Employment-Based Practicum Education

Practicum education is the signature pedagogy of social work education, where students develop their professional identity and integrate the skills and concepts learned throughout their coursework. The current best practice for practicum education requires students to engage in learning activities that are qualitatively different from prior volunteer or employment experiences and allow for the attainment of Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) competencies. Activities should be supervised by someone with at least a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree. 

The Council on Social Work Education has long permitted employment-based practicum where job duties are distinctly different from a student’s designated practicum activities, and the work supervisor is different than the practicum educator. These rules were designed to protect the role of students as learners while engaged in practicum, with expectations different from those related to employment. New guidelines (issued in June 2020) allow students to request to count their work for some or all of their practicum hours, up to 15 hours per week.

When a student opts to pursue an employment-based practicum, it is the student’s responsibility to manage the process. This includes completing the application, making sure the necessary parties agree and gathering signatures. An employment-based practicum requires more responsibility on the part of the student. Generally, students who are not successful at a traditional agency practicum are not approved for employment-based practicums . If a student no longer wishes to pursue an employment-based practicum, they should contact their practicum coordinator immediately. 

The following criteria must be met for the student to be approved for an employment-based practicum. Note: Many agencies have different policies regarding employment-based practicums. Before pursuing an employment-based practicum, students should consult with their employer about employment-practicum policies and procedures.

1. Students must be in good standing, and not involved in a review process. Students who have been terminated from a practicum may not be approved for an employment-based practicum. The practicum must allow the student to participate in activities directly linked to the nine social work competencies (below). This may or may not be in the same setting as the student’s current work. The current best practice is for students to have separate and unique work and practicum responsibilities. If this is not possible, and regular work duties are requested to count as practicum, the student must also propose supplemental learning opportunities beyond work duties. If students use any of their regular work hours to count as practicum, they must complete a Capstone Project (description below). If their work and practicum duties/hours are separate, they do not need to complete a Capstone project.
2. The student must have been employed by the practicum work site for a minimum of 60 days before submitting an employment-based practicum proposal.
   
3. The student may only count 15 hours per week for practicum hours. If, for unforeseen circumstances, a student has fallen behind on practicum hours, they may submit a request to count more than 15 hours per week. The student will be asked to convey how the additional hours enhance the student's learning, i.e., a student who is counting their job as practicum will not be permitted to count more than 15 hours per week unless they are able to describe new learning experiences beyond their regular work duties. The student should submit the request to their faculty liaison.
4. A practicum educator is defined as an individual with a Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from a CSWE-accredited program. The practicum educator should be licensed with an LMSW or LCSW. Note: If the practicum is in an agency/program that is exempt according to current NYS law (an exempt agency is one that has an NYS operating certificate from any of the following agencies: OMH, OMRDD, OCFS or OASAS), then the practicum educator may not need to be licensed.
   
5. The practicum educator must agree to provide a social work perspective to the student’s practicum education experience. The practicum educator must agree to allow the student the space and permission to be a learner. In other words, the student’s role as a student should be prioritized along with their learning and skill development.
6. The agency must be willing to allow the student/employee to attend classes and have an educationally focused practicum experience.
   
7. The agency must be willing to allow the practicum educator to attend practicum education training and to have sufficient time to provide the minimum of at least one hour/week of supervision for the student. Supervision must focus on learning, skill development and competency development.
   
8. The agency must be able to provide a generalist practicum experience if the student/employee is applying for the first/foundation practicum. If the agency provides a second/advanced year practicum, it is necessary to provide a practicum experience that allows the student to participate in advanced-level graduate social work activities. 
   
9. The Employment-Based Application must be received by the deadline specified online. Once the application is returned to the Practicum Education Department, it will be reviewed, and a response will be given as soon as possible to indicate whether the practicum has been approved. A site visit may be required as part of the application review process prior to determining approval. 

View an information session on employment-based practicums and the presentation slides. 

To apply for an employment-based practicum, complete the following steps in our online software Sonia: 

1. On your Practicum Acknowledgement form, indicate that you are pursuing an employment-based practicum
2. Navigate to the form titled, "Employment-Based Practicum Application"
3. Follow the directions on the form and complete all necessary fields
4. After the application is completed, follow the directions on the form to seek signatures from your    

• Work supervisor
• Practicum Educator
• Agency or Program Director

After all of those steps are completed, the practicum department will review your application and provide approval or feedback within approximately two weeks. 

See below for two samples of completed employment-based applications:

Students who are requesting to count their regular work duties as practicum will be expected to create a learning contract that contains at least one project that spans two semesters, that relates to the majority of the nine competencies, reflects attainment of social work values and ethics, and demonstrates substantial professional growth and development. For example, topic areas could include racial equity, anti-racism within social work practice, response to the COVID-19 pandemic or trauma-informed practices within the agency. Examples are below.

The students will upload an update on their project at mid-practicum and final practicum ; there is a space to do so on the learning contract. A reflection is acceptable. Students will also be required to write a reflection about how the project has allowed them to integrate course content with practicum. The student's practicum educator will evaluate and comment on their project at the mid- and final practicum evaluations. 

• I will gather research and information on the benefits of meditation and mindfulness on mental health and for providers. I will also research the benefits of implementing mindfulness groups in mental health housing programs. I will create a training for staff and educate them on mindfulness and meditation benefits as providers and for clients. There is research that utilizing mindfulness improves peoples abilities as providers; It can help you be better attuned to client needs for example. I will implement a reoccurring meeting with staff where we participate in a meditation together. I will implement a twice weekly mindfulness group for clients that will entail education on utilizing mindfulness in day to day life and a guided meditation. For the clients that choose to participate I will request that they track their meditation minutes for research purposes. I will conduct a questionnaire with clients and staff before and after implementing the program. The student will fully research the topic of stigmatization and bias against individuals with psychotic disorders in the field of social work. The research compiled will be used to create and provide an agency-training on the topic. The student will then evaluate the training results.
• The two semester long project I would be completing would be an assessment of the Institute for Trauma Recovery and Resiliency's trauma-informed care practices followed by a training and set of recommendations. The project would include looking at how our practice completes intakes over the phone, if an online version would be more accessible to people, how we are screening clients (all of whom have a history of trauma), how women are introduced into starting the Intensive Outpatient Program and other ways where our practice is mindful of working with those with a traumatic past. Some of the nine competencies that would be highlighted are demonstrating ethical and professional behavior, engaging in practice informed research and research informed practice, engaging with individuals, families, groups and communities, assessing individuals, families, groups and communities, evaluating practice with individuals, families, groups and communities.
• The student will complete a training on Cognitive Behavior Therapy. The student will integrate CBT in practicum experience and at the place of employment to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention during individual counseling with clients and during group sessions. Using CBT, the student and the client(s) will work together to identify unhelpful patterns of thinking and behavior.
  
• I will evaluate the program policies and practices for how well they adhere to a trauma-informed model. After the evaluation is complete, I will make recommendations for helping to make the program more trauma-informed in its practices. I will present a training to the staff on trauma-informed practices.
  
• I will work with my Leaders in Training groups to implement a service learning project. Students will choose an area or problem within the school or community that needs to be addressed. Once the students have chosen their topic I will work with them to create bulletin boards, videos and train them to facilitate a classroom activity to teach their peers. When the students are creating their lesson, bulletin boards and video, the after the classroom lesson that the LIT students teach, we will administer a short evaluation.