The Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education (HPPAE) is an eight-year initiative coordinated by the Social Work Leadership Institute (SWLI) at the New York Academy of Medicine.

HPPAE is working to train more than 1,000 social workers to work with older adults using a specialized field education model for students at masters-level social work programs. To this end, HPPAEs across the country will form a strong educational foundation to grow the ranks of leaders with aging specializations, and contribute to the growing workforce demands of America's older population.

The HPPAE differs from traditional MSW education models. Based on innovative partnerships between universities and community-based agencies, the HPPAE provides students with wide-ranging, hands-on experience in older adult care. Over the course of either one or two years, students rotate through multiple field settings, gaining exposure to different care systems and a broad spectrum of life phases.

Evaluations of the program have already demonstrated promising results: in our pilot study, 80 percent of HPPAE graduates have gone on to pursue careers in the field of aging. Since 1999, with support from the John A. Hartford Foundation, 45 HPPAEs have been established at colleges and universities nationwide. The Social Work Leadership Institute uses a competitive, peer-reviewed process to award funding and technical support to as many as 60 MSW programs to institute the HPPAE model.

For more information about how to start a HPPAE, visit www.hartfordpartnership.org.