University of Southern Maine s3

University of Southern Maine School of Social Work Agency Profile for Undergraduate/Graduate Student Placements

Name of agency: Preble Street Florence House Date: 2/6/2012

Agency address: 190 Valley Street Portland, ME 04102 Mailing address: P.O. Box 1459 Portland, ME 04104

Agency telephone phone number: (207) 775-0026

In arranging for field placements, whom should student contact? Maria Tripp, MSW

Name of Field Instructor: Maria Tripp, MSW

Field Instructor telephone number: (207) 699-4392 ext 1445

Field Instructor email address: [email protected]

Site Supervisors: Patty Robinson, LCSW; Jennie Soares, LMSW-CC; Rebecca Hadley, MSW

Name of agency director and/or key administrative personnel: Name Position Maria Tripp, MSW Director of Social Work Jon Bradley, LCSW Associate Director Caroline Partlow Logan Place Coordinator

Do you offer a stipend? No

Agency is able to handle: BSW student X MSW foundation year student X MSW concentration year student X?

How many students can your agency accommodate? Four to Five at Florence House

Briefly describe the basic services/programs of the agency, client population served, and the size of your staff. Florence House provides safe, supported housing to homeless women in three types of housing at one site. *Efficiency Apartments for chronically homeless individuals who are ready to manage independently. 24/hr. in-house supports based on the Housing First model. *A Safe Haven provides a permanent private living space for chronically homeless women who are not quite ready to maintain their own apartments and who may, with support, begin to develop trust, self-assurance, and skills to become more independent. *A small number of Emergency Beds for immediate, short-term housing for women who are temporarily homeless because of an economic or situational crisis.

Staffing: Florence House is comprised of a Program Coordinator, 2 Clinical Supervisors, 2 Team Leaders, a Kitchen Manager, a Program Assistant, 12 Case Managers, and 13 per diem staff persons. Services Caseworkers provide referrals and access to other area resources and providers for services such as health care, education, mental health and substance abuse counseling, and legal assistance; coordinate services; and mediate between individuals and service providers. Key services include: * Assisting clients with emergency needs such as temporary shelter or food *Individual assessment and service planning to develop goals and linkages to resources *Review of financial issues and assistance with applications for entitlements such as food stamps, MaineCare, SSI, or housing programs such as Section 8, Shelter+Care, or BRAP. *Ongoing support for housing location and maintaining housing *Advocacy for clients at both individual and systems levels *Providing therapeutic, educational and support groups and recreational activities for residents

When (day and time) are agency staff and other important meetings held? *Casework meetings on Tuesday and Thursday at 11am-noon & Thursday at 4-5pm *FH staff meeting 2nd Tuesday at 8:30am-11:30am

What characteristics or qualities would be helpful for a student to have to best utilize the placement as a learning opportunity? Students must be able to work well both independently and as part of a team. Those students who will thrive at Florence House are individuals who are comfortable taking initiative, are creative, and who are comfortable in a fast-paced, often chaotic, non-traditional social work setting. Understanding and appreciation of the Harm Reduction model is critical.

Would a student who needs a highly structured learning environment do well in this placement? ____Yes X No Other comments: Florence House sees a number of crisis-related situations so the work flow and environment can be fairly unpredictable at times. The student who will be most comfortable in this setting is one who learns best by seeing and doing in an informal, busy, and somewhat unstructured environment.

List the learning opportunities available for the student in your setting: *Generalist Case Management skills. Opportunity to build direct practice skills and develop own case load. *Working with individuals experiencing mental illness, substance abuse and addiction, history of trauma, issues of domestic violence, poverty, under/unemployment, chronic homelessness *Opportunities to learn about and practice individual and systems advocacy, develop and facilitate groups and activities, conduct general intakes and goal-oriented service plans, biopsychosocial assessment, working within a Harm Reduction and Housing First model, understanding of practice in both residential and emergency shelter settings, crisis intervention, supportive listening, creating safety plans.

Is there adequate physical space for the student(s)? YES

Does the student need a car? NO Is mileage reimbursable? YES

Can your agency provide an opportunity for students to fulfill part of their required placement hours on evenings or weekends? YES

Does your agency require any formal training for interns? YES If yes, how many training hours are required? 2-day Student Orientation (9am-4pm)

When is the training offered? August 21st and 22nd

Can the training be completed online? NO

Is the agency handicapped accessible? YES

Agency Requirements:

Background check (SBI) Yes X No___

Physical Exam Yes___ No X

Immunizations Yes___ No X (If yes, please name immunizations required)

Other pertinent information:

Revised 10/13/11