DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WORK

Maintaining our community commitment throughout the crisis.

FGCU’s Department of Social Work has the distinction of being the only academic social work program in Southwest Florida. Social workers are the largest providers of mental health in the country and FGCU’s program is vital to supplying the region with qualifi ed professionals. We maintain many collaborative partnerships with local social service agencies, many of whom welcome our students as interns.

During crises when nearly everyone else is closing down or reducing their services, social work programs stay open. They are critical to maintaining lives when chaos hits. Our student interns know this and insisted on serving Southwest Florida through these programs, either virtually or face-to-face. That means Department of Social Work students did not miss a beat in their internships, regardless of shutdowns and restricted access in other local services. They were on-site, assisting the Harry Chapin Food Bank, Lee County Human and Veteran Services, Lee Cares, Elite DNA Therapy and others that remained open. But even services that did not remain face-to-face, like Eva’s Closet, brought in interns to help.

Social Work students also lost very little face time in the classroom. The program did go virtual for the remainder of spring semester, March through May 2020. Because the summer program is 100% virtual anyway, COVID did not interrupt it in the least. And when fall semester rolled around, students overwhelmingly voted to return to in-person learning.

Despite one of the most far-reaching and longest crises the world has ever faced, FGCU’s Department of Counseling 2020 highlights include: } Having more than 125 students complete fi eld education internships with local social service agencies. } Achieving a 99% average graduation rate for

MSW students and 97% average graduation rates for BSW. } Maintaining Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) exam pass rates on par with national averages for both fi rst-time and repeat candidates. } Having two faculty members participating in statewide academic consortium to develop

a unifi ed curriculum focused on substance use disorders and treatment.

} Developing a library social work program in partnership with Lee County Public Libraries. } Celebrating two Social Work students being inducted into the FGCU Hall of Fame and having another selected as Marieb College

Undergraduate Student of the Year. } Hosting several donation drives sponsored by the Social Work Student Association. } Having two alumni found the Family Initiative

Autism Support Center, SWFL’s fi rst facility dedicated to serving individuals and families impacted by Autism Spectrum Disorder.

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WORK DEGREE PROGRAMS

} Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.)

} Master of Social Work (M.S.W.)

CERTIFICATE

} Medical Social Work

Florida’s #1 academic Social Work program for providing the highest monthly earning potential after graduation for BSW and MSW students.

Social Work professor creates dashboard to provide SWFL with a healthy dose of COVID-19 info.

Information on COVID-19 spreads at a pace

as rapid as the virus itself. So trying to fi nd the services you need and where and when they are available is akin to striking a moving target.

Enter Dr. Tom Felke, FGCU associate professor of social work and chair of the department, who has the expertise and patience to cure this dilemma by plowing through all the disparate sites and organizing the data into something that’s easy to navigate, timely and accurate.

“I saw the state Department of Health dashboard and realized it’s for the entire state of Florida,” he said. “For the novice who’s not familiar with how it works, it’s hard to fi nd data for where you are. Most people are interested in their own backyard. I thought we could develop our own version

using the same data but target it more to

Southwest Florida.”

The Southwest Florida COVID-19 Information & Resources Dashboard uses up-to-date information from the Florida Department of Health in an easy-to-navigate format. Users can pick a county to discover:

} Testing, case and hospitalization data for that county. } General information from the Florida

Department of Health, daily updates from the

Centers for Disease Control and forecasting by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. } Information on agencies such as United Way, county human services and

Salvation Army, area food pantries, regional hospitals, support services for older adults and mental and behavioral health services. } An interactive map showing mobile food pantries in the region, divided into those that are specifi cally for children 18 and younger and those for all ages. It is searchable by ZIP code or address.

Casey Nobile (’14, Social Work, ’17, MSW), a medical social worker for Lee Memory Care, uses the dashboard to help the seniors she works with fi nd the services and products they need.

“At times like these, when everyone’s stress is heightened and they are worried about their needs for food and shelter – and some aren’t working and can’t pay for food because of lack of income – having this resource makes a very stressful situation less stressful,” Nobile said.

“It’s like a one-stop shop for everything you could need to support you through this pandemic. I’ve been able to share it with my contacts in the health and social work fi elds so they can help support their clients to the best of their ability as well.”