Fall 2025 SOWK 530 Class 08 Weekly Email
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Unit Introduction and What You Will Learn
Week eight is a synchronous week, with an in-person session taking place on Saturday (10/18/25). The reading is focused on how to engage and intervene with families. There are forums asking students to consider home visits, the engagement process, and some of the strategies used with families discussed in Hepworth et al. (2023). During the class session, we are engaging in an all-class period activity we are calling the Simulated Home Visit Experience. We will partner with advanced-standing students who will act as simulated clients. Students will then have the opportunity to progress through three different stations, each with unique family needs and activities to engage in.
Some of the learning objectives for this week include:
- Describe the steps and strategies for engaging families during initial sessions across diverse practice settings.
- Evaluate the benefits, challenges, and safety considerations of conducting home visits versus office-based sessions.
- Engage effectively with clients and families in home-based settings, demonstrating empathy, warmth, and professionalism.
- Apply active listening, reflection, and summarizing skills to promote trust and rapport.
Unit Assignments
Content
- Read Hepworth et al. (2023) Chapter 15 Enhancing Family Functioning and Relationships
W-08 A-02 Asynchronous Engagement
The expectation is that each of your replies will be substantive and provide meaningful perspectives, contributing to the forum’s conversation and scholarship. They can be related to the prompts or building on conversations shared by peers. There are three forums for this week, and you are expected to make at least three replies across any of the forums. These forums include the following:
- The Process of Engagement with an Initial Session with a Family forum has students explore how initial family engagement unfolds across various settings and family constellations.
- In Chapter 15 Content Discussion, students reflect on foundational intervention topics discussed in the reading.
- The Considering Home Visits forum prompts students to weigh the pros and cons of conducting home visits, including how environment, logistics, safety, and comfort level all play a role in effective service delivery.
A-03 Reading Quiz
I’m going to make W-08 Hepworth et al. (2023) Chapter 15 worth extra credit this week (e.g., you can either choose to engage in it or not without it counting against you). If you do plan to do it, it is still due the same day/time at Saturday 10/18, 8:00 AM.
Midterm Evaluation
Please complete the SOWK 530 Survey. I would love to hear feedback about how this class is going and what I can do to improve your experience.
Unit Resources
There are no slides for Simulated Home Visit Experience. There is a handout that will be added later this week, although you will have an opportunity to review it the day of the activity as well. I have shared the procedures we developed with the rest of my colleagues in social work to solicit feedback before we engage in the activity on Saturday. After receiving feedback, I’ll share the protocols for student practitioners here so you have advanced access to them. There is a separate handout and protocols for simulated clients that will be shared with the advanced standing students.
To-Do List
- Read chapter 15 and do the quiz
- Attend class on Saturday, we will be at the house on Campus
- Make three replies across any of the forums
- Complete your midterm evaluations
