Abstract
The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) prioritizes that content on diverse and oppressed populations be infused throughout the curriculum in accredited programs in Social Work. Studies conclude that there is a lack of information and content on social work services with persons with a developmental disability and their families in Graduate programs in Social Work across the United States. The population of persons with a developmental disability is steadily increasing as there are more infant and child diagnoses and prolonged life expectancy for adults with a developmental disability. This increase in the population and emerging area of aging persons with a developmental disability creates a demand for knowledgeable, competent, and culturally sensitive social workers to provide best practice services and meet the needs of these persons in a variety of social service settings. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the depth and breadth of curricula focused on content related to Social Work Practice with Persons with a Developmental Disability through surveying MSW II students at California State University, Sacramento. This project was designed to bring awareness to the lack of content on persons with a developmental disability in the graduate programs in Social Work, and to gather the opinions and perspectives regarding the topic of developmental disabilities in the Master of Social Work program at California State University.