As social workers, under the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics, we are expected to, “Enhance human well-being and help meet the basic needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty” (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2015, pp. in chapter 7 beginning). Within my community, 18.8% of the population are living in poverty (American FactFinder - Community Facts, n.d.), in a city where 56% of the population are in poverty (Campbell, 2014). This is an issue that impacts individual’s human rights, because it can be difficult for them to find affordable housing, healthcare, or impact their basic rights as individuals. On the surface it would not appear that poverty was an issue, as nice homes can be seen. However, once past these homes and even looking closer it was evident that issues surrounding the community existed. Homes would be vandalized, run down, or abandoned, and while most of Jacksonville’s poor reside in and around downtown, it was evident that this community needed better social services to gain more support from the city as a whole.
At the micro level, this impacts the individuals who reside in this community, because it demonstrates the need for greater support. This support is needed in social services, which could help find individuals better jobs, work to promote education to help future generations, and provide affordable housing. While 87.5% of the population
1) From the soical workers point of view and being apart of the National Association of Black Social Workers I can see why she would not baby boy Hakim to be place in a white home, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. In the article of National Association of Black Social Workers they state that a black boy living in a white home they would not grow up with a postive racial identity. That they would not get the proper needs and attention that they would in a black family home.They say that ethnicty is everything and the child being in a white home the family may not know how to do their hair properly and then either moving to a nieghboorhood that is segergated or preparing the neighborhood that they will be a trans racial family. So for Mrs. Johnson, the social worker, looking out for baby Hakims well being is only helping him be put in the right family that would help him identify his ethnicity and no confusion with race identity.
Core competency four entails that social workers advocate for human rights and social justice. The first practice behavior is demonstrating necessary skills to change social institutions to be more humane and responsive. I will demonstrate my mastery of this skill through a health promotion activity that I participated regarding preventing the sell of tobacco products to teens. The second practice behavior is identifying weakness in various systems and developing and proposing social policies that promote social justice. I will be illustrating how I mastered this practice behavior through a policy analysis that I wrote on the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
The goal of a social worker is to help others in tackling whatever problems they are currently facing and pairing them with the appropriate resources needed so that they can lead a productive and healthy life. A social worker lives by a strong value system that is referred to as social justice. According to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), “Social justice is the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political, and social rights and opportunities,” (2015, para. 2). Paul Loeb, author of the book Soul of a Citizen, writes moving stories of ordinary people who inspire others to want to be better citizens. This paper will be a reflection on how the book made me feel, the affect it has had on my formation as a social worker, any experiences I have had in social justice advocacy and what vision I have of myself as a social justice social worker.
In this case study, there are instances where ethical judgment is needed, and Matha’s decisions and actions require her consideration of the NASW code of ethics. The primary mission of social workers to promote well-being and to meet the human needs of people they deal with in an agency setting. Also, the social worker should pay close attention to the needs of their clients and often collaborate with those individuals who are vulnerable, oppressed and are living in poverty. “A historic and defining feature of social work is the profession’s focus on individual well-being in a social context and the well-being of society. Fundamental to social work is attention to the environmental forces that create, contribute to and address problems in living”( Socialwokers.org,2017). In other words, social workers must address the social problems of people. In this case study, there are ethical concerns that must be dealt with to ensure the Zachary receives the correct services he is required to receive.
Since we are all interconnected within society, it is essential for every person to possess rational ethical standards as the quality of our lives depends on them. Indeed, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and I both recognize the importance of enhancing the well-being of those who are vulnerable and how possession of ethics contributes to such development. While completing the Values Inventory for Policy Practice forms, there were eighteen similarities between the NASW and my personal beliefs regarding the set of statements. Some of them include, supporting gay and lesbian couples in affording the same rights (e.g., marriage) as heterosexual couples, protecting the dignity of commercial sex workers, restoring the right to vote for convicted felons, preserving the right of individuals to control their own end-of-life decisions and recognizing transgendered individuals by their chosen gender identity. Such circumstances pose conflict concerning one’s ability to self-govern versus their inability to make personal choices. Our ability to exercise autonomy is an agentic expression that gives us control over our own lives. Thus, minimizing this ability not only diminishes one’s dignity, but also contributes to internal oppression. The NASW and I both agree that respecting the self-determination of a client (as long as the individual is not causing harm to another) is equally as important as promoting their rights.
“The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well being and help meet the basic human needs of all people with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed and living in poverty.” (1)
The mission of social work is to empower and enhance the quality of life by helping all people to meet the basic human needs, especially with those who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. The mission of social work is deep rooted in a set of core values that have acted as the foundation for social work. The core social work values are service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence (NASW Code of Ethics). As social workers, we must apply the core values in our everyday profession and practice. The NASW Code of Ethics provides clear understanding of principles and values social workers should hold and exemplify. Our primary goal as social workers is to help those
Social workers play many roles in aiding to serve low income persons. A big part of social work is working with the low-income individuals by advocating for income, employment and social policies in hopes to make a difference in families and individual’s lives (Wheeler & McClain, 2015). Advocating in social work is a big part in helping promote economic justice and overall wellness of everyone in society (Wheeler & McClain, 2015). Through the years social workers have remained strong advocators on affordable and safe housing for those in need (Mizrahi & Davis, 2011). Social workers have been the ones who consistently advocate that housing is a need and a basic human right.
The practice of social work has evolved from three major movements, The Charity Organizations, Settlement Houses, and Child Saving Movements. “Charity organization societies were developed by philanthropists to regulate the use of charitable agencies by the poor” (pg. 52). This society was organized to assist the needy, but also to ensure that they only received help from one charity. There is a stigma that people should not be helped too much or they will become reliant on the assistance of the government. Our role as a social worker is to make sure that people are getting as much assistance as they need. Some people have no choice and do have to rely on
The Curriculum Policy Statement of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE, 2001), the accrediting body of all bachelor 's and master 's social work degree programs in the United States, requires all social work programs to teach students how to promote economic and social justice. The revised Code of Ethics (1996) of the National Association of Social Workers proclaims the pursuit of social justice one of the profession 's core values and establishes as an ethical imperative, “Social workers challenge social injustice” (NASW, 1996, p. 5). At first glance, these statements give the appearance of a trade which has retained its professional identity regardless of the opposition demonstrated by the current trends in social, political, and economic policy; however, upon closer inspection these phrases seem archaic, even patronizing as they assume that social workers work for rather than with people. Then what do these statements really signify?
In this essay I will be giving a brief introduction to the history of social work practice, by introducing the laws that contributed to its development. Explaining how the sub divisions divide into specialism 's within the variety of social work settings, using both public and private sectors to show understanding. Also, demonstrate knowledge of different legislation that has been introduced to social work practice over the past 25 years and why it is used in particular areas. Then to finalise using protection issues, how to justify why legislation was used by assessing the likely impact of results.
Since the profession was recognized many concerns arose regarding the values and ethics of social workers. The key points of the NASW Code of Ethics, the CSWE Educational Policy and Standards, and HIPAA will be summarized. Some of the most challenging ethical issues facing social workers and the social work profession today, have been explored. The core values of the
In the NASW Code of Ethics, principle #2 is “social workers challenge social injustice.” Social Workers are change agents. They fight to break ethical, cultural, economical, and social walls of indifference. Because people are different and tend not to fit in with the rest of society, or at least with how the rest of society believes they should be like those individuals are excluded from society. They are discriminated against and ridiculed. If they aren’t the ‘right’ color, hold to the ‘right’ beliefs, live the ‘right’ life or come from the ‘right’ place they are treated as ineligible to live. Those people are torn down, shunned, and disgraced.
Improving the lives of individuals is the objective of the social work profession. There is six values within National Association of Social work Code of Ethics (NASW): Service, Social Justice, Dignity, and Self-worth of the person, Importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. These values are for social workers and their work with the client(s). Regardless of one’s race, religious belief, sex or sexual orientation each value benefits all individuals. Social workers should always practice professional values. Clients suffer from when the social worker does not uphold values. Code of Ethics is established for all social workers to obey and follow them. In this this paper, I will discuss the how “Importance of Human Relationship” will be the easiest to uphold and how “Social Justice” will challenge me as a social worker working with future clients, community and organizations.
Social Work’s core philosophy and values are centered around social justice and social well-being. Oppression, injustice, discrimination, and violence are antithetical to the social work profession. Social Work believes in strength-based approaches and the person-in-environment perspective to cater the needs and welfare of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society at large. Generally, the target populations for social work are vulnerable, marginalized, and oppressed people; however, social workers provide services to people with a wide range of problems, such as poverty, addiction, mental illness, etc. to empower them to meet their own needs. Historically, the social work profession started its operation by providing neighborhood