Internship experiences in human services programs are guided by The Council for Standards in Human Services Education (CSHSE). The CSHSE was formed to provide guidance and consistency in human services programs across the United States. CSHSE is the accrediting body for human services degree programs, and even programs that are not accredited try to follow their guidelines for education. You have probably heard the CSHSE referred to in previous courses or texts.

Fieldwork is considered so important for human services education that it comprises its own standard for each of the accredited program levels (associate, bachelor’s, and master’s). These standards set the expectations for academic programs and their students as to what qualifies as an acceptable field placement. While these standards are aimed at the program directors and faculty, they can help you craft learning outcomes for your experience that help you gain the knowledge and experience expected in the field. The standard for associate programs is listed in the following section.

1.3.1 Field Experience

Context: Field experience such as a practicum or internship occurs in a human service[s] setting. Fieldwork provides an environment and context to integrate the knowledge, theory, skills, and professional behaviors that are concurrently being taught in the classroom. It must be an integral part of the education process.

Standard 20: The program shall provide field experience that is integrated with the curriculum.

1. Provide a brief description of the overall process and structure of the fieldwork learning experience.
2. Provide evidence that one academic credit is awarded for no less than three hours of field experience per week.
3. Demonstrate that students are exposed to human services agencies and clients (assigned visitation, observation, assisting staff, etc.) early in the program.
4. Provide a copy of the current manual and guidelines that are given to students advising them of field placement requirements and policies.
5. Provide documentation of written learning agreements with field agencies that specify the student’s role, activities, anticipated learning outcomes, supervision, and field instruction. The agreement must be signed by the appropriate agency director, fieldwork supervisor, program instructor, and student.
6. Provide syllabi for required seminars. Seminars must meet no less than every two weeks. Seminar hours must not be included in field experience hours.
7. Provide evidence that required field experience is no less than 250 clock hours.
8. Demonstrate how the field experience provides the student an opportunity to progress from:
   1. Observation to
   2. Directly supervised client contact to
   3. Indirectly supervised client contact.
9. Demonstrate that field supervisors have no less than the same degree the program awards. It is strongly recommended that field supervisors have no less than one level of degree above the level of degree awarded by the program.
10. Demonstrate that the program continually monitors the progress of each student and performs no less than one site visit to each field placement site per quarter or semester. The visit can be held as a direct site visit or with appropriate technology. The technology that is used should ensure that the field placement supervisor and student can be identified. (CSHSE, 2020)

For example, these standards clearly address the need for client contact (see section H). You should expect that over the course of your internship you will get the chance to work directly with clients. If your agency seems reluctant to allow that, you can use the standards to advocate for the learning you need.

Similar to social work, human services by definition includes teaching students how to support and encourage behavior change. The fieldwork gives you an opportunity to demonstrate this knowledge.

1.3.2 The Field Experience Seminar

As indicated earlier, most internships include some sort of a classroom experience. The idea here is to combine theory with practice under the guidance of an experienced instructor and to learn how to operate as a member of a team or group. This standard clinical or professional training format is also a good way for the instructor to monitor progress, head off problems, and facilitate your professional development. You can also use the seminar and the CSHSE Standards to ensure you are getting the experience you need at your field site.

Typically, undergraduate or first-time internships provide this level of instruction in a group format. It involves several students going out to their sites during the week and then coming to a regular class meeting to review and discuss their experiences with their instructor and fellow interns.

This group format has additional benefits. One of them is to give you the opportunity to learn about or even vicariously experience other internship sites and career possibilities in the field by listening to colleagues describe their experiences. Having interns share experiences in this way reduces the sense of isolation. It’s also a chance to offer support since all of you are going through the same learning process but in different settings. These meetings provide support to you during this process and provide an opportunity for you to share experiences and other events encountered during the week.

During group sessions, questions and concerns are addressed by the instructor, which often benefits other members as well. Remember, instructors do not like to be surprised by problems, especially after they occur, so if one seems to be brewing, it is best to discuss it as early as possible. After all, even basic problem-solving skills include knowing that it is easier to deal with minor problems early in the process than after they have become major problems later.