SSW Social Work Practice 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A school social worker is meeting with a student who discloses that her stepfather has been hitting her with a belt, leaving marks. What is the social worker's FIRST priority?
- Notify the principal before taking any other action
- File a mandated report with child protective services (Correct answer)
- Contact the student's mother to discuss the situation
- Document the disclosure and schedule a follow-up session
Correct answer: File a mandated report with child protective services
Mandated reporters must file a report with child protective services immediately upon reasonable suspicion of abuse, before taking any other action.
Question 2: Which theoretical framework emphasizes examining the interaction between an individual and their multiple environmental systems, such as family, school, and community?
- Cognitive-behavioral theory
- Psychoanalytic theory
- Ecological systems theory (Correct answer)
- Solution-focused theory
Correct answer: Ecological systems theory
Ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner) examines how individuals interact with nested environmental systems including microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem.
Question 3: A school social worker uses scaling questions to help a student identify progress toward goals. This technique is MOST associated with which practice model?
- Task-centered practice
- Solution-focused brief therapy (Correct answer)
- Motivational interviewing
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
Correct answer: Solution-focused brief therapy
Scaling questions (e.g., 'On a scale of 1–10, where are you now?') are a core technique of solution-focused brief therapy.
Question 4: A student with an IEP is consistently excluded from general education lunch due to behavioral concerns. The school social worker should FIRST:
- Recommend a more restrictive placement
- Consult with the IEP team to review the least restrictive environment requirement (Correct answer)
- File a complaint with the state education agency
- Conduct a functional behavioral assessment independently
Correct answer: Consult with the IEP team to review the least restrictive environment requirement
IDEA requires students with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment; the IEP team must review and justify any exclusion from general education settings.
Question 5: When conducting a biopsychosocial assessment, a school social worker gathers information about a student's diet, sleep, and medical history. These factors fall under which domain?
- Psychological
- Social
- Biological (Correct answer)
- Environmental
Correct answer: Biological
The biological domain of a biopsychosocial assessment includes physical health, genetics, medical history, nutrition, and sleep.
Question 6: A school social worker notices a pattern of school absences among students from one neighborhood. The MOST appropriate systems-level intervention would be to:
- Individually counsel each absent student
- Refer all students to outside therapists
- Partner with community agencies to address transportation and safety barriers (Correct answer)
- Notify parents of the attendance policy consequences
Correct answer: Partner with community agencies to address transportation and safety barriers
Addressing structural barriers through community partnerships is a macro-level intervention targeting the root causes of chronic absenteeism.
Question 7: Which ethical principle requires the school social worker to provide services competently and avoid actions that could harm the student?
- Self-determination
- Non-maleficence (Correct answer)
- Fidelity
- Justice
Correct answer: Non-maleficence
Non-maleficence is the ethical duty to 'do no harm,' requiring practitioners to act within their competence and avoid harmful interventions.
SSW Social Work Practice 2
A school social worker is meeting with a student who discloses that her stepfather has been hitting her with a belt, leaving marks.
What is the social worker's FIRST priority?