The UConn SSW Specialized Competencies for Policy Practice are based on the 2022 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS).
Accreditation Standard M2.1.3: The program describes how its area(s) of specialized practice extend and enhance the nine Social Work Competencies (and any additional competencies developed by the program) to prepare students for practice in the area(s) of specialization.
Each of the concentrations developed their own advanced level competencies and practice behaviors, as indicated here.
Area of Specialized Practice #1: Community Organizing Concentration
Competency 1: Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior
Community organizing advanced practice social workers apply the value base of the profession and its ethical standards, as well as relevant policies, laws, and regulations, to their practice at the mezzo and macro levels. Social workers utilize principles of human rights, anti-racism, and anti-oppression to critique the profession’s history, engage in ethical decision making, and work toward social, racial, economic, and environmental justice in community organizing. Social workers understand and apply frameworks of ethical decision-making and complex principles of critical thinking to those frameworks in advanced practice, research, and policy arenas. Social workers understand, recognize, and manage personal values and the distinction between personal and professional values in macro and mezzo settings. They also comprehend how their worldview, personal experiences, and affective reactions influence professional judgment and behavior. They show an ability to care for themselves, personally and professionally. They recognize the importance of other disciplines when engaged in inter-professional teams while continuing to represent the values and practices of social work. Social workers engage in lifelong learning, update their skills at advanced practice, and effectively utilize and understand the ethical implications of technology use in advanced practice.
Social Workers (Practice Behaviors):
• Identify and discuss value choices, ethical issues, and/or political realities in communities, organizations, and/or institutional structures.
• Apply the NASW Code of Ethics to systematically clarify values and uncertainty in ethical decision-making with constituents, organizations, and/or communities.
Competency 2: Advance Human Rights and Social, Racial, Economic, and Environmental Justice
Community organizing advanced practice social workers apply their knowledge of human rights, and their understanding of their role promoting promote social, racial, economic, and environmental justice in their advanced practice to eliminate mechanisms of oppression and discrimination. Social workers recognize the complex implications of societal and structural interconnections of oppression and human rights violations for macro practice. They apply theories of human need and social justice by developing and utilizing strategies that promote social, racial, economic, and environmental justice through advocacy, strategic targeting of oppressive structural barriers, to ensure the ongoing progress toward justice and respect for the human rights of all people.
Social Workers (Practice Behaviors):
• Advocate for social welfare programs and/or policies that promote human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.
• Work to eliminate social, racial, economic, and environmental injustice within communities, organizations, institutions, and society.
Competency 3: Engage Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI) in Practice
Community organizing advanced practice social workers demonstrate an advanced understanding of how the interactions between individuals, with their unique/specific intersectional positionalities, other individuals, social structures, and communities characterize and shape the human experience. They can identify how these interactions lead to different experiences and outcomes of equity, inclusion, and diversity at mezzo and macro levels. They understand the complex and contested dimensions of individual and community identity as the intersectionality of multiple factors interacting across time and place. Social workers recognize how institutions and structures can apply anti-racist, equitable and inclusive policies and practices, such as understanding and recognizing privilege and power, to shape individuals’ and communities’ experiences, including but not limited to addressing oppression, poverty, marginalization, and alienation and apply approaches such as cultural humility to achieve this understanding.
Social Workers (Practice Behaviors):
• Engage and work toward equitable and inclusive participation of diverse and marginalized communities and/or organizational constituents using anti-racist principle in varied aspects of macro practice.
• Recognize the extent to which institutional structures oppress, marginalize, or alienate client systems.
Competency 4: Engage in Practice-informed Research and Research-informed Practice
Community organizing advanced practice social workers understand and utilize ethical, culturally-informed, anti-racist, and anti-oppression approaches to conducting or interpreting research and evaluation of community and organizational interventions. They utilize and critique this research to inform their decision-making pertaining to macro practice and can articulate how their macro practice is informed by research and evaluation. In doing so, social workers recognize and critique the bias in research and evaluation using anti-racist and anti-oppressive perspectives. Social workers demonstrate skills in accessing and synthesizing research, understanding the differences between qualitative and quantitative research, including methods to assess reliability and validity in each. Social workers apply various epistemological frameworks to develop scientific and culturally informed knowledge in macro practice. Social workers integrate multi-disciplinary evidence into their advanced macro practice. They understand the complex processes for translating research into effective practice.
Social Workers (Practice Behaviors):
• Utilize and critique quantitative and qualitative research from anti-racist and anti-oppressive lenses to understand the nature of communities, organizations, institutional structures and best practices to improve well-being and eliminate injustice in these macro systems.
• Utilize theories of political, social, and economic behaviors and environments in assessment and analysis of macro interventions.
Competency 5: Engage in Policy Practice
Community organizing advanced practice social workers engage with the development, implementation, and/or analysis of social policy at local, state, federal, and global levels to impact well-being, human rights and justice, service delivery, and access to equitable and just social services. Social workers utilize and advance their understanding of the historical, social, racial, cultural, economic, organizational, environmental, and global influences to change social policy. Social workers engage with and critique the historical and contemporary structures that impact social policies through human rights-based, anti-oppressive, and anti-racist lenses. Social workers develop expertise in influencing policy formation, analysis, implementation, and evaluation at the mezzo and macro levels to effect social change. They incorporate advanced knowledge into the complex dynamics of policy formulation, analysis, implementation, and evaluation.
Social Workers (Practice Behaviors):
• Engage in the policy arena on behalf of community and organizational interests toward improved well-being utilizing human rights-based, anti-oppressive, and anti-racist lenses.
• Utilize community organizing skills to read, understand, and/or advance legislation at the community, state, and/or federal level.
Competency 6: Engage with Individuals, Groups, Organizations, and or Communities
Community organizing advanced practice social workers have advanced understanding of the dynamic and interactive process of social work practice across all domains. Social workers develop effective and equitable relationships with individuals, communities, and groups. Social workers utilize theories of human behavior and person-in-environment and critically evaluate and apply this knowledge in advanced macro and community organizing practice. Social workers apply strategies to engage in self-reflective practices to identify how bias, power, and privilege interact with their personal values and experiences and how these conflicts may impact their work with organizations, communities, and institutional systems. Social workers utilize interprofessional collaborations to build strong communities and organizations and work toward human rights and transform power dynamics.
Social Workers (Practice Behaviors):
• Engage with communities, participants, and their constituents to determine their capacity and challenges for effective grassroots organizing and building powerful campaigns and/or organizations.
• Apply skills at self-reflection to effectively engage with individual and communities in macro practice.
Competency 7: Assess Groups, Organizations, and or Communities
Community organizing advanced practice social workers understand that assessment is an ongoing component of the dynamic and interactive process of social work practice with diverse groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers apply theories of human behavior and the social environment, to critically assess and evaluate the needs of diverse clients and constituencies in collaboration with these stakeholders. Social workers utilize appropriate methods of assessment with diverse constituencies to advance macro practice effectiveness. Social workers incorporate their understanding of dynamics of power, oppression, bias, and privilege in the assessment process. Social workers understand how their personal experiences and affective reactions to these dynamics may affect their assessment and decision-making.
Social Workers (Practice Behaviors):
• Identify client systems, relevant stakeholders, and targets of change efforts and establish appropriate collaborative relationships and boundaries with each group to develop and complete relevant assessments.
• Apply relevant social change strategies used in community organizing in appropriate and effective ways, while considering dynamics of power, oppression, bias, and privilege in the assessment process
Competency 8: Intervene with Groups, Organizations, and or Communities
Community organizing advanced practice social workers understand that intervention is an ongoing component of the dynamic and interactive process of social work practice with groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers implement knowledge about theoretically-based, evidence-informed, and culturally appropriate community and organizational interventions to promote racial, social, economic, and environmental justice and human rights for groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers engage in community-based and inter-professional collaboration to promote socially just macro interventions.
Social Workers (Practice Behaviors):
• Develop partnerships with communities, organizations, and individuals to implement community-based, evidence-informed interventions to promote social, racial, economic, environmental justice and human rights.
• Synthesize multiple frameworks and sources of information to negotiate, mediate, and advocate with and on behalf of individuals, organizations, and communities.
Competency 9: Evaluate Practice with Groups, Organizations, and or Communities
Community organizing advanced practice social workers apply principles of anti-racism and anti-oppressive practices and perspectives to evaluate macro and community interventions. Social workers engage with and on behalf of diverse groups, organizations, and communities in their evaluation processes to enhance practice, policy, and service delivery effectiveness. Social workers employ various epistemological frameworks and scientific- and culturally-informed methodologies to evaluate the process and impact of policy and community interventions.
Social Workers (Practice Behaviors):
• Utilize strategic evaluation and macro theory to define success and establish measurable outcomes for macro and/or community interventions.
• Involve community participants and constituencies in evaluating the effectiveness of grassroots interventions in order to recommend future actions and strengthen collective capacity.