SWK 235 Introduction to the Social Welfare System (3)

The social welfare institution and the social work profession in the United States; the values, methods and roles of social workers and the history of the system.

SWK 240 Basic Working Relationship Skills (3)

Prerequisite: SWK 235 and corequisite: SWK 320 Multi-cultural working relationship skills for relationship building, interviewing, problem identification, intervention and termination in generalist practice. Process recording, case assessment, summaries, and social work ethics and values will be covered. Required Lab: SWKL 240 (Working Relationship Lab) Practice basic working relationship skills (1).

SWKL 240 Working Relationship Lab (1)

SWK 310 Programs and Policies for Older Americans (3)

Prerequisite: SWK 235 or GRN 101. Health, social, and income needs of an aging population will be related to current laws, programs, administrative networks, and policies. Current issues in the development of programs such as age-integration, community-based services, advocacy and protection will be covered.

SWK 311 Child Abuse and Neglect (3)

Prerequisite: SWK 235 Current issues, national trends, and effective practice strategies. The continuum of child-welfare services needed to ensure child well-being including family preservation, child protection, permanency planning, residential care and adoption.

SWK 315 Issues for Social Workers in Mental Health (3)

Prerequisite: SWK 235 Concepts of mental health and practice in social context. Managed care, models of practice, rural community mental health, and future directions in community health, all considered in a multicultural perspective.

SWK 316 Generalist Social Work in Rural Communities (3)

Prerequisite: SWK 235 A survey of rural community life, its institutions, value systems, customs, and their
implications for social work practice. Issues dealing with migrant workers and Native American cultures.

SWK 318 Social Work and Health Delivery (3)

Prerequisite: SWK 235 An examination of the rationale, issues, problems and practices related to the
implementation of client-centered health care. New programs and proposals for the delivery of health services will be reviewed systematically with reference to the implications for the social work practice.

SWK 320-321 Human Behavior in the Social Environment I and II (3-3)

Prerequisite: SWK 235 PSY 105, and either BIO 105, 110, 240, or 325 Perspectives on human development and behavior in diverse contexts, including culture, oppression, poverty, gender, ethnicity, and social settings. Implications for social work practice and polices. 320: prenatal adolescence. 321: young adulthood through death.

SWK 341 Generalist Social Work Practice with Individuals and Families (3)

Prerequisite: SWK 240 Methods and models of the social work process in diverse populations, settings, and social conditions. Basic problem-solving, advocacy, case management, and crisis intervention.

SWK 355 Issues in Diversity for Generalist Practice (3)

Prerequisite: SWK 235 Values, biases, and prejudices which produce personal and social vulnerability. Consequences in the lives of people of color, woman, the poor, gays and lesbians, and others.

SWK 406-407 Research Methods for Social Work Practice (3)

Prerequisite: SWK 341 and SWK 320 and corequisite SWK 496, 497. Research methodologies in social work practice; client-centered research questions, theoretical frameworks, research designs, sampling, data collection, analysis and report writing. 407: Program and practice evaluation: designs, applications and ethical considerations.

SWK 411 Seminar on Practice in Children, Youth, and Family Services (3)

Prerequisite: SWK 311. The second course in a two-part sequence designed to prepare students for practice in the field of public child welfare/children, youth and family services. Course focuses on tasks and skills needed for contemporary social work practice in public child welfare.

SWK 435 Social Work Policies (3)

Prerequisite: PLS 101 and SWK 235 Corequisite: SWK 496 Social, cultural, economic, and political influences on the social welfare system. Policy-making, program development and planning.

SWK 442 Generalist Social Work Practice with Groups (3)

Prerequisite: SWK 341 Basic group dynamics applied to task and treatment groups. Skills necessary to work
effectively with groups and decision-making approaches that empower diverse peoples.

SWK 443 Social Work Practice with Communities and Organizations (3)

Prerequisite: SWK 442 and corequisite:" SWK 496 or 497 Knowledge, values, and skills common to social work practice at the community and organizational levels. Principles of social planning, community development, and social action. Topics include needs assessment program planning and development, organizational change and program evaluation.

SWK 491 Directed Individual Study (1-3)

Prerequisite: Overall GPA of at least 2.00, junior or senior standing, and consent of instructor, department chair
and dean. Involves investigation under faculty supervision beyond what is offered in existing courses. For further
information, consult the Directed Individual Studies section in this catalogue.

SWK 495 Topical Seminar (1-3)

Prerequisite: SOC 105, SWK 235 and consent of the instructor. Discussion of selected topics in social work. May be repeated under a different subtitle.

SWK 496, 497 Field Practicum I, II (6-6)

Prerequisite: SWK 235, SWK 321, SWK 341, SWK 306 and consent of instructor. Development and application of skills used in social work practice. Supervision of student field experience in a community social service setting. Analysis and discussion of field experiences in a series of field seminars to be arranged by the field liaison. (A minimum of 480 hours of field work is required.)

SWK 499 Honors Work in Social Work (6)

Prerequisite: Eligibility for honors program and senior standing. Independent study for honors students.

Field Placement

The Field Work courses (SWK 496/497) provide the student with an opportunity to practice social work in an agency setting under the supervision of a qualified professional. The student will have the opportunity to apply concepts and knowledge from the classroom to actual work with the client population, which the agency serves.

Field Work can be considered a bridge between student and worker, between classroom learning, and the practice setting. Placement is also preparation for practice. It provides the student with opportunities to learn, use, and test social work skills. Placement provides an arena in which the student can test her/himself and her/his commitment to social work attitudes and values, noting both the consistencies and inconsistencies between classroom and agency. In addition, the placement can help the student to increase self-awareness when confronted with situations that challenge her/his attitudes and values; for example, how do you really feel about unmarried mothers, poor people, or handicapped children?

Field Work provides opportunities for individualized learning to an extent, which is generally impossible in the
classroom. There may be only one student in the agency, and work assignments are made according to each student's interests and abilities. This individual focus can challenge the student to develop a sense of identity in a way not possible in the classroom.

In order to help bridge the transition from student to worker, there is a weekly seminar, which accompanies field placement. Participation in this seminar is a vital component of placement, because it is here that students discuss what is happening to them in the field. Seminar content is developed around issues, which every student will experience and try to deal with in placement. In addition, there is a series of written and oral assignments; such as, an agency study presentation of the placement agency; a journal in which students record their experiences as well as their reactions and analyses, both positive and negative, of these happenings; a case presentation of a client which raises interesting practice issues; and the opportunity to consult with another student about a client and to do library/journal research on one aspect of the client situation. Other assignments may be provided around specific seminar topics.