Interview with Social Worker
This assignment asks the student to choose an area of social work that interests you such as: poverty, homelessness, health care, mental health, children and families, adolescents, minorities, immigrants and other oppressed populations, substance abuse and addiction, and the elderly.
Once you have identified the population of concern, identify a BSW or MSW practitioner in the community who works with this population and arrange to interview her/him/them. The practitioner must be a social worker.
Step 1: Choose a population
Step 2: Find an agency that serves that population (you will want to have a few in mind)
Step 3: Identify a BSW or MSW social worker at that agency. The agency website is a good place to start. Also, calling the main agency number, introduce yourself and ask if there is a social worker who you could speak with about a student assignment.
Step 4: Expect to put effort into contacting social workers! You may leave a message, leave your contact information including e-mail. You may want to e-mail the social worker and follow up with a phone call.
Step 6: Next, summarize the content of the interview with the social worker in a 3-5-page paper. This paper will include personal reflections regarding the questions you asked, the social worker’s response, your expectations and areas that challenged your prior beliefs.
