2008 Woodie Awards
Master of Social Work Program accredited
Zack Cinek
Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: Campus
Humboldt State University's Department of Social Work completed accreditation of its fledgling Master of Social Work program in fall of 2007.
The newly accredited Master of Social Work program prepares its graduates to practice social work that emphasizes the needs of rural and Native American communities. The department's bachelor's degree gained accreditation in 1992.
A master's degree in the field of social work is meaningless without accreditation, Ken Nakamura said.
Nakamura is the program's director. He said that for about five years the social work department worked to achieve accreditation from the council on social work education.
Money to help start the program came from 1998's Proposition 10 by way of $180,000 from First 5 Humboldt and $10,500 from First 5 Del Norte. Del Norte County gave $9,500 and the chancellor gave $300,000.
The master of social work program's road to accreditation began by achieving candidacy for accreditation from the Council on Social Work Education, Nakamura said. The social work department then worked to meet standards and criteria determined by the Council on Social Work Education.
When developing the program, the social work department received important regional input to develop a program with a rural and Native American emphasis.
The council's commission on accreditation based their assessment of the social work department on criteria that dissects professionalism of the program. The leadership of administrators, number of teachers, and adherence to plans and processes generalize the accreditation criteria.
About 75 percent of the program's graduates are working locally, said Humboldt State social work professor Christian M. Itin. That figure is likely to change as the program attracts more students from outside the local area.
The department would like to expand its curriculum in the areas of child welfare and gerontology, Nakamura said.
The field of social work is a profession with many occupations. The field of social work intends to achieve social justice and to improve the lives of people in a community. Nakamura favors a holistic approach to social work.
Pamela Brown, a professor, teaches a class on social work policy. She said an important policy issue affecting the social work field is a lack of money for existing policies.
Available to students pursuing careers in public and Native American child welfare and public mental health are stipend programs offering $18,500 per year to full-time students. Only second-year students are eligible for the public mental health stipend program.
The newly accredited Master of Social Work program prepares its graduates to practice social work that emphasizes the needs of rural and Native American communities. The department's bachelor's degree gained accreditation in 1992.
A master's degree in the field of social work is meaningless without accreditation, Ken Nakamura said.
Nakamura is the program's director. He said that for about five years the social work department worked to achieve accreditation from the council on social work education.
Money to help start the program came from 1998's Proposition 10 by way of $180,000 from First 5 Humboldt and $10,500 from First 5 Del Norte. Del Norte County gave $9,500 and the chancellor gave $300,000.
The master of social work program's road to accreditation began by achieving candidacy for accreditation from the Council on Social Work Education, Nakamura said. The social work department then worked to meet standards and criteria determined by the Council on Social Work Education.
When developing the program, the social work department received important regional input to develop a program with a rural and Native American emphasis.
The council's commission on accreditation based their assessment of the social work department on criteria that dissects professionalism of the program. The leadership of administrators, number of teachers, and adherence to plans and processes generalize the accreditation criteria.
About 75 percent of the program's graduates are working locally, said Humboldt State social work professor Christian M. Itin. That figure is likely to change as the program attracts more students from outside the local area.
The department would like to expand its curriculum in the areas of child welfare and gerontology, Nakamura said.
The field of social work is a profession with many occupations. The field of social work intends to achieve social justice and to improve the lives of people in a community. Nakamura favors a holistic approach to social work.
Pamela Brown, a professor, teaches a class on social work policy. She said an important policy issue affecting the social work field is a lack of money for existing policies.
Available to students pursuing careers in public and Native American child welfare and public mental health are stipend programs offering $18,500 per year to full-time students. Only second-year students are eligible for the public mental health stipend program.
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