Crittenton Named Social Services Field Agency of the Year

Crittenton Named Social Services Field Agency of the Year

Since 2008 Crittenton Services for Children and Families (CSCF) has been engaged with the local higher education community as an effort to support future leaders within the social services profession.

Recently, Crittenton was recognized and awarded the “Field Agency of the Year -2014” distinction from our long-time community partner, California State University, Fullerton – Department of Social Work.

“We are humbled and are honored to be recognized for our efforts when it comes to educating the future therapists, clinicians, social workers, nurses, and social service professionals of tomorrow,” Martha Jasso, Director of Communications, CSCF said, “ As a nationally accredited and licensed child-welfare agency we find that it is crucial to expose students to the realities of what abuse, neglect, or exploitation can do to a child, and what can happen if this maltreatment is not addressed at early stages of intervention.”

Crittenton takes pride in being considered a go-to “teaching institution” in Southern California, and is committed in providing the most engaging real-world professional experience both undergraduate and graduate students can take part in.

Crittenton’s Practicum Program started as a very small internship program with our very first community partner, CSU Fullerton, taking part in the opportunity to provide their students much needed clinical hours in order to earn their credentials and degrees. CSU Fullerton students, at that time, were mostly interning in Crittenton’s Residential Treatment Services Program. Nowadays the practicum program has expanded to provide students breadth and knowledge in other continuum of care services programs our agency is known for.

Today, our practicum program has become a highly competitive and sought out learning experience with a number of Southern California colleges and universities setting up partnerships with our agency. Among the higher education institutions that have partnered with us include: University of Southern California, CSU Long Beach, CSU Dominguez Hills, Cal Poly Pomona, Pepperdine University, Azusa Pacific University, Cerritos College, and University of Phoenix to name a few.

To date a little more than 300 students have earned their educational requirements, have helped treat the clients in our care, and have contributed to the overall success of our agency’s strategic goals.

“Every team leader of our various program internship opportunities is committed in making sure that students have a positive and successful learning experience,” Jasso said, “Thus, making coaching, mentoring, and supervision a top priority throughout our agency.”

The practicum program keeps growing with more interest being garnered as word of mouth continues to spread of our agency’s commitment to adhering to clinical best practices and for our strength-based and trauma-informed care approaches to service delivery.

“We are forever grateful to the CSU Fullerton community for encouraging their talented students to help Crittenton heal childhood trauma and to help break the cycles of abuse many of our clients have endured throughout their lives. We have witnessed first-hand that the students taking part in our mission are such committed professionals, and we have no doubt they will become highly desirable employees in their near future,” said Jasso.

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Crittenton Services for Children and Families of Southern California (CSCF) is a non-profit social services agency whose mission is to heal the wounds of abuse and neglect; strengthen families; and help troubled adolescents reach their full potential. Established and incorporated in 1966 Crittenton has a highly trained workforce operating 24 hours a day / 7 days a week providing comprehensive counseling, medical, and other support services to the clients in our care. We provide a full array of residential, in-home, community based, wraparound, mental health, foster care, and adoption services with a service planning area throughout Southern California that covers Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego Counties.

Visit www.crittentonsocal.org  to learn about our programs and connect with us on Facebook, TwitterYouTubeLinkedInGoogle+ and Flickr.