Preparing Students for Practice in the 21St Century
MSW FIELD MANUAL
UNI
SOCIAL WORK DEPARTMENT
Preparing students for practice in the 21st Century.
The program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.
Important Directions for Current Social Work Education
Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS)
The Council on Social Work Education is a nonprofit national association representing more than 2,500 individual members, as well as graduate and undergraduate programs of professional social work education. Founded in 1952, this partnership of educational and professional institutions, social welfare agencies, and private citizens is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the sole accrediting agency for social work education in this country.
Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) are used by CSWE to accredit baccalaureate- and master- level social work programs. EPAS supports academic excellence by establishing thresholds for professional competence.
Below are the ten competencies now identified through the EPAS for evaluation of social work students. These are used for evaluation purposes in classroom and field education learning.
Competency #1: Student identifies as a professional social worker and conducts himself/herself accordingly.
Competency #2: Student applies social work ethical principles to guide his or her professional practice.
Competency #3: Student applies critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments.
Competency #4: Student engages diversity and difference in practice.
Competency #5: Student advances human rights and social economic justice.
Competency #6: Student engages in research-informed practice and practice-informed research.
Competency #7: Student applies knowledge of human behavior and the social environment.
Competency #8: Student engages in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being and to deliver effective social work services.
Competency #9: Student responds to contexts that shape practice.
Competency #10: Student engages, assesses, intervenes and evaluates with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.
University of Northern Iowa
Department of Social Work
Foundation MSW Curriculum
Total Program - 60 Units
Foundation Curriculum (26 Units)
Term 1 (Fall)
SW6212 Human Behavior and the Social Environment Trauma informed(3)
SW6214 Social Work Practice I (3)
SW6218 Introduction to Social Work Research (3)
SW6230 Injustice and Oppression (3)
Term 2 (Spring)
SW6220 Foundation Practicum (6)
SW6221 Foundation Practicum Seminar (2)
SW6215 Social Work Practice II (3)
SW6216 Social Work Practice with Organizations and Communities (3)
Advanced Curriculum (34 Units)
Advanced Core
Term 3 (Summer)
SW 6234 Primary and Secondary Trauma (3)
SW 6235 Systems Redesign & Community Collaboration (3)
Trauma Informed Practice Concentration OR Social Administration Concentration
Term 4 (Fall) Term 4 (Fall)
SW6242 Advanced Social Work Practice with Individuals (3)SW6213 Human Behavior and Social Environment Macro (3)
SW6244 Advanced Social Work Practice with Families (3)SW6262 Administrative Social Work Practice (3)
SW6243 Advanced Social Work Practice with Groups (3)SW6264 Organizational Development and Networking (3)
SW6263 Grant Writing, Fund Raising, Contracting & Marketing (3) SW6263 Grant Writing, Fund Raising, Contracting & Marketing (3)
******* Elective (3)******* Elective (3)
Term 5 (Spring)Term 5 (Spring)
SW6246 Trauma Informed Practice Practicum (8)SW6252 Advanced Social Administration Practicum (8)
SW6247 Trauma Informed Practice Practicum Seminar (2)SW6253 Advanced Social Administration Practicum Seminar (2)
******* Elective (3)******* Elective (3)
University of Northern Iowa
Department of Social Work
Advanced Standing MSW Curriculum
Advanced Curriculum (37 Units)
Advanced Core
Term 1 (Summer)
SW 6234 Primary and Secondary Trauma (3)
SW 6235 Systems Redesign & Community Collaboration (3)
SW 6245 Advanced Standing Research (3)
Trauma Informed Practice Concentration OR Social Administration Concentration
Term 2 (Fall) Term 2 (Fall)
SW 6242 Advanced Social Work Practice with Individuals (3)SW6213 Human Behavior and Social Environment Macro (3)
SW6244 Advanced Social Work Practice with Families (3)SW6262 Administrative Social Work Practice (3)
SW6243 Advanced Social Work Practice with Groups (3)SW6264 Organizational Development and Networking (3)
SW6263 Grant Writing, Fund Raising, Contracting & Marketing (3)SW6263 Grant Writing, Fund Raising, Contracting & Marketing (3)
******* Elective (3)******* Elective (3)
Term 3 (Spring)Term 3 (Spring)
SW 6246 Trauma Informed Practice Practicum(8)SW 6252 Advanced Social Administration Practicum (8)
SW 6247 Trauma Informed Practice Practicum Seminar (2)SW 6253 Advanced Social Administration Practicum Seminar (2)
******* Elective (3)******* Elective (3)
TABLE OF CONTENTS Revised Fall 2013
I.INTRODUCTION1
II.PROGRAM MISSION, GOALS & OBJECTIVES, AND CURRICULUM2-18
Program Mission2
MSW Program Goals: Foundation and Concentrations2
Statement of Program Objectives: MSW Foundation Objectives 3
Advanced Trauma Informed Practice (TIP) Objectives3-4
Social Administration Practice (SAP) Objectives4
Course Requirements and Sequencing 4
Foundation Content5
Advanced Standing Courses6
Advanced Curriculum and Definitions of Practice
Concentrations 6-7
Concentration Curriculum 7-8
Course Descriptions8-18
III.FIELD PLACEMENT DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES19-22
Foundation Placement19-20
Advanced Trauma Informed Practice Placement20-21
Social Administration Placement21-22
IV.THE PLACEMENT PROCESS23-27
Agency Selection23-24
Sites Available24
Site Selection Process25
Out of State Placement25
Employment Based Placement26
Selecting Agency Field Instructors26
Foundation Student Agency Placement Process26-27
Advanced Standing Student Agency Placement Process27
V.REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION AND MONITORING OF
FIELD PLACEMENT28-42
The Learning Plan28-35
Sample of Goals and Objectives for Learning Plan36-42
Documentation of Hours42
Monitoring the Field Placement42
VI.EVALUATION OF FIELD PLACEMENT43-45
Learning Plan43
Foundation Placement Evaluation43
Social Administration or Advanced Trauma Informed Practice44
Practica Seminars44-45
Location Where Formal Placement Evaluations Occur45
Mechanisms for Overall Field Placement Evaluation45
VII.RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE STUDENT, AGENCY FIELD
INSTRUCTOR, FACULTY LIAISON, AND FIELD
DIRECTOR46-50
Responsibilities of the Student46-47
Responsibilities of the Agency Field Instructor47-48
Responsibilities of the Faculty Liaison48-49
Responsibilities of the Field Director49-50
- ADDITIONAL POLICIES 51-52
Policy on Liability/Malpractice Insurance51
Financial Support Field Policy51-52
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Employment Based Graduate Field Practicum Request
Application53-55
Appendix B: Learning Plan56-62
Appendix C: Documentation of Hours63-67
Foundation & Advanced Concentrations
Appendix D: NASW Code of Ethics68-93
Appendix E: University Policies94-95
Disabilities95
Graduate Student Academic Grievance 95
Discrimination and Harassment Policy95-96
Equal Opportunity Policy96
Appendix F: MSW Foundation Rating for Field Assessment
97-106
Appendix G: Trauma Informed Practice & Social Administration Placement
Evaluation Forms107-118
Appendix H: Travel Time and Professional Development Training
Guidelines (hours that apply to overall field requirements)119-120
Appendix I: Agency Supervision Meeting Agency Forms
I.Introduction
Considered an invaluable component of the student’s professional education and development, the field practicum program is governed by the mission, overall aims, foundation curriculum, and advanced curriculum concentrations of the MSW program. A primary aim of the program is to educate and prepare professional social workers to assume advanced competent practice and leadership roles in a dynamic, complex, and multicultural society. Skill development progresses from generalist to more advanced techniques. Opportunities are afforded students to apply theoretical knowledge and skills learned in the classroom to actual practice situations. Selecting from an array of field placement sites, students construct individualized learning plans to meet their educational goals. Students benefit from faculty guidance and support during the process, as well as that given by experienced practitioners within the community. In addition to the learning objectives, university faculty, agency instructors, and students form a close working relationship to make meaningful contributions to the alleviation of human suffering, empowerment of client systems, the humane operation of societal institutions, and general improvement of the human condition.
{Notation: Throughout the manual the term “agency” is used. It is meant to convey a human service agency, health care setting, educational setting, advocacy organization, or related human service setting where a practicum might take place.}
The MSW Field Instruction Manual is the guide that Agency Field Instructors, Faculty Liaisons, and graduate students use throughout the placement experience. It contains the official policies, procedures, and guidelines currently in place for the field practicum experience. The aim of the manual is to guide and assist all those involved in the field practicum to understand the structure of this educational component of professional training. Therefore, be sure to read it carefully and seek clarification, when needed, from the Faculty Liaison.
The field experience is an exciting and challenging time for all involved in the process. The Social Work Department at UNI hopes students will also find it to be a unique opportunity for personal and professional growth.
II.Program Mission, Goals & Objectives, and Curriculum
A. Program Mission
The mission of the Department of Social Work, in keeping with the broader mission of the University and the purposes of professional social work education, is to prepare students for competent, effective, and ethical – beginning and advanced -- professional practice and leadership; to conduct scholarship that advances knowledge; and to provide service to local, state, national, and international communities. Using multidimensional theory, knowledge and skills, students and faculty are committed to enhancing human potential and growth in diverse human systems. This commitment is supported by the promotion of multi-cultural sensitivity, human rights, and social and economic justice within a framework of social work values and ethics.
B. MSW Program Goals: Foundation and Concentrations
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Goal 1. Provide a foundation curriculum rooted within a generalist perspective that addresses knowledge and skills necessary for effective and ethical practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities;
Goal 2. Provide a concentration curriculum built on the professional foundation that prepares students to practice autonomously as advanced level professionals in either advanced trauma informed or administrative practice within a wide range of client systems and practice settings;
Goal 3. Infuse social work values and ethics throughout students’ educational experience to serve as guides for practice in field placements and future professional social work practice;
Goal 4. Promote student understanding of diversity through curriculum that identifies the experiences and needs of vulnerable and oppressed groups while emphasizing resilience and strengths;
Goal 5. Increase students’ understanding of the types and processes of discrimination and oppression and enhance their ability to promote social and economic justice through advocacy and social reform;
Goal 6. Prepare students to critically assess and apply empirically-based knowledge, evaluate their own practice effectiveness, and participate in the evaluation of programs and policies.
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C. Statement of Program Objectives: MSW Foundation Objectives
Upon completion of the M.S.W. degree, graduates will be able to:
1. Apply critical thinking skills
2. Practice social work values and ethics
3. Practice without discrimination, with respect to a variety of differences
4. Understand mechanisms of oppression and discrimination
5. Apply strategies of advocacy and social change to advance social justice
6. Interpret history and current issues of the profession
B7. Apply knowledge and skills of generalist practice with systems of all sizes
M7. Apply knowledge and skills of generalist perspective to practice with systems of all sizes
8. Apply evidenced-based theoretical frameworks to understanding individual development and behavior across the life span, between individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
9. Analyze, formulate, influence social policies
10. Evaluate and apply research studies to practice
11. Evaluate own practice
12. Communicate differentially
13. Use supervision and consultation
14. Function with organization and delivery systems
15. Seek necessary organizational change
D. Advanced Trauma Informed Practice (TIP) Objectives
Graduates of the Trauma Informed Practice Concentration will be able to:
TIP 1. Use theories and empirical knowledge in formulating bio-psycho-social-spiritual assessments for intervention with individuals, families, and groups with sensitivity to ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, and cultural and economic factors.
TIP 2. Intervene as autonomous, self-reflective, advanced level practitioners with individuals, families, and groups in diverse settings and differentially apply practice approaches and models to enhance strengths and optimize human potential.
TIP 3. Critically analyze the impact of both supports and constraints of social policies on the delivery of advanced trauma Informed Practice services with particular attention to diversity, human rights and the promotion of social and economic justice.
TIP 4. Demonstrate skill in differential use of self in professional relationships, including capacity to work in multi-disciplinary teams and diverse host settings.
TIP 5. Use research in practice with individuals, families, and groups and evaluate one’s own practice effectiveness.
TIP 6. Apply social work values and ethics in increasingly complex advanced trauma Informed Practice settings.
E. Social Administration Practice (SAP) Objectives
Graduates of the Social Administration Practice concentration will be able to:
SAP 1. Use theories and empirical knowledge in analyzing and addressing organizational, community and policy issues with sensitivity to ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, and cultural and economic factors (EP 3.1).
SAP 2. Provide autonomous self-reflective, administrative leadership in planning and developing effective social service delivery in diverse organizational and community settings (EP 3.1).
SAP 3. Acquire and manage resources, including long term fund raising strategies, with particular attention to diversity, human rights, and the promotion of social and economic justice (EP 3.1).
SAP 4. Support and develop social service staff strengths through professional training and professional development activities (EP 3.1).
SAP 5. Use research findings to guide practice with organizations and communities needs, and evaluate the implementation and outcomes of human service programs and policies (EP 3.1).
SAP 6. Apply social work values and ethics in increasingly complex organizational and community settings (EP3.1).
F. Course Requirements and Sequencing
The MSW program at UNI offers a 60-hour, two-year curriculum for students without an undergraduate social work degree from a CSWE accredited bachelors’ program, and a 38-hour minimum advanced standing curriculum for students with a bachelor’s degree from a CSWE accredited bachelors’ program. Advanced standing students will be required to make up any deficiencies in their foundation core as determined by the admissions committee. Both curricula are for full time students until the program is fully implemented, then a part time sequence for each may be developed. The first year of the two year program contains 29 credit hours of foundational social work masters courses, as outlined below. The courses offered in the second year of the two year program and the advanced standing program are identical. Students can choose an advanced trauma Informed Practice concentration or a social administration concentration. Electives are offered in both concentrations. The MSW program at UNI is a non-thesis program. The next sections describe the course content and sequencing for the foundation year curriculum and the concentration year curricula.
G. Foundation Content
The foundation curriculum content consists of twenty-nine semester hours of foundation courses including 400 clock hours of field instruction. It includes content on social work values and ethics, diversity, social and economic justice, populations-at-risk, human behavior and the social environment, social welfare policy and services, social work practice, and research. The foundation content is required of all students. Those who hold a bachelor’s degree in social work from a Council on Social Work Education accredited program will have met most of these content requirements. Students without an accredited bachelor’s degree in social work are required to complete the first year of foundation courses.
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H. Advanced Standing Courses
Students who hold a bachelor’s degree in social work from a Council on Social Work Education accredited program will have met most but not all of the requirements for the foundation content and may be admitted to Advanced Standing. Students admitted to Advanced Standing are required to take two Advanced Standing courses (for a total of seven credits) that are offered in the Summer prior to matriculation in one of the two Practice Concentrations.
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I. Advanced Curriculum Definitions of Practice Concentrations
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The advanced curriculum has two concentrations which build on the foundation curriculum content. These are Advanced Trauma Informed Practice and Social Administration.
Trauma Informed Practice:
Students choosing this concentration learn a broad range of advanced skills to work directly on a case-by-case basis or in a clinical setting with individuals, families and small groups (See, definition of “Trauma Informed Practice,” Barker, R.L. 1999. The social work dictionary 4th ed., p. 302. Washington, DC: NASW Press). Clients and their environment are viewed as open systems and the broad range of advanced skills supports effective social work trauma informed practice in northeast Iowa: “Generalist practice is particularly suited for small towns and rural areas in the United States (p. 748)” (Pinderhughes, E. 1995. Direct practice overview. In R. L. Edwards, et al. Eds. Encyclopedia of social work 19th ed. Washington, DC: NASW Press). While trauma informed practice can be viewed as a subcategory of “direct practice,” this concentration is more specific than “direct practice” in that it emphasizes work with small client systems and the accompanying principles and skills, including advocacy. It does not include, as a distinct focus, community and organizational practice.
Social Administration: Students choosing this concentration learn the skills necessary to provide leadership in transforming social policy into social services in the interest of all people, including oppressed and diverse populations. Advanced skills taught include program planning and development, acquiring resources, designing organizational structure and process, developing and maintaining staff, evaluating services, and effecting organizational change (See definition of “management tasks,” Barker, R.L. 1999. The social work dictionary 4th ed., p. 289. Washington, DC: NASW Press).
Originally advanced as a practice method in the 1951 Hollis-Taylor report on social work education in the United States, this concentration recognizes social administration--also referred to as human service management--as one of the distinct practice methodologies in social work (Austin, D. M. 1995. Management Overview. In R. L. Edwards, et al. Eds. Encyclopedia of social work 19th ed., pp. 1642-1658. Washington, DC: NASW Press). Accordingly, it prepares students for administrative practice in social work based on open systems theory.
Association for Community Organization and Social Administration (ACOSA)
ACOSA is a social work professional group of community and administrative practitioners which publishes the leading peer reviewed journal in the field, The Journal of Community Practice.