Engaging MSW Students in Delivering Vita Services for Low-Resourced Communities

Background and Purpose

The East Athens Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is a partnership between the University of Georgia Institute for Nonprofit Organizations and the East Athens Development Corporation where social work students and community volunteers deliver free tax preparation and assessment services to enhance the economic well-being for low-income individuals and families. VITA is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sponsored program that trains volunteers to provide free tax preparation services to low-income workers. The UGA-EADC VITA program was launched in 2020 and has engaged more than 25 MSW students in the delivery of standard VITA services while also training them to administer assessments of clients’ financial well-being in order to provide case management and referral services to facilitate access to relevant services beyond tax preparation.

Methods

Data include summary results from 5 years of VITA operations reporting on the total number of taxpayers served, average return/earned income amounts, and income range of clients. Qualitative data from focus groups with social work students who served as VITA tax preparers will be presented exploring initial perceptions, learning outcomes, and reflections on the experience and its relevance to their social work education as well as the role of social work within this practice domain at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.

Preliminary Results

In its first four years of operation (we are currently in year 5), the East Athens VITA program has served more than 200 taxpayers and helped them receive more than $225,000 in tax refunds including nearly $50,000 from the Earned Income Tax Credit. Responses from social work students who have served as VITA tax preparers demonstrate initial doubts regarding the relevance of “taxes” to the field of social work as well as anxiety about actually preparing tax returns for low-income individuals and families. Post-VITA reflections suggest that students develop micro-level skills (i.e.: engagement, assessment) and increased knowledge of and appreciation for the EITC as an important anti-poverty mechanism as well as the need for social workers to occupy space in this practice and policy arena.

Conclusions and Implications

The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. However, VITA site are generally not staffed by social workers nor are services such as case management provided as part of VITA programs although nearly a third of clients indicate that they spend their tax refund on basic needs such as food, utilities, rent, and mortgage. Social workers and social work students are well-equipped to deliver VITA services and to provide more comprehensive support to low-income workers and their families.