Social Work 101

Little is known and said about social workers, the things they do and where they come from. It is fascinating the things you hear doing rounds about what social workers do in society, some may not have encountered one except in the social media. Maybe you have heard about social workers as baby-snatchers, social welfare workers, or someone across the street with no degree or certification but serving people. One is left to wonder, who exactly is a social worker and what do they do, do they have to go to school to be social workers? A few years ago I was clueless about social work and social workers and I understand why there are misconceptions out there because society has trained us to consume what is easily available to us. With just about two years encounter with social work practice, I have come to learn that there’s so much in social work than what meets the eye.

 Recently a friend who is a social work graduate told me that his colleague mentioned that social workers go to school to study common sense issues, I bet the colleague was glad that she let out her thoughts even though my friend did not know how to respond to this and kept his cool. This is just one of the many misconceptions about social work profession that shows that many people are not aware of the academic requirements of social workers. Another scenario I have encountered is where one of our clients at the psychiatric unit asked my supervisor about where the husband would go after the discharge, how he would get there and who would help her make all the arrangements and my supervisor’s response was that, “I will have that taken care of”. The client was very surprised and so she asked my supervisor, “what exactly do you do?” Social work practitioners are normally confronted with similar questions all the time because they are like a jack of all trades in particular areas.

In the USA, social work profession operates under the statues of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) whose mission is to enhance the well-being of people, help meet their basic needs and empower especially the vulnerable, oppressed and poor. The NASW also provides the code of ethics which contains the values, ethical principles, standards and responsibilities of social workers that guide the profession. Social work professional education and standards are monitored by the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE).  I believe that other regions of the world have a particular way in which these structures are organized to ensure that the profession is credible. From these structures one would clearly tell that social work profession is a profession that would not be easily shaken from its base.

To be a social worker one needs a bachelors, masters or doctoral degrees to work in different capacities in the society as well as a license to deal with particular areas of practice for instance the Licensed Clinical Social Worker to provide diagnosis and therapy especially in mental health, substance abuse and dependency, as well as child abuse.  Some of the areas social workers practice are; the infamous child welfare, mental health, abuse and neglect, geriatrics care, policy development, school social work, homeless related issues, public welfare, refugee resettlement, veterans as well as corrections and parole. In all these areas social workers work to meet the needs of the populations they are working with for example;  providing therapy, linkage to resources, employment services, advocacy, interventions, placement and resettlement, service coordination and inter-organizational collaboration, research, and direct provision of  services.  Social workers are expected to know the available resources to meet the numerous needs of their clients.  

Just in case you are wondering whether social work is a prestigious or money laundering profession, think no further. I have been looking out for a news item, in fact just a headline that speaks volumes about the pay as well as the profession to no avail. In a recent article I came across the top seven jobs that are worth investing in and your guess is as good as the truth, social work is not one of them. That does not mean that social workers are not required, it just shows where most people would rather invest i.e. in job that have high returns. There will always be a demand for social workers in any society as long as children are born, people age, mental illness exists, policies need to be made or changed, abuse and neglect is rampant, the borders are still open to people from other countries, and many other issues need the attention of a social worker. Social workers earn just a decent wage but that's not what drives them; they are driven by the passion to serve and their desire for social justice for all.