Ethics Courses

Why was the term “cultural competence” reinstated as the title of standard 1.05?

The reinstatement of the title and other revisions to standard 1.05 of the NASW Code of Ethics were approved based on the recommendations of the National Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity. They argued that the approved amendments would provide more emphatic language that operationalizes how cultural competence is demonstrated. The term “cultural competence” can be seen as an umbrella that encompasses other relevant characteristics including cultural awareness, humility, and sensitivity.

How do we hold social work professionals and organizations accountable on cultural competence?

Social workers should educate themselves and the organizations in which they work about the important provisions in the NASW Code of Ethics concerning cultural competence. The pursuit of cultural competence requires training, supervision, consultation, and other professional and personal development opportunities to identify and address implicit bias, discrimination, and racism in the many forms it may show up in practice. Individual social workers and organizations can advance accountability through formal and informal systems that continually review the demonstration of cultural competence or lack thereof. Furthermore, standard 2.10, Unethical Conduct of Colleagues, charges social workers to prevent, address, and expose unethical conduct of colleagues by first discussing concerns with the colleague if feasible; if not feasible, social workers should explore available channels for filing a complaint.

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What other NASW resources are available to support the advancement of cultural competence in social work practice?