More than 70 individuals attended the Stony Brook School of Social Welfare’s (SSW) virtual Social Work and Disability Conference on June 11.
The conference showcased a New York Community Trust-funded program that provides scholarships to direct support professionals (DSPs), its associated membership, and leadership activities. Attendees heard from program graduates, their mentors, and prominent national presenters about components of the program.
Presenters included Joseph Macbeth, CEO and president of the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals; Tawara Goode, assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Georgetown University Medical Center; and Caitlin Bailey, PhD, co-director of the National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities Staff and Faculty.
In 2022, New York Community Trust agreed to fund an SSW proposal, titled Fostering Sustainability in the Disability Workforce: Building a Pipeline for Social Work Careers with Individuals with Developmental Disabilities.
As a professor of over 25 years, SSW Associate Dean for Research Michelle Ballan, PhD, MSW, discovered that one of the most underrecognized pools of talent in disability agencies is DSPs.
The New York Community Trust-funded grant provides $7,000 per year in scholarship support for BSW and MSW students seeking to further their professional training as DSPs. The grant covers admissions application fees, National Association of Social Work (NASW) student membership, graduation regalia fees, and provides students with $500 yearly for childcare, books, and parking.
“Our program seeks to increase the number of diverse social workers by recruiting DSPs, who are involved in the most intimate aspects of the lives of individuals with disabilities,” said Dr. Ballan.
“These DSPs yearn for access to better, higher quality, and more relevant training and professional development opportunities,” she added. “The social work profession is a natural next step for these skilled direct care providers to attain more formalized training.”
Students complete a 10-session effective and personalized career mentorship program in the final year of the program. Associate Professor Melissa L. Bessaha, PhD, LMSW, MA, and six Stony Brook alumni in the Council on Social Work Education Minority Fellowship program serve as mentors to scholarship recipients.
SSW graduate Courtney Braun, LMSW, serves as program director and provides regular support and guidance to awardees.
