Examining the Activities and Client Groups of Social Work Interns in Military-Connected Schools

• In Event: Meeting the Needs of Military-Connected Students: Calls From the Field and Interdisciplinary Responses From Higher Education

Abstract

Purpose
Civilian schools currently lack the training and capacity needed to provide adequate supports to children from military families. To this end, USC is providing training to a cadre of Master of Social Work (MSW) interns. The USC Military Social Work program is the first in the country. As part of the curriculum, interns receive instruction that prepares them to deliver services including mental health counseling, family therapy, and disaster response/crisis intervention in schools with military connected families and individuals. This study examined who were the students and groups with whom the interns worked, and the number of hours they spent with each group, activity type and topic.

Methods
The present study was comprised of the first year cohort of MSW interns (n=30). Data were collected twice: 1) at the end of the fall and 2) spring semesters via an online survey tool. The self-report instrument was based on analysis of potential client groups, activities and topics relevant to both military connected and non-military connected students and families.

Results
Results show that MSW interns engaged in diverse activities including individual and family counseling, planning and attending school events, and attending IEP and special education meetings. Comparisons between the first and second semester suggested that the number of clients and groups were very similar. The top five activities, in terms of number of hours spent in both semesters, were meeting with individual students (5,446 hours), completing social and behavioral assessments (1,276 hours), meeting with student groups (1,038 hours), meeting with families (402 hours), and program development (316 hours).

MSW interns also addressed a range of issues including bullying, school connectedness/climate, parental supports, depression, and substance use. The top five topics, in terms of numbers of hours spent on each topic, were academic struggles (1,148 hours), bullying (576 hours), peer supports (510 hours), suspension/expulsion (504 hours), and school connectedness/climate (478 hours). MSW interns also reported working on issues unique to military-connected students, particularly deployment and reentry and the interstate compact.

There were some significant differences between the two semesters. The hours spent on domestic violence in the second semester was double that in the first (59 vs. 25 hrs), as was bullying (578 vs. 288 hrs), and substance related issues (56 vs. 29 hrs). On the other hand, only about half of the hours in the second semesters were spent on topics of after school activities (from 169 to 85 hrs) and foster care related issues (from 71 to 32 hours).

Implications
Findings suggest that MSW interns are engaged in a variety of activities and address issues specific to both military-and-nonmilitary-connected students. MSW interns’ work with military-connected students and families on military-related issues provides the professional capacity needed within the current public school system.

Authors

• Monica Christina Esqueda, University of Southern California

• Keren Malchi, Bar-Illan University

• Hazel Atuel, University of Southern California

• Rami Benbenishty, Bar-Ilan University

• Ron Avi Astor, University of Southern California