National Center for Gerontological Social Work Education Transition Grant

Grant Summary

Since 1998, the Hartford Foundation has partnered with the Council of Social Work Education to develop curriculum standards and create a clearinghouse for geriatric teaching tools. In 2004, the Foundation created the National Center for Gerontological Social Work Education (Gero-Ed Center) to bring these innovations to scale. The Center has made a profound impact on social work education by preparing more than 1,000 faculty nationwide, in approximately 350 programs, who have educated an estimated 13,000 gerontologically competent students. Also during this time, the Hartford Partnership Program in Aging Education (HPPAE) at the New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) helped gerontological social work programs develop improved rotational field placements for trainees.

This transition grant will assist these two long-time partners—the CSWE and NYAM—in moving away from Foundation support through four strategic goals: (1) embed the practicum program materials within the CSWE, which will ensure that the materials reside in a location easily knowable and accessible to schools of social work for future use; (2) continue to grow the successful partnership between the practicum program of NYAM and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) by providing three years of support, which will ensure the adoption of the model by the VHA; (3) institutionalize resources and activities within CSWE to ensure their accessibility to all social work faculty and students; and (4) revise the materials for continuing education purposes in partnerships with agencies whose staff work directly with older people.

To learn more about the Gero-Ed Center, visit: www.cswe.org/CentersInitiatives/GeroEdCenter.aspx.