Abstract
A growing number of assisted living facilities (ALFs) are caring for elders with disabilities. Residents often need a broad array of supports as their physical, mental, and social functioning declines. The need for social work competencies was examined in this study of 140 ALF administrators. The 31 competencies were borrowed from the CSWE/SAGE-SW National Competencies Survey Report. Only 17 of the respondents employed professional social workers but facilities with social workers were significantly more likely to offer bereavement, crisis, family, and substance abuse counseling. The majority of administrators agreed that social work competencies could be useful in their facilities; however, non-social workers appeared to be performing many of these tasks.
