Social work

Social work is a profession carried out by social workers in many different countries. Accordingly the nature of social work can vary widely, but its broad aim is to assess and meet people's social needs by providing services which enable them to live in safety and with independence and dignity.

Challenges

Certain types of social workers are more likely to suffer criticism than most other workers because they often work in scenarios which are highly emotionally charged. Examples include:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• taking a child away from parents who are regarded as unfit
• failing to remove children from parents who subsequently hurt or kill them
• organizing demonstrations
• supporting activities that are highly controversial - abortion, needle exchanges

Social workers would respond that often problems with social workers can be traced to poor pay, inadequate training, excessive case loads, inadequate funding, and bad government policies. The reason social workers are singled out is because they are the ones who directly face and deal with the public.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Social workers are often criticized because they are identified with the bureaucracy of their organizations. Social workers often have to ask clients to fill out time-consuming paperwork and sign large numbers of documents as a requirement of their jobs. Clients and others thus tend to think of social workers as paper-pushers.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In response, in many regions social workers are seeking efforts to professionalize the profession. Many regions have passed legislation making it illegal to use the title social worker without a license. This prevents unqualified persons from acting under the title of social worker and has resulted in the creation of discipline boards. These boards have the authority to punish social workers who violate their legislation through fines, suspension or revocation of their license. This protects the public by having social workers accountable to their code of ethics.

Related Topics:
Legislation - License - Code of ethics

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~