Article

The Intersection of Social Work and Social Services Research: The Graduate Assistant Experience

Community Solutions Team
Transforming data into progress
Additional Contributors
No items found.
August 5, 2019
Read time:
Download Fact Sheets
Register now
Share this resource
Subscribe to our Newsletter
By subscribing you agree to with our Privacy Policy.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Download this as a PDF
By: Emily Davis, for The Center for Community Solutions

As a master's of social work student studying clinical social work practice at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), an internship as an applied research graduate assistant with The Center for Community Solutions may seem a little out of the ordinary. However, it proved to be an excellent fit for my academic goals and ultimately, Community Solutions played a major role in my social work education this past year.

As a Masters of social work student studying clinical social work practice at Case Western Reserve University, an internship as an applied research graduate assistant with The Center for Community Solutions may seem a little out of the ordinary.

For the past two semesters, I contributed to reports on topics like poverty and health disparities, played a part in a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) for a major Northeast Ohio hospital system, collected and analyzed data from more than 1,100 surveys that assessed the impact of a human services organization and coordinated key informant interviews with community leaders including public health directors, elected officials and foundation presidents.

Word to the wise, facilitating focus groups is not as easy as the Community Solutions research team makes it look!

In addition to my duties at Community Solutions, I worked as a clinical social work intern at MetroHealth Hospital, counseling individual patients and small groups. As a full-time student at CWRU, I studied a variety of topics including mental health policy, theory of direct practice and trauma informed social work practice. The culmination of these experiences, and my work with Community Solutions helped to create a comprehensive picture of the systems and policies which impact the individual’s lived experience. At MetroHealth, I counseled patients and learned intimately about the challenges they face. Speaking with key informants for the CHNA, these specific challenges gained context as I gathered a myriad of perspectives on issues our community collectively faces.

The culmination of these experiences, and my work with Community Solutions helped to create a comprehensive picture of the systems and policies which impact the individual’s lived experience.

My participation in focus groups with community members for the CHNA also helped me to understand these issues more fully. Word to the wise, facilitating focus groups is not as easy as the Community Solutions research team makes it look! In the first focus group I attended, the conversation flowed beautifully among members and we came away with extremely useful information and ideas. I thought this all happened with relatively little effort, but once I was put into the facilitator seat I realized how wrong I was. As facilitator you are challenged to quickly build rapport with members, keep the discussion on topic and intercept conflicting discourse among the group, all while staying mindful of the time.

I saw firsthand that Community Solutions staff members are truly passionate about identifying solutions in the service of all community members.

Working with Community Solutions also provided me the opportunity to represent myself as a social work professional. My social work lens offered a perspective needed in social services research. Key social work values include the dignity and worth of the person and self-determination. The social worker is challenged to consider the person in their environment. Discussions with my colleagues at Community Solutions gave me an opportunity to offer this perspective. Through these conversations, I saw firsthand that Community Solutions staff members are truly passionate about identifying solutions in the service of all community members. I am grateful to Community Solutions for allowing me this incredible opportunity. This past year I have made huge strides in my work towards becoming a social work professional and I will forever be grateful to Community Solutions for its part in that.

Download Fact Sheets

Ohio Statewide Data

Download

Wood County

Download

Wyandot County

Download

Williams County

Download

Washington County

Download

Vinton County

Download

Wayne County

Download

Warren County

Download

Van Wert County

Download

Union County

Download

Tuscarawas County

Download

Stark County

Download

Summit County

Download

Trumbull County

Download

Shelby County

Download

Seneca County

Download

Scioto County

Download

Ross County

Download

Sandusky County

Download

Richland County

Download

Putnam County

Download

Huron County

Download

Portage County

Download

Preble County

Download

Pike County

Download

Pickaway County

Download

Perry County

Download

Noble County

Download

Paulding County

Download

Ottawa County

Download

Morrow County

Download

Muskingum County

Download

Morgan County

Download

Montgomery County

Download

Meigs County

Download

Monroe County

Download

Miami County

Download

Mercer County

Download

Marion County

Download

Madison County

Download

Medina County

Download

Mahoning County

Download

Lucas County

Download

Lorain County

Download

Logan County

Download

Licking County

Download

Lawrence County

Download

Lake County

Download

Holmes County

Download

Jackson County

Download

Knox County

Download

Jefferson County

Download

Hocking County

Download

Henry County

Download

Highland County

Download

Harrison County

Download

Hancock County

Download

Hardin County

Download

Greene County

Download

Geauga County

Download

Guernsey County

Download

Hamilton County

Download

Gallia County

Download

Fayette County

Download

Fulton County

Download

Franklin County

Download

Fairfield County

Download

Erie County

Download

Darke County

Download

Defiance County

Download

Coshocton County

Download

Delaware County

Download

Cuyahoga County

Download

Crawford County

Download

Columbiana County

Download

Clinton County

Download

Clermont County

Download

Clark County

Download

Champaign County

Download

Carroll County

Download

Athens County

Download

Ashtabula County

Download

Brown County

Download

Butler County

Download

Belmont County

Download

Auglaize County

Download

Ashland County

Download

Allen County

Download

Adams County

Download

Lake County

Download

Geauga County

Download

Cuyahoga County

Download

All Municipalities Geauga County

Download

All Municipalities Lake County

Download

All Municipalities Cuyahoga County

Download

Thompson

Download

South Russell

Download

Russell

Download

Parkman

Download
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Download report

Subscribe to our newsletter

5 Things you need to know arrives on Mondays with the latest articles, events, and advocacy developments in Ohio

Explore the fact sheets

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique.

No Related Fact Sheets

Explore Topics

Browse articles, research, and testimony.

Poverty & Safety Net
Article

A look at the Ohio House-passed version of the state budget

Community Solutions Team
April 28, 2025
Medicaid
Article

What’s at stake in Ohio? Reimagining the new Medicaid

Brandy Davis
April 28, 2025
Poverty & Safety Net
Article

Eighteen health and human service levies in May election

Kyle Thompson
April 28, 2025
Maternal & Infant Health
Article

Infant and early childhood mental health: Bridging gaps and ensuring early intervention

Tamikka James-Haygood
April 28, 2025
Poverty & Safety Net
Article

Connecting with legislators at Policy Advocacy Days

Kyle Thompson
April 21, 2025
Poverty & Safety Net
Article

AIDS Funding Collaborative community briefing at The Centers on April 29th

Julie Patterson
April 21, 2025