MODULE

Discipline and Ideas in the

5 Applied Social Sciences
Social Work

Introduction

Social work is a profession concerned with helping individuals, families, groups and communities
to enhance their individual collective well-being. It aims to help people develop their skills and
their ability to use their own resources and those of the community resolve problems. Social work
is concerned with individual and personal problems but also with broader social issues such as
poverty, unemployment and domestic violence.

Human rights and social justice are philosophical underpinnings of social work practice. The
uniqueness of social work practice is in the blend of some values, knowledge and skills, including
the use of relationship as the basis of all interventions and respect for the client`s choice and
involvement.

In a socio-political-economic context which increasingly generates insecurity and social tensions,

social workers play an important and essential role.

Learning Objectives

After reading and analyzing the module, you should be able to:

1. Describe professionals and practitioners in social work

2. Explain clientele and audiences in social work processes
3. Discuss on the discipline of social work
4. Identify the professionals and practitioners in social work

Social work is usually a part of the human services department of a government. It serves as a
link between the government’s clients and other government resources, such as: manpower
training leading to employment, welfare payments towards financial assistance, legal consultation
in dealing with legal problems, food and water relief at times of drought, famine and war, etc.

Five social work practice (SWP) pilots started up in England between December 2009 and May
2010. These independent organizations were commissioned by local authorities to provide
services for looked after children and care leavers. The pilots were introduced to discover whether
smaller social work-led organizations independent of local authorities could improve the morale
and retention of social workers and bring decision making closer to front-line practice. These
changes were expected to deliver increased consistency and stability of care for looked after
children and care leavers. The pilots have differed substantially in their organizational forms and
their origins and in the numbers and profiles of looked after children and young people they
support (the Cohort).

The SWPS comprised:

SWP A: An in-house SWP which has remained within the local authority as a separate and
discrete unit. Cohort of 180 young people aged 14-21.

SWP B: A professional practice run as a private company by an organization that aged 8-17 with
high levels of need. already delivered social care training. Cohort of 80 children and young people

SWP C: A voluntary organization already providing the local authority's care leaving service.
Taking on the attributes of an SWP was a gradual process for an already established service.
Cohort of 582 young people aged 16-24 at start-up.

SWP D: An SWP run by a voluntary organization with a long history of providing people aged 0-
17. services for local authorities. The SWP was a new venture for this organization and staff were
recruited specifically to this service. Cohort of 120 children and young

SWP F: A professional practice run as a social enterprise established by a group of social work
practitioners who formerly worked for the host local authority and people aged 8 and above. who
moved out to form the SWP, taking with them responsibility for many of the children with whom
they already worked. Cohort of 148 children and young people aged 8 and above.

DISCIPLINE OF SOCIAL WORK

Social work is a discipline within human services. Its main goal is to assist individuals and families
with their needs and solve their problems using a multidiscipline approach. To be effective, social
workers work closely with many agencies and professionals.

Social work provides an important service to society. Individuals and families in need of help are
the focus of it and are referred to as clients. As social workers, our goal is to help clients live
productive life in their own community. To reach this goal, we often enlist the assistance of family
members, relatives, local religious leaders, tribal leaders and elders, and other influential
members of the community. Although institutionalization may be necessary at times, it is a
temporary solution. The goal is to help clients return to normal life in a natural setting.

Social Work

Social work is a helping profession, the main goal of social work is to improve a society's overall
well-being, especially for the most vulnerable positions.

Social work practice is also strengths-based. Social workers help people or groups identify their
problems, determine their skills and capacities, what they are doing well, and how that was
accomplished, and then analyze ways that those strengths might be applied to the identified
problems.

Many social workers work directly with clients who are individuals, families or small groups. These
social workers help clients cope with problems such as poverty, abuse, addiction, and mental
illness by providing counseling, connecting clients with service providers, and empowering clients
to meet their own needs.

Other social workers choose to work with communities, organizations or governments. These
workers advocate for vulnerable populations, fighting to end the inequalities and injustices they
see in their communities. They create policies, break down barriers, and drive reform.\

Goals

There are some types of goals for social work, such as:

• To develop generalist social work practitioners who utilize knowledge, values, and skills
to serve client systems of diverse sizes and types.

• To develop generalist practitioners who value, understand and apply knowledge of

diversity to all types to social work practice.

• To prepare practicing social workers who understand and appreciate the importance of
the changing knowledge base of social work and related disciplines and utilize this
knowledge base to inform practice decisions and evaluate outcomes.
 • To prepare generalist practitioners who promote social justice and advocate on behalf of
oppressed groups.

• To develop generalist practitioners who are knowledgeable about issues relevant to

women including the promotion of social and economic justice and women’s status as a
population at risk.

• The provision of services in organizing and/or other professionals in the promotion of

social change;

• The provision of contractual consultation services to other social workers or professionals

or organizations;

• The development, promotion, implementation and evaluation of social policies aimed at

improving social conditions and equality.

Scope

The scope of practice of the profession of social work means the assessment, diagnosis,
treatment and evaluation of individual, interpersonal and societal problems using social work
knowledge, skills, interventions and strategies, to assist individuals, dyads, families, groups,
organizations and communities to achieve optimum psychosocial and social functioning and
includes, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the following:

• The provision of assessment, diagnostic, treatment and evaluation services within a

relationship between a social worker and a client.

• The provision of supervision and/or consultation to a social worker, social work student or
other supervisee.

• The provision of social support to individuals and/or groups including relationship building,
life skills instruction, employment support, tangible support including food and financial
assistance, and information and referral services.

• The provision of educational services to social work and social service work students.

• The development, promotion, management, administration, delivery and evaluation of

human service programs, including that done in collaboration with other professionals.

Core Values

Social work grew out of humanitarian and democratic ideals, and its values are based on respect
for the equality, worth, and dignity of all people. Since its beginnings over a century ago, social
work practice has focused on meeting human needs and developing human potential. Human
rights and social justice serve as the motivation and justification for social work action. In solidarity
with those who are dis-advantaged, the profession strives to alleviate poverty and to liberate
vulnerable and oppressed people to promote social inclusion. Social work values are embodied
in the profession’s national and international code of ethics.

Principles

There have been a variety of principles of social work put forward by various authors. However,
the following are the most common to all authors:

• Principle of acceptance
• Principle of individualization
• Principle of Self-determination
• Principle of Non-judgmental attitude
 • Principle of Confidentiality

There are other principles as well like purposeful expression of feelings, controlled emotional
involvement, objectivity, accountability, self-awareness, and principle of access to resources.
However, we are discussing the most common five principles of social work.

Principle of Acceptance

Acceptance is a fundamental social work principle that implies a sincere understanding of clients.
This principle holds that the professional social worker accepts the client as it is. Social workers
who accept clients treat them humanely and considerately and afford them dignity and worth.
Social Workers convey acceptance by taking genuine concern, listening receptively,
acknowledging others' points of view, and creating a climate of mutual respect. Acceptance
implies that social workers understand clients' perspectives and welcome their views.

To "accept" also mean to "say yes to [an] invitation". In social work situation, a client invites a
worker into his life, into his problem, into his emotional stressful state, and into his personal affairs.
The principle of acceptance says that the worker shows his/ her acceptance by taking genuine
concern, listening receptively, etc.

Principle of Individualization

The client of a social agency is like all the other persons we have ever known, but he is different
too. In broad ways, he is like all other human beings; in a somewhat more limited way, he is like
all other human beings of his age or time or culture. But, as we move from understanding him
simply as a human being to understanding him as this particular human being, we find that, with
all his general likeness to others, he is as unique as his thumbprint.

The principle of Individualization means that every client is unique for the worker. As we know
that the client is a person, with a problem in his / her life. He/she is a person with a particular
religious beliefs, economic position, social status, and a but the individual. particular cast. The
worker has to accept the client with all his/ her strengths and weaknesses. Every client is not just
an individual but the individual.

All people are unique and possess distinctive capabilities. When social workers affirm clients'
individuality, they recognize and appreciate their unique qualities and individual differences. They
treat clients as persons with rights and needs rather than as "objects" or "cases" or "yet another
appointment". Social workers who individualize clients free themselves from bias and prejudice,
avoid labeling and stereotyping, and recognize the potential of diversity." They demonstrate that
clients have a right "to be individual and to be treated not just as a human being but as this human
being with personal differences.

Principle of Self-Determination

Determination is a noun derived from the word "determine." "To determine" mean "to decide
something." Dictionary meaning of determination is "the process of deciding on or establishing a
course of action." From these we can infer that self-determination refer to the process of deciding
on or establishing a course of action by a person, or a group, or a state by itself, without any kind
of foreign Compulsion or coercion etc. Simply, the decisions which comes from oneself, which
are the results of one's own wishes and desires.

In social work literature, Self-determination is defined as "a condition in which a person's behavior
(i.e. his actions and thoughts) comes from his or her own wishes, desires and decisions." The
principle of self-determination is based on the recognition of the "right and need of clients to
freedom in making their own choices and decisions." Social workers have a responsibility to
create a working relationship in which choice can be exercised.

Stated one way, self-determination means not being coerced or manipulated. State another way,
self-determination means having the freedom or liberty to make choices.
In more simple words, this principle means that the worker will not impose his decisions on the
client. The social worker only provides a range of alternative while it is the client who has to make
the final choice of choosing an appropriate alternative. It is the way social work works-providing
alternatives.

Principle of Non-Judgmental Attitude

All human beings have dignity and worth. It is intrinsic. It is by nature. The principle of
nonjudgmental attitude means that Social Workers do not judge others as good or bad, worthy or
unworthy, dignified or undignified, etc. However, it does not imply that social workers do not make
decisions; rather it implies a non-blaming attitude and behavior.

Social workers do not blame the client for being incapable of solving his problems, neither the
worker blames him/her for being the cause of a particular problem. The worker remains non-
judgmental. It is the way social work works being nonjudgmental.

Principle of Confidentiality

Confidentiality, or the right to privacy, social worker must not disclose the client’s information,
such as their identity, their discussion with professionals, professional opinions about clients, or
records. Since clients often share sensitive, personal material with social workers, preserving
confidentiality or privacy is essential for developing trust, a key ingredient of any effective working
relationship.

Professionals and Practitioners in Social Work

A professional is a worker required to possess a large body of knowledge derived from extensive
academic study, with the training almost always formalized. Professions are at least to a degree
self-regulating, in that they control the training and evaluation processes that admit new persons
to the field, and in judging whether the work done by their members is up to standard. This differs
from other kinds of work where regulation is imposed by the state, or where official quality
standards are often lacking. Typically, a professional provides a service, in accordance with
established protocols for licensing, ethics, procedures, standards of service and
training/certification.

Roles

For social work, the role expectations are not quite as clearly understood by the general public.
Perhaps this is because there are so many professional roles in social work.

Broker

The social worker is involved in the process of making referrals to link a family or person to needed
resources. Social work professionals do not simply provide information. They also follow up to be
sure the needed resources are attained. This requires knowing resources, eligibility requirements,
fees and the location of services.

Advocate

In this role, social workers fight for the rights of others and work to obtain needed resources by
convincing others of the legitimate needs and rights of members of society. Social workers are
particularly concerned for those who are vulnerable or are unable to speak up for themselves.
Advocacy can occur on the local, country, state or national level. Some workers are involved in
international human rights and advocacy for those in need.

Case Manager

Case managers are involved in locating services and assisting their clients to access those
services. Case management is especially important for complex situations and for those who are
homeless or elderly, have chronic physical or mental health issues, are disabled, victims of
domestic or other violent crimes or are vulnerable children.

Educator

Social workers are often involved in teaching people about resources and how to develop
particular skills such as budgeting, the caring discipline of children, effective communication, the
meaning of a medical diagnosis, and the prevention of violence.

Facilitator

In this role, social workers are involved in gathering groups of people together for a variety of
purposes including community development, self-advocacy, political organization, and policy
change. Social workers are involved as group therapists and task group leaders.

Organizer

Social workers are involved in many levels of community organization and action including
economic development, union organization, and research and policy specialists.

Manager

Social Workers, because of their expertise in a wide variety of applications, are well suited to work
as managers and supervisors in almost any setting. As managers, they are better able to influence
policy change and/ or development, and to advocate, on a larger scale, for all underprivileged
people.

Function

Social Worker is a profession and academic discipline that improves the quality of life and well-
being of individuals, groups, and communities by direct practice, policy development, organizing
communities and outreach, and crisis intervention.

These seven core functions include:

• Engagement
• Assessment
• Planning
• Implementation
• Monitoring/Evaluation
• Supportive Counseling, and
• Graduated Disengagement

Areas of Specialization in which Social Workers Work

Specialization allows social workers to gain more experience and knowledge in their field of
interest and possibly increases their chances of employment. For example, many school social
work positions often require specific education and experience in a school setting. Common areas
of specialization include clinical, school, gerontological and child and family social work.

Child and Family Social Work

Many Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs allow students the opportunity to specialize in
child and family social work, also sometimes referred to as child welfare. On the Bachelor’s level
of practice, child and family social work usually involves working to improve the welfare and safety
of children, adolescents and their families. Typical job settings might include working for your child
protective services agencies where you make home visits and investigate allegations of child
abuse and neglect. Master’s level practitioners who specialize in child and family social work may
decide to work clinical settings providing mental health services, such as assessment, diagnosis
or individual, group and family therapy, to children and their families.

School Social Work

School social workers provide assessments, intervention and counseling to students throughout
their educational careers. A school social work specialization is mainly intended for students who
already know that intended for students who already know that they want to ultimately work in a
school. School social workers are usually master’s level practitioners, so this specialization is
primarily offered in master’s degree program. In this track of study, you will take specific
coursework in school social work. You may also interact with school personnel and parents and
provide direct services to students during your internship.

Social Work and the Aging

Social Workers are often called upon to provide services to older adults, including assessments,
supportive counseling and advocacy. Bachelor’s and master’s level students interested in working
with older adults may decide to specialize in social work and the aging. Specializing in this field
provides you with the education and experience you will need to work in some common settings,
such as home health care agencies or community centers for older adults. In some programs,
this specialization may be grouped in with other closely related fields, like health, or may be
referred to as gerontological social work.

Career Opportunities of Social Workers

Social work is one of those careers in which you can truly make a difference in people's lives,
here are five of most popular social work careers:

Medical/Public Health

Medical/public Health social workers can work in any facility that provides care to patients,
including hospitals, emergency rooms, hospices, nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities, assisted
living facilities and home health agencies. They work with patients to ensure they are being cared
for properly, facilitate communication between them and their caregivers, and assist with
paperwork and decision making.

Substance Abuse

Substance Abuse Social Workers are employed in a variety of venues, including rehabilitation
facilities, prisons, private practices, for and non-profit organizations, and juvenile detention
facilities. It is known as one of the more emotionally demanding areas of social work since
addiction is hard to treat. People struggling with addiction needs patience and compassion, and
navigating mood swings, relapses and anger require a great deal of dedication.

Mental Health

One area where Masters is required is Mental Health in the realm of clinical practice. Many mental
health workers provide therapy, and this requires advance education, as well as licensure, as a
clinical social worker. You can work in community mental health centers, mental hospitals, private
practices, hospitals and even schools. You assess your clients’ mental health, diagnose mental
disorders, develop treatment plans and assist in the daily living of those with mental disorders.

Child Welfare

Child welfare is an area of social work that requires sensitivity, compassion and a love of children.
Child welfare social workers provide services to children who are abused and neglected by their
parents or to children from lower income families who cannot afford to properly care for them.
Many child welfare workers work with child protective services to investigates reports of child and
neglect and intervene when a child’s when a child’s home environment is deemed unsafe. As a
child welfare social welfare, you would meet regularly with children and families to assess
conditions in the home and report on the care of a child is receiving. When a child is in danger,
child welfare workers facilitate the removal of that child and place them in a safe alternative
environment.

School Social Work

School Social Workers is one of the more common areas in the field, and there are different
capacities in which a school social worker can work. As a school social worker, you are a liaison
between school and student’s families, essentially bridging children’s personal lives and
education to make sure their needs are being met. You can function as a guidance counselor and
also work with special needs children to facilitate their integration into mainstream classes. You
are responsible for addressing a number of school issues, such as behavioral interventions
programs, truancy prevention programs, sexual education, health education, crisis intervention
and effective students.

Accountabilities

The specific accountabilities of this flexible role may alter from time to time in order to meet the
needs of those people who access or need the service/the business, but accountabilities will
include those listed below:

• Act as a lead senior professional representative for the service by working with a focus on
ensuring the effective delivery of services to those people who access or need the service,
acting with integrity, professionalism and respect on behalf of the organization, ensuring
at all times that the needs of individuals and the business are paramount.

• Manage and advise on complex cases within a specialist area including, working
alongside many other agencies, dealing with complex family dynamics, safeguarding,
managing complex risk levels and dealing with legal issues. This will include effectively
leading on the most efficient use of resources to produce the appropriate outcomes.

• Deliver an effective service and operate in accordance with the appropriate National
Occupational Standards for Social Work and the Health and Care Professions Council
(HCPC)

• Act on any allegation or suspicions of abuse or potential abuse of a vulnerable person.

Follow County Council procedures and contribute and lead on Safeguarding
Investigations and child protection planning where appropriate. Ensure the accurate and
timely reporting of issues and ensure correct procedures are followed.

• Chair a range of meetings, offer expert support to case conferences and produce high
quality assessments and reports for a range of functions to ensure that the identified social
care needs of children, young people and their families are met effectively and within
available resources.

• Contribute to the regular monitoring and review of services established to facilitate service
improvement. Lead on initiatives and development work as required. Represent the
service at events and meetings with external agencies, making commitments as directed
and agreed.

• Develop effective working relationships and communicate effectively with those people
who access or need the service, families, careers, colleagues and other professionals in
order to deliver the appropriate interventions and service delivery.

• Use professional knowledge on more complex cases to negotiate with and on behalf of
 those people who access or need the service and with a wide range of providers and other
professionals. Lead decision making on behalf of junior colleagues and advise them on
how to proceed.

• Professionally supervise, co-work, advise and mentor less experienced or

nonprofessionally qualified staff on casework and provision of care services, making sure
that staff act in accordance with procedures and good practice, assisting in the
development of staff and in the timely provision of services.

• Take responsibility for own development using relevant participative supervision and
appraisal processes to facilitate practice research, legislation, peer/user feedback and
social work progression. Prepare for, attend, contribute and participate fully in personal
supervision.

• Ensure effective implementation of department policies and procedures in line with

statutory responsibilities. Suggest reviews for policy developments and when appropriate
reviews of policies and procedures.

• Maintain accurate records of all work undertaken and produce case reports and
correspondence for a variety of audiences including meetings, conferences, court, panels
and other agencies. Monitor colleagues' record keeping as part of informal supervision.

• Responsible for proposing complex interventions taking into consideration both the needs
of the individual and the effective use of resources.

• Responsible for expenditures from an agreed budget when appropriate. E.g. making
necessary purchases in relation to situations arising with people who access or need the
service such as commissioning respite care.

Code of Ethics

An ethical code generally implies documents at three levels: codes of business ethics, codes of
conduct for employees, and codes of professional practice.

The profession has an obligation to articulate its basic values, ethical principles, and ethical
standards. The Code is relevant to all social workers regardless of their professional functions,
the settings in which they work, or the populations they serve.

The NASW Code of Ethics serves five purposes:

• The Code identifies core values on which social work's mission is based.

• The Code summarizes broad ethical principles that reflect the profession's core values
and establishes a set of specific ethical standards that should be used to guide social work
practice.

• The Code is designed to help social workers identify relevant considerations when
professional obligations conflict or ethical uncertainties arise.

• The Code provides ethical standards to which the general public can hold the social work
profession accountable.

• The Code socializes practitioners new to the field to Social work's mission, values, ethical
principles, and ethical standards.