Training for Social Work during COVID-19

ALBANY, N.Y. (March 2, 2021) – Each year, the University at Albany trains new social workers to be ready to work in a wide variety of settings.

After graduating with a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree, they might work in a hospital, helping families identify and obtain the range of services needed to care for their loved one after they are discharged.  Or, they could work in a school setting to provide behavioral support so students can succeed academically. They also might work with child protective services, visiting homes to make sure children are growing in a safe environment.

Under normal circumstances, students in both years of the two-year MSW program at the School of Social Welfare go into community agencies to gain hands-on experience. Since COVID-19 entered the picture in March 2020, many community agencies were not able to host student interns, and the School has redeployed students across campus where they are learning social work practice and helping other UAlbany students succeed.

Dean Lynn Warner said, “The inter-related impacts of COVID have reinforced how important it is to holistically address students’ needs. The School of Social Welfare is so pleased to have partners across the campus who are relying on Master of Social Work interns to help deliver the array of services that support UAlbany students’ well-being, whether that be financial, social, or psychological and physical health. At the same time that the campus is providing myriad professional training opportunities for social work interns. The interns’ activities range from helping students recognize and use personal and external resources to meet their needs to developing programming to meet service gaps. Overall, these internships raise awareness about the diversity of the social work profession and its contribution to long-term recovery from the pandemic.”

Several of the field placements are in the Academic Recovery Program, where interns worked two days a week from September through February.

Keenan Jones of Shokan, who plans to become a school social worker after graduation in 2022, met weekly with undergrads to create an academic success plan to help them move from academic probation.

“This field placement helped me realize that I really enjoy working with students in an academic setting as well as how much I enjoy helping people at the individual level. I also enjoyed working with this population of undergraduate students, so in the future I hope to either continue working with that age group or high school students,” Jones said. 

Kelly Wildes of Massapequa Park also interned with the Academic Recovery Program. She hopes to become a licensed clinical social work working as a child and adolescent therapist.

“After only having worked in a macro setting, this field placement introduced me to micro social work, and it strengthened my desire to work as a therapist,” Wildes said. “I really enjoy working one-on-one with clients while trying to help them problem solve. It also exposed me to a population that I had never worked with before and I would like to continue working with this age range in the future.”

From assisting quarantined students through the Counseling and Psychological Services Center to helping students get back on track academically, MSW students are gaining the skills needed to hit the ground running when they graduate.