Running head: Interview Paper

Interview Paper
Lindsay Britcher
DY5085
SW3010
October 4, 2013

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The experience of trying to find someone to interview for this paper was rather
challenging. I did end up calling and/or emailing about 13 agencies before I was able to
find a social worker with only their Bachelors of Social Work. I found that many social
workers working in the field tend to have at least their Masters of Social Work degree.
Finding someone to interview was difficult seeing as how I had to leave people messages
or email them without knowing if they would even bother to call me or write me back.
Asking a stranger for help was a new feeling for me and I felt as if I was putting my
grade for this interview paper in their own hands. When these social workers would not
call me or email me back I felt let down, as if they did not want to talk to me I felt
they should have still called or emailed to let me know that they were not interested.
Waiting to hear back from these social workers or agencies caused me to have anxiety
about when or if they would call me. I didnt realize I would feel this way after I called
them but I found myself sitting by the phone in hopes that someone would get back in
touch with me. (Britcher, Lindsay, October 2, 2013)
I can only imagine how a client who is trying to get ahold of a social worker
would feel. These clients may have an issue they need help with right away and if the social
worker or agency did not return their calls in a timely fashion I would assume that the client
could become distressed and begin not to trust that agency or social worker. If I was in the place
of needing assistance on a serious matter and that social worker did not get in contact with me I
would feel betrayed and possibly attempt to find another way to get the help I needed. As I was
waiting for the agency or social worker to get back in contact with me I thought about how I will
handle phone calls in the future. I decided that if I am in a position where I should return a call
from someone, that I want to do this as punctual as possible because I did not like being left
waiting. I still have not heard back from some of the social workers I attempted to contact.
The social worker I found to interviews name is Cynthia Sawyer. Cynthia graduated from
Ferris State University in May of 1985. Cynthia has her Bachelor of Science Social Services
which is equivalent to a Bachelor of Social Work degree. Cynthia works for a non-profit
organization called Community Care Services, located at 26184 West Outer Drive in Lincoln
Park, Michigan. Her phone number is (313) 389-7500 and her email is
csawyer@concareserv.org. Cynthia has been the Supported Employment Case Manager at CCS
since 2007 and she works under a block grant through Wayne Country Community Mental

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Health. There are a total of ten agencies that work under this block grant all working in the
supported employment field. These agencies work with each other and hold monthly meetings,
along with an annual job fair. (C.Sawyer, personal interview, September 20, 2013)
Cynthia described to me that her clients have to be a resident of Wayne County, currently
receiving mental health services through Detroit-Wayne County Community Mental Health
Agency, and Severely Persistently Mentally Ill. Most of Cynthias clients are Schizophrenic and
bipolar, but she does have some severely depressed clients as well. Supported Employment is a
program designed to help people with mental disabilities participate in the job market as well as
to help them work in jobs they enjoy doing. These programs use a rapid job search approach to
help people with mental disabilities find jobs directly instead of them having to undergo preemployment assessments, training, or counseling. This program follows an evidence based
model with seven basic principles. These principles are zero exclusion, integrated with treatment,
competitive employment is the goal, benefits counseling, rapid job search, time unlimited
support, and attention to consumer preference. All people receiving services from CCS have
access to and will see a psychologist, case worker, and a physical health doctor. (C.Sawyer,
personal interview, September 20, 2013)
Cynthia also explained to me that the jobs the clients are applying for are not jobs that are
carved out or transitional employment, but are jobs that are already on the market that anyone
can apply for. Many of Cynthias clients are on some sort of financial assistance whether it be
food stamps, section 8 housing, or Social Security and she has to explain to her clients how
working will affect their aid. The clients have the option to expose or not to expose to their
employer that they are receiving assistance through CCS or about their mental disability. Part of
Cynthias job is to conduct follow up assessments with her clients while they are in the
workplace but she explained to me that many of the employers only know that she works for an

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employment agency and nothing more. Cynthia also let me know that she is responsible for
calling the employers if her clients are hospitalized for any reason without an explanation and the
employers hold their positions for the client without any questions.
Cynthia feels that one of the largest social problems in the community mental health field
is housing for the clients. She also explained to me that many of her clients with mental health do
not have very good support system which is one of the largest personal problems her clients face.
These clients tend to have burned their bridges so to say which causes the client to need to find
other support services such as CCS. Since many people are still very uneducated about mental
health, the clients families tend to give up per say on the client because mental health is a very
difficult thing to deal with. Many of the families do not take the time to learn about the mental
health issue of their family member which causes conflict in the home. Cynthia feels that
supported employment is one of the most important things a mentally disabled person can do to
help themselves. She feels very effective working with the agency to help her clients find and
maintain long term jobs, which can then help to better their lives. She feels that Community Care
Services is also very effective as an agency helping their clients to have employment allows them
to find stable living as well as stable mental and physical health care. CCS does events at their
building allowing people to come and create resumes, helps with food assistance, speak with
someone about Medicaid, and much more.
This agency has many indications of micro, mezzo, and macro social work. Cynthia
works with her clients one on one which is a form of micro but there are also other programs
such as the case worker and the psychologist which would both include micro social work.
Mezzo social work can be seen in the assessments Cynthia has to conduct with the client and
their place of employment. Mezzo can also be seen in the many different support groups that are
offered through Community Care Services such as substance abuse groups, self-help groups, and

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many more. The macro social work can be seen in the grants that are given to keep this agency
running.
I feel that this interview went very well. Cynthia was extremely helpful and explained a
great deal of information to me that I will never forget. Not only did I learn about her job, but
Cynthia also took it upon herself to show me around the building she works in, explained to me
the different jobs that go along with having a community mental health organization, and gave
me some good advice. One of the things Cynthia told me will stick with me as long as I am a
social worker and that was, you always have to be accepting and welcoming to any person that
walks through your door because you never know what that client may be dealing with on a day
to day basis.

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References
Britcher, L. (2013). Agency interview. Unpublished manuscript, Wayne State University.
Sawyer, Cynthia personal interview, September 20,2013