● A description of your personal safety plan for your field education experience

Social workers are seen to be advocates to their clients and provide services to
their clients; however, there are times where clients are not accepting of the help. There
will be times where a client can become angry, volatile, or just emotionally unstable
(Garthwait, 2017). Having a safety plan will protect the social worker and the client; it
not only reflects the profession’s ethical values, but also are critical for maintaining a
productive professional work life (Laureate, 2013). The most detailed and well-planned
safety plan may not always assure the safety for the social worker or the client;
however, having a safety plan will guide a social worker on how and what to do if a
situation with a client becomes volatile. Having a safety plan and building awareness
about safety can better prepare a social worker to work in a safe environment.
My field placement with In-Circle through Mississippi Department of Child
Protection Services (MDCPS) promotes safety for children, families, staff, and
administrators. The agency officials encourage promoting a safe and workplace to
eliminate conflicts and burnout. Different unit employees within MDCPS have to travel
alone and work in the field alone; therefore, a social worker must be trained and be
aware of their surroundings. All MDCPS employees are taught and trained on
guidelines in which will protect them when a situation becomes uncomfortable or
harmful for the social worker and the client. For example, if a social worker is traveling
to a client’s home and is weary about the client, then that social worker can bring along
a coworker as a “second body”. Another example, if a client becomes angry with the
social worker then the social will try to de-escalate the situation and ask the client if it
would be better to meet another time. As a social work intern, I must train myself to be
aware of my surroundings and use my best judgement when traveling to client’s homes
and addressing concerns and issues.
● An explanation of how your personal safety plan might differ from your agency
safety plan during your field education experience
The agency’s safety plan and my personal safety plan are quite similar. As a
social work intern, I do believe that there will be times where clients are not accepting of
Child Protection Services being involved within their household; however, I do plan on
making sure that I stay calm and collected when traveling to the client’s home. As social
workers, we often put ourselves in harm’s way; for example, a social worker traveling to
client’s homes alone in an unfamiliar neighborhood, trying to help and lend services to
individuals with mental illness or using illegal substances. Workplace safety is very
important in the social work field because there are individuals with different problems
that we, as social workers, are supposed to help.
According to Walden University Field Placement Safety Policy, if I, as a social
work intern, is required to conduct home visitation, then a staff member from the agency
that I am interning with must accompany me to the first two home visitations.
Furthermore, all students that are beginning a new field placement must sign and agree
to a home waiver form to participate in conducting home visitations.
In conclusion, social workers have to be aware of safety, regardless of the
environment. Social workers must approach each situation with caution and awareness.
Anything can happen at any time. As a social worker, it is your responsibility to be
aware of the situation and be prepared in the event that something bad happens; for
example, if a client becomes violent. We must remember the agency’s safety plan, as
well as our personal safety plan. We must remember that we are working in a field
where we foresee many dangers; however, we must always be prepared.
References
Garthwait, C. L. (2017). The social work practicum: A guide and workbook for students
(7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Laureate Education. (Producer). (2013). Safety planning [Audio file]. Retrieved from

https://class.waldenu.edu