The
Discipline of
Social
Work
DIASS
Presented by: Liberty V. Bendaen
While there is a diverse array of settings in which
social workers practice, together social workers
share the commitment to:
1 Promote social welfare
2
Help people from all backgrounds overcome
the individual challenges they are facing
3
Advocate for social and economic justice
for members of diverse communities
4
Embody the social work code of ethics
Definition,
Goals and
Scope of
Social Work
Social work as a profession has
evolved over time, this profession
aims to help individuals fit better
into their environment while
changing the environment so that it
works better for individuals.
GOALS OF SOCIAL WORK
The National Association of Social
Workers has conceptualized social
work practice as having five major
goals by Zastrow (2009), which can
be classified based on the 3C’s of
goal as stated by Dela Cruz (2016):
1. The Goal on Caring
This is to develop a sense of
personal and societal safety
and security by offering public
service through social welfare
programs.
2. The Goal on Curing
This is to have a holistic
development for physiological,
psychological, emotional, and
intellectual growth for the deprived
members of the community.
3. The Goal on Changing
This is to ensure that social justice
and human rights are being honored
by the individual,
the society and the government and
be able to design social welfare
program to meet its need.
Scope of
Social
Work
To supplement your understanding in the value of social work,
it is important to study the scope of social work. The scope of
social work includes:
1. Child development Social Work
2. Medical Social Work
3. Clinical Social Work
4. Social work administration and management
5. International Social work
6. Social work as community organizer
7. Women welfare
8. Crisis intervention
9. Criminal justice
Social workers work directly with, and on behalf of, a wide variety of
populations. Some examples are:
Children and adolescents.
Individuals with disabilities.
Individuals who are experiencing poverty or homelessness.
Medical patients.
LGBTQ individuals.
Individuals suffering from addiction.
Students.
Individuals with mental health concerns.
Refugees and immigrants.
Aging individuals.
Couples and families.
Victims of violence or trauma.
Individuals who are incarcerated or in the criminal justice system.
Morales and Sheafor (1998, 8th
edition) identified and described
the fields included in social
work, which are as follows:
1. Social Work as a Primary Discipline
In terms of child welfare, social work offers:
a. The adoption and services to unmarried parents – the difficult decision of
unmarried parents whether to keep the baby or place the child for adoption.
b. The foster care – removes the children from their homes and placing them
temporarily in a foster care.
c. The residential care – a group care home or a residential treatment center for
children
d. The support in own homes – provides support services to keep children in their own
homes.
e. The protective services – protect the child from child abuse, maltreatment, and
exploitation by one or both parents Family services, social work offers:
a. Family counseling – utilize the three approaches to this type of counselling
namely:
a.1. family case work, involves helping individual members of the family
change their behavior to make them more effective contributors in the family:
a. 2. family group work, the process by which the family examines its
relationships and resolves their problem with the help of the social worker; and
a. 3. family therapy, focuses on transforming the structure of the family to
make it more supportive to its members.
b. Family life education - an intervention to
strengthen the family through educational activities
that seek to prevent family breakdown.
c. Family planning – assisting the families plan the
number, spacing, and timing of the births of
children to fit with their needs
Income maintenance, social work offers:
a. Public assistance – refers to the provision of the financial aid to
the poor. Services include cash grants, food stamps, general assistance
such as hospital and medical care, and supplemental security income.
b. Social insurances – social provisions that are funded by
employers and employees through contributions to a specific program.
c. The other income maintenance programs include cash in kind
benefits, emergency support funds, and other resources which can be
used by the poor for food and shelter.
2. Social Work as an Equal Partner
Aging, social work offers:
a. The support for people in their own homes program consists of helping older
people remain in their own homes by linking them with community programs that
bring health care services into their homes.
b. The support for people in long-term care facilities program refers to nursing
home care services into their homes.
Community services, social work offers:
a. Community organization
b. Community planning
c. Community development
3. Social Work as a Secondary Discipline
Industry, social workers act as:
a. Support to both the managers and the employees of the
companies. They make themselves available to the employees
with social problems for individual, family, and group
counseling.
b. Provide information to the managers as basis for management
decisions that might have an impact on the social atmosphere
in the working environment.
a. Facilitate the provision of direct educational
and social services and provide direct social case
work and group work services to selected
students;
b. Act as a pupil advocate, focusing on urgent
needs of the selected group of students;
c. Consult with school administrators major
problems;
d. Consult with teachers about techniques for
creating a climate in which children are freed and
motivated to learn by interpreting social and
cultural influences in the lives of students;
e. Organize parent and community groups to
channel concerns about students and the school
to improve school and community relations.
The National Association of Social
Workers (NASW, n.d) stated that the
mission of the social work
profession is rooted in a set of core
values.
Core Values
in Social
Work
These core values include (Morales and
Sheafor, 1998, 8th edition):
service
social justice
dignity and worth of the person
importance of human
relationships
integrity; and
competence
Conclusion
·"Social work originates from humanitarian ideals and
democratic philosophy and has universal application to
meet human needs arising from personal- societal
interactions and to develop human potential. Professional
social workers are dedicated to service for the welfare and
self-realization of human beings; to the development of
resources to meet individual, group, national and
international needs and aspirations; and to the achievement
of social justice (IFSW as cited by Morales and Sheafor, 8th
edition).”
Roles and
Functions of a
Social Worker
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Case Manager
Case managers are involved
in locating services and
assisting their clients to
access those services.
4. 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.
5. Facilitator
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.
6. Organizer
Social Workers are involved in
many levels of community
organization and action including
economic development, union
organization, and research and
policy specialists.
7. Manager
As managers,
they are better able to influence
policy change and/or
development, and to advocate,
on a larger scale, for all
underprivileged people.
Conclusion
The roles of the social work provide
direction for professional activities.
The role of the social work is generally
interwoven with functions. The
function is the main activities
performed by the social worker.
