PPROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

UMSSW’s Financial Social Work Initiative (FSWI) is offering the next online version of the Financial Social Work (FSW) Certificate Program through UMSSW’s Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Office in March 2025! It will meet an identified need for greater financial capability and empowerment knowledge on the part of social workers who practice in non-profit and other social service agencies, as well as in schools, medical settings, justice and court settings, and beyond.

In FSWI’s work and research over the past 16 years, social workers and human service organizations have expressed a significant, ongoing need for financial social work (FSW) training and skill-building strategies to enable them to intervene appropriately and effectively with financially distressed individuals, families, and communities. Beyond providing resources, however, social workers must have sophisticated knowledge about issues in typical daily financial life, such as credit, debt, budgeting, and working towards identified financial goals. Social workers who work with clients on their complex financial struggles and how these intersect with other psychosocial stressors must be knowledgeable about and familiar with financial issues and behaviors, and feel comfortable in addressing these directly and effectively. From a macro, policy perspective as well, social workers who work within FSW must also be well versed in historical and current policy issues that influence and affect people’s paths towards greater financial stability; conversely, those policies that hinder financial stability and/or that perpetuate economic injustice must also be understood.

The FSW Certificate Program will run over sixteen half-day sessions from March 2025 to October 2025. The online formatting design of the FSW Certificate Program will enable rich class discussion and learning through interaction among the macro and clinical practitioners from across the nation. Besides key educators, the program will feature guest speakers from this important practice area. In addition, three hours of social work ethics content will be included and will go towards satisfying requirements for social work ethics CEUs.

Additionally, this version of the FSW Certificate Program will feature new content on student loan debt coaching, becoming familiar with the complex and ever-changing student loan repayment and forgiveness issues and landscape. This content creates and adds an important training module to the FSW Certificate Program curriculum and provides intensive training on all aspects of student loan debt, including how to work with students and graduates on strategies to budget and plan for loan repayment, access consolidation and forgiveness programs, and prevent loan defaults.  Registrants, including FSW Certificate Program graduates, Financial Aid professionals, and other AFC-accredited professionals, will be able to attend this module by itself in May if desired.

COURSE SCHEDULE:

Each session will occur sequentially in half-day segments from 1:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. EST. The dates are:

• March 6 and 7, 2025
• April 3 and 4, 2025
• May 1 and 2, 2025 (dates for student loan coaching content)
• June 5 and 6, 2025
• July 10 and 11, 2025
• August 7 and 8, 2025
• September 4 and 5, 2025
• October 2 and 3, 2025

TOTAL NUMBER OF SOCIAL WORK CEUs:  48 for entire program. Including 3 for ethics on July 10.

TOTAL NUMBER OF AFC CEUs:  48 for entire program; 6 for May sessions only.

Failure to attend the appropriate number of classes will result in a participant being dismissed from the Certificate program. Participants are allowed to miss one class throughout the program. Any missed class time will result in a reduction of CEUs.

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

1. To increase social workers’ knowledge of and skills with financial social work concepts and practice, and to integrate this content into how complex financial activities are navigated on a daily basis;
2. To increase the capacity for the social work profession to engage clients in financial empowerment and strategies for working on self-identified financial goals and paths toward greater financial stability and well-being;
3. To train social workers in skill building in making their financial social work practice responsive and effective to individuals, families, and communities struggling with financial and other types of stressors;
4. To train social workers to be powerful change agents and advocates within their communities of practice.

 

Payment Cost and Schedule: 

•   $1,400.00 for the Complete Certificate Program

Applicants can choose to pay for the entire program or enter our complimentary four-payment schedule below. Payments are non-refundable after the second session.

Payment Due Date	Payment
Playment One: February 26, 2025	$500
Payment Two: April 4, 2025	$300
Payment Three: May 2, 2025	$300
Payment Four: June 6, 2025	$300

We do not accept personal checks. Business/Agency checks can be made payable to: 

UMSSW/CPE

525 W. Redwood St

St 2E26B

Baltimore, Maryland 21201

PLEASE SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING WITH YOUR APPLICATION: 

• A copy of your Social Work License (if applicable)
• An updated copy of your resume/CV
• 2-3 page Personal Statement (double spaced)
  • Why do you want to participate and what draws you to financial social work? Is there a special population or community of interest? 
  • How will you use the information and knolwdge in your work? 
  • Discuss past training, and how your practice has benefited from that knowledge. 
• Include a one-time, non-refundable $50 application fee.

I do hereby affirm that all statements made herewith are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. By submitting this applcation and fee, I am stating that I understand and will adhere to the standards outlined. 

You will be notified of acceptance by February 21, 2025

 

For questions or help with the application, contact UMSSW CPE at cpe@ssw.umaryland.edu.  For questions related to the FSW Certificate Program content and/or the Financial Social Work Initiative (FSWI), contact CPE at cpe@ssw.umaryland.edu or 410-706-1839.

The University of Maryland School of Social Work Office of Continuing Professional Education is authorized by the Board of Social Work Examiners in Maryland to sponsor social work continuing education programs and maintains full responsibility for this program.