Human Development, Diversity & Behavior in the Environment
A school social worker receives a referral from a teacher of a 11-year-old child with disabilities due to the child's behavior. The child's hygeiene is poor and the child appears unkept. Additionally, the child has difficulty leaving the teacher's side and tantrums when her parents come to pick her up at the end of the day. The social worker should FIRST
A. Conduct a child welfare assessment
B. Meet with the parents to determine whether the child is having bheavioral problems at home
C. Assess the appropriateness of the current school supports in place to help the child with hygiene and behavior management
A
The qualifying words in the question, FIRST, is critical. The question describes the child clinging to the teacher and upset when she has to go home. While abuse is not the only reason for these behaviors, abuse or neglect could be one cause.
A couple seek counseling from a social worker after the husband's cancer diagnosis. The husband underwent chemotherapy and radiation and is now in remission. The husband reports that the wife has been distant, refusing to be intimate since the onset of this illness. The wife confirms that she feels disconnected from her husband which has impacted her desires for intimacy. In this situation, the social worker should FIRST:
A. Recommend seeing the wife separately for individual therapy
B. Explore the couple's feelings about the husband's diagnosis and illnees
C. Complete a sexual history on the couple
B
The client is the couple so the correct answer will focus on both the husband and wife. It is important to identify the client in each question on the licensure exam to assist with selection of the correct answer. Seeing the wife for individual therapy is not correct since the couple is the client. There is no indication in the question that the couple had any sexual problems before the husband's illness so completing a sexual history is also not correct. The issues with intimacy are based on feelings and emotions so understanding them more will assist with identifying the problem. The use of the word FIRST as a qualifying word in the question indicates that the other actions in the other response choices may eventually be done, bug not until the nature of the problem is understood.
When interacting with clients, social workers should generally avoid the use of social work jargon, terminology and acronyms as their use either
A. stresses the power differential between social workers and clients
B. decreases understanding of clients about their problems and interventions
C. inhibits rapport building between social worker and client
B
It is important that clients are partners in the planned change process and are able to easily communicate with social workers.
A social worker is opening a private practice and contacts pior clients who have been helped by the social worker in the past. The social worker is careful only to reach out to those who, because of their particular circumstances, are not vulnerable to undue influence. The social worker asks for testimonial endorsement for the website, agreeing to use psuedoynyms for all clients. The social worker's actions are:
A. Unethical because social workers should never solicit clients or former clients for testimonials
B. Ethical as only clients who were not vulnerable were solicited for testimonials
C. Ethical as clients were only identified by pseudonyms instead of their actual names.
B
The Code of Ethics states that social workers should not engage in solicitation of testimonial endorsement from current clients or those who are vulnerable to undue influence. The social worker reached out to former clients and the use of names is allowable with consent but the use of pseudonyms further protects their privacy but is not required.
When the multiple choice answers include proper names you should FIRST...
A. read the question and underline the relevant portions
B. read and think about what each of the answers is before you read the question
C. not get distracted just because the proper names make the answers seem more important
B
While many questions have response choices which are long, there are others that consist of proper names such as those of clinical terms, diagnoses, theories or medications. When asked to select between listed terms, diagnoses, theories or medications, it is best to read the responses choices first and thinking about their usage, meanings and applications before looking at the question. This approach allows the use of evidence in the questions to support or help eliminated response choices based on actual knowledge about these concepts, without being biased by question wording.
If the proper name terms are unknown to you before reading the question, elimiated them initially ad only those whith whch you have some textbook familiarity with should be cnsidred. There is an atural tendency to gravitate toward selecting proper names that sound good or that 'fit" without really understanding their meaning. This mistake can be avoided by making sure that only response choices which are understood with 100% certainty are considered. If those which are known can be eliminated then "mystery terms can be considered for the answer
An adult client with significant developmental disabilities has recently moved into a group home after his aging parents found it difficult to continue to care for him. During the first month, he spends a lot of his time in his room and has made few friends in his house. The family reports that he was very talkative at home and loves to participate in family activities. Which of the following is MOST likely the cause of the client's behavior?
A. concern over the declining health of his parents due to aging
B. deficits in socialization that result from his developmental disability
C. Expected adjustment to new living conditions
C
The adult client has only been in the group home for a month and the question does not say that he has had any difficulty besides staying in his room. It also does not state that he has made no friends, just a "few"
A social worker supervisor needs to create a professional development plan for an employee. Which of the following will be MOST important for the supervisor to review?
A. Evidence-based practices in the employee's professional discipline
B. Employee's personnel file which includes past performance appraisals
C. Knowledge and skills needed to fulfill current professional responsibilities
C
Professional development refers to continuing education and training to help develop skills. The question uses the qualifying word - MOST.
A social worker is seeing a client as she has been worried about her 14-year-old daughter's behavior in recent weeks. The daughter is an excellent student and has a group of good friends. The mother was worried as the daughter has recently been dressing differently and has dyed her hair green. She has asked to get a tattoo as well as several piercings. IN order to best address the mother's fears, the social worker should:
A. Assure the mom that all teenagers act in a similar manner
B. Ask to meet with the daughter alone to gain insight into her behavior
C. Explain to the mother about the psychosocial stage related to indentity formation
C
Given the age of the daughter, she is likely in Erikson's stage of psychosocial development which focuses identity. During this stage, adolescents explore their independence and develop a sense of self
A social worker is instructed to ask all new clients who have immigrated from other countries about their documentation status. Those who do not have legal status will be denied services and will be referred to other agencies. Which of the following is MOST likely the basis of the concerns by a social worker who strongly objects to this process?
C
Social workers play a critical role in redefining policies surrounding historically marginalized populations, including immigrants. The creation of the concept of the "undocumented immigrant" reflects an embedded discriminatory aspect of immigration policy and becomes reinforced in policies that actively dehumanize undocumented immigrants inhibiting their social integration. The ethical code provides na ideal foundation for social workers to pursue roles as social justice activists . The policy that those who are documented will receive services and those who are undocumented will not is based on inequity. Thus, the social worker is concerned with the ethical value of social justice.
Answers must be selected for all questions
True
False
True
There is plenty of time to answer the questions in the 4-hour period.
Often anxiety can fuel the desire to leave questions blank if answers are unknown or to skip around to find questions that are more familiar. Such an approach is a mistake. The questions should be answered in the order in which they are listed. Skipping around wastes time. The most time spent must be on itnifying the KSA that is being tested or what the question is really asking. Not answering a quetstion after this anslysis has occured serves no purpose because no more information will be avialbel lated in the exmaination. Answer the question before moving on. Individuals who do actually run out of time do so becasue tehy are 'stuck" waiting for the feeling of certainty in their answers and it does not come in this type of exam
There is a "flag" feature to mark questions you want to return to if time allows. Use this sparingly for only a few question. Flags often raise anxiety. You will have questions you miss. You will have questions that you are uncertain about. This is true of all people who pass the exam
A child welfare social worker is meeting with a family due to allegations of abuse. During the intake, the social worker observes a bruise on one of the child's legs. The mother admits that she spanked the child on the leg in frustration as she had to bring the child to work with her due to not being able to afford campu during the summer. The account is confirmed by others and no other signs of maltreatment are observed In this situation, the MOST appropriate action by the social worker is to
A. Idnetify other living arrangements for the child unitl the incident can be investigated more fully
B. Suggest that the mother attend parenting classes aimed at strengthening the bond with the child
C. Arrange for the child to attend a subsidized camp program during the summer
C
The question indicates that the source of the mother's frustartion is having to take the child to work due to lack of resources to pay for camp. The correct answer addresses the underlying problem. there are not other signs of maltreatment so further investigation is not needed. While striking the child is not appropriate, parenting classes will not alleviate the stress associated with lack of day care for her child. The problem presented is about the lack of resources of the family. The correct answer on the test always needs to address the problem presented in the question
A social worker is hired to do community planning and would like to examine demographic data on the population living locally. Which of the following would be the BEST method for obtaining this information?
A. Sending paper-and-pencil and online surveys to community residents.
B. Examining tax and school records of the municipalities and districts locally
C. Obtaining census and health data available via governmental sources.
C
The integrity of demographic data depends on it being collected systematically, with care to its reliability and validity. It is far too large a task for the social worker to do individually so sending surveys to residents is not advisable. Tax and school records will only provide data on segments of the population -namely, homeowners and families with children. Many others will be excluded. There are many government organizations charged with collecting and reporting population data. Using information from one or more of them will ensure that the information is collected in a comprehensive and uniform manner. since these entities do data collection routinely, it also allows for comparisons over time.
A hospital social worker learns that a 6-year old boy will be cared for by his 22-year-old brother after the parents were killed in an automobicle accident. The adult brother works full0time and lives in a stuido apartment. The young child has learning difficulites that require extra help with homework and some activities of daily living. Which of the following is the BEST intervention to assist these brothers:
A. grief counseling to help address the recent loss of the their parents
B. case management to identify and coordinate needed resources
C. educational supports to provide extra homework assistance
B
Multiple challenges are identified in the question including the work schedule of the adult brother given the needs of the younger sibling. Additionally, the adult brother lives in a studio apartment. While the other 2 responses would possibly be helpful, identifying and coordinating the concrete service needs are essential to sustaining this caregiving relationship.
A social work supervisor is meeting with an employee who is having difficulty engaging with clients. The employee states that the clients are often uncooperative and the employee "does not know what to do" when addressing client resistance. The employee feels frustrated and is thinking of moving to another job in the agency. The BEST response by the social worker is to:
A Support the employee by validating the frustration felt when working with a difficult population
B. Help the employee increase knowledge about and skills for addressing resistance
C. Assess whether burnout is interfering with the employee's ability to engage with clients.
B
There are three functions of supervision - administrative, supportive and educational. The question clearly states that the employee does not know how to work with resistance. Providing the employee with new knowledge and skills BEST (qualifying word) addresses the root cause of the problem. Support is important to avoid burnout only enhancing the competency of the worker (educational function) will address the problem. Professional development is essential for ethical, competent practice
You should not get distracted by the settings or scenarios in the question (i.e. " hospital social worker"....)
True
False
True
Questions that use settings or scenarios are typically testing your application of information to a situation or scenario. Even though we know that professional social workers may alter their actions baed on many contextual variables, the questions on the examination are about the application of social work knowledge with in the KSAs and this knowledge does not change regardless of the setting in the vignette. Plus, any of the KSAs can be implemented in a wide variety of settings. Thus it is important not to get distracted or lost in the scenario
Which of the following BEST defines cultural relativism?
A. People have ethnocentric views about the importance of culture on their own behaviors
B. Actions or beliefs must be viewed within the cultural contexts of those doing or having them, respectively
C. Some cultural groups are more valued by society based on institutional discrimination
B
This question requires knowledge about principles of diversity and difference. Cultural relativism is the principle of regarding the beliefs, values and practices of a. culture from the viewpoint of that culture itself. It is used to avoid cultural bias, as well as to avoid juding another culture by the standards of one's own culture. For this reason , cultural relativism has been considered an attempt to avoid enthoncentrisim.
A social worker is working with a 54-year-old client who has a long history of substance use but has not used substances in many years. The client reports that he has fallen recently for no apparent reason and is having trouble with his vision. He fears that he will lose his assembly job as he is no longer able to perform the required tasks. Based on the client self-report, which of the following should the social worker consider?
A. Substance use relapse
B. Early onset dementia
C. Neurological conditions
C
While the client has a substance use history, he has not used substances in many years and there are no signs of relapse reported. His cognitive functioning appears intact, so dementia is unlikely. While he is having difficulties with his vision, the type of trouble is not specified. Vision and balance are often the result of neurological problems which need to be considered. He also may be having problems with motor control as he is not able to do his assembly job. Motor impairment may also be a sing of underlying neurological condition.
A client is seeing a social worker due to a long-term opioid addiction which resulted from prescribed painkillers after back surgery. His addiction has caused many problems in his life including unemployment and a marital breakup. He feels helpless and cannot imagine a life without the painkillers. Which of the following will MOST likely be needed by the client?
A. Individual therapy
B. Medication-assisted therapy
C. Mutual aid or peer support
B
While therapy and peer support may be helpful, these interventions will likely be ancillary to medication assisted treatment. Buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone are used to treat opioid use disorders to short-acting opioids such as heroin, morphine and codeine as well as semi-synthetic opioids like oxycodone and hydrocodone. These medications are safe to use for moths, years, or even a lifetime. Buprenorphine suppresses and reduces cravings for opioids. Methadone reduces opioid cravings and withdrawal and blunts or blocks the effects of opioids. Naltrexone blocks the euphoric and sedative effects of opioids and prevents feelings of euphoria.
A social worker is contacted by a former client who is engaged in a child custody fight with her abusive ex-husband. The court has asked the client to provide a copy of the treatment records which were previously agreed upon by the social worker and client. The client asks the social worker to delte her diagnosies as they wil likely be used against her in the court proceedings. The social worker agrees to do so as she has concerns about the ex-husband's ability to parent. Which BEST describes the social worker's actions?
A. Unethical as the social worker should not alter a record after it has been created
B. Unethical as social worker has not been appointed as an examiner of the court
C. Ethical as the diagnoses are not relevant to the court proceedings so they should remain priveleged
A.
Despite the concern, it is unethical for the social worker to alter the record even by simply omitting information. If the record contains diagnoses, they must be included in the record release. A curt order or a signed release of information by the client for the entire record must contain all information. Additionally, the scenario gives no indication that the social worker has ever met with or had the ex-husband as a client. The social worker should not be evaluating the ex-husband's fitness to parent simply based on information gathered from the client
Questions on the exam often ask the social worker to order their ations with the client (what should the social worker do FIRST?); or identfiy the issue or problem that is most importent. In this type of question, the answers should always priortize which of the following
A. ethics
B. safety and health of the client
C. evidence based practice
B
Safety and health (including basic needs) is always going to out rank the other possible answers
Which of the following BEST defines emotional disturbances using the ecological perspective?
A. Dysfunctional environments that cause reduced opportunities for individuals to grow
B. Pattern of maladaptive transactions between individuals and their environments
C. Systematic social inequities that result from trauma and exploitation of others
B
Recall the ecological perspective, an approach to sw practice that addresses the complex transactions between people and their environment. Using this perspective, emotional disturbances result from a pattern of maladaptive transactions between individuals and their environments. Environmental activity shapes individuals and individuals' social functioning influences environments.
A social worker receives a referral for a womn who has had mutiple treatment failurs in the past. During the intake, the client reports skepticism that any progress will be made this time. The client reports that reatmetn will likely be "more of the same", but commits to coming weekly. During the intial meetings, it will be MOST important for the social worker to:
A. Address the resisteance that the client ha about seeking treatment again
B. Idntify the fators which hindreed the client preogress in the past
C. Determine client's expectations about the services to be provided.
B
The client has committed to coming weekly which demonstrates motivation, not resistance. The question focuses on the inability of the woman to achieve treatment goals and make progress. It is not surpvsing that she is skeptical and wondering what will be different this time. In order fo the outcomes to be different, the social worker should work with the client to identify the barriers or factors that have prevented progress . Determining the client's expectations will not ensure that the current treatment plan address the issues which have historically prevented success.
A social worker is engaged in the preplanning process to develop a communinty program. Which of the following questions is MOST essential in determining whether more formal steps should follow?
A. "Does the commuinty identify the proposed need as important?"
B. "What factors will impede addressing the needs?"
C. "What has been done before to address this need?"
A
During preplanning, social workers evaluate the feasibility of an idea. Considering whether the needs is important to the community is paramount.
A social worker in a community housing agency is working with a client who has an ongoing dispute with a landlord. The dispute focuses on the client's responsbility to pay the rent during extensive renovations to the apratment building. The client and landlord agree to have the matter handled by an appointed of the court who will make a inding deetrmination. Which BEST describes this court process?
A mediation
B. arbitration
C. due process
B
Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution, is a process in which disputing parties agree that one of several individuals can decide about the dispute after receiving evidence and hearing arguments. Arbitration is different from mediation because the neutral arbitrator has the authority to decide about the dispute. Due process is the guarantee that an individual will be able to exercise legal rights, which can include receiving a fair and impartial trial. Social workers must be aware of legal terms related ot practice with individuals, families, orgs and communities
A. a multiple choice answer option that appears plausible but is incorrect
B. a person who clears their throat and smacks their gum nearby
C. an unhelpful anxious thought in the test-takers mind
A
often the distractors represent common mistakes made by social workers.