Nov. 9—ASHTABULA — Area students and dozens of agencies in Northeast Ohio will be the beneficiaries of a recently developed social work program at Kent State University Ashtabula, in partnership with campuses in Salem and Tuscarawas County.
Local social services and other community leaders began discussing ways to create more candidates for a wide range of regional agencies, ranging from law enforcement to more traditional social work opportunities.
The talks began in 2019 but were delayed by the coronavirus pandemic and other challenges. “We started classes in the fall of 2023,” said Matt Butler, director of the Bachelor of Social Work program.
He said the program has been launched with the cooperation of the three regional campuses and will hopefully receive full accreditation in 2026. Butler said current students will still receive a degree in social work prior to final accreditation.
Butler said he has produced 360 to 370 pages of documentation related to accreditation. Some of the students who have already completed two-year degrees will graduate in May, if all goes as planned, he said.
“We’ve had almost 200 students take at least one class,” Butler said. There are 100 to 120 people working toward a degree in social work, he said.
The program includes an internship, which is helpful to agencies in the three areas where the students attend classes, Butler said.
Hector Picasso is currently interning with the Ashtabula County Adult Probation Department. Picasso said he is excited about learning theories that will help the department.
Picasso hopes to learn more about how the system can continue to reduce recidivism. He said he hopes to earn a master’s degree.
Students from the different campuses participate in one class per month after choosing a main campus. Butler said he rotates between the three different campuses and the students follow Zoom when they are not on their campus.
“When we started the program, we didn’t want them [the students] to have to travel too far,” Butler said. Butler said balancing the needs and wants of students can also be a challenge, but he believes the right balance has been achieved.
“Some students want everything online and some want it in person,” Butler said. He said the hybrid model appears to be working.
He said the program seeks to provide a bridge for those who are currently employed in social services and would like to advance but need a degree.
The program aims to focus on social work in rural areas, which may be different from work in urban areas. Butler said the program aims to help people who are passionate about helping others.
“I think it’s a lot easier to keep people in their communities,” he said.
Butler said there is a wide variety of participants in the program, ranging from high school students to working people, nurses and others. He said some of the agencies benefiting from the new counseling services major include hospitals, nursing homes, probation departments and court systems.
The demand for these positions is still very high.
“People often get jobs before they graduate,” Butler says.
Ashtabula County Commissioner Kathryn Whittington said the program will be helpful because there are many organizations that could benefit from potential employees.
Ashtabula County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board Executive Director Kaitie Park Hart said it will also be helpful. She said the regional nature of the program is a bonus.
“Not only does this provide greater accessibility for students, it also allows them to build better networks and connections across the region,” Hart said. “Many of the classes offered in the Bachelor of Social Work program are interprofessionally useful.”
She said it will also provide a lot of information for students in nursing, physical therapy and other fields of study.
“We’re happy to have a program like this here in Ashtabula County. We need more social workers,” Hart said. “They are needed everywhere and I hope the program continues to build the workforce for this very important, in-demand profession.”
Tania Burnett, director of Ashtabula County Children Services, said she is pleased with the program.
“Our case workers are required to have a bachelor’s degree in social work or a related field, so this is a great opportunity to get more social workers involved in the field of child welfare,” she said. “In general, there are not enough social workers to fill all the vacancies in mental health or substance treatment, so this will be a huge help in those areas as well.”
