Social work

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Social workers are concerned with social problems, their causes, their solutions and their human impacts. Social workers work with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities, as members of a profession which is committed to social justice and human rights.

Contents

[edit] Origins

The profession originates from:

  • Hospital almoners
  • Workers in Settlement houses
  • Friendly visitors stipended by church and charitable bodies to support the poor and disadvantaged

[edit] Role of the social worker

The work undertaken by social workers can vary widely between countries as the aims and values of social workers must reflect the cultural and social norms of the society in which they operate, in order to cater appropriately for the needs of the people they serve.

The main tasks of social workers are casework (linking clients with agencies and programs that will meet their psychosocial needs), counselling (psychotherapy), human services management, social welfare policy analysis, community organizing, advocacy, teaching (in schools of social work), and social science research.

Social workers work in a variety of settings, including non profit or public social service agencies, grassroots advocacy organizations, community health agencies, schools, faith-based organizations, and even the military. Other social workers work as psychotherapists, counsellors, or mental health practitioners, normally working in coordination with psychiatrists, psychologists, or other medical professionals. Additionally, some social workers have chosen to focus their efforts on social policy or academic research into the practice or ethics of social work. The emphasis has varied among these task areas by historical era and country, and some of these areas have been the subject of controversy as to whether they are properly part of social work's mission. A growing area of social work is in the area of Forensics. There is also a nationally recognized organization of forensic social workers (NOFSW). A forensic social worker can work with lawyers, jails, prisons, or various private and governmental agencies.

[edit] Role of social work in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom and elsewhere, a social worker is a trained professional with a recognised social work qualification, employed most commonly in the public sector by local authorities.

Spending on social services departments is a major component of British local government expenditure.

In the UK, the title "social worker" is protected by law (since 1 April 2005) and can be used only by people who have a recognised qualification and are registered with the General Social Care Council (in England), the Scottish Social Services Council, the Care Council for Wales/Cyngor Gofal Cymru, or the Northern Ireland Social Care Council.

The strategic direction of statutory social work in Britain is broadly divided into children's and adults' services. Social work activity within England and Wales for children and young people is under the remit of the Department for Education and Skills while the same for adults remains the responsibility for the Department of Health. Within local authorities, this division is usually reflected in the organisation of social services departments. The structure of service delivery in Scotland is different.

[edit] Social Work Knowledge Building

The history of social work is a history plagued by a fundamental question – is social work a profession? This debate can be traced back to the early 20th century debate between Mary Richmond's Charity Organization Society (COS) Jane Adam's Settlement House Movement. The essence of this debate was whether the problem should be approached from COS’ traditional, scientific method focused on efficiency and prevention or the Settlement House Movement’s immersion into the problem, blurring the lines of practitioner and client.

The impetus for both movements was the glaring reality of social problems and the question over how to best attack them. This debate is arguably the earliest example of a larger debate within social work – how is knowledge acquired? This debate pits positivism against post-positivism in the pursuit of achieving respect as a profession. The positivistic argument asserts knowledge has to be observable and testable (quantitative), free from bias, and ultimately replicable if it is to have any merit. Post-positivists argue there is no way to completely eliminate bias, and knowledge can be obtained via qualitative research methods.

[edit] Levels of social work intervention

[edit] Clinical or Direct Practice

  • Assessment and diagnosis
  • Brief therapies
  • Case management
  • Clinical supervision
  • Counselling
  • Crisis intervention
  • Family therapy/Family interventions
  • Group work/group therapy
  • Employee assistance programs
  • Psychosocial and psychoeducational interventions
  • Psychotherapy
  • Relationship/interpersonal counselling

[edit] Community practice

[edit] Fields of social work practice (both direct and community levels)

[edit] Qualifications for social work

In a number of countries and jurisdictions where registration of people working as social workers is required there are mandated qualifications, those required in the UK and USA are detailed below, in other places the professional association sets academic and experiential requirements for admission to membership. Illustrating the success of these professional bodies in many places these requirements are recognised by many employers as necessary for employment by those agencies.


[edit] Qualifications for social work in the UK

The main qualification for social work is the undergraduate Bachelor's degree (BA, BSc or BSW) in social work, offered at British universities from September 2003 onwards. There is also available a master's degree (MA, MSc or MSW). These have replaced the previous qualifying award, the postgraduate Diploma in Social Work (DipSW), which was first awarded in 1991 and will be phased out across the UK by 2009. Prior to this, the recognised qualification was the Certificate of Qualification in Social Work (CQSW), awarded between 1975 and 1991.

Purporting to be either a social worker or a student social worker without registering with the Social Work Register and holding or undergoing training for the recognised qualifications is now a criminal offence. Social workers must renew their registration every three years. These regulations offer protection to vulnerable people by guaranteeing the professional regulation of people working as social workers. They also promote workforce development, as all social workers must participate in at least five days of professional training each year in order to be eligible for renewal of their registration.

After qualifying, social workers can undertake further training under the social work 'Post-Qualifying Framework'. Until 2007, there are four awards available under this framework:

  • Post-Qualifying Award - for advanced social work practice and management
  • Mental Health Social Work award (in England, Approved Social Worker award; in Scotland, Mental Health Officer award) - qualification to work with people with mental health needs under the Mental Health Act
  • Child Care Award - qualification to work with children and young people
  • Practice Teaching Award - qualification to work as a tutor, supervisor and assessor for social work students on their work placement

From 2007, the General Social Care Council and UK partners are implementing a new framework which unifies these awards in a simpler structure allowing broader study to count towards three levels of social work award: specialist, higher specialist, and advanced.


[edit] Challenges

Certain types of social workers are more likely to suffer criticism than most other workers because they often work in scenarios which are highly emotionally charged. Examples include:

  • taking a child away from parents who are regarded as unfit
  • failing to remove children from parents who subsequently hurt or kill them
  • organizing demonstrations
  • supporting activities that are highly controversial - abortion, needle exchanges, faith-based services

Social workers would respond that often problems with social workers can be traced to poor pay, inadequate training, excessive case loads, inadequate funding, and bad government policies. The reason social workers are singled out is because they are the ones who directly face and deal with the public.

Social workers are often criticized because they are identified with the bureaucracy of their organizations. Social workers often have to ask clients to fill out time-consuming paperwork and sign large numbers of documents as a requirement of their jobs. Clients and others thus tend to think of social workers as paper-pushers.

In response, in many regions social workers are seeking efforts to professionalize the profession. Many regions have passed legislation making it illegal to use the title social worker without a license. This prevents unqualified persons from acting under the title of social worker and has resulted in the creation of discipline boards. These boards have the authority to punish social workers who violate their legislation through fines, suspension or revocation of their license. This protects the public by having social workers accountable to their code of ethics.

[edit] See also


[edit] External links

International bodies

National professional associations (and/or Regulatory bodies)

[edit] Other related links

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