Social Work 205 Midterm One

Social Work

Maximize development of human potential and the fulfillment of human needs by working with people so they can achieve their best possible personal and social well being while also working to achieve social justice throughout social development and social change

What do social workers do?

• Assess

• Intervene

• Treat

• Refer

• Follow - up

• Respond to crisis situations

Social Work Code of Ethics

Serves as guide to everyday professional conduct of social workers

4 sections:

Preamble: Social Work profession's mission and core values

Purpose: Overview of code's main functions & brief guide for dealing with ethical issues or dilemma

Ethical principles: broad ethical principles, based on 6 core values, that inform social work practice

ethical standards: specific ethical standards to guide social work conduct

Social Work Core Values

• Service

-Social Justice

• Dignity and Worth of the person

• Importance of human relationships

• Integrity

-Competence

What is meant by upstream and downstream thinking and practice?

Upstream thinking tackles problems at the source to prevent future problems and downstream thinking tackles problems after symptoms start showing

Generalist Social Work

• Integrative approach to a practice that addresses the person in environment

• GSWs work across system levels and among practice methods based on assessing person-environment fit

• Multiple levels of intervention

Planned Change steps social workers use?

1. Engagement

2. Asessment

3. Planning

4. Implementation

5. Evaluation

6. Termination

7. Follow Up

Micro

working on a one-to-one basis with individual

ex: assisting with housing, healthcare, social services, family therapy, individual counseling

Meso/Mezzo

working with families and other small groups

ex: management of social work or organization on institutional or cultural change

Macro

working in communities, administration, or policy

ex: lobbying for healthcare change

Purpose of an ecomap

A visual representation that allows a social worker to asses the level of fit b/t a client and their environment

Johnson

• Social Construction : Race and all its categories have no significance outside systems of privilege and oppression in which they are created in the first place

-Race and normalcy or socially constructed

• Not factual

• Society made them

• People in power created them and reinforce them to stay in power

• Normal is constructed in all societies.

• Oppression is possible only if their is a powerful group that is the one oppressing.

Tatum

• Smog analogy - didn't do it but we need to act against it - everyone is in the smog whether you want to be or not

• Stereotypes, omissions and distortions all develop prejudice

-We aren't labeled white but blacks are labeled blacks.

• More often then not if you are part of a non-dominant group you will be labeled as that group.

• All whites benefit from racism but not equally.

• Not all people of color are equally targeted by racism.

What is intersectionality and why is it important to consider?

The multiple dimensions of diversity and issues of power, privilege, and institutional practices intersect.

Everyone has multiple identities that come together which in turn causes their struggles and oppression to be different

Social Construct

Meaning, phenomenon, or category created and assigned to people, objects, and events.

• not a reality - construct by sciety

• A rock exists regardless of collective agreement or acceptance

• Existence of difference requires collective agreement and acceptance that it exists

How are social constructs used in society?

Existence of difference requires collective agreement and acceptance that it exists, social constructs are powerful because it is accepted as objective.

Privilege

one group has something of value that is denied to others simply because of the group they belong to; rather than because of anything they've done or failed to do

White Privilege

Whites do not have to ask or seek out this privilege - it's there for them simply based on race

Oppression

being in a privileged category that has an oppressive relationship with another (isn't the same as being an oppressive person who behaves in an oppressive way)

How are Oppression and Privilege different?

• Privilege opens doors - Oppression closes them

• Oppression always benefits dominant group

• Feeling oppression vs. being oppressed

• People in privileged categories can feel bad in ways that can feel oppressive

internalized oppression

member of a stereotyped group may internalize the stereotypical categories about his or her own group to same degree

Institutionalized oppression

occurs when established laws, customs, and practices systematically produce inequities based on one's membership in targeted social groups

systematic oppression

similar to institutionalized oppression but specifically enforced by gov., laws, and police (Apartheid, Jim Crow)

Racism

prejudice and discrimination based on race

Audism

discrimination based on a person's lack of ability to hear

Ethnocentrism

Belief one's ethnic groups is inherently superior to other groups

Xenophobia

Fear of all things foreign

Classism

Often not considered viable ism in the United States

Ageism

discrimination based on age

Ableism

Pervasive and systemic dicrimination towards people with disabilities

Sexism

idea men and women have innately different actions, thoughts, feelings and behavior, with male being superior

Homophobia

fear and or hatred of GLBT

Heterosexism

heterosexuality viewed as only accessible life option by system

Prejudice

Prejudgement of individual or group without sufficient information to support judgement, belief that the individual or group is inherently inferior to oneself or one's social group

Discrimination

Actual practice of treating individuals and groups differently

• Different than prejudice because it it puts prejudice into motion

Discrimination vs. Oppression

Discrimination

-Can be non-harmful