Field Placement Manual (2008-2009)

PART VI: LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND PROCEDURES

A. FIELD LEARNING CONTRACT: FOUNDATION & ADVANCED

Students are required to develop field learning contracts in collaboration with their field instructors. A written contract for field practice is also helpful in supervising a student. Field instructors are encouraged to use field practice contracts with their students.

1.   Purpose.
The contract is a tool to be used to facilitate the student's learning process. It helps to set boundaries for the student and can serve as the basis for end-of-semester evaluations. The field agreement (contract) may be for the year, a separate one may be developed for each semester, or an amended contract may be submitted second semester. The agreement is one way of insuring that learning objectives are clear, competencies are agreed on and a field assignment to support competency-based learning is put in place. The contract should be used in a flexible way to insure that the School's educational objectives for the field placement experience are met.

2.   Implementation of the Contract.  It is suggested that the contract be negotiated according to individual circumstances.

Before the Placement Begins: Ideally the field instructor and student should meet during the summer prior to the beginning of the semester. This preliminary discussion should provide the student with good idea of her/his assignment and the agency's expectations of her/him.

Two weeks After the Start of the Placement: At this point the contract should be developed into permanent but flexible form.

Four to Six Weeks After the Final Negotiation: At this point a review of progress to date should take place. This review constitutes a mid-term evaluation.

Four Weeks After the Preceding Review: This review constitutes an end of the semester evaluation. The student and field instructor should feel free to modify the contract to be in concert with the student's current learning objectives and field assignments.

3.   Field Placement Requirements

Agency Structure: It is suggested that during the initial meetings the student be supplied with the agency's mission and method of operation.

Agency Function

Population served, e.g. the elderly, drug addicts, abusive parents, etc.

Methods of practice, e.g. social casework, group casework, community organization, etc.

Collaboration, e.g. other disciplines within the agency (nurses, teachers) or staff from other agencies

Locations where service is provided, e.g. agency, offices, clients' own homes, etc.

Agency should provide the following:

Materials, e.g. papers, pens, access to case records, agency reports, etc.

Space, e.g. use of desk, office space, storage for materials, case records, books, etc., access to private areas for interviewing clients, etc.

Equipment, e.g. telephone, xerox, calculators, tape recorders

Reimbursement for travel while carrying out the agency’s function, e.g., bus, subway, train, mileage for car usage.

Negotiable Considerations

Practice

Assignments: Whenever the function of the agency permits, students should be given choices concerning what type of cases they will carry, what social work methods they may employ, etc.

Productivity: Number of cases assigned, number of meetings to be attended, etc.

Training Opportunities (In-Service)

Recording: It is recommended that students follow the agency's standards in regard to recording. Process recordings are required as one method of teaching. Field instructors are free to use other tools such tapes, role play, etc.

Supervision

Conference: Students are expected to submit substantive agendas for conferences that reflect in-depth thought about their practice. Conferences should be held once a week for at least l ½ hours. This time should be protected if possible in order to maximize student learning.

Availability: It is suggested that field instructors be available to their students for consultation on an informal basis to the extent that is reasonably possible, given the limitations imposed by their other responsibilities and student's use of this.

Content: It is recommended that the field instructor and student attempt to integrate classroom learning and readings into the practice experience to the extent possible.

Process Recordings: It is suggested that each student hand in to the field supervisor one process recording each week. This process recording is to be used in the supervisory conference as a teaching tool to enhance the student’s use of professional self and look critically at his/her responses to what the client brings to the relationship. It is also suggested that the integrity of the supervisory relationship be maintained and that personal references be avoided.

The following sections are included for your use with students in developing learning contracts. They are:

IV-C.Learning Objectives & Competencies: Foundation

IV-D. Learning Objectives & Competencies: All Advanced

V-A. Field Practicum Evaluation: Foundation

V-B. Field Practicum Evaluation: Advanced Direct Practice

V-C. Field Practicum Evaluation: Advanced Macro Practice

B. CASE RECORDING PROCEDURES

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Purpose and Use

The educational value of recording is strongly emphasized. The ability to make appropriate records is a professional skill that must be developed as an integral tool of professional practice. Agency records are the vehicle through which the agency demonstrates what it does, why, and how it provides service. Records provide the medium for study of practice and for accountability to the community for services rendered.

Field practice agencies should underscore the importance of the student's learning to make effective records. This is done by making consistent use of student records in supervision and by providing adequate time and equipment, if available, for dictation.

The following guidelines and criteria are suggested:

A. Recording of contacts with clients (face-to-face and other substantial contacts) should include:

Purpose of contact or activity

Relevant aspects of the situation at beginning of contact

Substance of contact, including significant interactions between client and worker, collateral contact, groups of board members and other interested persons and constituents

Pertinent administrative data or documentation as required for agency accountability

Ending of transition to provide for continuity of service

B. Service contacts in behalf of clients (with other than client) should include:

Any significant client-related contacts (e.g. consultation, collaboration, referral, etc.) should be summarized, giving purpose and result.

Any policy issues affecting the course of client-worker action should be noted.

C. LEARNING OBJECTIVES FOR FOUNDATION PRACTICE COURSES AND END-OF-YEAR COMPETENCIES

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The practice sequence is the only sequence in which courses are required in each of the four semesters. Students spend their first two semesters in foundation practice courses and the second two semesters in advanced courses attuned to their concentration.

The foundation courses emphasize using the student's field experiences and material from their field practice to illustrate and examine the principles, concepts and issues in developing a professional use of self within the context of a generalist practice framework. The first two courses are meant to establish a foundation for social work practice. The objectives serve to operationalize the goal to provide the student with a basic theoretical framework. These include being able to:

Demonstrate an understanding of the purpose and function of the field practice agency and the reciprocal nature of the relationship between the client and the agency;

Demonstrate skill in interviewing/counseling individuals and families and in using relationships to promote the helping process;

Attain and demonstrate the ability to assess the psychosocial needs of the client;

Demonstrate a beginning understanding of the commonalities and differences in individual, family, group, and community approaches to practice;

Attain and demonstrate a beginning knowledge of when and why to use different practice approaches;

Demonstrate skill in consultation/collaboration with related professionals and agency personnel;

Demonstrate an ability to empower the client and/or groups of clients so that individual and community change can be facilitated;

Understand and demonstrate an ability to work with community resources and to promote social change in social policies and organizational relationships;

Understand, recognize, and use racial/ethnic and gender differences in social work practice and to generalize this content to other forms of oppression;

Demonstrate an ability to utilize research in the provision of services;

Demonstrate an understanding of how various social policies affect practice with individuals and groups; and

Demonstrate an ability to identify with professional values and to implement this value base in practice.

Competencies to be Demonstrated at End of Foundation Courses

Those affecting the role of the social worker

acting as liaison between family, agency/institution staff

acting as liaison among family, agency/institution and community systems.

Understanding how the purpose and function of the setting relates to the role.

Skill in interviewing/counseling families and children: (individually and in groups) and using relationships to promote the helping process.

Skill in consultation/collaboration with related professionals and agency personnel.

Knowledge on how family problems affect functioning in other settings.

The interrelatedness between the agency/institution and the family.

The effects of institutional patterns on individual/group ability to function within the purpose of the setting.

Ability to assess the psychosocial educational needs of client.

Ability to serve the client in adjustment and problem-solving situations as well as
empower the client to engage in change.

Understanding how ethnic/racial factors affect behavior and learning in different settings.

Ability to utilize research in the provision of services.

Ability to enhance multidisciplinary team work.

Knowledge of the referral process.

Ability to work with community resource and promote social change in social policies and organizational relationships.

Field Experiences That Aid in the Attainment of Foundation Competencies:

Home visits.

Participation in multidisciplinary team.

Collaboration/consultation with related service providers.

Interviews/counseling with children and parents: individual and in group.

Writing a social history.

Maintaining case records.

Writing summary statements for referrals or program needs.

Developing and implementing a plan to assist a client.

Implementing a referral to a community system.

Networking-developing a support system for clients.

Attending a due process hearing (or other legal hearing).

Work with a family to achieve compliance with a law (compulsory school attendance).

Preparing a client for participation in a due process procedure.

Coordinating and integrating services for a consumer.

D. LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND END-OF-YEAR COMPETENCIES FOR ALL ADVANCED PRACTICE COURSES

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Student field learning in the Advanced portion of the master's curriculum builds on and extends Foundation learning. The goals of the Advanced field practicum are to reinforce and sharpen the student's practice knowledge and skills, to enhance the capacity to make informed choices and decision in working with clients, and to further develop critical understanding of the nuances and complexities of social work practice. The following learning objectives are consonant with these goals:

Demonstrate an ability to intellectually integrate foundation knowledge and theories from the biological, social, and behavioral sciences with social work practice theories and to demonstrate this integration in the activities of practice;

Demonstrate an ability to collect, organize, and interpret relevant data in carrying out assignments;

Demonstrate an ability to draw upon current research findings to inform and shape the development of professionally-accountable social work practice, including knowledge and use of approaches to monitoring and evaluating practice and program effectiveness;

Demonstrate an understanding of the organizational context of social work practice, including organizational behavior, its impact on services to clients and on practitioner functioning, and the skills necessary to bring about organizational change;

Demonstrate an ability to identify the impact of oppression on women, people of color, older people, persons with disabilities, gays and lesbians, and to demonstrate understanding of strategies for empowering members of oppressed groups;

Demonstrate an ability to develop, utilize, and sustain collaborative relationships with individuals, groups, communities, and organizations;

Demonstrate an ability to identify opportunities to intervene with unresponsive organizational and environmental systems; to initiate systems change with and on behalf of clients;

Demonstrate an ability to function autonomously, when appropriate, and to seek out supervision and consultation when necessary, to demonstrate responsible behavior regarding time and workload management;

Demonstrate an understanding of and identification with the goals and values of the social work profession as well as a commitment to the ongoing development of self as a skilled, knowledgeable, ethical, and accountable social work practitioner; and

Demonstrate mastery of specialized knowledge and social work practice skills in a health or family setting.

D1. Learning Objectives & Competencies: Advanced Clinical Practice Students Only

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The following objectives apply only to Advanced Clinical Practice students. These students are expected to:

Demonstrate the ability to engage and assess individual, family, and group systems in the context of the organization. Included here is the ability to explore problems, attend to indirect and manifest feeling content, set attainable treatment goals, and develop explicit treatment contracts;

Demonstrate an understanding of the dynamic interplay of cultural, social, biological, and psychological factors in assessing a client's social functioning;

Demonstrate the ability to collect, organize, and interpret relevant data in assessing the client system in transaction with its environment;

Demonstrate the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of one’s practice with clients.

Demonstrate an understanding of the link between assessment and intervention and the ability to design and carry out differential interventions based on this understanding;

Demonstrate knowledge of the phases of the intervention process and the ability to make deliberate use of these phases, including termination, to facilitate change;

Demonstrate knowledge of major theoretical models and their associated methods of intervention.

Demonstrate the ability to engage in clinical practice with individuals, families, and groups.

Communicate an understanding of the dynamics of loss and trauma as they affect clients and client systems.

Practice with self-awareness, the incorporation of social work values and ethics, and cultural competence.

Competencies to be Demonstrated at End of Advanced Clinical Practice Courses

At the end of the Advanced year, all clinical practice students should be able to demonstrate the following competencies:

Ability to develop and implement client/system-based interventions based on one's psychosocial assessment and theoretical knowledge of practice and research.

Ability to evaluate the impact of one's practice with clients (individuals, groups, families), and use this evaluation to make changes in the action plan, goals, and/or interventions.

Ability to engage in social change:

Ability to evaluate the effectiveness of services to make changes in the service delivery system on behalf of clients.

Ability to advocate with and for clients in order to help them understand and meet their needs through their own efforts.

Ability to foster conditions that activate client empowerment.

Ability to engage, mobilize, and change organizational systems to meet client
needs.

Ability to understand the issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, class, and culture as they affect clients, the helping relationship and agency practices, and to use this knowledge to intervene on behalf of clients and to improve service delivery.

Provide clinical social work services using a variety of intervention methods depending upon the client's problems, strengths, needs, the social environment, available resources, and the social worker's role and function.

Demonstrate clinical practice skills with increasingly complex clients, situations, and needs..

Demonstrate professional use of self, social work values and ethics, autonomy, and self-awareness in one’s practice.

Ability to carry out social work roles in collaboration with other disciplines

Field experiences for Advanced Clinical Practice students which aid in the attainment of the competencies:

On-going work with clients as individuals and families.

Group facilitation with client groups, staff groups, interdisciplinary teams, training groups, and/or treatment teams.

Work with clients with multiple and complex problems and needs.

Coordinate services in multiple systems for clients.

Work with clients who are different in some aspect from the worker (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age group, physical ability).

Regular process recordings of clients seen individually, as a family, and in groups.

Videotape or audiotape sessions with clients to review with client, supervisor, peers.

Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team and be able to present a social work assessment of the case to the team.

Documentation of social work intervention: social history and psychosocial assessment, action plan, contracts, progress notes, and termination or transfer summary.

Home visits.

Visit agencies that are referral sources for clients.

Observe social workers on other units in agency.

Accompany clients when they interface with another agency/system (e.g.., court hearing, intake interview, application process) and help them process this experience afterwards.

Follow up on clients after referred, either by phone, letter or home visit.

Conduct joint meetings with next worker when case is being transferred/ referred.

Presentation to group of other professionals on a topic related to population of clients with which one is working.

Presentation of one’s work with a client at a case conference, e.g., peer group supervision, social work department meeting, rounds, team meeting, or educational seminar.

Observe other disciplines as they work with clients to understand the role of each discipline and their respective interventions.

Observe and participate in agency meetings to understand the structure, function and workings of the agency.

Practice time management skills in prioritizing needs, managing heavier caseloads, and setting limits.

Advocate for social change in an area as it affects the client population of the agency.

Exposure to and/or participation in program planning, development and evaluation.

Opportunities for evaluating client progress and outcome.

Design and/or implement part/all of a research study.

Learn specialized terms (e.g., medical vocabulary), policies, and practices (e.g., family meetings) that are in keeping with the student's field placement.

D2. Learning Objectives & Competencies: Advanced Macro Practice Students Only

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The following objectives apply only to Advanced Macro Practice students. These students are expected to:

An understanding of the relationship between direct and macro practice and the ability to utilize direct practice skills in the macro arena.

An ability to identify a definition of a social problem or issue and relate it to the needs of a community, organization or population.

An understanding of the processes involved in developing and sustaining community participation in the organization and planning of human services programs.

The ability to conduct an assessment at the community and organizational level to inform the planning of practice interventions.

The ability to identify how issues of oppression and social justice inform the definition of social problems as well as the planning, organization, and implementation of community services

An understanding of the goals, values, and ethics of the social work profession, and a commitment to the ongoing development of self as a skilled, knowledgeable, and accountable professional in a macro practice setting.

Knowledge of the organizational context of macro practice, including the effects of organizational structure and culture on administrators, staff, and clients.

The ability to identify issues of race, ethnicity, age and gender in human service organizations and to work effectively in a diverse and multicultural environment.

The ability to understand issues of organizational growth, development, and change within the social context and their implications for resource and staff development, resource allocation and management, and program implementation.

Competencies to be Demonstrated at End of Advanced Macro Practice Courses:

At the end of the Advanced year, all macro practice students should be able to demonstrate the
following competencies:

An ability to demonstrate an ability to intervene with organizations, communities and policy systems while maintaining client-centered approach that integrates an understanding of direct practice with macro practice.

An ability to conduct a needs assessment in a community and/or agency, and utilize it in the development and modification of agency services and policies.

The ability to plan and implement social change intervention in an organization and/or community.

An ability to plan, implement and evaluate community and/or agency based programs. ( This seem more appropriate to the evaluation research course)

An ability to utilize knowledge of organizational behavior (e.g., leadership, communication, decision-making, culture, conflict resolution) in order to effect system change on behalf of staff and/or clients.

An ability to demonstrate skills in the management of people (e.g., supervision, staff development and training, personnel policies, team management) and resources (e.g., budgeting, fundraising).

An ability to identify and manage the issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, class, and culture as these affect the organizational and community systems and their ability to deliver services.

An ability to collect, organize and interpret relevant data, including recent research findings, in carrying assignments and in informing and shaping interventions.

An ability to articulate a personal philosophy related to the use of self as a macro practice professional which reflects social work values and goals.

Field experiences for Advanced Macro Practice students that can aid in the attainment of the competencies:

Opportunities to conduct agency and/or community needs assessment.

Opportunities to develop program planning and evaluation skills.

Observe and participate in agency meetings to understand the structure, function, and workings of the agency as well as the client populations served.

Opportunities to staff an agency committee.

Opportunities to carry out organizational tasks, e.g., assist with the development of budgets, grant proposals, and/or personnel policies, supervision of volunteers, management of a program, etc.

Advocate for social change in an area that affects the client population of the agency through building coalitions, lobbying, and/or writing position papers.

Opportunities to work with other professionals and groups both within the organization as well as within the larger external environment.

Practice time management skills in setting priorities for carrying out assigned tasks.

Development of public presentation skills via presentations at staff meetings, agency board meetings, educational seminars, community meetings, etc.

Opportunities to develop and practice leadership and decision-making skills.

Opportunities to develop work group skills in order to facilitate task accomplishment.

Design and/or implement part/all of a research study.

Observe board meeting, hearings, and other public meeting in which policy issues and resources are discussed