Policies And Procedures

Front 1

accountability

Back 1

process by which an organization, agency, or program is responsible to its consumers for providing the function or service it claims to provide. also, a social worker's responsibility to use appropriate techniques with clients.

Front 2

clarification

Back 2

therapeutic technique used to facilitate change. when clarifying, the social worker listens carefully to note conflicts and/or dilemmas and restates them, using the client's words. from this point, a discussion takes place aimed at mutually formulating a plan to solve the conflict or dilemma.

Front 3

focusing responses

Back 3

social work interview technique used to keep the conversation from wandering or jumping from one subject to another.

Front 4

ombudsman

Back 4

person who represents an individual or a group who has complaints of discrimination, oppression, or mistreatment by another group. he pursues action to rectify the situation by initiating direct contact with influential organizations to effect change.

Front 5

seeking concreteness

Back 5

interview technique used to determine the specific meaning of vague terms a client has used and to elicit specific information that might not otherwise be revealed. having a client define a term she has used helps the social worker understand the client's problems and prevents the social worker from having to make assumptions.

Front 6

action system

Back 6

the network of groups, resources, and individuals that a social worker uses to resolve a problem. for example, if a client is a pregnant teen, the action system could include a group home for pregnant teens, the administrator of a high school for pregnant teens, and a medical clinic. one of four systems in social work practice; see client system, change agent system, and target system.

Front 7

closed-ended questions

Back 7

interview questions that define a topic, but limit responses to factual or yes/no responses. used to keep the client from digressing and to discover specific information that has not been revealed.

Front 8

forensic social work

Back 8

social work practice that focuses on legal issues, including informing social workers about legal matters in their practice and legal professionals about concerns related to social welfare. often involves providing expert testimony or helping other social workers provide such testimony.

Front 9

open-ended questions

Back 9

interview questions defining a topic area but allowing the client to respond in whatever way she chooses.

Front 10

self determination

Back 10

ethical standard in social work practice that recognizes clients' need and right to make their own decisions and choices.

Front 11

admissions procedure

Back 11

activities taking place to ensure that a client receives appropriate needed treatment or care. often includes criteria for screening in and screening out service applicants. typically involves obtaining a client's consent for treatment, background information, releases to obtain records from other professionals involved with the case, insurance information, etc., and directing the client to the needed service.

Front 12

confrontation

Back 12

a technique used to openly challenge a client with inconsistencies in her behavior, beliefs, etc., that may be contributing to problems or keeping her from making progress. social workers point out behaviors in the form of mild questions.

Front 13

furthering responses

Back 13

technique used in social work interviews to convey interest in and attention to what clients are saying and encourage them to continue verbalizing. include verbal and nonverbal minimal prompts and accent responses.

Front 14

paraphrasing

Back 14

technique used to reflect an understanding of primarily the cognitive aspects of what a client has said

Front 15

target system

Back 15

individual, group, or community to be influenced or changed to achieve social work objectives. may or may not be the same as the client system, e.g., sometimes social workers attempt to influence or change a social structure on behalf of a client. one of four systems in social work practice, also see action system, change agent system, and client system.

Front 16

case record

Back 16

worker documentation of a client's situation and the services offered during intervention. used to enhance the quality and accountability of social work services.

Front 17

consultation

Back 17

a form of indirect service in which consultant (e.g., social worker with expertise in a particular area) provides services to a consultee (e.g., social worker) who, in turn, provides services to a client or client system. the primary goal of a consultation is to "have a positive but indirect effects on a client population by improving the work skills of the consultee who works directly with that population" (Bloom, 1977). consultation is a voluntary process-social workers are free to reject a consultant's suggestions and to terminate the relationship when they choose to. the consultant is an outsider and a consultation is always problem-focused and time-limited.

Front 18

interpretation

Back 18

offering a client a different viewpoint of her problem in response to her description of feelings. the desired outcome is to convince the client to change her viewpoint, thereby promoting new courses of action for problem-solving. may also involve explanation, clarification, pointing out patterns in a client's behavior, and, occasionally, interpretation of a client's motivations.

Front 19

resocialization group

Back 19

a self-help or therapy group that helps members adjust to new social roles; e.g., the members may be newly divorced.

Front 20

warm-up period

Back 20

technique used during the initial interview to eliminate barriers to rapport; involves having informal conversations with clients that are unrelated to their reasons for seeking help (e.g., about the weather, about a topic of known interest to clients).