Competency 5: Engage in Policy Practice

Social workers identify social policy at the local, state, federal, and global level that affects wellbeing, human rights and justice, service delivery, and access to social services. Social workers recognize the historical, social, racial, cultural, economic, organizational, environmental, and global influences that affect social policy. Social workers understand and critique the history and current structures of social policies and services and the role of policy in service delivery through rights-based, anti- oppressive, and anti-racist lenses. Social workers influence policy formulation, analysis, 2022 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards implementation, and evaluation within their practice settings with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers actively engage in and advocate for anti-racist and anti-oppressive policy practice to effect change in those settings. Social workers: 

a. use social justice, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive lenses to assess how social welfare policies affect the delivery of and access to social services;

 b. and apply critical thinking to analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice. 

Competency 5: Evidence of Practice