MODULE 1

INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL WORK

International Social Work

“Social work is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social
change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people.
Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversities are
central to social work. Underpinned by theories of social work, social sciences, humanities and
indigenous knowledge, social work engages people and structures to address life challenges and
enhance wellbeing. (IFSW & IASSW)

International Social Work

International Social Work is defined as international professional practice and the capacity for
international action by the social work profession and its members. International action has four
dimensions: internationally related domestic practice and advocacy, professional exchange,
international practice, and international policy development and advocacy. (Healy, 2001)

International Social Work is the promotion of social work education and practice globally and
locally, with the purpose of building a truly integrated international profession that reflects social
work’s capacity to respond appropriately and effectively, in education and practice terms, to the
various global challenges that are having a significant impact on the well-being of large sections
of the world’s population. This global and local promotion of social work education and practice
is based on an integrated-perspectives approach that synthesizes global, human rights, ecological
and social development perspectives of international situations and responses to them.

International Social Work needs to be understood in terms of education and practice and of
interdependence between the two, resulting in diversity that is nonetheless held together by the
four integrated perspectives geared essentially to the promotion of individual and collective well-
being

International Social Work

Kimberly (1984): International social work means those social work activities and concerns that
transcend national and cultural boundaries.
Healy (1995): International social work ranges from social workers working in other countries to
refugees services to common professional concerns with social workers in other parts of the
world.

Akimoto: International social work is social work that deals with problems caused between nation
or across national boundaries or efforts beyond national boundaries to solve those problems.
International social work thinks of and acts for the well – being all people on the earth.

Assumptions:

 Working in the development agencies with international associations.

 Working for official international agencies.
 Working for agencies dealing with cross national issues.
 Working for international social work organization.
 Working as a social worker in a country that is foreign to them.
 Working with international, refugees and immigrants in their own country.

Theories

Globalisation

Globalisation refers to all those processes by which the people of the world are incorporated into
a single world society, global society. (Albrow, 1990)

Globalization is seen as a processes of opening trade and foreign investment regimen of national
economies. (Berthelot)

Curry & Newson: Globalization can be defined as a material set of practices drawn from the
world of business combined with a neo – liberal market ideology.

Characteristics:

Internationalizing of production.

 New international division of labor.

 New migratory movements from South to North.
 New competitive environment that generates these processes.
  Making states into agencies of the globalizing world.

Globalization and International Social Work

 Globalization refers to the international integration of all processes associated with

economic production, distribution, and consumption.
 The process has been on-going since the period of the Enlightenment and is most
reflected in the market and free trade principles associated with the economic theories
of Adam Smith (1723–1790), David Ricardo (1772–1823), and contemporary
neoconservative economists.
 The World Trade Organization, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the
agreements that inform the economic structure of the European Union, and the
structural adjustment requirements imposed by the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund on developing countries are examples of the transnational nature of the
global economic processes that exist today.
 Increasingly, globalization has spread beyond the marketplace and now seeks to
harmonize a great variety of social, political, and military systems.

 A social work-based definition of globalization) describes the concept as “a process of

global integration in which diverse peoples, economies, cultures and political processes
are increasingly subjected to international influences” (Midgley, 1997, p. xi).
Additionally, Midgley suggested that globalization indicates “the emergence of an
inclusive worldwide culture, a global economy, and above all, a shared awareness of
the world as a single place” (1997, p. 21).

“Social Development” and International Social Work

 Development refers to the process of actualizing something that exists in only a latent
form.
 The development focus of international social work places clients (often referred to as
“partners” or “coproducers”) at the center of development change efforts and therefore
understands that individuals, communities, and other social collectivities carry primary
responsibility for determining the means and goals of the change efforts in which they
participate.
  According to the late Daniel Sanders (1982), development practice in social work
can be viewed as a movement, a perspective, and a practice mode.
 As the means of development, development-focused social work refers to the processes
through which people are helped to realize the fullness of the social, political, and
economic potentials that already exist within them.
 Further, development-focused social work practice is a multidisciplinary and cross-
sectoral field and is practiced across all geopolitical borders and at all levels of social,
political, and economic organization.
 Although modernization and globalization in nations across the globe have had positive
effects, it has also created a variety of global social challenges.
 This is particularly the case for developing countries that are frequently the target of
external imposition of development programs, strategies, and change processes.
Through modernization many countries have experienced and continue to experience
social change and the potential for self-sufficiency.
 With the advent of globalization social problems cannot be effectively dealt with by a
single country. Unfortunately, most developing countries are falling outside of the
beneficial aura of globalization. Therefore, a collaborative effort that transcends
national boundaries should be employed in tackling these global social problems.

Development

Development is any progressive series of changes happing in society. Thomas: (2004)

“Development as a process of historical change which brings in structural societal modifications.”

According to UNDP Human Development Report of 1996, “Human development in the end -
economic growth a means.”

Gore: “Development is an outcome of planned efforts to reach some desirable targets.”

Indicators of development:

 Life expectancy
 Literacy rate
 Per capita income
Human Rights

 Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of
residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. We
are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all
interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.
 International human rights law lays down obligations of Governments to act in certain
ways or to refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and
fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups.
There are 16 rights contained in the Human Rights Act:
 • The right to life
 • The right not to be tortured or treated in an inhuman or degrading way
 • The right to be free from slavery or forced labour
 • The right to liberty
 • The right to a fair trial
 • The right to not to be punished except in accordance with law
 • The right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence
 • The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion
 • The right to freedom of expression
 The right to freedom of assembly and association
 • The right to marry and found a family
 • The right not to be discriminated against in relation to any of the rights contained in
the European Convention on Human Rights
 • The right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions
 • The right to education
 • The right to free elections
 • Abolition of the death penalty
 Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all
members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the
world...
 —1st sentence of the Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
 All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
 —Article 1 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
 In 1966, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) were
adopted by the United Nations, between them making the rights contained in the UDHR
binding on all states that have signed this treaty, creating human-rights law.
 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW) (adopted 1979, entry into force: 1981)
 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) (adopted
1966, entry into force: 1969)
 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities(CRPD) (adopted 2006, entry into
force: 2008)
 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (adopted 1989, entry into force: 1989)
 United Nations Convention Against Torture(CAT) (adopted 1984, entry into force: 1984)
 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and
Members of their Families (ICRMW or more often MWC) (adopted 1990, entry into
force: 2003)
 What Are Human Rights?
 Human rights are the rights a person has
simply because he or she is a human being.
 Human rights are held by all persons equally, universally, and forever.
 Human rights are inalienable: you cannot lose these rights any more than you can cease
being a human being.
 Human rights are indivisible: you cannot be denied a right because it is "less important" or
"non-essential." Human rights are interdependent: all human rights are part of a
complementary framework. For example, your ability to participate in your government is
directly affected by your right to express yourself, to get an education, and even to obtain
the necessities of life.
 Another definition for human rights is those basic standards without which people cannot
live in dignity. To violate someone’s human rights is to treat that person as though she or
he were not a human being. To advocate human rights is to demand that the human dignity
of all people be respected.
 In claiming these human rights, everyone also accepts the responsibility not to infringe on
the rights of others and to support those whose rights are abused or denied.
Human Rights as Inspiration and Empowerment

 Human rights are both inspirational and practical. Human rights principles hold up the
vision of a free, just, and peaceful world and set minimum standards for how individuals
and institutions everywhere should treat people. Human rights also empower people with a
framework for action when those minimum standards are not met, for people still have
human rights even if the laws or those in power do not recognize or protect them.
 We experience our human rights every day in the United States when we worship
according to our belief, or choose not to worship at all; when we debate and criticize
government policies; when we join a trade union; when we travel to other parts of the
country or overseas. Although we usually take these actions for granted, people both here
and in other countries do not enjoy all these liberties equally. Human rights violations also
occur everyday in this country when a parent abuses a child, when a family is homeless,
when a school provides inadequate education, when women are paid less than men, or
when one person steals from another.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

 Rights for all members of the human family were first articulated in 1948 in the United
Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Following the horrific
experiences of the Holocaust and World War II, and amid the grinding poverty of much of
the world’s population, many people sought to create a document that would capture the
hopes, aspirations, and protections to which every person in the world was entitled and
ensure that the future of humankind would be different. See Part V, "Appendices," for the
complete text and a simplified version of the UDHR.
 The 30 articles of the Declaration together form a comprehensive statement covering
economic, social, cultural, political, and civil rights. The document is both universal (it
applies to all people everywhere) and indivisible (all rights are equally important to the full
realization of one’s humanity). A declaration, however, is not a treaty and lacks any
enforcement provisions. Rather it is a statement of intent, a set of principles to which
United Nations member states commit themselves in an effort to provide all people a life
of human dignity.
 Over the past 50 years the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has acquired the status
of customary international law because most states treat it as though it were law.
However, governments have not applied this customary law equally. Socialist and
 communist countries of Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia have emphasized social
welfare rights, such as education, jobs, and health care, but often have limited the political
rights of their citizens.

Human rights promotion

 Non-governmental organizations
 Human rights organizations frequently engage in lobbying and advocacy in an effort to
convince the United Nations, national governments to adopt their policies on human rights.
Many human-
 rights organizations have observer status at the various UN bodies tasked with protecting
human rights.

Human rights defenders

 A human rights defender is someone who, individually or with others, acts to promote or
protect human rights. Human rights defenders are those men and women who act
peacefully for the promotion and protection of those rights, and most of this activity
happens within a nation as opposed to internationally

Role of social worker

 social workers by very definition are human rights workers. Social workers help
individuals realise their rights everyday and are ideally placed to help communities claim
their collective rights.
 Human rights and social justice are the philosophical underpinnings of social work
practice. The uniqueness of social work practice is in the blend of some particular values,
knowledge and skills, including the use of relationship as the basis of all interventions and
respect for the client’s choice and involvement.
 In a socio-political-economic context which increasingly generates insecurity and social
tensions, social workers play an important and essential role.
 The Code of Ethics goes on to state that two of the key values and principles are: human
dignity and worth; and social justice.
 Human dignity and worth means that social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth
of every person and respect the human rights expressed in the United Nations Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Social justice encompasses the satisfaction of basic needs;
 fair access to services and benefits to achieve human potential; and recognition of
individual and community rights.
 These values and principles in the Code of Ethics already establish the foundations for
human rights based social work practice
What does human rights based social work practice look like in real life?
 Social Workers are concerned with improving the health and quality of life of persons who
are disconnected or excluded from larger society.
 Social Workers engage in practice at all levels, from working with children to working
with communities and governments

ISSUES

Poverty

Poverty is the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material
possessions. Poverty is said to exist when people lack the means to satisfy their basic needs. In
this context, the identification of poor people first requires a determination of what constitutes
basic needs. These maybe defined as narrowly as “those necessary for survival” or as broadly as
“those reflecting the prevailing standard of living in the community.”

Social work has an extensive history of addressing poverty at the individual, community and
national levels. In fact, one of the six ethical principles guiding social workers – working for
social justice – cites poverty as a primary problem.

A close examination of poverty reveals that it is about much more than money alone. Poverty
results from a number of factors that include political, social, and economic dynamics.

On a broader scale, social workers are tackling the complex issue of poverty through community
organizing in poor neighborhoods. Community organizing utilizes the community’s assets and
combines them with additional resources to build up the local systems that support health,
education and financial viability. It emphasizes a poor community’s strengths as opposed to its
weaknesses. Social workers empower community residents to be active in leading these efforts by
lending their professional skills to facilitate and support local initiatives.

Besides addressing poverty on the individual and community levels, social workers strive to fight
poverty on a national scale. They have joined forces urging Congress to increase the minimum
wage and have advocated for the importance of ending poverty rather than simply reducing the
number of welfare recipients.
In all of these efforts, social workers use their training to look beyond the symptoms and get to
get root causes of poverty. Always, their primary goal is to empower people to become vital,
healthy members of society.

Displacement

The displacement or forced migration of people within their own countries is today a common
international phenomenon. Such migration maybe caused by internal armed conflicts, situations
of general violence, ethnic fights, mass violation of human rights, and violation of international
humanitarian law or natural disasters.

Displaced people are highly vulnerable. They suffer from discrimination, experience significant
deprivation and are frequently impoverished. Marginalized within their own society and facing
the emotional trauma of their uprooting experiences, displaced people turn into excluded people
who suffer loss of economic opportunities, breakdown of cultural identity, loosening of social and
familial structures, interruption of schooling and increased poverty levels. They also suffer from
grief relating to dead or missing family members and, in extreme cases, resort to delinquency and
begging in order to survive.

The impact of displacement is felt more acutely by children, women with small children or
heading the family, and disabled and elderly people. It is very common to find that displaced
people experience their condition as a “freezing” of their existence expressed by feelings of
solitude, confusion, fear and pain and by symptoms of mental illness, of lack of direction and a
life plan, of becoming uncommunicative, unhappy and excluded.

Migration

Migration, defined as the settlement for different reasons, of homogenous groups of people in
geographical areas different from those of their origin, is a phenomenon of great importance. The
definition excludes refugees, stateless persons, pilgrims and nomads; the main characteristic of
migrants is that they go to a foreign country for work. Migration, however, does not simply
involve a question of work but is rather a complex social, cultural and political process.

Social workers assist and guide migrants with their integration in the receiving country, though
also helping them maintain their cultural identity. Social workers’ experience suggests that social
programmes of receiving countries do not generally give due priority to migrants’ needs, because
they are frequently considered as second class citizens: and the migrants are also often the victims
of racism, an issue underlying but going beyond the present policy paper and its IFSW believes
that social workers can help sensitize authorities and public opinion, so that the same resources
and opportunities available to nationals are also provided for migrants.

IFSW supports achieving an acceptable level of integration in immigration countries between

foreign workers and the national majority, which allows the former to conserve their cultural
identity, while permitting the naturalization of those who desire it. At all times migrants should be
free to return to their country of origin if they so wish.

IFSW considers that the integration of migrants in the receiving country is complete only when
obstacles barring their participation in the decision-making process are removed. This concerns
particularly the exercise of voting rights and trade union rights.

STRATEGIES

Empowerment

Empowerment refers to self-reliance & raising consciousness – Gandhiji. As per Gandhian

concept empowerment refers to raising consciousness and it is a personal transformation and self-
reliance.

Weissberg: Empowerment means plainly put, possessing power means a capacity to impose one’s
will or achieve a position of superiority.

Empowerment is concerned with how people may gain collective control over their lives, so as to
achieve their interest as a group, and a method by which social workers seek to enhance the
power of people who lack it.

Dimensions:

 Personal empowerment (competency required for taking self - direction)

 Social empowerment (comprising society’s capacity for self – direction and control of
community processes and resources)
 Educational empowerment (development of a educational system that prepares people
for both their social and work life)
 Economic empowerment (development of the means to earn a sufficient income to live
a life)
 Political empowerment (involvement in democratic decision - making)
Capacity building

People centered participatory and sustainable development is some of the objectives of capacity
building. Notions: capacity building is related to families, individuals, group work, communities,
NGO, local organization, etc. it is related to self – reliance. It is related to sustainability, equality
of human rights, etc.

O’Shaughnessy: Capacity is a key concept in many of the new approaches to overseas aid
proposed by donors and NGOs. Among other things, the new models call for more democratic
and holistic to assist communities to develop their own capacities and resourcefulness.

Characteristics:

 All external intervention begins with identifying local capacities and building upon
them.
 Central purpose of all outside intervention in all situations is the building of capacities.
 People’s improved capacities in all areas are valued in their own rights as the most
significant outcome of all intervention.

Self-reliance

According to Verhagen self-help is a means to achieve self-reliance. Self-reliance is a state or

condition whereby an individual or groups of persons having achieve that level or condition no
longer depends on the benevolence or assistance of third person to secure individual or group
interest. It is an analytical, productive and organizational capacity to design and implement a
strategy which is effective to the betterment of their condition.

Key strategies for achieving self – reliance:

 Encourage Self Help Groups

 Encourage local Organizational Development
 Community development
 Encourage in people themselves and their capacities
 Encourage appropriate external agency approaches
Social integration

Social integrationis also related to social harmony. Social integration/ cohesion can be established
through buoyant economy, national identity and citizenship campaigns, anti-discrimination,
legislation and policy arrangements, promotion of multi-cultural society, participatory democracy,
mediation and artication of these strategies, and local level application of all the above said
strategies.

Income generation

Income generation strategies and programs have played a key role in enhancing income and
quality of life of specific populations trapped into poverty and other related difficult
circumstances. Social workers can contribute to further building these strategies and programs by
providing intellectual and training inputs and by facilitating microcredit schemes,
microenterprises, and collective action.

Key strategies for achieving income generation:

 Contributing knowledge and training to existing income generation enterprises

 Introduce microcredit schemes and people’s banks
 Facilitate microenterprise schemes
 Encourage collective action

Community development

Community development is broad and important strategy that incorporates several other strategies
and emphasizes a particular process involving change, that addresses the plight of most oppressed
and deprived populations by empowering them, and that adopts participatory and local
organization approaches within a wider socioeconomic and political context.

Key strategies:

 Cultivate desire and commitment to change

 Identify the marginalized people within a community

 Use the process of empowerment, participation, and building local organizations

 Work within the wider context of cultural and political realities
Approaches to International Social Work

Global perspective

It basically establishes the boundaries of the approach and highlights the essential unity of the
earth. So this perspective excludes no people, no population, no place. Each person or population
is reinforced with human rights and social development. According to Mohan & Stokke this
perspective is a “binary opposities” few example on global perspectives suggest the unity of one
world or the global village, beyond part is maker on think about globalization / the development
that binds the globe together within a network of global systems.Dimension of global perspective:

 Globalization v/s Localisation

 Unity v/s Diversity

Unity: All human beings derive from same origins, inhabits same planets, have same basic needs,
share similar types of issues, etc.

Diversity: There are many diverse way of life, taste, culture, fashion, etc. the globalization has not
eliminated cultural and ethnic diversities. They exist along with unity.

Interdependence: The interaction of diversity and unity enables us to learn and benefit from the
experiences and advance of others understanding differences enable us to respect rather than
fearing of those differences. According to Lee having a global perspective and approach to social
work practice enables us to appreciate the universals in human experience. Recognition of
commonalities and increased respect for differences helps to promote world peace, international
co-operation and global justice. A global perspective offers new ways and multiple dimensions of
analysis from a multi-lateral and pluralistic viewpoint.

Globalization: When unity refers to the inherent oneness globalization refers to the empirical
existence of a set of global structures and systems. Economic, political, social, cultural and
technical are system exist in the structure.

Localization: Local situation are the only remaining reality. Cultural globalization is also a reality
in local situation so globalization has to have local and global face.
World citizenship: The two factors globalization and localization are recombine to the concept of
world citizenship. The world submit on social development by U N research institute for social
development says citizenship.

Human rights perspective

According to Donnlly human rights are paramound moral rights that rest on moral account of
human possibility. Dimensions:

 The values and principles on which the human rights based.

 Human rights
 The universality of values and human rights
 Human rights guide to living and behavior

Ecological perspective

Thin perspective is focused on natural environment within which human life must be lived. It
talks about life in connection with environment. Ecological crisis touching life. Profound sense of
spiritual relationship with environment. Dimensions:

 Holism and unity: life has a part of seenless web of complex interconnecting
relationship characterized by integration and synthesis.
 Diversity: holism and unity is balanced with diversity.

 Equilibrium: it is the balance between species and conditions. In ecological

perspectives use live because of equilibrium.
 Sustainability: safe guarding the environment for the future generation and bringing an
ecological activities that sustain life on earth.
 The Integrated-perspectives Approach to International Social Work

Global
Perspecti
ve

Human
Internatio Ecological
Rights
nal Social Perspecti
Perspecti
Work ve
ve

Social
Develop
ment
Perspecti
ve

The Integrated-perspective approach to international social work practice suggests that, within
international social work, each of the 4 perspectives presented is inherently important, while each
reinforces and compliments each of the other perspectives. Any of the perspectives alone would
constitute an insufficient guide to international social work practice. In essence,

 The global perspectives represents the overall context,

 The human rights perspective the value base,
 The ecological perspective the essential link between humanity and nature, and

 The social development perspective the overall guide to action or sense of direction
underpinning action.
MODULE 2

GLOBAL REGULATORY BODIES & DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES

IFSW(International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW)

The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) is a global organisation striving for
social justice, human rights and social development through the promotion of social work,
best practice models and the facilitation of international cooperation.The International
Federation of Social Workers supports its 116 country members by providing a global voice
for the profession.

IFSW has been granted Special Consultative Status by the Economic and Social Council
(ECOSOC) of the United Nations and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). In
addition, IFSW is working with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Office of the
United Nations High

Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights (OHCHR).The Executive Committee is elected by full members at General
Meeting held every two years. The members held 4-year terms. The Committee comprises
one Global President, one Treasurer and two members from each region. Currently they are
as follows: Global President: Gary Bailey andTreasurer: Fiona Robertson.

The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) is a global organisation striving for
social justice, human rights and social development through the promotion of social work,
best practice models and the facilitation of international cooperation.

The International Federation of Social Workers supports its 116 country members by
providing a global voice for the profession. IFSW has been granted Special Consultative
Status by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations and the United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). In addition, IFSW is working with the World Health
Organization (WHO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR)
The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) is the international organization
representing professional social workers, although membership is through national social
work organizations, not individual status. Currently, social work organizations are found in
100 countries, representing nearly one million social workers across the world. Association
members collaborate through IFSW toward developing the common goals of the profession
and in working on issues of concern to social workers internationally, such as global ethical
standards (IFSW & IASSW,2004) and human rights issues. IFSW encourages this
cooperation by establishing and maintaining relationships with social work associations and
their members and representing them in international bodies; sponsoring biennial
international symposia and conferences; developing and publishing policy statements to guide
social work practice worldwide; advocating for the protection of human rights of practicing
social workers; providing consultation to the United Nations on issues of human development
and human rights; and providing means for the discussion and exchange of ideas and
experience through meetings, study visits, and research projects and publications.

History of IFSW

IFSW's history dates back to the First International Conference on Social Work held in Paris
in July 1928, where it was agreed that an international representative body be formed, and in
1932 it became the International Permanent Secretariat of Social Workers (IPSSW). The
IPSSW operated from Berlin, Geneva, and Prague until 1956, when the IFSW was formed in
Munich with twelve national member organizations. A new secretariat was established in
New York, sharing offices with the National Association of Social Workers. IFSW joined its
partner organizations, the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) and
the International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW), in sponsoring the journal International
Social Work in 1959.

The IFSW Executive Committee decided to establish a permanent and paid secretariat in
1971 in Basel, Switzerland, later moving to Geneva in 1975. The strengthening of the
secretariat also heralded an era of increased activity in membership levels and IFSW's
representative status with various organizations. The secretariat later moved to Oslo, Norway,
in 1992 and then in 1999 to Berne, Switzerland, while in 2013 it returned to Basel.

The late 1970s saw considerable work undertaken on the definition of social work. This
document was endorsed at the Brighton Conference in 1982 and remained unaltered until
1996 when a committee was established to revise and prepare a new definition of social work,
ultimately adopted by both practitioners and educators in May 2001 (IFSW, 2002a).

The 1980s were particularly active years for the IFSW in the area of human rights and social
justice. The federation worked to promote the UN International Year of Peace 1985,
recognized by the UN officially declaring IFSW a “Peace Messenger,” an award recognizing
the humanitarian activities of selected organizations contributing toward global peace and
understanding. Eight years later the United Nations designated IFSW as “Patron of the
International Year of the Family” for exemplary support of this program.

IFSW promotes human rights by publishing statements on human rights issues and related
matters and by raising awareness about the profession's commitment to its human rights
heritage. To implement this work, a special commission has been set up—the Human Rights
Commission. Apart from its work on behalf of imprisoned and persecuted social workers
around the world, the commission has successfully developed two landmark publications with
international partners, on human rights and social work (IFSW & IASSW, 1994) and social
work and the rights of the child (IFSW, 2002b). The human rights manual examines human
rights instruments and identifies ways in which they illustrate and enhance the responsibilities
of social workers, while the training manual on the rights of the child provides information
and guidance to social workers and students on how they can respond to the high ideals of the
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. IFSW has also produced a series of edited books
on social work in different countries, now in its fifth issue (Hall, 2012). Regional newsletters
and journals are also published wherever possible.

Organization and Activities

IFSW has been granted Special Consultative Status by the United Nations Economic and
Social Council (ECOSOC), with a special relationship later extended by the United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF). In addition, IFSW is working with the World Health
Organization (WHO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR) and the International Labor Organization (ILO). Teams of representatives are in
action at the United Nations in Bangkok, Geneva, Nairobi, New York, Santiago de Chile, and
Vienna, and their work is highly valued by the federation. These teams advocate on various
issues of concern and interest to social workers within the United Nations system—such as
the needs of older people and the necessity for child (birth) registration in countries where
this is not undertaken. IFSW also has formal partnerships with Amnesty International,
CONGO (Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with
the UN), Council of Europe, European Union, Habitat, IASSW, and ICSW. A series of
international policy papers has also been developed and is regularly revised. Topics that the
current policy papers cover include: Responsibilities of Employers of Social Work, Human
Rights, Statement of Ethical Principles, Global Standards (for education and training of social
workers), Displaced Persons, Globalization and the Environment, Health, HIV and AIDS,
Indigenous Peoples, Women, Migration, Ageing and Older Adults, Peace and Social Justice,
Protection of Personal Information, Conditions in Rural Communities, Refugees, People with
Disabilities, Genocide, Cross-Border Reproductive Services, Youth and Protection of
Personal Information (view at http://ifsw.org/policies/).

IFSW is divided into the five geographical regions, namely Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe,
Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America, each of which is represented by a
regional president. An international elected executive committee steers the work of the
federation with a global president and secretary general heading the body. The general
meeting convenes every two years at the same time as an international conference, and
regional seminars and conferences are held regularly in most regions. IFSW also has a
program called Friends of IFSW, providing affiliating social workers, social work students,
and organizations a link to the international body.

IFSW recruits members by reaching out to nascent social work bodies in nonmember
countries and offering membership, and it retains members by representing the various
interests of social work associations and organizations within the international community.
Membership dues are based on the number of members and by a formula that provides a
discount to member organizations in developing countries. Occasionally, political problems
can create tensions between members, such as at times of conflict between Israel and
Palestine (although these members worked hard to resolve some of the concerns), or the
problems created by apartheid, which led to the expulsion of South Africa from membership
at the time, although a unified body representing this country has now been formed.

An important current initiative is the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social
Development (the Agenda), which is being developed by IFSW with IASSW and ICSW. This
effort was launched in 2010 to strengthen the international profile of social work and social
development with the intention of enabling social workers to make a stronger contribution to
policy development. To gather evidence about the activities of social workers, educators and
social development practitioners, which support the implementation of the Global Agenda, in
order to give visibility and credibility to their contributions and to promote further action, the
three global partners have decided to strengthen their collaboration and move it further.
Activity is structured around the four themes of The Global Agenda: Promoting Social and
Economic Equalities (2012–2014) and Promoting the dignity and worth of the person (2014–
2016). The themes to be covered in subsequent years are: Working towards environmental
sustainability and Strengthening recognition of the importance of human relationships. A
focus on ensuring an appropriate environment for practice and education is included
throughout. The Global Agenda Observatory is the mechanism for monitoring and reporting
on the implementation of The Agenda Commitments. The first report of the Global
Observatory has now been produced and was launched at the 2014 international Social Work
and Social Development conference in Melbourne (IFSW, IASSW, ICSW, 2014).

Future Trends and Challenges

Future priorities and challenges that face IFSW include

 • promoting the Global Observatory along with IASSW and ICSW, drawing from a global
network of regional centers, to support implementation of the Agenda, research its impact
and study the work environments that promote positive outcomes in social work and social
development.
 • developing an online archive of material from IFSW’s history with the financial support
of the IFSW Friends program to make the Federation’s archives accessible to social
workers around the world.
 • reviewing the international definition of social work and the international statement of
ethical principles on an ongoing basis.
 • lobbying to improve conditions for social workers in resource-poor settings. Social work
practice is becoming increasingly international with the migration of social workers from
many countries in the developing world to the developed. A challenge for IFSW is to link
with other organizations that are trying to improve conditions in the originating countries
and stem the loss of indigenous professionals.
 • taking an even higher profile in defense of human rights. Conflicts and consequent
human rights abuses have intensified throughout many regions of the world in recent years,
 and although IFSW issues statements of concern where violations of peoples' rights occur,
the challenge is to ensure that these words are translated into actions.
 • responding as effectively as it can to natural disasters such as the Asian tsunami of
December 2004, the 2010 Haiti and 2011 New Zealand earthquakes, and Hurricane Sandy
of 2012 in the United States by linking with other local, national, and international
organizations to raise awareness of the plight of those affected and promote relief and
developmental activities.
 • engaging in debates and developing policy on poverty eradication following the
forthcoming replacing of the Millennium Development Goals with the Sustainable
Development Goals from 2015 through an African regional conference held in late 2013,
IFSW’s representation at the United Nations, and publications.

IASSW- The International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW)

The International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) is an international

association of institutions of social work education, organisations supporting social work
education and social work educators. Its mission is: To develop and promote excellence in
social work education, research and scholarship globally in order to enhance human
wellbeing.

a. To create and maintain a dynamic community of social work educators and their
programmes.
b. To support and facilitate participation in mutual exchanges of information and expertise.
c. To represent social work education at the international level.

In fulfilling its mission, IASSW adheres to all United Nations Declarations and Conventions
on human rights, recognising that respect for the inalienable rights of the individual is the
foundation of freedom, justice and peace. Members of IASSW are united in their obligation
to the continued pursuit of social justice and social development. In carrying out its mission,
IASSW fosters cooperation, collegiality and interdependence among its members and with
others.

A general assembly of the IASSW is usually convened once in two years, usually during the
biennial congress. Representatives of IASSW member schools, and individual members, are
invited to attend the general assembly, participate in the discussions and vote. The Board of
 Directors consists of the officers, the presidents of the five IASSW regions, representatives of
national, sub-regional and regional associations, representatives of interest groups, and four
members at large elected by the entire membership. The board usually meets twice a year.
The executive committee consists of the officers, the regional presidents and the members at
large. The executive committee meets before every board meeting. The three officers of the
association are the president, the secretary and the treasurer. They are elected directly by the
entire membership. Much of the business of the association is managed by committees and
task forces. Members of the association are invited to join committees and contribute to their
work.

Mission Statement

The International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) is an international association

of institutions of social work education, organisations supporting social work education and social
work educators. Its mission is:

To develop and promote excellence in social work education, research and scholarship globally in
order to enhance human well being.
To create and maintain a dynamic community of social work educators and their programmes.
To support and facilitate participation in mutual exchanges of information and expertise.
To represent social work education at the international level.
In fulfilling its mission, IASSW adheres to all United Nations Declarations and Conventions on
human rights, recognising that respect for the inalienable rights of the individual is the foundation
of freedom, justice and peace.

Members of IASSW are united in their obligation to the continued pursuit of social justice and
social development. In carrying out its mission, IASSW fosters cooperation, collegiality and
interdependence among its members and with others.President of IASSW — Vimla Nadkarni

ICSW- The International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW)

ICSW and our members are active in a wide range of fields within the general areas of social
development, social welfare and social justice. This includes issues such as food and nutrition,
welfare and health services, social protection, education and housing, as well as many issues
relating to economic development, human rights and community participation.
The International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW) is a global non-
governmental organisation which represents a wide range of national and
international member organisations that seek to advance social welfare, social
development and social justice.

ICSW’s basic mission is to promote forms of social and economic development

which aim to reduce poverty, hardship and vulnerability throughout the world,
especially amongst disadvantaged people. It strives for recognition and
protection of fundamental rights to food, shelter, education, health care and
security. It believes that these rights are an essential foundation for freedom,
justice and peace. It seeks also to advance equality of opportunity, freedom of
self-expression and access to human services.

In working to achieve its mission, ICSW advocates policies and programmes

which strike an appropriate balance between social and economic goals and
which respect cultural diversity. It seeks implementation of these proposals by
governments, international organisations, non-governmental agencies and
others. It does so in cooperation with its network of members and with a wide
range of other organisations at local, national and international levels.

ICSW’s main ways of pursuing its aims include gathering and disseminating
information, undertaking research and analysis, convening seminars and
conferences, drawing on grass-roots experiences, strengthening non-
governmental organisations, developing policy proposals, engaging in public
advocacy and working with policy-makers and administrators in government
and elsewhere.

ICSW’s constitution and by-laws make us a democratic and accountable

organisation. Our governing body, the Committee of Representatives, is elected
by all members and comprises more than one hundred people. It selects a
President, Treasurer and Executive Committee to take responsibility for detailed
implementation of its programmes and policies. Similar governing structures
apply in each of ICSW’s nine regions - Central and West Africa, East and
Southern Africa, Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, South East Asia
and the Pacific, North East Asia, Europe, North America and Caribbean,
and Latin America.

ICSW’s global office is located in The Netherlands and we have a regional

office in Uganda.

ICSW’s activities are mainly funded by membership fees as well as grants from
governmental or intergovernmental sources. Current major donors include the
Governments of Finland, Norway and Sweden.

United National Summit for social development

At the World Summit for Social Development, held in March 1995 in
Copenhagen, Governments reached a new consensus on the need to put people
at the centre of development. The Social Summit was the largest gathering ever
of world leaders at that time. It pledged to make the conquest of poverty, the
goal of full employment and the fostering of social integration overriding
objectives of development. Five years on, they reconvened in Geneva in June
2000, to review what has been achieved, and to commit themselves to new
initiatives.

Copenhagen, 6-12 March 1995

John Angus
Social Services Policy
Social Policy Agency
When the United Nations World Summit for Social Development ended late on
the evening of 12 March, agreement had been reached on a substantial set of
commitments and actions, as befits an event of the magnitude of the Summit.
World leaders from 117 countries took part in the final session, and delegations
from most of the United Nations' 186 members took part in the preparatory
meetings which drafted the documents. The documents themselves are lengthy -
ten commitments in a 25-page Declaration followed by a 100-page Programme
of Action . The topics covered by the Summit included the eradication of
poverty, the expansion of productive employment and reduction of
unemployment, and the promotion of social integration at an international and
national level. This was social policy-making on a grand scale.
Summary of outcomes
The Declaration sets out the general commitment of governments to people-
centred sustainable development, and then itemises ten specific
commitments. They are:
 to create an economic, political, social, cultural and legal environment,
that will enable people to achieve social development;
 to eradicate poverty in the world;
 to promote the goal of full employment as a basic priority of economic
and social policies;
 to promote social integration;
 to promote full respect for human dignity, and to achieving equality and
equity between women and men;
 to promote and attain the goals of universal and equitable access to
quality education, the highest attainable standard of health and access of
all to primary health care;
 to accelerate the development of Africa and the least developed
countries;
 to include social development goals in structural adjustment
programmes;
 to increase significantly and/or utilise more efficiently the resources
allocated to social development;
 to improve international co-operation for social development.
The programme of action
The Programme of Action contains five chapters. The first focuses on an
enabling environment for social development, including:
 sustained economic growth and sustainable development on a global
scale, including growth in production, trade, employment and incomes;
 an equitable distribution of the benefits of global economic growth;
 measures to make economic growth and market forces more conducive
to social development;
 political frameworks which include the rule of law, democracy, and the
wide participation of civil society in policy making;
 promoting and protecting all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Chapter II deals with one of the fundamental issues addressed by the
Summit, poverty. Overall poverty is defined in relative terms as a lack of
income and access to resources, lack of access to basic social services such
as education, and alienation from civil, social and cultural life. Absolute
poverty is defined as severe deprivation of basic human needs such as food
and shelter. Actions include:
 providing sustained economic growth;
 developing poverty eradication plans;
 empowering people living in poverty and their organisations;
 improving access to productive resources;
 meeting the basic human needs of all
 enhancing social protection systems such as social insurance
programmes;
 reducing the vulnerability of particular groups to poverty, including
children, women and older persons.
Chapter III concerns the expansion of productive employment. Actions
include:
 placing the expansion of productive employment at the centre of
sustainable development strategies;
 emphasising education and training;
 emphasising the quality of work;
 acknowledging groups with specific needs, such as older persons, single
parents, and migrants;
 recognising the significance of unremunerated work.
Chapter IV concerns social integration, which is defined in terms of an
inclusive society, where diversity is respected and the problems of
divisiveness and disintegration associated with such factors as wide
disparities of wealth, uncontrolled urbanisation, violence and crime are
addressed. Actions include:
 promoting a participatory democracy;
 promoting tolerance and respect for diversity, equality and social justice;
 being responsive to groups at risk of being marginalised including
indigenous people, children, people with disabilities, refugees and
 migrants;
 strengthening families.
Chapter V concerns implementation. It calls for:
 the development of national strategies and programmes;
 the involvement in planning of civil society through such organisations
as non-profit NGO groups;
 mobilising financial resources including striving to meet the official
development assistance goal of 0.7% of GNP.
 reducing the debt burden of developing countries;
 a review in the year 2000 by the General Assembly of the United
Nations of progress on the Programme of Action.
United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and targets

At the Millennium Summit in September 2000 the largest gathering of world

leaders in history adopted the UN Millennium Declaration, committing their
nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and setting out a
series of time-bound targets, with a deadline of 2015, that have become known as
the Millennium Development Goals.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the world's time-bound and
quantified targets for addressing extreme poverty in its many dimensions-income
poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter, and exclusion-while promoting
gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability. They are also basic
human rights-the rights of each person on the planet to health, education, shelter,
and security.

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty

Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education

Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality

Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases

 Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability

Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

The world has made significant progress in achieving many of the Goals.
Between 1990 and 2002 average overall incomes increased by
approximately 21 percent. The number of people in extreme poverty
declined by an estimated 130 million 1. Child mortality rates fell from 103
deaths per 1,000 live births a year to 88. Life expectancy rose from 63
years to nearly 65 years. An additional 8 percent of the developing world's
people received access to water. And an additional 15 percent acquired
access to improved sanitation services.
But progress has been far from uniform across the world-or across the
Goals. There are huge disparities across and within countries. Within
countries, poverty is greatest for rural areas, though urban poverty is also
extensive, growing, and underreported by traditional indicators.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the epicenter of crisis, with continuing food
insecurity, a rise of extreme poverty, stunningly high child and maternal
mortality, and large numbers of people living in slums, and a widespread
shortfall for most of the MDGs. Asia is the region with the fastest
progress, but even there hundreds of millions of people remain in extreme
poverty, and even fast-growing countries fail to achieve some of the non-
income Goals. Other regions have mixed records, notably Latin America,
the transition economies, and the Middle East and North Africa, often
with slow or no progress on some of the Goals and persistent inequalities
undermining progress on others
The final MDG Report found that the 15-year effort has produced the most
successful anti-poverty movement in history:
 Since 1990, the number of people living in extreme poverty has
declined by more than half.
 The proportion of undernourished people in the developing regions has
fallen by almost half.
 The primary school enrolment rate in the developing regions has
reached 91 percent, and many more girls are now in school compared
 to 15 years ago.
 Remarkable gains have also been made in the fight against HIV/AIDS,
malaria and tuberculosis.
 The under-five mortality rate has declined by more than half,
and maternal mortality is down 45 percent worldwide.
 The target of halving the proportion of people who lack access
to improved sources of water was also met.
The concerted efforts of national governments, the international
community, civil society and the private sector have helped expand hope
and opportunity for people around the world.

A new sustainable development agenda

Voices around the world are demanding leadership on poverty, inequality
and climate change. To turn these demands into actions, world leaders
gathered on 25 September 2015 at the United Nations in New York to adopt
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The 2030 Agenda comprises 17 new Sustainable Development

Goals (SDGs), or Global Goals, which will guide policy and funding for the
next 15 years, beginning with a historic pledge to end poverty. Everywhere.
Permanently.
The concept of the SDGs was born at the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development, Rio+20, in 2012. The objective was to produce a
set of universally applicable goals that balances the three dimensions of
sustainable development: environmental, social, and economic.
The SDGs replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which in
September 2000 rallied the world around a common 15-year agenda to
tackle the indignity of poverty.
The MDGs established measurable, universally-agreed objectives for
eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, preventing deadly but treatable
disease, and expanding educational opportunities to all children, among
other development imperatives.
The MDGs drove progress in several important areas:
 Income poverty
 Access to improved sources of water
 Primary school enrollment
 Child mortality
With the job unfinished for millions of people—we need to go the last mile
on ending hunger, achieving full gender equality, improving health services
and getting every child into school. Now we must shift the world onto a
sustainable path. The SDGs aim to do just that, with 2030 as the target date.
This new development agenda applies to all countries, promotes peaceful
and inclusive societies, creates better jobs and tackles the environmental
challenges of our time—particularly climate change. In December 2015,
world leaders reached a historic global agreement on climate change at
the Paris Climate Conference.
The Sustainable Development Goals must finish the job that the
Millennium Development Goals started, and leave no one behind.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

 SDG 1: No poverty

 SDG 2: Zero hunger

 SDG 3: Good health and well-being

 SDG 4: Quality education

 SDG 5: Gender equality

 SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation

 SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy

 SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth

 SDG 9: Industry, innovation, infrastructure

 SDG 10: Reduced inequalities

 SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities

 SDG 12: Responsible consumption, production

  SDG 13: Climate action

 SDG 14: Life below water

 SDG 15: Life on land

 SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions

 SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals

United Nations Conventionon the Rights of the Child

Nearly 25 years ago, the world made a promise to children: that we would do everything in our
power to protect and promote their rights to survive and thrive, to learn and grow, to make their
voices heard and to reach their full potential.

This year, as we approach the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
(CRC), there is much to celebrate: from declining infant mortality, to rising school enrolment, to
better opportunities for girls.

In spite of the overall gains, there are many children who have fallen even further behind. Old
challenges have combined with new problems to deprive many children of their rights and the
benefits of development.

To meet these challenges, and to reach those children who are hardest to reach, we need new
ways of thinking and new ways of doing.

Recognizing this, UNICEF has declared 2014 as the Year of Innovation for Equity – to focus the
world’s attention on showcasing and developing innovative solutions for children’s well-
being. Throughout 2014, UNICEF will convene a series of “Activate Talks” which will bring
together change makers from all walks of life to rethink and rework how we can deliver results
for the most vulnerable and marginalized children.

The talks will take place throughout 2014, and will be live-streamed or broadcast on the Activate
Talks web portal. To broaden the dialogue we invite all visitors to the site to get involved in the
discussions and debates and to share their views and experiences of innovation for children.
What is the UNCRC?

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, or UNCRC, is the basis of all
of Unicef's work. It is the most complete statement of children’s rights ever produced and is the
most widely-ratified international human rights treaty in history.

The Convention has 54 articles that cover all aspects of a child’s life and set out the civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights that all children everywhere are entitled to. It also
explains how adults and governments must work together to make sure all children can enjoy all
their rights.

In 1989, governments worldwide promised all children the same rights by adopting the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child, also known as the CRC or UNCRC. The Convention
changed the way children are viewed and treated – in other words, as human beings with a
distinct set of rights instead of as passive objects of care and charity.

These rights describe what a child needs to survive, grow, and live up to their potential in the
world. They apply equally to every child, no matter who they are or where they come from. All
children have rights, even those affected by conflict or emergencies.

The Convention must be seen as a whole: all the rights are linked and no right is more important
that another. There are four articles in the Convention that are seen as special in that they help
interpret all other articles, playing a fundamental role in realising all the rights in the Convention
for all children. They are called general principles.

There are also a number of agreements, called Optional Protocols, which strengthen the
Convention and add further unique rights for children.

Unicef is the only organisation working for children recognised by the Convention. All UN
member states except for the United States have ratified the Convention. The UK signed it in
1990, and it came into UK law in 1992.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is in charge of making sure that the Convention is
properly observed by the countries who have signed it.

ECOSOC- The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

ECOSOC at a Glance

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is the United Nations’ central platform for
reflection, debate, and innovative thinking on sustainable development.

ECOSOC Chamber, a gift from Sweden, was originally designed by famed Swedish architect
Svem Markelius.
Renovated in 2013, the Chamber features the new curtain ‘Diaologos’ by Ann Edholm.

Mandate

 ECOSOC, one of the six main organs of the United Nations established by the UN
Charter in 1946, is the principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and
recommendations on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as for
implementation of the internationally agreed development goals.
 ECOSOC serves as the central mechanism for the activities of the United Nations system
and its specialized agencies, and supervises the subsidiary and expert bodies in the
economic, social and environmental fields.
 ECOSOC has undergone reforms (A/RES/61/16, A/RES/68/1) in the last decade to
strengthen the Council and its working methods, giving special attention to the integrated
and coordinated implementation of, and follow-up to, the outcomes of all major United
Nations conferences summits in the economic, social, environmental and related fields.

Functions

ECOSOC engages a wide variety of stakeholders – policymakers, parliamentarians,

academics, major groups, foundations, business sector representatives and 3,200+
registered non-governmental organizations – in a productive dialogue on sustainable
development through a programmatic cycle of meetings. The work of the Council is guided
by an issue-based approach, and there is an annual theme that accompanies each
programmatic cycle, ensuring a sustained and focused discussion among multiple
stakeholders.

The programmatic cycle of ECOSOC includes

 High-Level Segment
 o High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) provides political leadership, guidance and
recommendations for sustainable development, follow-up and review progress in
the implementation of sustainable development commitments;
o Annual Ministerial Review (AMR), held annually since 2007, assesses progress in
the implementation of the United Nations development agenda;
o Development Cooperation Forum (DCF), held on a biannual basis since 2007,
reviews trends and progress in development cooperation on a biannual basis.

 Integration Segment, held annually since 2014, promotes the balanced integration of the
economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development both within
the United Nations system and beyond.

 Humanitarian Affairs Segment, that takes place in alternate years in New York and
Geneva, seeks to strengthen the coordination of the United Nations’ humanitarian efforts.

 Operational Activities for Development Segment, held annually, provides overall

coordination and guidance for United Nations funds and programmes on a system-wide
basis.

 Coordination and Management Meetings (CMM), held throughout the year, review the
reports of its subsidiary and expert bodies; promote system-wide coordination and review
of development issues; and consider special country situation or regional issues.

 Youth Forum, held annually since 2012, brings the voice of youth into the discussion of
the Millennium Development Goals and post-2015 development agenda.

 Partnership Forum, held annually since 2008 and linked to the theme of the Council’s
Annual Ministerial Review, aims at finding innovative ways to collaborate with the private
sector and foundations in search of solutions for the many development challenges facing
governments today.
MODULE 3

BASICS OF SOCIAL POLICY

Basic Concepts

Policy

Derives from the Greek word ‘polis’ (city state) and Sanskrit word ‘pur’ (city). Both
combined and used in Latin word as ‘politia’, which means state. ‘Policie’, which means
public governance, was then used in Middle English. The actions of government and the
intentions that determine those actions (Cochran et.al). Whatever government choose to do or
not to do (Dye, 1998). Intentions that guide governmental activities and functions. Also, the
sum of government activities, whether acting directly or through agents, as it has an influence
on the life of citizens (Peters, 1996). A policy is a deliberate plan of action to guide decisions
and achieve rational outcome(s). The term may apply to government, private sector
organizations and groups, and individuals. Presidential executive orders, corporate privacy or
human resource policies, and parliamentary rules of order are all examples of policy. Policy
differs from rules or law. While law can compel or prohibit behaviors (e.g. a law requiring the
payment of taxes on income) policy merely guides actions toward those that are most likely to
achieve a desired outcome.

Policy includes, vision, creativity and imagination. Policy is meaningful, only when the
society, group or the organizations believe that they can affect the policy in one way or other.
The word policy can be taken to refer principles that govern activities directed towards given
ends. The concept of policy denotes to action about means as well as ends and it therefore
implies change; changing situation, behavior, practices, etc. Process of policy making:

 Policy recommendation
 Policy formulation
 Policy implementation
 Policy analysis
 Policy evaluation
Public policy

The actions of government and the intentions that determine those actions is public policy
(Coobran et al). public policy is whatever government choose to do or not to do. (Thomas Dye,
1998) Components:

 Fields associated with the policy

 Locations
 Political perspectives
 Need
 Social context
 values

Social policy

Social Policy is the study of social services and the welfare state. In general terms, it looks at
the idea of social welfare, and its relationship to politics and society

Social policy seems to divert social workers from the counselling, administrative and community
work on which they focus. Social policy practice provides social workers with the theory about
the human services. In addition, it enables them to represent powerless populations and to assume
leadership goals both within society. Far from being traditional practioners, social policy helps
social workers actualize policy and advocacy in their professional carrier. (Social Policy Theory
to Social Practice)

According to B.S.Janson social policy is a collective strategy to address social problems. It is a

set of laws and administrative rule that define the purpose of social welfare and authorize
organizations to work towards the accomplishment of those purposes. (Comptom Galaway, 2004)
social policy is a collective interventions directly affecting transformation in social welfare, social
institutions, and social relations (Makandrwine perspective). According to Marshall social policy
is taken to refer to the policy of government with regard to action having a direct impact on the
welfare of the citizens an d providing them with services and income. Models of social policy:

 Residual welfare model of social policy (Elizebethan poor law – legalized practice,
institutionalized practice, governmental practices, should have some.)
  Industrial achievement – performance model of social policy (social needs should be
met on the basis of the performance or merit/ productivity.)
 Institutional redistribution model of social policy (it is basically a model incorporating
systems of redistribution in command – over resources through time)

Policy analysis

Policy analysis involves a concern with explanation rather than presumption. Policy analysis is
the regress search of the cause and effects of public policy. It is an effort to develop and test
general prepositions about the cause and effects of public policies. It accumulates reliable
findings of general importance. Policy analysis cannot offer solutions to the problems unless there
is a common understanding and approval of the problem.

Thomas Dye’s Eight Analytic Model

Institutional model

For a long time, the central interest of political science was on how institutional
arrangements influence the content of public policies. The institutional model conceives of
policies as institutional outputs. The focus of analysis is primarily on the balance between
executives and legislatives, which show notable variation across political systems. In this context,
the United Kingdom is generally perceived to have a dominant executive, whereas Denmark,
Switzerland are generally regarded as balanced systems. From the institutional perspective, public
policies are formulated and implemented exclusively by these institutions. Hence, policy making
should be a rather smooth and largely technical process, which merely involves executives and
legislatives.

Rational model

First developed in the field of economic analysis, the rational model of decision making
formulates guidance on how to secure ‘optimal’ policy decisions, which means that a decision is
rational if no other alternative is better according to the decision makers preferences.

The rational model believes in maximum social gain. This model argues that the objective of any
policy is maximum well – being of the people. The cost of any policy should not exceed its gain.
Must know the socities values, all alternatives and all consequences of the alternatives.
Instrumentalism

Public policy is viewed as the continuation of past governments activities with only
small modifications. It considers existing activities as base. Believes that policies that are ineffect
has been proven, why alter what has proven effective. Instrumentalism emerged as a response to
the rational model. Rather than an ideal, it purports to be a realistic description of how policy
makers arrive at their decisions. This is related to its foundation on ‘bounded rationality’, i.e. an
alternative concept to rational choice that takes into account the limitations of both knowledge
and cognitive capacity of decision makers.

Similar to rational learning, there is also a concept of bounded learning. In that case,
governments likewise engage in information gathering activity but do not scan all available
experience and instead use analytical shortcuts and cognitive heuristics to process the
information. An example of such heuristics is the adoption of policies from countries that are
considered as being particularly successful or the emulation of policies that have already been
adopted by a large number of other states.

The Achilles heel of the incremental model is that it does not explain how decision makers
arrive at these incremental adjustments. In response to this central shortcoming, Jones and
Baumgartner propose a model of choice that combines instrumentalism and punctuated
equilibrium theory, which states that political processes are generally characterized by stability
and instrumentalism, but occasionally produce large-scale departures from the past. In fact, this
explanatory model performs well for explaining the development of the US budget.

Process model

Basically, three features can be identified. Firstly, policy making occurs in presence of
multiple constraints, e.g. shortage of time and resources, public opinion, and of course the
constitution. Secondly, policy making involves the existence of various policy processes.
Governments are no unitary actors but consist of different departments that overlap and compete
with each other. Thirdly, these policy processes form an infinite cycle of decisions and policies.

It is convenient to conceive of policy making as a process model, which is also often

labelled policy cycle. It models the policy process as a series of political activities, consisting of
(1) agenda setting, (2) policy formulation, (3) policy adoption, (4) implementation, and (5)
evaluation. Each policy cycle begins with the identification of a societal problem and its
placement on the policy agenda. Subsequently, policy proposals are formulated, from which one
will be adopted. In the next stage, the adopted policy is taken to action. Finally, the impacts of the
policy are evaluated. This last stage leads straight back to the first, indicating that the policy cycle
is continuous and unending. This sequential model of the policy cycle represents a simplification.
In the real world different political actors and institutions may be involved in different processes
at the same time. Yet the policy cycle provides a useful heuristic for breaking policy making into
different units for being able to illustrate how policies are actually made.

Group model

Group theory hypothesizes that policies are the result of an equilibrium reached in group
struggle, which is determined by the relative strength of each interest group. Groups can be
distinguished concerning several aspects, such as income, membership size, membership density
and recruitment, more importantly, the potential effect of groups for policy making depends on
particular structures. Generally, in (neo) corporatist systems, for instance, economic interests are
strongly integrated in policy making. The pluralist model regards politics as marketplace with
more or less perfect competition, where individuals, political parties, and interest groups compete
for influence over policy domains.

It assumes equal access to the policy-making arena, fragmentation of the marketplace, a

competitive process for the determining policies, and the neutrality of government. Public policy
is the equilibrium reached in a group struggle, which is a political activity. Interaction among
groups is central to public politics. People come together through common interest. Policies are
framed using the group interaction models and dynamisims.

Elite model

Related to group theory is the view that policy making is determined by the preferences of
governing elites (cf. Mills 1956). The elite model is narrower in a sense as it claims that the
electorate is generally poorly informed about public policies and that the elites shape the public
opinion on policy questions. It mainly highlights the potential source of bias in policy making in
terms of the adoption of policy alternatives that rather correspond to the preferences of the elite
than the general public. This view, however, contradicts the popular median voter theorem, which
conveys that – under the condition that simple majority rule is used – opinion held by the median
voter will become the policy decision.

Systems Model
 A system is a set of interconnected elements that function together in tandem make up the
whole being. A system model is described as a system comprising sub system, people, action and
interaction that enable it to perform certain functions. It states that the organization &
environment work together & have frequent exchanges in order to adjust & at the end there is
stable state of equilibrium. The model takes a holistic approach that is, it takes into account &
studies all elements of an organization like communication, personnel & procedures and the
interface between organization & the envt. The policy making process is the one which converts
the demands of the society into policies. The factors from physical, social, economic & political
comprises the political system in the form of both demands & supports. The demands are the
claims made on the political system by individuals & groups to alter some aspect of the envt.
Demands occur when individual or groups in response to envt. Conditions act to effect public
policy. The supports of a political system consist of the rules, laws & customs which provide a
basis for the existence of a political community & the authorities.

Game theory

Study of rational decisions where two or more participants have choices to make &
outcome depends on the choices made by each. It does not describe how people actually make
decisions but rather how they should go about making decisions in competitive situations if they
are rational. More an analytic tool than a practical guide.

Institutional model

The policy is analyzed describing specific institutions and certain aspects of those institutions. Eg:
structure, duties, functions and organizations. It also analyzes the effect these aspects have on
public policy outputs.

Process model

 Identification of problem
 Setting the agenda
 Classifying and prioritizing the problems
 Identifying different alternatives
 Formulating a policy
 Implementation of the policy
 Evaluation
  Follow up

Incrementalism

Public policy is viewed as the continuation of past governments activities with only small
modifications. It considers existing activities as base. Believes that policies that are ineffect has
been proven, why alter what has proven effective.

Group theory

Public policy is the equilibrium reached in a group struggle, which is a political activity.
Interaction among groups is central to public politics. People come together through common
interest. Policies are framed using the group interaction models and dynamisims.

Elite theory

People are indifferent and ill – informed therefore the elites shape the mass opinion. It implies
public policy does not truly reflect the wants of the people as passive and they easily manipulate.

Gain theory: Gain theory suggest study of rational decisions where one choice becomes the
outcome of another choice. An abstract and deductive model of policy making is supported by
this model.

Rational model

The rational model believes in maximum social gain. This model argues that the objective of any
policy is maximum well – being of the people. The cost of any policy should not exceed its gain.
Must know the socities values, all alternatives and all consequences of the alternatives.

Systems Model

• A system is a set of interconnected elements that function together in tandem make up the
whole being.

• A system model is described as a system comprising sub system, people, action &
interaction that enable it to perform certain functions.

• It states that the organisation & environment work together & have frequent exchanges in
order to adjust & at the end there is stable state of equilibrium.
 • The model takes a holistic approach that is, it takes into account & studies all elements of
an organisation like communication, personnel & procedures and the interface between
organisation & the envt.

• The policy making process is the one which converts the demands of the society into
policies.

• The factors from physical, social, economic & political comprises the political system in
the form of both demands & supports.

• The demands are the claims made on the political system by individuals & groups to alter
some aspect of the envt..

• Demands occur when individual or groups in response to envt. conditions act to effect
public policy.

• The supports of a political system consist of the rules, laws & customs which provide a
basis for the existence of a political community & the authorities.

Game theory

• Study of rational decisions where two or more participants have choices to make &
outcome depends on the choices made by each.

• It does not describe how people actually make decisions but rather how they should go
about making decisions in competitive situations if they are rational.

• More an analytic tool than a practical guide.

Dobelstein’s model

In the Dobelstein’s model of social policy there are three models (behavioural (rational), criteria-
based, and incremental models) they are as discusses below:

THREE MODELS OF SOCIAL POLICY DEVELOPMENT

The following material is summarized from Dobelstein (2003).

1. THE BEHAVIOURAL POLICY MODEL:

It defines a problem in objective terms. It requires the maximum amount of social science
information and social research methods. This model takes time to evaluate existing data, provide
alternative solutions, and determine the benefits and feasibility of a new policy before
implication.

The steps in the behavioural model are as follows:

 Defining the problem as thoroughly and objectively as possible.

 Creating alternative solutions. This include coming up with every conceivable way of
solving the problem, an approach that may seem slow and tedious but that gives an
objective and clear view of the alternatives to the problem.
 Determining which of the alternative policy options will be the most viable. This
includes determining the cost and benefits of each alternative.
 Placing all the data on charts that permit policymakers to understand which alternative
is the most cost effective and will, most efficiently and effectively, correct the problem.
 Analyzing the feasibility of implementing alternative policies. This can be quite
complicated because questions always arise about data and viability of a policy that
force adjustments to be made in a proposed policy.

Problems with the model: Although the behavioural model is the most objective and thorough
model, it is not without drawbacks. There is no way to ensure that the alternative policies
presented are in reality, the best alternatives. This creates uncertainty, which may cause the model
to lose its authority. Because there is an element of uncertainty, this allows policy makers to
choose alternatives that may be poor choices but pander to constituents or to a political
philosophy that is in the minority, finally, this model requires a long and tedious process. It may
not be helpful in resolving problems that require immediate attention.

This model tries to understand all the alternatives, take into account all their consequences, and
select the best. It is concerned with the best way to organize government in order to assure and
undistorted flow of information, the accuracy of feedback, and the weighing of values. Related to
techniques such as PERT, CPM, OR, and linear programming. This model tries to improve the
content of public policy.
THE INCREMENTAL MODEL:

It calculates the marginal benefits of current choices of dealing with a problem and takes a small-
step approach to resolving the problem. It is at the opposite end of the continuum from the
behavioural approach, beginning with the possible solutions rather than the problem. The
incremental model assesses the steps needed to be taken to resolve the core issues:

 Investigate the existing alternatives. This means that the problem has already existed
for a while and alternatives are already available. This process does not allow for the
infusion of fresh alternatives, which may cause the process to be more limited than the
behavioural model.
 Allow policymakers to implement small changes and review the effectiveness of these
changes. This step gives policymakers the opportunity to see if the solutions are having
the desired outcome.
 Allow policymakers to increase resources for alternatives that are working while
decreasing or stopping alternatives that are less effective or possibly have the opposite
effect.
 Provide policy makers with the option of combining alternatives, giving greater
effectiveness to problem solving.

This model relies on the concepts of incremental decision-making such as satisficing,

organizational drift, bounded rationality, and limited cognition, among others. Basically can be
called "muddling through." It represents a conservative tendency: new policies are only slightly
different from old policies. Policy-makers are too short on time, resources and brains to make
totally new policies; past policies are accepted as having some legitimacy. Existing policies have
sunk costs which discourage innovation, incrementalism is an easier approach than rationalism,
and the policies are more politically expedient because they don't necessitate any radical
redistribution of values. This model tries to improve the acceptability of public policy.

Problem solving model: This model has some rather obvious drawbacks, the first of which is
that the problem may not be well defined. It could be that thoroughly defining the problem creates
an entirely different set of policy alternatives. A second drawback is that the incremental model is
not as thorough and systematic as the behavioural model and often relies on trial and error.
3. THE CRITERIA-BASED MODEL:

It represents a midpoint between the behavioural and incremental models. The problem definition
stage limits itself to the alternatives for resolving the problem. It is quickly finds the benefits of
current choices for dealing with the problem and institutes small choices that are reviewed in
order to develop a solution.

The steps in the criteria-based models are as follows:

 Limit alternatives to problem solving by quickly using alternatives that appear realistic
under existing time and budgetary constraints.
 Use accepted values in analyzing a problem. Three types of values are used in problem
solving: universal values that suggest fairness and equity, selective values that apply
directly to the current problem (eg: its fair for women to have equal pay with men for
doing the same work), and values that enhance efficiency because there are time
constraints or a policy is needed because of a crisis.
 Gather information to determine the cost, benefits, and feasibility of each alternative
policy.
 Analyze which alternative policy gives the maximum benefit while staying true to the
goals set in analyzing and developing policy alternatives.
 Present the most appropriate alternatives to policymakers for review.

The frameworks discussed here are only a fraction of the available policy analysis frameworks
available in the literature. These frameworks as well as others have great variability in terms of
their focus and intent. Some frameworks are short and contain only a very limited number of key
elements compared to other frameworks that focus on certain policy elements as well as the
broader context within which the policy is being formulated or implemented. Some frameworks
place a greater emphasis on understanding the problem so effective policies can be formulated.
Frameworks vary greatly in their emphasis on strengths, but as a social worker with a general
understanding of the strengths perspective, it is possible to use these models and the strengths
perspective when analyzing a policy.
MODULE 4

PROCESS OF SOCIAL POLICY DEVELOPMENT

• Policies follow a particular purpose: they are designed to achieve defined goals and present
solutions to societal problems.

• More precisely, policies are government statements of what it intends to do or not to do,
including laws, regulations, decisions, or orders.

• Policy cycle models the policy process

• as a series of political activities, consisting of

• (1) agenda setting,

• (2) policy formulation,

• (3)policy adoption,

• (4) implementation, and

• (5) evaluation.

Agenda setting

• The first stage in policy-making refers to the identification of a societal problem requiring
the state to intervene.

• There are many societal problems, but only a small number will be given official attention
by legislators and executives. Those that are chosen by the decision-makers constitute the
policy agenda.

• Setting the agenda is therefore an important source of power.

• In most cases, the policy agenda is set by four types of actors: (1) public officials, (2) the

bureaucracy, (3) the mass media, and (4) the interest groups

2.Determine alternatives for policy choices

 • The policy makers will provide various policy choices for addressing policy problem or
various courses of action.

3. Forecasting & evaluating alternatives

• The various policy alternatives are analysed in terms of their efficiency and effectiveness
in addressing the issue.

• Though media & interest group may effect the policy analysis process, the legislature has
the ultimate say in policy choice.

4.Making choice

• It is making a choice regarding the policy which has to be implemented.

5. Policy implementation

• Implementation represents the conversion of new laws and programs into practice.

• Various theoretical approaches were elaborated to the study of implementation and divided
into three categories –

1) Top-down models

primarily emphasize the ability of policy makers to produce unequivocal policy objectives and
control the implementation process.

2) Bottom-up models regard local bureaucrats as the central actors in policy delivery and view
implementation as negotiation processes within networks

3)Hybrid models states that for successful implementation, there must be an entity with sufficient
resources, which is able to translate the policy objectives into an operational framework and that
is accountable for its actions.

6. Policy monitoring

7. Policy outcome

• It is the result aroused out of the implementation of the policy. The policy outcome
actually explains the success of the policy. It can be positive or negative.

8. policy evaluation
 • The policies must be evaluated during proper time intervals. It is difficult to evaluate a
policy since it has broad & multiple objectives.

• After a policy is passed by the legislature and implemented by the bureaucracy, it becomes
a subject of evaluation.

• The main question at this stage is whether the output of the decision making process – a
given public policy – has attained the intended goals.

• Evaluation is often a formal component of policy making and is generally carried out by
experts who have some knowledge about the processes and objectives pertaining to the
issue

9. Problem restricting (success & termination)

• Policy implementation will assess the problems and constraints in implementing policy
and will make modifications to policy is needed.

• A policy cycle approach can help public servants develop a policy and guide it through the
institutions of government.A policy cycle----starts with a problem, seeks evidence, tests
proposals and puts recommendations beforeCabinet.

policy cycle

The term policy cycle refers to the recurrent pattern shown by procedures that ultimately lead to
the creation of a public policy. The advantage of analyzing these procedures by dividing them
into stages (agenda-setting, formulation, implementation) resides in the way it offers explanatory
insights into the decision-making process. More precisely, the notion of policy cycle provides a
means of thinking about the sectoral realities of public policy processes.

The concept of policy cycle was developed by Harold Lasswell in the USA in the 1950s. At the
time, he provoked a near revolution by describing public policy science as being
multidisciplinary, problem-solving and explicitly normative (Howlett and Ramesh, 2003). On the
basis of these characteristics, Lasswell developed the concept of policy cycles, which he broke
down into seven fundamental stages in decision-making. Although the three characteristics
identified by Lasswell with respect to policy analysis have withstood the test of time, his cyclical
model is now largely criticized for its fragmented approach to explanatory factors. At present,
there is a consensus in the research community that the model should be divided into five major
stages: agenda-setting, policy formulation, public policy decision-making, policy implementation
and policy evaluation (Howlett and Ramesh, 2003). Although all five are important, three of them
– agenda-setting, formulation and implementation – are crucial to understanding policy cycles.

Agenda-setting, the first stage in a policy cycle, refers to the processes by which social conditions
are recognized and considered to have evolved into a “public problem” – no longer subject to a
social or natural destiny, nor belonging to the private sphere – thereby becoming the focus of
debate and controversy in the media and in politics (Garraud, 2004). Agenda-setting is a critical
stage in the policy cycle since its dynamics have a decisive impact on the whole policy process
and the policies resulting from it (Lemieux, 2002; Howlett and Ramesh, 2003). Accordingly, a
number of academics have turned

their attention to explanatory factors related to policy decisions taken at this stage. Their research
leads to the conclusion that agenda-setting is a socially constructed process (Howlett and Ramesh,
2003), in which actors and institutions, influenced by their ideologies, play a fundamental role in
determining the problems or issues requiring action on the part of the government.

Once the existence of a problem and the need to remedy it have been acknowledged (Howlett and
Ramesh, 2003), the next stage in the policy cycle is policy formulation. It involves identifying
and assessing possible solutions to policy problems, weighing their pros and cons, and deciding
which should be accepted and which rejected (Howlett and Ramesh, 2003). When options are
being identified, policy makers are limited in their room to manoeuvre by constraints of two
types. Substantive constraints are related to the nature of the problem itself and entail
considerable use of state resources to resolve a problem (Howlett and Ramesh, 2003). Procedural
constraints, which also affect all aspects of the formulation stage, may be characterized either as
institutional, based on government procedures, or as tactical, based on relationships between
various actors or social groups. According to Howlett and Ramesh, who deal with tactical
constraints in some detail, actors and social groups are component parts of subsystems, and the
cohesiveness between these two components with respect to discourse (reflecting values and
beliefs) and their social bonds has a fundamental influence on policy formulation. The more
cohesion there is between the discourse community and interest networks in a policy subsystem,
the more resistance there will be to new ideas and new actors (Howlett and Ramesh, 2003, 156-
157). Inversely, a less cohesive subsystem structure that is open to new ideas and new actors will
offer better chances for innovation, as long as the government also favours this type of structure.
The relationship between the government and social actors is thus a significant factor influencing
the formulation of public policies.

The third important stage is implementation, or the process of putting a public policy into effect.
This is when a decision is carried out through the application of government directives and is
confronted with reality (Mégie, 2004). There is generally a discrepancy between a policy's intent
and its outcome (Mégie, 2004), which stems from the role played by its actors, particularly the
public servants entrusted with responsibility for its implementation. Civil servants' personal
tendencies (ideologies, interests, thinking, etc.) can influence their perceptions and even their
intentions when it comes to implementing a policy. However, it appears that the main factor
affecting the behaviour of civil servants is their belonging to an organization (Brooks, 1998, 78).

In this respect, organizational culture has a decisive influence, since it transmits ideological and
professional norms, as well as agency-specific techniques, which may influence the
implementation process (Brooks, 1998). External actors may also help to widen the gap between
government intentions and observable outcomes. For example, pressure groups, lobbies or
stakeholders having a specific interest in a policy may influence the way in which civil servants
ensure its implementation, a state of affairs that Selznick terms cooptation (Brooks, 1998).

For certain authors, the policy cycle model described above presents major weaknesses. For
example, it can give a false impression of linearity, with each stage in the cycle occurring in a
precise, predetermined manner, which is far from actual fact. According to Howlett and Ramesh,
the model's disadvantage lies rather in its inability to explain what causes policies to advance
from one stage to another. They propose that the model be further developed to account for policy
changes, which may be categorized as either normal or atypical.

Normal policy change involves altering various aspects of existing policy styles and paradigms,
without completely transforming the shape or configuration of a public policy regime. This
continuity is maintained by a number of ideological and institutional factors that insulate the
policy regime from pressure for change. Normal changes thus provide policy cycles with a certain
stability, but at the same time suppress innovation and new paradigms while encouraging the
establishment of “policy monopolies” that defend the status quo. Such monopolies are generally
backed by a “closed network” of policy actors, who keep other, change-oriented actors from
having a say in the policy cycle. According to the two authors, atypical change involves
“substantial changes in policy paradigms and styles.” Although normal policy change is more
common, atypical change may occur at times, when the members of a subsystem realize that the
existing paradigm is no longer able to resolve policy problems (Howlett and Ramesh, 2003).

In the coming years, the development of the notion of change will lead to a better understanding
of the stakes involved and to theoretical exploration that will improve the concept of policy
cycles. The development of this notion should also help to explain overlap among policy stages
and foster a less linear interpretation of policy cycles.

Policy process

Policy-making as a processmodel, which is also often labelled policy cycle (Lasswell 1956). It
models the policy process as a series of political activities, consisting of (1) agenda setting, (2)
policy formulation, (3)policy adoption, (4) implementation, and (5) evaluation. Each policy cycle
begins with the identification of a societal problem and its placement on the policy agenda.
Subsequently,
policy proposals are formulated, from which one will be adopted. In the next stage, the
adopted policy is taken to action. Finally, the impacts of the policy are evaluated. This last
stage leads straight back to the first, indicating that the policy cycle is continuous and
unending. This sequential model of the policy cycle represents a simplification. In the real
world different political actors and institutions may simultaneously be involved in single
processes. Yet the policy cycle provides a useful heuristic for breaking policy-making into
different units to illustrate how policies are actually made.
Agenda setting
The first stage in policy-making refers to the identification of a societal problem requiring the
state to intervene. There are many societal problems, but only a small number will be given
official attention by legislators and executives. Those that are chosen by the decision-makers
constitute the policy agenda. Setting the agenda is therefore an important source of power as
it is policy consequential, i.e. legislative institutions grant an advantage to the first movers as
compared to the second movers (Shepsle and Weingast 1987). The factors determining

whether an issue reaches the agenda may be cultural, political, social, economic, or
ideological (cf. Schattschneider 1960; King 1973; Howlett and Ramesh 2003: ch. 5 for an
overview). Further, the ability to exclude societal problems from the policy agenda and to
realize the occurrence of ‘non-decisions’ is an important source of policy-shaping power
(Bachrach and Baratz 1962).Cobb et al. (1976) distinguish between three basic policy initiation
models:
1. The outside-initiative model refers to a situation where citizen groups gain broad public
support and get an issue onto the formal agenda.
2. The mobilization model describes a situation in which initiatives of governments need to
be placed on the public agenda for successful implementation.
3. In the inside-initiation model, influential groups with access to decision-makers present
policy proposals, which are broadly supported by particular interest groups but only marginally
by the public.On the basis of these considerations, Kingdon (1995: 19) defines agenda setting as
‘three
process streams flowing through the system—streams of problems, policies, and politics.
They are largely independent of one another, and each develops according to its own
dynamics and rules. But at some critical junctures the three streams are joined, and the
greatest policy changes grow out of that coupling of problems, policies, and solutions.’
The result of the convergence of the three streams is the opening of a ‘policy window’,
which allows advocates of a certain issue to put it on the policy agenda. Similar to the
garbage can model (Cohen et al. 1972), Kingdon’s conception of agenda setting emphasizes
the relevance of chance, and therefore qualifies the view that agenda setting represents rational
behaviour.
Baumgartner and Jones (1993) modified Kingdon’s model by extending it to the notion of
‘policy monopolies’, in which particular subsystems control the interpretation of a problem.
These subsystems comprise both governmental and societal actors. The members of specific
subsystems seek to change policy images in order to weaken the stability of existing policy
arrangements. In doing so, the subsystem members can either publicize a problem and
encourage the public to demand its resolution by government (‘Downsian strategy’), or they

can modify the institutional arrangements within which the subsystem operates
(‘Schattschneider strategy’).
In most cases, the policy agenda is set by four types of actors: (1) public officials, (2) the
bureaucracy, (3) the mass media, and (4) the interest groups (Gerston 2004: 52). Elected
public officials, e.g. the president, the parliament, the ministries and courts, are the most
obvious agenda-setters. However, actual agenda setting is related to the larger political game
in terms of power and the intensity of ideological conflict both within and between the
(coalition) government and parliament. Consequently, there exists a considerable variation in
the rules and practices of agenda setting—even in the relatively similar Western European
polities (Döring 1995: 224).

Originally, the potential impact of the bureaucracy on agenda setting was proposed by
William A. Niskanen (1971). His economic model of bureaucratic behavior assumes that
bureaucrats impose upon a passive legislature their most preferred policy alternative from
among the set of alternatives that dominate the status quo. While theoretically plausible,
empirical studies (cf. Hammond 1986) reveal that bureaucrats can influence the policy
agenda but certainly not impose their most preferred alternative on the voting bodies.
Agenda setting is also frequently associated with the role of mass media (McCombs and
Shaw 1972), involving issues of ‘faming’ and ‘priming’ (cf. Scheufele and Tewksbury 2006).
Since not all issues covered by the media reach the policy agenda, there must be an additional
explanatory variable.
This leads us to the fourth source of agenda-setting power: interest groups. Agendasetting
theory generally requires advocates to expand interest in a particular issue or policy
(Cobb and Elder 1972). That interest groups place issues on the public agenda seems to be
indisputable. However, the question emerges whether and to what extent their interests are
compatible with public needs. Most importantly, the success of various interest groups

depends on those in positions of power, indicating the presence of an interaction effect.

Over the years, research on agenda setting has become increasingly sophisticated and
addresses an ever-growing range of questions. Various scholars ask, for instance, how
political representation affects agenda setting (cf. Jones and Baumgartner 2004; Penner et al.
2006). Another aspect is about the role of political parties for agenda setting (cf. Walgrave et
al. 2006; Green-Pedersen 2007). A further fashionable perspective on agenda setting
scrutinizes the effects of experts and the scientific community (Timmermans and Scholten
2006).
Policy formulation
The second stage in the policy cycle—policy formulation—involves the definition,
discussion, acceptance, or rejection of feasible courses of action for coping with policy
problems. Policy formulation is strongly related to policy adoption—the subsequent stage
here. Generally speaking, policy formulation deals with the elaboration of alternatives of
action, whereas policy adoption refers to the formal acceptance of a policy.
Policy formulation takes place within the broader context of technical and political
constraints of state action. The political constraints can be either substantive (i.e. related to
the nature of the societal problem to be solved) or procedural (i.e. related to institutional and
tactical issues) (Howlett and Ramesh 2003: 147–8).
BOX 20.2 Formulating policy
Thomas R. Dye (2005: 42)
Policy formulation occurs in government bureaucracies; interest group offices; legislative
committee rooms, meetings of special commissions; and policy-planning organizations
otherwise known as ‘think tanks’. The details of policy proposals are usually formulated by
staff members rather than their bosses, but staffs are guided by what they know their leaders
want.This phase involves a large number of actors. Basically, it brings the relationship between
executives and legislatures to the forefront. To be sure, there is good reason to believe that

there is a dominance of executives over legislatures and parties. Executives can rely on more
resources than parties and their representatives in the legislature. This view is, however,
challenged by the comparative analysis of legislative activity in Belgium, France, Germany,
and the United Kingdom by Bräuninger and Debus (2009), which shows that legislatures are
also highly involved in the process of policy formulation.
The role of ministerial bureaucracies and top civil servants in policy formulation was
predominantly the focus of earlier studies (cf. Dogan 1975). More recent analyses (cf. Jann
and Wegrich 2006), highlight that policy formulation can rather be conceived as a more or
less rather informal process of negotiations between ministerial departments and interest
groups. Consequently, interest groups play a major role in policy formulation as they often
work with executive and legislative officials to develop a policy draft. They may especially
play a big part in formulating legislation about complex and technical issues, and when
government institutions lack time and staff to cope with such matters.
Policy adoption
In contrast to preliminary stages of decision-making, the final adoption of a particular policy
alternative is determined by government institutions and predominantly depends on two sets
of factors. Firstly, the set of feasible policies can be reduced by the necessity to build
majorities for their approval implying considerations about values, party affiliation,
constituency interests, public opinion, deference, and decision rules (Anderson 2003: 126).
In this context, party loyalty is an important decision-making criterion for most members
of parliament (cf. Benedetto and Hix 2007 for qualifications). Therefore, party affiliation is
central predictor for the likelihood of a member of parliament to approve a policy draft.
Another important decision criterion is given by the expected costs and benefits of a policy
proposal for the constituency. As a rule, a member of parliament is expected to adopt a policy
option, if the benefits for the constituency prevail, although considerations about reelection
might lead to suboptimal policy projects (Weingast et al. 1981). Further, considerations about

the public opinion also affect policy choices as well as decision rules, values, and perception
of deference. Overall, policy adoption should be dominated by bargaining and compromise as
purported by the incremental model.
The second set of factors refers to the allocation of competencies between the actors
involved in policy-making. Cross-national research concludes that the type of state
organization, whether federal or unitary, affects the success, speed and nature of
governmental policy-making (cf. Lijphart 1999; Braun 2000). An adequate theoretical
underpinning for this aspect offers Tsebelis’ (1995, 2000, 2002) concept of ‘veto players’.
For example, in the French presidential system, ‘divided government’ can impede policy
adoption as there are generally insufficient incentives for political parties to cooperate and
build policy-making coalitions. Another illustration is provided by Germany’s bicameral
legislature, which limits governmental policy-making to the consent of a set of institutional
veto players (Tsebelis and Money 1997; Bräuninger and König 1999).
Implementation
Implementation represents the conversion of new laws and programmes into practice.
Without proper implementation, policy has neither substance nor significance. Thus, policy
success depends on how well bureaucratic structures implement government decisions. At the
first glance, implementation appears as an automatic continuation of the policy-making
process. Yet there often exists a substantial gap between the passage of new legislation and
its application (Pressman and Wildavsky 1973).
Consequently, it is the explicit objective of implementation research to open the ‘black
box’ between policy formation and policy outcomes. To this end, various theoretical

approaches were elaborated which Pülzl and Treib (2006) divide into three generic
categories:
· Top-down models (cf. Pressman and Wildavsky 1973; Bardach 1977; Mazmanian and

Sabatier 1983) primarily emphasize the ability of policy-makers to produce unequivocal

policy objectives and control the implementation process.
· Bottom-up models (cf. Lipsky 1971, 1980) regard local bureaucrats as the central actors
in policy delivery and view implementation as negotiation processes within networks.
· Hybrid models (cf. Mayntz 1979; Windhoff-Héritier 1980) integrate elements of both
previously mentioned models and other theoretical models.
For successful implementation, there must be an entity that is able to translate the policy
objectives into an operational framework and that is accountable for its actions (Gerston
2004: 98). Often bureaucracies emerge as principal actors during implementation. In his
study of the US bureaucracy, Meier (2000) finds that implementation depends on the policy
types proposed by Lowi (1964). When implementing regulatory policies, most agencies are
responsive to the communities over which they preside, while distributive policies are
implemented with some bureaucratic discretion, with congressional subcommittees and
organized interest groups exercising continuous oversight. With redistributive policy, by
contrast, little discretion is left to bureaucracy since Congress puts in a lot of effort when
designing these policies.
Related to this perspective is the choice of policy instruments, which are perceived to be
vulnerable to specific kinds of implementation problems (Mayntz 1979). Yet it is not only the
policy type and the instrument choice that determines the likelihood of proper
implementation. In federal systems, for instance, implementation efforts may move between
and within levels of government (Gerston 2004: 103). If implementation is a matter of
horizontal implementation, in which a national legal act must be applied solely by an agency
in the executive branch, the number of actors remains low and implementation can be
attained smoothly. The opposite scenario is likely, if vertical implementation is concerned,
implying that various segments of the national government must interact with different
subnational levels.

The relevance of bureaucracy during implementation reveals a contradictory picture of

great interest. On the one hand, bureaucracies are essential for making policies work. On the
other hand, senior bureaucrats are often more experienced and better trained than their
political masters, which paves the way for ‘bureaucratic drift’ (cf. Grossman and Hart 1983).
Hence, a policy might drift towards the liking of bureaucracy and away from what was
originally intended by legislation, which is particularly likely to occur in coalition
governments (Hammond and Knott 1996).
Evaluation
After a policy is passed by the legislature and implemented by the bureaucracy, it becomes a
subject of evaluation. The main question at this stage is whether the output of the decisionmaking
process—a given public policy—has attained the intended goals. Evaluation is often
a formal component of policy-making and is commonly carried out by experts who have
some knowledge about the processes and objectives pertaining to the issue undergoing
review.
Evaluation can be carried out in different ways. In this context, Munger (2000: 20)
differentiates between (1) purely formal evaluations (monitoring routine tasks), (2) client
satisfaction evaluation (performance of primary functions), (3) outcome evaluation
(satisfaction of a list of measurable intended outcomes), (4) cost–benefit evaluation
(comparison of costs and impacts of a policy), and (5) evaluation of long-term consequences
(impact on the core societal problem, rather than symptoms alone).
Policy evaluation provides a feedback loop, which enables decision-makers to draw
lessons from each particular policy in operation. This feedback loop identifies new problems
and sets in motion the policy-making process once again, creating an endless policy cycle.
This turns policy evaluation into a powerful tool of the policy-making process: it possesses
the potential to reframe an issue once thought to be resolved by policy-makers, but as we will
see it can also lead to the termination of public policies.

The systematic evaluation of a policy—or more specifically of a programme—is

generally carried out of scientists. Administrative evaluations are conducted or initiated by
the public administration and political evaluation is carried out by diverse actors in the
political arena, including the public and the media (Howlett and Ramesh 2003: 210–16).
Most government agencies make some effort to evaluate their own policies and programmes.
The most common type of evaluation is based on hearings and reports. Another common
approach is given by the analysis of citizens’ complaints. Occasionally, teams of highranking
administrators or consultants visit sites and collect impressionistic data about how
policies are carried out, or government agencies themselves gather data on policy output
measures. Moreover, in some policy fields governmental entities evaluate the performance of
certain policies by comparing them with professional standards. However, most policy
evaluations are unsystematic and do not satisfy minimal requirements formulated by
scientific evaluation research, before and after comparisons (Dye 2005: 335–39). The need
for systematic policy evaluation is expected to grow since contemporary concern over the
allocation of scarce recourses makes it essential to evaluate the effectiveness of policy
interventions.
In practice, policy evaluation presents numerous challenges to the evaluators. Citizens
and governments alike tend to interpret the actual effects of a policy so as to serve their own
intentions. Often governments avoid the precise definition of policy objectives because
otherwise politicians would risk taking the blame for obvious failure (Jann and Wegrich
2006). Further, policy decisions cannot be limited to intended effects only. An additional
problem stems from the time horizon: ‘Program circumstances and activities may change
during the course of an evaluation, an appropriate balance must be found between scientific
and pragmatic considerations in the evaluation design, and the wide diversity of perspectives
and approaches in the evaluation field provide little firm guidance about how best to proceed
with an evaluation’ (Rossi et al. 2004: 29).

The results of the evaluation procedure can also lead to the termination of a certain
policy. In theoretical terms, policy termination should be likely when a policy problem has
been solved, or if evaluation studies reveal the dysfunctionality of a policy. Nonetheless, the
empirical findings show that, once a policy is institutionalized within a government, it is hard
to terminate it (Bardach 1976; Jann and Wegrich 2006). This immortality of policies stems
from various sources. The most rampant view is that inefficient programmes continue
because their benefits are concentrated in a small, well-organized constituency, while their
greater costs are dispersed over a large, unorganized group. Additionally, legislative and
bureaucratic interests may impede termination. This is related to the concept of
incrementalism, which implies that attention to proposed changes focuses on parts of existing
policies and not on their entirety (Dye 2005: 344–45).From this it follows that termination should
become more likely if a government experiences some kind of shock, justifying drastic measures,
such as economic crises (cf.Geva-May 2004). Another stimulus can be given by supranational
policy harmonization for the creation of a common market (cf. Knill et al. 2009). Studies of
policy termination are therefore primarily concerned with the question why policies continue to
exist despite plausible theoretical arguments predicting the exact opposite.
KEY POINTS
In analytical terms, it is helpful to view policy-making as a series of political activities
encompassing agenda setting, policy formulation, policy adoption, implementation, and
evaluation.
The number of actors involved decreases when we move from agenda setting to
implementation.
MODULE-5-PRACTICE MODELS IN SOCIAL WORK
Social work practice today-Micro,Mezzo,Macro Practices
Micro, mezzo, and macro social work have similar missions, in that they seek to identify and
address mental, emotional, familial, social, and financial problems that people face. The
difference between these fields lies in the methods they use to address these problems, the scope
of the impact of their work, and how close social workers in these fields interact with the
populations they wish to assist.

Micro social work effects change on an individual basis and involves working closely with clients
to support them through their challenges. Mezzo social work seeks to improve small communities
through initiatives such as school-based education programs and local health services. Mezzo
social workers also tend to interact directly with the populations they serve. Macro social work
aims to understand how problems originate, develop, and persist in large systems–for example, at
the state and national levels. Macro social workers may or may not interact with the populations
they seek to help, and instead work to effect positive change through research of social issues and
the development of state and national programs.
The fields of micro, mezzo, and macro social work are explained in further detail below.
Micro Social Work-Micro social work involves meeting with individuals, families, and small
groups to help them identify and manage mental, emotional, social, behavioral, and/or financial
challenges that are negatively impacting their happiness and quality of life. The goal of micro
social work is to help vulnerable populations through one-on-one guidance and emotional
support. Tasks that micro social workers typically complete include individual and family
counseling, resource connection and navigation services (ex. how to apply for Medicare or
Medicaid and other federal or state aid programs, what resources are available in one’s
community, etc.), helping clients develop skills to address emotional and social difficulties, and
intervening in situations in which clients encounter a crisis or severe distress (ex. school violence,
domestic abuse, severe substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc.).

While the terms micro social work and clinical social work are often used interchangeably, and
overlap in many ways, clinical social work is in fact a subset of micro social work. Clinical social
work is defined as the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of individuals’ mental illness and
other psychological and emotional problems. Clinical social workers work closely with their
clients using a number of psychotherapeutic methods to help them manage and overcome their
mental, emotional, and behavioral challenges.
Mezzo Social Work
Mezzo social work involves the development and implementation of social service initiatives at
the local and small community levels (ex. schools, neighborhoods, and city districts). Like micro
social workers, mezzo social work practitioners tend to interact directly with the people they wish
to assist. However, instead of engaging in individual counseling and support, mezzo social
workers administer help to groups of people at a time. Examples of projects that mezzo social
workers could be involved in include the establishment of a free local clinic to help underserved
members of the community, county health programs to help disadvantaged families learn about
and obtain proper nutrition, and local workshops to guide unemployed individuals through the
processes of applying for jobs and unemployment benefits.

While mezzo social work roles do exist, mezzo social work is often a secondary practice that
micro social workers engage in to help their client populations on a slightly larger scale. For
example, school social workers who work closely with students may practice mezzo social work
when they develop and host presentations on student issues such as bullying or substance abuse
prevention. Similarly, clinical social workers in private practice who work primarily on an
individual basis with their clients might conduct emotional health workshops to help multiple
clients or sections of their local community.
Macro Social Work
Macro social work is distinct from micro and mezzo social work in that it seeks to help vulnerable
populations indirectly and on a much larger scale. Macro social workers typically have one or
more of the following responsibilities:•Investigation of the origins, persistence, and effects of
citywide, state, and/or

national social problems. Social workers who investigate these problems often work at
universities and other social research institutions.•Creation and implementation of human service
programs to address large scale social problems. Social workers who engage primarily in this area
of macro social work may work in government departments, non-profits, and other organizations
that have the resources and infrastructure to create, deliver, and evaluate the effectiveness of
human service programs.
•Advocacy to encourage state and federal governments to change policies to better serve
vulnerable populations, and/or to create programs that address social ills. Macro social workers
who engage in policy advocacy may work at human rights groups, pro-bono law firms, think-
tanks, and non-profit organizations.
While macro social workers typically do not provide individual therapy or other assistance to
clients, they may interact directly with the populations they wish to serve when conducting
interviews during their research of certain social problems. Furthermore, some macro social
workers begin their careers at the micro level in order to fully understand the trials their target
populations experience before they progress to more macro-level projects.
Moving Between Micro, Mezzo, and Macro Social Work
Social workers and social work students who begin their career in one of the three areas of social
work described above need not feel relegated to that area of social work for the entirety of their
career. In fact, with adequate initiative and investment of time and effort, social workers can and
do move between micro, mezzo, and macro social work, and can practice more than one type of
social work simultaneously.For instance, a micro social worker who wishes to effect broader
social change may contact local organizations in order to create and implement programs at the
mezzo level; that same social worker could also contact research institutions and engage in
research on a particular social problem that he/she has encountered in his/her practice. On the
other hand, macro social workers who wish to interact directly with people within the populations
they serve can do so through research-oriented interviews, or by obtaining the necessary training
to counsel individual clients.

Evidence-Based Practice
Evidence-Based Social Work Evidence-based [social work] dictates that professional judgments
and behaviors should be guided by two distinct but interdependent principles. First,whenever
possible, practice should be grounded on prior findings that demonstrate empirically that certain
actions performed with a particular type of client or client system are likely to produce
predictable, beneficial, and effective results. . . . Secondly, every client system, over time, should
be individually
evaluated to determine the extent to which the predicted results have been attained as a direct
consequence of the practitioner’s actions. (Cournoyer &Powers, 2002, p. 799)In general, decision
making using evidence-based methods is achieved in a series of steps (Gibbs & Gambrill, 2002;
Hayward, Wilson, Tunis, & Bass,1995). The first step is to evaluate the problem to be addressed
and formulate answerable questions. These questions can include: What is the best way of
assisting
an individual with these characteristics who suffers from depression? Or Which group treatment
method is most effective in reducing recidivism among batterers? The next step is to gather and
critically evaluate the evidence available. Evidenceis generally ranked hierarchically according to
its scientific strength. It is understood that various types of intervention will have been evaluated
more frequently and rigorously by virtue of the length of time they have been used and the
settings in which they are used. Thus, for newer treatments, only Level 4 evidence may be
available (see Table 1.1). In such cases, practitioners should use the method with caution,
continue to search for evidence of its efficacy, and Bridging Evidence-Based Health Care and
Social Work 7 be prepared to evaluate the method’s efficacy in their own practice. The final steps
involve applying the results of the assessment to practice or policy and then continuously
monitoring the outcome.In the past several years considerable controversy has arisen over the
perception that evidence-based practice prescribed that practitioners should become .slaves to the
pursuit and application of “evidence” narrowly defined as randomized controlled trials (Upshur &
Tracy, 2004; Webb, 2001; Goodacre, 2003;

Gibbs & Gambrill, 2002). This has led to an expanded definition of evidence based practice
beyond that originally proposed by Sackett and colleagues in 1997. The expanded definition
states “Evidence based medicine (EBM) is the integration of best research evidence with clinical
expertise and patient values”
(Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, 2004). Social work scholars have added that practitioners
are required to seek and consider multidimensional sources of knowledge including (1)
quantitative and qualitative studies, (2) consumer wisdom,and (3) professional wisdom (Petr &
Walter, 2005). It has thus been suggested that the process of implementing evidence-based
practice in social work
involves the following steps:
1. Convert your practice problem into an answerable question.
2. Locate the best available evidence with which to answer that question.
3. Together with your client, critically appraise the evidence.
4. Use your clinical judgment and your client’s preferences to apply that evidence
to the present circumstance.
5. Evaluate the performance of your intervention according to the objectives
you and your client had set out. (Barber, 2005)
We would add that the nature of the organization in which the practitioner works, the constraints
imposed by resources in the organization and the mandate of the organization is a further element
that must be considered in the implementation of evidence-based practice. For instance, a child
welfare organization charged with protecting the rights and safety of vulnerable children may
need to consider an intervention approach that ensures that the mandate is fulfilled. The revised
model therefore would be as follows:

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is one of the most important developments in

decades for the helping professions—including medicine, nursing, social work,
psychology, public health, counseling, and all the other health and human service
professions. That is because evidence-based practice holds out the hope for practitioners
that we can be at least as successful in helping our clients as the current available
information on helping allows us to be. Both the importance and the multidisciplinary
nature of EBP can be seen in the Roberts and Yeager (2004) compendium,
Evidence-Based Practice Manual, a collection of chapters describing the meaning,
methods, and examples of EBP.
Evidence-based practice represents both an ideology and a method. The ideology springs from the
ethical principle that clients deserve to be provided with the most effective interventions possible.
The method of EBP is the way we go about finding and then implementing those interventions
.Evidence-based practice represents the practitioner’s commitment to use all means possible to
locate the best (most effective)evidence for any given problem at all points of planning and
contacts with
clients. This pursuit of the best knowledge includes extensive computer searches,
as described in the following (Gibbs & Gambrill, 2002).Evidence-based practice is an enormous
challenge to practitioners because the methods of locating the most effective interventions go
beyond, or are more rigorous than, even those of empirically-based practice.
CULTURALLY COMPETENT PRACTICE IN SOCIAL WORK
Culture
“The word ‘culture’ is used because it implies the integrated pattern of human behavior that
includes thoughts, communications, actions,customs, beliefs, values, and institutions of a
racial, ethnic, religious, or social group” (NASW,2000b, p. 61). Culture often is referred to as the
totality of ways being passed on from generation to generation. The term culture includes ways in
which people with disabilities or people from various religious backgrounds or people who are
gay, lesbian, or transgender experience the world around them.
The Preamble to the NASW Code of Ethics begins by stating: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.And goes on to say, “Social workers are sensitive to cultural and
ethnic diversity and strive to end discrimination, oppression, poverty, and other forms of social
injustice” (NASW, 2000a, p. 1).Second, culture is mentioned in two ethical standards: Value:
Social Justice and the Ethical Principle:Social workers challenge social injustice.This means that
social workers’ social change efforts seek to promote sensitivity to and knowledge about
oppression and cultural and
ethnic diversity.
Value: Dignity and Worth of the Person and the Ethical Principle: Social workers respect the
inherent dignity and worth of the person.This value states that social workers treat each
person in a caring and respectful fashion, mindful of individual differences and cultural and
ethnic
diversity.
Competence
The word competence is used because it implies having the capacity to function effectively within
the context of culturally integrated patterns of human behavior defined by the group.
In the Code of Ethics competence is discussed in several ways. First as a value of the profession:
Value: Competence and the Ethical Principle: Social workers practice within their areas of
competence and develop and enhance their professional expertise.This value encourages social
workers to continually strive to increase their professional knowledge and skills and to apply
them in practice. Social workers should aspire to contribute to the knowledge base of the
profession.
Second, competence is discussed as an ethical standard:
1.04 Competence
Social workers should provide services and represent themselves as competent only within
the boundaries of their education, training,license, certification, consultation received, supervised
experience, or other relevant professional experience.
Social workers should provide services in substantive areas or use intervention techniques
or approaches that are new to them only after engaging in appropriate study, training,
consultation, and supervision from people who are competent in those interventions or
techniques.
When generally recognized standards do not exist with respect to an emerging area of
practice, social workers should exercise careful judgment and take responsible steps (including
appropriate education, research, training, consultation, and supervision) to ensure the
competence of their work and to protect clients from harm.Cultural competence is never fully
realized,achieved, or completed, but rather cultural competence is a lifelong process for social
workers who will always encounter diverse clients and new situations in their practice.
Supervisors and workers should have the expectation that cultural competence is an ongoing
learning
process integral and central to daily supervision.
Cultural Competence
Cultural competence refers to the process by which individuals and systems respond respectfully
and
effectively to people of all cultures, languages,classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, religions, and
other diversity factors in a manner that recognizes,affirms, and values the worth of individuals,
families,and communities and protects and preserves the dignity of each.“Cultural competence is
a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system or agency or
among
professionals and enable the system, agency, or professionals to work effectively in cross-cultural
situations” (NASW, 2000b, p. 61).Operationally defined, cultural competence is the integration
and transformation of knowledge about individuals and groups of people into specific standards,
policies, practices, and attitudes used in appropriate cultural settings to increase the quality of
services, thereby producing better outcomes (Davis & Donald, 1997). Competence in cross-
cultural functioning means learning new patterns of behavior and effectively applying them in
appropriate settings.Gallegos (1982) provided one of the first conceptualizations of ethnic
competence as “a set
of procedures and activities to be used in acquiring culturally relevant insights into the problems
of
minority clients and the means of applying such insights to the development of intervention
strategies that are culturally appropriate for these clients.” (p. 4). This kind of sophisticated
cultural competence does not come naturally to any social worker and requires a high level of
professionalism and knowledge.There are five essential elements that contribute to a system’s
ability to become more culturally competent. The system should (1) value diversity,(2) have the
capacity for cultural self-assessment,(3) be conscious of the dynamics inherent when cultures
interact, (4) institutionalize cultural knowledge, and (5) develop programs and services that reflect
an understanding of diversity between and within cultures. These five elements must be
manifested in every level of the service delivery system. They should be reflected in attitudes,
structures, policies, and services.The specific Ethical Standard for culturally competent social
work practice is contained under Section 1. Social workers’ ethical responsibilities to clients.
OVERVIEW OF PRACTICE MODELS:
SYSTEMS THEORY
Social Work Systems Theory

Social workers can encounter many different obstacles in their line of work. Each obstacle faced
represents a different kind of challenge. However, there are a few theories that can help social
workers deal with some of the challenges they are facing, and how they can be utilized to achieve
positive solutions.

In general, a theory is a statement backed by evidence gathered through the scientific method
intended to explain something. Theoretical approaches for social work are often used to explain
human behavior and serve as starting points for practice models and treatments. For example,
Psychodynamic Theory explains how internal and external forces interact to influence emotional
development. Conflict Theory explains how power structures and disparities affect people’s lives.
This post concentrates on how Systems Theory was developed and how it can be applied to
assisting a client.

Systems Theory

Systems Theory explains human behavior as the intersection of the influences of multiple
interrelated systems. Even for individual issues, families, organizations, societies, and other
systems are inherently involved and must be considered when attempting to understand and assist
the individual. According to this theory, all systems are interrelated parts constituting an ordered
whole and each subsystem influences other parts of the whole.

There have been dozens of unofficial iterations of Systems Theory over the past few hundred
years, applied to society, science, and many other areas. In the 20th century, multiple scientists,
philosophers, and academicsbegan to outline and define the structure of Systems Theory in their
various disciplines; there are now systems theories for biology, cybernetics, and for social work.
While the applications obviously vary depending on the discipline, all systems theories follow the
concept of interrelated parts influencing one another as part of an ordered whole.

Several prominent thinkers advanced Systems Theory in social work. Talcott Parsons was an
economist and sociologist at Harvard University, whose book “Social System” helped steer the
conversation on systematic determinants of behavior. Robert Merton is considered one of the
founding fathers of modern sociology and significantly advanced Systems Theory through his
progressive theories on functional analysis. Merton also coined the now ubiquitous terms “self-
fulfilling prophecy” and “role model.” Carel Germain is internationally recognized for her work
on explaining human behavior in a social environment. She mentored and worked extensively
with Alex Gitterman, who continues to develop Systems Theory through the Life Model.

Case Study in Systems Theory

The Pruett case study provides a concrete, real-world example of how Systems Theory is applied
to understand how interrelated factors contribute to unhealthy actions. In this case, the client was
engaging in risky behaviors (drug abuse and unprotected sex) and not attending school. She had
not had contact with her father for five years, and some of her only memories of him involved
him abusing drugs and arguing with her mother at home.

In the Family Systems Theory, individuals must not be evaluated in isolation, but in the context of
the family, as the family operates as a unit. One of the core concepts of this theory is the triangle,
whose most common form is a parent-parent-child relationship — aka “two helping one”).
Clearly, the client was missing one of the corners of the triangle and thus one of the pillars of
healthy emotional development.
Another concept is the family projection process, wherein the client suffers from the emotional
dysfunction of the family unit. In this case, the client witnessed her father abusing drugs to self-
medicate, so she imitated that behavior, thinking it might help her.

The full complexities of this case go beyond the scope of this post, but it serves as an example of
how a social worker must understand interrelated systems (e.g., school-family-individual) in order
to assist the client.
Issues Addressed by Systems Theory
Systems Theory is used to develop a holistic view of individuals within an environment and is
best applied to situations where several systems inextricably connect and influence one another. It
can be employed in cases where contextual understandings of behavior will lead to the most
appropriate practice interventions.
In the Pruett case, for example, the client’s school and family environment heavily influenced her
individual actions, and her actions influenced the way she interacted with others at school and in
the home. The recommended interventions thus involved strengthening the missing part of her
family unit, referring her to counseling services, and connecting her with academic support.
There are many practice interventions available to social workers and their applications vary
greatly depending on the context, but following are a few common interventions used as part of
Systems Theory.
Strengthen one part of the system to improve the whole. In the Pruett case, the social worker
recommended finding a healthy father figure for the client, to strengthen the missing component
of the family system.

Networking and referrals. A critical part of any social worker’s job is to help clients navigate
between systems. This often means referring clients to specialists, or connecting them with
resources or organizations that can help their situation. In the Pruett case, this meant referral to a
counselor and connection to an after school tutor.
Ecomaps. An ecomap is a flow diagram that helps someone understand a family’s and
community’s interrelated progression over time. It allows social workers and clients to capture
and organize the complexity of a system.
Genograms. A genogram is a graphic representation of a family tree, constructed with symbols
that describe relationships and connections between an extended family. Social workers typically
construct them along with clients in order to better understand relationships and identify patterns
in the medical history. Understanding and applying Systems Theory is a critical part of any social
worker’s career. One of the most important functions of a social worker is helping clients
navigate the various systems that affect their lives, which requires a deep understanding of how
subsystems are interrelated and influence one another. It is just one of the many theoretical
approaches that social workers will apply throughout their careers.
System Theory
A set of interrelated, interdependent and interactive elements-System
Bertalanffy (Ludwing Von)was the one who introduced the System’s Theory.He believed systems
concept can also be used in organization also.
Kast and Rosenzweig-An organized unitary whole composed of 2 or more interdependent parts,
components or subsystems and marked by identifiable boundaries from its environmental Supra
system.
Characteristics
1.Composed of parts which are interdependent
2.A system is composed of several subsystems
3.Every system has its own norms to distinguish from another in terms of objectives, processes,
roles, structure and norms of conduct
4.Systems are open-interacts with environment
5.Systems influence and are influenced by other systems
Classification of systems
1) Simple and complex
2) Abstract and concrete
3) Open and closed
Simple complex
Operates with relatively small no large no of components
of components
Components more or less similar not similar
Components are not subject to change constant change
Closed open
All non living orgns All living orgns
Self contained and self maintaining Not so
Rigid and static Dynamic and flexible
Do not interact with environment Interact with environment
Presence of Feedback - mechanism
Organization in a systems framework
Katz and Kalm-have depicted the organization as energetic input-output system which flagrantly
open in its interaction with environment.
Various parts of the system/Org
1.Individual
2.Formal org
3.Informal org
4.Status and role
5.Physical environment

Features of Org
1.Interdependence
2.Synergism-Whole greater than the sum of parts. Interactive effect of the system whwn together
3.Wholism- Consideration for all the parts
4.Boundaries- Limits of the system.
5.Feedback- Information used to control the future functioning of the system
6.Cybernetics- Science of control systems and communication. It is so called when feedback is
used to adjust the operation system
Subsystems in an organization
1.Technical subsystem-objective is to make necessary import from the environment, transform
them and export them back to the environment.
2.Social subsystem-to meet man’s social needs.
3.Power subsystem-a system that can influence the decisions and behaviours of others.
Theory X and Theory Y
Douglas Mcgregor – proponent of the theory
Theory X assumptions
1.Work is inherently distasteful to most people
2.Most people are not ambitious: have little desire for responsibility and prefer to be directed
3.Most of the people have little capacity for creativity in solving organizational problems
4.Motivation occurs only at the physiological and security levels
5.Most of the people must be closely controlled and often coerced to achieve organizational
objectives.
Implications
External control necessary
Close monitoring and supervision
 +ve or –ve reinforcement for motivation
Theory Y assumptions
1.Work is as natural as play if the conditions are favourable
2.Self Control is often indispensable in achieving organization goals
3.The capacity for creativity in solving organizational problem is widely distributed in the
population

4.Motivation occurs at the social esteem and self-actualization levels as well as at the
physiological and security levels
5.People can be self-directed and creative at work if properly motivated.
Implications
Direct the individual goals towards to organization goals
Coordinate the creativity and potentials
Ecology

• Ecology ("study of") is the scientific study of interactions among organisms and their
environment, such as the interactions organisms have with each other and with their a
biotic environment.(Germain,1990)

• Environment plays an important

role in the behavior of an individual

The Ecological, or Ecosystem Perspective

 Introduced to social work by Carel Germain .

 As a way to augment systems theory and present the environment as something other
than a static stage on which life.

 The ecological perspective can be traced back to biological theories that explain how
organisms adapt to their environments.

 The mid to early 20th century, served as a milestone for the social work profession in
adopting a family systems model to incorporate that family members are influenced
equally by environmental systems with equal power.
  The social work discipline has expanded this perspective to explain that an individual is
"constantly creating, restructuring, and adapting to the environment as the
environment is affecting them" (Ungar, 2002).

 The systems approach now added the social elements to the interactive process.

 In social work practice, applying an ecological approach can be best understood as looking
at persons, families, cultures, communities, and policies and to identify and intervene
upon strengths and weaknesses in the transactional processes between these systems.

Ecological Perspective

• Ecological theorists incorporate ideas from biology, sociology, psychology, social

psychology, geography, and other academic disciplines.

• Applied ecology theory, often called the ecological perspective, helps social workers
examine the nature and consequences of transactions between organisms, including
humans and their physical and social environment

 The ecological perspective builds on the traditional view that the central task of the
social work profession is to maintain a focus on both the environment and the
individual person’s coping capacities, and that depending on the situation at hand,
the goal of the social worker is to work to change again.

System Theory and Ecological Perspective:

• The ecological approach is much less abstract than systems theory, but has employed many
of the concepts associated with it. Applying the ecological perspective in practice settings
is helpful in determining the areas of greatest concern to the client, or prioritizing problems
to be addressed.

Ecological Perspective

"The ecological perspective uses ecological concepts from biology as a metaphor with which to
describe the reprocity between persons and their environments...attention is on the goodness of
fit between an individual or group and the places in which they live out their lives"(Sands,
2001).

The ecological perspective can be traced back to biological theories that explain how
organisms adapt to their environments.
In 1868, Ernst Haekel voiced the term "ecology" to refer to an organism and it's
interdependencies within a natural environment. The most conventional definition of the term
"ecology" means "the interdisciplinary scientific study of the living conditions of organisms in
interaction with each other and with the surroundings, organic as well as inorganic" (Naess
1989,p. 36).
The mid to early 20th century, served as a milestone for the social work profession in adopting
a family systems model to incorporate that family members are influenced equally by
environmental systems with equal power.
The social work discipline has expanded this perspective to explain that an individual is
"constantly creating, restructuring, and adapting to the environment as the environment is
affecting them" (Ungar, 2002). The systems approach now added the social elements to the
interactive process. In the 1960's and 1970's, the systems theory was expanded based on an
ecological approach, breaking down the term "environment" into social derterminants with varied
levels of power and influence, as deemed by individual stress and need and level of
connectedness.
Unlike most behavioral and psychological theories, ecological theories focus on interrelational
transactions between systems, and stress that all existing elements within an ecosystem play an
equal role in maintaining balance of the whole.
In social work practice, applying an ecological approach can be best understood as looking
at persons, families, cultures, communities, and policies and to identify and intervene upon
strengths and weaknesses in the transactional processes between these systems.
Holistic thinking can provide a paradigm for understanding how systems and their interactions
can maintain an individual's behavior.

Bronfenbrenner (1979), suggests four levels of ecological components as a useful framework

in understanding how individual or family processes are influenced by heiarchical
environmental systems in which they function:
Microsystem- The most basic system, referring to an individual's most immediate environment
(i.e., the effects of personality characteristics on other family members).
Mesosystem- A more generalized system referring to the interactional processes between multiple
microsystems (i. e., effects of spousal relationships on parent-child interactions).

Exosystem- Settings on a more generalized level which affect indirectly, family interactions on
the micro and meso levels (i. e., the effects of parent's employment on family interactions).

Macrosystem- The most generalized forces, affecting individuals and family functioning (i.e.,
political, cultural, economical, social).

Problem Solving in Clinical Social Work

CURRENT THEORETICAL STATUS

The roots of problem solving have been reviewed in the historical

account of its development, and will now be examined from a
different perspective. Although he included it in the last edition of
Social Work Treatment, Turner indicated then that he did not see
Perlman's conceptualization as a completed theory but rather as a
"system of propositions from which hypotheses could be
developed and a theory built" (Turner, 1986, p. 7). Compton
and Galaway also refer to problem solving as a process or
model rather than a theory, and they describe it as "a series of
interactions between the client system and the practitioner,
involving integration of feeling, thinking and doing, guided by a
purpose and directed toward achieving an agreed-upon goal"
(1994, p. 43). It is our view that, based on Turner's definition of a
practice theory in Chapter 1 of this book, it is now clearly to be
viewed as a social work theory. If we accept this, what can we
look to as its conceptual foundations?

PRINCIPAL CONCEPTS
Problem solving is the rational process human beings use to
negotiate a world of reality that is extremely complicated and, at
times, both unknowable and unpredictable. Therefore, it is not
always possible for people to follow the obvious guideline the
model sets forth, that one must choose the path that leads most
directly to a desired goal. In reviewing this complex picture,
DeRoos notes that the

rational decisions one makes for problem solving represent

a subjective orientation to an incomplete picture of the
objective world. This incomplete picture is our
representation of objective reality, a simplified model of
objective reality. Our actions are then in accordance with the
model, not with objective reality (1990, p. 278).

Common wisdom and experience seem to indicate to people

that the

y can never know all that they need to know in order to make a
"perfect" decision, so they tend to reach for those that are "good
enough." Nevertheless, in order to achieve even a modest level of
success, information must be assembled and processed, and for
this, people use a mental model called a "heuristic." In logic, a
heuristic device is a piece of knowledge or "rule of thumb
learned by trial and error" (McPeck, 1981, p. 17). Heuristics
serve the problem solver as a template for decision making
when algorithms would cost too much in the amount of
information, processing power, or time needed (DeRoos, 1990, p.
278). Algorithms are procedures that are guaranteed to solve all
classes of problems (Gilhooly, 1988, p. 22) and are clearly of
much more use in the world of mathematics and science than in
the world of human affairs.
 Wimsatt notes that heuristics have certain characteristics that
limit their usefulness as tools. They do not guarantee a correct
solution although they cost substantially less in time, money, and
effort than an algorithm (assuming that one is available for the
specific human situation), and they produce systematic patterns of
failure and

error (DeRoos, 1990, p. 278). Despite these limitations, human

beings are not as constrained as they might be in their problem
solving because, "through the convergent application of
multiple heuristics, one increases the likelihood of attaining a
desirable outcome" (DeRoos, p. 280); although heuristic
correspondence with the real world may be imperfect, it is
sufficiently congruent with reality to allow people to function
adequately (p. 281).

It appears that "heuristic problem solving focuses on the

most solution-relevant variables (from the perspective of the
problem solver) in a particular situation and ignores other
variables. In that manner a very complex process can be
coped with" (Osmo & Rosen, 1994, p. 123). In addition to
using heuristic devices, human beings need to have knowledge
of the world and their specific problematic issue, and the
ability to apply this knowledge in a problem-solving process
(DeRoos, 1990, p. 278).

BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
It remained for Compton and Galaway, in 1975, to elaborate
upon and expand the basic model that Perlman had first
conceptualized nearly twenty years before, and to make their
thoughts available to social work students in textbook form.
The authors note that their expansion and deepening of the
Perlman model resulted in "extending the problem solving
process to groups, organizations, and communities and in broad-
ening our model to include more emphasis than one finds in
Perlman's work on transactions with and change in other social
systems" (1994, p. 49).

As Compton and Galaway have theorized extensively about

how problem solving works, much of the following material will
be drawn from their deliberations (1994). The authors note that
all of their assumptions are based on five theories drawn from
those related to human development and the transactions
people undertake with the social environment. These theories
include systems theory, communications theory, role theory,
ego psychology, and concepts of human diversity (1994, p. 57).
Among the many assumptions they make, one is that
problems in living do not represent weakness and failure on
the part of a client, but rather are the outcome of a natural
process of human growth and change (1994, p. 44). If problems
are an inevitable part of life, the capacity to solve them is also
accessible to people. The process may be blocked for clients
because they lack knowledge, have inadequate resources, or
experience emotional responses that impair their ability to
problem solve. However, as part of the problem-solving
method, the social worker consciously works at creating a
collaborative relationship that can be used to motivate and
support clients to do the hard work of thinking and feeling
through their problematic situation.

The relationship between client and worker in all

modalities of practice is a source of encouragement and
creative thinking in the problem-solving process. Of this
Compton and Galaway say:

Relationship is the medium of emotions and attitudes that

acts to sustain the problem solving process as practitioner
and client work together toward some purpose. Thus ...
the problem solving process can be thought of as
operating
through a partnership resting on the ability of each partner to relate and communicate
with the other (1994, p. 43).

Clearly, the assumption is that client and worker will be able to communicate about
problems, goals, resources, planning, and implementation. However, the authors are firm
that the "burden of rational headwork lies with the practitioner, not the client," so
although clients could benefit from learning the problem-solving process, there is no
expectation that they must bring that knowledge with them to the helping interaction. In
fact, the position is taken by some problem-solving theorists that clients experience some
of their problems in living because they lack well-developed problem-solving skills. For
example, Hepworth and Larsen devote a chapter of their text to outlining a method for
teaching problem-solving skills to clients who lack this experience so that they can apply it
in daily interactions (Hepworth & Larsen, 1990, pp. 415^424).

Hepworth and Larsen outline the assumptions they make about teaching problem
solving as follows:

(1) people want to control their own lives and to feel competent to master the tasks
they see as important; (2) motivation for change rests on some integration between a
system's goal and its hope-comfort imbalance; (3) the social worker is always
engaged in attempting to have some interactions or transactions with or among
systems; (4) systems are open, and input across their boundaries is critical for their
growth and change; (5) while a system must have a steady state for its functioning,
it is constantly in flux; and (6) all human systems are purposive and goal seeking
(1990, p. 57).

USING PROBLEM SOLVING TO ACHIEVE CHANGE

Compton and Galaway make the point that while the written description of problem solving
is linear in nature, the application of the model in real life situations is circular. In any of the
stages, the worker or client could loop back to an earlier stage or forward to a step that lies in
the future, if the circumstances require it. The process is flexible in nature, allowing
considerable latitude in its application. A modified summary of Compton and Galaway's
short form outline of the problem-solving model follows. The longer form maintains the
basic sequence, but elaborates on each step (Compton & Galaway, 1994, pp. 59-61).

PROBLEM-SOLVING MODEL

I. Contact Phase

A. Problem identification—as seen by client, others, and worker. Problem for

II. Contract Phase

A. Assessment and evaluation

How are problems related to needs of client system?

What factors contribute to the creating and maintaining of the problem?

What resources and strengths does client have?

What knowledge and principles could be applied from social work practice?

How can the facts best be organized within a theoretical framework in order

to resolve the problem?

B. Formulation of a plan of action

Set reachable goals

Examine alternatives and their likely outcomes

Determine appropriate method of service

Identify focus of change efforts

Clarify roles of work and client

C. Prognosis—what is worker's hope for success?

III. Action Phase

A. Carrying out the plan

Specify point of intervention and assign tasks

Identify resources and services to be used

Indicate who is to do what and when

 B. Termination

Evaluate with client system accomplishments and their meaning

Learn with client about reasons for lack of success

Talk about ways to maintain gains

Cope with ending of relationship

Review supports in natural network

C. Evaluation

A continual process throughout contact

Were purposes accomplished?

Were appropriate methods chosen to induce change?

What has client learned that can be used in ongoing problem solving?

What can worker learn to help with similar cases?

PROBLEMS WITH APPLYING THE MODEL

One of the difficulties in applying problem solving to real-life situations is that it is too
challenging to process all of the information called for in the various stages (Osmo &
Rosen, 1994, p. 123) and as a consequence, people choose the solution that best satisfies,
although it may be far from optimal. In a more specific analysis, Johnson and Johnson
identify the blocks that exist to using problem solving effectively in groups. However,
with some accommodation, the issues they raise relate to problem solving in all human
contexts (1975, pp. 269-270). Their list follows:

1. Lack of clarity in stating the problem: this step requires time, as the process is
bound to fail if people attempt to solve the wrong problem, or one that is only
partially defined.

2. Not getting the needed information: minimal information results in poor problem
definition, fewer alternative strategies, with consequences inaccurately predicted.
 3. Poor communication among those involved in the process: communication is
central to the entire method from definition to task allocation, so clarity and
comprehensiveness must remain goals of the interchange.

4. Premature choice or testing of alternative strategies: when the process

discourages creative thinking and free expression, a direction which has not been
thoroughly discussed might be chosen.

5. Climate in which decisions are made is critical or demands conformity: such a

situation violates the self-determination value of social work and impoverishes the
process.

6. Lack of skills in problem solving: people can be trained to use the method in the
context of their current problem.

7. Motivation is lacking: people who problem solve must have some need to change
their situation and hope that it can be changed. Pressure to change may come from
many sources, but the experience of engaging in the process itself can generate
hope.

TREATMENT: PRINCIPAL THERAPEUTIC CONCEPTS

In the early conceptualization of this approach, Perlman conceived of problem solving as her
contribution to what social casework should be. In that conceptualization, it was clearly seen
as a process rather than a goal and much effort was put into thinking about how to make the
process happen. For her, the process involved an active engagement of the client in
recognition and ownership of the problem. She was strongly influenced by the work of
John Dewey and his conviction that learning was problem solving (Perlman, 1957, p. 247).
This notion fits very well with Perlman's own conviction that social work practice had to move
away from an overemphasis on pathology to an increased recognition of the health or the
strengths the client possessed to deal with the problem. This was also a good fit with Perlman's
original position, in which she did not see the problem as intrapsychic or within the client, but
primarily as a problem or problems in daily living that impeded the level of satisfaction the
client experienced in daily activities. Thus, the problem-solving process is a tool for resolving
problems that arise in the course of everyday life (Bunston, 1985) and impede the level of
satisfaction persons experience in their daily activities.
 Hepworth and Larsen outline the assumptions they make about teaching problem
solving as follows:

(1) people want to control their own lives and to feel competent to master the tasks
they see as important;

(2) motivation for change rests on some integration between a system's goal and its
hope-comfort imbalance;

(3) the social worker is always engaged in attempting to have some interactions or
transactions with or among systems;

(4) systems are open, and input across their boundaries is critical for their growth
and change;

(5) while a system must have a steady state for its functioning, it is constantly in
flux; and

(6) all human systems are purposive and goal seeking (1990, p. 57).

I. Contact Phase

A. Problem identification—as seen by client, others, and worker. Problem for

work is defined.

B. Goal identification—short- and long-term goals stated. What does client

wish for or need? What resources are available?

II. Contract Phase

A. Assessment and evaluation

How are problems related to needs of client system?

What factors contribute to the creating and maintaining of the problem?

What resources and strengths does client have?

What knowledge and principles could be applied from social work practice?

How can the facts best be organized within a theoretical framework in order

to resolve the problem?

B. Formulation of a plan of action

Set reachable goals

Examine alternatives and their likely outcomes

Determine appropriate method of service

Identify focus of change efforts

Clarify roles of work and client

C. Prognosis—what is worker's hope for success?

III. Action Phase

A. Carrying out the plan

Specify point of intervention and assign tasks

Identify resources and services to be used

Indicate who is to do what and when

B. Termination

Evaluate with client system accomplishments and their meaning

Learn with client about reasons for lack of success

Talk about ways to maintain gains

Cope with ending of relationship

Review supports in natural network

C. Evaluation

A continual process throughout contact

Were purposes accomplished?

Were appropriate methods chosen to induce change?

What has client learned that can be used in ongoing problem solving?

What can worker learn to help with similar cases?

LIMITATIONS

1. Lack of clarity in stating the problem: this step requires time, as the process is
bound to fail if people attempt to solve the wrong problem, or one that is only partially
defined.

2. Not getting the needed information: minimal information results in poor problem
definition, fewer alternative strategies, with consequences inaccurately predicted.
3. Poor communication among those involved in the process: communication is central
to the entire method from definition to task allocation, so clarity and comprehensiveness
must remain goals of the interchange.

4. Premature choice or testing of alternative strategies: when the process discourages

creative thinking and free expression, a direction which has not been thoroughly discussed
might be chosen.

5. Climate in which decisions are made is critical or demands conformity: such a

situation violates the self-determination value of social work and impoverishes the
process.

6. Lack of skills in problem solving: people can be trained to use the method in the context
of their current problem.

7. Motivation is lacking: people who problem solve must have some need to change their
situation and hope that it can be changed. Pressure to change may come from many
sources, but the experience of engaging in the process itself can generate hope.

Steps For Problem Solving

1.Acknowledge the problem

2.Analyze the problem & identify the needs of participants

3.Brainstorming to generate possible solutions

4.Evaluate each option, considering the need of participants

5.Implement

6.Evaluation each option, considering the needs of participants

7. Transfer of problem solving skills

Eg. Problem situation:

Father is workaholic, works overtime, comes home late in the evening, doesn’t
show any interest in family affairs

Mother finds it difficult to handle the family affairs alone, no support from husband
& children,

Son doesn’t help mother, comes home late always

Daughter doesn’t help mother, doesn’t do home works, watching TV most of the
time

Individual needs identified

Father- individual attention from wife

Mother-support from family members in dealing with family affairs

Son-wants to go with his friends

Daughter-wants to watch music programmes

Possible Solutions

Father –comes home early, spend some time with family members

Discuss about family matters

Mother-when husband comes back, spend some time with him,

Son-During weekend he can go with his friends, can help mother in shopping,
paying bills

Daughter-complete home works first, help mother in the kitchen-doing the dishes,
watch music programme 1 hour, twice a week,
Evaluate each alternative & select most promising one

Ratings

Possible solutions F M S D

1.Father comes home early, spend some time with fly members

Discuss about fly matters

2. When husband comes back, Mother spends some time with

him

3.During weekend son can go with his friends, can help mother in shopping,
paying bills

4. Complete home works first, help mother in the kitchen-doing the dishes,
watch music programme 1 hour, twice a week,

Task Centered Model

• By William Reid – 1970

• Short-term approach in casework

• The particular pbm to be dealt with is decided mutually by pr & ct

• Time-limited

• Tasks / pbm-solving actions are worked out collaborately by pr & ct

• After selecting sub goal, develop means for implementing it

• This involves tasks/actions ct must accomplish to attain a given sub goal

• Task may either behrl or cognitive actions that require effort on the ct’s part

Behavioral Task

• To convey feelings of hurt to a significant person

• To study each day for a specified length of time

• To give +ve feedback to a fly member at least 3 times daily

Cognitive task

• To recognize manifestations of anger arousal before they mount out of

control

• To spend 10 minutes in the morning anticipating difficulties that may

develop at work & mentally rehearse coping responses

Some tasks are readily apparent

 Some ct propose

Some less apparent

Select an alternative that fits a particular ct

Brainstorm for identifying alternatives

Be sensitive to ct’s reactions to tasks that you propose

Planning Task Accomplishment

After settling upon task next step is assist ct in preparing to implement each
task

Task implementation sequence (TIS)

STEPS

1.Enhance ct’s commitment to carry out a specific task

2.plan the details of carrying out the task

3.analyze & resolve obstacles that may be encountered

4.have ct rehearse or practice the behr

5.summarise the plan of task

Even if ct agree to a task, it doesn’t mean that he has knowledge, courage,

skill, emotional readiness to implement a task successfully

1.Enhancing commitment to carry out a task

 Clarifying the relevance of tasks to ct’s goals & identify benefits result from
task

In some situations gains are obvious

Eg.applying for a job interview

In some, it is less apparent

Eg. Benefits of keeping a daily log on self-defeating thoughts may be unclear (the
connection between this task & ultimate goal of overcoming depression)

2.Plan the details of carrying out the task

Assisting ct to prepare themselves for all the actions inherent in a task

A series of actions, including cognitive & behrl tasks

Before carrying out an overt action, prepare themselves psychologically

(By reweing benefits, dismissing needless fears)

planning overt actions involves details of actual required behr

Planning overt actions involves details of actual required behr

The more detailed the plans the greater the likelihood of success

Specify carefully the conditions under which the task will be carried out
(where, how, time)

Eg.mother critically reporting to the father about their son’s –ve behr

Task- +ve report to father in front of the child, everyday for next one week

Start with simple task

3.Analyze & resolve obstacles

Task involve changes in patterns of interpersonal rlp

Need mastery of certain interpersonal skills

Fears, irrational belief, misconceptions

Non-verbal cues-speaking unenthusiastically about the topic, changing the

topic, facial expressions,

Certain amount of tension & anxiety is to be expected

4.Have clients rehearse or practice behrs involved in carrying out task

Enhance self-efficacy

Certain tasks involve skills ct lack or behr with which they have no
experience

Performance accomplishment methods-behrl rehearsal,

Eg. Assisting fly members to master certain communication skills during

actual sessions

Behavioral rehearsal

Rehearsal of desired behr

Role-playing is used

Pr model the behr first & ct play the role of other significant person

Then reverse the role-ct rehearse the actual target behr & pr, role of other
significant person
 When do the ‘other person’simulate as accurately as possible the anticipated
behr to be encountered

Model ‘imperfect coping efforts’ than mastery

Coping model-shows some fears or anxiety, makes errors in performance

&shows some degree of struggle while performing the behr

5.Summarize the plan of task implementation

Review various actions ct is to carryout in accomplishing a task

To reduce procrastinations specify the time frame

Convey optimism about ct’s plans

Evaluating Progress

Evaluate progress toward goal-attainment regularly

TASH CENTERD MODEL

• It emerged from a research movement that was critical of the protracted,

unproven, fuzzy casework relationship

• It can be seen as atheoretical - a method more than a theory – although its

theoretical roots are essentially behavioural

• It is central to Evidence- Based Practice – the What Works? agenda

• It can connect to other approaches, such as counselling or cognitive -

behavioural work
• “…a method of social work in which clients are helped to carry out problem
- alleviating tasks within agreed periods of time” (Goldberg, Gibbons and Sinclair,
1985: 5)

• Social Work students identify Task – Centred practice as one of the most
influential theories (Marsh and Triseliotis, 1996).

• In other words, it makes sense to student practitioners

• According to Howe (1987: 82) task centred social work is linked with
behavioural social work insofar as:

• “…problems are defined into identifiable pieces of behaviour. They are dealt
with discretely. Goals are set and mutually agreed with service users. Involvement
proceeds by way of small, sequential, manageable steps”.

The stages: According to Doel (2002) Task Centred Practice is based around four
stages and processes:

• Phase 1: Developing a focus on the problem (5 Ws and 1 H)

• Phase 2: Reaching Agreement: Goals and Contracts

• Phase 3: Developing Goals into manageable tasks

• Phase 4: Ending and reviewing the work

• Know what crisis and crisis intervention mean and require

• Recognise the indications that a person is experiencing a ‘crisis’ and is

showing characteristic ‘signs’. Possess the skills in working with people and other
agencies within this framework

• Develop an awareness of the ‘risks’ and the potentials for positive growth
and change

• From the Greek word Krises, meaning decision (or opportunity or turning
point)
• Developmental Crises: Leaving home, entering into a partnership, having a
baby, going to university …..these are all crises in that they all upset your steady
state, the homeostasis, and things will never be the same again

• People are in crisis when they face an obstacle to life goals - an obstacle that
is, for a time, insurmountable by the use of customary methods (Caplan,1961)

• Crises are crises because the individual knows no response to deal with a
situation (Belkin, 1984)

• So, it’s facing new challenging situations and the usual coping / response
mechanisms are not working ………….so the crisis situation becomes an active
crisis

• “A crisis is a perception or experiencing of an event or situation as an

intolerable difficulty that exceeds the person’s current resources and coping
mechanisms.

• Unless the person obtains relief, the crisis has the potential to cause severe
affective, behavioral and cognitive malfunctioning” (James & Gilliland 2001)

STRENGTHS PERSPECTIVE

 It is based on the assumption that people are most likely able 2 grow & develop
when the strengths are recognized & supported

 It guides social work practice to build on clients personal and community

talents, strengths and resources to achieve their aspirations.

 It rejects models of pathology that are widely used in social science 2 describe
oppressed groups.

 Pathologizing oppressed populations results in a focus on deficit, illness and

problems.
  It calls us back 2 a more balanced view of the human condition: a view in
which we respect the power of human beings 2 overcome & surmount
adversity

 Seeks 2

 use targeted counselling and intervention techniques

 2 not only identify, but build, reinforce & mobilize

 those qualities, attributes and aspirations

 that have the greatest potential 2 contribute 2 positive outcomes

 with the express goals of building resilency

 through a therapeutic and solution focused, rather than prevention

oriented process

What are strengths & how do u find out about them?

 What people learn as they struggle.

 What individuals/families know.

 Personal qualities and virtues.

 Talents that people have.

 Cultural and family rituals, beliefs, stories and lore.

 Survivors pride.

 Dreams and hopes.

 The community

 Spiritual/faith

Principles of the strength perspective

The strength based approaches differ from pathology based approaches in their
language.

1. Every individual, every family, every community has strengths, assets &
resources

2. Trauma and abuse, illness and struggle may be devastating but they also may
be opportunities 4 growth & sources of challenge & opportunity.

3. Assume that you do not know- nor can you know- the upper limits of any
individual’s capacity 2 grow & change

4. Take individual, family, and community visions and hopes seriously.

5. Every environment is full of resources

Subsidary principles of the strengths perspective

1. Dont take no 4 an answer.

2. Help correct the effects of being labelled.

3. Take advantage of the considerable resources of culture and ethnicity.

4. Normalize and externalize.

Elements of strengths- based practice

1. Acknowledging the pain

2. Stimulating the discourse & eliciting narratives of resilience and strength.

3. Acting in context: Education, Action, Advocacy, and Linkage

4. Normalizing & Capitalizing on Strengths.

CRISIS INTERVENTION MODEL

Crisis Intervention: The Need for a Model

A "crisis" has been defined as

An acute disruption of psychological homeostasis in which one's usual coping

mechanisms fail and there exists evidence of distress and functional impairment. The
subjective reaction to a stressful life experience that compromises the individual's
stability and ability to cope or function. The main cause of a crisis is an intensely
stressful, traumatic, or hazardous event, but two other conditions are also necessary:
(1) the individual's perception of the event as the cause of considerable upset and/or
disruption; and (2) the individual's inability to resolve the disruption by
previously used coping mechanisms. Crisis also refers to "an upset in the steady state."
It often has five components: a hazardous or traumatic event, a vulnerable or
unbalanced state, a precipitatingfactor, an active crisis state based on the person's
perception, and the resolution of the crisis. (Roberts, 2005, p. 778)

Given such a definition, it is imperative that crisis workers have in mind a framework
or blueprint to guide them in responding. In short, a crisis intervention model is
needed, and one is needed for a host of reasons, such as the ones given as follows.

When confronted by a person in crisis, clinicians need to address that person's distress,
impairment, and instability by operating in a logical and orderly process (Greenstone
& Leviton, 2002). The crisis worker, often with limited clinical experience, is less
likely to exacerbate the crisis with well-intentioned but haphazard responding when
trained to work within the framework of a systematic crisis intervention model. A
comprehensive model allows the novice as well as the experienced clinician to
be mindful of maintaining the fine line that allows for a response that is active and
directive enough but does not take problem ownership away from the client. Finally, a
model should suggest steps for how the crisis worker can intentionally meet the
client where he or she is at, assess level of risk, mobilize client resources, and move
strategically to stabilize the crisis andimprove functioning.
Crisis intervention is no longer regarded as a passing fad or as an emerging discipline.
It has now evolved into a specialty mental health field that stands on its own. Based on
a solid theoretical foundation and a praxis that is born out of over 50 years of empirical
and experiential grounding, crisis intervention has become a multidimensional and
flexible intervention method. The roots of crisis intervention come from the
pioneering work of two community psychiatrists—Erich Lindemann and
Gerald Caplan in the mid-1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. We have come a far cry from its
inception in the 1950s and 1960s. Specifically, in 1943 and 1944 community
psychiatrist, Dr. Erich Lindemann at Massachusetts General Hospital conceptualized
crisis theory based on his work with many acute and grief stricken survivors and
relatives of the 493 dead victims of Boston's worst nightclub fire at the Coconut
Grove. Gerald Caplan, a psychiatry professor at Massachusetts General Hospital and
the Harvard School of Public Health, expanded Lindemann's (1944) pioneering
work. Caplan (1961, 1964) was the first clinician to describe and document the four
stages of a crisis reaction: initial rise of tension from the emotionally hazardous crisis
precipitating event, increased disruption of daily living because the individual is stuck
and cannot resolve the crisis quickly, tension rapidly increases as the individual fails
to resolve the crisis through emergency problem-solving methods, and the person goes
into a depression or mental collapse or may partially resolve the crisis by using new
coping methods.

A number of crisis intervention practice models have been promulgated over the years
(e.g., Collins & Collins, 2005; Greenstone & Leviton, 2002; Jones, 1968; Roberts &
Grau, 1970). However, there is one crisis intervention model that builds upon and
expands the seminal thinking of the founders of crisis theory, Caplan (1964), Golan
(1978), and Lindemann (1944): the R-SSCIM (Roberts, 1991, 1995, 1998, 2005). It
represents a practicalexample of a stepwise blueprint for crisis responding that
has applicability across a broad spectrum of crisis situations. What follows is an
explication of that model.

Roberts' Seven-Stage Crisis Intervention Model

In conceptualizing the process of crisis intervention, Roberts (1991, 2000,2005) has
identified seven critical stages through which clients typically pass on the road to
crisis stabilization, resolution, and mastery (Figure 1). These stages, listed below, are
essential, sequential, and sometimes overlapping in the process of crisis intervention:

1. plan and conduct a thorough biopsychosocial and lethality/imminent danger

assessment;
2. make psychological contact and rapidly establish the collaborative relationship;
3. identify the major problems, including crisis precipitants;
4. encourage an exploration of feelings and emotions;
5. generate and explore alternatives and new coping strategies;
6. restore functioning through implementation of an action plan;
7. plan follow-up and booster sessions.

What follows is an explication of that model.

Stage I: Psychosocial and Lethality Assessment
The crisis worker must conduct a swift but thorough biopsychosocial assessment. At a
minimum, this assessment should cover the client's environmental supports and
stressors, medical needs and medications, current use of drugs and alcohol, and
internal and external coping methods and resources (Eaton & Ertl, 2000). One
useful (and rapid) method for assessing the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral
aspects of a crisis reaction is the triage assessment model (Myer, 2001; Myer,
Williams, Ottens, & Schmidt, 1992, Roberts, 2002).

Assessing lethality, first and foremost, involves ascertaining whether the client has
actually initiated a suicide attempt, such as ingesting a poison or overdose of
medication. If no suicide attempt is in progress, the crisis worker should inquire about
the client's "potential" for self-harm. This assessment requires

 asking about suicidal thoughts and feelings (e.g., "When you say you can't take
it anymore, is that an indication you are thinking of hurting yourself?");
 estimating the strength of the client's psychological intent to inflict deadly
harm (e.g., a hotline caller who suffers from a fatal disease or painful condition
may have strong intent);
 gauging the lethality of suicide plan (e.g., does the person in crisis have a
plan? how feasible is the plan? does the person in crisis have a method in mind
to carry out the plan? how lethal is the method? does the person have access to
a means of self-harm, such as drugs or a firearm?);
 inquiring about suicide history;
 taking into consideration certain risk factors (e.g., is the client socially isolated
or depressed, experiencing a significant loss such as divorce or layoff?).

With regard to imminent danger, the crisis worker must establish, for example, if the
caller on the hotline is now a target of domestic violence, a violent stalker, or sexual
abuse.

Rather than grilling the client for assessment information, the sensitive clinician or
counselor uses an artful interviewing style that allows this information to emerge as
the client's story unfolds. A good assessment is likely to have occurred if the clinician
has a solid understanding of the client's situation, and the client, in this process, feels
as though he or she has been heard and understood. Thus, it is quite
understandable that in the Roberts model, Stage I—Assessment and Stage II—Rapidly
Establish Rapport are very much intertwined.

Stage II: Rapidly Establish Rapport

Rapport is facilitated by the presence of counselor-offered conditions such as
genuineness, respect, and acceptance of the client (Roberts, 2005). This is also the
stage in which the traits, behaviors, or fundamental character strengths of the crisis
worker come to fore in order to instill trust and confidence in the client. Although a
host of such strengths have been identified, some of the most prominent include good
eye contact, nonjudgmental attitude, creativity, flexibility, positive mental
attitude, reinforcing small gains, and resiliency.

Stage III: Identify the Major Problems or Crisis Precipitants

Crisis intervention focuses on the client's current problems, which are often the ones
that precipitated the crisis. As Ewing (1978) pointed out, the crisis worker is interested
in elucidating just what in the client's life has led her or him to require help at the
present time. Thus, the question asked from a variety of angles is "Why now?"

Roberts (2005) suggested not only inquiring about the precipitating event (the
proverbial "last straw") but also prioritizing problems in terms of which to work on
first, a concept referred to as "looking for leverage" (Egan, 2002). In the course of
understanding how the event escalated into a crisis, the clinician gains an evolving
conceptualization of the client's "modal coping style"—one that will likely require
modification if the present crisis is to be resolved and future crises prevented. For
example, Ottens and Pinson (2005) in their work with caregivers in crisis have
identified a repetitive coping style—argue with care recipient-acquiesce to care
recipient's demands-blame self when giving in fails—that can eventually escalate into
a crisis.

Stage IV: Deal With Feelings and Emotions

There are two aspects to Stage IV. The crisis worker strives to allow the client to
express feelings, to vent and heal, and to explain her or his story about the current
crisis situation. To do this, the crisis worker relies on the familiar "active listening"
skills like paraphrasing, reflecting feelings, and probing (Egan, 2002). Very
cautiously, the crisis worker must eventually work challenging responses into the
crisis-counseling dialogue. Challenging responses can include giving
information, reframing, interpretations, and playing "devil's advocate." Challenging
responses, if appropriately applied, help to loosen clients' maladaptive beliefs and to
consider other behavioraloptions. For example, in our earlier example of the young
woman who found boyfriend and roommate locked in a cheating embrace, the
counselor at Stage IV allows the woman to express her feelings of hurt and jealousy
and to tell her story of trust betrayed. The counselor, at a judicious moment, will
wonder out loud whether taking an overdose of acetaminophen will be the most
effective way of getting her point across.

Stage V: Generate and Explore Alternatives

This stage can often be the most difficult to accomplish in crisis intervention. Clients
in crisis, by definition, lackthe equanimity to study the big picture and tend to
doggedly cling to familiar ways of coping even when they are backfiring. However, if
Stage IV has been achieved, the client in crisis has probably worked through enough
feelings to re-establish some emotional balance. Now, clinician and client can begin to
put options on the table, like a no-suicide contract or brief hospitalization, for ensuring
the client's safety; or discuss alternatives for finding temporary housing; or consider
the pros and cons of various programs for treating chemical dependency.It is important
to keep in mind that these alternatives are better when they are generated
collaboratively and when the alternatives selected are "owned" by the client.

The clinician certainly can inquire about what the client has found that works in
similar situations. For example, it frequently happens that relatively recent immigrants
or bicultural clients will experience crises that occur as a result of a cultural clash or
"mismatch," as when values or customs of the traditional culture are ignored or
violated in the United States. For example, in Mexico the custom is to accompany or
be an escort when one'sdaughter starts dating. The United States has no such
custom. It may help to consider how the client has coped with or negotiated other
cultural mismatches. If this crisis precipitant is a unique experience, then clinician and
client can brainstorm alternatives—sometimes the more outlandish, the better—that
can be applied to the current event. Solution-focused therapy techniques, such as
"Amplifying Solution Talk" (DeJong & Berg, 1998) can be integrated into Stage IV.

Stage VI: Implement an Action Plan

Here is where strategies become integrated into an empowering treatment plan or co-
ordinated intervention.Jobes, Berman, and Martin (2005), who described crisis
intervention with high-risk, suicidal youth, noted the shift that occurs at Stage VI
from crisis to resolution. For these suicidal youth, an action plan can involve several
elements:

 removing the means—involving parents or significant others in the removal of

all lethal means and safeguarding the environment;
 negotiating safety—time-limited agreements during which the client will agree
to maintain his or her safety;
 future linkage—scheduling phone calls, subsequent clinical contacts, events to
look forward to;
 decreasing anxiety and sleep loss—if acutely anxious, medication may be
indicated but carefully monitored;
 decreasing isolation—friends, family, neighbors need to be mobilized to keep
ongoing contact with the youth in crisis;
 hospitalization—a necessary intervention if risk remains unabated and the
patient is unable to contract for his or her own safety (see Jobes et al., 2005, p.
411).

Obviously, the concrete action plans taken at this stage (e.g., entering a 12-step
treatment program, joining a support group, seeking temporary residence in a women's
shelter) are critical for restoring the client's equilibrium and psychological
balance. However, there is another dimension that is essential to Stage VI, as Roberts
(2005)indicated, and that is the cognitive dimension. Thus, recovering from a divorce
or death of a child or drugoverdose requires making some meaning out of the crisis
event: why did it happen? What does it mean? What are alternative constructions that
could have been placed on the event? Who was involved? How did actual events
conflict with one's expectations? What responses (cognitive or behavioral) to the crisis
actually made things worse? Working through the meaning of the event is
important for gaining mastery over the situation and for being able to cope with similar
situations in the future.

Stage VII: Follow-Up

Crisis workers should plan for a follow-up contact with the client after the initial
intervention to ensure that the crisis is on its way to being resolved and to evaluate the
postcrisis status of the client. This postcrisis evaluation of the client can include

 physical condition of the client (e.g., sleeping, nutrition, hygiene);

 cognitive mastery of the precipitating event (does the client have a better
understanding of what happenedand why it happened?);
 an assessment of overall functioning including, social, spiritual, employment,
and academic;
 satisfaction and progress with ongoing treatment (e.g., financial counseling);
 any current stressors and how those are being handled;
 need for possible referrals (e.g., legal, housing, medical).

Follow-up can also include the scheduling of a "booster" session in about a month
after the crisis intervention has been terminated. Treatment gains and potential
problems can be discussed at the booster session. For those counselors working with
grieving clients, it is recommended that a follow-up session be scheduled around the
anniversary date of the deceased's death (Worden, 2002). Similarly, for those crisis
counselors working with victims of violent crimes, it is recommended that a follow-up
session be scheduled at the 1-month and 1-year anniversary of the victimization.

Case Management
Currently, the term Case Management has varied meanings within the context of its
use by
multiple professions. Consequently, these variations and the lack of nationally
supported
standards create inconsistent understandings related to Social Workers practicing Case
Management.
The result is the inconsistent application of Social Work in Healthcare Case
Management.
Case Management Social Work practice now varies from no involvement to task
oriented
discharge planning to complex patient care and family planning/intervention. Our
patients
and families receive varied degrees of benefit from Social Workers in Case
Management.
Finally, the Healthcare Industry needs to commit to the application of Social Work in
Case
Management and use national standards to define their application.
The Social Work Best Practice Case Management Standards document was developed
by a
consortium of professional organizations which represent Social Workers. These
standards
are intended to assist Social Workers in their practice of Case Management.
Definition
Social Work Case Management is a method of providing services whereby a
professional
Social Worker collaboratively assesses the needs of the client and the client’s family,
when
appropriate, and arranges, coordinates, monitors, evaluates, and advocates for a
package of
multiple services to meet the specific client’s complex needs. The practice of Case
Management varies greatly across Social Work settings and is even more diverse as
applied by other professionals. Despite this diversity, several elements distinguish
Social
Work Case Management from other forms of Case Management. A professional
Social
Worker is the primary provider of Social Work Case Management. Distinct from other
forms of Case Management, Social Work Case Management addresses both the
individual
client’s biopsychosocial status as well as the state of the social system in which Case
Management is both micro and macro in nature: intervention occurs at both the client
(patient and family) and system levels. It requires the Social Worker to develop and
maintain a therapeutic relationship with the client, which may include linking the
client
with systems that provide him or her with needed services, resources, and
opportunities.
Services provided under the rubric of Social Work Case Management practice may be
located in a single agency or may be spread across numerous agencies or
organizations.
Case Management is sometimes confused with managed care, a term generally
associated
with direct cost containment measures because some (insurance) carriers use “Case
Management” and “managed care” interchangeably, or use yet other terms for similar
strategies. However, the two concepts are quite different. Managed care techniques are
designed to avoid hospitalization when possible and to shorten unavoidable hospital
stays – to reduce costs by discouraging the unnecessary use of medical services.
The intent of Case Management is not to avoid medical care. On the contrary, it is
designed to obtain the best and most appropriate treatment for patients whose need for
care
is beyond question. Instead of discouraging consumption of medical or social services,
it
encourages the most effective use of health care or social services and dollars.

ADVOCACY MODEL
Empowerment model

The individual is not blamed for his or her problems but is responsible for generating
a solution.
Empowerment is a multi- dimensional, social process of increasing the
capacity of individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those
choices into desired actions and outcomes. This process creates the power
to use these choices in his or her own life, community and society, with
individuals acting on issues that they define as important.

WISE works from the perspective that domestic and sexual violence is embedded
within a social and historical context, and must be addressed comprehensively through
education, advocacy, and empowerment. The services offered by WISE are designed
to empower clients by providing information, tools, resources, and opportunities, and
works with clients respectfully, recognizing that the system is confusing and
overwhelming to a victim of violence. WISE has designed its organizational mission,
and services on the empowerment model.

History:
The empowerment model arose from the feminist movements of the 1970s, which
framed sexual and domestic violence within a social, cultural and historical
framework of inequality between the sexes. This feminist model frames the violence
by men in intimate relationships as a result of power differentials that serve to keep
the woman subordinate. This model is based on the belief that everything possible
should be done to restore power to victims through validation, community and
celebration of their strengths. The empowerment model seeks to return a sense of
personal self- worth, to listen to the victim and to allow them to make their own
choices, and to support the victim’s process as they move forward and take control
their own life. Other interventions may consider the victim disordered, as if s/he were
tarnished or sick. The empowerment model seeks to identify and challenge the
external conditions of their life, to promote resilience in the face of adversity, and to
make the victim the primary player in discussions and decisions about their own life.
WISE chose the empowerment model with the understanding that this an effective
technique when working with people who have experienced sexual and/ or domestic
violence.

Because Intimate Partner Violence (IPV1) often removes the feeling of control and
power in a victim’s life, one of the first goals of crisis intervention in the
empowerment model is to validate the experience and recognize the innate power in
the victim and their survival strategies. The empowerment model recognizes that IPV
is not the fault of the individual, and works to bring back the individual’s power and
control by providing them with the information to do it themselves. Information and
tools without judgment are consistently provided in services. The empowerment
model also strongly aligns with the desires and expectations of victims who want to
gain back confidence, set their own pace, and make their own decisions. By both
fulfilling desired needs and addressing issues specifically identified in IPV care, the
empowerment model in many fields has been shown to correspond with positive
results.

The process of empowerment is a process which enables one to gain power,

authority and influence over themselves, institutions or society. Empowerment is
probably the totality of the following or similar capabilities:

 Having decision-making power of one's own

 Having access to information and resources to make proper decisions
 Having a range of options from which you can make choices (not just yes/no,
either/or.)
 Ability to exercise assertiveness in collective decision making
 Having positive thinking on the ability to make change
 Ability to learn skills for improving one's personal or group power.
  Ability to change others’ perceptions by democratic means.
 Involving in the growth process and changes that is never ending and self-
initiated
 Increasing one's positive self-image and overcoming stigma
 Increasing one's ability in discreet thinking to sort out right and wrong

In short, empowerment is the process that allows one to gain the knowledge, skill-sets
and attitude needed to cope with the changing world and the circumstances in which
one lives.

Feminist social work practice

 The feminist perspective on social work intervention has been developed by a
number of authors; no one is specifically recognized as its founder.
 Feminism, the movement originated in Great Britain in the 18th century.

 Feminist social work as “the integration of the values, skills, and knowledge of
social work with a feminist orientation to help individuals and society
overcome the emotional and social problems that result from sex
discrimination” – Barker, The Social Work Dictionary

 Feminism as “the philosophy of equality between women and men that

involves both attitudes and actions, which infiltrates virtually all aspects of life,
which often necessitates providing education and advocacy on the behalf of
women, and which appreciates the existence of individual differences and
personal accomplishment regardless of gender” – Kirst- Ashman and Hull

 USING FEMINIST INTERVENTION IN GROUPS

 Feminist intervention is particularly applicable in group therapy with women

who have been victimized by sex discrimination and sex-role stereotyping.
 By sharing their experiences, such women can help each other identify the
problems encountered in inequitable power relationships between women and
men.
 Feminist perspective is consistent with the core values of social work practice,
including equality, respect for individuals, and promotion of social and
economic justice for populations at risk.
 A feminist social work practice is a viable way to accomplish the unique
mission of social work, to improve the quality of life by facilitating social
change.
 Feminist social work

 Feminist social work is a radical, revolutionary way of thinking about and

working with women. It is not a technique or a series of techniques but rather
an approach that rests within an explicit theoretical framework. The social
worker acknowledges the oppression of women at the core of her practice. A
feminist approach refuses to blame the victim or to define women’s personal
struggles in terms of individual pathology. Women’s pain and distress are
redefined in relation to the society that has shaped them. Individual struggles
are explicitly connected to the collective experience of all women. Feminist
social work is a form of political action, subverting social arrangements
characterized by oppressive imbalances of power. The feminist social worker
recognizes how systemic racism, classism, ableism and heterosexism intersect
to further subjugate women. The underlying assumption of the feminist
approach is that, given support, options and a critical lens through which to
view their experience, women can begin to understand and take control of their
lives. The central goal is to empower women, helping them become advocates
for change both in their own lives and in the social values and structures that
promote gender inequality and violence
MODULE 6
EMERGING AREAS OF SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
Development-induced displacement and resettlement (DIDR) occurs when people are
forced from their homes and/or land as a result of development. This subset of forced
migration has been historically associated with the construction of dams
for hydroelectric power and irrigation but is also the result of various development
projects such as mining, agriculture, the creation of military installations, airports,
industrial plants, weapon testing grounds, railways, road developments, urbanization,
conservation projects, and forestry.

The United Nations defines a disaster as a serious disruption of the functioning of a

community or a society. Disasters involve widespread human, material, economic or
environmental impacts, which exceed the ability of the affected community or society
to cope using its own resources. Natural disasters may be defined as events that are
triggered by natural phenomena or natural hazards (e.g., earthquakes, hurricanes,
floods, windstorms, landslides, volcanic eruptions and wildfires). Throughout history,
natural disasters have exerted a heavy toll of death and suffering and are increasing
alarmingly worldwide. During the past two decades they have killed millions of
people, and adversely affected the life of at least one billion people. For example,
recent disasters, such as the quake that triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean.

DEVELOPMENT INDUCED DISPLACEMENT

It is found that 10 million people enter the cycle of forced displacement and relocation
just in the sectors of dam construction, urban and transportation development projects.
Every year since 1990, about 10 million people have been displaced involuntarily all
over the world for the infrastructural development project alone and of these 6 million
have been displaced by urban development and transport programs.in most of
developing countries, the majority of the displaced person not only are victims of
development-induced displacement but they are also poorest segments of the
population, surviving through their symbiotic relationship with the natural
environment.

Development-induced displacement is a social problem affecting multiple levels of

human organization, from tribal and village communities to well-developed urban
areas. Development is widely viewed as an inevitable step towards modernization and
economic growth in developing countries; however, for those who are displaced, the
end result is most often loss of livelihood and impoverishment.

Development Induced Displacement & Resettlement is a moral dilemma, wherein the

interest of public at large and distributive concerns clashes with claim of individual
rights safeguarding against losses and harm and self-determination of the affected.
Prenz remarked that under certain conditions it is possible to justify displacement and
resettlement caused by development, but he added that it’s not a cakewalk to
implement these conditions. These conditions include the minimization of coercive
displacement; strong policies of resettlement, fair compensation to the displaced and
development planning must aim at inequality and poverty reduction. If the above
mentioned benchmarks are followed by development authorities then displacement
pains can be reduced significantly but ironically in majority of cases these are avoided

SCOPE OF THE DISPLACEMENT CAUSED BY DEVELOPMENT

PROJECTS

While an estimated 25 million people are displaced worldwide by conflict, the number
of people uprooted by development projects is thought to be much higher. In 1994, a
study of all World Bank-assisted development projects from 1986-1993 that entailed
population displacement found that just over half were in the transportation, water
supply and urban infrastructure sectors. Extrapolating from World Bank data to derive
estimates of global figures, the study concluded that, in the early 1990s, the
construction of 300 high dams (above 15 meters) each year had displaced four million
people. Urban and transportation infrastructure projects accounted for six million
more displaced each year.
Ongoing industrialization, electrification and urbanization processes are likely to
increase, rather than reduce, the number of programs causing involuntary population
displacement. Causes or categories of development-induced displacement include the
following: water supply (dams, reservoirs, irrigation); urban infrastructure;
transportation (roads, highway, canals); energy (mining, power plants, oil exploration
and extraction, pipelines); agriculture expansion; parks and forest reserves; and
population redistribution schemes.

IMPACT OF DEVELOPMENT INDUCED DISPLACEMENT

1. Landlessness: Expropriation of land removes the main foundation upon which

people's productive systems, commercial activities, and livelihoods are
constructed.
2. Joblessness: The risk of losing wage employment is very high both in urban
and rural displacements for those employed in enterprises, services or
agriculture. Yet creating new jobs is difficult and requires substantial
investment.
3. Homelessness. Loss of shelter tends to be only temporary for many people
being resettled; but, for some, homelessness or a worsening in their housing
standards remains a lingering condition. In a broader cultural sense, loss of a
family's individual home and the loss of a group's cultural space tend to result
in alienation and status deprivation.
4. Marginalization: Marginalization occurs when families lose economic power
and spiral on a “downward mobility” path. Many individuals cannot use their
earlier-acquired skills at the new location; human capital is lost or rendered
inactive or obsolete. Economic marginalization is often accompanied by social
and psychological marginalization.
5. Food Insecurity. Forced uprooting increases the risk that people will fall into
temporary or chronic undernourishment, defined as calorie-protein intake
levels below the minimum necessary for normal growth and work.
6. Increased Morbidity and Mortality. Displacement-induced social stress and
psychological trauma, the use of unsafe water supply and improvised sewage
 systems, increase vulnerability to epidemics and chronic diarrhea, dysentery, or
particularly parasitic and vector-borne diseases such as malaria and
schistosomiasis.
7. Loss of Access to Common Property. For poor people, loss of access to the
common property assets that belonged to relocated communities (pastures,
forest lands, water bodies, burial grounds, quarries and so on) result in
significant deterioration in income and livelihood levels.
8. Social Disintegration. Displacement causes a profound unravelling of existing
patterns of social organization. This unravelling occurs at many levels. When
people are forcibly moved, production systems, life-sustaining informal
networks, trade linkages, etc are dismantled.

TRENDS AND PRACTICE OF SOCIAL WORK

 Social work trainees become liaison between development project managers

and out sees to promote peoples participation in order to attain economics of
recovery and to avoid creation of new property.
 Take a lead to enact people friendly comprehensive resettlement and
rehabilitation policy with well-developed resettlement package for sustainable
development facilitated by setting up of performance standards for right-based
approach, though these are best negotiated locally.
 Promotion of networking among the people of same concern and publish well
studied problems of the out sees so that issue may be taken up by the people of
national/international concern. This will enrich the social action and social
work research practices.
 Social workers should also study the community dynamism and division, style
of lobbying, vested interests etc. Working in each displaced community and
try to record them for the future generation.
 Professional bodies of social work like National Association for Professional
Social Workers in India engaged in training professional social workers both at
National and State levels can fruitfully intervene in the issues of development
project affected people.
  Better implementation of social case work method is possible during
displacement process. The psychological trauma and mental strain faced by the
out sees during displacement and resettlement process can be reduced through
social case work. This may also serve as field for training of professional in
the field.
 The organization of various groups of displaced and resettled communities can
be formed for the attainment of cohesion and building up of social capital. Old
age clubs, adolescent clubs, youth club, women’s club etc can be promoted by
the social workers for the better realization of the social capital and
development of the groups and society. Formation of self-help groups will
empower the economically, social and politically marginalized of the ousted
community and gradual realization of economics of recovery.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Disaster is an event or series of events, which gives rise to casualties and damage or
loss of properties, infrastructures, environment, essential services or means of
livelihood on such a scale which is beyond the normal capacity of the affected
community to cope with. Disaster is also sometimes described as a “catastrophic
situation in which the normal pattern of life or eco-system has been disrupted and
extra-ordinary emergency interventions are required to save and preserve lives and or
the environment”.

India is one of the ten worst disaster prone countries of the world. The country is
prone to disasters due to number of factors; both natural and human induced,
including adverse geo climatic conditions, topographic features, environmental
degradation, population growth, urbanization, industrialization, nonscientific
development practices etc.

The factors either in original or by accelerating the intensity and frequency of

disasters are responsible for heavy toll of human lives and disrupting the life
supporting system in the country. India’s geo-climatic conditions as well as its high
degree of socio-economic vulnerability, makes it one of the most disaster prone
country in the world. A disaster is an extreme disruption of the functioning of a
society that causes widespread human, material, or environmental losses that exceed
the ability of the affected society to cope with its own resources.

Disasters are sometimes classified according to whether they are “natural” disasters,
or “human-made” disasters. For example, disasters caused by floods, droughts, tidal
waves and earth tremors are generally considered “natural disasters.” Disasters
caused by chemical or industrial accidents, environmental pollution, transport
accidents and political unrest are classified as “human-made” or “human induced”
disasters since they are the direct result of human action.

A more modern and social understanding of disasters, however, views this distinction
as artificial since most disasters result from the action or inaction of people and their
social and economic structures. This happens by people living in ways that degrade
their environment, developing and over populating urban centers, or creating and
perpetuating social and economic systems.

Communities and population settled in areas susceptible to the impact of a raging river
or the violent tremors of the earth are placed in situations of high vulnerability
because of their socio-economic conditions. This is compounded by every aspect of
nature being subject to seasonal, annual and sudden fluctuations and also due to the
unpredictability of the timing, frequency and magnitude of occurrence of the disasters.

Types of disasters
There is no country that is immune from disaster, though vulnerability to disaster
varies. There are four main types of disaster.

 Natural disasters: including floods, hurricanes, earthquakes and volcano eruptions

that have immediate impacts on human health and secondary impacts causing
further death and suffering from (for example) floods, landslides, fires, tsunamis.
 Environmental emergencies: including technological or industrial accidents,
usually involving the production, use or transportation of hazardous material, and
 occur where these materials are produced, used or transported, and forest fires
caused by humans.
 Complex emergencies: involving a break-down of authority, looting and attacks on
strategic installations, including conflict situations and war.
 Pandemic emergencies: involving a sudden onset of contagious disease that affects
health, disrupts services and businesses, and brings economic and social costs.
TREND AND PRACTICE OF SOCIAL WORK
• To ensure the availability of lifesaving pharmaceuticals, antidotes, demand
equipment necessary to counter the effects of nerve agents, biological
pathogens, and chemical agents.
• A secure facility with power, water, sanitation, limited food service, and
medical oversight. A secure facility with power, water, sanitation, limited
food service, and medical oversight.
• A refuge of last resort, during emergency conditions for persons with physical
conditions requiring limited medical/nursing oversight who cannot be
accommodated in a general population shelter.
• Assist nurses with intake
• Assess clients for psycho-social issues
• Provide resource referrals

• Assist nurses with intake

• Assess clients for psycho-social issues
• Provide resource referrals
• Crisis counselling.
• Case management and advocacy.
• Provide support, validation and empowerment.
• Provide age appropriate activities for children
• Interact with shelter clients to continually assess them.
CONCLUSION
Disaster is a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society
involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and
impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using
its own resources. Meanwhile development induced displacement is always crisis-
prone, even when necessary as part of broad and beneficial development programs. It
is a profound socioeconomic and cultural disruption for those affected. Dislocation
breaks up living patterns and social continuity. It dismantles existing modes of
production, disrupts social networks, causes the impoverishment of many of those
uprooted, threatens their cultural identity, and increases the risks of epidemics and
health problems.
Palliative Care.

Introduction

The social work profession is committed to maximizing the wellbeing of individuals,

families, groups, communities and society. We consider that individual and societal
wellbeing is underpinned by socially inclusive communities that emphasize principles
of social justice and respect for human dignity and human rights. These values are in
complete accord with the disability advocacy movement and the United Nations. The
social work profession helps individuals, families, groups and/or communities
enhance or restore their capacity for optimal psychological, emotional, spiritual, social
and physical health. Social workers are a core service on disability and palliative care.
Their professional values and skills are a perfect match with disability and palliative
care programs, which are designed to treat the whole person in an interdisciplinary
manner to enhance quality of life during challenging times.

Social workers are strong advocates for self-determination and culturally appropriate
care. They are trained in evaluating the strengths of individuals and families and
understand that good medical care requires that the wishes and needs of the
individuals being served are respected. When cure is no longer possible, a host of
psychological, physical, and spiritual stressors arise that social workers are
specifically trained to assist the individual and family to cope and manage.

Disability

Disability is an impairment that may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental,

physical, sensory, or some combination of these. It substantially affects a person's life
activities and may be present from birth or occur during a person's lifetime.

Palliative care

Palliative care (pronounced pal-lee-uh-tiv) is specialized medical care for people with
serious illness. This type of care is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and
stress of a serious illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and
the family. Palliative care is provided by a specially-trained team of doctors, nurses
and other specialists who work together with a patient’s other doctors to provide an
extra layer of support. It is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness,
and it can be provided along with curative treatment.

All social workers, regardless of practice settings, will inevitably work with clients
facing acute or long-term situations involving life-limiting illness, dying, death, grief,
and bereavement. Social work practice settings addressing palliative and end of life
care include health and mental health agencies, hospitals, hospices, home care,
nursing homes, day care and senior centers, child welfare and family service agencies.
The need for social workers trained and skilled in working with palliative and end of
life care situations has increased, because of advancements in medical technology,
rising rates of chronic illness, increasing number of elderly people, and longer life
spans.

Trend and Scope of a social work practices in the field of disability and
palliative care.

Palliative care social workers are registered social workers that work predominantly
or exclusively with people living with terminal illnesses. Social work is core to
palliative care. With the other multi-disciplinary professional team surrounding the
person and those important to them, the social worker ensures that services and
interventions take account of the whole person as well as their family, whatever that
means for them.

The setting for this kind of social work can be diverse and challenging. The social
workers are employed differently in each area, such as Adults and Children’s services,
by independent hospitals, and disease specific charities, and are often funded with
money drawn from several different sources. The social worker work with anyone that
has a palliative care diagnosis, be that because of cancer, respiratory or heart failure,
motor-neurone disease or HIV/AIDS or anything else. The social worker work across
boundaries and are often the link between health and social care. Palliative care social
workers offer teaching and training opportunities to health and social care colleagues
and students through their own organizations education departments and also through
university training courses. The social workers are actively involved in research,
innovation, and development, and are committed to building the evidence base of our
specific area of practice.

The social workers can offer a wide variety of support to both the person and those
that are important to them. This can include sourcing practical help at home, accessing
other services, advice around debt or income maintenance, help with housing,
advocacy, working with schools or employers, or offering psychosocial support.
Palliative care social workers are often skilled in therapeutic work, be it systemic
family therapy, counselling or cognitive behaviour therapy. The social worker often
work with groups as well as individuals. The social workers have a keen interest in
working alongside people with lived experience The social worker undertake work
around helping people to prepare for the end of their lives through advance care
planning and psychosocial interventions. We provide bereavement care for people
who need more specialist support.

The main goal of Social work professional’s work in the field of palliative care and
disability care is to continue to see whole people living within whole families rather
than as an individual with a set of specific problems to solve. Social worker seek to
understand the connections of life and support people as they come to terms with what
is happening to them or someone close to them, and support them to continue to live
as they choose for as long as they can. The combination of skills offered by specialist
palliative care disability care social workers makes a unique contribution to the
psychological and social aspects of the multi-disciplinary professional team.

Conclusion

Professional social workers have much to contribute to the disability and palliative
care field in both government and non-government organizations and the emerging
private sector. With the focus on self-determination and holistic analysis, social
workers offer a unique and valuable contribution to providing appropriate and targeted
services to meet the complex needs of individuals, their families and communities, in
both disability and mainstream services.

TOPIC: Scope trade and practice of social work in the areas of life style diseases,
old age and /elderly.

INTRODUCTION

Social work is a dynamic profession that constantly needs to keep abreast of

contemporary trends and developments in society. To this end policy is currently
being developed for social workers to engage in continuing professional development
(CPD) activities. Many social workers generally practice vis-à-vis other disciplines in
multidisciplinary teams, and social work operates within a welfare sector that needs to
collaborate with other sectors such as health, education and housing. Social work a
professional activity that utilizes values, knowledge, skills and processes to focus on
issues, needs and problems that arise from the interaction between individuals,
families, groups, organizations and communities. It is a service sanctioned by society
to improve the social functioning of people, to empower them and to promote a
mutually beneficial interaction between individual and society in order to improve the
quality of life of everyone.
Social work is the practice based profession. There are working in deferent field.
There are two main types of social workers: direct-service social workers who help
people solve and cope with problems in their everyday lives, and clinical social
workers, who diagnose and treat mental, behavioral, and emotional issues. As a
helping profession social work focuses upon working with individuals, families,
groups, organizations, and communities in order to assist them in functioning better in
their social environments.

Lifestyle diseases characterize those diseases whose occurrence is primarily based on

the daily habits of people and are a result of an inappropriate relationship of people
with their environment. The main factors contributing to lifestyle diseases include bad
food habits, physical inactivity, wrong body posture, and disturbed biological clock. A
report, jointly prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World
Economic Forum, says India will incur an accumulated loss of $236.6 billion by 2015
on account of unhealthy lifestyles and faulty diet.

Types Of Lifestyle Diseases • Cardiovascular disease • Diabetes • Stroke • Cancer •

Chronic obstructive Pulmonary disease • Depression • Musculoskeletal disorder

Roll of social worker in how to prevent to life style diseases.

1. LIFE STYLE DISEASES Scope and promotion of Ayurveda & Yoga. Social
worker gives good awareness creation. Promotion of yoga and Ayurveda was
very important factor of preventing the life style diseases.
2. • More than a mere system of treating illness, Ayurveda is a science of life
(Ayur = life, Veda = science or knowledge).• It offers a body of wisdom
designed to help people stay vital while realizing their full human potential.
3. • An important goal of Ayurveda is to identify a person’s ideal state of balance,
determine where they are out of balance, and offer interventions using diet,
herbs, aromatherapy, pancha karma treatments, music, and meditation to
reestablish balance
 4. • Life style diseases are also called as the diseases of longevity or diseases of
civilization• According to WHO, world deaths from life style diseases will
double by 2015 unless all out efforts are taken to combat them.

5. • So it is mandatory to develop a health oriented life style than to give deep concern
about our works.• Where the scope is almost fully lies on Ayurvedic concepts,
because of its references of preventive measures.

6. Life Style Changes• Over 50 years the food pattern changed considerably which
changed our diet by the use of lots of processed foods, foods with saturated fats, foods
with sugar content less and less fruits and vegetables.• The result is drastic change
which shows 28% carbohydrates, 12% protein, 40% fats and 20% sugar, though the
requirement remains almost the same. This can be understood as the midhya ahara
practices in Ayurveda.

7. Life style Changes And Diseases Associated• Decreased physical activity of

humans, as machines pay the place of that. It leads to less usage of the energy. Thus
leading to – Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) – Diabetes mellitus –
Stroke – Obesity – Hypertension – Arteriosclerosis which will again cause
atherosclerosis etc.

8. – Continuous and long time work without breaks. This is usually related to the
people working in financial sector and also to IT Professionals. This can develop •
Spinal problems • Carpal tunnel syndrome • Multiple sclerosis • Joint pains •
Dementia • Depression • Anxiety Disorders • Chronic back aches etc

9. • Exposure to the same environments without physical or mental rest. These brings
about – Malignancy of the parts exposed – Occupational lung diseases (Silicosis,
Fibrosis, Asbetosis) – Cerebro-vascular diseases etc

10. – Use of junk Foods, packed foods for a long period. • Cancerous growths •
Arthritis • Nutritional Deficiencies etc • Excessive usage of mobile phones and
computers by the youngsters.
11. • Skin disorders• Computer Vision Syndrome• Anxiety disorder etc• Addiction of
smoking, alcohol and drugs in adult groups mainly for enjoyment and to get rid of
worries.• Asthma• Cancer• Chronic liver disease/ Cirrhosis• Bronchitis• Respiratory
diseases• Unnecessary usage of more analgesics to be free of pain.• Liver Diseases•
Lack of proper sleep at night due to night duties.• Severe Joint pains• Depression

12. How the life styles leads to diseases?• We can understand that almost all the
diseases are caused by the midhya ahara’s & vihara’s which we follows.• Increasing
globalisation brings nothing but the changing life style ignorance of health by sticking
to the strict pattern of jobs.• The arousal of such crisis is just because of inappropriate
relationship of people with the environment.

13. • The specialty of the life style diseases is that, it takes years to develop.• And if
occurred once, is not easy to cure. Here we can understand the importance of
preventive measures.

14. Life Style According To Ayurveda• “prakshalanadhi pankasya doorathasparsam

varam” ( su.chi.24)• ‘Prevention is better than cure’. The famous words which all of
us know.• It is an advice to make the people alerted about their life style strategies

15. Ayurveda treats the vitiation• Dinacharya• Ritucharya• Rathricharya•

Thrayopasthambha palana• Sadvritha• Acharya rasayana• Ashtanga yoga’s• Dharma

16. Ayurveda treats• To suppress the dharaniya vegas• Not to suppress the Adharaniya
vegas• Not to consume Virudhahara• Not to indulge in Midhya ahara and vihara• Not
to do hina, midhya and ati yoga of Indriya, kaya,vak,and mana• Not to do
Prajnaparadha• Not to consume guna, mathra, desa, kala and virudha aharas.

17. • Thus it is interesting to know that Ayurvedic Acharya’s have mentioned earlier
that in the future there will be increase in number of the Life Style diseases, so one
who likes to maintain good health should be aware of his life styles.

18. Importance Of Ayurvedic Treatment In Life Style Diseases• Ayurveda treats the
body as a whole not only the affected part where deformation is visible.• Ayurveda
has answers for physical, mental, social and spiritual illness of a person.• Ayurvedic
system has same importance to the preventive as well as to the curative aspects.• As
all the disease development due to life style changes are purely individual based, no
other systems can provide a clear prediction of what disease this patient can develop.
But, in Ayurveda by considering his prakruthi and the life style

19. • Ayurveda has cure according to the severity of the disease. In other systems,
there is no much distinction of treatment on the basis of the severity other than
dosage.• For diseases Ayurveda have types like kaphaja, pithaja, vataja, rakthaja,
sannipataja etc with their symptomatic and treatment differences explained in a well
manner.• In the system of Ayurveda, there is difference in treatment on the basis of
desa,kala and vaya.• Though some treatments in Ayurveda are not easy to follow,
there are a lot of remedies mentioned which can be practiced easily and are cheap in
cost.

20. Measures For Preventing Life Style Diseases• Can analyse the dinacharya and can
adopt which are possible. More concentration should be given to the charyas which
will help us to balance the unhealthy life style which we follows.• Can adopt the
rithucharya (seasonal regimen) that can be followed by giving proper awareness about
the changes that will take place during a rithu.• Taking care while a rithu sandhi.

21. Measures For Preventing Life Style Diseases• Daily practice of Some Yogas like
Surya namaskaram.• Yoga practices can also be oriented on the prevention of disease
involved.• Practice of Pranayama.• Chanting of some manthras daily.• Reading of the
Religious books daily.• Decreasing the usage of mobile phones, computers and smart
phones.• Making both mind and body feel comfortable by the Sadvritha’s.• Reducing
the consumption of alcohol and smoking. Use of medicated smoke and other paniya’s
instead of that.

22. Measures For Preventing Life Style Diseases• If have practice of consuming non-
vegetarian food, the consumption of lean meat, poultry, fish, beans, eggs and nuts.•
Further extension of anti-tobacco measure including higher taxes, smoking bans in
public places etc.• Practice of meditation.• Consumption of low energy dense foods
which are fewer in calories per unit volume. Thus one can eat large volumes of it.•
Avoiding processed foods with saturated fats, trans-fats, cholesterol, salt (Na) and
added sugars.• Utilization of more physical and mental power, than the usage of
machines.

23. • Taking holidays and practice of panchakarma’s as a sukha chikithsa.• Making a

happy environment in home, to be calm from the hectic load at the work place.•
Taking small breaks from the work by some nourishing foods which are suitable
according to desa, kala and vaya.• Making a routine in children and making them
interested to follow that.• Individuals have right to indulge in occasional excesses of
food, drink and smoking with strict consideration given to health.

24. Rasayana Chikitsa (Rejuvenation Therapy).• For all these measures, there is
necessity of awareness programs to make rural and urban people aware. But, that
should contain the methods which will help them on the basis of their life style.•
Practice of Rasayana Chikitsa (Rejuvenation Therapy). It is the treatment by which
one gets the excellence of rasa (nourishing fluid which is produced immediately after
digestion etc) ..• “Labhopayo Hi sasthanam rasadinam rasayanam.” (Cha.Chi.1/8)•
And there is detailed description of the Acharya Rasayana which is to be followed to
get the best out of Rasayana chikitsa

25. Acharya Rasayana• Truthfulness• To be free from anger• Devoid of alcohol and
sex indulgence• Do not indulge in violence or exhaustion• Peaceful and pleasing in
their speech.• Practices japa and cleanliness.• Regularly practicing charity and tapas.•
Regularly offers prayers to the Gods, cows, Brahmanas, teachers, preceptors and old
people.• Absolutely free from barbarous acts.• Compassionate

26. Acharya Rasayana• Period of awakening and sleep are regular• Habitually take
milk and ghee• Acquainted with the measurement of the country and time.• Experts in
the knowledge of rationality.• Free from ego• Conduct is to be good• Not narrow
minded• Have love for spiritual knowledge• Have excellent sense organs in
condition.• Have references for seniors, asthikas.• Have good self-control.• Regularly
study of scriptures
27. Why There Is Scope Of Ayurveda• From the history of treatment and preventive
measures given to the persons suffering from life style diseases, Ayurveda has proven
it’s role and importance in this area

28. • The individuals who are going through hectic patterns in their work needs
preventive measures which not being explained by any other Practitioner
satisfactorily. But, an Ayurvedic Physician can give list of suitable regimens the
individual can be followed.• There is much scope in following Naturopathy, Yoga,
Polarity Therapy, Acupressure and Aroma Therapy in this areas.• An Ayurvedic
Physician can be confident in his treatment. Because the years passed has proved that
what is predicted by the Acharyas in Ayurvedic classics before thousands of years ago
is correct.• There must be wholesome activities which have basis on behavioural,
health and attitude aspects of the individual.

29. Treatment practices.• Ayurvedic treatment goals include eliminating impurities,

reducing symptoms, increasing resistance to disease, and reducing worry and
increasing harmony in the patient’s life. The practitioner uses a variety of methods to
achieve these goals:• Ayurveda, the wisdom of life, offers a proven guide for a life of
happiness, vitality, love and purpose.

30. Ideal Daily Routine Description• To Bed by 10:00 PM - The Day Starts the
Evening Before!• Morning• Arise before 6 AM• Evacuate bowels and bladder• Clean
teeth, scrape tongue• Abhyanga - oil massage• Bath or shower• Sun salutations and/or
asanas and Pranayama• Transcendental Meditation technique• Exercise• Wear clean,
comfortable, natural fabric clothing• Light breakfast followed by morning work or
study

31. Afternoon & Evening• Afternoon• Warm cooked lunch with all six tastes• Rest for
10 minutes after eating followed by a brief walk• Afternoon work or study• Sun
salutations and/or asanas and Pranayama• Transcendental Meditation technique
/Prayer• Evening• Early, light evening meal• Rest for 10 minutes after eating followed
by a brief walk• Pleasant, relaxing activity• To bed before 10 PM with natural fabric
clothing and bedding
32. Avoid• What we want to avoid are situations where we are awake at 12:00
midnight, eating, reading or watching TV. If such behavior becomes a pattern then the
body is cheated out of an important daily balancing process. Over time this can lead to
the development of many serious imbalances.

Social work in the areas of life style diseases, old age and /elderly.

This document has been developed to highlight the important and growing role of
professional social workers working with older people in many and varied agencies.
Social workers work with older people in acute hospital or rehabilitation services, in
public residential facilities, in Local Authorities, in community units, in psychiatry of
old age, adult learning disability services, where there are defined teams and
supervision structures. Social workers are also employed in primary care settings, or
psychiatry of old age and there are a small number in community care posts.

At the last count, there were over 60 social workers that work primarily with older
people (not including all of the existing complement of psychiatry of old age and
primary care social workers). The now defunct NSWQB identified only 18 WTE
social work posts for older people, but this number excludes social workers who have
classified themselves in another category, for example medical, rehabilitation, etc. In
2006, new jobs including 26 Senior Case Managers for Older People and new Primary
Care senior social work posts added another 40 or so workers into the mix. This
remains in The Client: people using the social work services for older people Our
primary clients are usually adults aged 65 years and over. Their access to social work
services is usually associated with their referral to a health or other service where the
lower age limit is predefined. They can be people living independently in the
community, living with families or careers and attending day services or using other
community services, living in sheltered accommodation or in supported or high
dependency long stay residential units. Individual social work can include: Needs
assessment, Social work assessment, Counseling and solution focused brief
therapy Stress management, Advocacy work (both individual and group)
Group and Community development (for example in an impoverished local
community or facilitating a residents’ self-advocacy group in a residential or day
unit.) Assessment of elder abuse (physical and emotional) and neglect, (including
self-neglect) Complaints by older persons about the standard of care they are
receiving Developing and case managing a care plan

Families, spouses, adult children, siblings, grandchildren and other careers, paid and
unpaid, can also be our clients too. Social workers have always had a special role
with regard to family work, helping to be a link for the multidisciplinary team in
communicating with the family, in assessing the family’s ability to cope with the
primary client’s special needs and ensuring that families and the clients are linked in
to all the appropriate community services. Social work with to families can range from
- Information and advice giving Counseling, Crisis intervention. .

Basic social work support, Brief therapy, Crisis management, conflict

management and mediation, (including domestic violence) Bereavement
counseling Advocacy Assistance in navigating the bureaucracies (e.g. nursing
home or homecare grants social welfare, etc.) Training courses and careers support
groups for family and other careers.

Careers who are not relatives often avail of social work services for support and
information to help them understand and help look after the primary client, the older
person. There are some issues around confidentiality that can arise here, for example
if an older person is suffering from a mental health problem, but often the client’s
permission can be easily obtained to discuss a care plan, ways of supporting the main
client, and ensuring the older person gets the kind of care and service that they want.
Work with careers can also include working with the multidisciplinary team in terms
of bringing back information about the special needs or circumstances of families and
careers that limit what they can offer the older person. The Needs and Rights of
Older People The rights of older people are no different to the rights of any other
person. There is, however, an increasing risk to the realization of these rights to the
extent that physical or mental frailty or disability imposes limitations on some older
people. The needs of such older people are for the support and services to counteract
the effects of these limitations. Discrimination on the basis of age can pose a further
threat to the realization of the rights of the older person.
Human rights and “quality of life” or “life satisfaction” are clearly related. Any
deliberate obstruction to the achievement of a satisfying and productive life represents
an invasion of the rights of the individual. Equally, the lack of reasonable support
services to counteract the effects of physical or mental disability also represents a
threat to the rights of older people. In all cases a primary focus is to ensure that there
is no abuse or neglect of the vulnerable and frail client and that systems set up to
support and care and protect such clients are all engaged and utilized to full extent
where they are useful and appropriate. sufficient to meet the needs in the community,
but it is a start.

Social work tasks with older people

The tasks of social workers with older people are very varied and include work with
their families and carers. Social work with older people focuses on the preservation or
enhancement of functioning and of quality of life of our clients. Social work focuses
on what people can do and maximize both opportunities and quality of life in the
context of their social system, their needs and their rights.

Social Work assessment is key to all the main roles and tasks of social work. Social
workers carry out social assessments that involve identifying practical and emotional
needs and appropriate supports. This ensures the worker reacts in a reflective and
planned way to intervene to assist a client and family. In social work for older people
it aims to make an objective social study of the older person and their partner, carer
and family, their accommodation needs, their primary needs of food, shelter and
hygiene, the degree to which they are integrated with or isolated from their local
community. The social worker will attempt to come to some conclusions about the
client’s psychosocial situation, including their emotional health, their level of self-
esteem and their level of stress and cognitive ability and pre-existing level of learning
ability. In addition, a similar assessment is required to clarify the abilities of careers
and families and their levels of stress and their emotional state and capability. There a
few tools widely accepted for this kind of multi-layered assessment, although there are
tools like the Zarit Burden scale and assessments of mental health and self-esteem,
and objective measures of poverty and adequacy of accommodation and nutrition.
Social workers for older people who engage in group work or, more rarely,
community development also use assessment skills to identify client need and
suitability for group work, (for example, reminiscence work or stress management
work with clients or careers). A social worker’s approach to assessment is influenced
by their use of specific theories and is based on their own professional training and
experience and the needs of their client and employer and the stated mission of their
agency.

A role for social workers in mental health was established early in history of service
delivery in this field of mental health. Primary mental health care was institutionally
based for the first half of the century, with a period of de-institutionalization
beginning in the late sixties preceding the current emphasis on community-based care.

Throughout these changes, the role of social work has developed from one of
providing social histories and supervising community placements to that of
interdisciplinary team member/independent practitioner. The field of mental health
provides a unique opportunity for social workers to practice collaboratively with allied
professionals and at the same time maintain the integrity of their knowledge and skill
base.

This assignment will define health and mental health; describe the current roles of
social workers within the spectrum of mental health services; identify the necessary
education and knowledge base; and consider future directions.

DEFINITIONS

1.1 The Definition of Health

The World Health Organization defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental
and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. It is the extent
to which an individual or group is able, on the one hand, to realize aspirations and
satisfy needs and, on the other hand to change or cope with the environment." (Health
Promotion Glossary, p. 1) Achieving Health for All, a discussion document released
by Health and Welfare Canada in 1986, reflects a growing awareness that health must
be viewed in terms of our personal and social resources for action. It speaks of health
as "a resource which gives people the ability to manage and even to change their
surroundings...a basic and dynamic force in our daily lives, influenced by our
circumstances, our beliefs, our culture and our social, economic and physical
environments." (Achieving Health For All, p. 3)

This active concept of health accords greater prominence than ever to the mental and
social determinants of health. It also requires thinking of health as something
experienced not only individually, but also collectively. Most significantly, this new
understanding of health dwells less on people's traits as individuals and more on the
nature of their interaction with the wider environment.

"Environment" in this context is interpreted in its broadest sense, and includes not
only our physical surroundings, both natural and artificial, but also the social, cultural,
regulatory and economic conditions and influences that impinge on our everyday
lives.

1.2 The Inseparability of Mental Health from Health

Mental Health: Striking a Balance

Past attempts to define mental health have usually focused on the psychological and
behavioral characteristics of individual people, rather than on conditions in society as
a whole. In much the same way, most of the services, programs, laws and professions
that have to do with "mental health" are really oriented towards dealing with mental
disorder. In these circumstances, it is easy to understand how mental health has come
to be viewed simply as freedom from psychiatric symptoms, or the absence of mental
disorder.

In the past few decades there have been significant developments in our understanding
of mental health. They have arisen from a growing community mental health
movement and a body of social science research that places increasing importance on
the ability of external forces and events to influence individual mental health.
Social and economic situations, family and other relationships, the physical and
organizational environment - all are plainly recognized as contributing factors. As a
result, current concepts of mental health reflect a number of themes:

 psychological and social harmony and integration;

 quality of life and general well-being;
 self-actualization and growth;
 effective personal adaptation; and
 the mutual influences of the individual, the group and the environment

The essential role of physiological processes (and, in particular, brain function) in all
mental life has become more and more evident. Human biology and human
experience interact continually in shaping mental life.

Mental life embraces both inner experience and interpersonal group experience. Our
interactions with others take place within a framework of societal values; therefore,
any definition of mental health must necessarily reflect the kind of people we think we
should be, the goals we consider desirable, and the type of society we aspire to live in.

Social workers do not isolate ideas about mental health from such wider social values
as the desire for equality among people, the free pursuit of legitimate individual and
collective goals, and equitable distribution and exercise of power.

1.3 The Definition of Mental Health

It is from this perspective that the following dynamic and interactive definition of
mental health has been developed:

Mental health is the capacity of the individual, the group and the environment to
interact with one another in ways that promote subjective well-being, the optimal
development and use of mental abilities (cognitive, affective and relational), the
achievement of individual and collective goals consistent with justice and the
attainment and preservation of conditions of fundamental equality.
In this definition, mental health moves into the realm of the relationship between the
individual, the group and the environment. Mental health is no longer conceived of as
an individual trait, such as physical fitness; rather it is regarded as a resource
consisting of the energy, strengths and abilities of the individual interacting effectively
with those of the group and with opportunities and influences in the environment.

This conceptualization leads to certain conclusions about the factors that can enhance
or weaken mental health. Whatever makes it difficult for the individual, the group and
the environment to interact effectively and justly (for example, poverty, prejudice,
discrimination, disadvantage, marginality or poor coordination of or access to
resources) is a threat or barrier to mental health.

A key feature of this new definition is that it does not define mental health in terms of
the presence or absence of mental disorder, nor does it imply that mental health and
mental disorder are simply opposite poles on a single continuum.

1.4 The Social Work Code of Ethics and Practice Domain

The social values which underpin this interactive definition of mental health are
strongly congruent with the "humanitarian and egalitarian ideals" which form the
value base of social work (Social Work Code of Ethics, p. 7). Further, the emphasis on
"interaction" between person, group and environment fits closely with social work's
"person-in-environment" practice domain: "The primary focus of social work practice
is on the relationship networks between individuals, their natural support resources,
the formal structures in their communities, and the societal norms and expectations
that shape these relationships.

This relationship centered focus is a distinguishing feature of the profession." (CASW

National Scope of Practice Statement, p. 2) Work in the mental health field requires an
ability to work collaboratively and is strengthened by a systems perspective.

As these knowledge and skill areas are emphasized in social work education, social
workers are well positioned to play a significant role as our society strives to achieve
mental health goals in the twenty-first century.
SOCIAL WORK ROLE DESCRIPTIONS

Although formal mental health services are generally delivered through the public
services, voluntary or private sector agencies as well as private practitioners also play
major roles in most provinces. Social workers are involved at the micro, mezzo and
macro levels in all sectors. "The social work profession promotes social change,
problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of
people to enhance well-being. Utilizing theories of human behavior and social
systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their
environments. Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social
work." (Definition of Social Work, adopted by the General Assembly of the
International Federation of Social Workers, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, July 2000.)

At the micro and mezzo levels social workers are primarily concerned with "the social
well-being of individual clients and their families equally valued with the importance
of their physical, mental and spiritual well-being." (CASW National Scope of Practice
Statement, p. 1) At the macro level "social workers generally demonstrate a greater
capacity to look beyond the illness and treatment issues, to consider the broader
human, social and political issues in mental health.

This breadth of analysis and focus are specific strengths of social work in mental
health." (The Development of Competency Standards for Mental Health Social
Workers, p. 23) Social workers recognize the complexity of the social context. Social
work goes beyond the medical model's focus on individual diagnosis to identify and
address social inequities and structural issues. A distinguishing characteristic of social
work practice is the dual focus of the profession. Social workers have, simultaneously,
ethical responsibilities to address both private troubles and public issues.

Many of the roles that social workers perform are common to all mental health
disciplines. Specific to the domain of social work are roles of building partnerships
among professionals, caregivers and families; collaborating with the community,
usually with the goal of creating supportive environments for clients; advocating for
adequate service, treatment models and resources; challenging and changing social
policy to address issues of poverty, employment, housing and social justice; and
supporting the development of preventive programs. Prevention occurs on many
levels and includes a focus on early intervention, individual and public education,
advocacy and improving access to services, resources and information.

Specific Roles

Mental health settings usually include services in three broad levels of health care
application: prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. It is recognized that individual
social workers may practice exclusively within one setting or cross the boundaries of
all three in response to diverse client, family and community needs.

2.1 Prevention: aims to reduce the incidence of disease or dysfunction in a

population through modifying stressful environments and strengthening the
ability of the individual to cope. Prevention involves the promotion and
maintenance of good health through education, attention to adequate standards
for basic needs and specific protection against known risks. In mental health
settings, preventive activities include public and client education regarding emotional
self-care and healthy relationships, building community knowledge and skills
(community development), social action, and advocacy for social justice.

2.2 Treatment: aims to reduce the prevalence (number of existing cases) of a

disorder or dysfunction and includes early diagnosis, intervention and
treatment. In mental health settings, treatment activities are focused on individuals
experiencing acute psychiatric symptoms, emotional trauma, relationship problems,
stress, distress or crisis and include assessment, risk management, individual, couple,
family and group counseling, intervention or therapy and advocacy. Social work uses
relationship as the basis of all interventions.

2.3 Rehabilitation: aims at reducing the after effects of disorder or dysfunction,

and involves the provision of services for re-training and rehabilitation to ensure
maximum use of remaining capacities by the individual. In mental health settings,
rehabilitation activities focus on clients who are disabled by mental illness and may
include individual, couple, family, and group interventions to build knowledge and
skills, provision of specialized residential, vocational and leisure resources, and
advocacy to ensure the development of needed services and to change community
attitudes.

Specific to their employment setting, social workers in mental health deliver the
following professional services:

 Direct Services to individuals, couples, families and groups in the form of

counseling, crisis intervention, therapy, advocacy, coordination of resources, etc.
 Case Management - coordinating inter-disciplinary services to a specified client,
group or population.
 Community Development - working with communities to facilitate the
identification of mental health issues and development of mental health resources
from a community needs perspective.
 Supervision and Consultation- clinical supervision/consultation, maintaining
quality and management audits and reviews of other social workers involved in
mental health services.
 Program Management/Administration - overseeing a mental health program
and/or service delivery system; organizational development
 Teaching - University and college level; workshops, conferences and professional
in-services
 Program, Policy and Resource Development - analysis, planning, establishing
standards
 Research and Evaluation
 Social Action

CONCLUSION

The foregoing provides an outline of the current roles available to social workers in
the field of mental health. Social work has a long and distinguished history of service
to persons with mental disorders and their families. Because of the high degree of
congruence between the conceptual framework through which mental health services
are now provided and the value base and practice domain of social work it is expected
that the profession will play a strong leadership role in this field in the decades ahead.
Since its inception, social work has focused on the social contributions to emotional
well-being and mental health. As health care moves towards a "population health"
approach that emphasizes the importance of social and psychological determinants of
health, social workers will continue to make a significant contribution to the health
care/mental health team.