Syllabus

Master of Social Work

SSWO 633 Social Work Practice with Children, Adolescents, and Caregivers (Summer B 2024)

Credits - 3

Description

This specialization year elective focuses on developing clinical skills specifically for social work practice with children, adolescents, and their caregivers. Methods of building relationships with children, adolescents and caregivers are explored, as are specific child-centered interventions and techniques. Additionally, there is a focus on interdisciplinary models of practice, including wrap-around services and the overall development of networks and partnerships between social workers and other child-centered professionals.

Materials

Required readings:

  • No required textbook for this course.

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

School of Social Work Program Outcomes:

Graduates of the UNE SSWO will demonstrate knowledge, skills, and leadership in the following:

  1. Demonstrates ethical and professional behavior.
  2. Advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.
  3. Engage in anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI) in practice.
  4. Engage in practice-informed research and research-informed practice.
  5. Engage in policy practice.
  6. Engage with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
  7. Assess individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
  8. Intervene with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
  9. Evaluate practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:

  1. Practice social inclusion to enable people, populations, and communities to fully participate in society, enhance human bonds in the context of cultural diversity and ensure improved quality of life and equitable resource distribution. EPAS Competencies 2 & 3
  2. Engage in culturally-informed relationship building respectful of the complexity and diversity of contexts and circumstances. EPAS Competency 2 & 3
  3. Utilize theories of human behavior, social systems and social inclusion when offering interventions with people and their environments. EPAS Competencies 6, 7 & 8
  4. Promote ethical reflection, critical consciousness and shared decision-making based on social work values and with consideration of the broader contexts of the world in which we live. EPAS Competency 1
  5. Balance the roles of helpers, activists, and advocates through collaboration with communities to build healthy and sustainable resources. EPAS Competencies 3, 5, & 6
  6. Engage as critical consumers and producers of research and evaluation applied to clinical and community practices. EPAS Competencies EPAS Competencies 4, 8 & 9
  7. Practice person-centered and collaborative community partnerships across diverse settings. EPAS Competency 3 & 6

Assignments

Full assignment requirements, rubrics, and due dates for all learning activities are provided in the course.

Whole Class Discussions

You will be asked to post one initial response to each Discussion Question each week, and then make a minimum of 2 peer response comments per discussion. Postings must meet the criteria for substantiveness to earn the maximum points available.

Journals

Your journal is a place for you to communicate your own personal reactions to the material presented in the weeks and cumulatively throughout the course. There will be some prompts to help you, but it is your space to write what is coming up for you.

Week 4 Assignment:

Using Vee’s Intake Form, Vee’s letter, and existing literature on play to support your clinical decisions in this assignment.

Week 7 Assignment:

This assignment focuses on gaps in services for children and/or on issues related to children that result in insufficient or poorly executed service and care.

Grading Policy

The School of Social Work uses the following grading system for all courses with the exception of field education courses. Students are expected to maintain a “B” (3.0) average over the course of their study. Students with less than a GPA of 3.0 will be placed on academic probation. Students must have an overall GPA of 3.0 in order to receive their Master’s Degree.

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

AssignmentPercentage of Grade
Acknowledgement of Academic Engagment1%
Discussions (14 at 3 points each)42%
Journals (5 at 4 points each)20%
Week 4 Assignment17%
Week 7 Assignment20%
Total100%

Grade Scale

Grade Points Grade Point Average (GPA)
A 94 – 100% 4.00
A- 90 – 93% 3.75
B+ 87 – 89% 3.50
B 84 – 86% 3.00
B- 80 – 83% 2.75
C+ 77 – 79% 2.50
C 74 – 76% 2.00
C- 70 – 73% 1.75
D 64 – 69% 1.00
F 00 – 63% 0.00

Schedule

All times refer to Eastern Time (ET). Course weeks run from 12:00 AM ET on Wednesday through 11:59 PM ET on Tuesday, with the exception of Week 8, which ends on Sunday at 11:59 PM ET. Unless otherwise specified, all discussion comments and assignments are due the last day of the week. Initial responses to discussion prompts are due by Saturday at 11:59 PM ET, unless otherwise noted.

Course Weeks

Week 1: Jul 3 – Jul 9
Week 2: Jul 10 – Jul 16
Week 3: Jul 17 – Jul 23
Week 4: Jul 24 – Jul 30
Week 5: Jul 31 – Aug 6
Week 6: Aug 7 – Aug 13
Week 7: Aug 14 – Aug 20
Week 8: Aug 21 – Aug 25

Week 1: Child and Family Practice: Rapport, reflexivity and our introduction to “Vee”

Assignments and Discussions

  • Week 1, Discussion 1
  • Week 1, Discussion 2 (EPAS 6 & 7)
  • Week 1 Journal (EPAS 6 & 8)

Week 2: Building Relationships: A trauma-informed approach

Assignments and Discussions

  • Week 2 Discussion 1 (EPAS 1 & 6)
  • Week 2, Discussion 2 (EPAS 6 & 7)

Week 3: Child and Parent Psychotherapy

Assignments and Discussions

  • Week 3, Discussion 1 (EPAS 4 & 8)
  • Week 3, Discussion 2 (EPAS 4, 6 & 8)

Week 4: Therapeutic Play with Children

Assignments and Discussions

  • Week 4, Discussion 1 (EPAS 1, 4 & 8)
  • Week 4 Journal (EPAS 9)
  • Week 4 Assignment (EPAS 4, 6 & 8)

Week 5: Systemic Family Therapies/ Multisystemic Therapy

Assignments and Discussions

  • Week 5, Discussion 1 (EPAS 4, 6 & 8)
  • Week 5, Discussion 2 (EPAS 9)
  • Week 5 Journal (EPAS 1)

Week 6: Working with Adolescents – Dialectical Behavioral Treatment (DBT)

Assignments and Discussions

  • Week 6, Discussion 1 (EPAS 4, 6 & 8)
  • Week 6, Discussion 2 (EPAS 6 & 8)

Week 7: Collaborative Care for Youth and Families

Assignments and Discussions

  • Week 7, Discussion 1 (EPAS 1, 6 & 8)
  • Week 7 Journal (EPAS 1)
  • Week 7 Assignment (EPAS 1, 2, & 5)

Week 8: Ethical Endings with Youth and Families

Assignments and Discussions

  • Week 8, Discussion 1 (EPAS 7, 8 & 9)
  • Week 8, Discussion 2 (EPAS 1, 6 & 9)
  • Week 8 Journal

Student Resources

Accommodations

Any student who would like to request, or ask any questions regarding, academic adjustments or accommodations must contact the Student Access Center at (207) 221-4438 or pcstudentaccess@une.edu. Student Access Center staff will evaluate the student's documentation and determine eligibility of accommodation(s) through the Student Access Center registration procedure.

Online Peer Support

Togetherall is a 24/7 communication and emotional support platform monitored by trained clinicians. It’s a safe place online to get things off your chest, have conversations, express yourself creatively, and learn how to manage your mental health. If sharing isn’t your thing, Togetherall has other tools and courses to help you look after yourself with plenty of resources to explore. Whether you’re struggling to cope, feeling low, or just need a place to talk, Togetherall can help you explore your feelings in a safe supportive environment. You can join Togetherall using your UNE email address.

Information Technology Services (ITS)

Students should notify their Student Support Specialist and instructor in the event of a problem relating to a course. This notification should occur promptly and proactively to support timely resolution.

ITS Contact: Toll-Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673.

Career Ready Program

The College of Professional Studies supports its online students and alumni in their career journey!

The Career Ready Program provides tools and resources to help students explore and hone in on their career goals, search for jobs, create and improve professional documents, build professional network, learn interview skills, grow as a professional, and more. Come back often, at any time, as you move through your journey from career readiness as a student to career growth, satisfaction, and success as alumni.

Policies

Attendance Policy

8 week: Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Professional Studies will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Sunday at 11:59 pm ET of the first week of the term. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean's Office.

16 week: Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Professional Studies will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Friday at 11:59 pm ET of the second week of the term. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean's Office.

Student Handbook Online - Policies and Procedures

The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Professional Studies. It is each student's responsibility to know the contents of this handbook.

UNE Online Student Handbook

UNE Course Withdrawal

Please contact your student support specialist if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. The last day to drop for 100% tuition refund is the 2nd day of the course. Financial Aid charges may still apply. Students using Financial Aid should contact the Financial Aid Office prior to withdrawing from a course.

Academic Integrity

The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit UNE Plagiarism Policies.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:

  1. Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
  2. Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
  3. Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
  4. Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
  5. Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.

Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations. Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.