ACSW study guide
ACSW · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW) is a professional social work credential administered by the NASW Credentialing Center as part of its NASW Professional Social Work Credentials, which require NASW membership. NASW describes its credentials as voluntary and as a "license plus" that does not replace licensure but speaks to meeting minimal requirements of proficiency such as education, licensure, and experience. The ACSW study guide has 7 sections and about 2,111 words.
01Gerontology: Aging Processes, Assessment, and Practice
Gerontological social work rests on distinguishing normal aging from disease and from social stereotype . Know the difference between chronological , biological , psychological , and social age; a 78-year-old marathoner and a frail 78-year-old are the same chronological age.
313 words, about 2 min02Hospice and Palliative Care: Goals, Pain, and End-of-Life Practice
Palliative care is comfort-focused care for serious illness at any stage , delivered alongside curative treatment; hospice is a specific Medicare benefit for terminal illness with a prognosis of six months or less if the disease runs its usual course, and it forgoes curative intent for the terminal diagnosis. Know the interdisciplinary team (physician, nurse, social worker, chaplain, aide, volunteers), the family as unit of care , and bereavement support for survivors.
347 words, about 2 min03Administration: Supervision, Programs, and Organizational Practice
Social work administration covers supervision, program planning, budgeting, quality improvement, and human resource management . Know the three supervision functions: administrative (accountability, policy), educational (skill development), and supportive (morale, stress).
300 words, about 2 min04Healthcare Social Work: Systems, Chronic Illness, and Transitions
Healthcare social work operates within interdisciplinary teams and complex systems. Know levels of care (primary, acute, post-acute/rehab, long-term, home health), care transitions , and readmission risk factors (medication errors, lack of follow-up, social isolation, health literacy).
297 words, about 1 min05Case Management: Process, Coordination, and Advocacy
Case management is a collaborative process : intake/screening → assessment → service planning → linkage/coordination → monitoring → evaluation → closure. Know the case manager roles : broker, advocate, coordinator, counselor, and monitor.
288 words, about 1 min06Youth and Family: Development, Systems, and Family-Centered Practice
Practice with youth and families integrates developmental theory (attachment, Erikson's psychosocial stages, Piaget's cognitive stages, Bronfenbrenner's ecological model) with family systems concepts (boundaries, roles, communication, homeostasis, triangulation). Know family-centered practice : the family is the expert on itself; engage, don't dictate.
283 words, about 1 min07Addictions: Assessment, Stages of Change, and Recovery
Addiction practice uses a biopsychosocial and disease-model understanding: substance use disorders are chronic, relapsing conditions, not moral failures. Know DSM-5 substance use disorder criteria conceptually (impaired control, social impairment, risky use, pharmacological criteria) and the difference between use, misuse, abuse, dependence, and remission .
283 words, about 1 min