msw p/t advanced standing orientation to the placement process december 10 th, 2009

MSW P/T Advanced Standing

Orientation to the Placement ProcessDecember 10th, 2009

MSW Advanced Standing Phase I Orientation

• Introduction to the School of Social Work • Placement Requirements• Placement Registration• Placement Process• Things to Consider• Work Placements• International Placements• Cover Letters and Resumes• Interviews• Confirmation of Placements• Accommodations• Technical Support• Questions/Concluding Remarks

Introductions

• Maureen Boettcher – Field Education Manager– 416-736-2100 Ext 39488– [email protected]

• Sheryl Abraham – Assistant Field Education Coordinator– 416-736-2100 Ext 33354– [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Welcome to the School of Social Work

We are a School that strives to create a inclusive, respectful environment for our students.

We are honored to welcome students of many different and intersecting identities.

We are open to exploring alternative or non traditional placement opportunities for our students

We encourage you to be creative and proactive in your search

Mission Statement

The School of Social Work at York teaches from a critical social work perspective.

We focus on issues of social justice, marginalization and oppression

We focus on teaching students to understand social problems from this perspective and to address social problems as social justice issues.

We endeavour to educate students to be flexible practitioners who practice from multiple stances and work with people’s immediate distress and the social contexts involved in it.

As a result we do not have streams of practice within the program or within placements.

We encourage students to think about where to do their placement in terms of the social justice issues they wish to address and the skills they need to develop to do so effectively.

Placement Requirements

Part-Time Advanced Standing MSW students complete 450 hours of placement

• 2-5 days/week– 2 days/week = 6 1/2 months – 3 days per week = approx. 4 1/2

months– 4-5 days/week = 2 1/2months

• FULL days at Placement• Begins the first or second week of

school in September 2010

Placement Requirements

Registering in Practicum Course

• Register in 5350.6 (Practicum Course)

• MUST register in the Summer although placement starts in the Fall term

• 5450 (Practice Research Seminar) is to be taken concurrently with the practicum

Placement Process

• Collaboration between field office and student is essential

• All placements must be confirmed by the Field Education Manager

Factors For Agencies/Field Office To Consider

• Agency’s interest in taking students• Non-Profit agency• Agency’s s.w. philosophy• Learning opportunities• Supervision time• Educational qualifications of

supervisors• Physical Space• Timelines of placement• Legal Requirements for the agency• Practicum, NOT an Internship

The placement process can take some time because of the previous factors.

This is normal.

We work on your first two choices first.

We will try to get you at least 1 or 2 interviews so you can make an informed decision.

If you are getting anxious, please feel free to e-mail us to set up an in-person meeting, we are flexible with times of setting up a meeting. Setting up telephone meetings may work as well

MSW Practicum Road Map

• Site Search• Advising Appointment• Selection of top 4 placement choices• Application submitted latest by:

Monday February 22nd, 2010, 4:30 pm.• Field office will send out applications after this

deadline.• Interview with Placement site

– Tell the field office before it happens.– Placement is still not guaranteed.

• Field Office follows up with field instructor• Confirmation of Placement Package if everything is

okay• Beginning Placement Orientation

School and Student’s Obligations in Placement Process

Students are not guaranteed a placement simply because they have completed the academic portion of their degree. Students are expected to demonstrate readiness for practice in the process of securing a placement in addition to the fulfillment of the practicum hours.

• Complete core courses• Know what skills you want out the

placement and be able to express this when meeting with us and agencies

• Completing the on-line application• Informing the field office when you

get interviews before they happen• Keeping in contact with us.• Following up with agencies as

required and as appropriate.• Being professional during interviews

and during placement

School and Student’s Obligations in Placement Process

Agency Search

• Internet Sites– 211Toronto:

http://www.211toronto.ca/splash.jsp

– Charity Village: http://www.charityvillage.com/

• SW Database

• Advising Appointment



http://www.charityvillage.com/

Choosing Possible Placement Sites

• Past work/volunteer social work experience

• Training• Social work issues/population• Skill development• Supervision/Learning style• Self-care practices• Work Placements

Work Placements

• Criteria to be met• Contact Field Education

Manager to discuss• Proposal to be submitted by

February 24th, 2010• Application for placement must

still be submitted by February 22nd 2010, 4:30 pm.

• All proposals must be approved by Field Education Manager

International Placements

• Possibilities

• Pros and Cons

• Process

Cover Letter and Resume

• Work and Volunteer

• Education

• Introduce self

• What you have to offer

Cover Letter/Resume Workshop

January 22nd, 2010

4:00 pm

Kinsmen 1002

Cover Letter and Resume

• Save resume and cover letter under one document

• .doc or .rtf format• Save it with first and last name

as the title of the documentEx. “SMITH Marie Resume and

Cover Letter 2010”• Try to keep resume to 2 pages• Spell check and have someone

else read it over

Interviews

• Professional Dress

• Discuss what you can offer

• Be clear about your learning goals and supervision and daily activities

• Determine what you will do on a daily basis and which workers you will be working with

• Some sites will require a certain level of practice experience

Police Checks and Requirements

• Police check in the Summer

• Potentially need license or access to a car

• Other requirements

Confirmation of Placement

• Confirmation package• Enrollment • Orientation Session:

Beginning Placement (Mandatory):

Early Sept. 2010,Date and location to be determined

7-9 pm

• PRS Director

Forms and Information

All available on the School web site at

http://www.yorku.ca/laps/sowk/practicum/



Accommodations

Please contact the

Counselling and Development Centre

(416) 736-5297

Room N110

Bennett Centre for Student Services

Technical Support

http://www.yorku.ca/computing/students/accounts/signupinstructions.html

YorkU Passport Instructions



• Type http://mymail.yorku.ca as website address (Netscape or Internet Explorer)

• Go to Options• Mail Management• York Mail Management Options• Edit Your Mail Forwarding Settings• In the blank field enter the email address

to which you want to forward your York account

• Click save options to save the changes.

• Send an e-mail to your YorkU e-mail and make sure it goes to your other account

Forwarding YorkU Emails

http://mymail.yorku.ca/

Changing Your Personal Information

Open Internet BrowserOn Address Line Type: http://www.yorku.ca

Click on “Current Students Faculty & Staff”

http://www.yorku.ca/


Click on “Current Students”


Click on “My Student Records”


Click on the information you need to change such as address and contact information, emergency contact information, etc.


Log in to Passport York and make the necessary changes

Social Work Social Work Practicum/Field Practicum/Field

Placement Database Placement Database InstructionsInstructions

Open Internet BrowserOn Address Line Type: http://www.yorku.ca/laps/sowk

Registering on the Databasevia Website

http://www.yorku.ca/laps/sowk

Click on “Database Sign In”


You will be directed to the SOWK Online Application Page.


Select “Students”

This will bring you to the SOWK Online Application –Students Page.

• Click on “Register new account” for 1st time users

•If you were a previous BSW student and are now an MSW student, you will have to register again as an MSW student only once.

OR enter your student ID & password (if you have already registered)NOTE: this is different than your Passport York Account Log-in

• Select MSW or BSW Student (if you have already registered)

•Click Submit



Registering on the Database via Website - Agency Search

Once you log-in, you will be directed to your Student Profile screen. Click on “Agency Search” at the top right to research

possible placement sites.

Registering on the Databasevia Website - Agency Search

Registering on the Database via Website - Agency Search

When your Agency Search is complete, continue by Clicking on Placement Request to begin the application process.

The Agency Search page allows you to search agencies by Name, Address, and City. Click on Placement Search to see all the agencies in the database

Registering on the Databasevia Website - Agency Search

• There is no list of available agencies for each term• The database is a list of agencies we have used in

the past but may or may not be available, depending on many factors.

• Take a look at the posted links/websites to get an idea of what the place is about

• The search engine is very precise. Be sure to be exact in your spelling

• Check out:– http://www.211toronto.ca/splash.jsp– Other city’s social services search engines

• RESEARCH on the student’s part is key in the placement process

Registering on the Databasevia Website - Researching Tips


Registering on the Database via Website – Placement Request

Be sure to fill out the appropriate program and the Term you are applying for. Provide the number of FULL days per week you will be in placement.

Provide emergency contact information and Employment Information. Other personal information will be automatically generated by the database. If any of the personal

information is incorrect, please be sure to update it on the main York system.

Type notes, 1-2 lines max.

or it will cut you off


Please ensure that you choose 4 distinctly different agencies (i.e., do not choose more than one location

of the same agency as

separate choices). If Agency does

not exist, click on Other Agency and

complete requested

information.

Attach Resume and Cover letter in one document. You MUST submit your resume and cover letter at the time of your application. Click SUBMIT.

SUBMIT


• Please DO NOT contact agencies we have connections with, please check in with us if you are unsure if we have a connection with an agency.

• Generally makes it a smoother process for agencies and students

• Most agencies prefer if the field office contacts them up

• Please DO NOT contact Hospitals on your own• All placements MUST be confirmed by the field

office


• Do you take un-paid placement students?• Do you have a social worker with a social work degree

on site (MSW).• If not, do you have someone interested in taking a

student on at this time? If so, what is their educational background?

• How long have they been at the agency?• What are the learning opportunities at this agency?• May I have the potential field instructor’s contact

information (phone number and ext. and e-mail address)?

• Put this information on your application if you are interested in them and they’ve met these requirements up above. The Field Office can follow-up from there.

• Please bear in mind the placement may still not meet our other requirements or other factors may be involved

Questions You Can Ask Agencies We Don’t Have Connections With

• Please ensure that you have all documentation completed, for example resume and cover letter (.doc or .rtf format), before submitting your application. No editing privileges are permitted, therefore if you have omitted any details to your application, you will have to start over and complete it again.

• The application will log you out after 20 minutes of inactivity• Please write on the application an alternative e-mail address

if you do not use your yorku e-mail account.• Please note that the “SUBMIT” button will disappear from the

on-line database application once the deadline date February 22nd, 2010 has passed.

• Please e-mail the field office any changes to the application after you have submitted it.

• We work on securing your first or second choice first• Please do not put popular hospitals, school boards and CAS

as your third or fourth choice.

Registering on the Databasevia Website – Other Information

QUESTIONS/CLOSING REMARKS

Thank you for coming

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns

Questions/Closing Remarks

msw p/t advanced standing orientation to the placement process december 10 th, 2009

Documents