The article analyses the assistance provided by social workers in the nursing home both during the adaptation process and later. It is emphasised that social workers providing psychological, formal problem solving and social assistance are responsible both for the period of social adaptation of residents in the nursing home and for the quality of daily life. The research showed that the absolute majority of the residents of the nursing home are satisfied with the quality of services provided by social workers and the bigger part of the residents successfully undergo the period of adaptation, maintain relations with community members and their problems are successfully solved in the nursing home. Social workers assist the residents in decreasing residents’ fears of dependence, helplessness and psychological problems, in facilitating residents’ social adaptation and daily life. Thus, the role of social workers in the nursing home is efficient both in residents’ social adaptation and their daily life.

The article reveals attitude of social workers working in children foster homes towards acquired general competences. Generalising the acquired results, it can be stated that irrespective of the type of location where they work, the majority of the respondents have acquired or partially gained an ability to critically, analytically and systematically think, which allows for a conclusion that while working social workers are able to properly evaluate the emerging circumstances, problems as well as to analyse them, to critically evaluate and systemise the gathered results and, thus, improve the quality of own work. It is emphasised, that striving for provision of high quality services, social workers should collaborate with other specialises, who would assist them in improvement of abilities to select information necessary for their work.

The article analyses evaluation of expression of cognitive and practical skills acquired by social workers employed in children foster homes. It is pointed out that cognitive skills are related to personal qualities. The expression of following abilities are analysed: an ability to perceive oneself as a specialist, an ability to analyse own activity, an ability to critically analyse circumstances of social work, an ability to evaluate and supervise activity of specialists of lower competence, an ability to identify the nature of social problems and to solve them, an ability to plan strategies observing principles of professional ethics. Practical abilities are thoroughly analysed: to observe ethics of social worker, to be aware of and apply legal acts as well as organise and provide social services to different groups of clients, to create and develop social services, innovative models and methods of support.

This article makes a review of the notion of competence, its conception, classification, links with other notions following works by M. Davies (2000), V. Kučinskas, R. Kučinskienė (2000), R. Adamonienė and others (2001), L. C. Johnson (2003), V. Ivanauskienė, L. Varžinskienė (2003, 2004), B. Švedaitė (2004), R. Laužackas (2005), B. Miniotienė, I. Žindžiuvienė (2006), M. Andrašiūnienė (2007), L. Jovaiša (2007), V. Vaicekauskienė (2007), E. Martišauskienė (2008), D. Vyšniauskienė, R. Minkutė (2008). It also highlights the integral parts of social worker’s competences.

The article reveals the attitude of social workers employed in local selfgovernment to their acquired competences. The focus of the article is to identify what skills and knowledge relevant for working in the sphere of social work in local self-government have been developed and acquired by social workers, what competences have not been acquired as well as to reveal differences in gained competences according to the respondents’ age, territorial distribution of their workplace place and working experience.