This course is designed to introduce students to contemporary issues in social welfare and social work practice. Using a generalist approach, this course explores the myriad of social work roles and functions within systems of care of all sizes. A major focus is given to social work practice with individuals, groups, families, communities and organizations. An introductory review of social work knowledge, skills, and values will be examined. The role of the social worker is explored in relation to the consumers they work with and the service agencies and institutions. The helping process and social work interventions will also be highlighted to assist students to explore social work as a profession.

This course is designed to explore the areas of grief and loss in social work practice with exploration of how complicated grief lends to diminished functioning and quality of life for individuals, families, and communities. Additionally, the class will evaluate the impact of trauma over the life span and will look at the intersection of culture, race, gender, and religion with disproportionate exposure to trauma. Trauma informed protocol, resiliency, and post traumatic growth will also be emphasized.

This course is designed to increase general knowledge and develop advanced skills for students interested in the practice of social work in healthcare environments such as hospitals, long-term care facilities, and community-based integrated care agencies. Utilizing the framework of a biopsychosocial perspective, the course will focus on enrichment of case management skills including assessment of basic needs and discharge planning, examine social determinants of health and its impact throughout the lifespan, as well as address social work participation on a multidisciplinary team. Students will receive instruction regarding medical terms and proper documentation, and become familiar with electronic health record keeping systems.

This course introduces students to the public health field, especially the history and role of community health workers in both local and global health systems. A focus will be on the community health worker's position in providing accurate information regarding community health needs, promoting health education strategies, preventing disease and injury, advocating to reduce health disparities, and inspiring needed policy changes.

This course provides an overview of outreach methods and strategies for human service and/or healthcare workers engaging individuals and groups in diverse settings. Professional responsibilities in care coordination, systems navigation, and comprehensive documentation as part of a care team are explored. Emphasis will be placed on legal and ethical decision-making in the healthcare field, as well as the importance of boundary maintenance and self-care.

This course examines the theoretical foundations of counseling, counseling styles and techniques, and sensitivity to counseling culturally diverse clients through the processes of human communication. It provides an opportunity for students to practice the skills necessary for a career in social work and related fields.

This course provides students with the foundational knowledge relevant to working with the elderly population in human services. This includes the biological, psychological, social and spiritual aspects of working with older adults and their caregivers. Multicultural and strength-based perspectives will be evaluated. This course will also highlight core policies and practices affecting older adults, inclusive of current laws and evidence-based best practices.

This course provides a basic understanding of human behavior theory relevant to working with individuals, groups and families. Emphasis is given to the interrelationships between persons and their environments. Theories of human development will be explored and analyzed for practical use in various professions such as human services/social work, education and other health-related fields of study.

This course is a capstone course in the social work curriculum. It should be taken as the last course in the social work curriculum. It provides students with professionally supervised opportunities to gain practical, hands-on, direct, and indirect practice experience within real world human service agencies. As a requirement, students will be placed at off-site community-based settings for a total of 60 hours per semester. In addition, students will attend a field practicum seminar class on campus that connects lecture and discussions with their field work experiences.

This course provides an overview of interpersonal behaviors and processes relevant to facilitating groups in human service agency settings. Group models, stages of group development, and theoretical approaches will be examined. There will also be an emphasis on working with groups in a multicultural context.

This course prepares students to function effectively within organizations, as most human services work involves interactions with multiple private and public organizations. Students develop an understanding of organizational structure and functions through an overview of common organizational structures and management systems and the principles of organizational behavior that influence the work environment. An introduction to the strategic planning and budgeting cycle is provided including the process of grant funding. Basic concepts of personnel management and common techniques and procedures for outcome measurement and program evaluation will also be presented.

Students in this course will become acquainted with human services policies and the legislative and private sector processes of policy development. Students will further discover the role of advocacy in influencing social welfare programs for a variety of populations. Students learn the skills needed to act effectively in developing policies and for planning an advocacy campaign.