The Discipline of Social Work

SOCIAL WORK

“The social work profession promotes social change, problem solving in human
relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being.” As
defined by The policy, Ethics and Human Rights Committee of the British Association of
Social Workers (2012). It utilizes theories of human behavior and social systems.
Principle of human rights and social justice are fundament to social work. It is
concerned with individual and personal problems but also with broader social issues
such as poverty, unemployment and domestic violence. According to Dubois & Miley
(2008), it is understood here that social work is a profession that fulfills the social
welfare mandate to promote well-being and quality of life.

GOALS AND SCOPE OF SOCIAL WORK

These are the goals and scope of social works as highlighted by Du Bois and Miley
(2008). Social work -Empower people individually and collectively in order to utilize their
own problem solving and coping capabilities more effectively. Social work — Support
proactive position with regard to social and economic policy development to prevent
problems for individuals and society form occurring. Social work — Uphold the integrity
of the profession in all aspects of social work practice. Social work — Establish link
ages between people and societal resources to further social functioning and enhance
quality of life. Social work — Develop cooperative networks within the institutional
resources system. Social work — Facilitate the responsiveness of the institutional
resource systems to meet health and human service needs. Social work — Promotes
social justice and equality of all people with the regard to full participation in society.
Social work — Contribute to the development of knowledge for social work profession
through research and evaluation. Social work — Encourage exchange of information in
those institutional systems in which both problems and resources opportunities are
produced. Social work — Enhance communication through an appreciation of diversity
and through ethnically sensitive, non-sexist social work practice. Social work — Employ
educational strategies for the prevention and resolution of problems. And lastly, Social
work — Embrace a world view of human issues and solutions to problems. These goals
and scopes are noble and broad. It is to help an individual be included in society and to
transform the very society that creates structure that makes individual to participate in
the enjoyment of social services and resources of the community

CORE VALUES OF SOCIAL WORK

Social work is rooted on a set of core values embraced by social workers throughout
the profession’s history. The constellation of these values sets the foundation nof social
work’s unique purpose and perspective. Service to others is one of the main values in
social work, from which all of the other values stem. Social workers acknowledge that
serving others is more important than self-interest and put the needs of their clients
ahead of their own. Social justice is another key value of social work. Many social
workers decide to enter the profession because they recognize the need to help
underprivileged, vulnerable populations, such as the homeless, those struggling with
substance abuse issues or victims of domestic violence. As a social worker, you
understand the inherent value of every human life, regardless of background or beliefs.
You respect the differences between your personal beliefs and those of your clients
,taking into account ethnic and cultural diversity. Integrity means acting honesty,
responsibly and ethically at all times. You are trustworthy and you don't betray client
confidentiality, unless you're required to do so in certain circumstances by law, such as
incases of suicidality . The value of competence means that you practice in your area
of expertise and you don't misrepresent your skills or experience to get ahead.

PROFESSIONAL AND PACTITIONERS IN SOCIAL WORK

Roles, Functions and competence of social work
Being a social worker is often a challenging, yet rewarding career. Social workers are
responsible for helping individuals, families, and groups of people to cope with problems
they’re facing to improve their patients’ lives. One aspect of this is teaching skills and
developing mechanisms for patients to rely on to better their lives and experiences. We
must not put our own problems in our work, it may affects our work so we should
separate our own problems in term of works. And sometimes we need to put ourselves
in their situations so we can understand what they feel.

AREA’S OF SPECIALIZATION WHERE COUNCELOR WORK

Within the field of social work, there are many different specializations and industries
that professionals can pursue and focus on. While these different fields all require
practitioners to show the cornerstones of social work: empathy, flexibility, and
persistence, and respect for different circumstances; there are some skill sets and
knowledge that social workers will need to utilize in order to become the as effective at
their jobs as possible. Social workers can be required to aid with issues directly caused
by trauma, disability, poor family circumstances, abuse, mental and emotional problems
,addiction, and acute, chronic, or terminal illnesses. Some social workers prefer to focus
their skills on one area of expertise by going into specific fields. As we think of it, Social
work also does specialization so it prior individual who profession this. It instruct here
that we need to master things about social work. Why should we need to specialize
social work? Of course for us to do our jobs correctly specially social work, because
social works do not aiming for a job to have wage but also save lives. And these 5 major
specialization of Social work really helps to accomplish things that we should . For
example in mental health field, In this case we really need to specialize this primarily
because now a days many of us are suffering from depression, what if we don't
specialized about this? That would be more trouble. Specialization does not only help
us to gain knowledge but also to save different community problems.

CAREER OPPURTUNITIES OF SOCIAL WORK

Many social workers provide clinical and case management services directly to
individuals, couples, families,and groups. Social workers serve clients dealing with a
range of challenges including poverty, physical and mental health issues, addiction, and
family problems. They may provide clinical services, such as therapy or counseling, and
connect people to resources in the community to help them overcome challenges. Most
social workers believe that everyone is impacted by their environment. This person-in-
environment perspective in informs many areas of social work, some social workers do
not work directly with in individual clients. Instead, they work in community
organizations, government, and advocacy groups to alleviate poverty and social
injustice on a big-picture level and these social work careers include legislative
advocacy, policy analysis, and community organizing to break down barriers and drive
reform. Many social workers’ careers include both individual client-centered work and
big picture work, whether professionals choose a career as a school social worker, child
social worker, medical social worker, or another social work path, their work will likely
involve individual services for people in need of support along with program
development and advocacy to improve the institutions, systems, and policies impacting
their client population.

RIGHT , RESPONSIBILITIES ,ACCOUNTABILITIES AND CODE OF ETHICS

It is not only about the fact that social work is always concerned with the clients and
service oriented but it’s also about the social work’s rights, responsibilities and
accountabilities like any other professions.It is the right to achieve professional
mandates or what is asked for the social worker to do in order for the social worker to
help the clients, general public and the society and live by its value. A social worker
must respect the clients. Social work responsibilities involves those situations that
concern of its basic functions, professional standards, roles, and adherence to the local
and international code of ethics. Lastly it is accountable to the clients, general public
and the society. A social worker must not only entertain but also accommodate them by
interviewing them and processing other necessary documents that the clients, general
public, and the society submitted to the social workers. And then social workers will
finally assure the positive results in the said transactions.

CODE OF ETHICS
Is a set of values, principles and standards for social workers to adhere to and
reference in order to guide decision making and conduct, because ethical decision
making arises frequently in social work, there are not always easy answers. Ideally, a
social worker can apply this set of ethics to a situation in order to make aninformed and
appropriate decision or judgment, if the primary goal of a social worker is to help people
improve the quality of their lives and meet their basic human needs, then a social
worker’s essential task is personal, social, political, economic and more. Code ofEthics
as being rooted in a set of core values. The core values are: service, social justice
dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and
competence. The code is divided into different sections that outline the specific
responsibilities of a social worker and this includes social workers’ ethical
responsibilities: to clients, to colleagues, in practice settings, as professionals, to the
social work profession and to the broader society. It’s important for social workers to
have the Code of Ethics because the nature of social work can be very personal and
directly plants social workers into the lives of their clients and at the heart of social work
is the idea of responsibility, social workers help their clients to take responsibility for
their own lives and respond to or get out of bad situations. n this way, the Code of
Ethics can be used in a peer-review process. The Code of Ethics is used by social
workers as a landmark and touchstone of ethical practice. Social workers’ commitment
to the code ideally results in upholding it and performing their duties according to the
core values. Most of the standards explained by the NASW are enforceable guidelines
for professional conduct. However, some areas inspirational and can be interpreted in
different ways based on any number of influences.It’s important to have guidelines
spelled out and agreed upon by the social work profession so that every individual
social worker can behave and react accordingly

THE CLIENTELE AND AUDIENCE IN SOCIAL WORK

.Characteristic of Clientele and Audience of Social Work

The type of health information that is most appropriate and ‘impactful’ will be influenced
by the characteristics of your target audience, including their gender, ethnicity ,culture,
age, disability, sexuality, lifestyle, communication needs, location, health literacy, socio-
economic status, beliefs, preferences, health condition, and coping strategies. You will
need to consider the characteristics of your audience, such as disability, language
spoken and health literacy, and the impact of this on how it is most effective to
communicate with them. Knowing audience members’ attitudes about a topic will help a
speaker determine the best way to reach their goals. Imagine that a presenter is trying
to convince the community to build a park. A speaker would probably be inclined to
spend the majority of the speech giving reasons why a park would benefit the
community. Try to do some research to find out what the audience already knows about
the topic. Giving a brief review of important terms and concepts is almost always
appropriate, and can sometimes be done by acknowledging the heterogeneous
audience and the importance of ‘putting everyone on the same page.’ For example
,even if the audience members were familiar with basic genetics, a brief review of key
term and concepts at the beginning of a speech refreshes memories without being
patronizing. You need to have a lot more understanding about their social problems, be
good and patient to have a good communication with them.

Needs of Various type of Clientele and Audiences of Social Work

Easy is overrated; the only difficult client is a client who thinks we can make them
successful without their help. But we can’t work in a vacuum. So sometimes finding
balance and flow with a client can take a while because everyone has a different way of
working. The ideal client has clear goals and a picture of how to get there. If clients
embrace the characteristic of fairness, agency lif e is much easier. It’s quite simple. For
example, it’s fair to ask for a change order when the scope of work has increased
significantly due to client needs. If a client embraces a fair mindset, they will be
reasonable and understanding in why they should authorize the change order. The best
relationship a client and a firm can have is a trusting relationship. The client needs to
take on a firm that he has received good references for and has good chemistry with.
Once that firm has been hired, give them your trust. Don’t doubt them. Enable them to
do their job in the best way possible and they will. That’s what you hired them for.

The individual as Client of Social Work

It must have on the transactional relationships between people and their social
environments. They must learn also social work practice methods to restore, maintain
and promote social functioning as it relates to individuals, families, and small groups.
Integrates on multiculturalism, diversity, and social justice issues. You will examine
social work values and ethics as well as issues of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual
orientation, socio-economic status, age, religion, and ability as these relate to social
work practice. You will learn how to perform various social work roles (i.e.
counselor/clinical social worker, group facilitator, mediator, and advocate), recognizing
that these roles must adhere to social work values and ethics. You will learn the
importance of developing relationships with clients, colleagues, supervisors, other
professionals, and other constituencies. You will learn how to apply skills such as active
listening, empathic responding, contracting, and critical and creative thinking in practice.

The group and organization as Client of Social Work

Social workers work with a variety of groups in all settings in which social work is
practiced. It is means that inside of a group of people it needs of commonly identity or
similarity with each other. It’s like a small group that working with service ,like group of
organization or place of employment, or pupils and student in school set up. Social work
applies social sciences, such as sociology, psychology, political science, public health,
community development, law, and economics, to engage with client systems, conduct
assessments, and develop interventions to solve social and personal problems; and
create social change. Social work practice is often divided into micro-work, which
involves working with individuals or small groups; and macro-work, which involves
working communities, and within social policy, to create change on a larger scale.
The Community as Client of Social Work
Working with the community requires the generalist practitioner to be able to assess
community functioning and design specific intervention techniques. Community
organization has been recognized for many years as one of the main methods of social
work. Community have the largest share because everyone, what i mean is, individual
and families is essentially members of the community. A community can be power less
sector so that means the social work service can free from control or power of another
and empowerment. A group of individuals or families that share certain values, services
, institutions, interests, or geographical proximity. A functional special unit that meets
people’s sustenance needs, helps form collective identities, and patterned social
interaction. Social work may focus on community transformation to cause environmental
change to make it possible and to achieve social well-being or social justice.
THE SETTINGS, PROCESSES, METHODS, AND TOOLS IN SOCIAL WORK
Government setting
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of
legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government setting by which organizational
policies are enforced, as well as a mechanism for determining policy. Each government
has a kind of constitution, a statement of its governing principles and philosophy
.Typically the philosophy chosen is some balance .between the principle of individual
freedom and the idea.
Private Sector Setting
Part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private
individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by
the State . the private sector is wider, and places fewer constraints on firms .In countries
with more government authority, such as China, the public sector makes up most of the
economy
Civil Society Setting
The term Civil Society is used to collectively refer to the voluntary organizations
corporate bodies, socially active groups, and firms working in each society .Civil Society
works for discharging several economic, social, cultural, moral and other responsibilities
which fall in the domain of private activities. It, however, serves the public purpose of
securing general welfare and development. Civil Society even opposes the wrong
politics, decisions and projects of the government. In doing so the civil society depends
upon constitutional, peaceful and legal method of action. In other words, Civil Society
refers to the effective presence of autonomous groups and associations, business
groups, interest groups, trade unions, voluntary social service organizations and clubs,
in fact, all non-governmental organizations, clubs and groups working for securing their
interests by their own efforts.
School Setting
School social workers play a critical role in schools and educational settings .Social
workers working within school systems provide services to students to enhance their
emotional well-being and improve their academic performance. School social workers
are usually employed by the school district or an agency that is contracted with the
school district to provide services. School social workers are often called on to help
students, families, and teachers address problems such as truancy, social with draw all
,over aggressive behaviors, rebelliousness, and the effects of special physical,
emotional ,or economic problems. School social workers often also address issues such
as substance abuse and sexuality issues in the higher grade levels. School social
workers have a wide range of job functions. Their title is typically “school social worker.”
Qualifications for this position are often decided by the school district or employing
agency and requirements can range from a bachelors degree to a clinical license from
the state in which they practice. However, like many social workers, the caseloads of
school social workers are often high. School social workers can be assigned to more
than one school, requiring time to travel between locations. Often the school social
worker performs in isolation and may not have access to consistent supervision. There
also may be limited resources to support service delivery such as a lack of confidential
and private space, supplies, and training.
Community Setting
Our community have all feature appropriate furniture and, in some cases, have
restricted space, ensuring that you are used to working in varied and realistic home and
environments. A home or a community organization located in the neighborhood in
which a participant in the program under this section. A community is a familiar thread
used to bring people together to advocate and support each other in the fight to
overcome.
https://www.academia.edu/38566190/Social_Work_-
_Applied_Social_Science?auto=download

Social Work services, processes, and methods

Conducting Needs Assessment for Individuals, Groups, Organizations and
Communities
 Careful planning is important to social work. Community needs assessment
to identifies the strength and resources available in the community to meet the needs of
the children and families. It provides a framework for developing and identifying
services and solutions that support and nurture children and families. Without it, social
workers might be mistaken on their services that they'll give to the people. Before they
give their services, they plan it first through surveys, interviews, community meetings
and these informations are their basis to make datas. On those datas ,it will shown what
are the problems of the community And this datas/infos will help them on what services
they'll make for individuals. When there is poor people, the socialist work focuses on
how they'll help them. Social work help them by training them on onhand and basic
works to make their own business.

Monitoring and Evaluating School Work Effectivity

After they planned and give the services, they also need to know if the
services are effective to people. It serves to answers question such as "Are activities
going according to plan?" and "Is the work of the project progressing as intended?".
Evaluating tends to focus on tracking progress at the higher level objectives of the
logical framework which are outcomes and impact. It answers the question "Was the
project successful at achieving it's intended outcomes?” Example of this is the training
project for the poor people who can start a new business. If the data showing a poor
attendance, social work will think solutions towards better efficiency and effectiveness.

COMPREHENSION

Social work respects the personal autonomy of clients, supports solidarity-

based relationships in families, groups or communities, and attempts to uphold social
justice in society. Social workers need to adopt special professional attitudes: sensibility
for the vulnerabilities of clients, care and attentiveness for their resources and strengths,
assistance instead of paternalistic care and advocacy in decision making for clients'
well-being when clients are not able to decide for themselves. Therefore, the more
social work that we have, the better the society will be. It is because this social work
advocates good society. We can connect this principle to the area of sociology.
Sociology and social work are two related fields which both deal with the relationships of
human beings to their social environments. However, the two career paths involve very
different work environments, practices and educations. The study of society implies to
the study of human beings, their interrelationship, and the relationship with the
immediate social environment. Thus, it can be seen that sociology deals with human
organizations, their structure, their relationship, and gaps underlying the psychosocial
needs, social interactions that are important for maintaining a decent standard of living
in the society. Social work derives ample of knowledge from sociology because the
psychosocial problems of individuals, groups or communities cannot be diagnosed and
solved without having the knowledge about their social environment. Thus, the
contribution of sociology in the development of social work theories cannot be denied.

APPLICATION

One of our groupmate encountered this kind of experience on where social

workers distributes free vitamins to the residence in their Barangay (Lingap Barangay).
Those vitamins are essential for the babies. Everytime the social workers gave it, some
kids are begging them to have some. But sadly, those kids are just playing with the
vitamins even though the social workers are telling them not to play with it. Because of
that, the social workers felt inconvenience while doing their work. Relating to the
principle, just like what the social workers did (which is distributing free vitamins) we can
say that social work is really a service that can give every individual a benefit or help
and it leads to a better society. Yes, they are still kids but this kind of experience can
apply to everyone that we should respect those social workers because they are not just
doing their work for themselves but it is for the whole community, the society rather.