Competencies and Practice Behaviors (12.18.12 revision)
COMPETENCIES
BASW and MSW FOUNDATION (EPAS)
PRACTICE BEHAVIORS
Advanced MSW Practice Indicators
1 Identify as a professional social
worker and conduct oneself
accordingly
a. Advocate for client access to the services of social
work
a. Advocate for client access to services in the
context of a field of practice.
b. Practice personal reflection and self-correction to
assure continual professional development
b. Demonstrate capacity for self-reflection and
critical evaluation of their needs for professional
development.
c. Attend to professional roles and boundaries
c. Demonstrate skill in managing professional
boundaries including navigating ambiguities
encountered in multiple roles.
d. Demonstrate professional demeanor in behavior,
appearance, and communication in the context of a
field of practice.
d. Demonstrate professional demeanor in behavior,
appearance, and communication
e. Engage in career-long learning
f. Use supervision and consultation
2.Apply social work ethical
principles to guide professional
practice
a. Recognize and manage personal values in a way
that allows professional values to guide practice
b. Make ethical decisions by applying standards of
the NASW Code of Ethics.
c. Tolerate ambiguity in resolving ethical conflicts.
3. Apply critical thinking to inform
and communicate professional
judgments
e. Demonstrate ability to identify and pursue
strategies for advanced professional development
and growth.
f. Effectively use supervision and consultation in a
field of practice.
a. Effectively apply decision-making strategies that
are grounded in social work values and ethics and
person-centered principles.
b. Adhere to legal and ethical standards in practice
to ensure consumer/client and family member
engagement in decision-making in adherence with
the NASW Code of Ethics.
c. Ensure confidentiality of client information in
accordance with ethical principles and state and
Federal regulations relevant to a field of practice.
d. Apply strategies of ethical reasoning to arrive at
principled decisions
d. Use social work knowledge, supervision and
learning opportunities that arise in a field of practice
to acknowledge ambiguities, resolve ethical conflicts,
and make principled decisions.
a. Distinguish, appraise, and integrate multiple
sources of knowledge, including research-based
knowledge and practice wisdom
a. Routinely exercise critical, higher order thinking in
evaluating and seeking information to make
reasoned professional decisions.
COMPETENCIES
BASW and MSW FOUNDATION (EPAS)
PRACTICE BEHAVIORS
Advanced MSW Practice Indicators
b. Analyze models of assessment, prevention,
intervention and evaluation.
b. Evaluate assessment and intervention options
based on evidence-based findings, practice wisdom
and understanding of client strengths and needs.
c. Demonstrate skillful written and oral
communication that is clear, focused and relevant to
practice context.
c. Demonstrate effective oral and written
communication in working with individuals, families,
groups, organizations, communities & colleagues.
4 Engage diversity and difference
in practice
a. Recognize the extent to which a culture's
structures and values may oppress, marginalize,
alienate or create or enhance privilege and power
b. Gain sufficient self awareness to eliminate the
influence of personal biases and values in working
with diverse groups;
5 Advance human rights and
social and economic justice
6 Engage in research informed
practice and practice informed
research).
a. Apply a transcultural perspective in practice,
including understanding of structural contexts and
dynamics of power, privilege and oppression that
influence interaction at micro, mezzo, and macro
levels.
b. Demonstrate self-reflexivity and use strengthbased approaches in working with diverse client
systems in a culturally responsive practice.
c. Recognize and communicate their understanding
of the importance of difference in shaping life
experiences
c. Demonstrate understanding of ways that social
location (or positionality) and difference shape
perspectives and experiences of both professionals
and client systems.
d. View themselves as learners and engage those
with whom they work as informants.
d. Consistently demonstrate skill in learning from
diverse client systems and forming respectful
partnerships in the context of a field of practice.
a. Understand the forms and mechanisms of
oppression and discrimination
b. Advocate for human rights and social and
economic justice;
a. Demonstrate an understanding of historical,
social, political, and economic factors affecting
clients and communities in the context of a field of
practice, including dynamics related to stigma and
discrimination.
b. Demonstrate ability to advocate for social and
economic justice in the context of a field of practice.
c. Engage in practices that advance social and
economic justice.
c. Engage in practices to improve social and
economic justice in the context of a field of practice.
a. Use practice experience to inform scientific inquiry
a. Demonstrate ability to use practice experience to
inform research or evaluation in the context of a field
of practice.
COMPETENCIES
7 Apply knowledge of human
behavior and the social
environment
8 Engage in policy practice to
advance social & economic well
being and to deliver effective
social services
BASW and MSW FOUNDATION (EPAS)
PRACTICE BEHAVIORS
Advanced MSW Practice Indicators
b. Use research evidence to inform practice.
Demonstrate ability to apply research evidence and
research skills to inform and improve practice.
a. Utilize conceptual frameworks to guide the
processes of assessment, intervention, and
evaluation
a. Utilize conceptual frameworks to guide the
processes of assessment, intervention, and
evaluation in a field of practice.
b. Critique and apply knowledge to understand
person and environment
b. Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate and
apply knowledge about human behavior and the
social environment from diverse perspectives in a
field of practice.
a. Demonstrate understanding of policies and
programs in a specific field of practice, as well as
skills for analyzing and influencing policies and
programs
a. Analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that
advance social well being
b. Collaborate with colleagues and clients for
effective policy action
9 Respond to contexts that shape
practice
a. Continuously discover, appraise and attend to
changing locales, populations, scientific and
technological advancements, and emerging societal
trends to provide relevant services
b. Provide leadership in promoting sustainable
changes in service delivery and practice to improve
the quality of social services.
10 Engage, assess, intervene,
and evaluate with individuals,
families, groups, organizations,
and communities
b. Demonstrate ability to collaborate with
stakeholders to influence policy and program
changes in a field of practice.
a. Demonstrate awareness of and good judgment in
assessing and adapting to changing social
conditions, emerging trends, and advances in
science and technology to provide relevant services
in a field of practice.
b. Demonstrate skill in interagency and
multidisciplinary practice including effective
collaboration with other professionals and
organizations.
a. Substantively and affectively prepare for action
with individuals, families, groups, organizations and
communities.
a. Respectfully and skillfully establish effective
working relationships with clients and community
partners in accord with social work values.
b. Use empathy and other interpersonal skills
b. Consciously utilize empathy, respect,
understanding and other interpersonal skills in
establishing effective client relationships.
c. Apply social work practice skills to effectively
identify and work towards the accomplishment of
shared goals.
10(a) Engagement
c. Develop a mutually agreed on focus of work and
desired outcomes
COMPETENCIES
BASW and MSW FOUNDATION (EPAS)
PRACTICE BEHAVIORS
Advanced MSW Practice Indicators
10 (b) Assessment
a. Collect, organize and interpret client data
a. Demonstrate ability to gather, analyze, and
interpret assessment information in an objective and
coherent manner.
b. Apply social work practice skills to conduct
assessments that identify client strengths and
needs.
c. Demonstrate ability to work with individuals, family
members, and community providers to develop
coordinated intervention plans.
d. Demonstrate ability to evaluate and select
intervention plans appropriate to client needs and
practice context.
a. Demonstrate ability to engage in actions
consistent with service and organizational goals.
b. Assess client strengths and limitations
c. Develop mutually agreed-on intervention goals
and objectives
d. Select appropriate intervention strategies
10 (c) Intervention
a. Initiate actions to achieve organizational goals
b. Implement prevention interventions that enhance
client capacities
c. Help clients resolve problems
10 (d) Evaluation
b. Demonstrate ability to identify and utilize
prevention measures that enhance client strengths
and resilience.
c. Demonstrate ability to problem solve with clients,
in the context of a field of practice.
d. Negotiate, mediate, and advocate for clients
d. Demonstrate an ability to negotiate, mediate, and
advocate successfully for clients.
e. Facilitate transitions and endings
e. Apply social work practice skills to effectively
engage in transition and termination processes with
clients.
a. Demonstrate ability to critically analyze, monitor,
and evaluate interventions in the context of a field of
practice.
a. Social workers critically analyze, monitor and
evaluate interventions