6.3 Agency Safety Policies

Agencies hosting social work field placements for Berkeley Social Welfare MSW students should require student interns to follow the same safety and security policies and procedures that are required for all agency staff. 

Field Instructors are expected to communicate and orient students to all agency policies and procedures for safety, and review them regularly throughout the student’s placement experience to reinforce knowledge, skills and abilities related to safe social work practice. At a minimum this should include information about:

  • Site, building and office security.
  • Procedures for ensuring that the Field Instructor or other staff know (or can easily ascertain) a student’s location during field practicum hours.
  • Occupational health and safety requirements specific to the field placement setting.
  • Emergency preparedness and response procedures, including when and how to summon security or police assistance; and, in the event of natural disaster, evacuation routes and procedures.
  • Universal precautions and safety protocols in place for public health emergencies, including agency policies and procedures for implementing or responding to public health directives or emergency orders.
  • Staff responsibilities and procedures governing work with clients who may pose a safety risk, and the management of violent clients or other individuals.
  • Procedures for responding and providing support to students who express concerns about their safety in field placement.
  • Safety on home community visits, including when, where, and under what conditions visits should or should not be made, when the student should be accompanied, and how back-up is provided.

Home Visits

Thorough preparation should be made for student home community visits with consideration given to the following elements:

  1. Selection of clients and home environments that are not presumed to be dangerous to the student.
  2. Provision of a safe means of transportation, whether by agency vehicle, the student's car, or public transportation where such can be judged normally safe.
  3. Discussion of the neighborhood, including any potentially dangerous areas.
  4. Discussion of appropriate risk-reducing behaviors in the neighborhood and in the client's home.
  5. Clarification of the purpose and development of a specific plan for the visit.
  6. Discussion of what to do should the client or anyone else present a threat to the student.
  7. Opportunity for the student to observe home visits before conducting them or to be partnered with another member of the agency.
  8. Provision of appropriate support and backup. Depending on the situation and the student's experience with home visits, this may range from accompaniment by another worker or security person, to immediate availability of telephone consultation. At minimum, the student's Field Instructor should know when and where a visit is to take place, and arrange for telephone consultation.