Graduate Catalog: 2012-2013 - Alabama A&M University

As a concentration course prerequisites include ALLthe foundation year courses or consent of theinstructor.SWK 610 Family & Child Welfare Policy - Threesemester hours. The predominant focus of thiscourse is to identify, discuss and integrate familyand child welfare issues and policy. Although thecourse discussions will be on child welfare policiesaffecting children and families in general, theemphasis will be on children and families withspecial needs, e.g. protective services, foster careand adoption. The concept of the “best interest ofthe child” will be analyzed in depth. This coursetraces the historical development of child welfareservices in the U.S. from the beginning of thetwentieth century until the present time. Five areasof services, programs and policies will be discussed:adoption, teenage pregnancy and parenthood,children with special needs (e.g., mental illness,delinquency, and physical handicaps), foster care,and protected services for abused and neglectedchildren. Social Work values and ethics will beinfused throughout the course. This course isrequired of all students in the Family and ChildWelfare concentration. (Prerequisites: SWK 510,511, 520, 521, or Consent of Instructor)SWK 613 Budgeting and Financial Management- Three semester hours. Basic knowledge andtheoretical underpinnings required to manage thefiscal and budgetary aspects of human serviceorganizations. The course emphasis is thedevelopment and administration of fiscal resourcesto effectively meet the mission and goals of theorganization. Along with the practical aspects ofbudget planning, development and implementation,the course will address major funding sources forhuman service organizations, and the strategies ofinfluencing and accessing these sources. The role ofpolitics and its impact on social services within oursociety will be explored, and students will be taughtto manage with decreasing resources especially inrural areas. Required of all Policy, Planning andAdministration concentration students.(Prerequisites: All foundation year courses orConsent of Instructor)SWK 614 Principles of Planning and ProgramImplementation - Three semester hours. The focusof this course is on the concept of planning withinsocial welfare agencies institutions for the purposeof program implementation. Students acquireknowledge and understanding of planning concepts,strategies, and objectives for program development,implementation and evaluation. An ecologicalsystem perspective is applied to promoteunderstanding of the interrelationships amongindividuals (micro systems), families, groups(mezzo systems), organizations/institutions andcommunities (macro systems). Likewise, a problemsolving approach is used to provide content forunderstanding the differential strategies forresolving needs of individuals, families, and smallgroups, and larger organizational or communitysystems. Theoretical, empirical, and experimentalcontents are utilized to provide the student with anawareness of both comparative and contrastingaspects of systemic planning with other activitiesrequired in program implementation and programevaluation. Required of all Policy, Planning andAdministration concentration students.(Prerequisites: All foundation year courses orConsent of Instructor)SWK 615 Grant Writing - Two semester hours.Explores various grant writing theories and skillsand demonstrates practical application of theprocess. Students will assist agencies andorganizations to apply for local, state, federal, andinternational grants for their programs or projects.Required of all students in the Policy, Planning andAdministration concentration, (Prerequisites: Allfoundation year courses or Consent of Instructor)SWK 616 Issues & Policies in CommunityMental Health - Three semester hours. Examinesthe impact of policies on social work practice inmental health settings, including local, state andnational policies from which services are derived.Also examines the differential impact of race,ethnicity and social class on policy formulation andservice delivery in mental health settings. Thiscourse is required of all students in the CommunityMental Health concentration. (Prerequisites SWK500, 501, 520, 521, or Consent of Instructor)SWK 621 Family Theories and Processes- Threesemester hours. This advanced level practice courseexplores sociological concepts of marriages andfamilies in contemporary society; vulnerablefamilies; family preservation; and the assessmentand treatment of marriages and families. Treatmentmodels, techniques, and strategies are highlighted.Social work values and ethics, research onmarriages and families and the treatment thereof,and cultural diversity issues are emphasized. Thiscourse is required of all students in Direct Practice.(Prerequisites: SWK 500,501,520,521,601,602,610or Consent of Instructor)168