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School of Social Work

SOWK 488 BSW FIELD PLACEMENT
LEARNING PLAN
Before completing this form, please refer to the SOWK 488 learning plan instructions.

Check one: Concurrent Placement (2-semester) OR Block Placement (1-semester)

Student: Semester / Year:

Agency: Phone:

BSW/MSW Field Instructor: Email: Phone:

On-site Supervisor: Email: Phone:

Field Liaison: Email: Phone:



Date Completed The learning plan is a working document and may be updated or revised during the field placement.

Signatures:



BSW/MSW Field Instructor Date On-site Supervisor (if applicable) Date




Student Date Field Liaison Date
ST/1/2014
Allison Hamm Spring/Summer 2014
Serve 6.8 303-960-7437
Lisa LaDue lisaladue@gmail.com 319-360-0495
Chelsea Green cgreen@serve68.org 970-481-2328
Joni Handran
joni.handran@colostate.edu
303-320-1989
2/8/14
Lisa R. LaDue, MSW,
LCSW
Digitally signed by Lisa R. LaDue, MSW, LCSW
DN: cn=Lisa R. LaDue, MSW, LCSW, o=CSU,
ou=Field, email=lisaladue@gmail.com, c=US
Date: 2014.02.09 08:35:20 -07'00'
Chelsea Green
Digitally signed by Chelsea Green
DN: cn=Chelsea Green, o=SERVE 6.8, ou,
email=cgreen@serve68.org, c=US
Date: 2014.02.11 09:01:20 -07'00'
2/11//2014
Allison Hamm
Digitally signed by Allison Hamm
DN: cn=Allison Hamm, o, ou,
email=aeh92@rams.colostate.edu, c=US
Date: 2014.02.10 21:16:59 -07'00'
2/10/14
Joni Handran
Digitally signed by Joni Handran
DN: cn=Joni Handran, o, ou,
email=jonihandran@yahoo.com, c=US
Date: 2014.02.11 10:16:56 -07'00'
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Generalist Foundation Competencies and Practice Behaviors
Competency 1: Identify as a professional social worker and conduct oneself accordingly.
Social workers serve as representatives of the profession, its mission, and its values. They know the professions history. Social workers commit themselves to the professions
enhancement and to their own professional conduct and growth.
Practice Behaviors Learning Experiences
a. Advocate for client access to services of social work;
b. Practice personal reflection and self correction to assure
continual professional development;
c. Attend to professional roles and boundaries;
d. Demonstrate professional demeanor in behavior, appearance,
and communication;
e. Engage in career-long learning; and
f. Use supervision and consultation.




Competency 2: Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional practice.
Social workers have an obligation to conduct themselves ethically and to engage in ethical decision-making. Social workers are knowledgeable about the value base of the
profession, its ethical standards, and relevant laws.
Practice Behaviors Learning Experiences
a. Recognize and manage personal values in a way that allows
professional values to guide practice;
b. Make ethical decisions by apply standards of the NASW Code of
Ethics and, as applicable, of the IFSW/IASSW Ethics in Social
Work, Statement of Principles;
c. Tolerate ambiguity in resolving ethical conflicts; and apply
strategies of ethical reasoning to arrive at principled decisions.


a. Bring attention to client needs at weekly meetings.

b. Journal experiences objectively and subjectively to learn and grow from past
interactions.

c. Set up guidelines before contacting clients. Only work at the same pace as the client,
and do not assume what services they need.

d. Adhere to service site code of conduct, dress code, and chain of command.

e. Visit partner agencies and attend guest lectures to gain insight on area of social work
focus.

f. Meet weekly with field instructor and peer supervisors at Seminar.
a. Reflect in journal to identify differences in personal and professional values, and
problem solve (by self or with colleagues) to find ways to allow professional values to be
dominate in practice.

b. When faced with an ethical dilemma such as client needs not met by policy
guidelines, use ethical standards to determine practice.

c. Accept that some conflicts will have gray area in best practice. Try to resolve these by
reviewing ethics and values, asking colleagues, and supervisors.
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Competency 3: Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments.
Social workers are knowledgeable about the principles of logic, scientific inquiry, and reasoned discernment. The use of critical thinking is augmented by creativity and curiosity.
Critical thinking also requires the synthesis and communication of relevant information.
Practice Behaviors Learning Experiences
a. Distinguish, appraise, and integrate multiple sources of
knowledge, including research-based knowledge and practice
wisdom;
b. Analyze models of assessment, prevention, intervention, and
evaluation; and
c. Demonstrate effective oral and written communication in
working with individuals, families, groups, organizations,
communities, and colleagues.


Competency 4: Engage diversity and difference in practice.
Social workers understand how diversity characterizes and shapes the human experience and is critical to the formation of identity. The dimensions of diversity are understood as
the intersectionality of multiple factors including age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, immigration status, political ideology, race,
religion, sex, and sexual orientation. Social workers appreciate that, as a consequence of difference, a persons life experiences may include oppression, poverty, marginalization,
and alienation as well as privilege, power and acclaim.
Practice Behaviors Learning Experiences
a. Recognize the extent to which a cultures structures and values
may oppress, marginalize, alienate, or create or enhance
privilege and power;
b. Gain sufficient self-awareness to eliminate the influence of
personal biases and values in working with diverse groups;
c. Recognize and communicate their understanding of the
importance of difference in shaping life experiences; and
d. View themselves as learners and engage those with whom they
work as informants.



a. Meet with various partner agencies to learn about methods and resources. Read
relevant journals to social work practice and pay attention to new research. Ask
supervisors and colleagues about helpful practice techniques.

b. Discuss and practice different theoretical models of social work with colleagues.
Examine the risks and benefits of using such models with varying clients. Review if a
different model may have been more beneficial.

c. Communicate properly through phone intakes with clients. Facilitate effective
face-to-face meetings with clients and agencies. Document any interviewing and
information so that effective synthesis of services may be completed.
a. Observe Serve 6.8's foundational premises from various perspectives and recognize
ways in which clients' values may create perceived barriers/utilities to services. Notice
which populations are marginalized by lack of service provision.

b. Reflect in journal on personal cultural expectations that may complicate the
agency/client relationship. Recognize potential ways to eliminate bias in a professional
setting.

c. Use a strengths based approach to praise others in their unique experiences
Promote diverse perspectives to attain positive outcomes in the planned change
process.

d. Allow the client to be the expert of his/her situation; learn from their experience to
better aid future clients. Ask the client about referral sources and previously contacted
agencies to learn about a wider range of services. Inform clients of additional area
services.
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Competency 5: Advance human rights and social and economic justice.
Each person, regardless of position in society, has basic human rights, such as freedom, safety, privacy, and adequate standard of living, health care, and education. Social
workers recognize the global interconnections of oppression and are knowledgeable about theories of justice and strategies to promote human and civil rights. Social work
incorporates social justice practices in organizations, institutions, and society to ensure that these basic human rights are distributed equitably and without prejudice.
Practice Behaviors Learning Experiences
a. Advocate for human rights and social and economic justice; and
b. Engage in practices that advance social and economic justice.






Competency 6: Engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research.
Social workers use practice experience to inform research, employ evidence-based interventions, evaluate their own practice, and use research findings to improve practice,
policy, and social service delivery. Social workers comprehend quantitative and qualitative research and understand scientific and ethical approaches to building knowledge.
Practice Behaviors Learning Experiences
a. Use practice experience to inform scientific enquiry; and
b. Use research evidence to inform practice.





a. Draw attention to client's whose basic needs are not being met, and find agencies
willing to provide services to meet those needs. Engage community members in creating
lasting social groups (Neighborhood Navigators) to serve as a basis for social support.
Empower clients to navigate documents that will increase their economic resources.

b. Use the planned change process to effectively improve social and economic justice
for clients. Incorporate evidence based models in interventions.
a. Compare practice experiences to research outcomes and discuss with colleagues to
incorporate findings into future practice.

b. Read and learn about current findings in practice Read the Disaster Recovery
Framework. Familiarize self with SAMHSA Disaster resources.
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Competency 7: Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment.
Social workers are knowledgeable about human behavior across the life course; the range of social systems in which people live; and the ways social systems promote or deter
people in maintaining or achieving health and well-being. Social workers apply theories and knowledge from the liberal arts to understand biological, social, cultural,
psychological, and spiritual development.
Practice Behaviors Learning Experiences
a. Utilize conceptual frameworks to guide the processes of
assessment, intervention, and evaluation; and
b. Critique and apply knowledge to understand person and
environment.







Competency 8: Engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being and to deliver effective social work services.
Social workers understand that policy affects service delivery, and they actively engage in policy practice. Social workers know the history and current structures of social policies
and services, the role of policy in service delivery, and the role of practice in policy development.
Practice Behaviors Learning Experiences
a. Analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance
social well-being; and
b. Collaborate with colleagues and clients for effective policy
action.






a. Interview clients and draw on theories and approaches to further guide practice. Use
supervision for progress check-ins and gaps in information.

b. Complete case study assignment for Seminar.
a. Be informed on relevant policies by local, County, State, and Federal governments.
Document services from guiding policies that have benefitted clients.

b. Develop a strong knowledge base in one or more governmental policies to
contribute to the Disaster Navigator team. Navigate policy guidelines with clients.
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Competency 9: Respond to contexts that shape practice.
Social workers are informed, resourceful, and proactive in responding to evolving organizational, community, and societal contexts at all levels of practice. Social workers
recognize that the context of practice is dynamic, and use knowledge and skill to respond proactively.
Practice Behaviors Learning Experiences
a. Continuously discover, appraise, and attend to changing locales,
populations, scientific and technological developments, and
emerging societal trends to provide relevant services; and
b. Provide leadership in promoting sustainable changes in service
delivery and practice to improve the quality of social services.






Competency 10: Engage, assess, intervene, and evaluate with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
Professional practice involves the dynamic and interactive processes of engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation at multiple levels. Social workers have the
knowledge and skills to practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Practice knowledge includes identifying, analyzing, and implementing
evidence-based interventions designed to achieve client goals; using research and technological advances; evaluating program outcomes and practice effectiveness; developing,
analyzing, advocating, and providing leadership for policies and services; and promoting social and economic justice.
Practice Behaviors
a. Engagement Learning Experiences
i. Substantively and affectively prepare for action with
individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities;
ii. Use empathy and other interpersonal skills; and
iii. Develop a mutually agreed-on focus of work and desired
outcomes.




a. Adapt to working in various communities while utilizing agency technology to
communicate with agency and clients.

b. Facilitate the education of Neighborhood Navigators in promoting sustainable
community disaster response resources.
i. Attend Long Term Recovery Group meetings; inform others of the Disaster Navigator
program and learn about community supports.

ii. Practice empathy and other basic counseling techniques with clients. Utilize
psychological first aid training skills.

iii. Begin assessment in areas that client sees as urgent. As one need is met help client to
distinguish what other areas need attention.
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b. Assessment and Planning Learning Experiences
i. Collect, organize, and interpret client data;
ii. Assess client strengths and limitations;
iii. Develop mutually agreed-on intervention goals and objectives;
and
iv. Select appropriate intervention strategies.





c. Intervention Learning Experiences
i. Initiate actions to achieve organizational goals;
ii. Implement prevention interventions that enhance client
capacities;
iii. Help clients resolve problems;
iv. Negotiate, mediate, and advocate for clients;
v. Facilitate transitions and endings.





d. Evaluation Learning Experiences
i. Social Workers critically analyze, monitor, and evaluate
interventions.




i. Conduct initial client contact through phone intakes and snowball sampling. Keep all
information in carefully documented case files.

ii. Ask client what they have already done to improve their issue, see what barriers they
are facing.

iii. Begin interventions based on previous client guided assessment. Use techniques and
resources that the client sees as beneficial. Allow unwanted resources to be put on
standby for future needs.

iv. Attend to social work values when selecting interventions with client.
i. Make note of ongoing improvements to documentation. Follow-up with team to approve
changes.

ii. Facilitate the education of Neighborhood Navigators in promoting sustainable
community disaster response resources.

iii. Navigate client issues that become overwhelming or triggering.

iv. Facilitate conversations with other organizations and agencies contacted. Support and
empower client to access resources.

v. Engage clients as their new case manager. Terminate relationships that have met goals
or at the end of field practice. Introduce clients to new case managers.
i. Review client progress in regards to intervention strategies. Record any future
improvements to social work practice for specific case, self, or agency.