Pupil Personnel Services, School Social Work - Program Review Launchpad

Program Summary 

The School of Social Work at California State University, Long Beach, was first approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) to offer the Pupil Personnel Services Credential (PPSC) with specializations in School Social Work and Child Welfare and Attendance in 1995.  Our competency-based credential program is fully integrated into our MSW program and graduates about 50 students a year who are eligible to receive the credential and fully prepared to enter the school social work profession.  The MSW Program emphasizes an ecological and systems perspective which focuses on the fit and interactions of a person or system in relation to the various environments likely to be encountered. Within these perspectives, knowledge, values, and skills are used in a change-oriented process within a multiracial, multicultural context to help individuals and systems achieve improved quality of life and participation, including advocacy for just institutions and equitable access to opportunities and resources. Our program has an advanced standing (accelerated one-year program), a full-time, two-year program, a three-year program and a part-time, distance education program.  We offer the PPSC credential to students in all four models.  We also offer a post-master’s PPSC program for professionals who have already obtained their MSWs from accredited schools of social work.  Information on the post-master’s PPSC program can be found here. The School of Social Work PPSC Program Coordinator works closely with the College of Education and with the College of Education Assessment Office to evaluate the program.  Frequent meetings and telephone consultations ensure open communication and support.   

The School of Social Work is housed in the College of Health and Human Services.  Each year, about 260 students are admitted in our MSW program which includes an on-campus and distance education model for students in Sonoma and Ventura.  Our program is currently led by our Director, Dr. Nancy Meyer-Adams, who practiced school social work in schools.  The PPSC program is located in our Field Education department is overseen by Dr. Susan Salas. Dr. Salas has taken an active role in our re-accreditation process and participates in various PPSC meetings and activities.  Our PPSC Program Coordinator, Saana Polk, MSW, PPSC, is a full-time lecturer and serves as the Assistant Director of Field Education.  Ms. Polk worked as a PPSC social worker in Los Angeles Unified School District prior to moving into academia.  Dr. Julie O’Donnell, who was a school social worker, developed our School Social Work course and has taught it since 1993.  Although she just entered the Faculty Early Retirement Program, she continues to teach the class and be involved as the PPSC Program Consultant.  Dr. O’Donnell has been active in the California Association of School Social Workers (CASSW) at both the state and local leadership levels.  She has had numerous education-related grants and publications including a recently completed $2.5 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education that created community schools in two low-income, culturally-diverse schools in downtown Long Beach.  To further ensure our PPSC program is current and responsive to the field, we have a PPSC Advisory Committee of school social workers which meets each semester.  We currently have members from four school districts involved in revising our curriculum to meet all of the new PPSC standards and training field instructors on the new requirements. 

Coursework Structure and Field Experience 

Our PPSC program is embedded in the MSW program which is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.  Our program uses the advanced generalist program model with the foundation year focused on developing social work competencies at all levels of practice. Students then further develop these skills within a specialized context.  During the foundation coursework, students choose one of three program specializations: Child and Family Wellbeing, Integrated Health or Adulthood and Aging. Only students in the Child and Family Wellbeing specialization are eligible to apply to the PPSC program.  The Child and Family Wellbeing specialization prepares students to use strength-based and evidence-based approaches to promote positive child and family functioning across diverse populations. Through classes and field placements, students acquire and enhance their skills to effectively engage, assess and intervene with children and families preventively and with those experiencing challenges. Students learn about the policies most salient to the lives of children and families and develop skills to effectively influence such policies. This specialization provides a solid grounding for students interested in schools. Students also choose either Thesis I & II or Applied Social Work Projects I & II as a part of their culminating experience.  

According to the Council on Social Education (CSWE), the MSW degree is based on a common body of knowledge. Students who have earned a BASW from a CSWE-accredited undergraduate program in the last five years (GPA of 3.0 or higher) should have mastered the body of knowledge in the MSW foundation courses. Advanced Standing students receive a waiver for the foundation courses (30 units) if they successfully complete the intensive Summer Bridge program prior to entering the MSW program. The Summer Bridge offers research, micro and macro practice, human behavior, policy, technology, and field education modules including 160 hours (16 hours per week) of field placement. After completing the Summer Bridge modules and field placement, the student enters the second year of the MSW Program in the Fall semester and continues their coursework and field placement as a second-year student.  

Prior to PPSC program acceptance, students must attend a PPSC orientation and submit an application including a personal statement on why they want to be a school social worker along with their CTC Certificate of Clearance.  Each statement is reviewed by the PPSC Program Coordinator and/or Consultant.  Students accepted into the PPSC program, in addition to successfully completing all of the required MSW courses, must take School Social Work as one of their electives prior to or concurrently with their second-year school social work field internship. Our school social work class emphasizes ecological practice in low-income, culturally-diverse communities.  PPSC students must also attend four, 2 1/2-hour specialized School Social Work seminars that supplement and expand content covered in the School Social Work class.  The topics covered in the School Social Work seminars are law and ethics in the school setting, promoting school attendance, crisis intervention and threat assessment and learning styles and trauma-informed practices.  

During the first-year internship, students practice their skills in a wide variety of practice settings for a total of 500 internship hours.  PPSC students must then complete an additional 100 hours for a total of 600 hours in two school settings under the supervision of a Field Instructor with a PPSC Credential during their second-year internship.  To ensure all PPSC students have high-quality internship experiences that expose them to a broad range of school social work roles, PPSC Program staff and Advisory Committee members created a checklist of required activities.  For example, students must complete home visits, classroom observations, run student groups, family workshops, attend IEP meetings, provide community referrals and monitor and/or analyze intervention data.  For the Child Welfare and Attendance (CWA) hours, they must complete home visits to address attendance-related issues, analyze attendance data at all levels, attend SARB meetings, and assist in developing attendance plans and interventions. Our checklist has been adopted by all of the PPSC programs in the Southern California area. During the first year, students attend a weekly field seminar to reflect on their practice and further develop their skills.  In the second year, the field seminar is every other week and focused on increasing self-awareness, advancing professionalism, and expanding skill development. 

Program Modifications Over the Recent Two Years 

There have not been significant changes in the program over the past two years.  However, some changes have been made across the curriculum that should enhance the skills of our PPSC students.  For example, the School of Social Work, faculty recently agreed to embed Critical Race Theory content into all courses.  Given the oppression and challenges facing diverse and vulnerable populations in the school setting, this content will be particularly relevant for PPSC students.  As part of the process for seeking PPSC accreditation under the new CTC standards, all required course content was reviewed by faculty and additional school social work content was integrated into several courses.   We also modified our Comprehensive Checklist to include the new PPSC Performance Expectations and Competencies.  

Means for Stakeholder Input 

In addition to the feedback gained at our Advisory Committee meetings from current school social workers, we collect information yearly from graduating students on program strengths, challenges and suggestions for improvement and submit them to the College of Education Assessment Office.  The data collected is reviewed by the PPSC program coordinator. As part of our strategic planning process, feedback on how the program is doing related to CSWE competencies is collected from current students, alumni and field instructors every three years. We pride ourselves on not only collecting feedback, but also implementing changes based on stakeholder input.  

Course of Study (Curriculum and Field Experience) 
Description of the Sequence of Coursework 

The MSW program follows a structured cohort model to complete the MSW degree. 

Coordination of Coursework with Field Work 

The field experience is coordinated with course work in multiple ways.  First, many classes ask students to share and/or reflect on internship experiences or use the internship experience to practice course skills, for example, completing a bio-psycho-social assessment.  Second, field representatives sit on all of the course sequence committees to learn about what is taught to share with field instructors.  Field instructors are also provided with the School Social Work syllabus, so they know what content is taught.  Feedback from field instructors is gathered frequently by the school and used to strengthen the currency of the curriculum.   

Field Supervision, Advisement, Evaluation 

All students complete their fieldwork under the supervision of Field Instructors with MSWs and at least two years of post-graduate work experience.  During the second internship placement, all field instructors for PPSC students must also have the PPSC credential.  Students receive a credit/no credit grade from their seminar instructors (university faculty), at the end of each semester of both field experiences.  Field instructors (district employed) assess the students half-way through the internship (Fall and Spring Interim Progress Report) and at the end of each semester (first year; SW596 A/B Learning Agreement and Foundation Year Comprehensive Skills Evaluation second year; SW680 A/B Learning Agreement and Advanced 2nd Year Comprehensive Skills Evaluation). During the PPSC field experience in the second year, field instructors also complete the Comprehensive Skills Evaluation Pupil Personnel Services Credential School Social Work & Child Welfare and Attendance Services form mid-year and at the end of the year. 

Assessment of Candidates  

During the orientation and upon acceptance into the PPSC program, candidates are informed of the assessment process. Each potential candidate has access to the general requirements informational materials and is provided the assessment tools before their internship commences.  As previously mentioned, all PPSC candidates are assessed for credential-specific competencies using a mid-year and final Comprehensive Skills Evaluation Pupil Personnel Services Credential School Social Work and Child Welfare and Attendance.  Field instructors use this instrument to evaluate interns on competencies related to the ten PPSC Performance Expectation areas and reviews them with the candidate.  The ratings range from “1” Unacceptable” to 4 “Consistent Demonstration of High Skill.” If a candidate’s evaluation is a “2” in 25% or more of the categories or if he/she receives a “1” in any category or does not satisfactorily meet the field requirements as documented by the field instructor, he/she is ineligible for the credential.  

The PPSC Coordinator, in collaboration with field instructors is responsible for monitoring each candidates’ progress through the program and for reviewing all PPSC-specific evaluations.  Once the Coordinator verifies all PPSC program requirements have been met, she issues a formal letter recommending the candidate for the credential.  The letter is sent to the campus Credential Center.

Candidates admitted to the Pupil Personnel Services School Social Work, Child Welfare, and Attendance Program receive initial and ongoing advising from their program coordinator.  Candidates are given a School Social Work Advisement sheet to assist in tracking program requirements.  Candidates can also monitor their program progress through the MyCSULB Student Center “Student Planner”.  Each candidate admitted to the School Social Work Program will establish a file in the CSU, Long Beach Credential Center and submit all supporting documentation including verification of CTC fingerprint clearance, Basic Skills, and proof of a Bachelor’s Degree from a regionally accredited institution.  Candidates receive a credential program evaluation, completed by a credential analyst, which lists their current program status and requirements that are outstanding and required prior to credential recommendation.  

At the completion of the candidate’s final semester, the program coordinator provides a program completion document, which includes notification that the candidate has completed all required clock hours, and successfully completed all requirements for the credential.  A credential analyst will complete a final evaluation and confirm that all program and state requirements have been met prior to credential recommendation, including the Master’s Degree in Social Work.  A credential analyst will ensure that only qualified candidates are recommended for a Pupil Personnel Services School Social Work, Child Welfare, and Attendance Credential.  
 

7.1.1 Candidate Progress Monitoring Documents

School Social Work, CWA Candidate Advisement Form (PDF)

School Social Work, CWA Credential Evaluation (PDF)

7.1.2 Individual Development Plan (IDP) Form

Not Applicable