Özet:

The aim of this study is to portray a general profile of the competency and practice standards of social work as a profession in the United States of America. To this end, being the most comprehensive and commonly referred ones, the standards developed by National Association of Social Workers (NASW) have been briefly explained. Healthcare services, clients with substance use disorders, child welfare, the practice of social work with adolescents, clinical social work practices, social work practice with family caregivers of older adults, and school social work practices. As a result, considering the variety of social work practices, it seems not possible to develop only one competency and practice standard good enough to cover all possible cases. Although the conditions of social work delivery are changing, to explicitly express the standards developed with a broad consensus considering the cultural competencies and ethical values in the current circumstances is thought to shed light on how the knowledge base of social work should be used, how effective professional practices should be implemented, what kind of collaboration could be possible between public and voluntary organizations in service delivery, and how the services provided could be evaluated. Finally, this study is expected to contribute to the standard development processes in social work in Turkey.

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