Standard 4. Advocacy
Social workers in child welfare shall seek to
advocate for resources and system reforms
that will improve services for children, youths,
and families.
Interpretation
Social workers shall use their skills and knowledge
to advocate for the well-being of children,
youths, and their families. This advocacy
includes helping clients to access and effectively
use formal and informal community resources
that enable them to self-advocate. Advocacy
efforts should also be directed toward improving
administrative and public policies to support
children and their families. Advocacy efforts
should emphasize the strengths and assets
approach in the development of social services
and child welfare programs and the use of
evidence-based practice and policies.
Standard 5. Collaboration
Social workers in child welfare shall promote
interdisciplinary and interorganizational
collaboration to support, enhance, and
deliver effective services to children,
youths, and families.
Interpretation
Multiple service providers often serve children,
youths, and families involved with child welfare.
Social workers shall understand the roles and
goals of other professionals and work toward
more effective collaborations and understanding.
Such collaborations can include multidisciplinary
teams; community leaders; and other service
providers in the fields of law, juvenile justice,
medicine, public health, housing, education, and
behavioral health. Collaborations can ensure
that children, youths, and families access needed
services without duplication.
Standard 6. Record Keeping and
Confidentiality of Client Information
Social workers in child welfare shall maintain
the appropriate safeguards for the privacy and
confidentiality of client information.
Interpretation
Social workers in child welfare shall protect client
information at all times. Access to client
information (paper and electronic) must be
maintained securely. Records shall be maintained
according to federal, state, and local laws and
mandates. Social workers shall keep and complete
quality case records in a timely and professional
manner. Social workers in child welfare shall
also conform to NASW’s
Code of Ethics.
Information obtained by the social worker from
or about the client shall be viewed as private and
confidential unless the client gives informed
consent for the social worker to release or discuss
the information with another party. There may
also be other exceptions to confidentiality, as
required by law or professional ethics. Social
workers shall be familiar with national, state,
and local exceptions to confidentiality, such as
mandates to report when the client is a danger
to self or others and for reporting child abuse
and neglect. Clients should be informed of the
agency’s confidentiality requirements and
limitations before services are initiated.
Social workers shall use available technology in
a professionally appropriate manner to increase
the efficiency of services in a way that ensures the
protection of clients’ rights and privacy.
Technology can help social workers in child
welfare manage workloads, reduce duplication of
services, and increase timely service delivery. The
Internet, e-mail, electronic case record systems,
and data analysis software have increased the
efficiency of child welfare services. The Internet
has become a place for organizations to educate
the public and prospective clients about services
provided. For example, online adoption
photolistings have drastically increased the
accessibility of information available about
children awaiting adoption. E-mail has increased
social workers’ abilities to communicate with
clients and other service providers and is being
used as a mechanism for providing case
management, appointment reminders, and
guidance and education services.
Videoconferencing also provides a means to
increase parent–child interactions, especially when
families are separated by distance. Electronic case
record systems and data analysis software have
increased the speed and accuracy of accessing,
aggregating, and analyzing client data. Although
these advances have improved service delivery,
administrators and social workers must ensure
that confidential client information is protected
at all times through the use of appropriate security
measures, including encryption; passwords;
firewalls; software virus protection; secure Internet
connections; and administrative and physical
safeguards for electronic systems, devices, and
media. Social workers shall also acknowledge that
although technology can help workers to be more
efficient, it cannot take the place of in-person
client engagement.
Standard 7. Cultural Competence
Social workers shall ensure that families are
provided services within the context of cultural
understanding and competence.
Interpretation
Social workers in child welfare shall demonstrate
heightened self-awareness, reflective practice
skills, and knowledge consistent with the
NASW
Standards for Cultural Competence in Social Work
Practice
(2001). Social workers shall continue to
develop specialized knowledge and understanding
regarding culturally appropriate resources for
the children, youths, and families they serve.
Supervisors should also develop trainings for
social workers on culturally competent practice.
When providing services, social workers shall
explore the roles of spirituality, religion, sexual
orientation, socioeconomic status, and age as
factors influencing perspective.
Consideration should also be given to
addressing the particular needs of children of
color, who are over-represented in the child
welfare system. If children are placed with foster
parents of a different race, ethnicity, or culture,
foster parents should receive cultural sensitivity
training, when appropriate. In addition, should a
child or youth self-identify or question his or
her sexual orientation, the foster parents and the
child or youth should receive training and
support to address the issue, as appropriate.
There has been an increase in the number of
immigrants and their children in the United
States; such changes affect the needs that child
welfare services address. Social workers in child
welfare shall become familiar with the latest data
on population changes in their region related to
immigrant children and their families. Such
changes require learning about emerging
immigrant cultural heritages, immigrants’ needs,
and support networks and issues pertaining to
immigrants’ adjustment to a new country.
Social workers shall also familiarize themselves
with immigration laws and collaborate with
appropriate immigration specialists to explore
options to obtain legal status for children,
youths, and families.
Standard 8. Assessment
Social workers in child welfare shall conduct an
initial, comprehensive assessment of the child,
youth, and family system in an effort to gather
important information. The social worker shall
also conduct ongoing assessments to develop
and amend plans for child welfare services.
Interpretation
The social worker must be able to assess current
and imminent risk and ensure that arrangements
are made to protect the child in accordance with
state and federal laws, agency policies, and
administrative directives governing child
protection. Social workers in child welfare
should be clear with the family about the
reasons for services, inform them of their rights,
and facilitate legal representation. The social
worker shall seek to understand the family’s
perspective, identify their strengths, and convey
understanding and empathy for the family’s
situation and/or difficulties.
Social workers shall assess and recognize
families’ and individuals’ protective and risk
factors and ability to improve their functioning
to protect and nurture their children. Social
workers shall also assess aspects of personal,
familial, and social factors that can negatively
affect a family’s resources to care for its
members. Social workers in child welfare shall
identify and promote the use of supportive and
preventive services, including identification of
informal supports to strengthen and enhance
family functioning to avoid the need for child
welfare services.
Through ongoing assessments, social workers in
child welfare shall document and report to
protective authorities the fact that a child’s safety
is at risk. Because the social worker’s role involves
child protection, the worker is required to protect
the child by using available legal processes,
supervisory consultation, and immediate
intervention in extreme circumstances and to
document evidence and concerns to guide the
child protective intervention.
Standard 9. Intervention
Social workers in child welfare shall strive to
ensure the safety and well-being of children
through evidence-based practices.
Interpretation
Social workers in child welfare shall remain
aware of current intervention research and use
evidence-based practices in service delivery.
Interventions shall be designed to promote
positive outcomes and involve children, youths,
and families; other team members; school
personnel; and other service providers as
appropriate. Interventions shall be based on
ongoing assessments and include goals,
objectives, methods of evaluation, and outcome
criteria. Social workers in child welfare shall
ensure that the child’s educational, medical,
dental, developmental, emotional, cultural,
spiritual, social, recreational, and mental health
needs are met.
Implementation of any service plan needs to be
flexible and adapted to the changing circumstances
of the child, youth, or family; their response to
the intervention; the social worker’s increased
understanding; the child welfare system; and the
larger community. The social worker shall seek
the family, child, or youth’s participation, input,
and feedback to ensure that service is a mutual
undertaking between the social worker, the
family, and the child or youth. Input of other
community collaborators shall be sought at
specific intervals and incorporated into an
ongoing assessment and understanding of the
child or youth and family’s needs and response
to interventions. The social worker in child
welfare shall monitor and accurately document
the child or youth and family’s progress and
evaluate the outcomes of the service plan.
Standard 10. Family Engagement
Social workers in child welfare shall engage
families, immediate or extended, as partners in
the process of assessment, intervention, and
reunification efforts.
Interpretation
Social workers in child welfare shall be clear
about the reasons for services, whether those
services constitute an investigation or are being
delivered following an investigation. The social
worker shall seek to understand and incorporate
the family’s perspective and needs into planning
for potential solutions. The social worker shall
also convey an understanding of and empathy
for the family’s situation and actively engage the
family to ensure its well-being as a unit. The
social worker shall also identify and use family
strengths in problem-solving efforts that
address the best interests of the child or youth.
In addition, the social worker shall respect and
understand each family’s cultural differences
and diversity and how these may influence
functioning.
Standard 11. Youth Engagement
Social workers in child welfare shall actively
engage older youths in addressing their needs
while in out-of-home care and as they prepare
to transition out of foster care.
Interpretation
Social workers shall assess and recognize the
unique strengths and abilities and specific needs
of youths with regard to life and personal skills
development. In addition, social workers shall
implement prevention and intervention strategies
grounded in youth development. Social workers
shall value youths’ voices and support older
youths in developing decision-making skills,
achieving goals, and celebrating successes. Social
workers and older youths shall develop strong
working relationships and plan for the future
through a transition planning process that
focuses on the development of independent
living skills and fully addresses topics such as
housing, health insurance, education,
employment, financial literacy, and permanency.
Social workers shall actively engage young
people in developing a transition plan early to
enhance a successful transition into adulthood.
Standard 12. Permanency Planning
Social workers in child welfare shall place
children and youths in out-of-home care when
children and youths are unable to safely remain
in their homes. Social workers shall focus
permanency planning efforts on returning
children home as soon as possible or placing
them with another permanent family.
Interpretation
Social workers in child welfare shall consider the
strengths and needs of the child and the caregiver
when assessing the safety and appropriateness of
placement options (for example, kinship care,
foster care, group home). Permanency can be
the result of preservation of the family;
reunification with the family of origin; or legal
guardianship or adoption by kin, foster families,
or other caring, committed adults (for example,
mentors, teachers, family friends). Social
workers shall actively work with families toward
reunification. However, social workers shall also
work with children and youths to identify and
maintain permanent connections with family,
friends, and other individuals with whom a child
or youth has a significant relationship, except in
situations in which there are legal constraints,
such as protective orders.
Standard 13. Supervision
Social workers who act as supervisors in child
welfare shall encourage the development and
maintenance of a positive work environment
that facilitates the advancement of social
workers’ skills, creates a safe and positive
work environment, provides quality
supervision to social workers, and ensures
quality service delivery to clients.
Interpretation
Supervisors in child welfare shall possess
enhanced knowledge and skills in the field and
shall have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree
from a social work program accredited by
CSWE. They must be licensed if required by
state statutes and shall have a minimum of two
years of experience in the field directly related
to the work of the staff they are supervising.
Supervisors must also possess knowledge of the
political and economic factors that affect service
delivery in their community and be able to
mentor staff in learning to negotiate those
systems. Supervisors shall provide workers with
supportive work environments through regular
supervision and access to professional resources.
Standard 14. Administration
Social workers who act as administrators shall
promote an organizational culture that
supports reasonable caseloads and workloads,
adequate supervision, appropriate use of
emerging technologies, and legal protection
for employees’ actions in the course of
carrying out their professional responsibilities.
Interpretation
Social work administrators in child welfare shall
ensure appropriate, effective service delivery to
children and families and a supportive
environment for supervisors and workers. The
administrator, in accordance with legal mandates,
shall establish and implement the policies,
procedures, and guidelines necessary for effective
social work practice in child welfare. Furthermore,
the administrator shall work to constantly improve
services provided to clients by using written
policies and procedures for monitoring day-to-day
program operations, including professional
development, continuous quality improvement
systems (for example, data collection), workload
and caseload sizes, clients’ rights, training for
leadership, and work environment safety.