CHHS >> Social Work >> MSW >> A&P
Administration and Planning (A&P)
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Information
(SW 895/898)
An A&P focus implies a commitment to responsive, ethnically-sensitive, effective and efficient social service agencies and community organizations. The concentration has a distinct knowledge base rooted in planning and organizational theory. Courses emphasize the development of skills in administrative policy-making, program development and evaluation, budget and personnel management, staff training and supervision, fundraising and proposal writing.
The A&P concentration also recognizes that the administration of social services agencies requires a recognition and concern for the manner in which agencies provide those services. The manner of provision of services should adapt to the changing environment surrounding it while continuing to provide relevant services.
Objectives of second-year A&P field placements
With respect to decision making, students will be able to:
- Develop an approach to administration which is rational, deliberative, conscious, discretionary and purposeful.
- Define issues, analyze different situations, calculate and delineate alternatives and deliberate between an choose alternatives.
With respect to programming, students will be able to:
- Assess the need for a particular community program and engage in planning goals and objectives based on need and benefit costs.
- Participate in the preparation of a program budget.
- Understand the use of program evaluation techniques, management by objectives, census tract data, the Federal Register, and the Directory of Federal Assistance.
- Prepare a timetable to be used in planning programs or significant portions of programs.
- Develop a grant proposal for an agency or community group.
With respect to communicating, students will be able to:
- Write effective letters, memoranda, policy statements, and procedural guides.
- Organize an in-service training program and interpret the program to those who will be carrying it out.
- Participate in the construction of an informational system to monitor agency programs.
- Understand appropriate software programs and use a personal computer for word processing, spreadsheet and database functions.
- Understand that effectiveness depends on good communication.
- Write status reports for the edification of boards.
- Help write program evaluation reports.
- Design a feedback or reporting form.
With respect to controlling, students will be able to:
- Understand that the establishment of standards is an important tool in "controlling" programs, and that control is concerned with definition of desired behavior.
- Appreciate the importance of the budget as a means of control, as well as standards, organizational charts, job standardization, wage and salary schedules, purchasing specifications and various quality controls.
- Assess the organizational climate and make recommendations for its improvement.
- Write directives.
- Perceive and respond appropriately to the domains which determine organizational policy.
- Engage in some supervisory activity.
- Participate in negotiations.
- Understand that program operations involve all of the above.
With respect to reappraising, students will be able to:
Understand that decisions and resultant programs are based on facts, assumptions, and values which are subject to change. Decisions must be reviewed and appraised rapidly as change occurs to retain their validity and viability.
Understand that reappraisal may be accomplished in several ways. It may simply involve a review of the original issues in light of new information, a decrease in resources or the availability of new resources. Or it can involve elaborate evaluative research on the effectiveness and efficiency of the program produced by the decision.
Contracting and Evaluating
All MSW students in the field have to complete field contracts. (see Form #803) Supervisors must fill out the First-Semester Final Evaluation (Form #816B) at the end of the second semester. Students cannot receive a grade without these evaluations. (See Field Instructor's Responsibilities)
Field Competencies
The following field competencies should be kept in mind when completing the contract and evaluations for A&P students. Students must be able to demonstrate skills in:
- Program Planning
- Personnel Management
- Fiscal Management
- Public and Community Relations
- Program Evaluation
- Management Information Systems
- Organizational Development and Change
