Can Social Workers be Liable for the Safety of Children?

Social workers have a wide range of obligations. These obligations cover moral issues, ethical and legal issues. Section 6 of the NASW code of Ethics is concerned with social workers ‘obligations to the broader society. As social workers, we should promote the general welfare of society locally and globally, with the development of people, their communities, and their environment. Social workers have always advocated disadvantaged, vulnerable and oppressed populations. A social problem such as poverty affects communities as well as individuals. When addressing poverty, it is essential to examine the contributing factors such as political, social and economic issues.

Social work professions need to understand the importance of how individuals interact both with other people and their environment, to have an understanding how individuals are affected by these interactions (Rogers, p. 2). According to Rogers (2016), “Social workers are knowledgeable about human behavior across the life course; the range of social systems in which people live; and the ways social systems promote or deter people in maintaining or achieving health and well-being. Social workers apply theories and knowledge from the liberal arts to understand biological, social, cultural, psychological, and spiritual development (p. 2). Their work with clients begins with assessments to evaluations of intervention and is based in and supports of the core value system of the profession.

Social Workers –become involved in monitoring the child usually when the parents have asked for help or there is an ongoing concern in regards to the child’s home.

According to the National Association of Social Work, “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. 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.”

As a Child Protective Service Supervisor, I believe that all social workers should be required to report abuse and/or neglect. I believe this is a liability issue for all social workers. If they see abuse/neglect occurring and don’t report it, they could be legally responsible if something happens to that child. There are social workers who are specially trained to interview children in cases of abuse or neglect and they should be the people who do so.

People often assume that social workers take children away from their home and parents, but this is not true for most social workers. I have witnessed this behavior in several movies such as Daddy’s Little Girls and Precious. The movie Daddy’s Little Girls showed how a father was doing great with raising his children until one night he left the children home alone while he went to work. All of the children were under the age of thirteen .The house caught fire and the children were saved by the neighbors. The social workers became involved in this situation because the father was held responsible for putting his

This is because Social Workers are able to recognize a social problem and can help set up the appropriate plan(s) to target the problem. They are able to advocate for new policies to help target these problems, as well.

Social workers are very important to the legal process. They are the people who are considered experts in the area of child protective services because they work with abused children on a regular basis. Social workers play many roles when it comes to protecting children and getting them on a path to recovery. It is the social worker’s job to be a broker, support system,

Social workers are in a key position to helping parents and children in times of crisis. Social workers can be the helping hands for their clients either in therapy sessions, group therapy/support groups, crisis intervention, etc. Social work practitioners need to look for the warning signs in the teenagers, and the give the right techniques and services to help them cope with their diagnosis and/or struggles.

Social workers many time are put in very tough predicaments. They are required to accept reports of abuse, neglect, and dependency of children 24/7. Next the social worker must determine whether the statement being made about the abuse, neglect, or dependency are true or false. If they do not find it true or necessary they decline the task but the person making the report can challenge their decision. A social worker is required to get the law enforcement involved if there is multiple reports on

Social worker – These professionals support children, young people and their families who are vulnerable. They get involved when parents need help or if there are any concerns of a child within the home environment. This may also include children who are on the child protection registers or even those with a disability. They offer a range of information and counselling. Social workers also manage and organise care plans for children and their families. They will assess the family’s situation and then use a range of knowledge and frameworks to support them in the best possible way. The recognition and understanding of the family’s behaviour and events that happen overtime are very important in ensuring successful and positive outcomes for everyone

Also when becoming a social worker, the job will require that everyone who is involved in the situation is receiving help. According to the Child Care Careers book this may include giving individual help to every person in the situation. Such as, if the mother is a drug addict, she may require some rehab. Or if the father is very ill, he will need medical attention. Or if the parent(s) and a little insane or have brain trouble, they might need to go to an insane asylum.

“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)

#1 A: Social work can be defined as a broad profession, with the sole purpose of improving the lives and relieving the hardships of the members of a population. Social work addresses many problems for the well being of society, including: health care, criminal justice and domestic violence, economic and public policies, child and family welfare, as well as homelessness. Social workers are trained professionals with the education and tools necessary to address problems from several different perspectives, with the intention of helping the masses and not just individuals. Social workers have the ability to inform people in need of resources available to help them achieve a wide variety of goals, whether personal social mobility, or financial independence.

Social workers are the critical bridge between families and the resources that they need. The job of  those specializing in child and family services may include protecting children and families from domestic abuse, discrimination, and illness. They also help with connecting families with resources like food stamps, homes, and psychological treatments.