Social Work Education and Mental Retardation: A Vision of Bridging the Gap in the New Millennium.

This paper discusses the need for social workers to commit themselves to working with persons with developmental disabilities and the need for social workers to gain expertise in the field of developmental disabilities. Problems within the social work profession and the field of developmental disabilities that have prohibited the meeting of these two realms are addressed, and personal stories are shared to further illustrate these barriers to cooperation. A model is presented for involving university schools of social work with developmental disability agencies through field experience programs. The paper stresses the benefits of social worker engagement with individuals with disabilities, including social justice for persons with developmental disabilities. (Contains 22 references.) (CR)