What do CAP students learn?

Students graduating from the Community and Administrative Practice Concentration are able to achieve change at a macro level. They partner with community members to improve their lives collectively and collaboratively by doing the following:

• Writing successful grants to bring much-needed funds to an agency addressing vital community needs;
• Conducting a needs assessment which lays the groundwork for highlighting needed changes in a community;
• Supervising workers so they can more effectively assist clients;
• Advocating with decision-makers to achieve greater social justice;
• Creating sound budgets for an organization so that scarce resources are allocated to achieve the most good;
• Developing new programs (or revamp old ones) based on community needs, resources, evidence, logical connections, and reasonable financial parameters.

CAP Coursework

The basis for all CAP coursework is an emphasis on critical thinking, sound analysis and excellent communication skills. Students will deal with challenging material, progressing through a sequence of required courses and then branching out to choose from among several electives deepening knowledge of and mastery over specific practice-related topics.

The courses in the CAP curriculum are listed below.

First Year Required CAP Course (Waived for most Advanced Placement Students)

• SOCW 5306: Macro Practice

Second Year CAP Courses (Required)

• SOCW 5312: Community and Administrative Practice

Second Year Practice Options (Choose at least 2)
(Note: Not all these courses are offered every semester; work with the MSW Academic Advisor to plan out your coursework.)

• SOCW 5320: Advanced Administration
• SOCW 5321: Advanced Community Practice
• SOCW 5324: Supervision
• SOCW 5325: Budgeting and Financial Management
• SOCW 5326: Seminar in Grant Proposal Development
• SOCW 5344: Social Work and Managed Care

Educational Objectives of CAP

By graduation, students specializing in Community and Administrative Practice will achieve the foundation objectives and the following advanced concentration objectives:

1. Build on generalist skills in community assessment to design an intervention strategy including mission, goals, objectives, budget, logic model, and evaluation.
2. Identify, critically evaluate, and apply appropriate, evidence-informed interventions at the agency or community level.
3. Critically analyze and apply a variety of community and administrative theories to practice.
4. Demonstrate skills in ethical and empowerment-based social work practice, taking into account the impact of race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, culture, religion, national origin and other client characteristics in organizations, and communities.
5. Design practice evaluation activities to improve human service interventions in organizations and communities.
6. Demonstrate ability to integrate micro and macro practice, policy, and research into their area of service delivery in order to enhance client well-being.
7. Prepare to engage in life-long learning and activities to update and improve professional knowledge and skills.

Where are CAP Field Placements?

CAP students have a wide variety of excellent placement opportunities, with opportunities in many areas of the DFW metroplex. Contact the Field Office to see what all the options are for the semester you're interested in because not all sites are available every semester. Some examples include:

• Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth (Fort Worth)
• Center for Addiction and Recovery Studies (Dallas)
• Center for African American Studies (Arlington)
• City House (Plano)
• City of Fort Worth - Community Action Partners Program (Fort Worth)
• Community Health Charities Texas (Arlington)
• Family Abuse Center (Waco)
• Interfaith Housing Coalition (Dallas)
• Lewisville ISD (Lewisville)
• Northside Inter-Community Agency (NICA) (Fort Worth)
• TexProtects-The Texas Association for the Protection of Children (Dallas)
• The Parenting Center (Fort Worth)
• The Senior Source - Senior Citizens of Greater Dallas (Dallas)
• TXU Energy (Irving)
• United Way Tarrant County
• UTA's Relationship Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Program (Arlington)
• Veterans Administration North Texas Health Care System (Dallas)
• Various state legislators' district offices

Where do CAP Graduates find jobs?

CAP students successfully find a variety of jobs. Some continue where they have worked before or while taking classes. These graduates are often subsequently promoted into supervisory or other management jobs. A number start their own nonprofits and become executive director immediately. Other graduates find employment in positions such as these:

• Lobbyist for the Mental Health Association of Texas in Austin
• Administrator in the Federal Regional Office of Health and Human Services in Dallas
• Grant writer for MHMR in Fort Worth
• Manager of the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program in Tarrant County
• Human Services Programs analyst for the City of Arlington
• Assistant to the City Manager, Southlake
• Program Officer in a private foundation in Dallas
• Executive Director of Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth
• Director of Constituent Services for a State Senator in Arlington

The job skills you acquire are ones that many potential employers desire, at all levels of government and nonprofit agencies. Even some for profit businesses are eager to hire MSW graduates in their Human Resources or Social Ventures departments.

Brianna Gibbs
Academic Recruiter
Primarily Graduate Admissions
Email: brianna.gibbs@uta.edu
Phone:817-272-2551
Office:  SWSH 203O

Dolores Bevins
Admissions Counselor II
Email: doloresbevins@uta.edu
Phone: 817-272-1044
Office:  SWSH 203Q

Darlene Santee
Manager for Recruiting and Admissions
Email: santeed@uta.edu
Office:  SWSH 203U

Antwan C. Williams, J.D.
Asst. Director of Communications, Marketing, Recruiting, Admissions,
and Community Outreach
Email: antwan.williams@uta.edu
Office:  SWSH 203S