Social Welfare

• Commission is the intentional act of harm toward a child, including physical, sexual, or psychological abuse
• Examples of abuse include physical abuse, sexual abuse, and psychological abuse
• Omission refers to the failure to protect a child from harm, such as physical, emotional, medical, dental, educational, inadequate supervision, or exposure to a violent environment
• Three different levels of social workers:

  • MICRO aims to create individual change
  • Mezzo aims to create formal groups like families or substance abuse programs
  • Macro aims to create change in systemic issues such as laws affecting communities or groups
• Untrained social workers occupy jobs classified as social work without any social work training, often in lower-level positions not recognized by the profession
• BSW social workers have a Bachelor of Social Work degree and are experts in utilizing generalist social work practice methods
• MSW social workers have a master's degree in social work and specialize in direct practice with individuals, families, and small groups or in administration, policy, community work, or social planning
• Licensed social workers include:

  • LBSW (Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker) requiring a BSW degree and passing a licensing exam
  • LSW (Licensed Social Worker) requiring an MSW degree and passing an advanced licensing exam
  • LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) requiring an MSW, supervised clinical experience, and passing an advanced licensing exam
• Social workers have a special interest in helping the poor and are involved in governmental assistance programs to address poverty-related issues
• Identify the six Social Work NASW Core values:

  • Service
  • Social Justice
  • Dignity and Worth of a person
  • Importance of Human Relationships
  • Integrity
• Social workers should be alert to and avoid conflicts of interest that interfere with professional discretion and impartial judgment
• Social workers should avoid communication with clients using technology for personal or non-work-related purposes to maintain professionalism and protect clients' interests
• Career of a typical social worker:

  • Brenda Barstow had a 40-year social work career
  • Started as a volunteer at Children's Hospital
  • Became a child welfare worker for the state
  • Specialized in casework with a mental health focus
  • Worked as a clinical social worker providing psychotherapy and aftercare services
• Different levels/types of social workers:

  • Child welfare worker for the state
  • Clinical social worker (psychiatric social worker)
• Perspective that differentiates social work practice:

  • Social workers focus on the psychosocial needs of patients
  • Social workers help with tasks like family planning, counseling, and assessing family environments
  • Doctors focus on diagnosing and treating illnesses and injuries
• Reasons statistics on social workers' earnings are often inaccurate:

  • Social workers have varying levels of education and experience
  • Earnings can depend on the specific field of social work and location
• Reason social work and its concerns cannot be entirely explained using a social scientific approach:

  • Social work involves complex human interactions and emotions
  • Social work requires a combination of practical skills and empathy
• Brenda Barstow worked with the local bar association to create a group of volunteer lawyers to represent clients who had been cheated
• One case involved a man who convinced a client to take out a loan with a balloon payment at the end, leading to the loss of the client's property
• Volunteer attorneys were able to force the loan company to return the property and forgive the balance of the loan
• Brenda Barstow worked with the United Way family services agency to hire Certified Financial Counselors for clients before entering into financial arrangements
• The financial counseling program grew into a financial literacy program aiming to eliminate predatory lending in the community
• Brenda Barstow became the director of the child welfare program after her community advocacy program ended
• She requested time off and tuition support to attend a school of social work for a certificate in administration before taking the child welfare director job
• Brenda Barstow worked in child welfare for two years, focusing on administration, but found it was not her preferred role
• She transitioned back to direct practice by joining a counseling office with other practitioners, providing individual and family counseling for nine years
• Brenda Barstow then worked with the Poverty Law Center as a director of community outreach, focusing on advocating for the poor and exploited
• She worked on various initiatives such as providing daycare for high school students, organizing rent strikes, and demanding better services for foster children
• Different levels of social workers include untrained social workers, BSW social workers, MSW social workers, and licensed social workers with varying degrees and certifications
• Social work practice included LCSWs, a clinical psychologist, and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
• Practice could have included a Licensed Professional Counselor and had a close relationship with a psychiatrist
• Practice focused on individual and group counseling/psychotherapy using short-term modalities like cognitive behavioral therapy and solution focused therapy
• Social work's unique contribution is the person-in-environment (PIE) perspective
• Social workers specialize in fields of practice such as families and children, crime and criminal justice, health care, mental health and development disabilities, housing, homelessness, and aging
• Social work has a special interest in poverty and its relation to various social problems
• Social work is a value-based profession with a focus on social science
• Social work is a viable career with various salary ranges depending on the position and qualifications