Field Note—Social Work Field Education in Quarantine: Administrative Lessons From the Field During a Worldwide Pandemic

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ABSTRACT

Social workers are trained to respond to national disasters but, during the emergence of the novel Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, their traditional face-to-face methods of responding to client needs were not accessible. Field placement educators were required to find alternative means for social work students to complete internships. This field note describes the response of a field education department, within a school of social work, to COVID-19. The school is housed within a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) located in a large metropolitan area. Lessons learned from challenges to field education created by COVID-19 are described. We conclude with recommendations for changes to social work curriculum and online social services and future research to tackle the aftermath of COVID-19.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hermila Melero

Hermila Melero is field education director at California State University, Los Angeles, School of Social Work. Maria Y. Hernandez is assistant professor at California State University, Los Angeles, School of Social Work. Sofya Bagdasaryan is associate professor at California State University, Los Angeles, School of Social Work.