We actively join community agencies in partnerships to address issues that affect the quality of life in our state. In the past five years, for example, we have served over 65 state and local agencies through program evaluation, training, and consultation. Our students contribute over 96,000 service hours to community agencies around the state each year through field internship assignments.
Faculty, staff and students of the school address community issues about which people care deeply, such as school violence, child maltreatment, children in poverty, and truancy. We have active research projects testing promising, new interventions in areas such as child abuse prevention, juvenile justice reform, truancy prevention, substance abuse intervention and services for the elderly.
The guiding philosophy of the School of Social Work includes values that create a framework for ethical and informed social work education, research, and service. These values include: Embracing the ideals of equality, social and economic justice, and self-determination, Focusing on person-in-environment as the central concept shaping our curriculum and practice, Developing social work knowledge and disseminating said knowledge to students, communities, and policy makers, Promoting healthy relationships, diversity, and multiculturalism in the community, and Advancing the profession of social work.