Running head: INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW PAPER
SW3010
March 18, 2015
Ek1877@wayne.edu
Wayne State University

INTERVIEW
Describe the Experience of Trying to Find Someone to Interview.
To begin Wayne State University Bachelor Social Work program this year was a little
terrifying to me. The program offers so much material to learn and understand. However, the
material is not only about helping people but whom to help and why. Finding someone with a
Bachelors in Social Work to interview was very interesting and motivating on a personal level,
but it was also educational you could say something here like educationally beneficial or

educationally enrichment. I will not use the word challenge to describe the process of looking for
someone to interview. Life, I had to put the time and effort to find someone to interview.
I was surprised that I did not become frustrated in looking for someone with only a
Bachelors degree when contacting many different agencies. The first place I called was Judson
Center Autism Connections, and I spoke with a young lady named Sarah Bretz. Period after this,
she had the willingness to do the interview, only the professor did not approve it. I never had a
problem with asking for help; my parents always said closed mouths don't be heard. My second
telephone call was to the Family Independency Agency; there was no luck. However, before
making another phone all, I thought about how a BSW is often the only bachelor's level degree
that requires field placement or internship.
Due to the fact that a BSW is the bachelor's level human service degree that has its
educational programs accredited gave me an idea to start with an adoption agency.
The world of technology is beautiful, and it allowed me to search the web for an adoption
agency. The first site I came across was Forever Families remove, after locating an agency, I
made a phone call introduce myself good morning my name is Tracy Hawthorne I am a student
in Wayne State University, Bachelor Social Worker Program. My reason for calling Forever

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Families Agency is because one of my assignments includes interviewing someone with only a
BSW. I would greatly appreciate if someone within your establishment can help me. The woman
on the other end of the telephone replied by saying her name is MJ Hebner.
We do have someone on staff with a BSW degree. That moment my reply was that she
should have to answer a list or questionnaire that I have to email back to my professor for an
approval before the interview can take place. Ms. Hebner asked me to e-mail her the questions,
and said that she would pass it along to Ciara Brown, the person who I was supposed to
interview. I used the information from the course Blackboard site to create my questionnaire, and
I placed it on Wayne State letterhead. After the professor approved my interview, it took place
March 6, 2015. However, the same way I thought about the resource that I search to find a
Social Worker, who can practice having only a BSW Degree. I would service my clients by
researching the information that fit their situation, while remembering the feelings I had after
researching for my interview. In return to give the consumer, I might have the same quick
turnaround to complete a task (Hawthorne 2015).
Summarize the Information Gathered
My interview was at Forever Families located at 17940 Farmington Road, in Livonia,
Michigan. I interview a very lovely woman named Ciara Brown where she attended Eastern
Michigan University in the nursing program explaining to me after becoming pregnant while
being a student she switches her career from nursing to a social worker. Ciara Brown graduated
in August of 2014, from Eastern Michigan University with a Bachelors Degree in Social. I asked
her if she was going to take the exam to get her license. Mrs. Brown explained to me that she
was planning on pursuing a Masters Degree in Social Worker, so it does not make sense to pay

INTERVIEW
for the Bachelor Exam then have to pay for a Master Exam (Brown 2015).
She is currently working as a Foster Care Specialist doing case management. Her job
description include, servicing families in need to provide permanency for children in the foster
care system. She attends court hearings, represents the family and their progress or lack thereof.
Supervises parenting times and monthly home visitations with the children and their foster

family, writes reports based on the family and their progress or lack thereof, and much more. The
clients this agency serves are families who have children in the foster care system. One social
and financial problem this organization has encountered is in our domestic adoptions department.
The issue with this administration is that it is based on the economy. If the economy is down, the
referrals for this department slow down.
This is due to residents not having the extra money to do a domestic adoption. Her
position as a Foster Care Worker is very effective. Her position plays a very important role in the
foster care system. As a worker, she has the ability to recommend whether children return home
or if parental rights are terminated. As a worker she is also able to refer birth parents and children
to services that assist with helping them learn different skills and overcome some barriers.
Forever Families, the agency where she is currently employed, is a very effective organization.
They work closely with the Department of Human Services, and they are able to serve their
clients with a variety of resources.
They are a small agency, and they work very well as a team. This agency is very
supportive of their birth parents and their ability to fight for their children. Forever Families is
considered a micro social work organization. The macro level is intervening being involve on a
large scale, which can impact communities and not single individuals. The mezzos level falls
right in between the macro and micro levels.
Conclusion

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My interview with Mrs. Ciara Brown was very informative. She answered my questions
thoroughly and was very helpful. I felt that I had a clear understanding of her work at Forever
Families and how she came to be employed there. Her passion for her job and her clients was
clearly visible and inspiring. I was nervous about the interview at first, but Mrs. Ciara Brown
was so friendly and warm that my nervousness dissipated within the first few minutes. I feel that
Forever Families is an effective agency, that provide excellent care to the clients it serves in a
positive environment. The children are a vulnerable population, and this agency treats them with
the respect they deserve.
The organization focuses on the multiple needs of its residents including medical,
psychological, and social needs, which makes the total well being of the resident the primary
focus. Meeting with Mrs. Brown at Forever Families strengthened my resolve to pursue social
work as a career. She works with children that need help, and she can provides assistance in a
way that positively impacts their quality of life. Also, when I am faced with challenging
situations, I can turn to it for information that can help me make decisions about the
relationships.
I have with clients and my employer, and the code of ethics will tell me what to do when
I am confronted with circumstances that will put me, my clients or others at risk. I believe that it
is everyones responsibility to help each other and that everyone should contribute to society
even if it is in a small way. I think this agency is doing a great job at not only protecting the
children, but also doing what they can to improve their lives. Although this interview made me
nervous, I am glad we had this assignment. I feel like I learned a lot about what goes on and how
to help children.

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Reference
Brown, C. (2015) Interview. Unpublished manuscript. Forever, Families
Hawthorne, T. (2015) Interview Paper. Unpublished manuscript. Wayne State University