Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver) as recipients of the SAMHSA Expansion of Practitioner Education grant will design the Expansion and Standardization of Substance Use Disorder Education and Training for Colorado Social Workers project. Over a two-year period, MSU Denver will improve and design required and elective courses to enhance and standardize Substance Use Disorder (SUD) education and training for undergraduate and graduate level social work students. The purpose of this project is to improve upon the quality and access to SUD services and reduce the stigma associated with addiction. We will accomplish this goal by expanding the number of social work practitioners trained to provide high-quality, evidence-based services for the prevention, intervention and recovery of SUD.
By August 2020, our first goal is to enhance curriculum focused on Substance Use Disorders in existing required BSSW and MSW program courses to include or strengthen, SBIRT strategies, assessment, and treatment principles and their application to alcohol, marijuana, and stimulants, and opioid. Our objective is to infuse the prevention and treatment of SUD into 9 of 18 core undergraduate courses, and 8 of the 17 core graduate courses. By August 2020, our second goal is to develop an elective SUD course for the undergraduate and graduate programs that will be cross listed with Health Institute Departments (10 departments). Our objectives are to modify our newly developed train-the-trainer SUD curriculum to infuse SUD content into our undergraduate and graduate classroom curriculum. By August 2020, our third goal is to expand our collaborative educational response to: increase the number of undergraduate and graduate field placements; enhance the curriculum by providing longitudinal placements; and, expand reach across the state to address SUD needs with underserved populations. By the end of year one we will work with the Department of Regulatory agencies to assess and expand SUD questions on licensing mental health and addictions examinations. The primary population served by this project are MSU Denver undergraduate and graduate social work students. The secondary population impacted will be the field placement agencies who train our students. These agencies are located across Colorado, in underserved urban, rural and frontier regions. Annually, an estimated 690 students across both programs will receive the enhanced education and training and will directly impact their field placements. Over the life of the project, an approximate 1,380 students will be trained, along with their respective field placement agencies.