Welcome to Theory and Practice of Social Work I and II field
placement. You are probably reading this because you have been accepted to the
Social Work Program and are preparing to enter field placement. We would like
to make the process of obtaining your placements go as smoothly as possible.
Please read these pages before you have a field placement interview with Sue
Scher, the Fieldwork Director. Hopefully this material will give you most of
the basic information about field so we can spend our time discussing your
specific plans. Prior to meeting with Sue please:
Read these pages
Review the agency list
Complete and print the Theory and Practice I Field Application form (please
sign indicating that you have read these field placement pages)
Schedule an appointment with Sue (sign-up sheet located on the door of
office G 129.
You are about to embark on an exciting time in your social
work education – your field placement. The majority of social work students
throughout the country claim that their placements were the most important part
of their social work experience. I hope that will be true for you.
At Ramapo
College, we have three professional
placements. They are connected to the Theory and Practice I, Theory and
Practice II, and Theory and Practice III classes. Each placement is 200 hours
(16 hours per week) per semester. Practice I and II are consecutive and are
performed at the same agency. Practice III is usually at a different agency.
The placement for Practice I and II runs concurrently with the course, which
meets on Monday and Thursday from 9:45-11:15 A.M. The course focuses on the
problem-solving model of the helping process. You are expected to apply
concepts learned in the class to your work with clients in the field placement.
The focus of Theory and Practice I and II (held in the fall and spring
semesters) is practice with individuals, families and small groups, also called
"direct", or "micro" practice. The focus of Theory and
Practice III (held only in the fall semester of the senior year) is practice
with communities and organizations, also called "macro" practice.
Time Expectations
The Theory and Practice I placement begins some time in the second half of
September. The Theory and Practice II placement is completed between the end of April to mid May. You will be off for Thanksgiving, a
few weeks between mid December and the start of the spring semester, and during
spring break. Agency holidays, sick time, and snow
days cannot be counted toward your needed hours, and must be made up within the
semester.
Supervision
You will be assigned to a social work agency or host setting where social
work is practiced. An experienced social worker, who holds a MSW (Masters in
Social Work) Degree, will supervise you. That person is called a field
instructor, as s(he) will play an important role in
your education. Some of you may have a second supervisor, a task supervisor,
who is usually an experienced staff member who does
not necessarily have a MSW. This person will mentor you and provide
assignments, but will not be responsible for the educational component of your
supervision.
The field instructor will meet with you for at least one hour a week. She/he
will review your work, read your process recording, discuss your clients, and
help you develop new skills. You are expected to go to supervisory sessions
prepared to discuss your work. We suggest students prepare an agenda before
they go into a supervisory session.
Task Expectations - What will I
do there?
Students are assigned a variety of tasks, depending upon the role of the
social worker at the agency, and the level of skill of the student. In this
placement, you are expected to conduct beginning social work activities. You
are not there to be a clerical aide. At the beginning of the placement, you
might be asked to shadow a worker, or you may be assigned to a specific
individual client or group. The expectations of your abilities will rise as the
year continues. You will experience:
Engaging with client systems
Identifying client problems
Gathering data – understanding the client situation
Making an assessment
Considering alternate interventions
Developing an action or intervention plan
Contracting with the client system
Intervening – playing an array of social work roles
Evaluating the intervention
Ending with the client system
How will I know
that I am doing the right things at the agency?
During the school year, the teacher of your section of the practice course
will follow your experiences in the field. In class, all students are expected
to discuss fieldwork in relation to the course topics. Your teacher (called a
faculty-field-liaison in this role) will make several telephone calls and at
least one visit per semester to your agency.
Placement Procedures
Students will be assigned to the Theory and Practice I and II agencies by
Sue Scher who will take your needs and thoughts into consideration. The purpose
of the application form and the interview is for you to make your needs known
to the field office..
In making the placement assignment, we consider several points:
Types of clients that interest you?
i.e. children, elderly, young adult
Problem areas that interest you? i.e.
domestic violence, substance abuse, developmental disabilities
Location (we try for the same county, but we cannot commit to for your
specific town)
The presence of appropriate assignments at a given agency
The presence of adequate supervision – and a good match between student and
field instructor
You might be interested in working with a population/problem
area that is very new to you. You might be interested in a population with whom
you have previously worked. Please review the list of social agencies on the
web page. Come to the field placement interview with a list of the population
and problem areas that interest you, as well as any agencies that look
interesting to you.
The list of social agencies is an inventory of most of the agencies that
have been field placement sites in the past, though we do not presently use all
of the agencies. Use it as a general guide. Students could also be placed in
agencies not on this list. If you have an agency in mind that you would like us
to consider, please bring the agency name, telephone number, and name of
contact person with you to the interview.
During the interview, your interests and specific needs will be discussed.
In addition, possible agencies, which may meet your needs, will be discussed.
When will I know my placement?
After the interview Sue will contact appropriate agencies for your
placement. When such an agency is identified, you will be requested by letter,
to contact the agency, and arrange for an interview. Please attend that
interview as soon as possible to confirm the placement. Unless you or the field
instructor find a major reason why that placement is not appropriate, it is
considered confirmed.
Please be aware that an increasing number of social agencies now require
criminal background checks and/or fingerprints. These might be at either the
agency or student expense.
Students are not placed in competition with other Ramapo students for a
placement. Only one student per available site is sent for an interview.
Agencies are not placed in competition with each other for a student. Students
are sent to one agency at a time for an interview. Please do not ask to
interview at several agencies and then expect to pick one.
Ramapo College
is only one of 15 colleges and universities seeking to place students in these
agencies.
Next Steps
Read the list of social agencies: Practicum Sites
Read the NASW Code of Ethics found in textbooks and in the Student Handbook
Complete the application for field placement, Theory
and Practice I Application Form, and bring it to the interview
Sign-up for an interview with Sue Scher in Room G 129.