U.S. and Chinese universities are partnering to educate and train more social workers in China, according to this China Daily article.

CSW President Darla Coffey. Photo courtesy of CSWE.

China is in dire need of social workers, especially since its one-child policy has led to a fast growing elderly population with fewer children to care for them.

China has a goal of hiring “an army” of two million social workers by 2020. However, as of last year China had just 200,000 social workers to serve a population of 1.3 billion.

That compares to more than 650,000 social workers in the United States, which has a population of 314 million.

The U.S. Council of Social Work Education recently announced an initiative to partner Chinese universities with social work programs at seven universities in the United States.

“This invitation for us to be a part of that development represents the acknowledgement that they don’t have to start from scratch,” CSWE President Darla Coffey, PhD, MSW, said. “The US and other countries have already been doing this for a long time, and we can help.”

Social workers often work across borders to help others. To learn more visit the National Association of Social Workers’ International Social Work webpage.