Hartford Aging Initiatives

Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work

Master’s Fellowship Application for Admission

The Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education is a unique educational program designed to enhance both direct practice and leadership skills in gerontology. Program participation will enable social work students to become highly skilled practitioners who will one day be able to lead and influence innovation in aging services. The program is based upon development of specific geriatric competencies across services sectors and with the diverse older adult populations. It is offered, with appropriate variation in course work, competencies, and field experience, for both Master’s and Bachelor’s students.

Background:

John A. Hartford Foundation created the Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education to encourage master’s level social work students to pursue geriatric skills, practice and competence and to alter the manner in which schools of social work develop future professionals to work with an aging society. The model includes both an Adult Services Matrix which professionals should understand and core competencies which professionals should develop—40 for Master’s level professionals or 39 for Bachelor’s level. Since 2005, the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work has become a site to further develop and refine this model. The University of Pittsburgh is one of only a few sites nationally using a two year model to develop student competence at the master’s level. Additionally, in 2008, the School of Social Work expanded its model to include bachelor’s level students. Since fall 2005, 17 MSW students have been Masters Geriatric Fellows. We plan for four to six Master’s Geriatric Fellows per year and three Bachelor’s Geriatric Fellows.

For more information on the national project, please visit the Social Work Leadership Institute at the New York Academy of Medicine at http://socialwork.nyam.org/nsw/ppp/about.php or the John A. Hartford foundation at http://www.jhartfound.org/program/social_workers.htm

Partnership:

The term “Partnership” in Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education reflects that community agencies have joined the University of Pittsburgh in this effort. These partners do more than mentor our students in field, they help us design and implement the program and assist the students in their project work. They make resources and opportunities available to all Geriatric Fellows, not simply those in their sites. Our current partners include:

Allegheny County Area Agency on Aging
AgeWell (a partnership of Jewish Family and Children’s Services, Jewish Community Center and Jewish Association on Aging)
Presbyterian SeniorCare
Southwest Pennsylvania Partnership on Aging
UPMC Western Psychiatric Institutes and Clinic and Benedum Geriatric Center
UPMC Senior Care Institute at Shadyside Hospital
Ursuline Services, Inc.
VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System

Benefits for All Geriatric Fellows:

Rotation-based field experiences and greater access to aging-related programs to allow students to understand the breadth of services and the diversity of needs in the aging population.
A focus on developing aging competencies through field placement.
Opportunities to learn from outstanding faculty and community leaders.
Opportunities to attend local conferences and programs on aging and gerontology.
Affiliation and networking with the Social Work Leadership Institute through New York Academy of Medicine and the John A. Hartford Foundation.
Contacts to and networking with leaders and organizations serving older adults in Western Pennsylvania.
Student seminars and professional development experiences that give students the opportunity to learn from and with each other, as well as from their field instructors and outside experts. These seminars enhance the integration of class and field learning.

Stipends and Tuition Benefits:

Stipends for those semesters in which a student does field work
For Master’s students only, tuition benefit for additional field work required by the fellowship.

MSW Fellowship Program

Additional Benefits for Master’s Geriatric Fellows:

Completion of requirements to earn the Graduate Gerontology Certificate.
The acquisition of leadership and advocacy skills by carrying out a community-level project that will prepare direct practice students to assume strategic positions during their professional careers.

Master’s Requirements for Application:

Master’s level social work student: full-time status, good academic standing, pursuing Direct Practice
Demonstrated ability to work well with others
Commitment to participate in evaluation of this educational model
Commitment to complete geriatric course work and community-level project
Willingness to accept field experiences at partner agencies

BASW Fellowship Program

Additional Benefits for Bachelor’s Geriatric Fellows:

Employment opportunity at certain partner agencies post graduation.

Bachelor’s Requirements for Application:

Bachelor’s level social work student, junior year, good academic standing
Demonstrated ability to work well with others
Commitment to participate in evaluation of this educational model
Willingness to accept field experiences at partner agencies
Willingness to take an aging-related elective

Frequently Asked Questions

Which agencies serve as field placement sites?

In the first year of the Master’s Fellowship or in the Bachelor’s Fellowship, students will be placed at one of the following sites:

AgeWell Pittsburgh, a partnership of Jewish Family and Children’s Services , the Jewish Community Center , and the Jewish Association on Aging , provides information and referral, home assessments, care management services, counseling, caregiver programs, hospice services, nursing and personal care services, and recreational, social, and wellness activities.
Allegheny County Area Agency on Aging. The ACDA is the largest service provider for older adults in the region. It, directly and through subcontractors, offers information and referral, care management, adult day care, community-based services, senior centers, protective services, guardianship, home delivered meals, nursing home transition, and outreach.
Ursuline Services, Inc. Ursuline subcontracts to provide some services for the ACDA but offers additional programs. Services include care management, guardianship, money management, protective services and outreach in senior high-rises.

Second year Master’s level placement sites include:

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Benedum Geropsychiatric Services and Western Psychiatric Institutes and Clinic. These programs offer geropsychiatric services ranging from acute care to home-based care. Rotations will be available in acute in-patient care, out-patient assessment and care management, and home based care.
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Senior Care Institute at Shadyside Hospital. Senior Care offers comprehensive assessment, primary and specialty care, health education, counseling, and psychotherapy. Additionally, they follow older adults during acute hospital stays.
VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. The VA hospitals offer a range of acute and out-patient medical services as well as skilled residential care and hospice care.
Presbyterian SeniorCare. With multiple campuses and services ranging from independent living to long-term care within a nursing home and the consumer’s home, students have ample opportunity to work with seniors, including those with highly specialized needs.

For the Master’s Fellowship, what is so unique, as I will have two placements anyway?

The HPPAE employs a field rotation model to expose students to various programs, services, and specific population groups. In the first year of practicum, students are placed at a community-based partner. Within each organization, students are assigned to at least three different units or affiliated agencies. Students are exposed to elderly with different mental and physical health needs and functional levels. They will also gain experience with an array of services. The first-year placement highlights the foundation skills for assessment, primary case work model and the application of core social work values.

In the second year of practicum, students rotate to placements within large health care systems. These placements provide students the opportunity to develop advanced assessment and intervention skills applicable to different populations of older adults and their family members. Students rotate through at least two units within these partner organizations.

How does the HPPAE develop leadership skills?

All Fellows receive an orientation to the Southwest Pennsylvania Partnership on Aging. SWPPA is a ten-county regional advocacy organization. Master’s Fellows, as part of their field seminar, identify individual or group advocacy projects to pursue during the year. Through these projects, students will acquire valuable leadership and advocacy skills. Bachelor’s Fellows complete assignments through their Practicum Seminar and Lab which help them apply skills in reference to older adults. Students are given the opportunity to meet both local and national leaders in aging through SWPPA.

What types of Projects have the Master’s Geriatric Fellows chosen to do?

To date two cohorts have graduated. Each group of Fellows selects a project of interest to them. At the end of the second year, they present the project to partners, faculty and other community members. The first two projects were:

Importance of Outcome Data for Effective Care Management
Depression and the Older Adult, Where Does the Responsibility Fall? Research Findings and Beliefs

What is the field seminar?

Master’s Fellows must participate in a field seminar designed to strengthen or enhance skills in aging competencies not emphasized in the field sites. This seminar will serve to integrate field and didactic learning, to introduce students to other areas of geriatric social work, to promote learning from local experts in gerontology, and to create a broader aging network. In conjunction with the seminar, Master’s Fellows will create and develop a leadership project to impact some aspect of aging services in the broader community. Bachelor’s Fellows will be invited to attend or participate in this seminar based upon topic and interest.

What are the stipends?

Stipends are paid to students during those semesters that they do field work. The stipend amount varies by year and by site.

What are my responsibilities beyond those of a typical student?

For all Fellows: You will be asked to complete several evaluation forms which are part of a national evaluation effort supported by the John A. Hartford Foundation and guided by the New York Academy of Medicine’s Social Work Leadership Institute. Your field placements will be at partner sites.
As a Master’s Fellow, your commitment is for two years. You are expected to take the core courses for the Master’s Gerontology Certificate. You will be expected to participate in the student seminar and project.
As a Bachelor’s Fellow, you begin the summer between your junior and senior year and complete the fellowship upon graduation. You are expected to take one gerontology elective beyond your social work classes.

How do I apply?

Master’s Fellows: In the summer prior to beginning study at the School of Social Work, a student may apply. An application is available on the School of Social Work’s website. Applications will be considered and fellowships will be awarded at two times—July and September. Interviews will be held on a registration day in July with a portion of the fellowships then being awarded. Students who are not selected in July may still be considered in early September when another set of interviews will be held. Students will receive a written notice of acceptance by early September and an orientation to the program in late September.
Bachelor’s Fellows: As early as late fall of the junior year, students may complete an application. Applications will be due in January. Students should also alert their Field Advisors to their desire to participate in the HPPAE.

Who do I contact if I want more information?

Contact the Program Coordinator, Ms. Beth Mulvaney, 412-624-0036, or email her at eam65@pitt.edu.

Hartford Faculty Scholars

As a part of The John A, Hartford Foundation’s Social Work Initiative, the foundation has supported the development of new faculty as scholars in gerontology. It aims to, “[train] academic leaders to teach, mentor, do cutting-edge research and prepare the next generation of social workers to serve older adults (www.gswi.org).” The University has been fortunate to have two faculty members received support through the Hartford Faculty Scholars Program—Associate Professor Daniel Rosen and Assistant Professor Fengyan Tang. The research they undertook with support from the foundation includes:

Daniel Rosen, 2004 – 2006

Rosen, D., Smith, M.L., & Reynolds, C.F. (in press). Characteristics and needs of older adult methadone clients. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Smith, M.L & Rosen, D. (in press). Self-isolation: Avoidance behaviors in older adult methadone clients. Journal of Geriatric Social Work.

Conner, K & Rosen, D. (in press). You’re nothing but a junkie: Multiple stigmas of older adult methadone clients. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions.

Principal Investigator. Staunton Farm Foundation ($45,000). Photovoice: A Community Based Research Project to Involve Older Adult Methadone Clients in the Decisions that Effect Their Lives

K 08 NIDA. Awaiting Funding Decision.

Fengyan Tang, 2006 – 2008

Tang, F., Morrow-Howell, N., & Hong, S. (in press). Inclusion of diverse older populations in volunteering: The importance of institutional facilitation, submitted for Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.

Tang, F., Morrow-Howell, N., & Hong, S. (under review). Institutional facilitation in sustained volunteering among older volunteers. Submitted to Social Work Research.

Hong, S., Morrow-Howell, N., Tang, F., & Hinterlong, J. (in press). Engaging older adults in volunteering: Conceptualizing and measuring institutional capacity. Submitted to Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.

Morrow-Howell, N., Hong, S., & Tang, F. (in press). Who benefits from volunteering? The Gerontologist.

Hartford Doctoral Fellows and Doctoral Pre-Dissertation Award Programs

The Hartford Foundation has established the Doctoral Fellows Program to recruit, sustain, and prepare, “a cadre of talented doctoral students in geriatric social work (www.gswi.org).” Two PhD candidates, Kyaien O’Quinn and Mary Lindsey Smith, have been recipients of the Hartford Doctoral Fellowship. The Doctoral Fellows Pre-Dissertation Award Program, “aims to expose more doctoral students to gerontological social work research (www.gswi.org).” Mary Lindsey Smith has been a recipient of this award. For more information, refer to the website of the Geriatric Social Work Initiative funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation.