southdakotasocialworkreinvestmentinitiative.docVIP

SOUTH DAKOTA SOCIAL WORK REINVESTMENT INITIATIVE Reinvestment Issue Areas ISSUE #1 Goal – Establishment of a MSW program in the state South Dakota is the only state which does not have a MSW program. Many MSWs are aging out of the work force and are not being replaced because of the difficulty of getting a graduate degree in SD. It is difficult to recruit social workers to the state. There will be a shortage of MSW’s unless there is a program within the state to “grow our own”. Data Available/Needed to build case: Available Data: In SD, 54 of 66 counties are designated as Federal mental health professional shortage areas. MSWs are needed for insurance reimbursement and Medicare and Medicaid payments Nationwide 60% of mental health services are provided by social workers 40% of South Dakota’s licensed social workers are over age 55. There is not sufficient number of equally trained professionals to take their place. SD has 4 “feeders” - BSW programs whose graduates would likely be interested in a MSW as well as several other colleges which offer human services courses. There are over 300 licensed BSW level social workers in SD who may be interested in getting an advanced degree. In SD, people with very little professional training are providing services in the most complex and problematic areas – on reservations, in child welfare services, in nursing homes. This leads to less effective services, high turnover rate among employees, people falling “through the cracks” of services. In order to earn a MSW in SD, students have to take on incredible personal hardships, traveling hundreds of miles, often while working full time jobs, as well as having family responsibilities. Out of state tuition costs may be prohibitive. Many people who leave SD to get their MSW degrees never return to SD to practice. Especially in rural areas, mental health agencies would like to hire MSWs but there are none available. Nationally, a MSW degree from a CSWE approved program prov