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Learning Agreement

Student’s Name

Institution Affiliation

Learning Agreement

During my field attachment at the office of children and family services, New York, I was supposed to develop cultural competence and self-reflection values and skills that are important in ethical and professional development. In practice, I maintained the integrity and ensured I learned as much as possible from my fellow workers. Also, I helped clients from whom I had context, kept privacy and confidentiality with them and always used polite language with my clients. Nonetheless, I would seek consultation from the supervisor and other experienced fellows when I was stranded in ethical matters.

Secondly, the course required one to engage diversity and difference in practice. I would listen and help clients regardless of their age, gender, religion, social or economic status following the challenges and struggles they were facing. I also discussed with my colleagues about the challenges and issue I was facing during my sessions with people from different categories, and also learned from them how to deal with such cases in future. I was also able to recognize when I was being biased to a particular group and dealt with such instances. Moreover, I shared my knowledge and experiences with the staff on the diverse groups that I have associated with, and the resulting discussion expanded my understanding of the same. In the end, I had developed self-composure that is essential in the social working career. However, I learned that getting being friendly and avoiding being judgmental helped in understanding different people; thus I would do the same in future.

Third, I needed to learn to advocate for fairness with regards to how people were treated at the agency and avoid being judgmental on issues that I did not understand well. I did all my very best to understand mechanisms of oppression and discrimination; advocated for human rights and social and economic justice, and engaged in practices that advance social and economic justice. I was also able to inform myself about different agencies, guidelines regarding oppression and discrimination. Moreover, I actively participated in meetings aimed explicitly at addressing client, agency and community needs. As such, I achieved social, economic and environmental justice. My experienced colleagues provided that not every piece of technical information needed translation into the fieldwork, but should get adequately analyzed and researched to ensure they hold in a particular situation. Therefore, in the next field activity and future, I would continue to consult and conduct an in-depth analysis of issues I find relevant to the task at hand.

I also needed to learn how to incorporate more evidence-based practices and approaches in my fieldwork. This would give me a better understanding and appreciation of how vital research is to social work. However, my internship was more centered on case management. All the same, I went through the past cases in an attempt to understand the methods that have been used to help clients. Additionally, I read several current articles relating to best approaches to deal with people in the society and discussed what I had learned with my colleagues also conducted in-depth research about how these approaches could become improved to ensure efficient services to our subjects. In the end, I had developed research skills and how to incorporate the research in social work practices. In the next field education, I will focus on the Research-Informed Practice rather than case management, which is more profound and detailed. In future I will continue to engage in an analysis of numerous new cases since it’s important to be continuously informed; people and interventions often changes.

Another course goal was to familiarize oneself with the state laws of Nassau County so that one can identify when the client is being misinformed. I achieved this goal by accessing the policies from the website and discussed the same with the colleagues in an attempt to determine how they affected particular groups in society. I also enquired from the staff how they offered services to clients, tried to align the findings to the existing policies. I learned that clients often get taken advantage of because they don’t know their rights. In the end, I had gained critical thinking and assessment skills in enforcing and advocating for policies that implement human rights and justice across all fields. In the next terms field education, I will try as much as possible to align the existing laws with the current affairs, and in future, I would enforce and advocate for these reforms. I found out that I paid more attention to the social and economic relations and did little policies studies concerning environmental issues; thus, I will improve on that bit next time.

The course also required one to understand how to engage with people, families, organizations and the community. I was able to do this by shadowing a caseworker on initial home visits and follow-ups. I also worked with APS customer service employees. At the same time, I interacted with families, community members and reached out to other agencies for possible referrals for clients. I employed my knowledge of human behavior and made sure I asked all the assessment tool questions when interacting with clients. This strategy ensured that the subjects opened up to my team and I thus we were able to help them efficiently. In the end, I had gained association skills that are elemental in social work. In the next field assignment and future, I will maintain the social and open environment for the clients to share freely.

Moreover, I needed to learn how to use “APS assessment tool: information to clarity form” and APS customer service protocol. To collect, organize, conduct assessment and interpret information from the clients. In practice, I ensured that I ask all the key questions essential for individual client complaints and initial visits. I assessed family support systems for clients that support intervention goals and strategies, developed a needs assessment for clients’ development and assessed the gaps in, how other organizations address people’s affairs. Also, I determined the role the community plays in providing services for the clients. I realized that I had trouble deciding a group compared to individual activities. In future studies and career, I would choose an assessment tool focusing on the individual client.

Also, the course required that the student learn how to intervene with individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations. As such I would help them meet their goals. I achieved this objective by choosing agency-appropriate processes to help clients set goals. I also participated in progress reviews of selected interventions, modified goals and services as needed and involved in termination of services when appropriate. Also, I provided crisis management services if a client complaint is life-threatening. In the end, I had gained negotiation and facilitation skills that I would use in future and the improvement of my next term field practice.

Lastly, the course required the development of understanding on how to evaluate clients is to monitor and critically analyze. I achieved this by using my knowledge of human behavior to analyze and evaluate my client’s progress following an intervention and make improvements or changes. I also chose a method that was approved and funded by the agency. I learned how important discussing the response with the supervisor is for the budgetary and approval purposes. In future and I would still consult and explore the best evaluation model for client outcome.

LEARNING AGREEMENT

Running head: LEARNING AGREEMENT