The purpose of this project was to locate a potential funding source and write a grant to train social workers who work with veterans in rural areas, particularly veterans with PTSD. An extensive literature review was performed to assess the needs of this population and the best method of supporting them.

San Bernardino County has the largest number of enrollees in the Veterans Health Administration who live in rural/highly rural/insular island areas in California, which is why this area was chosen as the target location. Social workers in rural areas are often isolated due to their distance from urban areas, which is why they were chosen as the target population. The funding source, Health Net Federal Services, is dedicated to increasing the quality of life of veterans and their families. The goals of the program are to increase the participants’ knowledge of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder symptoms, treatment skills, and self-confidence. Workshops will be held and follow-up calls will be made to all participants within one month of attending a workshop. In-person training was chosen to facilitate role-playing and demonstration of skills.

If funded, this program would increase the knowledge and skillset of social workers who may lack access to other methods of doing so and thus have indirect benefits for veterans in rural areas who may lack access to necessary services.

The actual submission of the grant application was not required for the thesis project.