The program is the first of its kind in the country and aims to create conversations around the role of social work in public safety settings.
Valparaiso University is launching a new public safety social work certificate program, the first of its kind in the country. The new program seeks to open up conversations around the role of social workers in public safety settings and to help to combat some of the issues that typically arise when trying to shift the way public safety officers think about how to handle issues like mental health emergencies.
According to an article on Valparaiso University's website, Caroline Ban, MSW, an associate professor of social work, is the creator of the new certificate program. She is quoted as saying, “What I’ve learned from current workers is that the vast majority of them wish they had more specialized training for this field. This is a way to meet the needs of people already in the field as well as our students. The certificate is the best way to accomplish both goals. Valpo stresses servant-leadership as a key tenet of its education. If we look at social workers in public safety and crisis settings, leadership is essential. This certificate takes social workers who are servants of the community and gives them the tools to be leaders in those public safety settings.”
The certificate program will be available as both an add-on option for the Master of Social Work degree and a certificate for current MSWs to receive training and learning in a field that lacks these opportunities.
Sam Burgett, ’20 MSW, LSW, is an adjunct instructor in sociology and criminology who will be joining the faculty for the new program. She is the first embedded police social worker for the Valparaiso Police Department and Porter County Sheriff’s Office and aims to bring her experience working in the field to the students seeking to learn the same skills.
“By sharing my real-world experiences in the field, our students will gain valuable insight into what to expect in their roles serving the community. I’m currently focusing on mental health and substance abuse in the course that I’m teaching, and one of the goals is to highlight the diverse populations that are countered within this work,” she said.
Embedded social workers in police stations and sheriffs’ departments are instrumental in helping public safety officers handle situations with individuals experiencing crises who would not benefit from being arrested or have not committed a crime. Intervention of some kind is often still necessary, and embedded social workers can step in and offer their own knowledge and expertise on the best practices for the individual scenario.
Matthew Ringenberg, Ph.D., an associate professor of social work and the MSW program director, said, “We’re breaking ground. What we’re doing here will likely shape what the initial national regulations look like. There are a couple universities that offer classes related to this topic, but we’re the only one offering this certificate program to students and professionals.” He added, “We don’t assume that a police station should be a social service agency. At the same time, it’s critical that they understand intervention strategies and work to develop protocols, which are more successful when done collaboratively. That’s a key aspect of the education we provide.”
For more information about Valparaiso University, visit the school’s website.