CLARKE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF

FAMILY AND CHILDREN SERVICES

INTERN EXPECTATIONS FOR THE SOCIAL SERVICES SECTION

J~nuary 7, 2010

Conferences/Staffings Intern Administrator and Supervisors will have a monthly conference on the first Tuesday of each month at 9:00 am. 'The main purpose of conferences is to serve as a vehicle to update the supervisors and administration of each intern's achievements/ problems/ concerns/ progress, so that interns can receive feedback and guidance in the most expeditious manner possible. Non-employee interns will work cases (once deemed appropriate) under their supervisor's SHINES case load. The intern is required to staff all case contacts and case events with their supervisor, within the· same day ofCompletingsaicl.case task.·.·Inte~willparticipate rna monthly staffing, or more often if needed, with the unit supervisor and direct supervisor to review all cases being managed.

Supervisor Contact Info. for Emergency Situations **All interns are to co:ptact their direct supervisor at anytime there is question regarding an urgent situation on a 2ase. **DO NOT ever leave a situation unaddressed where you feel that a child is at risk, or have question that a child may be at risk You may have to leave the home to contact your supervisor, but do not leave the situation unchanged if a child's safety is at risk Immediately begin making efforts to contact your direct supervisor, unit supervisor, or intern administrator. Interns are required to contact a supervisor in situations such as those listed above, as well as other situations where questions arise and/ or guidance/ approval is required. **Jf your supervisor cannot be located in the office at a time when you are in need of assistance/direction/ approval, you must follow this order of contact information to receive the needed guidance/ approval: ,.

Supervis6f Office Cell Phone: ..,-._ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Supervisor Personal Cell Phone: _._ _ _ _--'-_ __

Unit Supervisor Office Cell Phohe: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Unit Supervisor Office Cell Phone: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Intern Administrator Office Cell Phone: _-'--_ _ _ __

**After you have made the appropriate, diligent attempts to contact your supervisor through the above numbers and you have received no response within a reasonable timeframe (5-10 minutes), you must begin making attempts to contact another supervisor, through the numbers listed above.

**DO NOT ever leave a message in situations where immediate direction is necessary (ie. situation where a child is at risk) without continuing to follow up with telephone calls to other available phone numbers for your direct supervisor. **All interns are responsible for maintaining supervisor contact information with them at ALL times; this includes those numbers for· your direct supervisor, as well as those numbers for other supervisors.

Full Services and Agency Meetings Full Services and Agency staff meetings will be held at a specified date and time once each quarter (separately). Staff will be notified in advance of the meeting date and time. Depending upon the content of the agenda, ending times may vary. There is a strong need to use this time to update staff on policies, agency concerns, statewide concerns, social concerns, etc. All staff, interns included, are expected to attend (on time) scheduled staff :meetings in their entirety. If for any reason an intern is unable to attend a meeting, the reason(s) must be addressed with the supervisor for prior approval, not after the fact. . It is expected that no staff or intern obligate themselves to other commitments at the time of any scheduled meeting without prior supervisory approval.

Field Visits and Case Work As interns, you will start your first month or two at the agency observing interviews. You will be accompanying your supervisor on all case outings, among many other tasks you will complete. You will also be asked to complete collateral phone calls on a regular basis and often times you will be asked to complete documentation of the visit observed and always of the telephone calls you complete. Once deemed appropriate, and when you are ready, you will conduct child and parent interviews with your supervisor observing you. Upon completion of conducting an adequate amount of successful interviews, you will be completing field visits and interviews on your own. Until approved by your UNIT supervisor, you are not to complete, or be asked to meet, any response times, by yourself, for any reason. You are also not allowed to ever transport anyone (children or parents).

A concern of the agency is the safety of all staff and interns.You must inform your supervisor of all visits, and their locations, that you will be completing before leaving the office. You will also have a board outside your cuqicle that you are expected to write your location on, if you are going to be out of your cubicle for more than 10-15 minutes. While on a visit, if you change your destination, or you will return more than 30 minutes past the projected time, call your supervisor or the intake line and let him/her know. Field visits that are conducted with other interns must be approved by a supervisor prior to interns leaving the office.

Core Working Hours

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Interns will maintain the same working schedule as their supervisor on Wednesday, Thursdays

and Fridays. Interns are expected to report to work on time, as scheduled. If late or absent

from work for an.unscheduled reason, interns must report to their services supervisor by their

assigned time due to begin work and no later than 15 minutes past thaftime.· If your direct

supervisor is unavailable, you may speakwith another supervisor or intern administrator. All

missed internship hours under 24 hrs each week must be made up with in the same month. No

lost internship hours will be allowed to be made up over a future holiday break unless the loss

occurs with in that same month as the holiday.

Interns are expected to conduct only DFCS case management work while working internship

hours. Interns are not permitted to work on class work or papers while claiming internship

hours. Interns are also not permitted to use work time to complete personal business on the

computer or over the phone, take excessive personal telephone calls, or use this time for

personal texting.

During internship hours, computers are to be used for work related tasks only. Access to

Facebook, My Space, and other personal websites is not allowed. Computer use may be

monitored at any time if there is concern computer use is being abused during work hours.

Interns are expected to begin work early or stay at work past 5:00 pm if a case you are currently

out on or working requires such attention. As our families lives do not start at 8:00 am nor stop

at 5:00 pm, neither do our jobs as DFCS social workers. An intern's hours are not specifically

betweeri8:00 am t05:00 pm. You are expected to be flexible unless prior notification of a family

or outside work co:n1mitment is provided. .'

If you must work beyond your normal weekly internship hours let the supervisor know as soon

as possible so that we can adjust the time back into your work week. Flexing of internship

hours must be prearranged with a supervisor before it can be taken.

Time Sheets

Interns are expected to complete their time sheets thoroughly, correctly and timely on the

computer. Time sheets are due the follOWing Wednesday of the prior week. Your unit

supervisor will direct handling of timesheets and maintain them over the period of the

internship. The signature date on the time sheet should be the date it is given to your

supervisor.

Mail·

All mail will be routed through the supervisor first and then distributed to case managers and

interns. Your mailbox should be checked at least twice a day.

Case Management

Interns and case managers are expected to consult their manual first for policy clarification.

This is important for new and experienced staff. Case records are expected to be maintained in

accordance with current policy. Documentation is expected to be current within 3 days,

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regardless if it something that you or your supervisor completed that you have been asked to document for them.

Correspondence!Appr~vals All approvals requiring the director's signature must first go through the Unit supervisor. All correspondence to other State agencies or the State Office must have your Unit's supervisor's signature. All correspondence to clients or local service providers must have your direct supervisor's signature or intern administrator's signature. .

Court . Court involvement is an integral part of CPS and PLC. Case Manager's should be prepared to go to court as the need arises and represent the agency accordingly. When attending court for any reason, case managers will wear appropriate professional attire (no jeans or capris) that follows the agency's dress code. Subpoenas received from law enforcement/District Attorney will be honored accordingly. SAAGs' need to be made aware of all subpoena' s received by the department. A copy of the subpoena will be faxed to the SAAG within 24hrs of receipt of the subpoena. No case file/record or part of a case file/record shall leave Oarke Co. DFCS without prior approval ofthe Unit supervisor. H a case record is subpoenaed for an in camera review, a copy of the file will be made, and the original will be delivered to the court house by the specified time. Each intern shall provide documentation from any court appearance to their supervisor and put it in the case record, unless a supervisor is present at the hearing and recording documentation. All case specific material and discussion should be done in a private, closed-door setting. Be aware that confidentiality can be easily violated in hallways and in front of other people. This applies to former and current cases that are not the reason for your court appearance. If you are sequestered you will not discuss the:; case with anyone, except theSAAG and your supervisor. All cases that are going to court will be staffed withthesupervisor·and SAAG'at a Tuesday as soon as possible.

staffing~

Training All case managers and interns are required to obtain training in their specified program areas. Training outside of your program area is also encouraged. If your supervisor attends training, you may also be expected to attend the training.

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Non-employee interns will be required to complete specific training programs and manuals on­ line and will be further instructed on these expectations by the intern administrator. Unless otherwise noted, attire at trainings is expected to be professional and in accordance with the dress code for the office. '

Communication All interns will have voicemail at their desk phone. Voice mail messages should be returned as soon as possible, but no later than the next business day. YOUR VOICE MAIL PASSWORD MUST BE THE LAST FOUR DIGITS OF THE PHONE NUMBER OF YOUR OFFICE PHONE. Voice mail messages should be updated regularly to reflect the intern's schedule and availability: All staff shollId check their voice mail no less than tWo times daily: It 'is recommended that checks be made first thing in the morning, after lunch and prior to leaving for the dll1y. . All interns will be assigned GroupWise IDs for agency/work related e-mail. Workers should \ check their GroupWise no less than two times daily. It is recommended that checks be made first thing in the morning, after lunch and prior to leaving for the day. Communication should be done,with respect of management structure. We foster a supportive, learnmgand coaching environment. Therefore, it is imperative that your immediate supervisor be aware of your concerns, questions and activity; not a supervisor of another unit unless you are otherwise directed. While dialogdes within your immediate unit are encouraged, communicationwiththose outside your immediate unit is done more effectively ahd efficiently when youcomri:lunicate through your supervisor to other units. This provides for a clear line of communication to ensure adequate follow through on your request or information you have to provide.

Office Visits For safety reasons, interns are responSible for walking customers (including attorneys, other professionals, foster parents, etc.) to and from offices and the waiting room after visits and appointments. All staff, including interns, should let the front desk know when they ,have scheduled appointments. Doors'to the outside of the building should not to be propped open. Clients and customers should enter through the front door unless there is a specific situation and other arrangements have been made and cleared by your supervisor. If you need to use the visitapon room, conference room or meeting room, you must sign up

with appropriate notice '

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Visits should be closely monitored. Customers cannot be left alone in any office without an intern or case manager present. Some of your visitors may need to remain in the lobby until you can meet with them. If you borrow an office for an interview, it should be left in the same condition it was found.

Confidentiality Much of our work contains confidential or privileged information. It is imperative that this information is maintained in a confidential manner. Discussion regarding cases with individuals who do not have involvement or the right to the information is prohibited. C~se staffings and conferences,should take place behind closed doors. Comments regarding cases~ clients or piumers should not be made in public areas of the agency.' A.dditionally, the

inf6rm:atforishared ,in staffings, conferences' and unit'meetings is 'confidential and should:'Ilot be shared outside these meetings without expressed permission of supervisor. Access to records is strictly limited to Social Services Case Managers, Supervisors, and the Director. All others should have supervisory clearance before viewing records. You must have a signed release of information by the client to discuss their case with anyone including their attorney. Verbal permission is not acceptable nor legally appropriate.

Welcome to Clarke Co. DFCS! Welook forwCU'dtoworking withiyouandguiding.you through your internship experience. Please always feel free to ask any questions as this is a learning experience for YOll and one that we want to be fulfilling and successful.

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