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Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education (HPPAE)

olderadult2.jpgThe Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education (HPPAE) aims to strengthen the pipeline of service providers for our nation's aging population by infusing MSW programs with an innovative educational model to recruit and prepare students with geriatric social work competencies. 

Rationale and Mission

The mission of HPPAE is to recruit and train social work leaders in supporting older adults and their caregivers to maintain as much independence as possible. The HPPAE was developed to address multiple needs and concerns:

  • Supporting a rapidly growing older adult population
  • Attracting social work students to aging
  • Expanding the workforce
  • Establishing a specialized aging practicum model

To meet these needs, the HPPAE offers an innovative approach that exposes students to a broad spectrum of service settings and diverse older adult populations. Since all MSW programs already feature a field education model, the HPPAE is meant to complement an existing geriatric education program; it does not require "reinventing the wheel.” However, it may be an improvement upon this model, by taking into account the trends and changes in the field of aging that require social workers to be more familiar with, and skilled at, navigating the different health and long-term care and social service systems available to older adults.