Breelove Wellness

Year 1 Practicum, January to May 2027

Name of Practicum Site, Unit or Program:
Breelove Wellness – Experiential Learning Program: Care Coordinator Pathway

Location:
Primarily virtual practice with in-person sites available

Description of the practicum site and student activities:
Breelove Wellness’ Experiential Learning Program offers a structured Care Coordinator Pathway through which
social work students develop competencies in direct practice, care coordination, systems navigation,
interprofessional collaboration, reflective practice, and program development. Working under the supervision of
an approved Field Instructor and supported by Breelove’s Experiential Learning infrastructure, students act as a
connective layer across an integrated, multi-program care ecosystem, supporting continuity of care as clients
move between services.

Coordination work spans multiple integrated programs — giving students genuine cross-context exposure rather
than a single narrow population or service line. The work itself is real and client-facing: triaging intake for
readiness, timing, modality, and cultural fit; running short coordination and referral meetings; supporting
insurance advocacy, re-booking, and protocol administration; and coordinating warm handoffs for clients
between clinicians and programs.

Each student’s Signature Project (“Rooted in Practice”) is built directly out of that coordination work, not
alongside it — it takes a real gap the student encounters while coordinating care and turns it into a launched,
documented protocol or referral pathway that Breelove keeps running after the placement ends. That direct line
from lived coordination experience to a produced deliverable is what gives students concrete evidence for
macro/organizational practice, practice-informed research, and policy practice simultaneously, rather than these
competencies being demonstrated through observation or a standalone assignment disconnected from the clientfacing
work.

Breelove’s four-domain Experiential Learning Program is structured to support development of competencies
reflected within CASWE-accredited social work education, with individual learning objectives further aligned
through the student’s U of T Learning Contract.

Both cohorts build the same core coordination competencies — assessment, engagement, ethical practice,
diversity/human rights framing, and intervention/identity work — but at different depth, matched to where each
is in their program.

Year 1 students (5-month placement, BSW-eligible supervision) start with structurally simple, clean-fit
coordination cases and a longer shadow period, building foundational assessment and engagement skills —
reading readiness, timing, modality, and cultural fit — before carrying independent triage; their Signature
Project stays close to that early coordination work, scoped narrower and reaching launch within the term rather
than the full evaluation cycle.

Student learning is organized across four interconnected domains:

Direct Practice: intake/needs assessment, engagement, care planning, client navigation, documentation,
referral and transition/discharge planning.
Care Coordination: triage, systems navigation, benefits and resource navigation, warm handoffs,
interdisciplinary consultation and continuity of care.
Reflective & Professional Practice: supervision, case consultation, ethical decision-making, use of self,
cultural humility, trauma-informed practice and professional identity development.
Systems & Community Practice: program development, community engagement, evaluation, practiceinformed
research, knowledge translation and the student’s Rooted in Practice Signature Project.

Supervision and Field Education: Students receive a minimum of one protected hour of individual or dyadic
supervision each week with their assigned approved Field Instructor, supplemented with case consultation,
reflective learning, skills development and opportunities for group learning within Breelove’s Experiential
Learning Program. Supervision supports ethical practice, case conceptualization, documentation, use of self,
cultural humility, anti-oppressive and trauma-informed practice, professional identity development and
competency progression. Students will have opportunities to observe experienced practitioners and, where
appropriate to their role and learning objectives, to have their own practice observed and receive structured
feedback. Field Instructors collaborate with students on their Learning Contract and participate in required
midterm/final evaluations and communication with the assigned Faculty-Field Liaison.

Field Instructor vs. Experiential Learning/Care Coordinator — division of responsibility:
Field Instructor

Clinical/professional supervision
Protected weekly supervision
Observation and feedback
Competency development
Learning Contract
Formal evaluations
Communication regarding student performance

Experiential Learning/Care Coordinator

Onboarding/offboarding
Scheduling and placement logistics
Student orientation
Learning activity coordination
Practicum tracking
Day-to-day operational support
Coordinating learning opportunities
Communication/administrative liaison with academic partners
Supporting students to understand and navigate Breelove’s care pathways

Because the two terms overlap on Breelove’s calendar — Year 2 students are already several months into
coordination work when each new Year 1 cohort begins — Year 2 students may participate in structured peer
mentorship and orientation activities with incoming Year 1 students, giving them applied practice in feedback
and informal supervision, while Year 1 students get peer-level onboarding alongside formal Field Instructor
supervision.

This is being built as a permanent, ongoing site capacity — not a one-off placement — with Breelove actively
developing toward supporting multiple students per year on a sustained basis. We see this as the start of a longterm,
growing partnership with FIFSW, and are applying via Off-PAS to allow for thoughtful early matching as
the pathway launches.

Practicum Requirements:
☒ Police Reference/Vulnerable Sector Check
☒ Comprehensive report writing and documentation
☒ Comfort working with the population being served
☒ Lived experience/Current member of the community being served* (specify in Other below)
☒ Other Requirements:
Breelove welcomes applications from Indigenous, Black, racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+ students, students with
disabilities and students from other equity-deserving communities. Lived experience may enrich the learning
environment but is not required for participation in the placement.

Accessibility Considerations:

Will the student have access to a private space for notes or computer use?
Yes. Because the placement is primarily virtual, students work from a confidential private workspace
suitable for meetings, documentation and other practicum activities. Breelove’s in-person locations can
also provide appropriate workspace when students are completing approved on-site activities.

Are there breaks between clients/patients/meetings?
By default, cushion between every session.

Is the practicum considered fast-paced?
Moderately. Students may work across multiple programs, referrals and interdisciplinary relationships
simultaneously. Work is structured according to the student’s stage of learning, with protected
supervision, scheduled documentation time, transition periods between meetings and progressive
increases in responsibility.

Is there a high noise level in the practicum?
No

Is the site wheelchair accessible?
Site is primarily virtual/remote

What are the physical demands of the practicum?
The placement is primarily sedentary and computer-based and involves virtual meetings,
documentation and telephone/video communication. In-person or community-based activities may be
available depending upon the student’s learning plan and accessibility needs.

Are there any other accessibility considerations that potential applicants with disabilities should be
aware of?
As a primarily virtual placement, reliable internet and access to technology capable of secure virtual
meetings and documentation are required. Any technology or accessibility barriers should be discussed
during placement planning so that available accommodations or supports can be explored.

Does your practicum require any previous experience?
No prior professional experience is required, however, readiness and comfort working with trauma-affected,
culturally diverse, and equity-deserving populations is important to our practicum experience. Students may
enter the placement with previous community-based experience or relevant training, such as ASIST or other
complementary professional development; however, these are considered assets rather than prerequisites.

Is this practicum in-person, remote or hybrid? If hybrid, please include details of typical hybrid work
schedule.
Remote.

Will this practicum involve direct work or a mix of direct and indirect?
Both. Direct practice includes client-facing intake and needs assessment, brief care-coordination meetings,
engagement, resource navigation, referral support, care planning, warm handoffs, transition/discharge
planning and ongoing coordination with recipients of service. Indirect practice includes case documentation,
systems and referral navigation, protocol administration, advocacy, interdisciplinary consultation, program
development, evaluation, research/knowledge translation and community engagement.

Student activities to develop social work competencies:
Direct Service Delivery/Interventions/Working with Recipients of Service
☒ Conduct intake/needs assessments
☒ Undertake discharge planning
☒ Provide resource and referral information
☒ Hold responsibility for a defined caseload/case management
☒ Develop, promote Interprofessional collaboration e, plan and/or (co)facilitate educational groups or
workshops
☒ Counsel (individuals, families, couples) – in office or in community
☒ Apply best practices as outlined by the organization
☒ Undertake instrumental activities that support the work with recipients (e.g., assistance forms, benefit
forms, referrals, develop plans for activities of daily living)
☒ Provide drop-in services

Interprofessional collaboration
☒ Present cases at case conferences
☒ Attend staff/administrative meetings
☒ Collaborate on organization’s projects
☒ Attend in-service events
☒ Consult and collaborate with professionals from other disciplines
☒ Advocate for the client system
☒ Participate, liaise and represent the agency at community meetings or plan of care meetings or task
groups

Indirect Service Delivery
☒ Evaluate social work interventions
☒ Prepare and maintain case notes, reports, statistics which meet the organization’s accountability
guidelines
☒ Collect and/or analyze data
☒ Prepare draft policy/program/grant proposals
☒ Contribute to research and other organizational initiatives
☒ Develop skills in cross-cultural/spiritual competence
☒ Develop, plan and implement prevention activities and programs
☒ Other:
Care coordination and referral-pathway navigation across an integrated, multi-program care ecosystem.

Number of practicums offered:
Breelove currently has two identified MSW Field Instructors and anticipates capacity for approximately 2–3
students per Field Instructor at a time, subject to student learning needs, supervisor capacity and placement
requirements. Capacity will be reviewed each placement cycle to protect the quality of supervision and
student learning.

Field Instructor(s) name:
Cleo Blackwood, MSW
Lashae Watson, MSW

Application deadline:
Applications reviewed on a rolling, priority basis; early applications strongly
encouraged given anticipated interest. Final deadline: late September

Do you require a resume? Or resume and cover letter?
Yes. Resume and cover letter required. The cover letter should briefly describe the student’s interest in care
coordination, trauma-informed and culturally responsive practice, community-based care, and the learning
goals they hope to pursue through the placement.

Category of your practicum: (please select one)
☒ B. Community/Broad-based (General practice serving a wide range of individuals, populations, and
presenting concerns.

If you are interested in this practicum, please submit a cover letter and resume via Off-PAS Competitive Practicum Application Form (Year 1 – January 2027) – Fill out form by September 25, 2026. Applications will be sent to the site.