It's All About Social Work By Anand Sri Krishnan

Introduction to Social Work

• Social Work is both an academic discipline and profession that concerns itself with helping individuals, families, groups and communities enhance their social functioning and overall well-being.



• The primary mission of the social work profession is to “enhance human well¬being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty” (NASW, 2008, p.1).



• This profession is committed to the pursuit of social justice to enhance the quality of life, and the development of individuals, groups, families, and communities to its full potential.

The Global definition of social work

The social work profession

Promotes social change, problem-solving in human relationships, and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance wellbeing.

Utilizing theories of human behavior and social system social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environments.

Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work.

Social work - a profession

“This is one of my basic assumptions that social worka necessary partof societal differentiation thatemerges as soon as the “secondary problems” of the modernisation process structured by a capitalist political economy occur.

We can observe this emergence of socialwork in all the transition countries of eastern Europe which might byinterpreted as an empirical evidence for the argument that social work is a logical element of capitalist and functional differentiatedsocieties.

• Social work and social welfare are based on three premises:



• That the person is important



• That he or she has personal, family, and community problems resulting from interaction with others



• That something can be done to alleviate these problems and enrich the individual’s life

• Social welfare has a broader meaning and encompasses social work, public welfare, and other related programs and activities.



• Social welfare is described as “the organized system of social services and institutions, designed to aid individuals and groups to attain satisfying standards of life and health”, (Friedlander, 1980).



• Social welfare encompasses the well-being and interests of large number of people, including their physical, educational, mental, emotional, spiritual, and economic needs.



• As reported in the Social Security Bulletin, expenditures for social welfare under public law amounted to $1,434.6 billion in fiscal year 1994.



• The U.S. Labor Department projects there will be more than 650,000 social workers by the year 2005.



• Minimum traditional standards required a Master of Social Work degree for the professional social worker.



• Social work seeks to enhance the social functioning of individuals, singly and in groups, by activities focused upon their social relationships which constitute the interaction between man and his environment. (CSWE, 1959)



• The basic functions of social work are intertwined and interdependent.



• Restoration of impaired social functioning may be subdivided into curative and rehabilitative aspects. Its curative aspects are to eliminate factors that have caused breakdown of functioning, and its rehabilitative aspects, to reorganize and rebuild interaction patterns.



• Illustrations of restoration would include assistance in obtaining a hearing aid for a partially deaf child or helping a rejected lonely child to be placed in a foster home.



• The rehabilitative aspect might be helping the one child to psychologically accept and live with the hearing aid and supporting the other child as he or she adjusts to the new foster home.
• Provision of resources, social and individual, for more effective social functioning may be subdivided into developmental and educational.



• The developmental aspects are designed to further the effectiveness of existing social resources or to bring to full flower personal capacity for more effective social interaction.



• An example would be the services of a Family Service Society that help Mr. and Mrs. X, through individual and conjoint interviews, to understand each other better and to open the channels of meaningful communication between them.



• The educational spectrum is designed to acquaint the public with specific conditions and needs for new or changing social resources.



• Again, this could be illustrated by public talks given by staff members of a Family Service Society, in which counseling services are described as a resource in alleviating marriage and family problems.



• The third function, prevention of social dysfunction, involves early discovery, control, and elimination of conditions and situations that potentially could hamper effective social functioning.



• Two main divisions: prevention of problems in the area of interaction between individuals and groups; the prevention of social ills.



• Premarital counseling is an example of prevention. That through this process couples will be able to anticipate possible difficulties in marital interaction.



• Prevention of social ills ordinarily falls within the area of community organization.



• An example would be a community developing a youth center for at risk youths for the prevention of gang violence.



• Social work may be defined as an art, a science, a profession that helps people to solve personal, group (especially family), and community problems and to attain satisfying personal, group and community relationships through social work practice



• The major focus is on reducing problems in human relationships and on enriching living through improved human interaction.



• Social work is an art; it requires great skills to understand people and to help them to help themselves.

Distinguishing Characteristics of Social Work

• Focus is on the wholeness and totality of the person.



• Emphasis is on the importance of the family in molding and influencing behavior.



• Utilization of community resources in helping people to solve problems is very important.



• Use of the supervisory process provides for guidance and direction of inexperienced workers and for continuing growth of the experienced.



• Social work has a unique educational program involving class work and practical field work experience.



• Traditional social work emphasizes three basic processes: casework, group work, and community organization.



• Social work has distinctive professional bodies, (NASW, CSWE).



• The relationship is the key in the social work process.



• Social work has an orientation in psychiatric concepts and places considerable stress on understanding people.



• The social in social work emphasizes on social interactions and resultant social functioning and malfunctioning.



• Social work recognizes that social problems and human behavior inhere to a considerable degree in the social institutions of humanity.



• Most social workers are employed in agency settings.



• The basic aim of social work is to help clients help themselves or to help a community to help itself.



• Traditionally, social workers have provided services to individuals and families.

Sociology and Social Work

The sociologist is particularly concerned about the how, when, and why people behave as they do in association with others.

• The sociologist is particularly interested in the why of human interaction.



• The social worker is concerned about helping these same people to solve the problems they have and to improve social functioning.



• The social worker tries to understand the client, to make a diagnosis, and to proceed with treatment, helping to solve the problems and change the situations for better adjustments.

Psychiatry and Social Work

• The psychiatrist deals with the treatment of illness and the medical model.



• Places stress on intrapersonal dynamics, often delving into and handling unconscious motivation and related factors.



• The social worker focuses on problems and strengths in human relationships.



• The social worker utilizes environmental and community resources, usually operating within the conscious level of behavior.



• Psychiatry tends to focus on pathology and the healing of illness.



• The psychiatrist is particularly interested in the internal dynamics of individual and group behavior.



• Social work concentrates on strengths and the development of potential.



• The social worker is especially concerned about social functioning involving social and community factors and interactions.



• Psychology is the study of the mind; it seeks to study, explain, and change behavior.



• The psychologist is interested in understanding the individual and their behavior.

Counseling and Social Work

• School counselors are generally trained in educational psychology, work tends to be short-termed.



• Marriage counselors receive graduate training from several disciplines, including social work.



• Rehabilitation counselors are usually trained in educational psychology and utilizes testing.



• The social worker tends to be more intensive, works with the student longer, focuses on family constellation, and utilizes community resources.



• Marriage counseling is one particular emphasis in social work practice.



• The social worker usually assists with the emotional and/or family problems, has fewer cases, and works with clients more intensively.

Social Work in the World Today

• Social work is becoming more important because thousands of persons are benefiting from its services and are telling their friends and associates who have problems of its many values and services.



• A prominent American made a statement that what the United States needs most of all to improve its foreign policy and relations is to have trained social workers as State Department attaches where each of the official government representative works and lives.



• Formal. According to Scott (1987), a formal organization is “one in which the social positions and the relationships among them have been explicitly specified and are defined independently of the personal characteristics of the participants occupying these positions”



• Informal. An informal organization, on the other hand, is one in which the relationships among people in the system change over time due to their personal characteristics and their interactions with one another.



• Often we think of a formal organization is one in that has a clear mission and goals, rules that specify behavior, a plan to recruit new members, and a predetermined decision-making structure.



• Informal organizations are those in which people come together out of a common interest or through a process of group interaction that might occur without a specific plan for recruitment of participants or for decision-making. For example, neighborhood networks of friends, relatives, and neighbors or a group of people who come together to clean-up a neighborhood park or collect food for the needy can constitute an informal organization.

Formal organizations that typically deliver social services include the following types:

• Public (government) organizations. These organizations are usually considered bureaucracies.



• Nonprofit organizations. These organizations are established to enhance the public welfare and receive a special tax status. They usually receive government and foundation funding to provide services.



• For-profit organizations. These organizations are businesses owned by individuals or shareholders. Services usually are sold to individuals. In some instances, a for-profit can receive reimbursement from a government agency for providing services to low income people.

Social Service Organizations are Hierarchies

• Power is held by one or a few people.



• Supervisors are responsible for the work of the people they supervise.



• Supervisors often report to a designated Decision-maker.



• Power is inherent in the decision-making structure. People at the top can use their positions and authority to make people work.

Organization Hierarchy

Social Care and Community Work

Social work practice

Since its beginnings over a century ago, social work practice has focused on meeting human needs and developing human potential.

History

• Professional social work originated in 19th century England, and had its roots in the social and economic problems caused by the Industrial Revolution, in particular the societal struggle to deal with the resultant mass urban-based poverty and its related problems.



• Because poverty was the main focus of early social work, it was intricately linked with the idea of charity work.

Jane Addams (1860 -1935)

• In the USA, Jane Addams worked to help the poor and to stop the use of children as industrial laborers. She ran Hull House in Chicago, a center which helped immigrants in particular.



• Addams won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931

Mary Ellen Richmond(1861-1928)

• Mary Ellen Richmond was one of the first social workers to push for the professionalization and standardization of social work. She is credited with creating the first statement of principles for direct social work practice



• She wrote Social Diagnosis, one of the first social work books to incorporate law, medicine, psychiatry, psychology, and history.

Code of Ethics for Social Workers

• Adopted by the British Association of Social Workers, the professional association for social workers in the UK



• Its duty is to ensure as far as possible that its members discharge their ethical obligations and are afforded the professional rights that are necessary for the promotion of the rights of service users



• The primary objective of the Association’s Code of Ethics is to express the values and principles which are integral to social work and to give guidance on ethical practice



• The Code is binding on all members



• The Association has adopted the definition of social work issued by the International Federation of Social Workers

Global definition of the Social Work Profession

• The following definition was approved by the IFSW General Meeting and the IASSW General Assembly in July 2014:



• “Social work is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversities are central to social work. Underpinned by theories of social work, social sciences, humanities and indigenous knowledge, social workengages people and structures to address life challenges and enhance wellbeing.

Objectives of Social Work

• Social workers attempt to relieve and prevent hardship and suffering



• They have a responsibility to help individuals, families, groups and communities through the provision of appropriate services and by contributing to social planning



• Its mission is to enable all people to develop their full potential, enrich their lives and prevent dysfunction

Scope of social work

• Their work may include, but is not limited to, interpersonal practice, groupwork, community work, social development, social action, policy development, research, social work education and supervisory functions in these fields

Values

Social work is committed to five basic values:

• Human dignity and worth



• Social justice



• Service to humanity



• Integrity



• Competence



• Human dignity and worth



• All persons have a right to well-being, self-fulfilment and to as much control over their lives as is consistent with the rights of others



• Social workers have a duty to respect basic human rights and show respect for all persons



• Social justice



• Social justice includes equal treatment and protection under the law and fair distribution of resources to meet basic human needs



• The pursuit of social justice involves identifying, seeking to aleviate and advocating strategies for overcoming structural disadvantage



• Service to humanity

Fundamental goals are:

• to meet personal and social needs



• to enable people to develop their full potential



• to contribute to the creation of a fairer society



• Integrity



• Integrity comprises honesty, reliability, openness and impartiality and is an essential value in the practice of social work



• Competence



• Proficiency in social work practice is an essential value



• Social workers have a duty to identify, develop, use and disseminate knowledge, theory and skill for social work practice

Focus

• Professional social work is focused on problem solving and change



• The profession strives to alleviate poverty and to liberate vulnerable and oppressed people in order to promote social inclusion

Concerns

• Social workers are concerned with social problems; they consider the whole individual (including their biological, psychological, sociological, familial, cultural, and spirital subsystems) within the context of their situation

Levels of Intervention

• Micro (individual & family)



• Mezzo (agency & small groups)



• Macro (societies, organizations & communities)

A social worker is the...

• Advocate



• Educator



• Broker



• Activist



• Negotiator



• Group facilitator



• Counselor



• Researcher



• Enabler



• Initiator



• Empowerer



• Mediator

Social Work: A Growing Profession About Social Workers

• Each social worker is uniquely trained and qualified to assess people and their environments that they are influenced by.



• Social workers work to enhance the overall well-being of the individual to create positive opportunities for the future.



• Social workers use a large network of resources to link the person to community services to help them overcome life’s most difficult challenges.

How Do Social Workers Help?

Social workers work with a variety of different issues that can greatly impact individuals, families, and communities. Some of these issues include:

• Poverty



• Stress



• Mental Health



• Addiction



• Abuse



• Disability



• Death



• Physical Illness



• Discrimination

Where Do Social Workers Work?

Social workers can be employed virtually anywhere! There are a range of different fields of practice that social workers can work in. Here are just a few of them:

• Hospitals



• Schools



• Mental Health Agencies



• Retirement and Senior Communities



• Government



• Drug and Alcohol Facilities



• Hospice



• Family and Children Services



• Juvenile and Adult Corrections

Six Core Values

The mission of the social work profession is rooted in a set of core values. These core values are the foundation of social work’s unique purpose and perspective (NASW, 2008).

1. Service
2. Social Justice
3. Dignity and Worth of the Person
4. Importance of Human Relationships
5. Integrity
6. Competence

How to Become a Social Worker

• Social workers are trained with proper education, experience, and dedication to help individuals whenever and wherever they need it.



• It takes a bachelor's, masters, or doctoral social work degree — with a minimum number of hours in supervised fieldwork — to become a social worker (NASW Help Starts Here, 2008).

What is a BSW?

• The BSW is a Bachelor’s of Social Work degree.



• This is the only bachelor’s level human service degree whose educational programs are accredited by a national body, which is the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).



• The CSWE accreditation process insures that the programs meet national standards on all levels.



• Through this process, social work students receive appropriate education and training to better serve our clients.

What is a MSW?

• An MSW is a Master’s of Social Work degree.



• This prepares students to move from a generalist approach to a more advanced practice.



• Students will concentrate more on their particular area of interest and will be able to perform an advanced range of roles upon graduation.

Direct Practice Social Work

• Direct practice involves providing direct services to individuals and families.



• Social workers are generally employed in clinical or direct practice settings.



• Supervisory, administrative, and staff training positions usually require a MSW.

Macro Practice Social Work

• Macro social work involves practice at the society and community level.



• This can include roles in public policy that perform grassroots advocacy on a state, national, or international level.



• Other roles would include community organization, community development, and public health.

What is a LSW?

• A LSW is a Licensed Social Worker.



• An individual with a LSW will be able to perform a wide range of roles specifically focusing on direct practice services.



• To receive this license, an individual in Pennsylvania must complete the following:



• Graduate with a Master’s degree in Social Work or Social Welfare from an accredited university.



• Pass a general Master’s level exam.

What is a LCSW?

• A LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.



• An individual with a LCSW will be able to provide direct mental health or health services and/or open a private practice.



• To receive this license, an individual in Pennsylvania must complete the following:



• 3,000 hours (2-6 years) of clinical supervision experience after completing the Master’s degree in Social Work.



• Pass a clinical level exam.

LCSWs as Mental Health Providers

• Clinical social workers generally provide mental health services for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental, behavioral, and emotional disorders.



• The main goal is to enhance an improved quality of life and to maintain physical, psychological, and social functioning of individuals, groups, and families who are in direct need.

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