Rechele Ramirez moved 5,500 miles away from family and friends in San Diego to experience life as a children’s social worker in Great Britain. She’s enjoying her new role at Somerset County Council while she studies for an MSW Post-Graduate Certificate in International Social Work Practice from the University of Southern California. But she wasn’t quite prepared for the culture shock of moving abroad.

Coming from another English-speaking country, Ramirez didn’t think Britain would be that different.

“The first Sunday I was here, I didn’t know that everything shuts down at 4 p.m. At around 5 p.m., I thought I should probably go to Tesco and get some food, but everything was closed, and it was like a ghost town!” she said. “Back home, it’s like instant gratification. Anything you want you can get it; you just go to the store.”

That’s not the only difference of living across the pond. Ramirez was surprised to learn how social workers are perceived in England.

“The work is admired more in the U.S. They are respected. You’re proud to call yourself a social worker, and you have the community support building you up, whereas here I feel that the community and society in general looks at social workers a little differently,” she said.

Ramirez is participating in the USC School of Social Work’s two-year post-graduate immersion focused on the United Kingdom’s social welfare profession. The program complements the educational objectives of a Master of Social Work degree with an intercultural experience in another country. In turn, participating social welfare agencies like Somerset County Council acquire social workers with advanced training in social work practice and research skills that can be utilized as part of their employment.

Ramirez started out as a member of South Somerset’s assessment team and would frequently ask families about their perception of social workers.

“When I go in and I see families who are tense or nervous, instead of carrying on with an assessment, I’ll say ‘I can see you’re tense or nervous. Tell me what you’re feeling right now. How can we work together?’ I think it’s really important to validate the family’s feelings,” Ramirez said. “If they say they have had a negative experience, I’ll ask why. I find if they are able to get it off their chest, you can see them relax and open up.”

Now Ramirez is transitioning to a continuing care team whose purpose is to meet the needs of children who are “looked after” by the county local authority, which is roughly equivalent to state-run departments of children and family services. This is similar to a typical case management position in the states and involves visiting the children (usually in foster care), speaking to their foster families and putting into action their individual plans for permanency.

Two more Trojans will begin the program this year to experience what social work is like in Somerset, a rural county in the lush English countryside known for its cider and Cheddar cheese. Social care is one of the top five job sectors in the area behind retail, manufacturing and tourism.

“We are committed to doubling our children’s social care workforce in the next few years, and through our partnership with USC, we will have two new social workers joining us this year,” said Frances Nicholson, Somerset County Council’s cabinet member for children and families.

“We are ambitious in our plans to improve social work in Somerset, and through this partnership, we can also contribute to improving social work on an international level. I’d like to thank Rechele and all our staff who are working so hard to make a difference for all our children and young people.”

Cherrie Short, associate dean of global and community initiatives for the USC School of Social Work, agrees the affiliation has been a ground-breaking achievement. 

“Somerset gains our highly qualified social workers who deliver excellent professional services in their communities, while at the same time, our social workers gain two years of valuable international work experience in the UK. The exchange of ideas, learning new ways of theory and practice in social work, and completing a comparative research study benefits both partners,” Short said.

Ramirez is thankful for her experience, both professionally and personally.

“When we think globally in the areas of social work, it gives us a wider perspective on understanding the services we deliver and the practices we seek to implement,” she said.

With one year left of her placement, Ramirez isn’t sure she will be ready to leave Somerset.

“Who knows what will happen when the two-year program is finished? Somerset itself is just absolutely beautiful, and I have formed a little family in England,” she said. “I have a huge support system at home, but I have met such amazing people here who I can’t imagine not knowing now. Maybe I’ll stay a little longer than the two years!”