AUSTIN, Texas —
A national effort to get social workers paid during their required field work hours is coming to Central Texas.
Students are required to get hundreds of field hours and, oftentimes, that work goes unpaid. As a way to combat this, a group of UT students are planning a walk-out and rally on campus to bring awareness to the issue.
The group is called UT Fed Up and they are joining the national "Payment For Placement" movement.
Social workers help people with challenges in their lives for a wide range of situations including:
- Child abuse victims removed from their homes
- Families trying to adopt a child
- People diagnosed with a deadly disease
Additionally, social workers typically work in hospitals, mental health facilities, government agencies and more.
Co-organizer with UT Fed Up Natalia Norzagaray said she's noticed a shortage of social workers from her experience in the field. Norzagaray said that paying future social workers during their internship hours could help fill the need.
"We serve individuals that most need it, and we're not paid accordingly. So, if we're not paid enough, there's not enough people who want to be social workers or who can like sustain themselves in this career," Norzagaray said.
While this is part of a national effort to raise awareness, the group also hopes to bring UT administration to the table to work towards finding funding and other possible solutions for students in Austin.
The lack of payment during internship hours is something that isn't unique to just social workers. Other fields with required field work may also work hundreds of hours unpaid.
"I think that's why it's important that we like invest so much in creating awareness nationally, because it does affect other fields. It affects counseling. Education, like teachers don't get paid for hours," Norzagaray said.
Norzagaray hopes this effort will raise awareness and help current students as well.