August 2025: Competency 8

EPAS Competency 8: Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities

The CSWE Center for Diversity and Social & Economic Justice is proud to announce a new initiative that will highlight one key 2022 Educational Policies and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) competency each month. This ongoing commitment aims to foster a deeper understanding and application of social work competencies in a way that supports social justice and equity across all areas of social work practice. We are especially pleased that the 2022 EPAS articulate a clear commitment of social work education to principles of anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion.  

The month of August 2025 we highlight EPAS Competency 8: Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities 

Within Competency 8, social workers are called to consider intervention with various practice populations Social workers engage with clients and constituencies to critically choose and implement culturally responsive, evidence-informed interventions to achieve client and constituency goals; and incorporate culturally responsive methods to negotiate, mediate, and advocate with and on behalf of clients and constituencies. 

Educators will be returning to campus this month, perhaps having had an opportunity to take a break from the routine of teaching and researching throughout the academic year. An often-asked question from colleagues will be, what did you do during that break? Depending on the nature of the previous academic year, some of us may have just needed time away from campus while others may have needed an actual intervention, an intentional, planned getaway that allowed space and time for rejuvenation and yes, healing.  

In much the same way, clients and constituents who turn to social workers for professional assistance, are expecting that their social workers are staying informed about state-of-the-art techniques to facilitate the selection of culturally responsive, and evidence-informed interventions. Drawing upon the information gathered during the engagement and assessment phases, social workers review client and constituency goals and apply critical thinking skills to facilitate the development of intervention plans that are culturally congruent and responsive. 

Consider what types of educational resources have been most helpful in the development of your own critical thinking skills, especially with regards to implementing culturally responsive, evidence-informed interventions.  

Are those resources still relevant, helpful in today’s context?  

Are they newer, more contemporary resources you can share for the common good?  

What interventions have you found most effective and for clients and constituents of different cultures?

Each month we highlight literature, blogs, or other resource related to EPAS competencies. This month we highlight the following Journal of Social Work Education articles related to Competency 8: 

Literature Resources

Social Justice Integration in Clinical Social Work: Teaching with Current Events from the Media 

This study explores how clinical social work education can integrate social justice issues through practice with vignettes in the classroom. Researchers analyzed 41 vignettes created by 82 Master of Social Work students between 2016 and 2019 at a public university in the Southern U.S. These vignettes were reviewed, looking to see what level of practice challenges were represented. Results revealed that although most vignettes addressed micro-level issues, there was significant representation of macro-level and mezzo-level challenges as well. Common themes included enhancing client self-efficacy, confronting systemic oppression, improving mental health access, fostering social connections, and addressing safety concerns. Authors discussed how this can be an important learning tool to integrate into education for multiple levels of practice. Now in 2025 with access to new learning technology such as AI, professors and students have greater access to tools that can create vignette style learning resources, therefore more successfully integrating all levels of practice into the classroom.  

Full Citation: Chen, X., Huang, Y. J., Leung, C. A., & Cheung, M. (2025). Social Justice Integration in Clinical Social Work: Teaching with Current Events from the Media. Journal of Social Work Education, 61(1), 30–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2024.2413413