Allison May's BSW Portfolio

Competency 6: Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities

Social workers understand that engagement is an ongoing component of the dynamic and interactive process of social work practice with, and on behalf of, diverse individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers value the importance of human relationships. Social workers understand theories of human behavior and the social environment, and critically evaluate and apply this knowledge to facilitate engagement with clients and constituencies, including individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers understand strategies to engage diverse clients and constituencies to advance practice effectiveness. Social workers understand how their personal experiences and affective reactions may impact their ability to effectively engage with diverse clients and constituencies. Social workers value principles of relationship-building and inter-professional collaboration to facilitate engagement with clients, constituencies, and other professionals as appropriate. Social workers:

apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks to engage with clients and constituencies; and
use empathy, reflection, and interpersonal skills to effectively engage diverse clients and constituencies.

Introduction: Competency 6 is all about what it says, engagement. As developing professionals, we have been engaging in various classes, activities, and experiences in order to prepare us for the professional world. Engagement can occur in a variety of ways such as engaging directly with clients, other professionals, or organizations in collaboration with your agency or clients. In addition, engagement is not strictly interacting with other people or agencies, it is actively drawing on the range of knowledge we have and will continue to accumulate and implement it into practice. Engaging with the intersectionality of individuals and understanding diversity and inequity in the client populations we will serve is another aspect of this competency. The first artifact I chose is a simulation center reflection from one of my first mock interviews with a client. The second artifact I chose is an engagement reflection leading up to a community outreach event.

Competency 6-1

Throughout junior year, social work interviewing assisted in building my knowledge and skills in terms of interacting with clients. In this reflection, I reviewed my interaction I had during a simulated virtual interview with a "client". I completed this reflection after the very first time participating in a simulated client interview. Prior to this experience I received little direction as to how these interviews would be conducted but it served as a starting point for my client centered skills. Participating in this interview and the other two that followed challenged myself as a developing professional to engage with individuals coming to me with a presenting problem. I was engaging and interacting with these "clients" at first with an uncertain perspective. Later throughout the semester, I was able to implement the tools I was learning and reflecting on my incorporation of such tools throughout the interview. Within this first reflection I have highlighted some areas of engagement I examined throughout my first interview.

Competency 6-2

The second artifact I chose was an engagement reflection I completed leading up to a community outreach event my peers and I created. I was able to reflect on the interviews I had conducted with individuals from West Michigan organizations and the knowledge I had gained through researching the scope of childhood food insecurity in West Michigan. This particular assignment allowed me to reflect on the many interactions I had with various platforms and individuals. Through utilizing the internet, there was a plethora of resources in which I could obtain information from regarding statistics and contributing factors to childhood food insecurity. In addition, I reflected on my engagement with organizations such as Kids' Food Basket throughout the duration of the semester. Through completing this reflection, I was able to greatly examine and reflect on the engagement I participated in during this course. It is important to understand the various ways in which we can engage within the field of social work and during our formal education.

Conclusion: To reiterate, competency 6 is emphasizing the engagement that social workers may participate in through a variety of ways. Engagement is not limited to direct interactions with individuals or groups but also interacting with research and diversity within the workplace and community. Completing my simulation center reflection, I was able to engage with a mock client in the moment and reflect on the aspects of my engagement with the client. While focusing on the social issue of childhood food insecurity, I was able to practice my competency of engagement in a variety of ways. I was able to interact with my peers and outside individuals to expand my knowledge and collaboration. In addition, I was engaging with organizations around West Michigan to better understand the community resources and diversity of responses to this social issue.