Field Directors

Hello fellow Field Directors. I am asking for assistance today. Currently, if a student is at an agency without a social worker as the field instructor our faculty have provided the social work perspective/supervision. This has never been a great solution but has worked okay thus far. However, recently our social work department has been approached by multiple offices/departments on our campus offering social work students internships. Examples include our campus food pantry, LGBTQ+ Resource Center, Admissions Office, President's Office for a basic needs and resource initiative, etc. These are all great opportunities for our students and they would have appropriate task supervision but no social worker on-site or connected to the departments/offices. Given the growing opportunities for campus placements, I have been tasked to create a model/program/structure to hire a social worker to provide this type of supervision.

I am sure other institutions have a model/program in place where field offices contract with/hire a social worker to provide this type of service. If your institution has something like this in place, I would be grateful for any resources/materials you can share. Also, any best practices or tips/things to consider/etc. would be much appreciated. Feel free to respond to this thread or share privately with me via email at: danaholcomb@ferris.edu.

Thank you!

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Dana Holcomb
Director of Field
Ferris State University
Big Rapids MI
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Hi Dana, we have 2 full time field coordinators who are 50% field liaison and 50% co-instructor for these types of placements. I am happy to connect further to answer any of your questions - klakos.2@osu.edu

Katie

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Katie Klakos
Director of Field Education
The Ohio State University College of Social Work
Columbus OH
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Hi,

Yes, we utilize outside MSW supervisors a lot and it is working really well for us. We usually partner with local alumni or practitioners in our community. We offer both 1 on 1 or group supervision to students depending on practice context and demand. E.g. in our new online MSW program we have a higher need for outside supervision so we are matching students in small 4-5 member groups and have them meet with their outside supervisor via Zoom every other week for 1.5 hours. We do pay for outside supervision, either $25-30/ hr for 1 on 1 or $50/hr for group. This is covered by our field fees.

See attached the outside supervision overview we provide to folks highlighting areas of supervision focus. I also send an introduction email to all students and their outside supervisors explaining the purpose of outside supervision, how to prepare and utilize it, and making it clear that it is not optional to attend but a required part of their practicum learning. 

Lastly, we have a lot of campus based placements as they offer really rich learning and respond to a high need. More and more of those placements are paid for students which is great.

 

Best

KAT

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Katharina Werner
Director of Field Education
University of Montana
Missoula MT
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Original Message:
Sent: Sep 21, 2022 10:52
From: Katie Klakos
Subject: Supervision Structure

Hi Dana, we have 2 full time field coordinators who are 50% field liaison and 50% co-instructor for these types of placements. I am happy to connect further to answer any of your questions - klakos.2@osu.edu

Katie

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Katie Klakos
Director of Field Education
The Ohio State University College of Social Work
Columbus OH
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