Social Work: Challenges and Opportunities

The Challenges and Opportunities of Social Work

Chapter Overview

  • This chapter provides a foundation for social work practice, including:
    • Definitions of direct and clinical practice.
    • Descriptions of various roles of direct social work practitioners.

Learning Objectives

  • Understand historic and contemporary factors influencing direct social work practice.
  • Understand the mission, purposes, roles, and opportunities of direct social work services.
  • Identify the value perspectives that guide social workers.
  • Describe the nine CSWE EPAS competencies that inform and evaluate social work practice.
  • Delineate the roles performed by direct-practice social workers.
  • Describe some contemporary issues encountered in social work practice.

EPAS Competencies

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accredits social work programs and sets Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS).

  • EPAS includes nine multidimensional competencies for educating and evaluating social work students (CSWE, 2015).
  • Chapter 1 prepares students to demonstrate all nine competencies:
    • Competency 1: Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior
    • Competency 2: Engage Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Practice
    • Competency 3: Advance Human Rights, and Social, Racial, Economic, and Environmental Justice
    • Competency 4: Engage in Practice-Informed Research and Research-Informed Practice
    • Competency 5: Engage in Policy Practice
    • Competency 6: Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
    • Competency 7: Assess Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
    • Competency 8: Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
    • Competency 9: Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities

The Mission of Social Work

  • The mission of social work is to enhance human functioning by promoting client access to resources like health, safety, education, and income.
  • Social workers aim to support and empower vulnerable populations through social justice (CSWE, 2021; NASW, 2021a).
    • Vulnerable populations include those oppressed due to group identification (e.g., people of color, the elderly, women, youth, immigrants, refugees, people with disabilities).
  • The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) defines social work as a practice-based profession and academic discipline promoting social change, development, cohesion, and empowerment (IFSW, 2019).
    • Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility, and respect for diversity are central.
    • Social work engages individuals, groups, and societal structures to address life challenges and enhance well-being (IFSW, 2019).
  • Both the U.S. mission and the international definition emphasize empowering marginalized people and structural, societal change.
  • Commitment to social justice distinguishes and unifies the profession, encouraging social workers to look beyond narrow perspectives.

Social Justice

  • Social justice means all people should have equal rights to societal resources, regardless of circumstances or group identity.
  • Pursuit of social justice includes:
    • Creating social institutions supporting the welfare of individuals and groups.
    • Removing barriers to accessing resources.
    • Leveraging institutional and social power to advocate for resources for clients.
  • Economic justice:
    • Relates to economic well-being, like access to employment, livable wage, pay equity, nondiscrimination, and income sources like social security and TANF.
  • Environmental justice:
    • Ensures no group bears a disproportionate share of environmental hazards.
    • Involves fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people in environmental laws and policies, regardless of race, color, origin, ability, or income.

Direct Social Work Practice

  • Direct social work practice involves face-to-face contact with clients, including individuals, couples, families, groups, and communities.
  • It takes many forms in various settings and employs an evolving body of knowledge and skills.
  • It builds on a rich history, beginning with the progressive movement, amid dynamic contemporary conditions.
  • Social work practice generally focuses on client systems at micro, mezzo, and macro levels.
    • Micro-level practice serves individuals, couples, and families.
      • Focuses on small client systems through face-to-face or electronic contact.
      • Examples: therapist, case manager, advocate, educator, and mediator.
    • Mezzo-level practice is direct social work with groups or organizations (Garthwait, 2012).
      • Designed to change systems directly affecting clients, such as family, peer group, or classroom.
      • Activities include administrator, facilitator, and program developer (Garthwait, 2012).
    • Macro-level practice focuses on social planning and community organization.
      • Social workers collaborate with community action systems to address social problems at a community and/or policy level.
      • Involves community or organizational development locally, regionally, or globally.
      • Examples: community developer, community organizer, policy analyst/developer, researcher, and planner (Garthwait, 2012).
  • Regardless of the level, social workers share a foundation of knowledge, skills, and values.
    • Referred to as generalist practice in the U.S.
    • Forms the structure of Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) education and the beginning content of Master of Social Work (MSW) programs.
    • MSW education builds on the generalist foundation with specialized content.
    • Prepares social workers to enhance the client's relationship with resources.
  • Direct social work practice involves the micro and mezzo levels.
  • Practitioners collaborate with professionals, organizations, and institutions and act as advocates.
  • Takes place in public agencies (schools, military, child welfare), nonprofits (rape crisis centers, domestic violence agencies, refugee resettlement, faith-based organizations), and for-profit settings (private health-care clinics, residential recovery, eldercare, corporate employee assistance programs).
  • Services may be organized by:
    • Life-cycle stage (children, adolescents, older adults).
    • Problem area (child welfare, domestic violence, health/mental health, substance abuse, antipoverty, work programs).
    • Mode of intervention (case management, group work, counseling).
    • Agency setting (school social work, hospital social work, county-based services).

Roles

  • Social workers perform several roles to enhance the client's connection with resources and promote client functioning.
  • Humans need essential resources (food, health care, shelter, income) and have a right to education, safety, dignity, autonomy, community, and relationships.
  • Roles are not mutually exclusive, and a social worker may play multiple roles simultaneously.
    • Example: Case managers may be brokers, client advocates, and counselors.
    • Planners may be systems maintainers, facilitators, and developers.
  • Roles may be listed in job titles, but they are duties completed by social workers.
    • Example: Foster care workers may advocate, facilitate, and mediate.

Social Work Values

  • Six social work values provide a framework for practice:
    • Service
    • Social justice
    • Dignity and worth of the person
    • Importance of human relationships
    • Integrity
    • Competence
  • These values, drawn from the NASW Code of Ethics, differentiate social work from other professions.
  • Together, the values clarify expectations for direct social work practice. All values will be discussed at length in Chapter 4.

Clinical Social Work

  • Clinical social work practice is a type of direct practice.
  • It includes the resolution and prevention of psychosocial problems experienced by individuals, families, and groups using accepted therapeutic practices and modalities (Asakura et al., 2020).
  • Includes mental health treatment, but extends more broadly to other emotional, behavioral, and relational difficulties as well.
  • Specht and Courtney (1994) articulated concerns regarding social work's movement toward psychotherapy and billable services and the abandonment of its primary mission of ensuring social justice and equal access to resources for clients.
  • Clinical social workers are encouraged to integrate social justice concepts into psychotherapy practice. In doing so social workers will continue to uphold the values and mission of their profession.