Letter from the Director of Field Education
 Letter of Instruction for Wisconsin Background Information Disclosure Form
 Wisconsin Background Information Disclosure Form
State Contacts for Out-of-State Criminal History
Student Field Unit Preference Form
Important Dates/Information for Field Students
Field Education Handbook
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Spring 2008
Dear Newly Admitted MSW Student:
On behalf of our faculty, staff, and agency supervisors, welcome to the School's Field Education
Program. The field program prepares students for professional practice and serves an important integrative function in our curriculum.
Over 150 agencies or programs, 200 community practitioners, and 15 field faculty work together to ensure that you have the opportunity to learn the skills and expertise you need to provide professional social work services. Recognizing that hands-on practice experience is at the core of social work education, we have developed a unique model of field education.
You will be placed in one of the School's fifteen field units, which are organized around a social
problem area, field of practice, or client population. The field faculty teaching these units have extensive practice experience in their respective areas and work with agencies and practitioners to develop field placement opportunities. In addition to the agency placement, students and field faculty meet for two hours on a weekly basis for an Integrative Seminar that provides content and skill development on social work practice, integrates classroom learning with practice experience, and serves as a forum for case presentations, group discussion, and guest lecturers.
To complete your field unit placement process, please follow these steps: (1) Review the Field Education Handbook; it provides important information about the field program. (2) In particular, review Section II of this handbook; it describes all the field units. (3) Complete the Field Unit Preference Form. (4) Complete the Wisconsin Caregiver Background Disclosure Form, which requires a check for $7.50 payable to the School of Social Work (checks are the only acceptable method of payment). The deadline for returning both the Field Unit Preference Form and the Background Disclosure Form is April 25, 2008, though an earlier return of either or both forms would be helpful. Return to the "Checklist and Due Dates" section of the Social Work website for links to all these documents. If you have resided outside the state of Wisconsin in the past three years, be sure to review the State Background Checks information letter in this section. The due date for out-of-state background checks is May 16, 2008 (see Appendix C in the Field Education Handbook for specific instructions).
To help answer your questions about field education, please plan to attend the Field Forum, an informational meeting that will be held on Friday, April 11, 2008 from 1- 3:30pm at Union South, which is located at 227 N. Randall Street. On the day of the meeting, you can find out the room location by going online at www.union.wisc.edu or by checking the Today in the Union Board at Union South. Field faculty, advisors, and I will be on hand at the Field Forum to meet with you to clarify learning opportunities, expectations, and requirements. If you are unable to attend this meeting, the Field Education Handbook (particularly Section II) provides key information on the field units that you can use to complete the Field Unit Preference Form.
I look forward to working with you. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Field Program Assistant, Brenda Armstrong, in room 318 of the Social Work building, by calling her at 608-263-4813 or by emailing her at bgarmstrong@wisc.edu.
Sandy Kohn
Director of Field Education
sjkohn@wisc.edu
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School of Social Work | 1350 University Avenue | Madison, WI 53706 | (608) 263-3660 Directions to School of Social Work Admin
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