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FIELD DIRECTOR CONSORTIUM MEETING MINUTES

4/2/2014 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Wintergreen Resort

Members Present: Jeanne Wagner; Mary Weeden; Mike Wallace; Leslie Jaber-Wilson; Jennifer Gervais; Cindy Ragland; Melinda Kiltz; Jeannine Rowe; Mary Nienow; Adrianne Fletcher, Joan Groessl

I.  Review of Minutes from 10/03/13 meeting – The minutes were accepted and approved.

II.  Announcements

  1. Field Faculty Changes – Jeanine Rowe is serving as the Field Director for Whitewater and has done a lot of web development in the last six months
  2. Jennifer Gervais provided an update on the student agency matching system that she developed
  3. Most programs have Fall field students placed by mid to late-March.
  4. Most programs have one field placement for BSW students. Mount Mary has two agency placements, one in junior year and one in senior year.
  5. Great Lakes Internship grant – Social Work students in several programs have received paid internships under these grants.
  6. FASFA has an option for students to request additional funds for travel expenses.
  7. The Writer’s Handbook for Social Workers is a new publication that was presented at BPD and can be purchased at a group discount.

III.  Field Liaison Manual (update) – Jennifer Gervais and Jeanne Wagner presented the draft of the Field Liaison Manual that was recently presented at BPD. Some additional edits will be done before submission for editing.

IV.  Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare update – Mike Wallace will provide an update of the recent developments at BMCW during the WCSWE conference.

V.  Advanced Field Instructor Online Training – Jennifer and Jeanne proposed an advanced Field Instructor online training. There is a book called The Successful Internship – Transformation and Empowerment in Experiential Learning by Switzer and King, 2nd edition 2004, that has some excellent ideas. Additional ideas for training include:

  1. Working with non-traditional students
  2. How to teach in the field
  3. Constructive Feedback
  4. Professional ethical boundaries

There will be a teleconference on 6/4/14 @ 1:00 to begin planning.

VI.  Physically Disabled Students and Field – The challenges of placing physically disabled students in the field were discussed. All programs address these issues. Transportation is often a big issue. Whitewater asks disabled students how they want the field program to approach the agency at time of referral. River Falls has a personal conversation with students when they apply for the program, and use this meeting as an educational experience. The student is asked if they have a disability and information about the field of social work and limitations of agencies is discussed. Some students select out at the end of this meeting. It was recommended that DVR be invited to come to campus to provide information to the Field Liaison and to support the student.

VII.  Criminal Background History and Implications for Field – Most programs do background checks on students before they enter field. UW-Green Bay provides their students with a list of convictions from the Department of Safety & Professionals Services website that will prevent licensure and certification.

Next Consortium Meeting: Thursday, 10/02/2014 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. @ the Wintergreen Resort