Review Questions

Define Poverty from a Social Work perspective and how the income inequality gap contributes to this definition.

• Poverty not simply an SES, however, encompassing environment of individuals who experience its effects

• Poverty as a trauma with many impacts across domains including socio well-being, mental health, physical health, safety, education, comorbid public health concerns, and can be cynical in nature

• Income refers to money earned over the course of a year

• US has social stratification with socio-economic classes which have various degrees of access to resources

• The top 1% of all households have over 1/3 of all personal wealth

• The top 20% hold 60% of wealth while the poorest hold 4% of wealth. The gap continues to grow

Discuss the absolute approach vs. the relative approach.

• Absolute Approach

  • Certain amounts of goods and services is essential to an individual/family’s welfare

  • No minimum need, does not account for the individual need in relation to others

  • Poverty’s not based on one’s own society

• Relative Approach

  • A person is facing poverty when their income is substantially less than the average income

  • Poverty will exist if there’s income inequality

  • Doesn’t fully define the experiences of individuals living within poverty

Who is primarily impacted by poverty?

• Single-parent households, children, elderly, minority groups, individuals with disabilities, and individuals facing homelessness

• Risk Factors— education, unemployment, underemployment, urban/rural areas, generations of poverty

Discuss the culture of poverty and its function.

• The cycle of poverty is passed down generationally that is characterized by hopelessness, helplessness, and deprivation which impact attitudes and belief systems

• Undergone scrutiny and criticisms

  • 1. It blames the victim and disregards current larger systems

  • 2. Individuals in poverty have different goals and attitudes due to their situation and should not be compared to middle-upper class value sets

• Poverty adds function to society

  • Ex. domestic labor, supply demand for cheaper goods, policy and political talking points, adds to societal culture and arts

• Since society is polarized, to fully address poverty would take efforts to look at systems and redistribute wealth

Discuss the difference between social insurance programs and social welfare programs.

• Social Insurance Programs

  • Seek to alleviate the stressors of poverty by providing resources to those impacted

    • Old age, Survivors, Disability, Health insurance

    • Medicare

    • Unemployment insurance

    • Worker’s Compensation Insurance

• Public Assistance/Social Welfare Programs

  • Goal is to fulfill the social, financial, health, and recreational requirements of all individuals in a society

  • Seeks to enhance the social functioning of all age groups, both rich and poor

  • Programs have a “means test” and difficult to obtain

  • “The underserving poor”

  • Eligibility and benefit levels are determined on a case-by-case basis

  • Benefits seen as charity and participants often viewed with scrutiny (i.e. the welfare queen)

  • Benefits paid through government funding

    • Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

    • General Assistance

    • Medicaid

    • Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP)

    • Housing Assistance

    • Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)

What is Social Work Generalist Practice?

• Multi-skilled profession helping individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities to restore capacity for social function

• Problem solving or solution focused approach

• Based on person-in-environment framework to promote human and social well-being

• Use range of interventions and intervention methods based on evidence based ethical considerations, and best practice which occur on the micro, mezzo, and macro level

• Focuses on the person in the environment

What are the levels of Generalist Practice?

• Micro— aimed at helping individuals on 1:1 basis to solve for a problem whether social or personal

• Meso/Mezzo— aimed at helping 2+ people on small group level to solve for a social or personal problem

  • Social work w/families focuses on the family as a system and aims to solve for problems at a familial level

  • Social work w/groups focuses on 2+ people who are aware of membership in that group that share mutual goals

• Macro— operate within the role of organizations and invoke change by defining policy and larger ways of practice

Please give examples of types of work a social worker may engage at the levels of generalist practice.

• Micro— Case management, Therapy, Crisis work, Foster care, Case worker in institutions or agencies

• Mezzo— Social conversation groups, Recreation groups, Skill groups, Education groups, Therapeutic groups, Task groups, Problem-solving groups, Focus groups, Self-help groups, Socialization groups

• Macro— Regulatory bodies, Licensing bodies, DEI

Name the 3 forms of community practice.

1. Community Capacity Development

   1. Asserts that community change can be best brought about through broad-based community participation

2. Social Planning/Policy Practice

   1. Emphasizes the process of problem solving

   2. Assumes the role of the expert to solve for social problems

3. Social Advocacy

   1. Asserts there’s disadvantages populations that need to be organized and in alliance to put pressure on power structures for increased resources for social justice

What are the Social Worker competencies? Why are they important?

1. Demonstrate ethical and professional boundaries

2. Engage in diversity, equity, inclusion in practice

3. Address human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice

4. Engage in practice-informed research and research informed practice

5. Engage in policy practice

6. Engage in individual, families, groups, organizations, communities

7. Assess in individual, families, groups, organizations, communities

8. Intervene with individual, families, groups, organizations, communities

9. Evaluate practice with individual, families, groups, organizations, communities

What are the Social Work values? Why are they important?

1. Service

2. Social Justice

3. Importance of Human Rights

4. Integrity

5. Dignity & Worth of a Person

6. Competence

What are the Social Work ethical principles? How are they applied within the profession?

1. Service— primary goal is to help people in need and to address social problems

2. Social Justice— challenge social injustice

3. Dignity/Worth of a Person— respect the inherent dignity and worth of a person

4. Importance of Human Rights— recognize the central importance of human relationships

5. Integrity— behave in a trustworthy manner

6. Competence— practice within their areas of competence and develop and enhance their professional expertise