The role of a social worker involves firstly obtaining a professional qualification at degree level set out by the Health and Care Professional Council (HCPC), who sets educational standards and regulates for social worker training. The social worker is an intricate part of society which supports and works with vulnerable individuals, families, children and the wider community in order to protect these individuals from harm, neglect and abuse. Assessment is core to social workers practice. As a social worker, professional practice entails supporting and evaluating assessments of need and risk continually, Walker and Beckett (2003). Social workers help individuals, families and communities to make informed choices and understand their own resourcefulness in order to bring about positive change to their lives. However, this can involve negotiating both complex and challenging situations. In some cases the social worker is required to intervene where children are at risk of harm from their parent or caregiver in a crisis child protection situation, the social worker would be required to present facts to the courts in order to obtain a child protection order, (Section 47 of the Children’s Act 1989). Ultimately the social worker must attempt to build positive relationships in sometimes adverse situations with individuals whom may or may not wish to cooperate, however, the social worker must where possible keep the family together. Assessments are carried out by the social
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.
2005). Beckett and Maynard (2005) recognise however the dual functionality of social work; ‘care’ and ‘control’ whereby a social worker may have a professional duty of care towards a service user that extends to having to exert control over them to protect from risk of harm or neglect. It is notable that in many situations such as these there will potentially be a fear within the family, not just of the abuser but also of social care who have statutory powers. This may lead to a woman or child who experiencing abuse not being honest and not wanting to access the support. It is imperative however that a social worker recognises the power within their relationship and builds trust with both the woman and child to ensure the safety of the child is promoted. This is underpinned with the requirement of the social worker to remain non-judgmental in order to empower a woman to gain safety for herself and her child (Mullender and Hague, cited in Radford and Harne, 2008).
Explain a range of ethical and moral dilemmas which social workers and the team may encounter when dealing with this care – look at case study on the assignment brief.
IntroductionThis paper discusses and explores both case studies in order to find the powers and duties a social worker acting in a statutory capacity might exercise in these cases, how might they be exercised and how might wider principles of welfare law impact on their decision making? It also analyses the tensions and dilemmas that may exist, referring to specific legislative provisions, and identify how anti-oppressive practice might influence the resolution of these case studies. It also demonstrates an ability to study relevant law in social work practice and have a critical and analytical understanding of the service delivery standards and powers and duties of social workers, demonstrate a working knowledge and understanding of key
My role while working with Sam is to be a teacher and an enabler. As a teacher I will be educating Sam about the benefits of joining AA and how it will help to better his life situations and to reach his goals. (Velten, 1996). I also will help Sam enroll himself in AA, which will help him to heal on not only a physical level, but also on an emotional level. It will also connect him to other resources and others that are experiencing some of the same struggles as he is. (Velten, 1996, p.105). I will also be teaching him how drinking can contribute to homelessness. (Polcin, 2016). I also want to have a discussion with Sam; about how his diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder can impact his day-to-day life. (Wanklyn et al., 2016).
Alot of people do not notice the mammoth problem drug abuse is in the United States, and how fast it is increasing in our society. Billions of dollars are spent each year to combat drug treatment but more are spent on buying and selling narcotics. Many people think they
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.
As a social worker, we are essentially given the opportunity to utilize our past and personal experiences, educational background, and diverse relationships to make a difference in countless people’s lives. Whether we choose to dedicate ourselves to practicing micro or macro social work, we can influence the outcomes of social policies, assist clients with obtaining basic necessities, or change a person’s thought processes by applying psychosocial theories as necessary. However, we are obligated to pay close attention to the ways in which we interact with our assigned clients, administer and assess outcomes of therapeutic interventions, and do what we think will ultimately benefit our client’s well-being. Considering that a Master’s in Social Work is a professional position, general practitioner’s guidelines must be followed; hence the purpose of the NASW Code of Ethics, the CSWE Educational Policy and Standards, and precise HIPAA adherence.
We are the present. The future is our children. We all have some child(ren) in our lives whom we love dearly and would probably die for them. They are our future. Many of those children need help; mental, emotional, and physical help. If these children do not receive help, our future will be worse than the present is now. Social workers can help fix that. In the last paper, I addressed the issue of social status/work. The work status fluctuates greatly pending on the field of discussion and the discussion this time is on Social Workers. Social work is a “professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and enhance wellbeing of individuals, families, couples, groups, and communities through research, policy planning, community development, direct practice, crisis intervention, ensuring social welfare and security for those affected by social disadvantages such as poverty, psychosocial care to mentally and physically disabled, and raising voices against social injustice for social reforms, including social actions against violations of civil liberties and human rights.” In other words, social work is work carried out by trained personnel with the aim of alleviating the conditions of those in need of help or welfare. When I say, “in need of help” I’m talking about that mental, physical, and emotional help that was mentioned earlier. In other words, social workers go through hell and back to achieve their mission of helping a
Social worker in charge of particular cases of a suspected child maltreatment must initially complete a core assessment of the child and his family's situation. This process is crucial for planning of an intervention with a positive outcome (Parker and Bradley, 2003). In the assessment, under the ecological model, the practitioner must recognise different systems, such as the child, family or neighbours, and surrounding environments. If the assessment asserts that a child fits a category of a child in need within these systems, defined in the Children Act 1989 as a child 'unlikely to achieve or maintain (...) a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision for him of services by a local authority' (Children Act, 1989, section 17), the social worker must organise a form of an intervention. He or she must assess which part of the environment requires a change, and where are stress factors negatively affecting the child and the family. At the same time, the child should be given resources, and a certain level of autonomy, and to be treated as the centre of the assessment (Teater, 2010). In the ecological perspective, it might be easier for the social worker to relate to the adults' needs (Davies and Davies, 2011). However, the focus of the assessment should be child-centred, protecting the child's health and wellbeing (Every Child Matters, 2004)(Department of Education, 2011).
Social Work is a discipline that can be a very rewarding experience for both the worker and the client. The practice involves working with individuals, families, or groups who are struggling to cope with life`s challenges. The social worker must combine his or her personal qualities, creative abilities, and social concerns with the professional knowledge in order to help client’s social functioning or prevent social problems from developing (Bradford W. Sheafor, 2008, p. 34). Social work practice seeks to promote human well-being, while addressing the processes by which individuals and groups are marginalized or diminished in their capacity to participate as citizens (Ian O'Connor, 2006, p. 1).
As one of society’s most vulnerable groups, social workers are legally obligated to assess and support the 397,600 children in need and their families (DfE, 2014). The social worker’s role and responsibility is to ensure children’s additional needs are adequately met to try to reverse disadvantage and enable children to maximise their lives and potential. To achieve this objective, social workers sift through in-depth information regarding each area of family life, both past and present, as the vast majority of issues affecting children evolve from external factors, particularly related to parents. Gathering data involves collaborating with the family and relevant professionals to understand difficulties the family face and establish what
In today’s society social work plays an extremely important role. With the misfortunes of many, social workers are there to lend a helping hand and to improve the quality of life to those who happen to be at a disadvantage and whom are less fortunate. It is the social workers’ hard work, dedication, compassion, good-heartedness, and strive that allow men, women, children, and families to overcome obstacles and difficulties all while continuing to make the most out of any given situation and improve their quality of life.
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
Law has come to play a very important part in social work practice. It can be said that the understanding of law underpins and provides duties and power, whilst understanding the statutory legal requirements is essential for effective, fair, anti-discriminatory practice (Brammer 2007). Due to the shear amount of laws and legislation that have been passed or updated over the last decade, the role of the social worker, metaphorically speaking could be said to have become somewhat of a chameleon, forever adapting to their legal environment, whilst trying hard to remain true to the traditional values of the role of a social worker. It is this conflict between law and social work values that will be analyzed in this paper. From looking at the values that underpin the modern day social worker and then looking at some of the main legislation relating to adult services such as the Mental Health Act 2007, the Community Care Act 1996, Mental Capacity Act 2005 the relationship between these Acts’ and how they sit with social work values will then be discussed.