Institute for Geriatric Social Work

The Institute for Geriatric Social Work (IGSW) was an American nonprofit, non-membership organization focused on strengthening professional practice in services for older adults. Founded in 2002 by Scott Miyake Geron, PhD, the institute was affiliated with Boston University and closely connected with the Boston University School of Social Work. Its work addressed the expanding need for social workers and other human-services practitioners to understand aging, disability, long-term care, and the practical challenges faced by older adults and their families. IGSW's principal role was continuing professional education rather than direct clinical care, degree education, or membership administration. It developed accessible training for individual practitioners and social-service agencies, using both online and face-to-face formats. The model emphasized convenient delivery, practical skills, and relatively low-cost professional development. In this way, the organization sought to translate academic and gerontological knowledge into tools that could be used by social workers in community agencies, health and human-services settings, and other organizations serving aging populations. The institute's establishment was supported by Atlantic Philanthropies through a five-year grant reported at $5.12 million. Further Atlantic support included a $720,000 bridge grant and a second five-year grant reported at $3.1 million, awarded in late 2008. These grants provided the institutional base for the institute's training and education initiatives. Because the organization was affiliated with Boston University, it also benefited from the university's academic standing and from the School of Social Work's expertise in geriatric social services. IGSW later operated under the name Center for Aging and Disability Education and Research at Boston University, commonly known as CADER. Boston University announced the renaming in October 2012. The change reflected a broader emphasis on aging and disability education and research while preserving the institute's central mission of improving the competence and effectiveness of professionals working with older adults and people with disabilities. The Institute for Geriatric Social Work is therefore best understood as the former name of a Boston University-affiliated professional education initiative rather than as an independent commercial brand. Its historical identity remains associated with the expansion of geriatric social-work training through technology-enabled and in-person education.

The Institute for Geriatric Social Work was established in 2002 as a Boston University-affiliated nonprofit dedicated to improving professional practice with older adults. Scott Miyake Geron, PhD, founded the institute and served as its director. Geron was also an associate professor at the Boston University School of Social Work, linking the new organization to an established academic center for social-work education and geriatric services. The institute emerged in response to the growing demand for practitioners equipped to work with an aging population. Its purpose was not to operate as a professional membership association or primarily to provide direct services. Instead, it concentrated on continuing education: helping social workers and related human-services professionals acquire practical knowledge and skills after completing their initial professional training. It also served social-service agencies seeking convenient and affordable education for staff. A major foundation grant provided the initial financial platform. Atlantic Philanthropies funded the institute through a five-year grant reported at $5.12 million. The foundation later supplied a $720,000 bridge grant and awarded a further five-year grant reported at $3.1 million in late 2008. These grants supported the institute's educational infrastructure and its efforts to deliver training through multiple formats. IGSW's educational approach combined online learning with face-to-face instruction. This enabled the organization to reach individual practitioners who needed flexible professional development as well as agencies that wanted structured training for groups of employees. Its subject matter centered on geriatric social work and the broader service needs of older adults, with an emphasis on usable practice skills, accessibility, and quality. The institute's connection with Boston University was a central part of its credibility. Its relationship with the Boston University School of Social Work gave it access to an academic environment with relevant teaching and research expertise, while the institute's specialized programming extended that expertise into continuing professional education. The organization consequently occupied a position between higher education, workforce development, and the social-services field. In October 2012, Boston University announced that the Institute for Geriatric Social Work would be renamed the Center for Aging and Disability Education and Research at Boston University, or CADER. The renaming broadened the public description of the work to include disability as well as aging, education as well as research. After that change, IGSW ceased to be the organization's principal name. The historical institute is therefore treated as a predecessor or former identity of CADER, rather than as an ongoing standalone organization under its original title.

• 2012

  Renamed CADER

  [1]Institute for Geriatric Social Worken.wikipedia.org

  Boston University announced the transition from the Institute for Geriatric Social Work name to the Center for Aging and Disability Education and Research at Boston University.

• 2008

  Second major Atlantic grant

  [1]Institute for Geriatric Social Worken.wikipedia.org

  Atlantic Philanthropies awarded a reported second five-year grant of $3.1 million, following a bridge grant that helped maintain continuity of support.

• 2002

  Institute founded

  [1]Institute for Geriatric Social Worken.wikipedia.org

  Scott Miyake Geron founded the Institute for Geriatric Social Work as a Boston University-affiliated nonprofit focused on professional education for services to older adults.

• 2002

  Initial Atlantic Philanthropies grant

  [1]Institute for Geriatric Social Worken.wikipedia.org

  The institute received a reported five-year, $5.12 million grant from Atlantic Philanthropies to establish and support its work.

An academically affiliated, nonprofit provider of accessible and practice-oriented continuing education for social workers and other professionals serving older adults.

• Continuing professional education

  Online geriatric social-work training

  Flexible online educational programs designed to help social workers and related practitioners develop knowledge and practice skills for working with older adults. Online delivery expanded access for professionals who could not easily attend campus-based or scheduled classroom programs.

• Continuing professional education

  Face-to-face professional training

  Instructor-led workshops and other in-person learning activities for practitioners and social-service agencies. These programs complemented online education and supported organizations seeking structured training for staff serving older adults.

• Organizational workforce development

  Agency training and education

  Training support for social-services agencies that needed convenient, accessible, and affordable professional development. The offering treated continuing education as an organizational capability as well as an individual practitioner's responsibility.

• 2012

  Expansion and renaming as CADERStrategy

  Background

  Boston University broadened the institute's identity from a narrowly geriatric-social-work designation to one covering aging and disability education and research.

  Action taken

  The Institute for Geriatric Social Work was renamed the Center for Aging and Disability Education and Research at Boston University.

  Aftermath

  The original IGSW name became historical, while the work continued under the CADER identity.

  Source

1. 1Institute for Geriatric Social Worken.wikipedia.org
2. 2Institute for Geriatric Social Work official websitebu.edu