Dufferin Child and Family Services

Dufferin Child and Family Services (Orangeville)

Location: 655 Riddell Road, Orangeville, Ontario, Canada, L9W 4Z5, Details: In person practicum only – required three days (Tuesday to Thursday)

Description of the practicum site and student activities:

Dufferin Child and Family Services – Child and Youth Mental Health is a community mental health agency that provides comprehensive, free mental health support to Dufferin County DCAFS offers a range of mental health services for children, youth, and caregivers, providing short-term to long-term support depending on individual needs and goals.

Interns will support our Child and Youth Mental Health program through providing in-person counselling. This would include both daytime and evening availability, with the specific expectation of Wednesday evenings until 8 pm. This is when our ‘Talk-In Clinic’ runs, and is an opportunity for our interns to provide single-session counselling through a walk-in clinic framework. Interns will maintain their own caseload of clients, both in our brief services program as well as our extended services program that work with a variety of clients who experience a variety of mental health needs/challenges. Interns will be able to gain knowledge surrounding theoretical orientations such as CBT, DBT, Narrative, EFT, EFFT, TFCBT etc. Interns will be offered 1 hour of supervision weekly as well as rotating group supervision biweekly.

Student activities to develop social work competencies

Direct Service Delivery/Interventions/Working with Recipients of Service:

• Conduct intake/needs assessments
• Provide resource and referral information
• Hold responsibility for a defined caseload/case management
• Develop, promote, plan and/or (co)facilitate educational groups or workshops
• Develop and implement individual, family, or group interventions – assessment, implementation and evaluation of interventions
• Counsel (individuals, families, couples) – in office or in community
• Apply best practices as outlined by the organization
• Undertake discharge planning
• Deliver crisis intervention

Interprofessional collaboration:

• Present cases at case conferences
• Attend staff/administrative meetings
• 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
• Develop skills in cross-cultural/spiritual competence

Practicum Requirements:

☒  Covid Vaccinations

☒ Police Reference/Vulnerable Sector Check

☒ Evening attendance

Other requirements: Tuesday to Thursday practicum

Is this practicum in-person, remote or hybrid?

In-person only. Three in person days required (Tuesday to Thursday – some later evenings required due to client availability)

Will this practicum involve direct work or a mix of direct and indirect?

Mix of direct and indirect

Number of practicums offered: 1

Field Instructor(s) name and credentials with MSW / BSW degree: Ally Zilli, RP and Stevie Forbes-Roberts, MSW

Application deadline:

Friday, October 3, 2025

Do you require a resume? Or resume and cover letter?

Resume only

Accessibility Considerations:

• Will the student have access to a private space for notes or computer use?  Yes

• Are there breaks between clients/patients/meetings?  Yes

• Is the practicum considered fast-paced?  Medium

• Is there a high noise level in the practicum?  Low

• Is the site wheelchair accessible?  Yes

• What are the physical demands of the practicum? N/A

• Are there any other accessibility considerations that potential applicants with disabilities should be aware of? N/A

To apply for this practicum, please send a resume to alexi.sparaggis@utoronto.ca  by Friday, October 3 by 4pm. Applications will be sent to the site.