By Dr. David Chenot, CSU Fullerton
Social workers learn what we practice and practice what we learn. That is why many involved in social work education have emphasized the importance of university-community partnerships. These collaborations result in significant benefits for social work programs and the communities they serve (Allen-Meares, 2008). In fact, they often have a positive and even transformative influence on both communities and schools of social work by creating “learning communities” that inform curriculum and improve service outcomes (Johansen & Ouellette, 2006; Lewis, Kusmaul, Elze, & Butler, 2016).
The schools and departments of social work in California continually participate in university-community partnerships by offering an underappreciated amount of community service. For instance, at California State University Fullerton (CSUF), students in the MSW program offer a total of 115,500 field service hours every year. Since CSUF is a medium-sized program, the number of student hours contributed at CSUF can be used as a rough estimate guide for the aggregate number of student service hours provided throughout California. There are 23 accredited schools/departments of social work with MSW programs in the state. When the CSUF field hours figure is multiplied by the number of programs in California, this yields an estimated total of well over 2,600,000 hours of service offered statewide each year by MSW students!
Besides hours served in field practicum sites, MSW students throughout California serve the community in other extraordinary ways that benefit their communities and educate them about social work. Two brief examples from CSUF represent the various ways faculty and MSW students serve their communities in California. For instance, faculty and students at CSUF have played a pivotal role in an interdisciplinary effort to offer services to one of the poorest communities in Fullerton, called the Center for Healthy Neighborhoods.
This project has concentrated health, behavioral health, welfare, and other services in an area that had very little in the way of service provision previously. Many services are offered to monolingual Spanish speaking clients by bilingual MSW students. Social work faculty and students played a major role in creating the collaborative in order for community members to be able to access needed services.
In addition, for two years, CSUF students have engaged in an effort entitled “Box City” that focuses on homelessness and culminates in a night spent in a cardboard box to promote empathy for the homeless. This project is linked to a course and involves a prolonged period of preparation, fund raising, and service provision. It has produced a substantial impact on homeless families and local agencies, particularly Family Promise (a homeless services organization). Over two years, students raised $11,643 in cash, collected $19,167 worth of in-kind donations, and devoted 4692 hours of service to the homeless while developing “Box City” events on campus.
University-community partnerships are mutually beneficial and are active throughout the state. They provide rich settings for developing social workers to learn what they practice and practice what they learn.
REFERENCES
Allen-Meares, P. (2008). Schools of social work contribution to community partnerships: The renewal of the social compact in higher education. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 18(2), 79-100.
Johansen, P., & Ouellette, P.M. (2006). Integrating learning community principles and strategies
for enhancing academic and social agency partnerships in social work education. Advance in Social Work, 7(2), 89-100.
Lewis, L.A., Kusmaul, N., Elze, D., & Butler, L. (2016). The role of education in a university-
community partnership aimed at curriculum transformation. Journal of Social Work Education, 52(2), 186-197.
