How CADER and State Agencies Transform Workforce Development in Aging & Disability Services 

For over 20 years, Prof. Bronwyn Keefe, director of the Center for Aging and Disability Education and Research (CADER) at Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW) and CADER’s dedicated team have worked with the states of New York, Massachusetts, California, and many more to bring rigorous and meaningful training to professionals working in the field of aging and disability services. Through hands-on collaboration and high-quality training designed by experts and professionals in the field, CADER has trained over 50,000 practitioners across 450 community and state organizations in 21 states.  

Prof. Keefe shares how state partnerships with CADER have the power to transform the aging and disability workforce. 

Why do state agencies choose to work with CADER?

Leaders from states often come to us with clear ideas of what they want, whether that’s training case management staff or training in behavioral health and aging. When we started developing our programs at CADER, our focus was to map job functions to important trends and practice needs within the aging and disability network. We knew, for instance, that there were unmet service needs for older adults around behavioral health, and that many providers were increasingly encountering concerns around mental wellness. We created a Behavioral Health in Aging certificate to fill that gap, and our research has proven that this program increases competence and confidence to address these needs. 

When we present our research on CADER’s workforce development programs at conferences, we are able to make connections with state department leaders and other community-based agencies who are interested in ways to expand and replicate our work.  We also develop connections through our research and grant projects, which often lead to new, ongoing partnerships. Many state agencies are looking for ways to standardize competencies for current staff plus onboard new hires to this vital workforce in order to enhance service delivery and improve the quality of life for older adults and people with disabilities. Developing meaningful and reciprocal partnerships between academic institutions, like CADER, and state and community-based agencies is a powerful mechanism to achieve this goal.  

How does CADER begin its partnership with state agencies?

When you think about training the aging and disability workforce, each state has their own vision and sometimes it requires custom course development. Before beginning any partnership, we have a series of meetings with state leaders to assess their priorities, identify any current gaps in training, and gain a deeper understanding of the skills they would like the workforce to develop. From there, we create the best training program for that state, whether it’s something we have already, a custom bundling of pre-existing online courses, or new content tailored to their specific needs.

What separates CADER from other training options?  

As we partner with states on these programs, we work side-by-side so we can have a significant and positive impact.  We provide high-level technical assistance and consulting, program management, and monthly reports to track progress. Often when people think about training impact, they’re more concerned about the number of people trained. For example, if you host a webinar and 100 people attend, some might consider that a success. But is that truly what success looks like? If we have 100 people register for a certificate program, but only five completed it, that’s not a success by our standards. That’s why we evaluate all training initiatives and share results at regular intervals so we can measure increases in competencies, confidence, and practice changes. All of these comprehensive support services are built into our workforce development programs and make us stand out from other options.  

Additionally, all CADER course content is developed using our own expertise and in collaboration with subject matter experts from BU School of Social Work (BUSSW) and other top-ranked institutions. We also design our courses with input from practitioners in the field to ensure that the content is practice-informed and skill-based. We often hear feedback from our learners that they highly value a CADER certificate from BUSSW, not only as a skill-building opportunity, but also as a valuable career achievement to note on their resume. 

How do you determine that a program has been a success for a particular state?

We collect standard metrics, such as enrollment and completion rates, for all programs. We also evaluate whether learners have statistical changes in their knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to key content in the curriculum, which is measured pre- and post-training. We gather data to evaluate whether learners are now better prepared to work with older adults and people with disabilities because of the training program. We also work with organizations to include additional evaluation questions that are important to their specific training initiatives and the state’s goals for workforce training. Other key metrics are collected through our three-month follow-up survey where we aim to get a better understanding of how the training program impacted the participant’s careers. For example, have they received a promotion or a pay increase? Did staff feel more committed to staying in their organization? 

We also look at success on an organizational level. Did the training help an organization to create new programs or enhance service delivery for older adults or people with disabilities? Has the organization implemented new protocols around risk prevention for older adults that they didn’t have prior to the training?

CADER stands out because it is trying to create meaningful change in care for older adults and people with disabilities. As the center’s director, could you share your ‘why’ for doing this important work? 

I believe deeply in the importance of having a skilled and compassionate workforce to support older adults and people with disabilities. I’m acutely aware from my vantage point as a professor at BUSSW that few people in degree programs, at both social work schools and medical schools, are raising their hand to work with older adults.  

When I talk to people who are working with older adults and ask, “Why did you get into this field,” many will say, “Because I had to navigate the system for my loved ones,” or because of a personal connection with an older adult or a person with a disability. Many of those people have not had any formal training in their degree programs or otherwise to prepare them properly for working with this population. While it’s important to have lived experience, we also want professionals in the workforce to have the skills, knowledge, and confidence for them to do the work well. If they’re not getting it in their degree program, training at the community-based level is the best place to impart this important knowledge.  As the US population of older adults continues to grow, our mission is becoming increasingly important. We need to empower the workforce to feel confident and skilled to do the crucial work of supporting older adults and people with disabilities to live as independently and healthily as they choose. That’s my ‘why.’  

Learn more about how your organization or agency can work with CADER.