About Us

Philosophy
The Center for Collaborative Social Work is a key component of the School of Social Work at Georgia State University. The School of Social Work was developed in 1965 and is the first school in the country to offer a master’s with a sole concentration in community partnerships. The school’s commitment to community partnerships grew out of collaborative efforts with community stake holders from a variety of social service agencies in the greater Atlanta area. Together, they developed a program based on the following principles:

“ Partnership is critical for human service delivery and building communities;
challenges facing individuals and communities are interrelated and that solutions must be as well;
students should commit themselves to addressing social and economic justice issues that test the spirit of individuals and communities;
students should be educated for leadership roles to facilitate partnerships; and
the program must continue to be relevant to the professional lives of students and practitioners and to the needs of diverse communities.” (Wertheimer et al. 2004)

The Center developed out of the School of Social Works’ need for an organizational structure that extended the school’s founding principles beyond the classroom and into the community.

Mission
The Center for Collaborative Social Work’s mission is to contribute to building and sustaining healthy communities through the utilization of community strengths and resources in the:

Development and application of interventions, program strategies, policy analysis, and community-based research and evaluation;
Education and training of a multifaceted human services workforce; and
Facilitation of community partnerships.