Associate Professor Kathleen Farkas of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences served on the National Taskforce Steering Committee for a trauma-informed social work curricular guide published by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). This is not the Mandel School’s first curricular collaboration with CSWE; the current guidelines used by the CSWE when accrediting schools of social work are based on the 8 Abilities Model first created at the Mandel School.
As part of the committee, Farkas helped develop the guide and chaired the subcommittee dedicated to the assessment of individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.
“Participating in curriculum development at the national scale like this is a testament to the Mandel School’s leadership in social work education,” said Grover C. Gilmore, the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Dean in Applied Social Sciences. “I am grateful to Dr. Farkas for her guidance in leading the development of guidelines that will train future social workers in trauma-informed practice, a particular strength of our top-10 ranked social work school.”
“The recently released curricular guide reflects what we at the Mandel School know to be true: that all social workers, not only those working specifically with traumatized populations, need to be able to utilize a trauma-informed lens in their practice,” Farkas said. “I’m proud to have participated in the effort to incorporate trauma-informed knowledge and skills across the curriculum in schools of social work. The curricular guide is an important tool to increase trauma-informed practices among future social work professionals.”