CUA

The Catholic University of America
National Catholic School of Social Service
Office of Field Education
Washington, DC 20064
Phone 202-319-5457
Fax 202-319-5640

WORK RESIDENCY INTERNSHIP(WRI)[1]
An option for students employed in a social service position

In 2009-2010, the NCSSS Office of Field Education introduced a new field internship option, the Work Residency Internship (WRI). The information and proposal that follow are intended for students who are interested in using their current employment in a social work-related position as their field internship site.[2]The WRI option is intended to support the needs of employed social work students, while satisfying the requirements of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), our accrediting body:

Educational Policy and Accreditation Standard 2.1.8 (The program discusses how its field education program):
develops policies regarding field placements in an organization in which the student is also employed. To ensure the role of student as learner, student assignments and field education supervision are not the same as those of the student’s employment.

The WRI Proposal must be submitted together with NCSSS field application and updated resume. Proposals will be reviewed by the Director of Field Education and will (1) be accepted, (2) accepted with modifications, or (3) rejected. All involved parties will be notified of the decision. Proposals will be approved for a two-semester placement. A student may have only one WRI during the course of the MSW Program.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

  1. The proposal must be designed in such a way that its implementation will facilitate the student’s development as a professional social worker by providing opportunities to pursue and achieve the specific objectives of field instruction, providing enhanced assignments and supervision so that the student-employee’s field experience is a positive educational learning experience.
  2. The student should review information outlined in the Field Manual related to placement objectives and requirements and then consult with the Director of Field Education prior to developing the proposal. The manual may be found on-line at:
  3. The student must be an employee in good standing and must have been employed at the agency for at least two years prior to the beginning of the internship. The student must submit his/her most recent performance evaluation as part of the WRI Proposal.
  4. Student’s current employment position must include social work duties, which must be enhanced to provide an optimal field internship learning experience.
  5. Minimum requirements in order to be eligible to serve as a field instructor are as follows: MSW, two-years of post-MSW practice experience and one year’s employment in the agency. In addition, the clinical license is required for advanced clinical students’ field instructors, and for advanced combined students’ clinical supervisors.The field instructor (the one providing enhanced supervision) must be someone other than the student’s employment supervisor. Careful thought should be given to the nature of the student’s relationship with the person being proposed as field instructor with regard to potential conflicts of interest, e.g. a close personal friend would not be appropriate. The proposed field instructor must complete the NCSSS Field Instructor Form, which is to be submitted with the proposal, and must attend the fall semester field instructors’ training. The employment supervisor is also encouraged to attend this training.
  6. Responsibilities of field instructor will include: (1) development/review of Learning Plan; (2) review and critique of process recordings; (3) discussion of selected cases or projects, with focus on “coaching to the gaps,” e.g. applying theory to practice; (4) work with student to develop macro project in the spring semester (for foundation year student); (5) evaluate student using NCSSS Field Education Evaluation forms; and (6) meet jointly with student and employment supervisor as needed.
  7. When the employing agency does not already have an established field affiliation with the NCSSS Office of Field Education, information available at: must be completed and a site visit arranged. The proposal will be acted upon once all information has been completed and returned to the NCSSS Office of Field Education. Early completion of information is encouraged to ensure that there will be time to visit the agency, have the Affiliation Agreement signed, review the internship proposal, make any revisions necessary, and approve it in advance of the fall semester.Although most agencies are approved, approval is not guaranteed.
  8. The agency must be willing to selectclients, tasks/assignments, and/or modes of interventionthat will bespecific to the field internshipand different from regular work assignments;
  9. We strongly encourage the student’s direct supervisor and the assigned field instructor meet and collaborate to ensure a positive learning experience for the student and best practices for the student-employee’s clients.
  10. A student is not eligible to receive federal work-study funding when his/her agency of employment serves as the field instruction site.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETION OF PROPOSAL

  1. The proposal must be designed in such a way that its implementation will facilitate the student’s development as a professional social worker by providing opportunities to pursue and achieve the specific objectives of field instruction at either the MSW foundation or advanced year level.
  2. The student should review information outlined in the Field Manual related to placement objectives and requirements and then consult with the Director of Field Education prior to developing the proposal. The manual may be found on-line at:
  3. Review the field instruction objectives (see Field Manual) for the levelyou are proposing to complete (i.e.BSW, foundation MSW,or advanced year MSW) in your employment site. If your proposal is for completion of the BSW or foundation year MSW fieldinternship, keep in mind that the curriculum is a generalist one and your proposal must ensure that you will have opportunities to for direct work with individuals, families, and groups, and involvement in macro projects.
  4. Attach your most recent Performance Evaluation to the proposal.
  5. Type your proposal on agency stationary and title it, “Proposal to Complete WRI Foundation or Concentration Field Internship in Agency of Employment.” Under the title, include the information that follows:

Student’s Name (please print or type): ______

Agency Name: ______Start date of employment: ______

Department where currently work (if applicable): ______

Address: ______

City: ______State: ______Zip: ______

Agency Director: ______Phone: ______

Agency Director Email: ______

Internship Coordinator (if applicable): ______Phone: ______

Coordinator Email: ______

Have you discussed the WRI option with your Director: YesNo
(If NO, please do so. The Director must sign the attached sheet indicating approval).

Check as applicable: BSW  Foundation (1st) Year MSW

 Adv Clinical Adv Clinical Health Adv Clinical Military
 Adv Social Change (macro) Adv Combined

Employment supervisor: ______Phone: ______

Email: ______

Proposed field instructor (if different from employment supervisor): ______Phone: ______Email: ______

Address where student will be for field placement (if different from address above):

______

  • Field Instructor’s length of employment at agency ______.
  • Field Instructor’s MSW earned at ______(college/university) in ______(year).
  • Field instructor’s social work license information: ______
  1. Summarize student-employee’s current regular work assignments/duties.
  2. Outline how student’s internship assignments will differfrom current work assignments. Differences may include:
  3. Newly assigned clients or different type of clients
  4. Different mode(s) of intervention (e.g. client(s) assigned for therapy, leading groups, work with families)
  5. New macro projects, tasks, assignments (for Social Change and Combined MSW students)
  6. Other new activities (e.g. spring semester macro project for foundation year MSW student, community outreach, conducting needs assessment)
  7. Discuss plans for enhanced supervision (minimum of 1 hour/week), e.g. will review and discuss process recordings, will develop treatment plan, willdiscuss relevant theory applied in working with specific client during enhanced supervisory session, will develop therapy group for new moms, will evaluate a program.
  8. Indicate who will provide the field internship supervision and, if known, the weekly time scheduled for supervision.
  9. State plans for student’s work/field schedule. If student will be required to work hours beyond the regular full-time work week, outline what has been agreed to. Be as specific as possible. Note that students maintain a Log of Hours to account for time spent in internship (480 hours for foundation year students; 600 for advanced year students). It is understood that, in a Work Residency Internship, work and field hours will, of necessity, overlap.The field internship will take place during regular working hours except as explicitly outlined in the attached proposal and agreed to by signatures of all involved parties.
  10. If the agency will require a commitment of employment post-graduation in exchange for approval of the Work Residency Internship, that should be stated in the proposal.
  11. Prior to obtaining agency signatures, the student is encouraged to email the proposal to the Director of Field Education for review. If any modifications are requested, they can be made before the proposal is circulated at the agency for signatures (see below).

Approval

  • The agency director must sign the proposal indicating his/her approval. This includes approval of the required time for the employee to be a student in the agency and for the person providing field instruction to serve as the student’s field instructor.
  • The field instructor must sign the proposal indicating his/her approval of the plan, including willingness to serve as the field instructor and to attend field instructors’ training at NCSSS.
  • The student must sign the proposal, indicating intent to adhere to all aspects of the proposal.
  • The proposal is then submitted to the NCSSS Director of Field Education and Program Chairperson for final approval.
  • The proposal is then shared with all parties and becomes the formal agreement among all parties who have signed the document.
  • The student provides a copy of the proposal to his/her field seminar instructor/field liaison at the first seminar class.

By signing below, all parties indicate approval of this agreement:

______
Agency DirectorDate

______
Field InstructorDateEmploymentSupervisor Date

______

StudentDate

______

Director of Field EducationDateProgram Chairperson Date

1

[1]WRI Proposal unanimously approved by NCSSS Faculty on March 20, 2009.

[2]Please note that we have a different application process for students applying for an Employment-based Internship where they are reassigned to a different department or program for their field internship.