< Return to Senior Student Project listing

Implementing a Substance Abuse Course for Undergraduates
by: Christy Lashley and Jerry Shannon


Introduction
This project came to pass because Christy and Jerry decided to change projects in the middle of the semester. There has been a copious amount of work and new deadlines so that this new project could be accomplished. We began by doing a literature search into the issues of substance abuse and policy. Through this literature search and the fact that both Jerry and Christy have a desire to practice in the macro social work setting, we found supporting evidence that a substance abuse course is desired by many outside agencies that employ social workers. Because of this research and evidence of findings, we have decided to try and convince the social work program to implement a substance abuse course in the social work curriculum at California State University, Chico.

Statement of Need
We have observed through our exposure to social work in internships, education and surveys, that the undergraduate social work program at California State University, Chico is in need of a substance awareness course for its students. We are proposing a basic awareness and assessment course that involves social workers in the substance abuse process. This will be an introductory course that is not intended to give an in depth education, but rather to give the student basic skills to assess clients with substance abuse issues. This course can include, but is not limited to, drug identification and affects on the body and environment, initial assessments of substance abuse clients and the importance of the role of social work in substance abuse.

Description of the Intervention
We started our project by doing research and interviews on current substance abuse programs in social work curriculum around the nation. We then developed a survey that was mailed to each social work field instructor that requested input into the idea of a substance abuse course in the CSUC social work program. In the surveys that were mailed to each field instructor currently contracted with the CSUC social work program, we found that the vast majority approved of the idea of some sort of substance abuse course. Between twenty and one hundred percent of clients served by these same agencies are directly involved with substance abuse. Seventy five to one hundred percent of clients are indirectly affected by substance abuse issues. The majority of the field instructors responded in the survey that CSUC social work interns have exhibited a low level of knowledge regarding substance abuse. The majority of field instructors also responded that social work employees need a medium to high level of substance abuse knowledge.

We researched the Alcohol/Drug Studies Certificated program at Butte College, and found that the two year certificated program is diverse and in-depth. Although this certificate program would be very advantageous to a social worker, our proposal is that a social worker needs to have a basic understanding of substance abuse and assessment of the client. We then made a proposal to the course curriculum committee of the CSUC social work department that included the research, results of the survey, and our own recommendations for the course. The recommendations included a course that contained basic substance abuse assessment for clients, exposure, information and identification of common abused substances and community resources and treatment programs for substance abusers.

Evaluation of the Intervention


Reflections on the Project
We felt that with this large of a project, it was important to work in a group instead of one person. This helped us to motivate each other and to share the large work load. We felt that it was also important to have community and program support to accomplish this task. We recommend that students in the future have a strong understanding of surveys and statistical analysis before attempting a complicated project such as this. The amount of information and statistics that needed to be gathered for a project of this scope can be overwhelming. We feel that this project is truly a project that encompasses macro social work. We chose this project partly because of our passion for social work on a broader scope than just individual and group therapy. This project created an outlet for us to perform and perfect macro social work skills in a generalist social work curriculum and environment.

Recommendation for Further Action
We invite and encourage any students who are interested in continuing the call for a substance abuse education course in the CSUC social work program to use our information and research in accomplishing what we have started. It is important for students to know that this course we are trying to implement is just one of the many courses that need to be taught in order to have a sufficient base of knowledge and education in substance abuse.

References
Freeman, E. (1987, Fall). Strategies for Teaching the Differential Use of Alcoholism Treatment Approaches. Journal of Social Work Education, No. 3, pp. 29-36.

Kagle, J. (1987, Fall). Women Who Drink: Changing Images, Changing Realities. Journal of Social Work Education, No. 3, pp. 21-27.

Knowlton, J., et al., (1998, July). Preventing and Reducing Alcohol and Other Drug Use among High-Risk Youths by Increasing Family Resilience. Social Work, Vol. 43, No. 4, pp. 297-307.

-------------. MS, MFCC, Director, Community College ADS Program, Personal Interview. 4/13/99.

-------------. MSW, LCSW, Coordinator of BSW Program, Personal Interview. 2/15/99.

State of California. (1997) Center for Health Statistics, Department of Health Services. Sacramento, State of California Printing Office.

Van Wormer, K. (1987, Spring/Summer). Training social Work Students for Practice with Substance Abusers: An Ecological Approach. Journal of Social Work Education, No. 2, pp. 47-56.

^top