`` So You Want For A Social Worker `` By Alan Keith Lucas Essay

Margarita Perez received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from York College, The City University of New York. She then went on to receive her Master’s of Social Work degree at San Francisco State University, with a double emphasis on Individuals, Families and Groups, as well as, Child Welfare. She began her social work career as a Mental Health Treatment Specialist at Family Paths, a child abuse prevention and treatment agency. There she gained experience dealing with infant mental health, lack of attachment and the effect of trauma on early childhood. She now works as a Family Treatment Rehabilitation Case Planner at Forestdale Inc, a child welfare agency dedicated to ensuring the safety of all children.

“Social work is the professional activity of helping individuals, groups, or communities enhance or restore their capacity for social functioning and creating societal conditions favorable to this goal (Kirst-Ashman 2017)”. “Social welfare is a national system of programs, benefits, and services that help people meet the social, economic, educational, and health needs fundamental to the maintenance of society (Kirst-Ashman 2017)”. Many people agree that social welfare and social work is very important, but there are some who do not understand their purpose or what they do. This leads to a lot of confusion and uncertainty, and it shows with how people treat social workers. One major issue the U.S. is facing is abortion. There’s two sides to

“The life course is the progression and path an individual takes from conception to death, and considers that the whole life of the individual presents opportunities for development, change and growth” (Crawford and Walker 2010).

I was in grade 10 when I thought of becoming a social worker. As social worker practitioner the fields that interest me to work in is domestic violence and child abuse because I want to make change to the society. Also Mahatma Gandhi was my major inspiration through this quote “Be the change that you wish to see in the world”. Than an idea came to me, why not involve my contribution to the wide variety of communities. My communication with school counsellors and social workers has impacted my choice of desiring to study social work. I realised that if I have had a chance of seeing a social worker when I was young, things would have been much easier and less stressful. I want to provide opportunities that I did not encounter to other people. This essay will reflect my past experience, motivation and why I want to be a social worker, values, beliefs and theory of practice.

Starting from being a certified nursing assistant, to becoming a unit secretary for a hospital that specialize in wound care, I have always known that I wanted to help individuals in need. However, I noticed that I was not happy with helping individuals in medical need. It wasn’t until I decided to continue my education that I introduced to the world of social work. Going up with a single mother that suffered from drug abuse, my family depended on social services for a lot of assistance, from everything such as food stamps to family counseling. This life experience helped guide my thoughts on pursuing social work as a career. I know that I want to help individuals that are down on their luck, but I want to take it one step farther, by providing individual counseling to adults that may need more one on one time, than what is normally given from a social service agency. Counseling will also give me a chance to do what I love most and that is to talk and get to know the individuals that I am helping make like changing decisions. Working as a clinical social work has my interest because it does not put limits on what I can do or who I can help, and it will set me up for my future goal of becoming a licensed clinical social worker. Being my own boss and changing my community is my dream job, opportunity and goal. I am currently on my way with changing my community and living my dream, because I am currently working for a non-profit

I am interested in becoming a master-level social worker to gain the skills necessary to become a well-rounded advocate for change. Likewise, I am interested in having the opportunity to work with faculty who are conducting research and making an impact in the Charlotte community. As a social worker, I plan on working towards eliminating the school-to-prison pipeline, which directs youth into the juvenile and criminal justice system without taking into consideration how social problems, such a poverty, abuse, and drugs, directly affects their behavior. In addition, I would like to tackle the issues surrounding adolescent sexuality, including teenage pregnancy, STI transmission, and sex education in schools. My target population are vulnerable youth within urban cities. Since The University of North Carolina Charlotte is located in one of the largest and most diverse cities in the nation, I have decided to seek admission into the MSW program. Having the opportunity to utilize the skills I will be learning in the classroom while working hands on with my target population is of utmost importance to me. Upon graduating with my MSW, I plan on continuing my work in the Charlotte community and working as a full-time school social worker. UNC Charlotte’s MSW programs puts emphasis on serving vulnerable populations, which is congruent with the type of people I would like to work with.

Social workers are caregivers, they provide assistance to people in need, and they address social problems. The social worker’s goal is the improvement of society to better the lives of individuals in need. The social work professional mission is to enhance the well-being of people and to assist them in meeting their basic needs, with particular emphasis on the needs of the poor, and the vulnerable individual. The Social Work profession has six core values. Social workers incorporate these core values into their daily practices. Service to others, the social workers’ goals are to serve others and to put the needs of their clients ahead of their own. Social justice, social workers aim to improve the lives of the disadvantaged, vulnerable and oppressed populations. Social workers understand the essential value of every human life, regardless of an individual’s ethnic background, cultural difference or religious belief. Their goal is to respect the dignity and worth of every person. Integrity, social workers strive to conduct themselves in a trustworthy, honest, and responsible manner at all times. Competence, the social workers practice their profession within their areas of expertise and that they regularly seek to improve and develop their knowledge.

This particular client was very withdrawn, quiet, fearful of telling the truth, fearful of mother reactions to services and not familiar with working with lighter skinned people. This client was hesitant initially with treatment and services and seemed to not be aware of the unhealthy situation she was in. She did not have ambitions, plans, or hopes for the future. The client was compliant to the mother’s requests, and did not stand up for herself when being attacked verbally or physically. This all presented a challenge for me as her social worker to make connections outside of the obvious fact that we were from completely different worlds. Building trust with this client seemed impossible at first.

According to the National Association of Social Workers (2016), “social workers help people overcome some of life’s most difficult challenges: poverty, discrimination, abuse, addiction, physical illness, divorce, loss, unemployment, educational problems, disability, and mental illness. They help prevent crises and counsel individuals, families, and communities to cope more effectively with the stresses of everyday life”. Through the lens of a professional, these are critical qualities and experiences that assist social workers in understanding people and the community, which they live in. In addition, it is very significant for social workers to identify and familiarize themselves with the neighborhood’s history, culture, customs, and issues and most importantly, the people. By being conversant with the background information, it will help social workers communicate more effectively while in the process of building and establishing relationships with the people in the community.

My vision of the social work field is being able to help people in need and being the person that people can look back on and remember as a huge help in time of need. I think my core values and beliefs will help me be an effective social worker and help me succeed in this field. It is in my belief that a person should never be knocked down when they are going through hardships, and rather empowering them. I also believe that not everyone could be a social worker because it takes a certain kind of empathetic and self-aware person. I truly believe that my upbringing has humbled me to understand and not be judgmental of people’s issues since I’ve seen a lot in my short twenty-one years.

School social workers work within schools to provide a variety of social, emotional, and mental health services to students to support overall success. The intent of this research is to evaluate the significance of having a school social worker available to general education students within the Owatonna High School setting and to examine the gaps in services that may have appeared since removal of this position in 2009. Various related studies were examined to outline a range of ways in which school social workers are used to support student success. During this study, a total of seven employees of the Owatonna School District were interviewed regarding school social work. As a whole the participants identified a large number of gaps

I chose social working as my career because many other people go through tough situations and have a difficult time talking to relatives or friends to help them through a tough situation. I thought of becoming a social worker so I can have the ability to change the lives of others. Social work is one of those careers you can truly make a difference in people’s lives. I want to become a social worker because life isn’t about just helping yourself it’s about helping others as well, which is what social workers do for a living. Child and family social workers protect children and families in need of assistance. Many families and children don’t feel comfortable talking to just anyone about obstacles they have faced in their lives which is why

Social workers may work toward asking, why these 19 states are legalized, but the other states are not?

A social worker has a very important job. Social workers help children and families in need of food, homes, and health care. They help children have a brighter future. There are many different types of social work. There are mental health, child and family, elementary, and high school social workers.

As the saying goes, “Our children are our future” and who you are as a child can determine who you can be later on in life. It is important for a child to be in a safe, comfortable and loving environment during its development so that the child can have the full advantage to become the best he can be in his future. My future career as a social worker will ensure just that. I chose this profession because of my own history. Growing up, I’ve had my share of social workers in my house. I experienced them as people who helped my family during a hard time. This is a career where I can fight for people’s rights. I will also be able to protect