Fact Sheet for BSW Students

The selection of your Field Placement site is one of the most critical decisions you will make as you begin your Social Work. The decision you make will impact on future employment possibilities and your capacity to network with other professionals.

We have prepared a brief Fact Sheet to influence you to select Child and Family Services of Central Manitoba for your placement next year. Here are a few reasons why you should select us:

1. Access to Supervision: The Agency is relatively small with only 35.5 staff. Your designated Field Instructor would be Diane deLucia RSW who is located in the Portage la Prairie office. You will have ready access to her or any other qualified Social Worker including the Executive Director, Janet Shindle, M.S.W.. For more information about the Agency organization and the qualifications of staff and publications, go to our web site: http://www2.portage.net/~cfscm/.

2. Treated Like an Employee: As a student at the Agency you will be permitted to claim for authorized client-related expenses and have access to Agency cars for your work.

3. Bursary: The Child and Family Services of Central Manitoba Foundation Inc. offers an annual bursary for each qualified BSW student doing a placement at the Agency. This bursary is up to $500 and is designed to cover some transportation costs for student who reside in Winnipeg and commute to their placement. Applications in letter form should be sent to the Executive Director of the Agency.

4. THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE: As a student at the Agency you will learn about all aspects of child welfare Social Work practice in a context where you will have a great deal of direct client contact. You will learn to understand the unique characteristics of rural Social Work practice. You will network with professionals from a huge cross section of services to children and families eg. Community Mental Health, Schools, etc. You will learn the skills required to engage families who may be hostile towards your involvement. You will have experiences with systemic family therapy and narrative therapy and learn the practicalities of dealing with young children.

Please consider placement at our Agency and let your Field Coordinator know of your interest soon. We look forward to meeting you and discussing your learning requirements.

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Kathleen Jones PhD, R.S.W. Executive Director

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