January 17, 2024
For immediate release
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Carlow’s MSW School Certificate Program Receives Approval and Grant for Graduate Students
Pittsburgh, Pa. – Carlow University’s Master of Social Work (MSW) Program’s School Social Work Certificate has received the great news from the Pennsylvania Department of Education: state approval that the program meets the requirements of the state’s School Social Worker PK-12 Post-Baccalaureate Program, as well as a grant to be used for select students taking part in the Carlow Counseling Clinic in the Woodland Hills School District. The Carlow Counseling Clinic is a mental health training practice that includes MSW and Master of Professional Counseling (MPC) students.
“These announcements from the Department of Education affirm the work that we’ve put into the School Social Worker Certificate Program,” said Kenneth Smythe-Leistico, EdD, MSW, LSW, field director and associate professor of social work. “This means that our School Social Work Certificate graduates are now eligible for certification as Pennsylvania School Social Worker Educational Specialists.”
The MSW program also received a grant from the Department of Education, Office of Safe and Supportive Schools, Mental Health Service Professionals Demonstration Grant Program that provides resources for graduate students specializing in school social work. “Although the partnership began with Woodland Hills, students can complete their field placement with other districts in need,” said Dr. Smythe-Leistico.
The Carlow Counseling Clinic (CCC) at Woodland Hills provides FREE school-based mental health counseling and prevention services to students at Dickson STEAM Preparatory Academy and Woodland Hills High School, with the goal of launching services at the elementary schools within the district in Fall 2024. With a referral from the school’s social worker or school counselor, a child or teen is eligible for in-school counseling services through the CCC.
The counselors who provide services at the CCC are master’s-level practicum and internship students within Carlow University’s Master of Professional Counseling (MPC) Program. All counselors-in-training receive supervision of their work and training from the clinical director of CCC, Rebecca Cash, PhD, LPC, LCMHC, NCC. CCC’s vision is to prepare trauma-informed and culturally-inclusive counselors-in-training who, post-graduation, will work in school-based mental health clinics within high needs learning environments in the Pittsburgh area.
For more information about this program, please visit Master of Social Work (MSW) degree – Carlow University
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