The Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education HPPAE VHA/GRECC Patricia J. Volland, MSW, MBA Director, Social Work Leadership Institute Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College

 A university-community partnership based on a collaborative educational model  Recruits MSW students to specialize in aging  Plays leadership role in national efforts to advance aging education in social work  Employs competency-based training  Offers a unique rotational approach to field education What is the HPPAE?

HPPAE Six Essential Components  University-Community Partnerships  Competency-driven education  Field rotations  Expanded field instructor role  Student recruitment  Leadership

Why Implement the HPPAE?  The rapid aging of the population  The need for more specialists in aging  The aging of the current workforce  The need for more effective models of care  The shift to competency based education = EPAS requirement  The opportunity to strengthen ties with your community  The opportunity to recruit students – the jobs will be in aging  The need for competent community leadership  The feasibility to generate/redirect resources

An Aging Population and Challenges to Workforce Development

Demographics of the Baby Boom Population Age (in millions) Source: US Census Bureau

Social Work Workforce Projections  NIA projected need of 60,000 to 70,000 geriatric social workers by 2020  Estimated number of social workers in long term care settings projected to increase from 36,000 in 2002 to 109,000 by 2050  Currently less than 4% of social workers specialize in aging NIA, 1987; BLS 2004; IOM 2008

Social Work Gap between Need and Supply  Social work labor force is expected to decrease in the next two years, with 13% of the survey respondents planning to leave their current positions  Nearly 30% of social workers are over 55 years of age, compared with 14% of the U.S. civilian labor force NASW Center for Workforce Studies, 2006

Social Work and The Aging Population  75% of social workers report that they have older adults (55 years and older) in their caseloads  24% of social workers report that older adults comprise at least 50% of their caseloads.  93% of social workers with practice area in aging report that clients “always” or “almost always” present with multiple problems  Presenting problems: psychosocial issues, mental illness, chronic disease, physical disability, and grief/bereavement issues NASW Center for Workforce Studies, 2006

The HPPAE Impact and Workforce Development

HPPAE and Workforce Challenge  HPPAE Imperatives:  Engage social work community to address critical shortage of elder-serving social workers  Build university and community partnerships to expand training opportunities and develop workforce  Leadership opportunity for all groups: − Deans and Directors − Field Directors − Students − Community-based agencies  Promote social work expertise to navigate complex systems of care and participate in interdisciplinary care teams

HPPAE Outcomes  The 72 funded programs graduated over 2,600 students by spring 2012  The HPPAE has been initiated in a total of 97 programs in 37 states  92% of HPPAE graduates completing the Career Tracking survey were employed,75% in age-related positions  25% were working in one of their HPPAE placement sites following graduation  The majority indicated that participation in HPPAE increased their interest in working with older adults and that HPPAE was important in preparing them for their career  95% would recommend the Hartford Internship to other students in aging

HPPAE Impact Deans and Directors  The National Association of Deans and Directors (NADD) Gerontological Social Work Survey  Majority of schools report HPPAE had a positive impact on:  Student learning opportunities  School and agency collaboration  Field instruction  Curriculum development  Image and reputation of MSW program

HPPAE and Student Recruitment  91% agreed that their personal goals in learning to work with older persons and their families were achieved in their field practicum  Aging knowledge increased significantly from pre- to post- test  92% agreed that rotations enabled them to learn about the range of services to older people  91% agreed that having experiences in more than one field agency or department was useful  Synergistic relationship with field agencies is advantageous for students’ education and career development

HPPAE Sustainability and Institutionalization  76% of adoption schools report that the rotational model will be sustained  37% of adoption schools report that the rotational model will be expanded  Development of interprofessional collaboration across university campuses  Institutionalization of HPPAE within CSWE and the Gero Ed Center

VA/GRECC & HPPAE Initiative  New collaboration launched in 2012 with John A. Hartford Foundation, Veterans Administration (VA) Geriatric Research and Clinical Centers (GRECC), and SWLI to implement HPPAE in select VA/GRECCs and schools of social work  VA is the largest employer of social workers in the country currently 10,000 social workers  Stipends secured for MSW students placed at VA/GRECCs and a number of VA hospitals concurrently enrolled in HPPAE

VA/GRECC & HPPAE Initiative  Partnerships developed between the school of social work, the VA/GRECC and HPPAE model  VA/GRECC provides a breadth of services – offering a broad experience for students participating in internal rotations  High quality services provided at the VA/GRECC to veterans and their families plus inter-professional collaboration in education

VA/GRECC & HPPAE Student Outcomes  10 MSW students graduated from the 3 pilot sites in spring 2013  Salt Lake City, Utah VA/GRECC  Birmingham, Alabama VA/GRECC  Madison, Wisconsin VA/GRECC  Results from the pre to post tests showed an overall improvement in HPPAE student’s knowledge of aging  A significant improvement in competency levels in all 4 Domains: 1) Values, Ethics and theoretical perspectives 2) Assessment 3) Intervention 4) Aging services, programs and policies

VA/GRECC & HPPAE Student Outcomes  Majority of students agreed that their personal goals in learning to work with older persons and their families were achieved in their field practicum  Majority of students agreed that rotations enabled them to learn about the range of services to older people  Majority of students agreed that having experiences in more than one field agency or department was useful

VA/GRECC and HPPAE Year 2, VA/GRECCS and 1 VA implement HPPAE 4 new schools of social work adopt HPPAE 9 trained mentors from 7 HPPAE grantee schools 12 MSW students recruited for academic year

VA/GRECC and HPPAE Year 3, VA/GRECCS and 1 VA to implement HPPAE 3/4 new schools of social work identified Students to be recruited for academic year VA/GRECCS and 1 VA to implement HPPAE New schools of social work to be identified Students to be recruited for academic year

A Collaborative Framework  National Advisory Panel  VHA/GRECC Network  Support leadership at the local VA/GRECC  Support VA/GRECC collaboration with local schools of Social Work  Creates opportunities for demonstration sites to easily learn from each other and from recognized experts  Provides a network that supports positive change

HPPAE National Advisory Panel  Paula Allen-Meares, University of Illinois at Chicago and IOM – Co-Chair  Katharine Briar-Lawson, University at Albany, SUNY – Co-Chair  Marla Berg-Wegener, St. Louis University  JoAnn Damron-Rodriguez, UCLA School of Public Affairs  Ronnie Glassman, Yeshiva University  Robyn Golden, Rush University Medical Center  Roberta Greene, University of Texas, Austin  Lenard Kaye, University of Maine  Betty Malks, Community Representative  Nora Obrien-Suric, Hartford Foundation  Mike Patchner, Indiana University  Susan Reinhard, Public Policy Institute, AARP  Ginger Robbins, University of Houston  Stacey Sanders, Student Representative  Karen Teigiser, University of Chicago

The SWLI Team  Patricia Volland, Director, SWLI  Emma Barker, Program Officer  Kadia Darby, Administrative Assistant  Liz Wright, Program Associate  Melody Wilding, Consultant  Jeannine Melly, Consultant