Core Competencies and Practice Behaviors

By the completion of the advanced specialization level, advanced generalist practice and programming social work students learn to:
 

1. Identify as a professional social worker and conduct themselves accordingly.
    
   1. Apply professional use of self.
   2. Display professionalism and respect for client systems and colleagues.
       
       
2. Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional practice.
    
   1. Identify and analyze the ethical and value dilemmas associated with advanced generalist practice with individuals, groups, organizations, and communities whose interests may diverge both within and across systems.
       
       
3. Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments.
    
   1. Adapt practice evidence or contextual information to understand and/or meet specific population assets and needs.
       
       
4. Engage diversity and difference in practice.
    
   1. Identify issues related to race, ethnicity, culture, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, physical or mental disability, age and country of origin that may impact the development and execution of AGPP practice.
       
       
5. Advance human rights and social and economic justice.
    
   1. Use knowledge of the effects of oppression, discrimination, and historical trauma on social work populations to guide the development, implementation and evaluation of social services and/or programs.
       
       
6. Engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research.
    
   1. Utilize evidence to make recommendations or decisions about hypotheses about possible planned change methods.
   2. Utilize practice knowledge to inform data collection.
       
       
7. Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment.
    
   1. Synthesize and differentially apply theories and/or research of human development and social environments to guide AGPP practice.
       
       
8. Engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being and to deliver effective social work services.
    
   1. Articulate the relationship between social policy, organizational structures and stakeholders (federal, state, and local) and the impact on the organization and implementation of clinical social work services.
       
       
9. Respond to contexts that shape practice.
    
   1. Effectively negotiate ethical, political and other contextual issues involved in the development, implementation and/or evaluation of programs, organizations and social services.
       
       
10. (a) Engage, (b) assess, (c) intervene, and (d) evaluate with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
     
     
    1. Engagement
        
       1. Apply advanced relational skills and skills of engagement.
           
           
    2. Assessment
        
       1. Apply advanced skills of assessment across system levels and case formulation.
           
           
    3. Intervention
        
       1. Apply advanced skills of intervention working with and across multiple system levels.
       2. Apply advanced skills of transitioning and termination.
           
           
    4. Evaluation
        
       1. Apply advanced skills of evaluation, including determine and select from among multiple research methodologies (both quantitative and qualitative) the best method for evaluating a program, organization or social service.