Instructions:

• Follow this outline precisely.
• Be brief and factual in your answers.
• Use agency charts where possible, e.g., budget, organizational chart for staffing pattern. Do not insert charts in lieu of the narrative presentation. If a chart is not available, you may create one to summarize the information.
• Use the latest available data, e.g. annual report.
• Locate key people who will help you find the information for this assignment and interview them.
• 4-6 pages, excluding charts. Use APA format.

Purpose:

The purpose of this assignment is to help you understand and think critically about the agency in which you have your field internship, its place within a field of practice, its organizational purpose, structure, and function and, particularly, the specific program or service unit to which you are assigned. It is designed to help you get a beginning “feel” for what it is like to be a worker with a client in your agency or program.

Part I. Agency Mission and Organizational Structure

A. Values and Policy

• Find and summarize your agency’s mission. Briefly state what values underlie this mission statement. Link 1-2 core values from the NASW Code of Ethics to agency values.
• Identify a state or federal policy issue that is relevant to clients served by your agency and to recommended client services.

.

B. Organizational Structure

• Program: Identify the specific program in which you work. Program, as used here, refers to the particular program in which you are working in your agency, for example, (the program of) Foster Care in the (agency) Department of Social Services. Identifying a program does not apply to all internship sites, e.g. if you are placed in a school, the school is your agency and you don’t have a specific program beyond that.
• Area served: What is the catchment or geographic area served by your agency?
• Organizational structure: What is the organizational structure of your program? Provide organizational chart if possible.
  • Define and describe the Advisory Board and/or Board of Directors for your
  • What is the composition of the administrative staff and other direct service staff
  • Identify the support staff positions (e.g. office manager, secretary, receptionist)
• Funding pattern: How is the program funded? What are the various sources of funds? Is your program’s budgeting adequate? Are there funding problems?

agency using an organizational chart, if available. Discuss function of board. Do

clients serve on this board? Use position titles, not employee names, to discuss

the structure.

of your program, including the professional disciplines.

in your program and describe their functions.

Part II. Population Served

A. Provide information on clients served (in your program) using percentages (%). Compare and contrast these factors for clients and agency staff; for example, 20% of clients are Hispanic and 2% of the staff is Hispanic.

• Age groups
• Racial and Ethnic Composition
• Gender
• Socioeconomic class

B. Identify the specific problems clients bring to your programs? What kind(s) of oppression do your programs’ clients deal with?

• What are the predominant referral sources? What groups are officially and unofficially reached?

Part III: Evaluation

• Agency Evaluation: Describe evaluation or outcome measures used in your program or agency.
• Preliminary Observations: What are your initial impressions of the strengths and limitations of your program?

Grading Guide for Field Agency Paper