The "Summer Scholars" program addresses workforce shortages in social work and mental health by engaging high school students. Through workshops, career development, and Teen Mental Health First Aid training, the program increased interest in social work careers. This promising model may enhance recruitment, curriculum, and workforce readiness in baccalaureate programs..
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this session, attendees should be able to:
Explore how to embed experiential learning and industry-recognized certifications in curriculum designed for teens.
Discuss a program development framework to collect student feedback and analyze data on student satisfaction to improve the quality of social work education.
Evaluate this innovative model as a recruitment and retention strategy for social work programs to build a strong pipeline of future social work professionals.
