| Supervision |
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| Supervision of MSWs |
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Supervision of MSWs seeking to become Licensed Clinical Social Workers is required
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| Supervisor's Role |
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Supervision is an administrative and educational process involving a partnership among the State Board of Clinical Social Workers (Board), the supervising Licensed Clinical Social Worker (supervisor) and the Clinical Social Work Associate being supervised (Associate). This partnership is aimed at enhancing the Associate´s professional development and meeting the licensing requirements while being mindful of the responsibilities toward clients and community. The ultimate goal of supervision is to help Associates attain professional competence so that they can enter the field of social work as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
When a Clinical Social Work Associate contemplates supervision from outside the agency practice site, the Associate is responsible for securing written agreement to the supervision Plan from the agency administrator. The supervisor is responsible for clarifying supervisory role responsibilities and the content of supervision. The supervisor is also responsible for addressing issues that might arise during such supervision with the agency administrator, including questions related to client confidentiality.
Although a Plan of Supervision often includes three-way supervision, the Board recognizes the difficulties inherent in supervising individuals who are not employed by the same agency as the supervisor, and the advantages of supervising Associates who are employed by the same agency. In every case, however, the supervisor is responsible for exploring any resistance to supervision with the Associate. Should these joint efforts be unsuccessful, the supervisor is responsible for deciding whether the supervisor / Associate relationship should be modified or terminated. When the Associate´s agency is paying for the supervision, this decision should be discussed with the agency administrator.
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| Effective and Responsible Supervision |
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Supervision is a collaborative process resulting in the professional growth of the Associate. Because the practice of Clinical social work necessitates a purposeful use of self in the service of others, it is sometimes difficult, even impossible, to separate evaluation of a social worker´s professional activity from assessment of personality traits. In the supervisory process, discussion of the Associate´s personality and personal life is relevant only when these directly affect professional development and quality of practice.
Supervisor and Associate should be clear regarding their respective roles and should strive to achieve mutual acceptance of their shared responsibilities. Specifics related to fulfilling these responsibilities (e.g: scheduling of conferences, prior preparation, use of conferences) should be agreed upon as quickly as possible in the supervisory relationship. Flexibility and adaptability in the supervisory process, including the willingness to obtain third party support and guidance, are essential to successful supervision.
Both parties, with the supervisor carrying the major responsibility, should examine the Associate´s learning needs, patterns, capabilities and any learning problems, in order to develop an educational evaluation. Included in this process should be recognition of the needs and reactions of both parties related to authority and dependency.
The rationale for an educational evaluation is that it provides a guide to mutually determine the goals of supervision, a vehicle for the supervisor to responsibly share knowledge and experience, and an opportunity to select supervisory measures appropriate to the Associate´s needs and abilities. This evaluation should be fluid and responsive to changes in the Associate´s performance, in work responsibilities, or in the supervisory process.
A climate of mutual respect and trust must develop for both to share relevant thoughts, experiences, and emotional reactions. The supervisory relationship should permit freedom to challenge, differ, experiment, and make and share mistakes.
The supervisor should present a responsible and reliable professional model and simultaneously guard against any tendency to mold the Associate in his/her image or to encourage compliant submission to suggestions.
The supervisor is also responsible for stimulating the Associate toward an increased capacity for critical self-evaluation in order to promote learning from experience. In addition, supervisory emphasis on conceptual thinking will encourage transfer of learning to new or unanticipated experiences.
Both supervisor and Associate share responsibility for stimulating the latter to enhanced self-awareness and to an increasingly responsive and disciplined self in all professional relationships. Comfort in the supervisory relationship is essential for both to freely examine their use of self in this and other professional relationships.
Both supervisor and Associate shall recognize that commitment to the client and the profession supersedes commitment to the agency. There are occasions when such commitment may present practical and serious concerns to either or both parties. In such instances, sharing of concerns and problems within the supervisory relationship, and within administrative relationships, leads to clarification of the issues and modification or elimination of the problems or ethical concerns. Should these results not follow, confidential consultation with a carefully selected LCSW, a committee of a professional social work organization, or written inquiry to the Board may be helpful in determining the individual´s ethical responsibility and appropriate course of action.
Clear, objective and substantive evaluation of an Associate´s performance on an ongoing basis is an essential part of a Supervision Plan. Periodic written evaluations, following joint participation in an oral conference, are useful to both parties in reassessing supervisory goals, content, and measures. It is helpful to the Associate to specify areas of focus and to recognize professional advances in knowledge and skill.
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| Minimum Expectations |
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The minimum qualifications for supervisors include:
- Must be licensed in the State of Oregon.
- Must be licensed for two years prior to assuming supervision of an MSW.
- Must maintain license by annual renewal and continuing education.
- Must have documented at least six hours of continuing education hours in the area of supervision in the five years preceding accepting an Associate´s supervision Plan.
Associates must complete their approved Plan of Supervision within five years. They must receive an average of one hour twice per week of face-to-face supervision for two cumulative years, for a minimum total of 100 hours of supervision. Group supervision is optional and cannot exceed 50 hours of the total supervision. Once a Plan is approved, the Associate is required to provide the supervisor with a copy of the Board-approved signed Plan and a set of Six-month Evaluation Report forms.
The supervisor must complete a written evaluation (on forms provided by the Board) every six months, and verify the hours of supervision. If supervision is ended by either party, the supervisor is responsible for completing a final evaluation for that time period and forwarding it to the Board as soon as possible - but no later than 30 days after termination. These evaluations will be filed with the Board, and the Associate will be informed of the Board´s review and acceptance of the report. If an Associate requires a Plan change or modification anytime during the Plan, the Associate must request the necessary forms and obtain prior Board approval for that change prior to counting hours for that change.
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| Content of Supervision |
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Orientation
- Purposes of supervision and the necessity for a supervisory Plan (contract) including mutually determined goals, responsibilities of supervisor and Associate, and broad delineation of supervisory content as well as practical arrangements.
- Agency history and mission.
- Specific services offered by the agency, including any conditions under which services are offered.
- Organizational structure, including responsibilities of various positions and lines of authority and communications.
- Understanding of budgetary process and fiscal responsibilities.
- Accountability of agency and of Associate.
- Authority and limitations of agency.
- Basic policies and practices related to functioning as a social work professional of the agency.
- Organizational processes of program Planning and policy making.
- Community network of human services resources.
- Role of social work in the community network and the responsibility of the profession to develop community awareness of gaps in human services resources.
Professional content
- Application of social work goals, values, ethics, and professional behavior in fulfilling responsibilities to clients, agency, and community.
- Requirements of the licensing laws.
- Associate´s identification with the profession and with agency purposes and practices.
- Personal management of time and effort.
- Strategies of Clinical decision-making.
- Determination of priorities to fulfill multiple role responsibilities.
- Interpretation and application of agency policies and practices in specific situations.
- Responsibility for, and contribution to, staff morale, including competitive behavior toward other staff members, difficulties in relating constructively to administrative personnel, or any wish for special consideration.
- Behavior in administrative relationships.
- Coordination of tasks with those of other staff members, both professional and support staff.
- Ethical and cultural considerations in public relations and Clinical practice.
- Contribution to ongoing evaluation of program, policies, and practices.
- Support in dealing with stresses, related to agency limitations, changes in agency function or administration, new role responsibilities, and/or demands of specific responsibilities.
- Ongoing evaluation of Associate´s performance with periodic formal evaluation of (a) performance and (b) supervisory goals, relationship, and measures.
Practice content
- Stimulation of Associate's commitment to optimum service and to personal professional development.
- Assessment and identification of presenting problems.
- Application of social work values and ethics in specific situations, especially when competing values are involved.
- Stimulation of spirit of inquiry.
- Enlargement and application of knowledge of human behavior and of the social environment.
- Termination of the treating relationship.
- Development and management of the professional relationship and recognition of differences in its use in different social work methods.
- Maintaining Clinical/professional boundaries.
- Development of assessment diagnosis and treatment Plans and skills.
- Develop ability to formulate and implement appropriate therapeutic interventions and/or treatment approaches.
- Develop ability to identify and assess strengths and weaknesses of the Associate and its impact on delivery of services to the client.
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| About the Forms |
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Once a Plan has been approved by the Board, a copy of the signed Plan by the Board chair accompanied with a set of Six-month Evaluation Report forms is provided to the Associate with instructions to give these to the supervisor. These forms are to be used throughout the process and consist of the following:
Six-Month Evaluation Report
It is important these reports be submitted in no later than 30 days past due and represent a complete six-month reporting period. It will be necessary for the Associate to have and maintain a good record-keeping system for tracking the face-to-face client hours as well as the Clinical work hours. This information is required as part of the Six-month Evaluation Report. Failure to complete current 6 month evaluations will result in a decline of renewal and hours toward the plan.
Plan change packet
This packet consists of: Plan Change or Modification-Form 8 and Form 2 Plan of Supervison of the CSWA certificate (when a new Supervisor is secured). All Plan changes require prior Board approval. Plan changes should be submitted to the Board as soon as possible allowing time for the Board to review and approve. If the Associate makes any changes or modifications to his/her Plan; e.g., change in employment, change in supervisor, change in hours, etc. he/she must submit the change for prior Board approval before any hours of the change will count.
How an associate should request a Plan Change or Modification
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