LMSW Diversity and Social Justice Questions and Answers Flashcards

A social worker is assigned a client from a collectivist culture who defers all decisions to family elders. The most culturally responsive approach is to:

Answer: Involve family elders in the treatment planning process with client consent

Culturally responsive practice respects collectivist decision-making structures when the client consents to family involvement.

Which concept best describes the ways in which systems of oppression such as racism, sexism, and classism overlap and interact to create unique experiences of disadvantage?

Answer: Intersectionality

Intersectionality, coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, describes how multiple social identities combine to create overlapping systems of discrimination.

A Latino client tells a social worker that he feels shame discussing mental health issues because of 'familismo.' The social worker's best initial response is to:

Answer: Normalize the value of familismo while exploring how it shapes his help-seeking

Acknowledging and normalizing cultural values like familismo builds rapport and demonstrates cultural humility.

Environmental racism most directly refers to:

Answer: The disproportionate placement of environmental hazards in communities of color

Environmental racism describes the pattern in which low-income communities and communities of color bear a disproportionate burden of environmental hazards.

A social worker notices that their agency's intake forms only list 'Male' and 'Female' as gender options. The most appropriate macro-level social justice action is to:

Answer: Advocate within the agency for forms that include nonbinary and transgender options

Macro-level advocacy to change institutional policies that marginalize clients is a core social justice function of social work.

Which of the following best illustrates 'white privilege' in the context of social work practice?

Answer: White clients being less likely to be reported to child welfare based on race alone

Research shows racial disparities in child welfare reporting reflect white privilege—unearned advantages that protect white families from systemic scrutiny.

A social worker serving Indigenous clients learns that the community's healing practices conflict with the agency's evidence-based treatment protocols. The best approach is to:

Answer: Collaborate with community healers and advocate for culturally adapted interventions

Culturally competent practice involves integrating traditional healing practices alongside Western interventions with the client's and community's input.