SOCW6520

SMART Goals

S for specific. Tell us what you will specifically do

M for measurable. Tell us how we will ‘know’ that you completed the goal.

A for attainable. This means it is something you are able to complete during your field placement.

R for relevant. This means it pertains to the competency

T for time based. When do you expect to complete the goal?

Many of you probably find policy boring and not important but as a professional MSW it is critical to understand policies and how they impact our clients. We must be engaged in policies at some level to be an effective social worker.

To ensure that goals are met, it is good practice to keep notes to document your supervision sessions.

Competency 1 is about your goal to demonstrate ethical and professional behaviors. What will you accomplish to show how you addressed behaving in an ethical and professional manner in your field placement?

Potential goals: (If you use these make them applicable to your field site.) Use only two goals.

1. I will successfully complete HIPAA training (or other ethical training) and discuss what was learned in the training with the field instructor during the first quarter.

2. I will review each part of the NASW Code of Ethics with my field instructor in supervision sessions during the first quarter.

3. I will review a minimum of 5 cases with my field instructor during supervision and discuss potential ethical concerns by the end of the second quarter.

4. I will develop a list of 5 professional behaviors with my field instructor and apply a minimum of 3 of the professional behaviors and document them during both quarters.

Competency 2 is about engaging with diverse populations. How are you going to demonstrate that you have addressed engaging with different/diverse populations? There are only two required but more have been provided as examples.

Potential goals: (If you use these make them applicable to your field site.) Use only two goals

1. I will complete a test to determine my personal biases and discuss them with my field instructor by the end of the first quarter. https://diversity.ucsf.edu/resources/strategies-address-unconscious-bias

2. With the help of my field instructor, I will develop a 3-step plan to address my personal biases. (Current literature offers suggestions about how to address personal biases) I will apply the plan to all cases during both quarters and evaluate the progress of the plan by the end of the second quarter.

3. I will attend a minimum of 3 Walden Diversity meetings by the end of the second quarter to learn more about engaging clients from a diverse population.

4. I will learn 3 techniques from my field instructor to help engage diverse clients and apply those techniques to a minimum of 10 clients by the end of the second quarter

Competency 3 is about understanding justice and advocating for human rights at the individual or systems level. What are you going to do in your field placement to engage in practices that advance social, economic, and environmental justice? What are you going to do to advocate for your clients?

Potential goals: (If you use these make them applicable to your field site.) Use only two goals.

1. I will attend a minimum of 5 meetings of a human rights committee at my agency by the completion of the second quarter.

2. With the help of my field instructor I will learn 3 ways to advocate for my clients by the end of the first quarter and using those methods advocate for a minimum of 10 clients by the end of the second quarter.

3. I will discuss local and state policies and laws that negatively affect the agency and the client population with my field instructor. I will then learn about candidates for local and state government to determine which will help the agency and my clients. I will then use that information to choose who will receive my vote to advocate for my clients.

4. I will review the agency policies that appear to negatively affect my clients and after reviewing current research, I will develop possible alternatives to at least 2 agency policies and discuss them with my field instructor by the end of the second quarter.

Competency 4 is about how you will engage in Practice-Informed Research and Research-Informed Practice. How will you use practice experience and theory to inform research? How will you use and translate research evidence to inform and improve practice, policy, and service delivery?

Potential goals: (If you use these make them applicable to your field site.) Use only two goals.

1. I will review 4 current peer-reviewed journal articles about the research supporting one type of intervention I want to use with clients during the second quarter. I will discuss the research and how it applies to my clients with my field instructor by the end of the second quarter.

2. I will discuss the theories that support 3 different intervention models used at the agency with my field instructor by the end of the second quarter. This will help me to connect theory, research and practice.

3. I will review 3 current peer-reviewed journal articles and discuss with my field instructor how the current research could improve the practices at the agency. This will be discussed by the end of the first quarter.

4. After a review of current literature, I will develop 3 potential improvements to methods of assessment, intervention or evaluation of client’s progress by the end of the second quarter.

Competency 5 is about how you will identify, assess, and apply critical thinking to formulate or advocate for policies that advance human rights. How will you be INVOLVED?

Potential goals: (If you use these make them applicable to your field site.) Use only two goals.

1. I will review the local state and federal social policies that impact my clients and discuss how those specific policies identified affect 10 of my clients. This will be completed by the end of the second quarter.

2. I will discuss, with my field instructor 3 ways that local, state, and federal social policies affect delivery of services at the agency and develop a minimum of 2 ways to address any challenges to the delivery of services.

3. With the help of my field instructor I will make a list of 3 ways I could advocate for changes in policies that would advance human rights for a client population at the agency. I would apply each of these methods by the end of the second quarter.

4. I will participate in an agency committee for a minimum of 5 meetings to discuss and help develop potential changes in agency policies by the end of the second quarter.

Competency 6 is about engagement. How you will apply theory when you engage clients and how you will engage with diverse clients.

Potential goals: (If you use these make them applicable to your field site.) Use only two goals.

1. I will learn from my field instructor 3 techniques to effectively engage clients. I will apply those techniques to a minimum of 10 clients by the end of the second quarter.

2. I will learn steps to engage mandated clients and apply those steps to a minimum of 6 clients by the end of the second quarter.

3. I will discuss the underlying theories for engagement of clients and discuss at least 3 theories with the field instructor by the end of the first quarter.

4. I will discuss with the field instructor challenges to engagement with clients at the agency and develop a 3 step action plan to address any challenges to engagement. Those will be applied to any cases where engagement is challenged. This will be completed by the end of the second quarter.

Competency 7 is about assessment. How will you collect and organize assessment data? How will you develop goals based on the data collected? How will you develop intervention goals and objectives based on the critical assessment of strengths, needs and challenges of the client? This can be applied to any system, individual, family, group, institution, or community.

Potential goals: (If you use these make them applicable to your field site.) Use only two goals.

1. I will learn how to use assessment tools used at the agency. I will review current literature about those tools to better understand them. Then I will demonstrate my ability to use and explain the tools to my field instructor by the end of the first quarter.

2. I will learn a minimum of 3 additional methods to assess clients without an assessment tool by the end of the second quarter.

3. I will learn how to organize assessment data and how it is stored at the agency. I will demonstrate my ability to organize and store assessment date to the field instructor by the end of the first quarter.

4. I will learn how to use assessment data to determine diagnosis and choose an appropriate intervention. I will demonstrate what I have learned with a minimum of 10 clients by the end of the second quarter.

Competency 8 is about intervention. How will you choose the correct intervention? Are there specific interventions you want to explore and apply?

Potential goals: (If you use these make them applicable to your field site.) Use only two goals.

1. I will complete an informal (CBT. DBT, Solution Focused or other) training with the field instructor and demonstrate my ability to use that training with a minimum of 6 clients by the end of the second quarter.

2. I will learn 3 steps to selecting an intervention model. I will apply those steps to all clients through both quarters.

3. I will complete an informal training with the field instructor to learn how to facilitate groups. This training will include a review of the process of group development and be completed by the end of the first quarter.

4. I will learn from my field instructor 2 interventions for use with families or couples or communities. I will demonstrate that learning to a minimum of 5 cases.

Competency 9 is about evaluation. How will you evaluate the progress of the interventions you provide? What methods will you use? How will those evaluations be used to improve practice? Will you evaluate micro, mezzo or macro level?

Potential goals: (If you use these make them applicable to your field site.) Use only two goals.

1. I will learn how to use the evaluation form or procedure used at the agency to evaluate a client’s progress toward goals. I will demonstrate my ability to evaluate client progress to my field instructor by the end of the second quarter.

2. With my field instructor I will develop a minimum of a 3 step action plan to determine a point at which a goal should be revised and apply it to a minimum of 2 clients who are struggling to meet goals. This would be accomplished by the end of the first quarter.

3. I will explore in current literature how agencies similar to my field agency, conduct evaluations of client’s progress and offer a minimum of 2 alternate ways to evaluate client progress to the field instructor by the end of the first quarter.

4. In supervision during the first quarter I will discuss at least 4 ways evaluation of clients can improve my practice.