Contact Persons: Dick Cook, Director
Phone (410) 706-1882 Ann-Marie Bond, Assistant Director
Phone: (410) 706-1880 Location: Louis L. Kaplan Hall - Room 1E21 and a number of community sites The Social Work Community Outreach Service links the School of Social Work with community partners in Baltimore and Maryland to accomplish shared goals. Using innovative practice models, SWCOS faculty and students deliver clinical services to individuals, families and groups and provide training, community organizing, evaluation and consultation in conjunction with organizations. SWCOS provides an array of foundation and advanced field placements where students apply their talents and creativity to challenging assignments while receiving customized and in-depth formal and informal training. MISSION
The Mission of the University of Maryland's Social Work Outreach Service is to create innovative models of social work education and service that strengthen under-served individuals, families, and communities in Baltimore and Maryland. Students, faculty, agency and community representatives join forces in the design, implementation, and evaluation of those models. VISION
The Social Work Community Outreach Service is the outreach arm of the University of Maryland School of Social Work. SWCOS concentrates its efforts in vulnerable communities and with people who have been marginalized to: · identify and build the capacities of individuals, families, communities, and community-based organizations to solve their problems;
· demonstrate that the problems our society faces are solvable by creating, implementing, evaluating, and publicizing model solutions;
· demonstrate to the larger society that all of its members have something valuable to contribute to the problem-solving process;
· remind people that inclusion and participation of all in problem solving will lead to more effective solutions;
· inspire people to enter this exciting struggle for social justice and to create new professional roles in this struggle; and
· inspire and strengthen the profession to take a stronger role in the solution of society's problems.
FIELD PLACEMENT AND SERVICE SITES
West Baltimore Project - Working with an experienced field instructor, SWCOS interns provide services to individuals, families and communities in Southwest Baltimore. Intern services include counseling, advocacy, and outreach for residents in Washington Boulevard/Pigtown neighborhoods. At Paul's Place Outreach Center, individuals and families are helped to meet basic needs and to achieve self sufficiency. At Washington Village /Pigtown Neighborhood Planning Council, individuals are assisted with job readiness and placement, including services to address addiction problems. Housing issues are addressed through a partnership with Southwest Visions. Community organization interventions are provided to the community to increase resident participation and to address safety and environmental concerns West and South Baltimore School-based Mental Health Programs - Under the supervision of experienced field instructors, interns provide school mental health services in elementary and middle school settings to children and to their families. Strengths-based interventions include play therapy, whole class interventions and family therapy. In addition, interns team with school staff, parents and community leaders on projects that benefit the school and the community, such as after-school programs and playground development neighborhood improvement, tenant organizing and home ownership. East and South East Baltimore Partnership- Working with several community organizations, SWCOS interns provide community organizing, advocacy, outreach, project development, fundraising and clinical case management services for residents in East Baltimore. Sites include Centro de la Communidad, The Wellness Center at Apostolic Towers, Baltimore Resettlement Center, Baltimore American Indian Center, Casey Family Services, St. Michael's Outreach Center, the Southeast Community Organization and the Southeast CDC. Community Training and Leadership Development - Working on community building in East and Southeast Baltimore, the project aims to strengthen the community leadership efforts in a number of community-based organizations, build organizational capacity, and to assist in fundraising. Working city-wide with grassroots community leaders, this project provides training and assistance in alternative dispute resolution approaches and skills. Grassroots Nonprofit Resource Mentoring Project-The Resource Mentoring Project assists grassroots community organizations to build their capacity in order to sustain themselves and to achieve their missions. This includes working with client organizations to assess their capacity and need. Students work with client organizations in a number of roles including: grant writing; fundraising; organizational strategic planning; program assessment; community relationship development; marketing; and board, staff, and policy development. In addition, SWCOS partners with agencies and community organizations in Baltimore and throughout the state. These include: Baltimore Freedom Academy; Challengers Independent Living, Inc.; Aunt Hattie's Place, Inc.; Annie E. Casey Foundation; Catholic Campaign for Human Development Foundation; Advocates for Children and Youth; Citizens Planning and Housing Association; Baltimore Community Foundation, East Baltimore Development, Inc., East Harbor CDC, Maryland Center for the Arts and Technology, Reservoir Hill Community Council, South and Southeast Community Development Organization, Greater Baltimore Medical Center (East Baltimore); Baltimore County Office of Community Conservation; Brooklyn and Curtis Bay Coalition; Rebuilding Together Baltimore; Adopt a House Development Corporation, The Center for Poverty Solutions; Mercy Southwest Alliance/Hollins Market Neighborhood Parnership; Office of Public Housing Programs; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the "University of Maryland Law Clinicand the Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers. top last modified on
July 11, 2005
Matt Conn
Director, Office of Communications |
| | | | |
