MSW Program: Concentration Year Learning Agreement Sample
Competency #1: Identify as a professional social worker and conducts oneself
accordingly. Social Workers serve as representatives of the profession; it’s mission, and its core values. They know the profession’s history. Social Workers commit themselves to the profession’s enhancement and to their own professional conduct and growth.
Learning Activity Time Frame Completed In
Student will be on time and attend internship Every day of Internship as agreed upon and be on time for meetings
Follow agency policies and procedures First 30 days
Learn about HIPAA confidentiality regulations First 30 days and follow agency expectations in all communications
Learn about the services offered by your agency First 30 days
Through research, supervision and staff meetings
Keep a journal and reflect on personal strengths and challenges and track progress Once per month
Coordinate and organize a marketing event By December with a local agency
Prepare for supervision weekly with Weekly questions and client consultations, keep notes to follow up on feedback
In supervision weekly discuss interactions with Weekly
Client(s) and systems and issues of transference
And countertransference
Review Code of Ethics at least once a month Once a month
Individually and in supervision
Read an article that is pertinent to your specific Weekly
Internship population one per week and discuss with
Field Work Instructor or Task Supervisor
Learn about training opportunities at agency and 1 Time per semester attend one each semester
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Competency #2: Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional practice.
Social Workers have an obligation to conduct themselves ethically and to engage in ethical decision-making. Social workers are knowledgeable about the value base of the profession, its ethical standards, and relevant law.
Learning Activity Time Frame Completed In
Bring issues from NASW Code of Ethics into supervision Once a month
once a month
Journal daily about how your own background and issues Daily
of privilege effects your work with clients and with systems
Journal weekly about ethical issues that are important to you Weekly and how these issues are addressed in your internship
In staff meetings and other meetings advocate On-going for clients needs in hostile or challenging environments be an agent of social change
Monthly in Field Work Class and with your Field Work Once a month
Instructor identify how the agency is helping clients in an ethical manner
Monthly in Field Work Class and with your Field Work Instructor
Identify ways that your agency could work with clients and systems in a way that is more aligned with NASW ethics and values
In supervision weekly, discuss differences between your values Weekly and the values of your clients and how to be respectful of their belief system
In supervision weekly, discuss issues of transference/ Weekly countertransference in regards to personal and professional ethics encountered in internship
In Field Work Class once a semester chose an ethical delimma 1 Time per semester that you faced in your work with clients and lead a discussion with your peers
In a staff meeting one time this semester initiate a conversation 1 Time per semester
about an ethical situation that you faced and ask for feedback from the group about how they would handle this situation
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Competency #3: Apply critical thinking and communicate professional judgments.
Social Workers are knowledgeable about the principles of logic, scientific inquiry, and reasoned discernment. They use critical thinking augmented by creativity and curiosity.
Critical thinking also requires the synthesis and communication of relevant information.
Learning Activity Time Frame Completed In
Meet with several staff members each semester to discuss 1 Time per semester
the agency’s mission vision and values
Review agency’s data outcomes and performance measures By the end of September
After each session, complete agency charting responsibilities in a timely fashion which follows HIPAA Confidentiality
Learn and actively follow paperwork and data entry Daily procedures to document all intakes, emergency contacts and on-going therapy sessions
Attend a workshop each semester regarding a particular 1 Time per semester therapeutic modality that you can apply to your work with clients
Apply a particular theory to your work with a client, family Weekly or an organization and discuss in supervision
Complete a process recording once a month and share with 1 Time per Month
Field Instructor regarding intervention choices and decisions
Learn about treatment modalities used in your agency and 1 Time per semester ask questions in staff meetings to understand adherence to the therapeutic model
Bring into your Field Work class once a month information Monthly about theories used in your agency and compare with peers internship experience
Provide a court report or contact notes for supervisor’s End of Semester
Review
Competency #4: Engage diversity and difference in practice. Social Workers understand how diversity characterizes and shapes the human experience and is critical to the formation of identity. The dimensions of diversity are understood as the Intersectionality of multiple factors including age, class, color, culture, disability,
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ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, immigration status, political ideology, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation. Social Workers appreciate that, as a consequence of difference, a person’s life experiences may include oppression, poverty, marginalization, and alienation as well as privilege, power, and acclaims.
Practice Behavior
Learning Activity Time Frame Completed In
Analyze two agency policies and review cultural End of Semester
Components in supervision
In supervision, discuss a client or family from a Weekly cultural lens and talk about your own background in relationship to this client
Attend one diversity training End of Semester
Coordinate a housing placement keeping cultural End of Semester
Background in mind when placing
Have a meeting with a student from a different Once every 2 weeks
Background from you and learn about them
In your journal, identify stereotypes or biases that you have in regards to your work with clients
EPAS Competency #5
 Advance human rights and social and economic justice. o Social Workers understand that each person regardless of position in society has basic human rights, such as freedom, safety, privacy, an adequate standard of living, health care, and education. Social workers recognize global interconnections of oppression and are knowledgeable about theories of justice and strategies to promote human and civil rights. Social work incorporates social justice practices in organizations, institutions, and society to ensure that these basic human rights are distributed equitably and without prejudice.
Practice Behavior
 Advocate at multiple levels for the promotion of mental health by identifying and reducing risk factors, increasing prevention efforts and equality of access to mental health services regardless of social or economic status.
Sub Behaviors
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 Identifies and engages outreach, education, and awareness activities that are designed to target and inform at-risk and disadvantaged populations.
1.
Create, revise, or update agency resources by December 1 st , 2013.
2.
Find direct ways to reach specific at-risk populations that your agency serves.
 Uses knowledge of the effects of oppression, discrimination, structural social inequality, and historical trauma on client and client systems to guide treatment and advocate for social justice.
1.
Recognize when discriminatory issues exist and design treatment to address inequities.
2.
Educate oneself on the effects of oppression, discrimination, structural and social inequities that affect your agency’s population.
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EPAS Competency #6
 Engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research. o Social Workers use practice experience to inform research, employ evidence-based interventions, evaluate their own practice, and use research findings to improve practice, policy, and social service delivery. Social workers comprehend quantitative and qualitative research and understand scientific and ethical approaches to building knowledge.
Practice Behavior
 Relate mental health disorder theories, models and research to appropriate client systems and circumstances.
Sub Behaviors
 Uses best practices and empirically supported evidence to conduct psychosocial assessments.
1.
Uses assessment tools provided by agency to conduct psychosocial assessments. (Ongoing)
2.
Stay updated on research that informs selection of the assessment tools of the agency during fall semester.
 Conducts multi-dimensional assessments; assesses clients’ readiness for change.
1.
Utilize stages of change model (Prochaska-Diclemente). (Ongoing)
2.
Utilize motivational interviewing. (Ongoing)
Practice Behavior
 Identifies and selects effective evidence-based theories and models as the basis for mental health interventions.
Sub Behaviors
 Uses best practices and evidence based theories to develop and implement interventions.
1.
Utilize agency’s treatment model to develop and implement interventions.
(Ongoing)
2.
Research other effective best practices and theories to target specific client population within agency. (Ongoing)
 Critiques and evaluates the efficacy of chosen interventions.
1.
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2.
Practice Behavior
 Applies foundation research skills to evaluate client outcomes using advanced clinical social work strategies.
Sub Behaviors
 Assembles and critiques evaluation instruments already in use.
1.
2.
 Utilizes quantitative and qualitative research to evaluate clinical practice effectiveness and/or outcomes.
1.
2.
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EPAS Competency #7
 Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment. o Social Workers are knowledgeable about human behavior across the life course; the range of social systems in which people live; and the ways social systems promote or deter people in maintaining or achieving health and well-being. Social workers apply theories and knowledge from the liberal arts to understand biological, social, cultural, psychological, and spiritual development.
Practice Behavior
 Relates mental health disorder theories, models and research appropriate to client systems and circumstances.
Sub Behaviors
 Synthesizes and differentially applies theories of human behavior and the social environment to match client needs and to guide social work practice.
1.
Identify clients’ needs during initial assessment. (Ongoing)
2.
Research appropriate theories to be applied to client system by second visit.
(Ongoing)
 Demonstrates conceptual understanding of the interrelatedness of different human service agencies and the ability to use networks of agencies as resource systems.
1.
Explore the community agencies who serve your agency’s populations.
(Ongoing)
2.
Collaborate with various agencies who serve your agency’s populations.
(Ongoing)
 Uses bio-psycho-social theories and/or the DSM in the formulation of comprehensive assessments.
1.
Complete ____ number of bio-psycho-social assessments using the DSM-V by
____ date.
2.
Shadow field instructor in ____ number of assessments.
3.
Discuss the bio-psycho-social theories applied during supervision. (Ongoing)
.
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EPAS Competency #8
 Engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being and to deliver effective social work services. o Social Workers understand that policy affects service delivery, and they actively engage in policy practice. Social Workers know the history and current structures of social policies and services; the role of policy in service delivery; and the role of practice in policy development.
Practice Behavior
 Applies policy practice skills to ensure adequate and equal treatment of mental health disorders regardless of social or economic status.
Sub Behaviors
 Demonstrates an awareness and comprehension of social policies and services that impact the wellbeing of diverse populations (identifies current policy issues and gaps that either promote, or deter, the wellbeing and further development of diverse groups).
1.
Compile a list of community and agency resources that serve the agency’s populations during fall semester.
2.
Share list with supervisor during fall semester.
 Promotes and advocates for social policies and program practices to advance social welfare and enhance service delivery.
1.
Identify barriers to service within agency during fall semester.
2.
Discuss barriers with supervisor during fall semester.
 Communicates to stakeholders the implication of policies and policy change in the lives of clients.
1.
Define solutions to the barriers and services during spring semester.
2.
Present solutions to policy stakeholders during spring semester.
 Applies advocacy skills that can be used to inform policymakers and influence policies that impact clients and services.
1.
Join or create a group or committee that identifies and addresses barriers during fall semester.
2.
Engage in allyship behaviors during spring semester.
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EPAS Competency #9
 Respond to contexts that shape practice. o Social Workers are informed, resourceful, and proactive in responding to evolving organizational, community, and societal contexts at all levels of practice. Social Workers recognize that the context of practice is dynamic, and use knowledge and skill to respond proactively.
Practice Behavior
 Act as change agents to promote client rights and humane laws including adequate representations in the legal system by advocating at multiple levels.
Sub Behaviors
 Work collaboratively with others to effect systemic change that is sustainable.
1.
Attend staff meetings and trainings. (Ongoing)
2.
Attend orientation during the first three weeks at agency.
 Act as advocates and change agents to improve the accessibility and equity of the service delivery system.
1.
Bridges the gap between client services by identifying resources during fall semester.
2.
Visit resources and learn about their policies and services during fall semester.
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EPAS Competency #10
 Engage, assess, intervene and evaluate with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities. o Social Workers demonstrate professional practice that involves the dynamic and interactive processes of engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation at multiple levels. Social Workers have the knowledge and skills to practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Practice knowledge includes identifying, analyzing, and implementing evidence-based interventions designed to achieve client goals; using research and technological advances, evaluating program outcomes and practice effectiveness; developing, analyzing, advocating, providing leadership for policies and services; and promoting social and economic justice.
Practice Behavior
 Apply theoretical frameworks to the clinical process of engagement, assessment, intervention and evaluation of treatment outcomes using evidence-based practice under supervision with diverse individuals, families and groups.
Sub Behaviors
 Develops a culturally responsive therapeutic relationship that attends to interpersonal dynamics and contextual factors that may affect the therapeutic alliance and encourages clients to participate in the establishment of treatment goals and expected outcomes.
1.
Self-check: ask client for feedback directly and regularly and use supervision to discuss therapeutic alliances and personal biases.
2.
Create client-centered goals and document with weekly follow-up.
 Critically analyzes, monitors, and evaluates interventions and adherence to best practices.
1.
Find two articles on client population and specific interventions during fall semester.
2.
Discuss best practices or difficult successful interventions with supervisor once each month.
 Incorporates knowledge of practice theories and evidence-based practice to select interventions and modifies intervention strategies based on continuous multi-dimensional assessments.
1.
Learn agency models of intervention during fall semester.
2.
Look up other interventions based on client populations during fall semester.
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