Inspiring future social worker students at TCU and the community beyond
Fort Worth, TX
12/1/2009
By: Sarah Tajvar, Schieffer School of Journalism
As the first black president of the National Association of Social Workers, Whitney M. Young Jr. inspired social workers to engage in leadership, build collaboration and coalitions, reduce barriers to healthcare, academic and intellectual achievement and provide affordable housing and economic opportunity for all. Based on his works and memory, the Dorothy I. Height/ Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act strengthens the social work profession and the communities it serves through securing federal and state investments related to recruitment, training, retention and research.
Young’s life epitomized leadership at the highest level and he was driven by his commitment to making a difference in the lives of people. The social work students of TCU hope to bring his messages to the Tarrant County community and apply it toward societal issues today.
“In order to get more students involved in this influential opportunity, the Whitney Young program would not be just focus on social work students,” says Dr. Linda Moore, social work professor at TCU. “It could partner with TCU’s Inclusive and Intercultural Services and the Chancellor’s Leadership Program in the hopes that that Tarrant Community would be better served by this program.”
The Whitney J. Young Jr. Leadership Program has already received support from the dean of the Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences and is currently working towards raising the necessary funding to implement this impactful program.
Since its conception in 2005, the Social Work Reinvestment Initiative has addressed the changing needs of the social work profession by working at the state and national levels to insure that interest and retention remain strong. Currently shortages of professional social workers, lack of incentives to attract and retain social workers, and insufficient data about the efficiency of social service interventions all threaten the profession. The Social Work Reinvestment Initiative works to combat this by promoting recruitment, retention, research and investment, which will lead to increased funding for social work education, financial assistance for students pursuing a career in the social work profession, increased interest in the profession, as well as an increased amount of funding for social work research grants.
In order to achieve these goals, the profession must support future social workers through their transition from college to the social work profession. According to the Project on Student Debt, the average college student pursuing a bachelor’s degree graduates with around $23,300 in debt. However, an average entry-level position for a social worker is around $27,000 a year, which proves difficult for paying off loans. Because of this, the social work profession typically has a higher population of students with financial aid and student loans. This makes public service careers less desirable.
To combat this, the Social Work Reinvestment Initiative provides aid to those students living with student loans and debt in the effort to retain them. Because many prospective social work students often choose other professions with higher salaries, this support directly coincides with recruitment.
To ensure that the social work profession stays up-to-date and effective, evidence-based research serves as a cornerstone for the Social Work Reinvestment Initiative. Through this research, benefits of the practice are studied to demonstrate their effectiveness. Research is the backbone of the social work profession, as it is an ever-changing science, constantly fueled through studies and initiatives such as the Social Work Reinvestment Initiative.
With an already prominent and competitive social work department, TCU social work faculty and students are hopeful about finding the necessary funding for the Young Leadership Program. This past year, TCU has produced two Hartford Faculty Scholars, Dr. Harriet Cohen and Dr. David Jenkins, an honor that speaks volumes to the quality of the TCU social work department.
“These scholarships are very competitive,” says Dr. Moore, who has been involved with the Dorothy I. Height/ Whitney J. Young Jr. Reinvestment Initiative from its conception. “You rarely see it in graduate programs, so for TCU to have two Hartford Scholars is a great accomplishment. TCU faculty publish social work research often,” says Moore, “so we are consistently contributing to the profession.”
With the strong, influential social work department of TCU carrying the beacon for Whitney J. Young Junior’s vision, Dr. Moore believes that Young’s ideals have been brought back to life and will continue to impact and improve the social work profession for years to come. With his resurrection through the Dorothy I. Height/Whitney J. Young Jr. Reinvestment Initiative, the social work profession can continue to strengthen, expand and improve lives everyday.