Grant seen as helping to build university-community partnerships

Robert Weiler

     Jan. 24, 2008 – The Indiana University School of Social Work has been awarded a $75,000 Practicum Partnership Program grant that will serve as an incentive to attract graduate students to the field of geriatrics and gerontology.

     For the first time, graduate students in the school’s Master of Social Work program interested in practicum placements with agencies that care for the aged will be eligible for a $2,500 stipend.

     “It will provide an incentive to not only do a practicum in the field of aging, but perhaps also go on to work in the field of aging,” said Robert E. Weiler, Senior Coordinator for the MSW Field Program and principal investigator for the grant.

     The funds come from a competitive grant by the John A. Hartford Foundation, dedicated to improving health care for older Americans. The grant is coordinated by the Social Work Leadership Institute at the New York Academy of Medicine.

     The Hartford Foundation is dedicated to improving health care for older Americans, and its goal is to increase the nation’s capacity to provide effective and affordable care to its rapidly increasing older population.

     Geriatrics and gerontology represent an emerging field, Weiler said.  “It’s more and more of a focus of social work because of the recognition of the increasing numbers of people in older age groups.

     In Indiana, one in eight people had reached the age of 65 in 2000, a number that is expected to jump to one in five by 2040, according to the Indiana Business Research Center in Indiana University Kelly School of Business.

     What’s more, by 2035, the state expects to have more residents age 65 and older than those under age 15.

     While the final details of the contract are being worked out, Weiler expects students will be able to request opportunities for involvement in the Practicum Partnership Program in February when they list their preferences for placement this coming fall.

     Six students will be eligible for the stipend in the 2008-09 school year, followed by 8 the second year and ten the third year.

    A major focus of the grant is the development of community-university partnerships.  The school has already made arrangements with six local agencies to place students in a practicum, essentially an internship, where they will contribute 640 hours.

     For those who might be thinking about working in the area of aging, it’s a huge plus, Weiler said of the stipend. The vast majority of placements don’t carry a stipend, he added.

     The desired goal is those who go through it would discover that they want to work in the field of aging, Weiler said. “This isn’t just about giving them a brief practicum experience that carries $2,500.”

     A practicum with a facility that deals with the aged could give the students a boost when it comes to looking for a job as well, he noted.

     “If I could put on my resume that I had a practicum at the Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis and I wanted to get a job working in the VA, for instance, that’s a pretty good thing to have on your resume.”

     For more information contact Rob Schneider at 317-278-0303 at the IU School of Social Work or at robschn@iupui.edu