Social Work Licensure Preparation Chapter Review

SOCIAL WELFARE, SOCIAL SERVICES, AND SOCIAL WORK

  • Definitions of Social Welfare

    • Everything Men Do for the Good of Society: A broad, inclusive definition.
    • Gertrude Wilson: Defined it as the "organized concern of all people for all people."
    • Walter Friedlander: Described it as the organized system of social services and institutions designed to aid individuals and groups to attain satisfying standards of life and health.
    • Elizabeth Wickenden: Stated that social welfare includes laws, programs, benefits, and services that assure or strengthen provision for meeting social needs recognized as basic to the wellbeing of the population and the better functioning of the social order.
    • Pre-Conference Working Committee (XVth International Conference on Social Welfare): Defined it as all organized social arrangements which have as their direct and primary objective the wellbeing of people in a social context.

  • Societal Responses to Unmet Needs

    • Individual and Group Efforts: Systematic and voluntary actions such as clean-up drives, tree planting, volunteering, and donations.
    • Major Societal Institutions: Forces that bring changes, specifically the family, government, and the church.
    • Social Agency: Major provisions for helping people with problems, such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) or the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO).

  • Two Views of Social Welfare

    • Residual Formulation: Welfare is viewed as temporary and offered only during emergency situations.
    • Institutional Formulation: Welfare is seen as a proper, legitimate, and permanent function of modern society.

  • Social Welfare Program Categories

    • Social Security: A set of compulsory measures (e.g., PhilHealth, SSS, PAG-IBIG) to protect individuals and families against the consequences of unavoidable income interruptions.
    • Personal Social Services: Functions bearing upon personal problems, such as counseling, elderly services, child services, and psychological services.
    • Public Assistance: Material or concrete support provided usually by government agencies to those with no income or means of support (e.g., 4Ps, SAP, Social Pension).

  • Social Services and Richard M. Titmus

    • Definition: Programs and activities provided to concretely answer the needs and problems of society members; the tangible expression of concern.
    • Titmus's View: He saw social problems as structural and located in the economy. He argued that because we cannot blame specific culprits, we must provide social services to address "socially generated disservices" and "socially-caused diswelfare."

  • Goals of Social Welfare Activities

    • Humanitarian and Social Justice: Rooted in democratic ideals and the belief that humans have the potential to realize themselves.
    • Social Control: Based on the recognition that deprived groups may strike out against society; services prevent social instability.
    • Economic Development: Priority is given to programs increasing the production of goods and services. Examples include:
      • Counseling and skills training for the unemployed to increase productivity.
      • Day care centers and health clinics to prevent or relieve the burden of dependence.
      • Family life education to counteract the disruptive effects of urbanization.

  • Social Work and Social Functioning

    • Social Work: The profession concerned with man's adjustment to his environment (person-in-situation).
    • Social Functioning: The result of performing various social roles. Problems in functioning are caused by personal inadequacies/pathologies, situational inadequacies, or both.
    • US Council on Social Work Education Functions:
      • Restoration of impaired capacity.
      • Provision of individual and social resources.
      • Prevention of social dysfunction.
    • International Definition (June 27, 2001): The profession promotes social change, problem-solving in human relationships, and empowerment/liberation to enhance wellbeing. Fundamental principles include human rights and social justice.

DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL WELFARE IN THE PHILIPPINES

  • Pre-Historic Period

    • Communities were small and scattered along river mouths and coastal plains for water, food, and transport.
    • Barangays: Ruled by a "dato."
    • Responsibilities of a Dato: Oversee member welfare, act as an arbiter of conflict, and lead in times of danger.
    • Activities: Centered on mutual protection and economic survival.

  • Spanish Period

    • Changes: Communities were grouped into "pueblos," leading to health problems, sanitation issues, personal maladjustments, and economic dislocation.
    • Philosophy: "To do good for the salvation of their souls."
    • Hospitals:
      • 1565: Don Miguel Lopez de Legaspi founded the first hospital in Cebu City. Later moved to Manila in 15711571 as Hospitalito de Sta. Ana, eventually renamed Sternberg General Hospital.
      • 1587: San Gabriel Hospital.
      • 1612: Hospital Real.
      • 1645: Nueva Caceres in Naga.
      • 1631: San Lazaro Hospital became a leper hospital for 150 patients from Japan; founded by Fr. Juan Clemente.
    • Asylums and Orphanages:
      • 1594: La Real Casa Miserecordia.
      • 1882: Hospicio de San Jose (for boys, the aged, and mentally defective).
      • 1885: Asilo de San Vicente de Paul (for girls; known for management and discipline).
    • Schools:
      • 1565: Parochial School of Cebu (first school, founded by Augustinian Friars).
      • 1859: Ateneo de Manila (opened by Jesuits from the Charity School Obras Pias).
    • End of Spanish Rule: In 18991899, the National Association of the Red Cross was organized to support revolutionaries.

  • American Period

    • 1902: Creation of the Insular Board to coordinate private welfare work.
    • 1908: Philippine General Hospital (PGH) established.
    • 1915: Public Welfare Board created (Legislative Act 2510) to coordinate charitable organizations.
    • 1917: First government-operated welfare agency (orphanage) set up in Makati.
    • Associated Charities of Manila (1917): Founded by Americans and Filipinos; first to use casework and introduced the "Community Chest" concept.
    • Frank Murphy Administration:
      • First time government assumed full responsibility for relief.
      • Established child and maternal health centers for towns with 2,0002,000 population.
      • Appointed Josefa Jara Martinez (first Filipino with a social work diploma from New York) to introduce scientific approaches.
    • Social Legislation:
      • 1924: Act No. 3203 (care of neglected/delinquent children and probation).
      • 1926: Children moved to Welfareville (introduced "congregate system" of separate cottages).

  • Commonwealth and Japanese Periods

    • Quezon: Focused on social justice, anti-usury laws, and 8-hour labor laws.
    • 1941: Public Assistance Service took over activities of Associated Charities.
    • Japanese Occupation: Activities mainly involved medical care and food for wounded soldiers and prisoners. Volunteer organizations like the Red Cross and YWCA were pivotal.

  • Post-War and Modern Era

    • 1947: Bureau of Public Welfare became the Social Welfare Commission (SWC).
    • 1948: President's Action Committee on Social Amelioration (PACSA) created by Elpidio Quirino.
    • 1951: SWA (Social Welfare Administration) formed by merging SWC and PACSA.
    • 1965: RA 4373 passed, formally recognizing Social Work as a profession.
    • 1968: RA 5416 elevated SWA to the Department of Social Welfare (DSW).
    • 1976: Renamed Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD); focused on the bottom 30%30\% of the population using the SPDEFS programs (Self-employment, Practical skills, Day care, Emergency assistance, Family planning, Special services).
    • 1978: Became Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD).
    • 1987: Renamed Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) under EO 123.
    • The 1990s: RA 7160 (LGU Code) devolved many DSWD functions to local government units.

  • Recent Social Legislation and Programs

    • 4Ps (RA 11310): National poverty reduction strategy providing grants for health, nutrition, and education (4.44.4 million families assisted by 20222022).
    • Magna Carta of the Poor (RA 11291): Uplifts the standard of living regarding food, work, education, housing, and health.
    • Universal Health Care (RA 11223): Equitable access to quality health care.
    • Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education (RA 10931): Free tuition in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs).
    • Expanded Maternity Leave (RA 11210): 105105 days leave (120120 for solo mothers).
    • Domestic Administrative Adoption Act (RA 11642): Streamlines adoption through the National Authority for Child Care (NACC).
    • Pandemic Response: RA 11494 (Bayanihan to Recover as One Act) provided the Social Amelioration Package (SAP).

SOCIAL FUNCTIONING: SOCIAL WORK'S FOCUS

  • Core Concept

    • William Schwartz: Social work mediates the process where individual and society reach out to each other for self-fulfillment.
    • William Gordon: Focused on the "person-in-his-life situation complex."
    • Harriet Bartlett: Social functioning is the relation between coping activity and environmental demand.
    • Social Situation: Functional if supportive; Dysfunctional if structurally/culturally inadequate or harmful.

  • Social Work Functions

    • Restorative (Curative/Rehabilitative): Identifying and resolving disequilibrium.
    • Preventive: Identifying potential disequilibrium.
    • Developmental: Strengthening maximum potential.

  • Five Elements of a Profession (Ernest Greenwood)

    1. Systematic Body of Knowledge: Includes Tested Knowledge (scientific research), Hypothetical Knowledge (unapproved theory), and Assumptive Knowledge (practice wisdom).
    2. Professional Authority: Extensive education provides expertise laypeople lack.
    3. Community Sanction: Powers/privileges granted by the community (e.g., control over training).
    4. Regulative Code of Ethics: Formal (associations) and informal (peer pressure/consultation) discipline.
    5. Professional Culture: Shared values (beliefs), norms (accepted behavior standards), and symbols.

PHILOSOPHICAL AND VALUES FOUNDATION

  • Professional Components: Value (worth/preference), Knowledge (confirmed reality), and Skill (expertness/art).

  • Philosophy: Belief in the worth and dignity of man, capable of reason and created in the image of God.

  • Concepts Implied in Values:

    • Human potentials and capacities.
    • Social responsibility to the common good.
    • Equal opportunities (social justice).
    • Social provision for unmet needs.

  • Dominant Filipino Values:

    • Social Acceptance: Achieved through Smooth Interpersonal Relations (SIR), which includes pakikisama, euphemism, and go-betweens (tulay).
    • Amor Propio: Sensitivity to personal affront.
    • Personalism: Importance of personal factors and kinship.
    • Utang na Loob: Debt of gratitude.

  • Social Work Principles:

    • Acceptance: Recognizing people as they are (real, not just good).
    • Participation: Client involvement in the entire process.
    • Self-determination: The client's right to decide needs and solutions (relative, not absolute).
    • Individualization: Recognizing unique qualities (Kluckhohn: "like all, like some, like no other men").
    • Confidentiality: Protection of client information (limited by law).
    • Worker Self-Awareness: Disciplined use of self.
    • Relationship: Purposive/controlled; involves managing Ambivalence, Transference (client to worker), and Counter-transference (worker to client).

KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION AND METHODS

  • Four Areas of Social Work Knowledge:

    1. HBSE (Human Behavior and Social Environment): Individual as a biopsychosocial being.
    2. Social Welfare Policy, Programs, and Services.
    3. Social Work Practice/Methods.
    4. Field Instruction.

  • Traditional Helping Methods:

    • Social Casework: Helping individuals through modifyng environment or psychological support (Florence Hollis).
    • Social Groupwork: Guiding group interaction toward goals.
    • Community Organization: Helping communities identify and solve needs (Jack Rothman's models: Locality Development, Social Planning, Social Action).

  • Secondary Methods:

    • Social Action: Influencing legislation/administration.
    • Social Work Research: Verifying and extending knowledge.
    • Social Welfare Administration: Achieving organized service effects.

  • Integrated/Generalist Method:

    • Holistic approach defined by the use of a range of skills to intervene in various life situations level (individual, group, or community).
    • Strengths Perspective: Person-centered; emphasizes resilience and ingenuity; the person is not the problem.

  • The Helping Process (APIET):

    1. Assessment: Information gathering from primary (client) and secondary (others) sources. Includes "start where the client is."
    2. Planning: Formulating SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound) and a Helping Contract.
    3. Intervention: Implementing roles such as Broker, Mediator, Advocate, Enabler, and Counselor.
    4. Evaluation: Ongoing/terminal; formative/summative.
    5. Termination: Due to goal achievement, lack of movement, or referral/transfer.

SOCIAL WORK MODELS AND APPROACHES

  • Crisis Intervention (Naomi Golan):

    • Focuses on the "hazard," "vulnerable state," and "precipitating factor."
    • Duration: 2−62-6 weeks; Available within 24−7224-72 hours.

  • Problem-Solving Model (Helen Harris Perlman):

    • Focuses on the 4Ps: Person, Problem, Place, Process. Helps clients work through rational thought.

  • Task-Centered Model (Epstein and Reid):

    • Technology to alleviate specific target problems within a short, time-limited period.

  • Psychosocial Approach (Gordon Hamilton):

    • "Diagnostic School"; organismic approach focused on the inner realities of the person and their social context.

  • Functional Approach (Taft and Robinson):

    • Focuses on the "use of agency function" and social work as a helping process, not a curative one.

  • Behavior Modification:

    • Based on Operant (Skinner) and Classical (Pavlov) conditioning. Uses reinforcement (positive/negative), punishment, and extinction.

  • Family Intervention:

    • Uses tools like the Genogram (family tree/history) and Ecological Map (individual in their life space/ecological system).

TOOLS AND FIELDS OF PRACTICE

  • Interviewing Skills: Exploring, ventilation, topical shift, logical reasoning, and universalization.

  • SOLER Communication Technique:

    • S: Sit attentively at an angle.
    • O: Open posture.
    • L: Lean forward.
    • E: Eye contact.
    • R: Relaxed body language.

  • Recording Types:

    • Narrative: Condensed or Process.
    • Summary: Social histories, Periodic, Transfer, and Closing entries.

  • Fields of Practice:

    • Primary Settings: Direct social work agencies.
    • Secondary Settings: Schools, hospitals, or courts (where SW supports the main mission).
    • Specialized Fields: Child Welfare (RA 7610), Gerontology (Geriatrics), IP Rights (RA 8371), Forensic Social Work (Courts), Medical Social Work (Health), Corporate Social Responsibility (Business), and Disaster Risk Reduction (RA 10121).

TRENDS IN PHILIPPINE SOCIAL WORK

  • Developmental Social Welfare: Connecting welfare to social development and structural change.
  • Effective Rural Social Work: Requires independence, versatility, and mastery of community dynamics.
  • Feminist Social Work:
    • First Wave: Suffrage/Legal rights.
    • Second Wave: VAW, reproductive health.
    • Third/Fourth Wave: Intersectionality, SOGIE.
    • Core Principle: "The Personal is Political."
  • Empowerment-Oriented Practice: Power-shared relationships and competency-based assessment.
  • ICT in Social Work:
    • First Wave: Admin/Research.
    • Second Wave: Telecommunications/Decision-enhanced databases.
    • Third Wave: Internet/Social Media.