Social work and services for families, minors and communities

The programme is aimed at students who already have a knowledge base of social work, or sociological, pedagogical-educational, legal or social-health care, and at social service operators who wish to deepen the methodological, technical and relational aspects of social work and social welfare services policies, with particular attention to work with families in difficult situations and in the field of child protection.
The programme is aimed at providing skills that can be used at two levels:

• the "field" level: the programme prepares students to deal with particularly complex social work functions with high autonomy, such as the protection of minors in a state of abuse or neglect, or the development and coordination of projects for the social redevelopment of neighborhoods or local communities;
• the level of management: the programme allows students to acquire the basics to carry out top management or coordination functions in structures, services, public or third sector organisations, with responsibility for planning social services policies at community, national, regional and local level.

The programme includes a learning path through different modalities:

• Institutional didactics;
• Laboratories for the application of theoretical knowledge through techniques;
• Field experimentation;
• Other personalised and supplementary activities of the study plan through free credits.
  

The graduate programme, pertaining to the LM-87 class, qualifies for registration in the State Examination for Section A of the Register of Social Workers (specialist level) and is the natural continuation of the undergraduate degree  programme LT-39 in Sciences for Social Work.

To ensure close contact with the world of professions, the graduate degree programme has set up a Technical Committee with representatives of institutions and organisations active in the field of social services.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The programme and supplementary teaching activities aim to:

• encourage the acquisition of theoretical, applicative and experiential content aimed at the design, implementation and evaluation of actions aimed at individuals, families, groups and organisations;
• encourage the adoption of a relational social work approach and methodology, which has been promoted and studied at Università Cattolica for years, and which is based on the profound enhancement of the relational resources and potential present in the different contexts of life;
• to encourage the acquisition of advanced knowledge related to the field of welfare and in particular in the policy of social services and in the methodology of Social Work, with specific reference to the support of families in difficulty in the performance of parental tasks and to the animation and organization of actions and projects of social awareness, prevention and promotion of well-being.