The Salvation Army is a universal Christian church dedicated to meeting human needs; the organization offers a variety of support services including food pantries, utility assistance, housing and emergency shelters. Major Kris Wood, Director of the Salvation Army Washtenaw County met with James Blackburn and Sue Ann Savas of the School of Social Work to describe Salvation Army’s need for a county-level review of the responsiveness and duplication of the services provided by Salvation Army: food, clothing, housing, utility assistance and mental health services.
Savas and Blackburn teach SW 512 and SW 560 which focus on community organization, policy advocacy, management and evaluation. The faculty used an engaged learning approach to build student knowledge and skills through an active partnership with a community-based organization. Through pre-existing data sources and numerous key informant interviews, the students analyzed the themes and patterns to generate the review. “There were so many teaching opportunities involving skills, values, ethics and teamwork,” says Savas.
MSW graduate students produced an impressive county-wide review of service provided to the most vulnerable. The students facilitated a data interpretation session with the Salvation Army Director, Board of Directors and staff to make meaning of the results for service delivery planning. “We added value as social workers, making meaning of the data we collected, not just delivering it top down,” adds Blackburn. As we move forward with a new MSW curriculum, faculty hope that this project-based learning approach will become more available to MSW students and interested community partners.