CWRU's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, along with Cleveland State University's Department of Social Work, has received a $237,461 grant from the Cleveland Foundation to continue a unique partnership with seven community-based social service agencies to develop a new generation of leadership.

The two-year grant continues the Community-based Field Project, which began in 1999. Its goal is to provide education and training for the next generation of leadership in community-based social service agencies.

The grant provides annual scholarships of $5,000-$2,500 per semester for participating students from the Mandel School and Cleveland State who perform their field placement in one of seven social service agencies in Cuyahoga County. Employees of the agencies who wish to return to school for a master's degree have their tuition reduced by the same amount. The agencies in which students are placed also receive $1,000 per year for every student they take.

"This is a very significant program for our two schools, and we are grateful to the Cleveland Foundation for continuing to fund it," said Grover C. Gilmore, Mandel School dean. "Forming partnerships such as this one to serve the larger community is in keeping with the Mandel School's philosophy of community service."

Agencies taking part in the program are the Cleveland Tenants Organization, Domestic Violence Center, Friendly Inn Settlement, May Dugan Multi-Service Center, Merrick House, Transitional Housing Inc. and the West Side Community House.

"It's exciting that the Cleveland Foundation is willing to continue investing in this project," said Gail Long, executive director of Merrick House. "Any time you have community agencies and two universities collaborating for the benefit of the community, it's great."

Long said Merrick House will take two students funded through the program in the fall. Merrick House is a settlement house and community center providing recreation, tutoring, adult day care, teen life skills education, GED preparation and community organization.

As of May 2002, 47 $2,500 scholarships had been awarded through the program. Of those who had participated through May 2001, 50 percent had been hired for management positions, and 80 percent were employed in community-based agencies or in programs with a community focus. Among the latter group, 20 percent had been hired full-time by one of the seven participating agencies and 30 percent were hired while still students by one of the participating agencies.

Twelve students are enrolled for the 2002-03 academic year.

Gerald Strom, director of field education at the Mandel School, explained that the Community-based Field Project dates to 1993, when a group of leaders of community-based social service agencies became concerned about succession when the current generation of leaders, many of whom have been in their posts for decades, begins to retire. In 1996 they approached the Mandel School and Cleveland State to explore options for getting more students into community-based agencies for their field training and increasing curricular content regarding community-based practice and theory.

The discussions resulted in a pilot project to educate master's-level students who would enter the field of community practice. In 1999 the Cleveland Foundation made a three-year, $313,000 grant to begin the program.