School of Social Work
311 Huey P. Long Field House
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Phone: (800) 848-7111
Phone: (225) 578-5875
Fax: (225) 578-1357

My future Colleagues,

Let me welcome you to the Louisiana State University School of Social Work (SSW). Ours is a program with a deep and rich history of serving vulnerable populations.  The SSW is an extraordinary program with our faculty and students bringing diverse world views characterizing a range of cultures and ethnic groups, sexual orientation, and clinical experiences. Our field education program offers almost 300 unique internship opportunities allowing students to choose from a multitude of populations with whom to work. 

In 1935, during the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act which stimulated the creation of the state’s Department of Public Welfare. The department desperately needed trained social workers, and so it was that in 1937 the LSU School of Social Work was founded to work with those suffering hardship and destitution in Louisiana.  Our graduates quickly assumed leadership positions, assisting those who were struggling through the economic ravages of the Depression.

In 2005, following the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, social work professionals, trained to provide assistance and support in times of emergency and trauma, were urgently needed. Once again, just as it had been nearly 71 years before and since, the LSU School of Social Work faculty and students utilized evidence based practice to meet the extensive and diverse needs of the community. Our students, alumni, and faculty provided trauma counseling and crisis intervention as well as food, shelter, clothing and support to survivors and worked with children separated from their parents and/or pets.
Throughout the recovery efforts the LSU School of Social Work researchers continue to lead the way in determining the best methods to help people rebuild their lives. Among the many projects were studies into the mental and emotional effects of the storms on elementary school students, as well as research on how the School of Social Work’s own students responded to the stress of disaster recovery efforts.

Some of our current programs include:

• Award-winning research efforts addressing child poverty, juvenile incarceration, truancy & school
• drop-outs, and gerontology
• The only social work doctoral program in the state, training the next generation of research
• professionals
• Nationally recognized Truancy Assessment and Service Centers which uses early intervention to prevent truancy
• The Circle of Security program focusing on creating positive interactions between parents and children
• The Louisiana Poverty Initiative, which will have a tripartite mission of research, action, and public policy

Sincerely,

Dean Christian Molidor

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