Haylee Zinn, MSW

I'm a graduate of Slippery Rock University obtaining my Master of Social Work. I specialized in Forensic Social Work, where I work with those involved in the criminal justice system (either victim or offender). I have obtained a nationally recognized Forensic Social Work certificate from the National Organization of Forensic Social Work (NOFSW). Before obtaining my masters, I worked full-time as a shelter counselor/advocate at Victim Outreach Intervention Center (VOICe). There, I learned about trauma informed care, advocacy, and crisis intervention. During my graduate level coursework, I was working with local police departments as a Police Social Worker for my field placement. I was able to be a supplemental aid to the law enforcement officers to further help the residents in the community. I also assisted two other interns in creating the Police Social Work program in the greater Pittsburgh area. With my time at the police department, I was able to create and facilitate an approved Municipal Police Officer Education and Training Commission (MPOETC) training to over 40 officers from the Pittsburgh area, with my portion focusing on domestic violence and de-escalation skills needed to approach such situations. Lastly, I was able to leave my field placement by creating a policy and procedure manual for the newly created job position and for future police social work interns. I have created and facilitated suicidal versus non-suicidal self-harm and mood disorder trainings to officers at the Police Academy for their CIT training.