional organizations. Information about the application process for faculty development opportunities (CDIs and FDIs) will be disseminated to all social work programs and CSWE Gero-Ed Center staff will be available to answer questions about the different training formats at fall national conferences. Center staff will be located at CSWE and the University of Washington School of Social Work.

For more information, see the Gero-Ed Center website at:
www.Gero-EdCenter.org.