Strengthening families and helping stabilize community life in St. Louis are the goals of a new community service-field education partnership between AmerenUE and the George Warren Brown School of Social Work.
Made possible by a $250,000 grant from AmerenUE, the three-year program will provide stipends ranging from $500 to $1,000 to master of social work students involved in semester-long field education internship projects that address critical social problems in St. Louis-area communities.
Among the many efforts that will benefit directly from the new partnership are an after-school recreation program for East St. Louis children living in violent, poverty-stricken public housing projects; an activities program for inner-city teens at high risk for gang involvement; and a treatment program for delinquent, neglected, abused or emotionally disturbed adolescents in St. Louis County.
"AmerenUE's support for this critical effort is a testament not only to the quality of the Univer-sity's school of social work but also to our continuing desire to improve the lives of those who need our help most," said Charles W. Mueller, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Ameren Corp. "Funding these internships helps us reach those who need help strengthening their families, preparing for and finding employment and returning to healthy, violence-free lifestyles. Initiatives like this are critical to the future of the communities AmerenUE serves."
Students selected for the AmerenUE Community Service Intern program will work closely with local nonprofit agencies and other community service providers on projects promoting job readiness, healthy life choices for young people and a range of other innovative neighborhood-based services.
Known as a practicum, the field education internship is an integral part of social work education. Every graduate social work student is required to spend at least 1,000 hours in a field education project of his or her choosing (see related story). Many students volunteer more hours than necessary, and some contribute as many as 1,500 hours during the course of their education. All work under the supervision of an on-site professional with an advanced degree in social work or a related discipline.
Although students can propose field education projects anywhere in the world, most do their field work in the St. Louis area; most are unpaid, volunteer positions. Working closely with school, church and community leaders, health providers and other professionals, the University's social work students provide nearly a quarter million hours of volunteer services to the St. Louis region each academic year.
"We are proud of the contributions our graduate students make to planning, delivery and evaluation of social services in the greater St. Louis community," said Therese J. Dent, Ph.D., assistant dean for field education. "AmerenUE's support will allow our students to take on unpaid projects that they otherwise might not be able to consider, and it will allow the school to help develop and staff new field education programs that meet the important community service priorities that AmerenUE has identified for the new partnership."
Under the program, graduate students working in unpaid practicum projects anywhere in the AmerenUE service area will be eligible to apply for support. Students will compete for the stipends by demonstrating their projects' effectiveness in meeting the program's primary objectives: stabilizing local communities; strengthening diverse, at-risk children, youth and families; contributing to the professional education of community service workers; and developing new community service programs.
The social work school currently offers its students field education opportunities in more than 400 local agencies. About 25 of these agencies whose programs most closely match AmerenUE's objectives have been targeted for special emphasis under the internship program. The partnership also seeks to develop new community programs staffed by AmerenUE interns.
One example of such a program to be implemented this summer is the Immigrant Youth Outreach Project, an education and enrichment program for young immigrants to St. Louis from Mexico, Haiti, Somalia, Eritrea and elsewhere. A collaborative effort of Southside Catholic Community Services and Provident Counseling, the program will be staffed by three AmerenUE interns from the University and provide services to help immigrant teens meet the challenges of adjusting to life in a new country.
Other special AmerenUE projects under development will put social work graduate students to work in the University City School District and with the Metropolitan Employment and Rehabilitation Service.
AmerenUE is a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Ameren Corp.
