National THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICANATIONAL CATHOLIC SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SERVICE

2011-2012

The Field Liaison Role at NCSSS

Office of Field Education

N C S S S , S H A H A N H A L L , 6 2 0 M I C H I G A N A V E . , N E , W A S H I N G T O N , D C 2 0 0 6 4

GUIDE FOR NCSSS FIELD LIAISONS2011-2012

Office of Field Education202-319-5457

http://ncsss.cua.edu/field

The Field Liaison Role at NCSSS

1. The liaison carries out the School's responsibility of monitoring the field placement, ensuring that NCSSS standards regarding field tasks and assignments, evaluation, supervisory conferences, etc. are met.

2. The liaison seeks to understand the unique structure and functions of the field agency as they pertain to student’s field experience.

3. The liaison assists in problem solving as necessary.

4. The liaison is supportive of the field instructor’s teaching role and the student’s learning role.

5. The liaison is responsible for collecting and reviewing field documents (e.g. Learning Plan, Early Assessment, Final Evaluation) when due, retaining one copy and submitting the second (original) to the OFE. See the section at the end of this guide related to Evaluation of Students, since it discusses particular actions to be taken when students receive low ratings on either the Early Assessment or Final Evaluation.

6. Liaison collects and grades field-related assignments according to course syllabus.

7. The liaison maintains a communication link between the school and agency via contact with the field instructor. The liaison communicates with field instructors and students as follows:

a. The liaison sees the student weekly in the classroom, and so should become aware of any student-identified issues as they arise. S/he will request that field instructors call when they have any questions or concerns.

b. The liaison maintains contact with field instructors via occasional phone calls, emails and/or letters/memos which seminar students can bring to their field instructors.

c. The liaison must make one agency visit, either in the fall semester or early in the spring semester, to meet with student and field instructor. i) If the liaison has not yet called to schedule a visit and the field instructor would like to set one up, she/he is

asked to contact the liaison, even early in the semester.d. When scheduling the agency visit, the liaison is encouraged to ask whether student and/or field instructor would

like to meet individually before meeting as a threesome.e. When a student is moved to a new placement during the academic year OR when a student is assigned a new field

instructor within the same setting, the liaison will contact the new field instructor promptly, and determine whether a visit is called for.

f. When meeting with student and field instructor, the liaison will discuss student performance, review the Learning Plan, process recordings and other written materials, and, if requested, help identify additional learning opportunities.

g. Sometimes the liaison may be asked to mediate a situation, e.g. when student and field instructor are having difficulty establishing a good working relationship.

8. In the event that a Field Meeting or Student Review is convened, the liaison will participate in problem solving and in problem resolution.

Evaluation of Students (the information that follows is also contained in our Field Manual and on the different field evaluations)

a) We have developed a 6-point scale that will be used in all evaluation documents:1 = This practice behavior has not yet emerged as expected 2 = This practice behavior is demonstrated at a low and inconsistent level of competence 3 = This practice behavior is demonstrated at an emerging level of competence 4 = This practice behavior is demonstrated at a good level of competence 5 = This practice behavior is demonstrated at a very good level of competence 6 = This practice behavior is demonstrated at a high level of competence NA = Not applicable to internship experienceIE = Too little experience up to this point to be able to assign any rating

b) We have developed 4 Essential Behaviors, included in all evaluations:

Essential Professional Behaviors Yes No1. Student reports to field on time.2. Student attends field regularly.3. Student is receptive and open to feedback from field instructor. 4. Student handles absences and/or unavoidable lateness responsibly.

c) For the Early Assessment, rather than have students graded on all 10 Core Competencies, we have selected 5 “benchmark competencies.” These competencies make up the Early Assessment, together with the 4 Essential Professional Behaviors.

a. Grading requirements for Early Assessment:1. Our expectation is that students will receive ratings of Yes in all Essential Professional Behaviors. In

the fall semester, if a student receives ratings of No in any of the 4 Essential Professional Behaviors, the field liaison will set up a visit to develop an intervention plan.

2. In the fall semester, if a student receives more than 3 scores of 1, the field liaison will set up a visit to develop an intervention plan.

3. An intervention plan should address each essential professional behavior or practice behavior that is of concern. The intervention plan becomes part of the student’s field file.

4. If a student receives an Early Assessment in the spring semester and receives scores of No in any Essential Professional Behavior AND/OR more than 3 scores of 1, a Student Review will be convened by the program chairperson.

d) Final Field EvaluationThe Final Field Evaluation, due at the end of the first and second semesters, provides a thorough assessment of students’ mastery of skills. By completing the spring semester evaluation in the 2nd column on a copy of the first semester evaluation, both field instructor and student can readily view and discuss the student’s progress. In addition to designating a numerical evaluation on each of the instrument items, the field instructor writes a narrative summary of the student’s strengths and growth as well as a summary of educational gaps and difficulties. After discussion and signature by field instructor and student, 2 copies of the Field Evaluation are submitted to the Seminar instructor (one will be handed in to the Office of Field Education).

Fall Semester Final Field Evaluationa. If a student receives ratings of No in any of the 4 Essential Professional Behaviors AND/OR five or more

scores of 1 or 2 in benchmark areas (these are the competencies that appear in bold), a Field Meeting will be held. If, in addition, there are four or more scores of 1 or 2 in other Areas of Competence, a Student Review is likely to be held.

i. A Field Meeting is attended by: student, field liaison, Office of Field Education director or associate director, program chairperson, and field instructor (in person or by phone).

ii. When there have been ongoing concerns, as reflected in the Early Assessment, a Student Review may be convened.

b. If the student continues in field subsequent to a Field Meeting or Student Review, completion of an Early Assessment will be required in the spring semester.

Spring Semester Final Field Evaluationa. A Student Review will be convened if a student receives ratings of No in any Essential Professional

Behavior, AND/OR five or more scores of 1 or 2 in benchmark areas. If there are four or more scores of 1 or 2 in other Areas of Competence in addition to any scores of 1 or 2 in benchmark areas, a Student Review is likely to be held.

Suggestions as the year begins …

1. In our field orientation for BSW and foundation year MSW students and all our field instructors, we frame the field education experience as a developmental process.1 It may be helpful to refer to these stages in class over the course of the year, especially if you teach undergraduates or foundation year MSW students.

Stage 1: Anticipation … HoneymoonStage 2: Disillusionment & Confronting Reality Stage 3: Competence & MasteryStage 4 Closure & Termination

2. Bookmark our website: http://ncsss.cua.edu/field - all our field forms are there, as well as any announcements related to field. The complete Field Manual is on-line at http://ncsss.cua.edu/field/manual.cfm.

3. Field Manual : The manual is quite comprehensive. Please become familiar with it, especially with our field policies. It contains important information that students will ask about throughout the year. When you don’t know the answer (since we can’t have a ‘policy’ for everything, feel free to contact Loretta or Ellen).

4. August Training for Field Instructors: Liaisons ‘host’ their students’ field instructors over lunch at the August Training Meeting. This is an excellent opportunity to introduce yourself, talk a little about the weekly seminar, find out who’s experienced as a field instructor and who’s new. It’s also a good time to let field instructors know how best to get in touch with you and to talk about when you’ll schedule a visit. (Some field instructors may express a preference for an early meeting, especially if they’re new).

a. Not all of your students’ field instructors will attend our August orientation. Some will come to our Sept. 12 make-up training, and some will not attend either training; our recommendation is that field instructors attend one of our trainings at least once every 3 years.

b. Please follow up with field instructors you do not meet on Aug. 24th by phone or email to introduce yourself.

5. Communication with Field Instructors: Field instructors appreciate contact from their field liaisons. If you’d like to write to each of your field instructors, email your letter to Nenita Sola (sola@cua.edu) and she’ll merge it so that it’s a personal letter to each of your field instructors. She can leave it for you to sign, and then we’ll mail the letters. Nenita can email you a sample letter that you can then personalize.

o Consider creating an email list of your students’ field instructors and sending out periodic emails highlighting what you’ve been discussing in class (with permission of your students). Nenita can help you create the email list.

o Alternately, consider sending out periodic letters – either sending them to the field instructor with his/her student, or asking Nenita to send out individualized letters.

o Consider asking us to duplicate an article of interest to go to your students’ field instructors. Because only one visit per year is required, other forms of contact are helpful and most appreciated.

1 Sweitzer, H. Frederick and King, Mary A. (2009, 2004). The successful internship: personal, professional and civic development. Brooks/Cole Publishing Company: Canada.

6. A Word about New Field Instructors: Every year we find ourselves working with a fairly large number of new field instructors as well as newly approved agencies. It is impossible to fully orient each of them individually, and our Field Instructors’ Training can only begin to provide guidance to those new to supervision. However, the relatively new field instructor may call upon you for some guidance regarding supervision.

7. Due Dates: The field calendar lists due dates for all the forms we require: Updated Information Form, Learning Plan, Early Assessment, Final Field Evaluation, and – in the 2nd semester – Revised Learning Plan and Final Field Evaluation Students tend not to keep track of these deadlines very well even though we tell them they are responsible for letting their field instructors know what is due when. Suggestion: remind your students 2 weeks before a document is due, so that they can talk about whatever is coming due with their field instructors.

8. Seminar Attendance: The syllabus and Field Manual state that students “must attend a minimum of 12 Seminar sessions each semester.” Discuss this requirement during the first class and make expectations clear, e.g. a student must notify you if s/he is going to miss a class. Inevitably, you will have situations where a student will miss more than 2 for valid reasons, e.g. extended illness of self or family member. You have the discretion to approve these absences.

9. Weekly Field Report: The Weekly Student Field Report is used primarily with undergraduate and foundation year MSW students; it can give the liaison an early clue that all is not as it should be in the placement. Once liaisons feel they know their students well and are confident that their field situations are well established (after 6-8 weeks perhaps), they typically stop requiring this report.

10. Learning Plan: We have different Learning Plans for BSW/foundation-level MSW students and for advanced year MSW students. It is helpful if students work on their Learning Plan with the Evaluation at hand, since the areas of competence are parallel in both documents. The advanced year Learning Plan is a simpler document, allowing students more flexibility in developing their learning objectives. Interestingly, some advanced year students continue to prefer the more structured Learning Plan. You may, therefore, want to help them to look at the advanced year Learning Plan as a professional development exercise, encouraging them to include objectives that they would like to put on their resumes after they graduate.

11. Process Recordings: Process recordings can be a very useful learning tool. The seminar syllabus for your level student indicates how many process recordings students must complete over the course of each semester. Please note that field instructors may require more than we do. In fact, a few of our agencies require a process recording for every client interview. The Field Manual contains two Process Recording forms – a ‘standard’ template, and a macro process recording template. You can give specific instructions to your students regarding each process recording that is assigned, e.g. select the most difficult 10-15 minutes of the session to write about; select part of the interview where you used a new technique; process record the end of a session (especially if it’s always difficult to end the session with the client). On our field Forms page, we’ve indicated that the macro process recording is a sample template for Combined students, so if any other student asks to complete a macro PR, it’s up to the liaison.

12. Liaison Visits: Liaisons must visit field instructors and students at least once during the academic year. You are encouraged to schedule visits for the middle of the fall semester (e.g. soon after the Early Assessments are due) unless you sense there are problems developing which would suggest an earlier visit. You may want to tell your students that if they want you to visit ‘sooner rather than later,’ they should let you know. Setting up the visits can end up being rather time-consuming – see whether your students can facilitate the process, especially if you have more than one student in a particular agency, e.g. give the student(s) several dates/times that you will be available and ask them to set up the appointment.

a. Sometimes it will be necessary to schedule several liaison visits early in the spring semester, due to your schedule constraints and/or those of the student and field instructor.

b. Think about whether you prefer to meet with student and field instructor individually and then both together, or whether you prefer to meet with both together. You may want to discuss this with each student prior to the visit. Avoid the situation of having a student or field instructor pull you aside on your way out the door after an hour-long meeting, indicating there’s a big problem they want to discuss with you alone!

c. Be sure to schedule your visit at a time when you will be able to meet with both student and field instructor. This is a requirement since one objective of the visit is to assess the relationship that student and field instructor have, and to provide any assistance if there are difficulties. If the visit does take place without student present, please contact the Director of Field Education to discuss.

d. Review the Liaison Report Form before making visits so you’ll see what kind of information we would like to have following your visit. You can find an on-line report form as well as a Microsoft Word form at: http://ncsss.cua.edu/field//forms.cfm. Ask Nenita to give you log-on access to our Field Education Search Engine so you can read about the agency ahead of time if you are unfamiliar with it. This way you will learn about what the agency does, the services provided, and dominant theory base.

e. See whether the placement has gotten off to a solid start, with appropriate assignments, regular supervision, ongoing feedback regarding student’s growth and performance, good communication between student and field instructor.

f. You may want to ask to see your student’s work area, and ask for a tour of the agency.g. Use the visit as an opportunity to talk with field instructor about what you’ve been discussing in class,

what assignments are coming due, etc. Additional topics for discussion:i. Review Learning Plan – is it reviewed regularly during supervision? If not, could it be helpful to do

so?ii. Review a sample of student’s work, e.g. process recording, psychosocial assessment, or case

notesiii. See how supervision is going (e.g. is student preparing agenda ahead of time? are process

recordings being reviewed and discussed, is evaluation an ongoing process? etc.)h. If you have concerns after you make your field visit, please call Loretta to discuss.i. Please submit your liaison reports promptly after field visits – these are helpful because of (1) new

information about the agency, and (2) updated information on the students. Once (1) visits have been made to all of your students in their agencies, (2) liaison reports have been submitted, and (3) you have submitted your Travel Reimbursement Form, you can submit the paperwork necessary for you to be reimbursed for travel (reimbursement form + mapquest or google printouts of directions to agency. CUA reimburses generously for mileage. Please hold onto parking receipts and keep track of Metro fare to help you complete your Travel Reimbursement Form (in Microsoft Excel). You can complete your reports on-line or in a Word document; go to: http://ncsss.cua.edu/field/forms.cfm and scroll down to Liaisons.

13. Placement experiences: Students will have very different field experiences, which they will want to discuss in class. Some will indicate they are receiving little or no supervision, or are sitting around much of the time. An important aspect of your role is to explore this with the student. Often, exploration and reframing will help the student see that, in fact, s/he is receiving supervision, and is gaining knowledge and learning new skills. Even so, student experiences will vary considerably:

a. Some will see clients on day 1; others will be ‘oriented’ for the first month, not seeing any clients until sometime in October.

b. Some will lead groups and have no individual clients. Others will have no group experience (other than attending staff meetings) and will be primarily involved in case management or counseling activities.

c. Some will have new clients weekly; others will carry the same clients for much of the year. d. Some will begin with macro projects in the fall, and others will complete a macro project in the spring.

The Liaison Field Site Visit – what the research saysFrom Sharon C. Lyter, Social work field liaison agency visits: factors associated with student performance and satisfaction in Arete, vol. 28, No. 2, Winter 2005:

Frequency with which specific topics covered during field site visit:1. Tasks and assignments (98%)2. Learning plan (91%) *3. Field portfolio, e.g. Process recordings, journal entries) (86%)4. Problems and/or concerns (77%)5. Typical day in field (73%)6. Integration of classroom work with field work (73%) *7. Supervision issues (67%)8. Student learning needs (66%)9. Orientation to the agency (66%)10. Work/study issues (for students placed in employment site) (38%)11. Other (13%)

* clear link between these variables and student overall satisfaction with the field experience

Field site visit goals:

The following aims are linked statistically with overall satisfaction with field:1. Creating a safe place for student to speak openly2. Furthering student’s understanding of liaison role3. Ensuring quality of supervision for field instructor4. Ensuring field instructor attention to written materials (e.g. Process recordings)5. Ensuring field instructor’s interest in student’s education6. Ensuring field instructor’s attention to student’s learning needs7. Furthering the student’s education8. Ensuring overall quality of the field experience