Faith And Practice To Be Subject Of Social Work Event March 16

Baylor University's School of Social Work will sponsor the third annual Preston M. Dyer Spring Workshop from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 16, at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, 1624 Wooded Acres in Waco. This year's topic will focus on the ethical integration of spirituality and social work practice. The event is open to community practitioners, field instructors, social work students and others interested in combining faith and social work.
Dr. Dennis T. Haynes, professor and director of graduate social work education at the University of Texas, will deliver the keynote address at 9 a.m. Additionally, Dr. Diana Garland, professor and director of graduate social work education at Baylor, and Dr. Laine Scales, associate professor of social work, will present a three-hour workshop on the integration of faith and practice.
Dr. Preston Dyer, chair of the School of Social Work, said that in the last 10 years social work programs have come to recognize the importance of a person's spiritual life. "Just as we talk about the physical and emotional aspects of a human being, we are mandated by our accrediting agency to learn to work with and assess the spiritual aspects of people," he said.
Baylor's undergraduate and graduate programs instruct and train students to work in the full range of social work settings; however, the School places special emphasis on working with issues of faith and spirituality. In fact, Baylor is the only mainline Protestant university with a master of social work program that emphasizes the integration of faith and ethical social work practice.
The cost to attend the workshop is $60 for community practitioners, $36 for Baylor field instructors and $15 for students. For more information, call 710-6411.