Touro College - Graduate School of Social Work

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School of Social Work

INTRODUCTION

The Touro College Graduate School of Social Work was established in 2006. The program provides coursework in clinical social work leading to a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree. The primary goal of the program is to prepare advanced self-aware social work clinicians who are:

• dedicated to the goals, values and ethical standards of the social work profession
• inspired to deliver clinical services for the benefit of individuals, families, groups and communities
• committed to lifelong professional development
• ready to advocate for effective services for the most underserved in our society, and to cultivate the skills to deliver those services

The Touro MSW is registered by the New York State Education Department. Under New York law, graduates of the program are thus fully eligible to become a New York-Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) or a New York-Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). Prospective students who intend to practice in states other than New York may wish to familiarize themselves with LMSW and LCSW licensure requirements in their states.

In February 2008, the Touro MSW program was granted Candidacy Status by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Students initially admitted or readmitted during or subsequent to the 2007-2008 academic year will be considered as having graduated from a CSWE-accredited program at such time as the MSW program is granted Initial Accreditation by CSWE.

OUR VISION

The Touro College Graduate School of Social Work aspires to be:

1. A leader in promoting cultural diversity

2. An advocate for an inclusive model of social work, which respects and nurtures diverse group values, traditions, and cultures

3. A learning/teaching community of excellence and warmth

4. A model academic environment that supports the most stimulating and innovative educational strategies

MISSION AND GOALS

Mission Statement

The mission of the Touro College Graduate School of Social Work is to educate social work professionals who:

1. are dedicated to the values of human service and work to promote social justice and equality of all people in regard to full participation in society.
2. work to empower people, individually and collectively, with recognition of client self-determination to utilize their own problem-solving and coping capabilities more effectively.
3. recognize the complexity of the human condition with its strengths and weaknesses as well as its vulnerabilities and traumas.
4. uphold the ethics of the social work profession in all aspects of practice.
5. are aware of the interdependence of individuals with their environment and work to establish linkages between people and societal resources.
6. are inspired to struggle against inequality and oppression based on such factors as race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, and disability.
7. work to enhance communication through an appreciation of diversity and through ethnically sensitive, non-sexist social work practice.
8. continue their professional education to contribute to the development of knowledge for the social work profession through the utilization of the latest advances in research on theories about individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.
9. work to facilitate the responsiveness of the institutional resource system to meet health and human service needs.
10. employ educational strategies for the prevention and resolution of problems.
11. embrace a worldview of human issues and solutions to problems.

Goals

To implement our mission, the Touro College Graduate School of Social Work will:

1. provide a curriculum that promotes understanding, affirmation, and respect for human diversity.
2. provide an education that addresses the concerns, issues, and interests of the oppressed, disadvantaged, and populations-at-risk, thereby preparing social workers to practice without discrimination, with respect and with knowledge and skills in serving clients regardless of age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, family structure, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.
3. provide students with a knowledge base of factors that affect social and economic justice, thereby preparing them to advocate for nondiscriminatory social and economic systems.
4. promote students’ critical thinking and self-reflection so that they can analyze the reciprocal relationships between human behavior and social environments.
5. prepare students to understand social welfare policy and services of local, state, and federal agencies so as to be in the position to persuade these agencies to formulate and integrate policies consistent with social work values.
6. provide a research program that includes qualitative and quantitative research content that provides understanding of scientific, analytic, and ethical approaches to building knowledge for practice.
7. maintain relationships with other representatives of the social work community to aid in the ongoing development of the profession through curriculum renewal.
8. in recognition of the ever-changing demands of the profession, encourage faculty to engage in research, scholarship and service which will advance theory, policy, and practice for the profession of social work.
9. provide students with field education settings that reinforce their identification with the purpose, values, and ethics of the profession, and foster the integration of empirical and practice-based knowledge.
10. provide faculty expertise and leadership in strengthening the urban community of metropolitan New York City.
11. provide learning opportunities for others in the helping profession.