BRYN MAWR

Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research

GSSWSR Course Guide Online

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MASTER OF SOCIAL SERVICE

MSS Course Offerings

Foundation and Concentration Courses

Electives

M.S.S. COURSE OFFERINGS*

FOUNDATION AND CONCENTRATION COURSES

103 Foundation Practice

Foundation Practice at the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research covers the core knowledge, values and skills applicable to practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Required of all students, this course emphasizes the basic competencies in relationship, assessment, communication and intervention across the systems of individuals, families, groups, communities and organizations as well as across our concentrations of Clinical Social Work, Social Service Management, and Policy Practice and Advocacy.

This course informs students that the practice of social work is anchored by its history and purpose. It addresses professional socialization highlighting social work’s mission, values and ethics as articulated in the National Association of Social Work’s Code of Ethics with special emphasis on respect for the rights of clients/patients/consumers, and those that relate to self-determination, privacy, and confidentiality. The course reflects the School’s mission to promote social and economic justice and enhance individual, regional, national, and global well-being, as well as the School’s focus on integration of theory, research, and practice within a bio-psychosocial perspective.

In Foundation Practice, groundwork is laid for the person-in-environment perspective that emphasizes critical thinking and a strengths orientation to practice across methods and systems, and the importance of this perspective to professional social work practice efficacy. This course links to the other foundation courses in behavioral and social science research in providing a theoretical grounding in biological, psychological, and social development that takes into account the importance of the physical, social, and cultural environments.

In Foundation Practice we emphasize practice with diverse populations, highlighting practice with those who are oppressed, vulnerable and at-risk as well as the development of an overarching commitment to enhance global well-being and promote economic and social justice. Content includes engagement of clients in an appropriate working relationship; assessment and the necessary collection of client data, identification of issues, problems, needs, resources, and assets as well as planning for service delivery; advocacy and use of communication skills; supervision, consultation; and assessing practice effectiveness.

Foundation Practice follows the structure of all practice courses with some class time devoted to discussion of the field-based practice experience. Our rationale is to promote integration of theory, research and practice and reflect on direct practice, organizational and policy issues.

104 Community Practice

Policy Practice and Advocacy Concentration

Community Practice is the first of three courses in the Policy Practice and Advocacy Concentration. It follows the Foundation Practice course and functions as the introduction for students moving into the Policy Practice and Advocacy Concentration.

The Policy Practice and Advocacy Concentration educates students for macro-level professional social work practice, related to the development social policy and the implementation of related programs in global, national, regional and local settings. It prepares students to engage the capacities and resources of the populations and communities with which they work and to acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and values required to promote social change that can improve the lives of vulnerable and at-risk individuals, families, groups, and communities.

The three required practice courses in our Policy Practice and Advocacy concentration reflect the School’s mission to promote social and economic justice and enhance individual, regional, national, and global well-being. They draw from content and perspectives introduced in foundation courses of the curriculum and build on the liberal arts perspective that students bring to their graduate education and that are instrumental to working with the School’s focus on critical and analytical thinking skills for practice. These courses are explicitly designed to promote social work practice within a professional code of ethics that respects self-determination, privacy and confidentiality. Students are encouraged to think about how to work critically with constituent groups, allowing their work to be informed by the democratic ideals associated with public policymaking and collective decision-making, to apply empirical knowledge as part of their integration of theory and practice, to appreciate the importance of analytical tools that contribute to their application of “best practices,” and to understand their role in providing leadership for the improvement of social policy and the promotion of social and economic justice

Community Practice builds on foundation courses in human behavior, social theory, and policy to further students’ capacities to understand and practice within systems and to deepen their understanding of activities to help individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities to achieve their goals. Critical thinking skills also are emphasized to enable students to integrate policy, theory and research into practice; practice effectiveness is emphasized as well in our use of research-based knowledge and consideration of evidence of best practices in guiding practice behaviors and decisions. Specifically, Community Practice builds upon Foundation Practice in its continuing examination of professional relationships with individuals, assessment, communication and intervention especially as it impacts working effectively with individuals, especially in relation to communities and organizations. It also introduces the processes of change, including fundamental frameworks of community organization, and competencies associated with community practice, such as needs assessment, organizational analysis, fundraising for program development, and personnel management including succession planning, coalition building, program development including volunteer capacity building, and financial management, effective policy advocacy and community organizing. Finally, Community Practice reinforces the Foundation Practice’s focus on practice with diverse populations, especially those who are oppressed, vulnerable and at-risk and the development of an overarching commitment to enhance global well-being and to promote economic and social justice.

Building on the students’ liberal arts background, critical thinking skills are emphasized as students are taught to integrate policy, theory and research in practice that seeks to promote social and economic justice and recognizes the importance of a global perspective. Because Community Practice promotes a “reflection on action” approach, the assigned readings, class discussions, and personal and group projects will enable students to apply a reflective and critical approach to community work and practice, to develop sensitivity for cultural differences that might arise in practice, and to encourage them to work to mitigate the effects of oppression and discrimination based on race, color, national or ethnic origin, class, sexual orientation, age, and disability. Moreover, case studies and examples from the field will be featured, along with integration of issues from students’ field placement settings, so students can look to models for applying specific skills

114 Direct Practice

Clinical Social Work or Social Service Management Concentrations

As the first of a three-course sequence of practice courses, Direct Practice launches both the Clinical and Management concentrations. It builds upon Foundation Practice in its continuing examination of the professional helping relationship; importance of social supports; practice with groups and families; and differential use of self. Direct Practice also introduces the processes of change including intervention implementation with individuals, communities and organizations; and loss and preparation for termination.

Using an ecological and strengths perspective, this course builds on foundation courses in human behavior and policy to further students’ capacities to understand and practice within systems and to move within and between clinical and policy practice activities to help individuals, organizations and communities to achieve their goals. Informed by social and behavioral theory, this course presents a bio-psycho-social framework for practice.

Critical thinking skills are emphasized as students are taught to integrate policy, theory and research in practice that seeks to promote social and economic justice and recognizes the importance of a global perspective. Practice effectiveness is emphasized as well in our use of research-based knowledge and evidence of best practices to guide practice behaviors and decisions..

Throughout the course, practice with diversity receives particular attention as do social work values and ethics and outreach to vulnerable and at-risk populations. Building again on Foundation Practice, we focus on issues that may arise when workers and clients differ in terms of gender, age, race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation and other differences.

Direct Practice provides common grounding for both the Clinical and Management concentrations in its emphasis on program evaluation. The Management concentration continues to focus on developing these skills whereas in the Clinical concentration the focus shifts to practice evaluation.

Direct Practice follows the structure of all practice courses with some class time devoted to discussion of the field-based practice experience. Our rationale is to promote integration of theory, research and practice and reflect on direct practice, organizational and policy issues.

131 Data Analysis

This course prepares students to seek answers to fundamental questions about social work practice, social policy and social programs through the analysis of quantitative data. Along with the course in Research and Evaluation for Social Work Practice (#132), this course enables students to become critical consumers of empirical research, as well as gain an appreciation for the use of statistics in evidence-based practice. Through an emphasis on the application of key statistical techniques and interpretation of results, students learn how to utilize statistics appropriately in their practice. Particular attention is paid to the legitimate and illegitimate use of statistical techniques and the misuse of data in support of discriminatory theories and practices toward vulnerable and at-risk populations. Familiarization with statistical methods used to examine issues related to poverty and other social and economic welfare issues assists students in examining research findings in light of social work values and ethics. Existing research is critiqued in terms of its relevance and generalizability with the implication that findings for more powerful groups (such as white males) may not be applicable to other diverse groups. In particular, students learn to be careful in how results are interpreted and applied specifically to women, racial, ethnic, and other minority groups, and to vulnerable and at-risk populations. This course reinforces the ongoing requirement that students expand their technological skills from the foundation year into their area of concentration. Students learn how to empirically test theories and hypotheses, and thus apply the content of this course in their social work theory and practice-based classes.

132 Research and Evaluation for Social Work Practice

The general goal of this course is to make social work research an active component of the practice of each graduate. As social workers, we have a professional obligation to contribute to knowledge in our field and to promote the development and implementation of evidence-based practices. This course facilitates the development of an understanding of the scientific method as a systematic, rigorous approach to professional knowledge building and to evaluating and extending existing knowledge and practice at the client, program, community, national, and international levels. Explicit links are made between sound research and effective practice. The ultimate goals of such research are to enhance human well-being, alleviate poverty and oppression, and promote social and economic justice. Practical dilemmas that arise in designing and implementing agency-based research are presented, and workable solutions suggested. The fact that all research involves often complex ethical and value choices is continuously stressed and explicit procedures for assuring the ethical conduct of research are demonstrated, critiqued in assigned readings, and required in student projects. Existing research and student projects are also critiqued in terms of their relevance and generalizability, particularly to women, racial, ethnic, and other minority groups, and to those from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Course work is further reinforced by the ongoing requirement that students expand their technological skills. Along with the course in Data Analysis (#131), this course enables students to incorporate empirical research into all aspects of social work practice. Teaching methods used include assigned readings, lecture, discussion, in-class exercises, a written exam and research proposal, and interactive web-based learning.

141 Human Behavior and the Social Environment I

This course introduces major theories of human behavior that inform social work research and practice. It emphasizes mastery and critical appraisal of the key concepts and fundamental premises of social systems, psychodynamic, and cognitive-behavioral theories. Students evaluate the adequacy and limitations of these theories for understanding human behavior in the social environment and informing social work in a broad array of practice contexts

Theories of human behavior are critiqued in terms of their attention to variations in the human experience over time and around the world. Behavioral theories are understood as products of their historical, social, political, and cultural contexts. A central question is whether key theoretical constructs apply to other times, places, peoples, and cultures.

Issues of diversity are considered each week in discussion of the strengths and limitations of behavioral theories. Students consider each theory’s capacity to address issues of diversity such as gender, culture, race, social class, sexual orientation, and physical ability, with emphasis on the changing roles of women and the relationship of race to social disadvantage. Class discussion focuses on the extent to which theories that reflect the dominant values of a culture privilege some members of society and marginalize others. Required readings and class discussions foster the capacity to notice and identify biases toward Western and middle-class values (e.g., individual independence, autonomy, material success), along with racist, sexist, heterosexist, and ageist ideas. The course considers ways in which these biases can perpetuate disenfranchisement of populations at risk, by portraying these populations as “abnormal.”

The course considers social, environmental, and economic contexts that can facilitate or impede human development, well-being, and social justice. Influences of families, schools, communities, societies, and globalization are considered. Working in small groups, students apply theories of human behavior to advance their understanding of current social issues.

Throughout the course, emphasis is placed on issues of self-determination, promoting human worth and dignity, maintaining a non-judgmental stance, and understanding and valuing cultural diversity. A strengths perspective is cultivated, meaning that students are encouraged to focus on and build coping skills, capacities, and strengths in individuals and groups, rather than dwelling on their perceived deficits.

The course provides theoretical foundations social work research and advanced social work practice. It serves as a foundation for all concentrations by building critical thinking skills and increasing students’ understanding of human behavior in the social environment, risk and resilience, basic human needs, cultural diversity, and the dangers of stereotypes and unexamined assumptions about human behavior. This course is designed to complement HBSE II and III which take up, respectively, major social theories and human development over the life course.

142 Human Behavior and the Social Environment III

This course critically examines theory and research on human biopsychosocial development over the lifespan. We employ a life-course perspective as a framework for addressing issues of development, vulnerability, and risk and resilience across stages and phases of the life cycle.

The course considers reciprocal influences and interactions between developing persons and social systems. We identify genetic, intrapersonal, social, cultural, environmental, and economic factors that can facilitate or impede human development. Special attention is given to the influences of families, schools, communities, societies, and globalization.

Required readings and class discussions focus on many facets of risk and resiliency in human development. Many risk factors are examined, including genetic vulnerabilities, temperament, environmental toxins, stress, poverty, and discrimination. Students consider the potential impacts on development of gender, culture, race/ethnicity, social class, sexual orientation, and physical ability. Throughout the course we examine the negative impacts of poverty, violence, and discrimination on human development. Special attention is paid to vulnerable populations and risks at different stages of development. Emphasis is placed on the importance of social and economic justice to promote health and well-being for all people.

We consider potential applications of this material for social work practice, and evaluate the adequacy and limitations of current knowledge about human development for social work in a broad array of practice contexts.

As part of our focus on both development and vulnerability, we introduce concepts relating to the

definition, assessment, and classification of psychopathology.

In our study of human development and in our beginning look at psychopathology, we emphasize a strengths perspective and the students’ ability to conceptualize individual differences. Emphasis is placed on issues of self-determination, promoting human worth and dignity, maintaining a non-judgmental stance, and understanding and valuing cultural diversity. A strengths perspective is cultivated, meaning that students are encouraged to attend to and develop strengths, coping skills, and other capacities in individuals and groups, rather than dwelling on their perceived deficits.

The course provides a theoretical foundation for all of the concentrations by building critical thinking skills and increasing students’ understanding of: human development, risk and resilience, basic human needs, and diversity issues. The last three weeks of the course provide a foundation for understanding the social construction of mental disorders; this core segment supports all concentrations (students in the clinical concentration are expected to take a subsequent course in psychopathology). The material covered in this course is intended to be used in clinical practice and in developing, implementing, and evaluating psychosocial interventions and policies that address diverse human needs.

Employing a person-in-environment perspective, the course builds on HBSE I and II, in which students become familiar with major behavioral and social theories. This course relates to the foundation practice courses, by providing a developmental framework that students use to aid in understanding human behavior and common human needs at all levels of social work practice. The course relates to the research and evaluation and data analysis courses by helping students pose and answer important questions about human behavior and the social environment.

146 Human Behavior and the Social Environment II

This course complements #141 and #142 (Human Behavior and the Social Environment I and III) and develops a social science theory base useful for #151 (Social Policy). The course emphasizes social processes that transcend the individual, aiming to increase students' conceptual sophistication about the social context of human action and social work intervention. Course readings, class discussion, and assignments focus on important unit ideas in social science theory and the relationships among them. The concepts chosen for discussion are particularly relevant to social work and social welfare.

The course is organized around the historical tension between policy and practice and helps students think about connections between them and the overall division of labor in social welfare. More specifically, the course 1) examines concepts that help us think about human behavior as contingent upon social environments; 2) applies social theory to the analysis of how social work practice derives from its socio-political environment; and 3) uses social theory to examine how social work practice is conducted in institutional settings that affect what it can and cannot achieve.

151 Social Welfare Policy

This course provides historical background on the development of American social work and social welfare policy; an international perspective on the modern welfare state; and familiarizes students with library and internet sources of policy material. By subsequent examination of several contemporary social problems and related policy areas, the course acquaints students with the contours of current polices and provides an opportunity to examine critically the underlying assumptions of social policy and the political nature of policy choices.

This course is a companion to #146, Human Behavior and the Social Environment II. As such, it employs the unit ideas of that course to analyze the history of social work and social policy. The course emphasizes particularly the historical development of explanations of human difference and inequality, the differential effects of social policy on minority population groups, and the impact of policy on the contexts of practice.

161, 162 Field Instruction I and II

Supervised experience in using social work skills is provided in a field setting. The field instructors are agency staff members and are responsible for facilitating the student's learning. Field Instruction I and II are taken concurrently with 103 and 104 or 114. Students spend two full days per week in the field during the regularly scheduled hours of the assigned agency.

201 Policy Practice and Advocacy I

The Policy Practice and Advocacy Concentration educates students for macro-level professional social work practice, related to the development of social policy and the implementation of related programs in global, national, regional and local settings. It prepares students with the knowledge, skills, and values required to promote social change that can improve the lives of vulnerable and at-risk individuals, families, groups, and communities.

The three required practice courses in our Policy Practice and Advocacy Concentration reflect the School’s mission to promote social and economic justice and enhance individual, regional, national, and global well-being. They emphasize the School’s focus on critical and analytical thinking skills for social work practice within a professional code of ethics that respects self-determination, privacy and confidentiality. Students are encouraged to think about how to work critically with constituent groups, allowing their work to be informed by the democratic ideals associated with public policymaking and collective decision-making.

Policy Practice and Advocacy I examines the principles, as well as the advanced knowledge and skills required for professional social work policy and advocacy practice. It is the second course in the three-semester sequence of courses in the concentration, builds on the Community Practice course, and lays the foundation for the content to be covered in Policy Practice and Advocacy II, the final concentration course. Building on the knowledge gained in Community Practice, this course emphasizes finding one’s own voice as an advocate, as well applying the requisite skills for being an effective change agent in a macro practice environment and deepening knowledge of social problems and social policy in relation to social work practice. Case studies, examples from the field, and the knowledge gained from interactions within macro practice settings are instrumental to students’ learning. The course is informed by concepts covered in foundation courses such as Human Behavior and the Social Environment II and Social Welfare Policy and Services.

Policy Practice and Advocacy I develops student knowledge and skills in the understanding, analysis, development and community implementation of public policy and of advocacy within professional social work, particularly regarding the consequences of the tradition of advocacy in social work. The course explores the problems and prospects of protest politics and the implications for advocacy, along with select practical advocacy tactics and strategies. Students learn the importance of critical analysis of current trends in relation to policy, advocacy and activism. Special attention is given to the socio-cultural context of social work practice and to issues that can affect policy practice, as well as how agency/institutional practices affect groups differentially and thus raise critical advocacy and practice implications. These perspectives are integrated with the study of the ethical principles of social work practice as outlined in the NASW Code of Ethics.

Case studies, examples from the field, and learning from successful advocates will be featured in the class so students can look to models for applying specific skills in policy advocacy arenas. An important feature of this course is the emphasis on developing these skills while taking into account the political context in which they are deployed. An important goal of the course is to learn how to participate in policy discourses critically so as to become a better policy advocate. Consequently, the issues examined focus on the political dimensions of policy analysis, especially in terms of how policy issues are framed, narrated and articulated in policy discourse.

Each course in the Policy Practice and Advocacy concentration integrates students’ field placement experiences to emphasize learning by doing, using case studies and examples from the field to build a rich perspective on policy advocacy as an important form of social work that involves the development of specific skills for producing social change. Moreover, the practice courses include assignments that emphasize the distinct functions of the program planner and administrator, the community organizer, the policy analyst and the group advocate. Thus, students are encouraged to think about the types of knowledge and skills needed for understanding how social systems work, and how they can be changed.

202 Policy Practice and Advocacy II

Policy Practice and Advocacy II explores the advanced skills used by policy advocates in developing social policies and programs. Emphasis is on organizational and policy analysis, program development, planning, evaluation, service coordination and management. Students are challenged to consider their skill development in relation to the political context within which they are deployed. Consequently, there is a focus on the political dimensions of policy analysis, especially in terms of how policy issues are framed and articulated in policy discourse – all for the purpose of exposing the implications for action.

Case studies, examples from the field, and learning from successful advocates will be featured in the class so students can look to models for applying specific skills in policy advocacy arenas. An important goal of the course is to learn how to participate in policy discourses critically so as to become a better policy advocate. Consequently, the issues examined focus on the political dimensions of policy analysis, especially in terms of how policy issues are framed, narrated and articulated in policy discourse.

Policy Practice and Advocacy II is the final course in the three-semester sequence for the concentration. This course builds on the knowledge and skills addressed in Policy Practice and Advocacy I, which in turn builds on the Community Practice course, which is the initial course of the macro-practice concentration.

Each course in the Policy Practice and Advocacy Concentration integrates students’ field placement experiences to emphasize learning by doing, using case studies and examples from the field to building a rich perspective on policy advocacy as an important form of social work that involves the development of specific skills for producing social change. Moreover, the practice courses include assignments that emphasize the distinct functions of the program planner and administrator, the community organizer, the policy analyst and the group advocate. Thus, students are encouraged to think about the types of knowledge and skills needed for understanding how social systems work, and how they can be changed.

211 Clinical Social Work I

This is the first of two courses that examine the major theoretical principles and practice skills of clinical social work. These complimentary courses are set in a bio-psycho-social framework that encompasses the eco-systemic and strengths perspectives. Both courses are informed by a risk and protective factor framework and by the psychodynamic, psychosocial, and developmental theories introduced in Human Behavior and the Social Environment I and III. Beginning with Clinical Social Work I, both courses build on the knowledge and skills from the first year Direct Practice course and initial fieldwork experience. These two courses expand and enhance the study of engagement processes, assessment, intervention planning and implementation, and preparation for and execution of the termination process. All these areas of study are coordinated with the student’s co-occurring two semester advanced fieldwork experience. The development of knowledge and skills associated with evaluation of practice effectiveness runs through both courses and draws upon students’ previous research courses.

Clinical Social Work I begins the process described above and assists students in the development of skills in multi-systemic differential assessment, goal setting, and intervention, as well as in the differential use of self. In addition, the need for accountability is emphasized throughout the course as an aspect of the contemporary context for clinical social work practice. That context requires knowledge of the principles and techniques of time-limited practice as well as understanding issues that arise in various managed care environments. Information about current practices and practice environments does not presuppose blind adherence to perspectives or methods that may affect our clients adversely. Rather, Clinical Social Work I emphasizes the need for critical analysis of current health and mental health trends and their effects on all clients, particularly those in groups likely to be discriminated against and/or those at the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum.

Clinical Social Work I pays special attention to the socio-cultural context of practice and to issues that can arise when worker and client differ in terms of gender, age, race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, and/or other aspects of diversity, as well as how agency/institutional practices affect groups differentially. In addition, this course considers the socio-structural arrangements that create and maintain such practices. This critical perspective is integrated with the study of the ethical principles of social work practice as outlined in the NASW Code of Ethics.

212 Clinical Social Work II

213 Social Service Management I

The Social Service Management I combines a focus on the direct practice of professional social work with a focus on the management of projects and programs within the context of social services organizational systems. This course is the first of a two semester sequence that emphasizes how theory and techniques drawn from one level of social work practice are applicable to other levels as well. Both the Fall and Spring Social Service Management courses give special attention to oppression, groups that are vulnerable and at-risk, cultural competency, and value dilemmas. These courses emphasize a commitment to the creation of a just and better society. Both courses reflect the School’s mission to promote social and economic justice and enhance wellbeing. Together these two courses provide students the knowledge, values and skills required for direct practice, and the management of projects and programs. They emphasizes the School’s focus on critical thinking and social work practice within a professional code of ethics that respects the rights of clients / patients / consumers, especially those that relate to self-determination and to privacy and confidentiality.

Social Service Management I emphasizes an ecological perspective that is a key to professional social work practice efficacy. The knowledge base provided by Social Service Management I includes theories that are biological, psychological, sociological, political and economic. It encompasses an understanding of management, human growth and development, diversity and cultural competence, interpersonal relationships and organizations. This understanding takes into account the importance of the physical, social and cultural environment. Social Service Management I is grounded in knowledge derived from behavioral and social science research taught in the foundation courses.

Social Service Management I emphasizes the integration of theory, research and practice within an ecosystemic and strengths perspective. Interventions include advocacy, case management, organizational change and direct practice with individuals, families and groups. Interventions are informed by evidence-based practice and established theoretical frameworks. Students begin to learn to use supervision to enhance their knowledge and direct practice skills, and to consult with professional colleagues and engage in practice within multidisciplinary groups and team-oriented settings. This focus on supervision is continued in Social Service Management II and the role of continuing professional education for ensuring lasting social work practice competency is also emphasized in both semesters.

Social Service Management I combines social work direct practice, management and organizational interventions. This broad focus is organized around six tasks that must be addressed both for direct practice and management interventions: Defining, Structuring, Planning, Managing and Supporting, and Evaluating. Defining, Structuring and Planning are the focus of the first nine weeks of this course and the subjects addressed include: (1) frameworks and definitions: defining, structuring, planning, managing, supporting, and evaluating (which introduces the books that will be used throughout the concentration and shows how each book brings a somewhat different point of view to the six tasks), (2) defining the client, program and organization, (3) assessing client, program and organization, (3) designing organizational structures and helping relationships, (4) the work of the manager and its relationship to direct practice, (5) planning, and (6) setting objectives for direct practice and projects.

Later in the semester Social Service Management I begins to focus on Managing and Supporting. These themes are continued in the Spring Semester. Subjects include a range of social work practice activities including: advocacy, direct services case management, supervision, proposal writing, budgeting, organizational change, marketing, leadership, as well as inter- and intra-system relationships. Students are required to shuttle between levels of intervention in all subject matter, yet remain attentive to meet their goal of serving the needs of oppressed, at-risk and vulnerable populations. The continuing course focus on several levels of intervention are intended to deepen students’ relational capacities as it underpins every discussion of cases, organizational issues, and project work, . Issues of difference are part of the discussions on all levels as well, as students are required to think about difference in both individual and organizational terms.

Social Service Management I begins to prepare students to work directly with clients / consumers and to manage projects that are needed by their organizations in preparation for their being able to be program managers who can both carry out the myriad tasks of a professional social worker themselves and manage the tasks of others. Above all, they learn to act as advocates for at risk and vulnerable persons and groups, to promote social and economic justice and to enhance the well being of their clients, organizations, systems and communities.

214 Social Service Management II

The Social Service Management II continues the combined focus on the direct practice of professional social work with the management of projects and programs within the context of social services organizational systems. This course is the second of a two semester sequence that emphasizes how theory and techniques drawn from one level of social work practice are applicable to other levels as well. Continuing an emphasis begun in the Fall in Social Service Management I, this course give special attention to oppression, groups that are vulnerable and at-risk, cultural competency, and value dilemmas. This course continues to emphasize a commitment to the creation of a just and better society and it reflects the School’s mission to promote social and economic justice and enhance wellbeing. Together these two courses provide students the knowledge, values and skills required for direct practice, and the management of projects and programs. They emphasizes the School’s focus on critical thinking and social work practice within a professional code of ethics that respects the rights of clients / patients / consumers, especially those that relate to self-determination and to privacy and confidentiality.

Social Service Management II emphasizes an ecological perspective that is a key to professional social work practice efficacy. The knowledge base provided by Social Service Management II expands on theories that are biological, psychological, sociological, political and economic. It also continues to encompass an understanding of management, human growth and development, diversity and cultural competence, interpersonal relationships and organizations. This understanding takes into account the importance of the physical, social and cultural environment.

Social Service Management II, like Social Service Management I, is grounded in knowledge derived from behavioral and social science research taught in the foundation courses.

Social Service Management II maintains an emphasis on the integration of theory, research and practice within an eco-systemic and strengths perspective. Interventions include advocacy, case management, organizational change and direct practice with individuals, families and groups. Interventions are informed by evidence-based practice and established theoretical frameworks. Students continue to learn to use supervision to enhance their knowledge and direct practice skills, and to consult with professional colleagues and engage in practice within multidisciplinary groups and team-oriented settings. This focus on supervision begun in Social Service Management I and the role of continuing professional education for ensuring lasting social work practice competency is also emphasized in Social Service Management II.

Social Service Management II is organized around the themes of Managing and Supporting. Subjects include a range of social work practice interventions (advocacy, short-term, solution-focused work, case management and the use of groups), administrative and clinical supervision, proposal writing and budgeting, individual and organizational change, marketing, dealing with difference, critical clinical concepts, leadership, inter- and intra-system relationships. Students shuttle between levels of intervention in all subject matter always conscious that their goal is to meet the needs of oppressed, at-risk and marginalized populations. Because the course continues to focus on several levels of intervention, deepening students’ relational capacities underpins every discussion of cases, organizational issues, issues of diversity, and project work. Issues of difference are part of the discussions on all levels as well, and the students think about difference in both individual and organizational terms. The final focus of Social

Service Management II is Evaluating, and subjects include evaluation of the achievement of objectives, quality assurance, project review and the course review. In the course, evaluation is tied to the setting of clear and measurable objectives. Thus, because early in the course, a great deal of attention is paid to setting objectives, organizational support for those objectives, the relationship of assessment to setting objectives, etc. the course comes full circle in these discussions.

The final focus of the course is Evaluating, and subjects include evaluation of the achievement of objectives, quality assurance, project review and the course review. In the course, evaluation is tied to the setting of clear and measurable objectives. Thus, because early in the course, a great deal of attention is paid to setting objectives, organizational support for those objectives, the relationship of assessment to setting objectives, etc. the course comes full circle in these discussions.

Social Service Management II completes the preparation of students to work directly with clients/consumers and to manage projects that are needed by their organizations in preparation for their being able to be program managers who can both carry out the myriad tasks of a professional social worker themselves and manage the tasks of others. Above all, they learn to act as advocates for at risk and vulnerable persons and groups, to promote social and economic justice and to enhance the well being of their clients, organizations, systems and communities.

254 Issues of Cultural Diversity

“Issues of Cultural Diversity” is a required foundation course which helps students develop awareness of human diversity, enriching both the depth and scope of professional practice. This course is designed to expand the cognitive knowledge, self awareness and skills necessary to ethically serve individuals, families, groups and communities of diverse backgrounds. This course examines the impact of culture, class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and physical ability on differences in values, beliefs, communication styles, family functioning, help-seeking behavior, and problem-solving. The course emphasizes the development of attitudes and competencies that are important in effective practice with populations culturally different than one’s own. Particular attention is paid to the sociopolitical factors effecting oppressed, vulnerable, and at-risk populations.

Building on values and knowledge gained in other foundation courses, students deepen their understanding of challenges and potential obstacles effecting client systems in diverse communities. “Issues of Cultural Diversity” is directly related to Field Instruction. It asks students to draw from their practicum experience in class discussions and assignments and students are expected to directly apply their developing practice competencies to situations that arise with clients, supervisors, peers in their field practicum settings.

The materials for this course are drawn from various disciplines including: social work, psychology, sociology, anthropology, history and gender studies. The course is divided into four topical modules: Self Awareness, Different Worldviews, Contemporary Issues and Multicultural Issues. In this geographic region, students work with clients who have emigrated from many different countries around the world. In order for students to be prepared to meet the various needs of immigrants and refugees, many readings highlight a global perspective of social work interventions. Students are thus, better prepared to understand the circumstances surrounding individuals before and after they have immigrated to the United States. Students are exposed to international social work issues and interventions that may parallel difficulties presented by clients in local settings. In addition, students draw from events in the news, professional and scholarly journals in their discussions and written assignments. Documentaries and films are used in classroom instruction to further integrate learning and highlight topics raised. Students acquire knowledge from class readings, film screenings, class discussion, written assignments and oral presentations to develop a framework for culturally competent, non-oppressive social work practice.

While every effort has been made to address circumstances and issues which may arise when working with diverse populations, students are taught that culturally competent practice requires lifelong professional development.

263, 264 Field Instruction III and IV

Second‑year field instruction provides an opportunity for the student to focus on the further development of skills. It is taken concurrently with Clinical Social Work, Social Service Management, or Policy Practice and Advocacy. Concentration year students are assigned to a field setting for three days per week for each of the two semesters (263, 264). Their work is supervised by an agency staff member who assumes responsibility for facilitating the student’s learning.

ELECTIVES

302 Perspectives on Inequality in the United States

This course will examine the U.S. economic landscape and the effects of government policy choices. The course builds on Social Welfare Policy #151, and is relevant to the clinical, management and policy/advocacy concentrations, in that it provides students an ample opportunity to examine and discuss policy issues related to income and other forms of inequality. Some of the issues that will be explored include welfare and welfare reform, issues related to poverty, health care policies, unemployment, environmental policies, crime, education, and tax policy. Differences between radical, liberal, conservative, feminist, and other approaches will be examined. Current events will be studied extensively by reading both academic articles and op-ed articles from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper articles will be assigned and discussed each week in order to relate research in inequality to current events. Students will have the opportunity to discuss these articles (from both academics and journalists) and offer analysis of the author's arguments. The course will emphasize the differential effect of government policy choices on women, ethnic minorities, children, and other disadvantaged groups. Also, differences between the U.S. approaches to public policy relative to those of other countries as well as the effect of globalization will be discussed throughout the semester.

304 Psychopathology

This course will provide an overview of principles used in the assessment of psychopathology as well as the uses, strengths, and limitations of our present systems of diagnostic classification. Students will learn to use the DSM-IV-TR as a diagnostic tool and to critically evaluate it as an extension of the medical model of assessing human distress. This critique of our present system of classification derives from a strengths perspective and leads to a competence model of assessment and intervention that is compatible with social work principles and values.

There will be three major areas of study. The first area will concern itself with that critical discussion, as well as an exploration of key diagnostic terms and their uses. There will be discussion of the labeling theory of diagnosis, diagnostic bias, an examination of epidemiological research data and their meanings, and the history of somatic psychiatry. The second section of the course will explore issues that arise in the assessment of infants, children, and adolescents, such as pervasive developmental disorders, the impact of traumatic stress, gender differences in symptom expression, and the comorbidity of conditions, among others. The issues of risk, resilience, and vulnerability will be explored. The third domain will be given over to the study of particular groups of disorders (e.g., mood disorders, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, substance use disorders). In the case of each group of disorders, the following will, as a matter of course, be explored: (a) epidemiology, (b) treatment issues, and (c) pharmacotherapy. Throughout the course sociocultural and sociopolitical aspects of assessment will be discussed.

This course is designed to further the understanding of assessment begun in Direct Practice and continued in Clinical Social Work I and II and to enhance students’ assessment skills in the field. Comprehensive discussions of a societal tendency toward the medicalization of human problems and a critical analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the DSM’s categorical approach to diagnosis are consistent with students’ previous study of theories of labeling and deviance in Social Theory as well as with social work values.

305 Social Legislation

The course will address substantive issues associated with major social welfare legislation. It will offer a foundation in the substance of legislation affecting American social services and explore structural features that affect the funding, organization, and scope of such statutory schemes. Particular themes include the changing nature of the Federal government’s role in providing national leadership and the consequences of such changes; the processes by which social legislation is created, implemented and modified; the values, issues and trends that comprise the background against which social problems appear on the national agenda; the legal structure for funding and administration; and the possibility for future program development within existing frameworks. The legislation to be surveyed includes an array of social welfare topics, such as child welfare and family policy, community development, employment, equality of opportunity, and federal-state relations. Course requirements will afford opportunities for developing competency in both legal and policy research: Some assignments will familiarize students with the basic competencies for finding legislation and regulations and for monitoring their evolution. Other assignments will introduce students to the process by which various data are used as evidence to influence policy making, with special attention to how knowledge of this process contributes to the formulation of social policy and social legislation.

310 The Politics of Welfare Reform

This course focuses on the recent significant and manifold changes in social welfare policy in the United States that have occurred in the last two years since the enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. The historic ending of the 61year-old federal welfare entitlement, the dramatic social welfare changes in immigration law, the accelerating shift to managed care in Medicaid, comprehensive reorganization of publicly-assisted housing programs, and other tumultuous changes related to the growing emphasis on disentitlement, devolution and privatization will be tracked in the course. The course will stress the political forces at work in promoting welfare reform and the impacts of the reforms for social work practice. It will examine how communities, especially low-income neighborhoods, are already being affected by the changes, how advocacy is developing in response to these many changes, and how research can contribute to assessing the changes and offering helpful responses. Students will read the major legislation and relevant scholarship; they will have opportunities to dialogue with experts about reforms; and they will write in-depth research papers on focused topics of their choosing.

314 Issues in Supervision

This seminar is designed for those Master's students who will be expected to assume supervisory responsibilities and is limited to students who have already been supervised by a social worker supervisor or have had one year of social work practicum. The content will focus on the educational, administrative and supportive aspects of individual, leader-lead and peer supervision, with some emphasis on how to make maximum use of supervision. Research on supervision will be examined as it relates to a determination of style, content, and effectiveness.

319 Family Therapy: Theory and Practice

This seminar critiques a range of conceptual frameworks including narrative, interactional, structural, intergenerational, feminist, symbolic, and psychodynamic and considers their relevance to family treatment. Experiential learning methods utilizing practice simulations and videotapes focus on a range of family issues including differences of race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation; socioeconomic disparity; changing roles of women; newly emerging definitions of family; and international perspectives on family. Attention is given to a strengths-based approach to assessment of family functioning and use of evidence-based knowledge for practitioner decision-making and practice evaluation.

Building on the core in social work values and family assessment skills from Foundation Practice and Direct Practice courses, this course focuses on interventions with family systems. As an elective, it supplements the emphasis on practice with individuals in the Clinical Concentration. Completion of first-semester practice and practicum is a requirement for enrollment in this course.

320 Couples Therapy or

320D Introduction to Attachment Based Couples Therapy

This seminar introduces participants to psychodynamic, behavioral, and systems approaches to clinical social work with couples. In addition to reviewing research related to each approach, participants consider methods of evaluating their own practice effectiveness. Readings, written assignments, and videotaped role plays facilitate the application of theory to practice. Students who have not completed first year Practice and Field Instruction must have the instructor's permission to take this course.

322 Gestalt Therapy: Theory and Practice or

322D Use of the Therapeutic Relationship in Gestalt Therapy

This course is an introduction to Gestalt Therapy, its theory and philosophy. It is an example of existential therapy. Gestalt therapy is an active therapy which emphasizes client growth and self-determination through making good contact with clients and helping them to make improved contact. This is inherently a strength-based perspective and supports all the positive attributes of clients. The purpose of this course is to use the beginning learning of Gestalt therapy as a way of understanding the therapeutic relationship from a phenomenological and expressive stance. Since Gestalt therapy is a field theory, it also includes a person-in-environment perspective and often the systemic approach. Because of this perspective, Gestalt therapy theory always supports the client in his or her own cultural identity, while recognizing the possible consequences of being who one is in the broader culture. Therapeutic relationship issues of boundaries, ethics, and an introduction to an I-Thou perspective (Martin Buber) are included. This elective supports the Clinical concentration.

324 Group Treatment

The purpose and focus of this course is to provide an overview of group treatment in clinical social work practice. Focusing primarily on group psychotherapy with small groups of clients, the course will emphasize group dynamics and group process in a range of treatment groups, and the group from the four major contemporary theoretical perspectives (interpersonal, psychodynamic, social systems, and cognitive-behavioral). The definition of a group will be discussed from these theoretical perspectives, and the history of group theory and group therapy will be reviewed. Topics will include change factors and the change process operative within groups, the composition of different groups, and the selection and preparation of new members before joining a group. Group process will be viewed from the perspective of small group dynamics, issues of diversity within groups, and the stages of group development. The role of the group leader will also be examined in depth. Finally several classes will be spent looking at different types of groups, such as time-limited groups, self-help groups, groups with specific ages, and groups with particular client populations.

This course is designed to meet the Group Psychotherapy Education requirement for certification by the National Registry of Certified Group Psychotherapists (NRCGP). Furthermore, it is the recommendation of the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA), as well as common practice in teaching group process and group treatment, that part of the course be experiential. It is the experiential learning component that makes group therapy training unique and of great value. With the exception of the first and last class, each class meeting will be divided into a didactic discussion of the day’s topic (outlined below), and a one-hour experiential group experience. Because the optimal number of group members in a small group is less than 10, and there are fifteen participants in this class, half of the class will form an experiential process group for six sessions (in the circle) while the other half observes the group (outside the circle). After six sessions, the two groups of participants will switch roles with those originally observing forming a new experiential process group, while those initially “inside the circle” move “outside the circle” to become the new observers.

It is the intention of the course to provide the participants with the most appropriate educational foundation for future group treatment in clinical social work through this combination of didactic and experiential class work.

326 Social Work Practice with the Aging

This course builds on theory, knowledge, and skills of social work with older adults introduced in Foundation Practice and Human Behavior in the Social Environment I and III. This course is relevant to the clinical, management, and policy concentrations, in that it focuses on the policies and practice techniques central to social work in aging. The course broadly explores the biological, psychological, and social demands of aging, as well as the implications of these demands for practice and policies pertaining to older adults, groups, communities, and organizations. Strategies for ameliorating stress and supporting well-being among older adults in a variety of contexts are discussed. In addition, the course explores sociological and psychological theories of aging, and how these apply to the cultural, social, and political responses to the needs of older adults. Major social welfare and health policies relevant to older adults, including Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and housing policies and the effectiveness of these policies in achieving desired outcomes is examined. The network of medical, housing, and social services available to and used by older adults, as well as gaps in services will be considered. Ethical considerations in working with older adults are discussed. Differential experiences with aging among older adults and their caregivers based on race, ethnicity, gender, class, culture, and sexual orientation are considered throughout the course. Special emphasis is placed on the experiences of professional and non-professional caregivers engaged with older adults in a variety of community and institutional settings. Finally, the course critically examines evidence-based practices and policies for older adults as identified by empirical research, and fosters a strengths-based approach to practice with older adults.

Topics include the demographics of aging in the United States and abroad; physical, cognitive, psychological, and social developmental changes that occur as a result of aging; practice skills relevant to assessing and working with persons with dementia, major psychiatric disorders, and adjustment issues; the impact of multiple losses and grief reactions among older persons and their caregivers; the role of the family caregivers in facilitating adjustments to chronic illness and functional impairments; the cultural determinants of care giving responses; the experiences of minority elders; assessment of social and psychological functioning among older adults; the range of medical, social, and housing services for older adults; living arrangements common among older adults; social welfare policies relevant to the health and well-being of older adults.

Teaching methods include assigned readings, lecture, discussion, films, and small group activities.

328 Clinical Social Work Practice with Children and Adolescents

The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of social work practice with children and adolescents. In an effort to provide a rigorous conceptual foundation for social work practice in this area, this course is organized around the integration of three perspectives. Specifically, students will focus on development, ecological and cultural contexts which combine to create challenges for practitioners in this special area of social work practice. The conceptual foundation of this course builds upon and further develops the biopsychosocial and person-in-environment perspectives presented in foundation courses including Foundation Practice, Direct Practice and HBSE I and III. The course supports the Clinical Social Work concentration.

This course is divided into three units that examine different aspects of clinical work with children and adolescents. Unit One introduces a conceptual framework for assessment and intervention with children and adolescents. In this unit, we focus on the history of social work with children and adolescents, maturational differences between children, adolescents and adults, the impact of poverty on children and adolescents, and the contemporary situation of minority children and adolescents in the United States. Unit two introduces concepts salient to the intervention tasks of assessment, history taking, and communicating in work with children and adolescents. Of particular focus are guidelines for building developmentally and culturally competent practice in this area. We focus on the particular challenges of assessment and intervention in working with children in economic poverty and in working with parents and children across cultural differences. Unit three examines in depth issues relating to the nature of assessment with children in crisis and of particular mental health issues that arise in work with children and adolescents. We focus in-depth on depression in children and adolescents, on the nature of trauma experienced by young people, and aspects of technique in practice with children and adolescents. Of particular emphasis will be consideration of what is known about “best practices” with regard to particular challenges and needs in working with children, adolescents and their parents in a variety of circumstances. Teaching methods used include assigned readings, lecture, discussion, video, and interactive web-based learning.

330 Clinical Social Work and Substance Abuse, or

330D Clinical Social Work and Addictive Disorders

This course will introduce students to a range of theories about heavy drinking and addiction, provide an overview of commonly abused substances, and evaluate assessment and treatment strategies employed in work with both individuals and families. Assigned readings and class discussions will explore the special needs and concerns of specific population groups including adolescents, older adults, women, racial and ethnic minorities, and gays and lesbians. The class will examine psychosocial factors affecting both the identification and treatment of substance abusers. This elective is relevant for the clinical and management concentrations.

331, 332 Master's Paper

A Master's Paper may be undertaken with the permission of two faculty persons who would serve as readers, or as the result of a research project in a particular interest area with one instructor and a second reader. Whether students are enrolled in such research projects or whether students are developing a Master's Paper independently with first and second readers, one course credit will be given after satisfactory completion of the Master's Paper. This course requires prior approval of the Dean.

333 Research Techniques for Clinical Practice

The goals of this course are to prepare clinicians to keep abreast of and critically evaluate knowledge in the clinical concentrations in which they practice; to consolidate techniques for assessing their own practice and that of their agencies; and to actively participate in clinical research as investigators, subjects, staff reviewers, and originators of research projects. About one half of the course is devoted to major issues and controversies around the assessment of clinical practice, especially in the context of managed care, and the other half, toward developing skills in using qualitative techniques—more specifically to designing, implementing and analyzing intensive interviews.

336 Public Education: Issues in School Social Work Practice

This course focuses on the integration of the practice of social work into the unique context of the public educational system in Pennsylvania. The various roles and responsibilities of social workers in an educational environment will be examined. The influences of the educational and legal systems in the United States on the regulation and practice of school social work will be explored. The impact of legal and educational policies on racial and ethnic minorities, the disabled, women, and sexual minorities will be examined. Particular attention will be paid to the awareness and protection of rights accorded to these groups and individuals within the educational system. The implementation of procedural guidelines and safeguards to combat inequities and discrimination in the establishment of an ethical and effective school social work practice, will be integrated throughout the course. This elective is relevant to the clinical and management concentrations.

338 Education Law for Social Workers

This course will explore laws and regulations which are integral to effective social work practice in school systems in Pennsylvania. The influence of laws and regulations on school social work practice will be examined, including methodologies for accessing current regulations and researching relevant topics using internet web sites. A major component of the course will be developing a reference book and utilizing legal resources to answer practice oriented questions. The course is relevant for the Clinical and Management concentrations and the Home and School Visitor certification.

340 Clinical Social Work with Women in Families

This course combines an emphasis on family therapy intervention with an exploration of women's roles in families. Readings and assignments will address the challenges faced by diverse women within families as well as the clinical challenges posed by the roles they assume and the cultural implications of their social locations. Students will learn to conceptualize family therapy interventions within a gender-sensitive framework. The position of women in families cannot be examined outside the context of history and culture; therefore, a great deal of the work on women in families has utilized a feminist perspective on the women’s socio-cultural contexts, and class members should be prepared to examine their assumptions about gender and power. Each class session will include both theoretical and practice components. In order to provide the most comprehensive context for practice in this domain, several units will be presented in the course: basic principles of family therapy, family systems and family life cycle theory; women’s roles within family systems; and specific problems (e.g., addiction, depression, eating disorders, domestic violence) that arise within the socio-familial context.

342 Mental Health and Well-Being: Employing a Life-Course Perspective

The course is built around opportunity to examine biological, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions of mental health & well-being framed in a developmental life course perspective. Students will use a life course perspective and one or more mental health and well-being dimensions to address a specific topic or question that relates to an important aspect of their social work education, field experiences, and/or personal interests. Individual students (or small groups) may choose to focus their course work on a specific population or sub-group of interest.

346 Clinical Social Work and Trauma: Theory and Practice Issues

This course is intended to provide social work graduate students the opportunity to expand and enrich their knowledge and intervention skills related to trauma theory and clinical practice. The course will emphasize the assessment of trauma exposure, early interventions after trauma exposure, and effective interventions for trauma related distress and disorders. The course will provide students an opportunity to examine theory and practice issues in the context of biological, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions of trauma. Students will be able to use this course to address specific stress and trauma topics that are important to their own social work education, field experiences, and /or personal interests. Each student will be expected to consider issues of cultural diversity as they relate to and interact with trauma theory and clinical practice.

348 Globalization, Social Work, and Social Welfare

This course investigates how social work and social welfare policies are changing in an era of globalization. The course examines what is globalization, what forms does it take, to what extent is it occurring, how is it affecting social work and social welfare in the rich and poor countries, and what are the possibilities for effective responses to the problems associated with these developments. The course will include a variety readings sources and opportunities for thinking about, discussing, and analyzing a number of focused topics. This course is an elective with special relevance to the policy practice and advocacy concentration, though it also can be taken for elective credit for the management and clinical concentrations.

351 Mental Health Policy and Social Work Practice

Building on the foundation provided in Social Welfare Policy #151, and relevant to the clinical, management and policy/advocacy concentrations, this course focuses on central contemporary policies, laws, and issues that define and influence the care and treatment of adults with serious mental illness (smi) and children with serious emotional disturbance (sed). The course explores milestones in the history of mental health programs, laws, and policies in the United States, examining the political, cultural, economic, and scientific context within which these policies and programs have developed over time, resulting in changes in the organization, location, and financing of service delivery systems and changes in their effect on diverse populations. Differential rates of service utilization and of service impact on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, and class are examined. The use of institutions, de-institutionalization, trans-institutionalism, and community-based services will be presented. The interface with other major service delivery systems, including health, education, and criminal justice, as well as with major reimbursement systems including Medicaid, Medicare, SSI and SSDI, will be explored. Topics included are de-institutionalization; the organizational structure and financing of mental health services; recovery orientation; mental health services for children, adolescents, and families; mental illness and the criminal justice system; and family and consumer advocacy. Major legal cases and legislation relevant to these topics will be covered. Primary ethical considerations as well as the impact of mental health laws, legislation, and service systems on social work practice in mental health will be addressed. Finally, the role of "best practices" and evidence on the development of policies and programs will be an underlying theme throughout. Teaching methods used include assigned readings, lecture, discussion, video, and interactive web-based learning.

352 Child Welfare Policy, Practice, and Research

This course examines social policies and interventions that address problems of child abuse, neglect, and abandonment. Child maltreatment and dependency are considered in historical, cross-national, and political contexts. Theories and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect are studied. The legal and political structure of child welfare services in the U.S. is considered, along with the extent to which this system provides a continuum of care, copes with residual problems of other service sectors (e.g., welfare, mental health, substance abuse, and housing), and prevents or perpetuates oppression of women, children, people of color, and other disadvantaged groups. The course focuses on micro-, meso-, and macro-level practice issues and research findings in the areas of child protection, in-home services, out-of-home care, adoption, treatment, and prevention of child maltreatment. Issues of cultural sensitivity and new directions for practice are considered in each of these areas.

354 Public Health

Building on the foundation provided in Social Welfare Policy, #151, and relevant to the clinical, social service management and policy/advocacy concentrations, this course will use three overarching concepts of globalization, social justice and community to help students to define and explore the idea of public health and to decide for themselves where responsibilities for the public health lie. The first half of the course will have a global focus with an exploration of the evolution of some public health policy infrastructures in parts of Africa, India, the former Soviet Union and the United States. The second half will focus on the attempts of the United States to manage the public health through an exploration of examples of federal health legislation and the populations that they are intended to address. Major health legislation includes: soldiers’ and veterans’ benefits, Maternal and Child Health, Medicaid, Medicare, and laws related to the protection of the frail elderly. The subject of HIV/AIDS will be used to review all of the concepts and issues of the course.

366 Alcohol and Drug Control Policies

This course is concerned with the historical development of ideas about addiction and institutional responses to it. With primary emphasis on alcohol, opiates, and cocaine, the course reviews the epidemiology of addiction, organized methods of treatment, and alcohol and drug control policies from the Revolutionary period to the present day.

367 Home and School Visitor Integrative Seminar

The Home and School Visitor Integrative Seminar is a supervisory group for students interested in pursuing the Home and School Visitor Certification and/or school social work practice. This seminar focuses on the integration of the practice of social work into the unique context of th