[HumanSer] Request for feedback

[Lori Scharff]

Hi Anny,
I worked as a social worker from 2002 until 2019.

I have both my under grad and graduate degrees in social work. My undergrad
field supervisor thought that I was just going to intern at the local blind
agency. I told her I would not be doing that! So, I began researching
various community organizations who might employ a social worker. I then
also looked at my transportation restrictions; since the paratransit in my
county was still young! I got the list down to 5 programs and called each of
them and spoke with someone to further figure out the best match. I ended up
interviewing with 2 of them and one of them took me. It was a fantastic
experience.

When I did my graduate degree, I interned in a partial hospitalization
program. I only stayed at that internship for 3 months. It was supposed to
be 21 hours per week with a clinical focus; since it was an advanced
standing degree. The number of employees was grater than the number of
clients for 12 weeks. So, I only had one individual client and I ran 2
groups. The rest of the time she wanted me to just observe.
I went to my field supervisor and she told me to stick it out. I told her
that I had already begun looking for community organizations who would be
happy to use my skills. I interned in a drug and alcohol program that went
into the schools. Again it was a fantastic experience. 

My supervisor from the partial hospitalization program called my field
supervisor in April to ask if I wanted to work as a paid intern one day a
week since they now had 25 clients and not enough staff.

I would recommend looking at all of the organizations that you can get to as
possible options. You also may want to check with programs like food
assistance programs who may not have a social worker onsite. But, I am
wondering if you and your school could come up with some kind of supervision
arrangement?

If you wish to reach me directly, I can be reached at lorischarff at gmail.com 
Lori

-----Original Message-----
From: HumanSer <humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Anny Safier via
HumanSer
Sent: Wednesday, August 7, 2024 12:39 AM
To: humanser at nfbnet.org
Cc: Anny Safier <annysafier at gmail.com>
Subject: [HumanSer] Request for feedback

Hello, my name is Anny Safier and I am an incoming MSW student at Binghamton
University. I was recently informed by the field department in my school
that because I have had three interviews without success in finding an
internship for this year, I will not be able to start field instruction in
the fall. Out of the three interviews I had, one did not get back to me for
months which wasted time for me and another place ended up not having enough
room for interns. Timing is unfortunate, with the term beginning in two
weeks. While I was applying to different internships, I received no feedback
from the department who was setting up the interviews, until they explained
to me that I would have to wait either until the spring to start field or
another year. My internship last year was significantly impacted by issues
within the agency, causing me to have between three and five months worth of
practical experience instead of a full year. If anyone has had similar
experiences and/or could give ideas about how to move forward in applying to
internships for the spring or figuring other ways of approaching these kinds
of issues, I would appreciate it. Thank you. Anny Safier
_______________________________________________
HumanSer mailing list
HumanSer at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/humanser_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
HumanSer:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/humanser_nfbnet.org/lorischarff%40gmail.co
m