Social Work Connects to the Community

Kayla Flaherty-Dawson

I completed my field placement with the school social worker at Milton Terrace South Elementary School in Ballston Spa which houses grades K-5 and two self-contained special education classrooms. We mainly worked with students who are on IEPs (Individual Education Plans) in weekly small counseling groups on developing appropriate behaviors, social skills, and coping skills.

Connor Frame

For my social work senior internship, I worked at the Saratoga Springs Nursing Home.  I had a caseload of three long-term residents who I check in with each day to assess mood and comfort levels and whether their care plans need to be changed to better meet their needs.  I also worked with all 8 of the short-term residents in a similar capacity. 

Sarah Hall

My social work senior internship was at St. Peters Addiction Recovery Center (SPARC) in Cohoes in a clinic that provides both non-intensive and intensive outpatient care. I sat in on or co-facilitated evaluations, group sessions, and individual sessions with another clinician.

Allison Markiewicz

I worked at the Saratoga Senior Center, a community center for older adults. I performed advocacy and case management for the seniors and provided them with assistance in obtaining benefits, including health care, housing, and other services to meet various needs. I worked directly one-on-one with clients and also engaged in program development.

Alyssa Miller

For my senior social work placement, I worked at Waterford/Halfmoon Union Free School District with Kindergarten through 6th grade students. With my supervising social worker, I conducted both individual and group counseling sessions with the children and eventually conducted these sessions independently. Many of our students were learning to cope with a varieity of challenges, including behavioral problems, learning difficulties, anxiety, depression, developmental disabilities, familial problems, and social delays.

Lauren Narine

For my social work placement, I was a family advocate intern at Head Start in Ballston Spa. Head Start is an agency that offers children from families with low incomes and/or of special needs free preschool education. As a family advocate, I helped inside the Head Start classrooms and worked with the children, but my main responsibility was to help meet identified family needs and work with them on their goals.

Fiona Owens

I did my senior field placement at St. Peter’s Addiction Recovery Center (SPARC) in Saratoga Springs. I worked with groups, focusing on topics like relapse prevention, grief and loss, trauma, family issues, relationships, and adolescents and parents. I regularly ran groups by myself, wrote evaluations, and presented and processed cases.

Danny Pforte

I was placed at St. Peter's Addiction Recovery Center (SPARC) in Saratoga Springs, an agency that serves clients in the Saratoga County region with outpatient services for substance abuse and addiction. I conducted evaluations with incoming clients seeking treatment, observed and ran treatment groups, and participated in treatment team presentations and planning.

Mackenzie Staub

I interned at the Baywood Treatment Center in Queensbury, a substance abuse outpatient clinic which provides its clients with educational group and individual therapy sessions. I completed intake assessments, facilitated groups, wrote group notes, ran individual sessions, wrote treatment plans, attended staff meetings.

Melanie Taverner

I completed my field placement at The Charlton School, a residential facility that is home to approximately thirty adolescent girls with social and emotional needs. As a youth care worker, I spent evenings in one of the two cottages engaging the girls in conversation and activities, while serving as a positive role model. As a teaching assistant, I spent the day at the on-campus school and aide the girls in completing assignments from their modified curriculum. 

Angie Tucker

I was placed at the Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex counties Board of Cooperative Educational Services (WSWHE BOCES).  BOCES provides students with an alternative education, promoting success when a traditional school setting is problematic. My responsibilities included counseling students both in individual and group settings, establishing rapport with students from diverse backgrounds, learning how to effectively establish and maintain professional boundaries, writing behavioral intervention plans and functional behavioral assessments, acting as a homeless student liaison, provide students and families with the necessary referrals, and help in the grant writing process, among others.

Jill Teitsworth

I worked with the elementary school social worker in the Waterford-Halfmoon School District. Most of our work aimed to improve students' academic, social, and emotional skills, which involves a good amount of Candyland and art projects! I occasionally had the opportunity to practice animal-assisted therapy with the school's therapy dog, Buddy. I didn’t just play all day, though – I also connected the students with services, engaged in policy practice, and conducted research.

Erika Torres

I worked at Shelters of Saratoga (SOS), a non-profit organization that serves the homeless community in Saratoga Springs. My responsibilities at agency included managing intakes, case management, and assisting in homeless youth outreach. I enjoyed working one-on-one with clients and assisting them in goal development and implementation. I also assisted in employment and apartment searches and connected clients to numerous community resources.