John A. Hartford Practicum Partnership Program National Evaluation
A Partners in Care
Institute for Change/Research Center Evaluation
The John A Hartford Foundation Practicum Partnership Program( PPP) aims to increase the number of well qualified social workers to serve older persons and their families through the development of more aging-rich field practicum sites. The 6 selected PPP sites with a total of 11 universities have identified five key elements in their new model of field education for professional practice with older adults. The key elements are: 1) focused recruitment to geriatric/gerontological social work; 2) competency driven education relating to specific skills for practice with and on behalf of older adults; 3) building university community partnerships for geriatric education; 4) integrated field education that allows for experience across the continuum with diverse populations, and an 5) expanded role for the social work field instructor.
Partners in Care Foundation conducted the national evaluation of these sites. The results of the evaluation found that the PPP model is evolving to present elements which enhance the preparation of a new generation of social work practitioners focused on careers in the field of aging and prepared with skills and experience to serve older adults and their families in variety of settings. PPP is an intensive model of training and has been implemented in settings that were selected for their strengths in geriatrics. Further exploration is needed to understand the elements most essential to success and the resources required to sustain PPP models. The use of a collaborative evaluation model and common instruments across sites allows for a more powerful assessment of these elements in geriatric social work education.
