Growing a workforce to care for older adults: How innovation in social work education is training students in response to the large-scale demographic shifts in older adults

Due to medical and public health advancements, the twentieth century saw a “longevity revolution” leaving societies, worldwide, faced with an imperative to care for an aging population that will double by 2050. In the US, older adults will compose 20% of the population by 2030. Effectively linking health care with human services will enable older adults for healthy aging and independence; however, workforce shortages, especially in social work, are insufficient to meet their needs. Of 477,000 social workers in the US, 76% have caseloads with older adults; however, fewer than 50,000 self-identify as working in aging/long-term care. The National Institute of Aging projects 70,000 social workers are needed by 2020 to meet the demographic need, but enrollment trends into Master Social Work (MSW) programs are low.

The New York Academy of Medicine's Social Work Leadership Institute thus developed the Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education (HPPAE), funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation. The HPPAE aims to bolster the workforce by dispensing seed grants to MSW programs, who then apply a rotation-based field education model exposing students to trans-disciplinary, aging-related careers. Since 1999, 62 MSW programs implemented the HPPAE, trained 600+ social workers; students surveyed reported high program satisfaction; pre-, post-test data showed increases in geriatric competencies, 83% of students became more interested in aging careers; 45% were employed by their internship agency. This presentation is a macro-review of site grants; evaluative reports will summarize results and identify implications for practice; benefits and limitations of this model will be discussed.