The Historical Development Of Social Work Essay

The National Association of Social Workers states “The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty” (NASW, 2017, p. 1). Social work has always been around due to the constant reality of poverty but was not an actual job title until Jane Addams a Quaker woman in 1889 opened up her organization the Hull House. She began drawing attention to the needs of people in America by getting involved with politics with the goal of introducing laws that would help people in need. Before Jane Addams brought attention to the issues, churches were doing their best

Early social work focused on individuals and casting blame on them for their circumstances. Social workers had good intentions, but believed poor people were poor because of some failing on their part and often held a moralistic view that they were better than those they were helping. Social work has always had some type of organization behind the

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.”

The journey towards the attainment of the Bachelor of the social work degree has been an enlightening and educational experience, as the individual is exposed to the realities of many social and political issues in the society. As a student, I ventured into the degree, with minimal insight as to how the degree can influence and shape the way I perceive the social world, and the way I relate these matters to myself. However, throughout my endeavour, which encompasses years of theoretical studies, and two intensive placements at two drastically different organisations, I believe I have accumulated the bare minimal knowledge to possess a solid foundation about the unfairness and inequality that people in disadvantaged conditions face. Social workers are predominantly found in welfare organisations which Howe (as cited in Limber, 2015) suggested largely influences the practice, direction and values of the social worker, and impacts on their ability to act autonomously (Lymbery, 2015). During my placements, there was a dominant theme that frequently stood out and enticed my attention. This was the accepted practice of focusing on the individual’s problem, as opposed to the social problems that existed and the lack of acknowledgement about the social restrictions of the human agency that limited self-determination. The realization that organisations were managed this way was important in ensuring that I made a proactive effort to understand and untangle the reasons behind such

In this essay I will discuss what learning from K216 materials has been useful to me whilst working with vulnerable and/or disadvantaged service users in my student placement, and what learning I have applied to my practice. Throughout I will look at how my learning informed what I decided to do, how I went about doing this and my understanding of the practice. I will discuss learning in respect of two areas of social work, which are ‘Communication’ and ‘Working collaboratively’. For ‘Communication’ I will focus on communication with service users with disabilities and/ or additional needs and I will explore a case of a mother who I had a telephone call with who was in crisis and in a highly emotional state. With ‘Working collaboratively’,

In order to understand how Sheldon qualifies as a leader in social work, it is important to understand the history of social work. While charity and aid organizations existed in the United States since before the American Revolution and had begun to exert a greater social influence in America around the time of the Civil War, social work, as a profession, is relatively new. The profession of social work saw a transition from private aid to a public aid system. It also helped usher in a number of legislative changes, which reflected a state interest in the health and welfare of citizens. These legislative changes marked a significant

The profession of social work has been in the health care field ultimately since the beginning of the health care system. However, throughout the years, the roles of the social worker and their prevalence have changed just as much as the system itself.

In retrospect, the authors speak on the importance of social workers and how they very needed. “The depression and the world war drew the profession back momentarily to social concerns and provided a social context for the emergence of social group work and community organization as social work specializations” (Specht &

The history of social work can partly be attributed to the lack of clarity in best meeting needs of the African American community. Beginning with the foundation of organizations in the late 19th century that began social work practice and its necessary role in the black community to introduce former slaves into society as citizens; African Americans were still facing discrimination and prejudice which shadowed the progression of the social

Social work to many serves as an industry where the public helps the poor and only the poor to succeed in life. When as a matter of fact social work not only helps the poor, but also helps anyone who needs it such as children, soldiers, people with special needs, etc. There many different agencies and programs within social work. These agencies and programs are funded by the government and/or by a non-profit organization. In order to, be a social worker a person needs to have the ambition to help others, without this characteristic the person will fail to succeed in any field.

One of the key things that stood out for me while doing this course and before has made me realize that social work is harder than I thought it would be. There are many critical aspects of social work that help us work with clients. One of the biggest things that have stood out for me was that helping people is more complicated than I thought there are so many critical things in the process that work to help others. Therefore it is not as easy as I expected it would be. The main reasons that I wanted to do this course was because I ultimately wanted to do to help people. I have learned that many factors come into play in the field of social work, including levels of practice, ethics and critical reflection and self-care.

Social work with families and individuals began when volunteers from charities or churches provided help for those in need1. After the war, many families were poverty-stricken. Families had no homes & they had no food to survive. Social work with individuals and families began when volunteers from different organizations, like churches or charities, aided families who were living in poverty2. Later, this process was soon to be known as social case work. Social case work is when the volunteer who is helping the family, collects information about the family or individual and helps find a way to solve their issue3. Mary Richmond was the first person to have the idea to gather the information about families and individuals4. Mary believed that when you gathered the information & shared them with other social workers, you’d be able to communicate about that individuals circumstances & help find a solution to their needs5.

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.

Social work practice is helping vulnerable populations make positive changes in their lives. I have always felt the most fulfilled helping others. When I began college, I decided to major in psychology with the intention of becoming a psychologist or psychiatrist. I wanted to work with individuals with mental illnesses or children. Following my first year of college, a marriage and family therapist informed me about the social work profession. He said that a social work degree was the most versatile of the “helping” professions and informed me that I could earn a Master’s degree in one year and become a therapist. I decided to investigate social work and enrolled in an introductory course. I learned that social workers believe that every person

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.