Cedarville University 251 N. Main Street Cedarville, OH 45314 937-766-3265 January 2020 Field Guide Social Work Program Field Guide Twenty-sixth Edition Cedarville University 251 N. Main St. Cedarville, Ohio 45314 Michael E. Sherr, PhD, MSW Department Chair/Program Director (937) 766-7677 George E. Huff, MSSA, LISW-S Social Work Program Field Director Professor of Social Work (937) 766-7748 Revised January 2020 CONTENTS Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Mission Statement, Goals, and Objectives ..................................................................................................... 4 Student Code of Ethics ........................................................................................................................................ 6 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards .......................................................................................... 8 Mutual Responsibilities ..................................................................................................................................... 11 The Student .................................................................................................................................................... 11 The University ................................................................................................................................................ 12 The Professor ................................................................................................................................................. 12 The Field Instructor ....................................................................................................................................... 13 Policies ................................................................................................................................................................ 15 Access to Field Guide Appendices ........................................................................................................... 15 Criteria for agencies supervising students in field placements ........................................................... 15 Field Placement Agency Interviews .......................................................................................................... 16 Field Experience Placement Process ......................................................................................................... 16 Group Interviewing Policy .......................................................................................................................... 17 No Exemptions From Field Experience..................................................................................................... 17 Paid Field Experience ................................................................................................................................. 17 Paid Field Instructors.................................................................................................................................... 18 Special Arrangement Expenses ................................................................................................................. 18 Finishing Field Experience Early or Late .................................................................................................. 18 FBI And BCI&I Reports ................................................................................................................................. 18 Holidays and Vacations .............................................................................................................................. 18 Lunch period .................................................................................................................................................. 19 Transportation and Insurance .................................................................................................................... 19 Inclement Weather....................................................................................................................................... 19 Changing Agency Experiences .................................................................................................................. 19 Recourse For Grievances ............................................................................................................................ 19 Sexual Harassment Policy and Procedures ............................................................................................. 19 Social Media Policy ..................................................................................................................................... 21 Diversity Policy ............................................................................................................................................. 22 Implementation Plan for Student Exposure to Diversity .................................................................. 22 Infectious Disease Exposure ....................................................................................................................... 23 Practice Classes Policy ................................................................................................................................ 23 Dismissal Policy ............................................................................................................................................. 23 Academic ................................................................................................................................................... 24 Professional ............................................................................................................................................... 24 Dismissal Procedure ..................................................................................................................................... 24 International Field Experience ....................................................................................................................... 26 General Information .................................................................................................................................... 26 Cost............................................................................................................................................................. 27 Qualifications ........................................................................................................................................... 27 Application requirements ....................................................................................................................... 27 Pre-departure requirements .................................................................................................................. 27 Re-entry requirements ............................................................................................................................ 28 Specific Information ..................................................................................................................................... 28 Uganda ..................................................................................................................................................... 28 Romania ..................................................................................................................................................... 30 India ........................................................................................................................................................... 31 Appendix A ................................................................................................................................................... 36 Appendix B ................................................................................................................................................... 36 Appendix C ................................................................................................................................................... 38 Affiliation Agreement .................................................................................................................................. 38 Appendix D ................................................................................................................................................... 43 Appendix E .................................................................................................................................................... 45 Appendix F .................................................................................................................................................... 47 Appendix G .................................................................................................................................................. 48 Appendix H ................................................................................................................................................... 49 Appendix I ..................................................................................................................................................... 50 PREFACE This guide is intended to familiarize you, the student, and the field instructor, with the format and content of field experience. It is designed to initially orient you to field experience as well as to serve as an ongoing reference and guide throughout the two-year experience. The mission statement, goals, and objectives of the social work program, the student code of ethics, and the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards are included in the guide in order to provide a framework for field experience. The goals and objectives in these documents are important to incorporate in class and in the field in order to prepare students to become effective generalist social workers. Social work, as an applied discipline and profession, requires emphasis upon planned field experience as a vital component of the educational process. At Cedarville University, application and practice are key concepts in designing field experience and seminar class to meet the educational objectives of the social work program. The experience concurrently couples field experiences with classroom activity. This provides for integration of theoretical learning and practical experience that has proven to be invaluable in professional development. Inquiries and/or comments concerning information in this guide or regarding the social work program should be directed to the Social Work Program, Cedarville University, 251 N. Main St., Cedarville, OH 45314, (937) 766 - 3265 or ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Social Work Program Director, Michael E. Sherr, PhD, MSW, and George E. Huff, MSSA, LISW-S, Social Work Program Field Director, and Melissa D. Brown, MSW, LSW, International Field Co-Ordinator, compiled this field guide. A special thanks to Esther Lanham, accreditation specialist of the Department of Social Work, for her outstanding technical assistance. INTRODUCTION The social work program at Cedarville University offers a broad range of field experience opportunities at a variety of social service agencies in metropolitan, rural, and international settings. The field experience process for the student follows an employment model in both the field experience courses. This is one of the significant ways in which the program prepares the student for beginning social work practice. There have been several courses developed to prepare and assist the student for a successful experience in field agencies. These courses include Total Immersion Experience (SWK 1100), Introduction to Social Work (SWK 2330), Field Survey (SWK 2350), and Ethics in the Helping Professions (SWK 2900). Each course is designed to aid the student in better understanding of what he/she can expect during the two field experience sequences, as well as the profession in general. The Total Immersion Experience (TIE) is a pre-professional experience for a student who has indicated an interest in social work. Cedarville University requires each social work student to participate in a social service agency, shadowing a social worker for one full week (five consecutive days) in order to better understand: 1) social work as a vocation and the student’s feelings toward a social work career; 2) the vulnerable populations social workers serve; 3) the professional helping relationship; and 4) the agency setting. The requirements of the course are typically fulfilled during the student’s spring semester. (Available to non-majors.) Introduction to Social Work introduces the profession and the variety of social work practice. It includes a study of the historical development and professionalization of social work. Incorporating a poverty focus, this course develops the student’s ability for critical thinking and group problem solving, his/her commitments and values, and the skills needed for effective citizenship. (Available to non-majors.) Field Survey provides detailed exposure to fields of social work practice, the role of social work, and agency structure. There is a special emphasis on understanding the dynamics of the professional helping relationship given the client’s membership in certain groups. This course allows the students to “get their feet wet” in human services. (Available to non-majors.) Ethics in the Helping Professions introduces the student to current issues and ethical dilemmas confronting professional helpers. Codes of ethics for the various helping professions are reviewed and emphasis is placed on understanding these codes. This course is highly recommended for completion prior to field experience. (Available to non-majors.) A minimum of 600 hours of field experience is required of all social work majors: 150 hours in the junior year and 450 hours in the senior year. The 450 hours in the senior year meets the Council on Social Work Education’s minimum requirement for field hours. In addition, the Cedarville University social work program requires 150 hours of field in the junior year in order to enhance the social work education of the students with an emphasis on poverty. Students are required to select a different agency for each year to ensure a broad and varied experience in the field. 1 Junior field experience provides practical experience in a social work agency, institution, or department designed to complement the student's academic work and enable the student to apply theory to actual social work situations. The primary focus of the junior student will be serving an indigent population. The student will have the opportunity to observe the social worker's role in the helping process, to have direct contact in agencies with a variety of individuals, groups, and/or community resource workers, to learn various preliminary social work tasks, and to share experiences with other students in small field seminar classes. The students will be expected to develop an initial self-assessment of their specific role in the helping process, perform at an introductory level the functions of the agency to which they are assigned, and put into practice primary social work skills. The course is designed to result in the development of competence in linking people with systems that provide them with resources, services, and opportunities, to develop skill in applying knowledge of human diversity in behavior and social environment, and to understand social work issues from a global/multi-cultural perspective. Juniors fulfill their field experience requirement over two (2) semesters (fall and spring) within one (1) agency. The experience requires eight (8) hours per week for a minimum of 150 hours. It is expected that a student will remain in field through their last seminar class regardless of their accumulated hours. Junior students in field experience are responsible to a field instructor (social worker) with whom they meet on a weekly basis. In addition, juniors meet in small seminar classes with the professor one hour a week throughout the experience in addition to the 150 hours spent in the agency. These groups give the students an opportunity to share new knowledge, awareness, and reactions to their new field experiences with their peers and faculty on campus. (The professor may choose junior experiences.) The senior field experience is designed to provide the student with an opportunity to further integrate and apply knowledge and theory learned in academic courses to actual social work situations. In the senior year, the student is expected to perform social work responsibilities equivalent to those of a new staff member in the agency, under close supervision of the field instructor. It is expected that the student will become aware of and analyze his/her own value orientations and feelings about people and the problems that they bring to social agencies. In addition, emphasis is placed on the acquisition of knowledge and understanding of the network of social work services in the community, and of learning techniques and skills common to social work practice, and an understanding of social work issues from a global/multi-cultural perspective. Seniors will fulfill their required field experience during the fall and spring semesters of their senior year. They complete 225 hours fall semester and the remaining 225 hours during spring semester. This experience requires two (2) full days on Mondays and Wednesdays with any incomplete hours to be made up on Fridays of each week. Some examples would be a holiday, illness, or a snow day to be made up Friday of that week. It is expected that a student will remain in field through their last seminar class regardless of their accumulated hours. The senior field experience, similar to the junior experience, is integrated with class work, especially in the Social Work Practice with Diverse Populations (SWK 4210) and Social Work Practice with Communities and Organizations (SWK 4220). This involves the integration of previously learned knowledge and experiences to maximize each student's cognitive and practical use of social work theory and practice. Seniors also meet in field seminar classes with the 2 professor two (2) hours a week, in addition to the 450 hours spent in the agency, to discuss the above areas and to individualize their practice of social work. Throughout the field experience program, continuous and intensive involvement provides students with a continuity of contact with the social work profession. Familiarization with routines and procedures gives the student a more solid identification and feeling of belonging with the agency, professionals, clients, and delivery systems. Each student has ongoing supervision from both the field instructor and the professor, addressing a variety of issues and needs such as progress, obstacles to growth, and observations. The professor serves as a pivotal link between the curriculum, field experience, and the student. These relationships give the students consistent opportunities for feedback and input on how they can work more effectively as professionals. The field instructors are selected in accordance with criteria that comply with the standards of the Council on Social Work Education. Junior and senior field experiences are both graded on an A to F scale. Each student receives separate grades for field and seminar class. Six (6) credits are earned for the junior field experience, and twelve (12) credits are earned for senior field experience. Additional course requirements are covered in the course syllabi. 3