Field education has been identified as the “signature pedagogy” social work education. The practice of having students working alongside community practitioners is almost as old as the social work profession itself. Field education, which involves students working with practicing social workers to learn the knowledge, skills, and values of the social work profession, brings the intellectual content of the classroom into focus with everyday tasks and responsibilities. Therefore, the work of community-based practitioners who supervise social work interns is essential to our profession. This book includes content on how to recruit a practicum student, as well as useful information about effective supervision, learning assessment planning and development, integration of theory and practice, helpful evaluation techniques, and teaching social work ethics. It provides an introduction to the practice of field education, along with useful recommendations about how to maximize the learning experience of practicum students. College and university social work programs provide regular orientations to their field education programs. Students should adhere to agency expectations regarding dress, language, and boundaries. Once students are aware of the agency culture, they should be held accountable for meeting those expectations. Effective communication between the academic institution and the field instructor/agency setting is indispensable to the social work practicum process. Several models exist to help students determine an ethical course of action or to resolve an ethical dilemma. Practicing as an ethical social worker requires not only knowledge of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics, but also the ability to apply sound decision-making strategies to everyday situations encountered in social work practice.

This second edition of the bestselling acclaimed full-length practice test for the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Social Work Advanced Generalist Exam has been thoroughly updated to include additional test-taking strategies and diagnostic tests. Consisting of 170-questions that mirror the ASWB exam in length, structure, and content, this practice test is an indispensable tool for promoting exam success and includes strategies for every question along with in-depth rationales for correct answers, helping readers to discover gaps in their knowledge, identify strengths, and target weak areas. Despite social workers’ best efforts to study for and pass the ASWB examinations for licensure, they can encounter difficulties answering questions correctly that can ultimately lead to challenges in passing. On the ASWB examinations, social workers often struggle with application and reasoning questions which require them to take what has been learned and use it to identify correct answers given hypothetical contexts. Becoming more familiar with the construction of multiple-choice tests, as well as remembering concepts which are hallmarks within the social work profession, can greatly assist. In an effort to make this practice test as similar to the examination as possible, it contains 170 questions proportionately distributed within the four domains—Human Development, Diversity, and Behavior in the Environment (39 questions); Intervention Processes and Techniques for Use Across Systems (54 questions); Intervention Processes and Techniques for Use With Larger Systems (31 questions); and Professional Relationships, Values, and Ethics (46 questions). These proportions mirror the distribution of questions across these domains on the actual ASWB examination. This practice test is to be used as a diagnostic tool, so social workers should not worry about getting incorrect answers, but should view them as learning opportunities to avoid common pitfalls and pinpoint learning needs.

The decision to become licensed is significant, and passing the licensing examination demonstrates that you have the basic knowledge necessary to safely practice. Social workers are employed in all kinds of settings including hospitals, correctional facilities, mental health and addictions agencies, government offices, and private practices. It is essential that those served have some assurance that these practitioners are competent to provide the services that they are charged with delivering. This guide has been carefully constructed to provide social workers with information on the licensure examination and how to properly prepare in order to pass it; test-taking strategies and methods for analysing the questions correctly; and the content areas which comprise the test. The first section of the guide contains essential material to understand the best way to study, the logistics associated with taking the examination, and help with identifying what is being asked in test questions so that correct answers can be selected. Understanding how the licensing exam is constructed is valuable as it helps to identify priority areas for study. The second section of the guide has summary material on all the content areas, competencies, and Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities statements (KSAs) which are used by test developers to formulate actual questions. Some test takers have referred to this section as a “MSW Program in a Box”, as it contains a summary of relevant concepts learned in an undergraduate social work program which may be assessed on the test. The format of this section is identical to the outline or “blueprint” for the examination with all four content areas covered. Each chapter within a content area represents a competency which has been identified as essential for testing. Lastly, within each chapter is summary information on each of the KSAs that can be tested on the exam.

The decision to become licensed is significant, and passing the licensing examination demonstrates that one have the basic knowledge necessary to safely practice. Social workers are employed in all kinds of settings including hospitals, correctional facilities, mental health and addictions agencies, government offices, and private practices. It is essential that those served have some assurance that these practitioners are competent to provide the services that they are charged with delivering. Regulation through certification and licensure helps to assure that social workers will interact in an ethical and safe manner. This edition of the guide has greatly expanded content on study and test-taking strategies, including effective ways to prepare for and pass the licensing examination. Material on methods for analysing questions correctly has been added, along with examples to illustrate the strategies presented. Often social workers find this information most helpful when preparing for and taking the licensing test. The guide has been carefully constructed to provide social workers with information on the licensure examination and how to properly prepare in order to pass it; test-taking strategies and methods for analysing the questions correctly; and the content areas which comprise the test. The first section of the guide contains essential material to understand the best way to study, the logistics associated with taking the examination, and help with identifying what is being asked in test questions so that correct answers can be selected. Understanding how the licensing exam is constructed is valuable as it helps to identify priority areas for study. The second section of the guide has summary material on all the content areas, competencies, and Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities statements which are used by test developers to formulate actual questions. This section ends with a full-length practice test that can be used to simulate the actual examination experience.

This book attempts to build students’ understanding of policy development through a critical analysis and review of policy frameworks, and the policy implementation process. The book is organized into four parts comprising twenty-one chapters. Part one of this book lays out a background as to the current and future demographic trends of older adults and makes the case for the reader that there are a variety of philosophical, political, economic, and social factors that affect public policy development. The chapters help the reader to explore a range of perspectives that define, shape, and impact the development and implementation of public policy. It intends to prepare the reader to critically analyze public policies related to aging. Part two provides an overview to major federal policies and programs that impact older adults and people with disabilities. It examines some historical developments leading up to the actual development and implementation of the policies. Policies include social security, medicare, the Older Americans Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Community Mental Health Centers Act, and Freedom Initiative. The last part of the book outlines specific programmatic areas that flow from aging policies, and specific components that flow from federally mandated policies. Each chapter contains same basic outline: an overview of the programs, specific features and strengths of the programs, gaps and areas for development, and challenges for the future.