Social Worker Opportunity Tracks is a collaboration between several educational institutions, including Rock Valley College, Rockford University, and Rockford Public Schools District 205.
The program offers opportunities for Winnebago County high school students to enroll in undergraduate courses in social work. It also also allows individuals with an undergraduate degree to pursue an advanced degree in social work with financial support.
Alex Stagnaro-Green is the regional dean of the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford. He says that the program’s different pipelines are meant to engage students of all backgrounds.
“The ultimate goal," Stagnaro-Green said, "is to increase the number of social workers and to give students and members of our community the ability to come in at different levels and take it to the extent that they want to.”
The program is supported by a grant from the Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board, which aims to fund services in a county that suffers from a shortage of mental health providers.
