Students who are interested in working with children (up to age 18) and their families will find this concentration most suited to their needs. Students will specialize in agency-based practice with and on behalf of children and families at risk. It emphasizes the development, delivery, and management of services to meet the specific needs of children and families. The curriculum prepares graduates for advanced practice across an array of settings including mental health centers and institutions, public and private child welfare agencies, substance abuse programs, youth centers, prevention agencies, hospitals, homeless programs, domestic violence centers, courts, and community centers. This concentration gives special emphasis to four key social problems affecting children and families: poverty, mental illness, domestic violence, and substance abuse. Understanding these social problems is central to serving at-risk clients.
Student experience and specialized knowledge are expanded through the selection of practicum sites and electives concerning special populations and specific social problems, and the related practice methodologies. These include, but are not limited to: foster care and special needs adoption, substance abuse, family violence, sexual abuse, physical and mental illness, agency administration and program planning, and supervision.
MSW students who choose this concentration take coursework that prepares them to do their advanced practicum in a school setting for one academic year. Upon graduation, they are ready to take their Type 73 certificate examination through the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), allowing them to obtain employment as a School Social Worker. In this role, social workers will assist in assessing grade school, middle school, and/or high school children’s needs, especially if the children are showing deficits in learning. Once those needs are clearly identified, the worker will collaboratively develop individualized education plans (IEPs) to meet these needs, and in most cases, will work with the student and his/her teachers and family members to make the student’s educational experience more successful. The worker will also provide individual, group, and family counseling services and serve as a broker in locating needed services within the community.
Classes specific to School Social Work include, but are not limited to:
You may be required to travel to your School field placement.
This year, we will have approximately fifteen openings in the School concentration.
View the certification requirements for this concentration.
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