Lesson 5.

1: Basic Concepts in Social Work Developmental Disabilities

● helps families with developmentally-challenged

children
Defining Social Work
● living with some degree of independence
Social Work
Healthcare
• often seen as a profession that involves visiting
low-income communities • help families seek medical and health support
• Social work is a practice-based discipline that
International Social Work
promotes change, development, and
empowerment. • collaboration with governments and agencies
across the world
Four Roles That Define Social Work
Justice and Corrections
1. Enabling or facilitating change
• work in courts, women and children protection,
2. Helping people or social institutions
police departments, and correctional facilities
3. Establishment of professional linkage
Mental Health and Clinical Social Work
4. Resource generation and allocation
• mental health services in both urban and rural
Basic Concepts of Social Work settings

Social Service Public Welfare

• public or privately-funded service to help • providing services and programs, particularly in

groups through programs terms of income and monetary support (e.g.,
conditional cash transfer)
Social Action
WRAP-UP
• redistribution of power and resources to • Social work is a practice-based discipline that
empower the community promotes social change, development, and
empowerment among people and communities.
Social Movement
● Social service refers to a type of publicly-funded
• long-term advocacy to bring about social change or private service that caters to disadvantaged or
Fields in Social Work vulnerable groups.

Administration and Management ● Social action refers to the ability of people,

ideally led by social workers, to redistribute
• involved in ensuring that the delivery of social power and resources to empower the
services are in line with social policy community.

Advocacy and Community Organization ● A social movement is a long-term advocacy

participated by members of the community who
• advocates or champions for social justice rights
have committed to work hard in bringing about
Aging social change.

● ensures that needs of older adults are met ● Social workers may be involved in various
fields, including healthcare, child protection,
● aging with dignity justice and corrections, public welfare, and
Child Welfare mental health.

• safety and positive growth for children and Lesson 5.2: Goals and Scope of Social Work
youth Social work, as a profession, aims to help people who
experience disadvantages cope with challenges.
Goals and Scope of Social Work 5. International Social Work

• Challenges occur at different levels of society. • improvement of well-being across countries

• Social work aims to help individuals, groups, • international collaboration
and communities cope with the challenges they
6. Social Work as Community Organization
face.
• Social work seeks to develop people and • helps the communities to function
communities. • assessments and referrals to resources
• Social work has three distinguishing goals.
7. Women’s Welfare
1. The Goal on Caring
• attends to the well-being of women
• focuses on the well-being or welfare and • promotion of gender equality since women’s
comfort of the individual or community rights are human rights
2. The Goal on Curing 8. Crisis Intervention
• involves treating people • helps struggling individuals cope with
• covers the helping techniques significant traumas
• facilitates the participation of the clients in the • provides support and guidance to clients who
helping process experience acute mental crisis
3. The Goal on Changing 9. Criminal Justice
• the active participation of social workers in • helping the poor and the oppressed protect their
social reforms rights
• improvement of the social services and quality • understands the laws and regulations on
of life criminal justice
Scope of Social Work The essential missions of social work are to develop
human beings and assist institutions in providing the
• addresses various conditions in the society
needs of the people and communities.
ranges from child development to interventions for
The goals of social work are caring, curing, and
people in need
changing.
1. Child Development Social Work
The scope of social work ranges from child protection to
• connecting families in need with services and interventions needed by people who have experienced
monitoring the well-being of children trauma and abuse.

2. Medical Social Work The scope of social work includes child development,
medical work, clinical work, administration and
• health and wellness needs management, international work, community
• issues related to mental health, aging, organization, women’s welfare, crisis intervention, and
healthcare, etc. criminal justice.
3. Clinical Social Work Lesson 5.3: Core Values of Social Work
• focuses on mental health concerns and Social workers are responsible for exercising the
emotional and behavioral disturbances essential values and principles of social work.
4. Social Work Administration and Management Core Values of Social Work
• focuses on the macro-level issues and planning Social Work
• clear knowledge and understanding of social
services, human behavior, and social problems The social work profession aims to provide assistance
and improve the lives of every human being. Its mission
is to

● end stereotyping and discrimination,

 ● promote social justice and social change, and WRAP-UP

● emphasize the values of social work in carrying ● Social work promotes social justice and social
out its duty. change that emphasize its mission of addressing
the needs of the people and the society.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
highlights the core values and ethical principles a social ● Social work carries out its role by protecting and
worker should aspire. empowering people on their rights and
addressing their needs for everyday life.
Core Values of Social Work
● The core values of social work highlight where
1. Service
social workers should focus and what they
• Social workers elevate service to others above should prioritize in fulfilling their
their self-interests. responsibilities.
• Ethical Principle: Their primary goals are to ● Social work upholds the following values:
help people in need and to address social service, social justice, dignity and worth of the
problems. person, importance of human relationships,
2. Social Justice integrity, and competence.

• Social workers focus on addressing poverty, ● Each core value of social work exhibits an
unemployment, discrimination, and other forms ethical principle that is highlighted in the code
of social injustice. of ethics and should be practiced by the
• Ethical Principle: Social workers challenge profession.
social injustice. Lesson 5.4: Principles of Social Work
3. Dignity and Worth of the Person Social workers are responsible to exhibit the essential
• Social workers help clients recognize their rights values and principles of social work.
to make their own choices and decisions. The mission of social work is to promote social justice
• Ethical Principle: Social workers respect the and social change. Social workers exercise their role with
inherent dignity and worth of the person. dignity and respect to the needs of the people.
4. Importance of Human Relationships Principles of Social Work
• Social workers know that healthy relationships A set of principles is necessary in any profession to
among people in the community are essential to guide its members in their practice and serve as the basis
establish change. of work standards.
• Ethical Principle: Social workers recognize the
importance of human relationships. These are values and rules that can help guide an
individual in exercising the profession in the most
5. Integrity beneficial manner.
• Social workers are continually aware of the 1. Principle of Acceptance
profession’s mission, values, ethical principles,
and ethical standards. They must be consistent • There has to be a clear understanding of the
in being ethical at all times. clients’ needs and situation.
• Ethical Principle: Social workers behave in a • Social workers need to maintain a professional
trustworthy manner. relationship with the client and express genuine
concern.
6. Competence
2. Principle of Affirming Individuality
• Social workers involve themselves in seminars
and workshops that will help enhance their • This recognizes that each individual client is
skills. different because every person has unique
• Ethical Principle: Social workers strive to characteristics.
deliver competent services to their clients.
 • The social worker considers the clients’
individual qualities and context in formulating
possible solutions to their concerns.

3. Principle of Purposeful Expression of Feelings

• Clients may hesitate to

express their feelings during intervention.
• The social worker must be capable of extracting
the client’s underlying emotions without
violating his or her privacy.

4. Principle of Nonjudgemental Attitude

• The social worker sets aside personal biases and

maintains a professional and objective
relationship with the client.
• Evaluations are made objectively and without
the influence of others’ opinions.

5. Principle of Confidentiality

• Sensitive and personal information may be

disclosed during the intervention process.
• Information about the clients must be kept
private.
• This goes hand in hand with the core value of
integrity.

6. Principle of Self-Determination

• The right of the client to decide for himself or

herself is recognized.
• Social workers should not impose decisions or
solutions but instead support and guide the
client toward making wise decisions.

Social work provides support and guidance to its clients

by providing quality service exhibited by upholding the
profession’s set of principles.

As social workers deal with the problems they face

within their surroundings, they must always consider
the conditions and needs of the people.

The principles of social work are the following:

acceptance, affirming individuality, purposeful
expression of feelings, nonjudgemental attitude,
confidentiality, and self-determination.