SOCIAL WORK

COMPETENCY
PRESENTATIONS
Alayna Smith

CORE COMPETENCY 1
Identify as a professional social worker
and conduct ones-self accordingly

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 1.1

ADVOCATE FOR CLIENT ACCESS TO THE
SERVICES OF SOCIAL WORK
As a social worker you want to make sure that your
client is able to get the help they need. A social worker
must make their clients aware of any resources they
have or know of that could help their client.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 1.2

PRACTICE PERSONAL REFLECTION AND
SELF-CORRECTION TO ASSURE CONTINUAL
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
A social worker must think before taking action and
must not make rash decisions. If they feel like they are
getting emotional or angry about a client or situation,
they must stop and reflect on their behavior. It is
important to always conduct oneself respectfully and
accordingly.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 1.3

ATTEND TO PROFESSIONAL ROLES AND
BOUNDARIES
A social worker must always conduct themselves in a
professional and respectful manner. If a social worker
feels like they are unable to give their client the help
they need because of personal conflicts, they must
refer their client to a fellow co-worker.

PRACTICE BEHAVIORS 1.4

DEMONSTRATE PROFESSIONAL DEMEANOR
IN BEHAVIOR, APPEARANCE, AND
COMMUNICATION
A social worker must dress appropriately as if they are
going to a job interview. They must also be respectful
to others and treat them with kindness. It is important
for social workers to be approachable and reliable.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 1.5

ENGAGE IN CAREER-LONG LEARNING
A social worker must work to be knowledgeable about
current events affecting their community. They must
also increase their understanding about social worker
laws and news in the world.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 1.6

USE SUPERVISION AND CONSULTATION
A social worker must use whatever resources they are
able to. When needed, they will be able to get advice
from a supervisor or be able to consult with other coworkers.

CORE COMPETENCY 2
Apply social work ethical principles to
guide professional practice.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 2.1

RECOGNIZE AND MANAGE PERSONAL VALUES IN A WAY THAT
ALLOWS PROFESSIONAL VALUES TO GUIDE PRACTICE.

It is important to respect other peoples opinions and

values even if they are different than your own. If you
disagree with them, that is okay, but you do not have
to voice your disagreement.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 2.2

MAKE ETHICAL DECISIONS BY APPLYING STANDARDS OF THE
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL WORKERS CODE OF
ETHICS AND, AS APPLICABLE, OF THE INTERNATIONAL
FEDERATION OF SOCIAL WORKERS/INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOLS OF SOCIAL WORK ETHICS IN
SOCIAL WORK, STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES.

A social worker must conduct themselves accordingly

with the NASW Code of Ethics. A social worker must
always strive to be diligent in upholding the values of
the social work profession.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 2.3

TOLERATE AMBIGUITY IN RESOLVING ETHICAL
CONFLICTS.
A social worker must be patient in seeing results of
conflicts. It may take more time than necessary, but
any improvement is progress.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 2.4

APPLY STRATEGIES OF ETHICAL REASONING TO
ARRIVE AT PRINCIPLED DECISIONS.
A social worker needs to apply the NASW Code of
Ethics to every decision they make. They must ensure
that their response to situations falls in line with a
social workers code of conduct.

CORE COMPETENCY 3
Apply critical thinking to inform &
communicate professional judgments.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 3.1

DISTINGUISH, APPRAISE, AND INTEGRATE MULTIPLE SOURCES OF
KNOWLEDGE, INCLUDING RESEARCH-BASED KNOWLEDGE, AND
PRACTICE WISDOM.

A social worker should constantly be trying to gain more

knowledge and understanding of social work procedures
and practice.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 3.2

ANALYZE MODELS OF ASSESSMENT, PREVENTION,
INTERVENTION, AND EVALUATION.

Social workers must think of different ways in which they

can help their client through assessment, prevention,
intervention, and evaluation. By examining these
different models, they will garner knowledge on how
they can best help their client.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 3.3

DEMONSTRATE EFFECTIVE ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
IN WORKING WITH INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES, GROUPS,
ORGANIZATIONS, COMMUNITIES AND COLLEAGUES.

A social worker must demonstrate good people skills

and keep the lines of communication open with their
clients. In doing this, they will be successful in working
with clients and their families.

CORE COMPETENCY 4
Engage in diversity and difference in
practice.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 4.1

RECOGNIZE THE EXTENT TO WHICH A CULTURES STRUCTURE AND
VALUES MAY OPPRESS, MARGINALIZE, ALIENATE, OR CREATE OR
ENHANCE PRIVILEGE OR POWER.

Every social worker must take into account their clients

ethnic background and culture and how it may help or
hinder their achievement and success.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 4.2

GAIN SUFFICIENT SELF-AWARENESS TO ELIMINATE THE INFLUENCE OF
PERSONAL BIASES AND VALUES IN WORKING WITH DIVERSE GROUPS.

Every social worker has certain biases and stereotypes

for different groups. It is important for a social worker to
reflect on these biases and make sure that it will not
hinder the quality of service that they give their clients.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 4.3

RECOGNIZE AND COMMUNICATE THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF THE
IMPORTANCE OF DIFFERENCE IN SHAPING LIFE EXPERIENCES.

A social worker holds a vital role in helping their clients

achieve success. It is important for them to take into
account their clients different life experiences and how
those have affected their lives and the decisions they
make.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 4.4

VIEW THEMSELVES AS LEARNERS AND ENGAGE
THOSE WITH WHOM THEY WORK AS INFORMANTS.
Social workers must work as a team with their coworker
to gain more knowledge about the social work
profession and how they can each grow in their field.

CORE COMPETENCY 5
Advance human rights and social and
economic justice.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 5.1

UNDERSTAND THE FORMS AND MECHANISMS OF
OPPRESSION AND DISCRIMINATION
There are many different forms of oppression and
discrimination throughout the world. A social worker
must realize this and do what they can to stop these
forms of persecution for their clients.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 5.2

ADVOCATE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL
AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE.
A social worker must continually campaign for every
person to have equal rights and to be treated with
decency.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 5.3

ENGAGE IN PRACTICES THAT ADVANCE SOCIAL
AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE
Social workers must constantly be doing what they can
to reinforce equal rights among the people of their
community.

CORE COMPETENCY 6
Engage in research-informed practice
and practice-informed research.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 6.1

USE PRACTICE EXPERIENCE TO INFORM
SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
A social worker must use their work expertise to make
informative decisions in regard to their clients ailments.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 6.2

USE RESEARCH EVIDENCE TO INFORM
PRACTICE
A social worker must continually keep informed about
different research that is being conducted for their client
population. In doing this, they will be able to make
informed decisions that will allow them to better help
their clients.

CORE COMPETENCY 7
Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social
environment

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 7.1

UTILIZE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS TO GUIDE THE PROCESSES
OF ASSESSMENT, INTERVENTION, AND EVALUATION

Each social worker should abide by the frameworks

provided by their agency and NASW. This will aid them
in correctly performing assessments, interventions, and
evaluations.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 7.2

CRITIQUE AND APPLY KNOWLEDGE TO
UNDERSTAND PERSON AND ENVIRONMENT
A social worker must utilize the Person-in-environment
(PIE) to correctly understand the problems and needs of
their client. This will also give them better knowledge
into why their clients behave the way they do.

CORE COMPETENCY 8
Engage in policy practice to advance
social and economic well-being and to
deliver effective social work services.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 8.1

ANALYZE, FORMULATE, AND ADVOCATE FOR
POLICIES THAT ADVANCE SOCIAL WELL-BEING
Every social worker should work vigorously to change
laws and policies that are discriminatory to their clients
or to at-risk populations. They must make every attempt
to enhance the lives of the people in their community.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 8.2

COLLABORATE WITH COLLEAGUES AND CLIENTS
FOR EFFECTIVE POLICY ACTION
Social workers should work together in groups so that
they can effectively bring necessary change to enhance
the lives of their clients. The more colleagues that are
able to work together to enact policy change the more
likely that they will be successful.

CORE COMPETENCY 9
Respond to contexts that shape
practice.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 9.1

CONTINUOUSLY DISCOVER, APPRAISE, AND ATTEND TO CHANGING LOCALES,
POPULATIONS, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS, AND
EMERGING SOCIETAL TRENDS TO PROVIDE RELEVANT SERVICES.

A social worker must conduct their own research to

understand laws recently passed and what changes are
going on in our community and nation. In knowing this,
they will be more knowledgeable about how they can
serve their clients.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 9.2

PROVIDE LEADERSHIP IN PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE CHANGES IN
SERVICE DELIVERY AND PRACTICE TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF
SOCIAL SERVICES.

Social workers must take a stand in providing the best

kind of service they can to their clients. They must also
work to improve the lives of their clients by promoting
changes in their community.

CORE COMPETENCY 10
Engage, assess, intervene, and
evaluate with individuals, families,
groups, organizations, and
communities.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 10.1

SUBSTANTIVELY AND EFFECTIVELY PREPARE FOR ACTION WITH
INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES, GROUPS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND
COMMUNITIES.

A social worker should have an action plan for the best

way they can achieve the desired outcome that their
clients want. The action plan should be reasonable,
attainable, and bring progress to the clients situation.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 10.2

USE EMPATHY AND OTHER INTERPERSONAL
SKILLS
Clients want their voices and opinions to be heard by their
social worker. They want the social worker to understand
how they are feeling and empathize with them. It is
important for the social worker to place themselves in
their clients shoes so that they can better understand
where their client is coming from. If the social worker does
this, the client will trust them and be more wiling to do
what it takes to improve their situation.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 10.3

DEVELOP A MUTUALLY AGREED-ON FOCUS OF
WORK
A social worker and their client must come up with a
plan of action together. It should be agreeable and
attainable for the client.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 10.4

COLLECT, ORGANIZE, AND INTERPRET CLIENT
DATA
A social worker must collect data and ascertain whether
or not their plan of action is helping their client. If the
plan is not working, she should meet with the client
again to figure out different ideas that could help the
situation.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 10.5

ASSESS CLIENT STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS
A social worker must utilize the Strengths Perspective to
help a client know what their strengths are. By doing
this, they will better be able to gauge which of their
attributes will assist in helping their clients achieve their
goals.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 10.6

DEVELOP A MUTUALLY AGREED-ON INTERVENTION
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.

The social worker and client must agree on different

ideas to help the client achieve their goals. By doing
this, the client will know that they have the social
workers support.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 10.7

SELECT APPROPRIATE INTERVENTION
STRATEGIES
A social worker and their client must come up with goals
that are attainable and agreeable to the client. The
intervention strategies must push them to move closer
to achieving their goal.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 10.8

INITIATE ACTIONS TO ACHIEVE ORGANIZATIONAL
GOALS
A social worker must help guide their client to achieve
the goals that they had set forth during the intervention
planning stage. After a client has achieved a goal, it will
help boost their confidence in achieving the next goal.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 10.9

IMPLEMENT PREVENTION INTERVENTIONS THAT
ENHANCE THE CLIENTS CAPACITIES
By putting Prevention Interventions in place, the social
worker will be better able to help the client in making
wise decisions. Some prevention interventions that the
social worker could recommend is attending AA
meetings, DARE meetings, going into treatment
facilities, etc.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 10.10

HELP CLIENTS RESOLVE PROBLEMS

A social workers primary goal is to help their client

achieve their goals and overcome their problems. It is
important for a social worker to help and encourage
their client in any way that they can.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 10.11

NEGOTIATE, MEDIATE, AND ADVOCATE FOR
CLIENTS.
A client must know that a social worker is going to do all
they can to help their client attain their goals. A social
worker must work tirelessly to bring justice for their
clients and have their clients best interests in mind.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 10.12

FACILITATE TRANSITIONS AND ENDINGS.
When a client has achieved their goals and is no longer
in need of the social workers assistance, the social
worker can then terminate the helping relationship. The
social worker can help lead the client in the direction
that they need to go to live a productive and healthy
life. The social worker would also be able to recommend
different agencies that could further assist the client.

PRACTICE BEHAVIOR 10.13

SOCIAL WORKERS CRITICALLY ANALYZE,
MONITOR, AND EVALUATE INTERVENTIONS.

A social worker must make sure that the intervention

that the client and her decided on is helping the client in
the way that they had discussed. If it does not, they
must reconvene and come up with a different plan of
action.

THE END