Social Work Rural Resilience Network

"Resilience exists when a person can bounce back and thrive from major challenges."*

OVERVIEW: The Social Work Rural Resilience Network (SRRN) will promote professional resilience and wellness among social workers in the rural workforce, including students, frontline workers, supervisors, and administrators. Facilitated by the KU School of Social Welfare’s Center for Community Engagement & Collaboration (CCEC), this group will meet via zoom on a set schedule during the year, as determined by the consensus of the group and proposed originally to be bi-monthly.

The initial focus of the group would be to help support the rural social work workforce in the following three integrated ways:

EDUCATE: To support training and resources that promote professional resilience and wellness in the rural social work workforce, including students, frontline workers, and supervisors.

• Trainings may be provided by group members or other trainings may be supported in cooperation with the network.

CONNECT: To provide members of the social work workforce with opportunities for connection to strengthen the resiliency of their practice in rural areas of the state.

• This network will be a conduit for sharing resources and providing connections around resources and trainings, funding or research opportunities, partnerships, services, and other important aspects of practice among members.

SUPPORT: To help support those social workers living and working in rural Kansas at the individual and organizational levels.

• Information on organizational and individual resiliency can be shared with the group members to help bolster these practices in agencies where social workers are employed.

Contact Information

Contact Workforce Development Coordinator Christina Boyd for more information: christinab@ku.edu. Visit our CCEC webpage for more details. 

*Source: APA Center for Workplace Mental Health- Resilience: A Strong Workforce Needs It