Social Work (Core Values & Roles)

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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.

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