Evaluation of Practice

Evaluation of Practice Ryan Monette Wayne State University SW 4442 Professor Grant

Evaluation of Practice

My field placement is with Van Dyke Public Schools. I work with the School Social Worker in Carlson Elementary. The job of the School Social Worker is to work with students, parents, teachers and administrators, addressing social, emotional, and environmental issues which disrupt academic progress. This includes, but is not limited to tasks such as: providing crisis interventions, working as a link between families and the school district, completing psychosocial assessments to help determine eligibility of special education services, and being a member of the Individual Education Program (IEP) team to help provide intervention plans for students receiving social work services. In order to evaluate my practice with client systems, I need to look critically at my practice. Identifying strengths and weaknesses is an important part of this evaluation. I consider my strengths to include my ability to display empathy, having a can-do attitude, identifying strengths of a client, and having the ability to keep my emotions in check and make a non-biased assessment. When identifying strengths,

weaknesses must also be identified. My weaknesses include time management, organization and Evaluation of Practice 3

documentation. Knowing my strengths and weaknesses allows me to be aware of what areas I need more practice in. After evaluation of my practice, I conclude that I am an effective worker. There are many different ways to identify that what a social worker does with their clients, has an impact. At Carlson Elementary, we use measurable goals to assess the progress of students. Another way to know a difference is being made is through observing client behavior. If a student who was having multiple behavior problems each week begins to have less behavior problems over time, you can see the results of your work. Another way I know that I am making a difference at Carlson Elementary is through comments from my supervisor, administration and staff. Being a school social work intern, there are many skills we use in order to complete our job. These skills include: empathy, critical thinking, clarifying, paraphrasing, summarizing, assessment, planning, implementation, report writing and documentation, leadership, management of professional relationships, and many other related skills.

These skills are used daily and are very important in providing social work services for Carlson Elementary. Evaluation of Practice 4

Carlson Elementary is located in an at-risk community which faces many challenges such as poverty, crime, high mobility from area to area, and low parent involvement. The school has a very diverse student population. Students range from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. When I first took the internship, I was unsure if I would like working with the client population. Immediately, after my first day, I knew I was going to enjoy it. Working with younger students is a very rewarding experience. I have found it very easy to work with this population. After working with the students on my caseload for some time, I have been able to build a great rapport with them. When students are having problems, they know they can to come speak with me about them. In order to improve my practice with clients, I must first take a look at my weaknesses. As previously noted, my weaknesses include time management, organization and documentation. When working in a school, at any time, there can be a moment of crisis when the social worker is needed. This can interfere with deadlines for paperwork. Time management can be improved with

the use of a daily schedule. If I create a daily schedule that allows for some flexibility, I can see where I can best manage to complete Evaluation of Practice 5

any tasks I need to complete. Because there are many different tasks a school social worker handles throughout the day, there is a lot of paperwork being moved around the office. In order to prevent losing or mixing up files and information, I need to allow myself time to put all files into the proper location in the filing system. My weakness in documentation can be improved with repetition and practice with documenting. Documentation is a very important part of school social work. Improvement in all of these categories will better my ability to more effectively serve my clients. My experiences at this agency contributed to my knowledge of ethical social work practice in various ways. In my time at Carlson Elementary, I have had the opportunity to meet and work with a very diverse group of people. These experiences have reinforced my understanding of NASW ethical standard 1.05, Cultural Competence and Social Diversity. I have learned other important ethical practices throughout my time in field practice. I learned the importance of confidentiality and how to uphold it. These lessons I have learned along with others,

have helped shape the ethical principals I will abide by in my practice. This placement has prepared me to work in an at-risk Evaluation of Practice 6

community. When working with clients, I am able to see the client for who they are while refraining from any bias. I can see the value in the profession and how ethical practice can lead to successful practice.