The School of Social Work created the Institute for Families, effective July 1, 2007. The Institute will house all of the continuing education, professional development and training programs, and research projects that were formerly under the Office of Professional Development and Research, as well as three new centers being created.
Mission-
The mission of the Institute for Families (IFF) is to provide support and improve opportunities for individuals, families, and communities by building the capacity of human service professionals and organizations. Through professional development and training, applied research and technical assistance, IFF disseminates knowledge that leads to greater understanding of social problems, enhanced service design and delivery, and ultimately, improved service outcomes. IFF draws upon multidisciplinary resources to develop innovative and proactive strategies that address social issues in New Jersey and the global community.
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The Institute for Families provides an important bridge between the academic and practice communities in New Jersey. The school's scholarship should benefit the practice community, while the practice community can provide the "laboratory" for our scholarship.
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The professional development, continuing education, research, evaluation and technical assistance services that the institute provides to the New Jersey human services community ultimately benefit many of the state's most vulnerable citizens.
- New Jersey Child Welfare Training Partnership
- New Jersey Child Support Institute
- Family Preservation Training Institute
- Adult Protective Services Training Institute
- Rutgers Family Development Credential Program
- Adoption: Clinical Training and Child Welfare Track
- Expert Witness Training Institute
- Court Improvement Training
- Bioterrorism/Emergency Preparedness Training
The Institute also offers numerous workshops of interest to social workers and those in allied professions. Workshops for licensed clinical social workers focus on addictions, advanced studies in child maltreatment, clinical issues in healthcare, clinical issues in the workplace, clinical supervision, ethical issues in clinical practice, special diagnoses, working in schools, working with couples and families, and clinical work with the elderly.
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The Institute offers 19 multi-course certificate programs, including Adoption; Child/Adolescent Mental Health; Trauma Response and Crisis Intervention; Human Services Management; Parent Education; Using the Arts in Prevention; Developmental Disabilities; Basic and Advanced Gerontology; Training Skills; Divorce Mediation; and Adult Protection from Abuse and Neglect.
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This 20-hour course for clinical supervisors covers core issues in clinical supervision, models and techniques of clinical supervision, managing differences and difficult supervisees, and legal and ethical issues in clinical supervision.
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Examples include:
- Chafee National Youth in Transition Database
- Office of the Child Advocate
- Abbott Preschool Enrollment Project
- Administration of Courts Family Friendly Court Assessment
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Examples include:
- Division of Youth and Family Services Concurrent Planning Training
- Child Assault Prevention Program
- Project Wise
- New Jersey Strengthening Families
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Examples include:
- Division of Youth and Family Services Data Collections
- Ryan White CAREware
- CASA of New Jersey
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The Institute is in a unique position to involve students in a multitude of projects that focus on some of the most challenging issues facing the agencies and organizations that serve New Jersey's most vulnerable citizens. To the extent possible, undergraduate and graduate social work students are involved in planning programs and conducting...