The Public's Perception Of Social Work

Of course one of the greatest personal rewards of doing our job is the compensation we receive for our time and services. While searching for the average salaries I discovered the average income of a social worker was somewhere around $50,000. The actual salaries varied by location and position. To be realistic I looked at the average income of a social worker from the Bangor Maine area, since this is a place I have considered moving to. According to the findings on Salary.com (2017) “The median annual Social Worker (BSW) salary in Bangor, ME is $48,535, as of January 30, 2017, with a range usually between $42,935-$54,399 not including bonus and benefit information and other factors that impact base pay.” I was actually surprised to see social workers

The class SW 6030 Human Development and the Social Environment has brought new insights and makes me see some topics in a different perspective. The critical reflection paper number one will integrate different concepts that I learned so far in this class.

What do Williams and Bell (2015) say about the image of the social work profession in the African American community?

Media prejudice and negativity. The medias representation of the social work profession, generally regarded to be negative, even displaying prejudice against social work has shaped what the public perceives social workers and their roles (Beddoe, Staniforth, & Fouche, 2017, p. 3). Negative perceptions from the public results in social workers who feel poorly understood as a profession, revealing a lack of clarity about the varied social work roles and settings (p. 3). Although many studies have been conducted about the negative image represented in the media about social workers, a study done by Davenport and Davenport (1997) argued that many of the stories in television did not portray social work in a negative light (as cited in Beddoe, Staniforth,

Arman was able to give us an in-depth perspective on how to be a good social worker as he worked for Child Protective Services for eight years and was able to bring home fifty children. That alone is a good career, yet Arman continues to keep on helping. He is a prime example of what a good social worker is. The main lesson he pushed is to always help the child first and to never feel like the bad guy. In the Indigenous social work 377 classes, Arman stated “As social workers it is our job to put ourselves in the shoes of the person we are helping” (personal communication, Arman Kitchemonia, October 2nd, 2017). This means that we must also help the family of the child too. It will also help if we get to know the community and Elders. He also told the class that when an Elder corrects you to always take it as a lesson. We will never know everything, so we have to respect each other’s ways of doing things. The biggest lesson I learned from that presentation was that in life if you do not pray, you will not receive any blessings. Since that class I started praying and it helps a lot with easing the mind.

Social workers should aspire to work on values of social justice, dignity and relationships. Worth of the person must always be looked at with integrity and competence for all service users (BASW 2012)

Another negative aspect from seeking a social working profession is the annual salary. “The annual salary for a social worker varies based on exact employment and geographical location, but the median salary is just above $44,000.00. This is lower than other comparable professions and the salary for social workers is not steadily climbing” (Medical Articles and

I am in agreement with your claim that the salary of social workers alone is not cause to initiate a policy or program to bring about change. The need for social change lies within the Social Work Reinvestment Acts proactive forethought to addressing the developing increase need for social workers to assist the growing population of individuals in need of services. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for social workers will increase by the year 2018 (Social Work Reinvestment Act, 2013). I find it a strength that the policy acknowledges that in order to serve the growing population of those in need of services, social worker salaries must be addressed based on the current trend that the profession is declining due to poor salaries,

Modern social workers participate actively in helping people to obtain rights, services, benefits and opportunities that they might not otherwise obtain through micro policy advocacy, ?often prioritize the needs of vulnerable populations when they engage in advocacy? (Jansson, 2016, p. 21). Through community immersion, the social worker gains an understanding of the community attributes and desiderata, requiring them to utilize their experience and expertise to advocate policies that will satisfy the client?s needs (NASW, n.d.). Furthermore, when social workers immerse themselves in the community, it becomes an act of care and concern to serve the community. Compelling them to implement new changes, depict workable intervention schemes, and generate attainable treatment plans to satisfy the needs of the individuals, families and community.

The role of the Social worker is varied as it involves the facilitation of change and empowerment of the individual through social, cultural and environmental influences. Between 1910 and 1970, the role of the social worker was significant due to the impact of the Stolen Generation on Australian society. The Stolen Generation was a dark period in the Australian history where many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were often taken without consent from their homes and families by the government, police and welfare authorities. The children were taken from their homes in order to try to ‘"civilize" them by assimilation into white society’ (McCarthy 2000). The impacts of this period often resulted in severe psychological consequences for the children, the loss of identity, social isolation, depression, alcohol abuse and an increased level of violence. The role of the Social Worker was significant during this period as they were often involved with removing children from their homes and were also required to participate in the reconciliation process to improve the relationships between Indigenous peoples and the wider Australian community. One of the lasting effects of this practice is the distrust of indigenous people towards the social welfare profession.

I have never felt so much drive and power to start my profession, but also fear and anxiety. When I graduate, I will have to start the repayment of my student loans. I know I am not the only student that has felt this way before or will have to pay for student loans, but in the world of the helping profession, it is demoralizing to know that the compensation does not match the labor. According to the National Association of Social Workers Center for Workforce Studies, the average pay is between $35,000 and $ 59,999. Social workers are constantly facing challenging agency environments, vulnerable and oppressed populations, mental illnesses, and traumatic events. This means that current Social Workers are looking outside the profession for work. The compensation of this profession has to be congruent to the amount of education and labor that the Social Worker has put

In this paper, I will be discussing of an organization that caters social services and contributes to the social work field. In addition, I will go in details where the organization is financed from and what is the mission of the organization. Moreover, I will discuss of the structure that the organizations conduct to accomplished their missions and explain the organization 's different services provided under their organizations umbrella. Furthermore, I will discuss of the organization accountability to their services, overall impact, and the power in organization. Lastly, I will explanatory the workers role in the organizations and discuss of my overall experience referring to my future social work profession.

I think kids have the ability even better than fashion designers to know when someone is poor. I worked really hard to not show anyone how much my family was struggling financially. Kids whose parents were on welfare often got mad fun of because of how they dressed. I remember being on free lunch at school and often bringing change extra so I could get slightly better food. My parents drove around one car that they shared and it was really beaten up. I used to be so embarrassed to ride in it. Everything they had were gifts or hand-me-downs from their parents. I did not need for everyone to tell me we were poor, I lived it and knew it.

In the profession of social work, a worker comes to realization that there are many areas of human rights and legal concerns that are troubling and painful for the people in our care. Yet, as workers provide these services it requires them to advocate, protect, and provide the highest level of service as the worker explore the concept of the person and the environment. Also, it is imperative for all social workers to understand the theory behind how people change from conception to death in order to provide the necessary services intended for the clients in which we served such as loss, success, betrayal, and death. When a worker fully understand the theory then this will governed the type of services that will be offer and be professional.

I would ask questions about the social part of the job. I wouldn’t say that socializing is a strength of mine, but i still do better than most people. The reason is because when working in groups, I tend to have trouble unless I’m the leader. I'm not a control freak or anything. If anything, people usually say I’m a good leader.Most of the time, when I depend on other people, things never go my way. So now, when I work in a group, most of the time I'm either alone or I put together my own group. I would ask what kinds of skills are needed while I'm working at that location.