School of Social Work
STRATEGIC PLAN
October, 1999
The mission of the University of Georgia School of Social Work is to prepare professional leaders and scholars who are committed to positive change through ethical social work interventions at the individual, familial, communal, organizational, and societal or global levels. Intervention is based upon an understanding of an ecological perspective, is driven by a commitment to social justice and diversity, and is grounded in systematic inquiry. The University of Georgia School of Social Work is committed to the development and dissemination of cutting edge knowledge in support of social work practice in the state, the region, the nation, and beyond our national borders.
Faculty in the School of Social Work continued to develop the School of Social Work Strategic Plan this year, by evaluating progress toward goal achievement and evaluating the changing context of social work practice as we approach the 21st century. As a result of this activity, four new strategic priorities were articulated for the coming decade:
1. Enhancing educational opportunities for students as they practice in a world that is increasingly multicultural and diverse;
2. Building stronger linkages with state and federal agencies to better address the research and service needs of the state following the devolution of social welfare;
3. Increasing the use of technology in our education, outreach and training programs; and
4. Strengthening our fund-raising and funding streams to develop new sources of funds for a second endowed professorship and for a new physical site to house all of the School’s programs.
Below is a rationale and analysis of each of these priorities.
1. Enhancing educational opportunities for students as they practice in a world that is increasingly multicultural and diverse
Perhaps one of the most critical needs for our profession nationally is the preparation of social work practitioners knowledgeable about the needs, issues, and resources of multicultural communities. Given the population data which nationally shows an increase in the ethnic diversity of the United States, as well as demographic data which show that the Hispanic population is the most rapidly growing ethnic minority in the state of Georgia, this is an area that must be addressed by the School of Social Work at UGA if we are to be responsive to the external environment. Building on the School’s international exchange programs with universities in Latin America as well as upon our successful community outreach program/educational laboratory at Garnett Ridge, the School views as a strategic priority expanding the preparation and training of social work practitioners in Georgia for work with African-American and Hispanic communities. Toward this end, we will need two new faculty scholars, one prepared to teach social work practitioners working with African-American families and a second one, expert in Hispanic families. In addition to classroom instruction, each of these faculty members will serve as mentors for undergraduate and graduate students which should assist the School in increasing the diversity of the student body. This will require a minimum of a $125,00 for these two positions.
We plan to continue to build our expertise in the area of cultural diversity by building alliances with the Center for Latin American Studies on campus, as well as other programs on campus and across the state, concerned with the needs of Hispanic communities. In addition, we wish to develop graduate assistantships at the master’s and doctoral levels to prepare student scholars to work in these areas as well. As a part of our service mission, the School provides substantial matching funds to a state-funded contract that supports a community outreach center at Garnett Ridge, a low income community comprised of African-American and Hispanic families. We need to institutionalize support for this center, which is a primary teaching laboratory of the School. Moreover, Garnett Ridge serves as a lab for students in other programs as well (ie. Education, and Nursing). A minimum of $150,000 for this laboratory per year is required to continue to develop and offer community services to this community, and in the process to develop multidisciplinary student and faculty research projects that develop knowledge about cultural diversity broadly. Finally, we will continue to internalize our curricula. Several international projects are in place in the School and we will continue our environmental scan to ensure that we are addressing the needs of diverse communities in Georgia and the communities we serve.
These priorities link the School of Social Work directly with the University’s institutional goal of developing premier professional programs in distinctive areas, having a faculty of national and international distinction, developing a culturally diverse and inclusive academic community, and extending the University’s knowledge and expertise to the people of this state and beyond.
2. Building stronger linkages with state and federal agencies to better address the research and service needs of the state, following the devolution of social welfare
Within the last several years, the federal government has markedly decreased funding to states for social welfare programming, as a cornerstone of welfare reform. In 1996, the federal program Aid for Families with Dependent Children was phased out. This federal program had been the bedrock of welfare funding to poor families since 1935. In its place, a new policy known as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) was instituted. This program provides block grant funding to states to design their own time-limited family support programs with a primary emphasis on putting people to work. The results of this massive change in welfare policy have been mixed. Faculty in the School of Social Work, with colleagues at the Institute of Government on campus, were successful in securing a three-year contract for $1.5 million to evaluate welfare reform in Georgia. Preliminary findings show a strong increase in employment for those who have some work skills and who reside in communities where there is low unemployment. Longer term effects are being investigated in a follow-up study.
This devolution of federal responsibility has placed additional responsibilities on state agencies to meet the complex needs of poor families, families with ill, mentally ill, or handicapped members, as well as families experiencing problems with alcohol, drug addiction, domestic violence and other psychosocial or environmental barriers that interfere with healthy family functioning. In addition, all public agencies providing services to these members of society are required to be accountable to funding sources , such as legislators, governing boards, and the public at large. State agencies are increasingly contracting with vendors for services, and for program evaluations of service delivery. Thus, there is a clear and growing need for social work practitioners skilled in sophisticated research methodologies and for practitioners trained to practice in a fee for service environment.
The School of Social Work has established a Research Center charged with developing contracts with public and not for profit agencies to evaluate social welfare programs and to develop and design training contracts responsive to state agency needs. Over the last four years, the Center has been very successful in this regard. Contracts to the School of Social Work have totaled over $3 million for each of the last two years. A strategic priority of the School is to help state, county and non profit agencies, anticipate their needs for training and research, given the changes in social welfare policy described above, and to identify and garner resources from state and federal sources to advance both the University of Georgia’s research mission as well as the School’s. Currently, two senior faculty have a small portion of their time devoted to this major task. Our successes in contract work have led to such overwhelming demands upon social work faculty and staff that it is critical for us to hire a full-time Research Center Director. In addition, five to ten graduate assistants (doctoral and master’s levels) are needed to provide support to the School in the area of contracts and grants development.
Moreover, while we have been very successful in securing state contracts, we need to develop national sources of funding for sustained research efforts. Federal dollars have been released to the states in the areas of children and family services, labor and workforce development and mental health. Within the last several years, we have hired new faculty with expertise in mental health, juvenile justice, and services to minority families. However, we are in need of a senior faculty member, who would serve as Research Center Director, would bring with him or her a strong record of federal funding for research, and would have the skills and contacts to access federal funding. This would enable the School of Social Work at the University of Georgia to move into the upper tier of nationally ranked Schools of Social Work, as well as increase our success in generating external research funding.
These priorities link the School of Social Work directly with the University’s institutional goals of strengthening ties between the University and external constituencies and extending
knowledge and expertise to the people of the state and beyond.
3. Increasing the use of technology in our education and training programs.
Over the last several years, faculty have becoming increasingly more interested in and adept at the use of technology to support instruction. We have made extensive use of the GSAMS distance learning equipment of the School and the University to deliver graduate coursework to students at the Gwinnett campus. In addition, we have offered numerous continuing education workshops to social workers around the state of Georgia via GSAMS. There is an important need we have yet to address which is using the Internet to deliver educational programs and continuing education experiences to social workers around the state of Georgia. We have had several requests for these types of educational offerings, but need the technical support of curriculum design specialists to enable us to respond more effectively. We wish to develop courses on the Web that may be accessed by students in remote parts of the state, who do not have access to other sources or professional social work education. Similarly, we are interested in making our outreach and training programs accessible via the web for social workers employed in state and not for profit agencies who wish to further their knowledge and skills in the field. These two measures will make our School’s programs more competitive with private, universities who are only to willing to sell their educational programs to potential consumers in the state of Georgia.
To meet these needs in training and education, it is essential that we have on staff a curriculum design specialist who can work with faculty and staff to develop and support on line coursework. This requires a minimum of $70,000 plus software and hardware. We have already been approached by the a division director of a major state agency who is willing to invest some resources in the School for providing coursework on line to social workers around the state of Georgia. This need to deliver coursework via a range of distance learning methods is a critical one that we must address.
These priorities link the School’s plan with the University’s Institutional Goals of developing premier professional programs and extending knowledge and expertise to the people of this state and beyond.
4. Strengthening our fund-raising and funding streams to develop new sources of funds for a second endowed professorship and new physical site to house all of the School’s programs
The School expects to be successful in funding the Parham Professorship within the next year or so. Given our highest priorities which include preparing students to practice in a world that is increasingly multicultural, as well as the changing demographics in the state of Georgia, we are proposing to raise funds for a second endowed professorship. This professorship will focus on the African-American Family. We already have strengths in this important area, as we have a core of African American faculty, students and alums. In addition, the School has a primary commitment to serve oppressed individuals and communities. The most recent publication of the Georgia Kids Count data (Georgians for Children, 1998-1999) show that there continues to be serious problems for African-American children in infant mortality, teen-age pregnancy, and incarceration rates. We strongly believe that the social work profession must be tapped to help communities address these problems. The School of Social Work, by virtue of its strength in curriculum and faculty, is well-positioned to embark on this strategic goal within the next three years. An endowed professorship in the African American Family will attract to the university of Georgia a nationally or internally known scholar in the field who can lead research, curriculum and service delivery programs.
Finally, the physical work environment provided by Tucker Hall has limitations which constrain the faculty and staff from delivering the superior quality teaching, research and training that we all desire. While some funds have been invested in the building over the last four years (ie. An elevator to make the building handicap accessible, as well as money to renovate classroom space), the space provided in Tucker Hall is small, cramped and simply ineffective for any use, other than office space. A new building to meet the needs identified above will likely run about $8 million. While some of these dollars may be raised in development activities of the School, we need to have this need placed as a University priority on the small capital outlay request of UGA.
Our fund-raising priorities also include plans for a second named professorship in the School, as well as a plan to raise funds for scholarships for students from under-represented groups. These priorities fit with the University’s Institutional Goal of creating a comprehensive learning community and working environment of high quality.
