麻豆原创

Class name

SOW4343: Macro Level Roles and Interventions in Social Work

Faculty
Susanny Beltran, an assistant professor in 麻豆原创鈥檚

When is it offered?
Summer and fall

Prerequisites
SOW 3300聽Practice I: Generalist Practice聽and聽SOW 3352聽Practice II: Interpersonal Skills

From the Professor

There are 27.6 million victims worldwide at any given time. 鈥� U.S. Department of State

Why should a student take this class?
This class is all about action. The entire course centers around creating change at the macro level, whether it be at the organizational, community, or policy level. Students are often eager to get out in the 鈥渞eal world鈥� and have an impact, especially after several semesters of learning to assess problems and apply theories to inform their practice. They get an opportunity to partner with a community group or organization and apply all the skills they鈥檝e learned. This includes interpersonal skills, assessment skills and planning and implementing of interventions. They find it rewarding to see the impact their projects have.

What does the coursework entail?
This course has a service-learning designation and as such, a main component involves partnering with an agency to develop and implement a macro-level intervention to support their needs. Students have worked with mental health organizations, high school sports teams, and support groups, where they help to develop training programs, write grants, fundraise, and more.

鈥淪tudents are often eager to get out in the ‘real world’ and have an impact, especially after several semesters of learning to assess problems and apply theories to inform their practice.鈥� 鈥� Susanny Beltran, 麻豆原创 faculty

What role do social workers play in helping survivors of human trafficking?
Social workers are involved in supporting survivors of human trafficking in a variety of ways. They are often in the frontlines providing support for survivors interacting with systems such as healthcare and law enforcement. They are also involved in providing trauma-informed care, coordinating medical services, and helping survivors access resources to rebuild their lives. At a macro level, social workers work with populations to provide education, raise awareness and develop programming to both prevent human trafficking as well as build capacity for supporting survivors. More broadly, social workers are involved in policy help to impact the systems that contribute to human trafficking.

What do you hope students will learn?
I hope students learn the importance of engaging in the sanctioning process, regardless of the nature of their social work practice (micro, mezzo, macro). All social workers are called to engage in supporting and there are many big and small ways to make a difference.

From the Student

Daniel Tiongco, a senior studying social work

Why did you take this course?
We usually look at the micro side of social work 鈥� how does this impact the person? But in Dr. Beltran鈥檚 class we were able to study the macro part of social work, where we understand that the community and society have a lasting impact on the individual鈥檚 life. I was interested in seeing how social workers can impact an individual’s life on a broader scale.

What did you like most about the course?
Our service project where we donated backpacks with supplies to survivors of human trafficking helped me see how we can make a difference firsthand. When they receive a backpack and our support they have hope to start school again and start their life toward the person they want to be: a survivor.

鈥淚t鈥檚 surprising to learn how human trafficking doesn鈥檛 happen on a micro level, but it鈥檚 a community issue. I learned that Waterford Lakes is a prime location for human trafficking.鈥� 鈥� Daniel Tiongco, 麻豆原创 student

What is the most interesting thing you learned?
It鈥檚 surprising to learn how human trafficking doesn鈥檛 happen on a micro level, but it鈥檚 a community issue. I learned that Waterford Lakes, (which is located near main campus) is a prime location for human trafficking. For example, there鈥檚 a residual effect of what we post on social media 鈥� our geotags specifically, can unknowingly make us vulnerable to traffickers. It鈥檚 closer to home than we think.

What was the most challenging aspect?
Our service project was completed as a group so coordinating everyone鈥檚 schedule may have been the most challenging aspect. Beyond that, understanding that as we learn, each social work student has their own application of the methods, so collaborating with everyone to meet the client鈥檚 needs was the most important.