Employed Social Work

In accordance with Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) standards, a student can complete a practicum at their employing organization only through a specially negotiated Employed Social Work (ESW) arrangement.

The ESW option was developed to encourage people with established employment positions within social service organizations to pursue education in social work.  This option allows the employer to contribute substantially to an employee’s education. The ESW must be finalized and approved, following the procedures outlined below, by September 1st.

For students who are CURRENTLY employed in a social service organization, there are different options for how to structure an ESW placement:

• Students can propose to use the job duties from their current employment position, and/or 
   
• They can propose and be approved to engage in duties outside of their regular employment position; 
   
• Practicum hours can be paid or unpaid

If an employer supports a student to use their current employed position as their educational practicum, the student will be paid for their hours. When an employer supports the student to engage in a completely new role/program within the agency, we strongly encourage them to release the employee from some of their job responsibilities to complete their educational practicum hours. Students who are approved for this type of an ESW may be paid by their employer for their practicum hours (negotiated between student and employer). 

In either case, all requirements set forth below must be met.

Requirements for Any ESW Practicum

The student’s employer, the School of Social Work, and the student will work together to assure that the following ESW conditions are met:

Good Standing

• The student must be in good academic standing at PSU and in good standing at their employing agency. Good standing typically means an established employee who successfully completed a probationary period; this is important because an unsuccessful probationary period or any significant performance concerns are also likely to result in disruption of the student’s practicum. 
   
• Employment supervisor and BSW or MSW Practicum instructor must agree that the student’s practicum performance will not influence their employment evaluation.
   
• If a student is approved to complete an ESW and they choose to leave their employment and/or are terminated from their employment position during the current academic year, the Practicum Education Program will not re-match a student to a new practicum mid-academic year. Students will develop a new Educational Plan to support continuation in the BSW or MSW program. [Exceptions to ESW policy may be considered by the Director of Practicum Education on a case-by-case basis].
   

Educational Opportunities

• The proposed educational opportunities in the place of employment must permit achievement of the 9 social work competencies and skills compatible with the student's social work practice classes and course of study, i.e., Generalist, Advanced Clinical Practice (Clinical), or Advanced Macro Practice (Macro).
   
• Practicum provides an opportunity to become exposed to new systems, populations, practicum instructors, and approaches to practice. If an MSW student proposes a second ESW, their second proposal must demonstrate how this opportunity would provide new, different, and/or deeper learning that aligns with their Advanced concentration in order to be approved. When possible, the proposal would also include a new social work practicum instructor.

Supervision

• Practicum instructors for BSW students must have a BSW or MSW from an accredited social work program plus 2 years post degree social work experience.  
   
• Practicum instructors for MSW students are required to have an MSW from an accredited social work program plus two years of post-MSW social work experience. 
   
• The practicum instructor and employment supervisor of a student may be the same person. In such cases, supervision time for practicum education learning must be separate from supervision time for employment. Our goal is to ensure the role of the student as a learner while they are engaging in their paid employment position. 
   
• If the agency does not have a qualified social work practicum instructor on staff, they must arrange for an off-site practicum instructor to provide the required supervision and designate an on-site supervisor to provide daily oversight and support.

ESW Agreement

• The ESW agreement may not be altered or amended unless agreed to by all persons (student, employer, and practicum faculty).  Accordingly, if an agency alters the terms of placement without informing the practicum faculty, the ESW placement will be suspended and will not be resumed unless a revised agreement can be arranged in a timely manner. This revised agreement must be written and signed by the Executive Director of the agency (or their designee), the student-employee, and the Director of Practicum Education (or their designee) and filed with the Practicum Education Office.

Application and Approval Process

1. The student submits their required Practicum application and indicates their intent to apply for the ESW.
    
2. The student requests an ESW application via the ESW Interest Form in the Student Web Center by the date that they submit their practicum application [dates vary based on which year and concentration the student will be entering]. The ESW Interest Form will indicate the practicum they are proposing.
    
3. The student, in consultation with the employer, completes the ESW Application by the due date specified, as determined by the student’s School of Social Work program. (View a Sample ESW Application.)
    
4. The student submits a copy of the employment position description at the same time that they submit their completed ESW application.
    
5. Each member of the ESW team - Student, Practicum Instructor, Site Supervisor, and Employment Supervisor - required to review informational materials about the ESW program. 
    
6. After the ESW Application is complete, it is the student's responsibility to contact their Practicum Coordinator to schedule a brief Zoom eligibility meeting to go over the specifics of the proposed ESW and confirm your practicum. This meeting must occur by September 1st. The ESW planning meeting and completion of any items assigned during that meeting must occur before the practicum can begin.
    

Complete the ESW Interest Form via the Student Web Center »