Social Work Major

Mission Statement

The Social Work Program at Kentucky Christian University, a Christian faith-based institution of higher education in rural Appalachia, exists to offer students:

• An Opportunity to learn and practice the values, skills, and knowledge of an entry level generalist social work practitioner
• A Safe Place for students to assess their own personal values in light of Biblical and social Work values
• Empowerment, in light of the university mission statement, to feel competent in their ability to value diversity and practice social work within the context of the profession's values and ethics.

Program Curriculum Goals

1. Graduates will practice entry level social work from a knowledge base which integrates the following areas: Social Work Values and Ethics (including NASW’s 6 value elements: service, social justice, the dignity and worth of the person, the importance of human relationships, integrity, competence, as well as human rights and scientific inquiry); Diversity; Promotion of Social and Economic Justice; Populations at Risk; Human Behavior in the Social Environment; Social Welfare Policy and Services; Social Work Practice; Scientific Inquiry; Field Practicum
2. Graduates will use generalist practice skills with diverse client systems of all sizes and with specific emphasis on work with people of the Appalachian geographical region.
3. Graduates will develop and increase self-awareness of their responsibility as Christians and Social Workers to continue their spiritual, personal, and professional growth and development.

Facts About Social Work

** Social work is a profession for those with a strong desire to help improve people’s lives.**

Fields of Practices

• Aging
• Alcohol / Substance Abuse
• Children and Youth
• Adoption and services to unmarried parents
• Foster Care
• Residential Care
• Support in own home
• Protective Services
• Youth Services
• Community / Neighborhood
• Community Organization
• Community Planning
• Community development
• Corrections / Criminal Justice
• Disabilities (Physical / Mental)
• Education and Training
• Family Services
• Family Counseling
• Family Life Education
• Family Planning
• Income Maintenance
• Public Assistance
• Social Insurances
• Medical and Health Care
• Mental Health and Illness
• Outpatient Services
• Inpatient Services
• Private Practice
• Occupational Social Work
• Schools

'Morales & Sheafor 'Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces' Source: Margaret Gibelman and Phillip H. Sohervish, Who We Are: A Second Ethics' Washington, DC.

Q. What does the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accreditation mean to me?

A. CSWE accreditation sets the standards for uniform content areas in each collegiate program. Graduates from a CSWE accredited program will be considered for advanced placement when entering a Master's level program.

Admission Requirements

The Social Work Program at Kentucky Christian University is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).

1. Enrollment in introductory Social Work Courses
   Students who wish to be a part of the Social Work program will be impartially considered. Students who declare their professional choice to be that of Social Work will be assigned a Social Work faculty advisor who will assist them through the admissions process.
   
2. Application for Admission to the Social Work Program
   Students apply for admission to the Social Work program in the Fall semester of their sophomore year. Upper class transfer students may make application with permission of the program director. Application forms are in the Social Work Student Handbook which students interested in pursuing Social Work as a major should obtain from the Social Work Program office.
   
   The admission process begins when students petition the Social Work Program Director for admission. Consultation with the Social Work advisor must be completed. (For a list of criteria necessary before admission to the program can be granted, see the Social Work Student Handbook).
   
   Students will be admitted to the Social Work program upon successful completion of the admission process and informed of their admittance in writing after the entrance interview. Admitted students who drop out or are dismissed may be readmitted, providing that selected portions of the application procedures, which are incomplete, are repeated successfully.