Engage in policy practice

  Competency 5 in the 2022 EPAS Handout states that social workers should **engage in policy practice** to advance human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice¹. Some examples of agency policies that relate to this competency are: - **Ethical standards** that guide social workers to act in accordance with the values and principles of the profession, such as respect for dignity, diversity, self-determination, and confidentiality of clients⁴. - **Advocacy strategies** that enable social workers to influence policies that affect the well-being of their clients and communities, such as lobbying, coalition building, public education, and litigation². - **Accountability measures** that ensure social workers are responsible for the quality and effectiveness of their services, such as supervision, evaluation, documentation, and feedback³. These policies exist to promote the best interests of the clients and the society, as well as to protect the rights and responsibilities of the social workers. They may have a basis in national or state policies that regulate the social work profession, such as licensing, insurance, grants, etc.  

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