HRSA-Funded BUSSW Program Named as Model for Building Social Service Capacity at White House Briefing

Led by the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE), 160 social workers were enthusiastically welcomed into the historic Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building for a White House briefing titled, “Addressing the Social Determinants of Health in a New Era: The Role of Social Work Education.” Several senior White House officials participated in four panels addressing the importance of social workers as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act moves into a new phase on October 1. During the briefing, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Deputy Administrator Dr. Marcia Brand pointed to the HRSA-funded Boston University School of Social Work program, In the Community Mental Health Training for Social Workers Program (ICMH), as a model for building social service capacity to meet the nation’s health workforce needs.

The Boston University School of Social Work Off-Campus Program, in collaboration with six Massachusetts community-based mental and behavioral health treatment centers located in medically under-served communities, will increase the number of social work graduates trained in empirically supported assessment and intervention methods for trauma, co-morbid mental health and addictions disorders in medically under-served communities. The Boston University off-campus programs are led by Assistant Dean of Off-Campus & Online Programs Mena daSilva-Clark, with Dr. Lena Lundgren serving as the program investigator of the grant and Dr. Ivy Krull as the program director.

The White House briefing was attended by Dean Gail Steketee, Assistant Dean for Field Education Trudy Zimmerman, and Clinical Associate Professor Betty Ruth, who is the director of the MSW/MPH dual degree program.

For additional details on the  HRSA program, please visit /ssw/ars/2012/12/05/cars-begins-implementation-of-boston-university-school-of-social-work-hrsa-grant/.