A unique component of Whittier’s Social Work Program is that many social work classes have a community partnership as a part of the course.
When a student takes a social work course, he or she is likely to be collaborating with clients and staff of agencies such as schools, mental health centers, family service agencies, and homeless rehabilitation centers. You could be helping a young child learn to read, create a garden with people who experience homelessness, assessing community needs for an agency, working with parents to improve family literacy, developing fair employer practices, or assisting families in locating resources for health and behavioral health.
In each case, you are working for social and economic justice, an essential theme in our college and social work culture.
In addition to the community partnerships, each social work senior interns in a social service agency two days a week for the entire academic year. Seniors become a valued member of an agency’s professional staff, providing valuable services to clients as they strengthen their social work knowledge, values and skills.
The following list represents agencies who have employed Whittier students fulfilling their senior year field placement, Social Work Practicum (SOWK 412 & 414).
- Bloom Behavioral Health
- Children’s Law Center
- Community Education Program Initiative (CEPI)
- City of Hope
- Department of Children and Family Services of L.A. (DCFS)
- East Whittier City School District
- Elizabeth House
- Human Services Association (HAS)
- Kaiser Permanente Educational Outreach
- Parent Educators/ Teachers & Students In Action (PESA)
- SASSFA, Senior Citizen Services
- Whittier School District
- Whittier Union High School District
New agencies are added in response to the interests of students and the development of new services.
