A Social Work Program Needs Assessment

Abstract

Social agencies in the central region of a midwestern state were surveyed to determine the present and future need for BSW and MSW graduates. The sample included administrators of 126 agencies who currently hire social workers or who plan to in the future. The study also addressed barriers for employees seeking social work degrees, and the projected effects of future “credentializing” such as social work licensure and Medicaid reimbursement. The projected need for future BSW workers is twice that of MSW workers. Agency administrators generally predicted that all future credentializing movements would increase the future need for MSW workers. For BSW workers agency accreditation, managed care and social work licensure should increase demand while the effects of Medicaid reimbursement and third-party payments are uncertain. Barriers to the education of current employees continue to exist, and demand for employees positively relates to the proximity to current and proposed social work education programs. Features of this descriptive study which limit its generalizability include the sample utilized (local agencies either currently employing or interested in employing social workers) and lack of control for extraneous variables.