Geriatric Social Work Initiative

During the 1990s, the Hartford Foundation became alarmed by the gap between the need for current and future geriatric social workers and the ability of the profession to educate and train sufficient numbers of social workers to serve older adults. Although a small group within the social work community was equally concerned, no professional social work organization or national foundation was focused on the issue of how to build the profession’s geriatric capacity. In 1998, the Hartford Foundation Trustees approved funding for the first program to strengthen age-related social work with a grant to the Council on Social Work Education. The Strengthening Aging in Gerontological Education in Social Work (SAGE-SW) program began in early 1999. Over the 10 years of the GSWI, the Foundation has authorized additional grants totaling $64.5 million.

To ensure the future of geriatric social work, it became evident to the Foundation and its grantees that a multi-pronged approach was needed. To achieve the goal of preparing sufficient numbers of social workers for an aging population, all social workers must receive some education in aging-specific issues. Therefore, the curricula in both undergraduate and graduate social work programs must contain geriatric-focused competencies and content. In addition, the practical experience that graduate students who specialize in gerontology receive in field training must be relevant and exciting. Neither is possible without faculty leaders who specialize in gerontological education and research. And the field of geriatric social work will not advance without leadership in academia. Therefore, the GSWI collaborates with social work education programs to prepare social workers with gerontological competencies and improve the care and well-being of older adults and their families utilizing two main strategies:

1. Cultivate academic leaders in gerontological education and research

2. Transform social work education

At the core of the two strategies is leadership. It is crucial that social workers are not only trained in the field of aging but that they develop skills to become the leaders who will conduct research that is relevant to the aging population and educate and inspire future generations of social workers to care for older adults. Failure to increase geriatric leadership will maintain the status quo: a dearth of students entering careers in gerontological social work and minimal social work research aimed at improving the care of the aging population.

Next: Strategy 1:
Cultivate Academic Leaders in Gerontological Education and Research ›