BASIC-CONCEPTS-OF-SOCIAL-WORK.docx

**FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS IN SOCIAL WORK AND** **THEIR INTERRELATIONSHIP** I. **SOCIAL WELFARE** - Everything that men do for the good of society. - An organized concern of all people for all people (Gertrude Wilson). - The organized system of social services and institutions, designed...

**FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS IN SOCIAL WORK AND** **THEIR INTERRELATIONSHIP** I. **SOCIAL WELFARE** - Everything that men do for the good of society. - An organized concern of all people for all people (Gertrude Wilson). - The organized system of social services and institutions, designed to aid individuals and groups to attain satisfying standards of life and health (Walter Friedlander). - Includes those laws, programs, benefits and services which assure or strengthen provisions for meeting social needs recognized as basic to the well-being of the population and the better functioning of the social order (Elizabeth Wickenden). - *organized social arrangement which have as their direct and primary adjective the well-being of people in a social context; includes the broad range of policies and services which are concerned with various aspects of people's lives (International Conference on Social Welfare).* - *Broad range of policies and services which are concerned with various aspects of people's lives -- income, security, health, housing, education, recreation, cultural traditions, etc.* - ***[Ways to respond unmet needs/problems:]*** 1. ***Individual and group efforts*** 2. ***Major societal institutions** which have their designated roles and responsibilities for meeting human needs* 3. ***Social agency*** - ***[Views/Conceptions of Social Welfare:]*** 1. ***Residual*** - *Conceives social welfare structure as temporary, offered during emergency situations and withdrawn when the regular social system-the family and the economic system is working properly.* - *Social welfare activities often carry the [stigma of "doles" or "charity" ]* 2. ***Institutional*** - *Sees social welfare as a proper, legitimate and function of modern society.\ That some individuals are not able to meet all their needs considered a "normal" condition, helping agencies are accepted as "regular" social institutions.* 3. ***Developmental Perspective*** - *a process of planned social change designed to promote the well-being of the population as a whole in conjunction with a dynamic process of economic development.* - ***[Categories of Social Welfare Programs:]*** 1. *Social security* 2. *Personal social services* 3. *Public Assistance* II. **SOCIAL SERVICES** - *programs, services to individuals and families, services to groups, services to people with special problems (handicapped, mentally retarded) as community services.* - **Reasons or motivations for providing social services** 1. ***Humanitarian and Social Justice Goals*** - *rooted in the democratic ideal of social justice and is based in the belief that man has the potential to realize himself, except that physical, social, economic, psychological and other factors sometimes hinder or prevent him from realizing his potential.* 2. ***This Social Control goals*** - *based on the recognition that needy, deprived or disadvantaged group may strike out, individually or collectively, against what they considered to be an alienating or offending society*.*\ * - *Society therefore has to secure itself against the threats to life, property and political stability in the community which are usually presented by those who are deprived of resources and opportunities to achieve a satisfying life.\ Ex: social services to juvenile and adult offenders.* 3. ***Economic Development*** - *places priority on those programs designed to support* - *a nation's system of programs, benefits and services that helps people meet social, economic, educational and health needs that are fundamental to the maintenance of society.* - *the institution of social welfare is society's response to meeting human needs; it encompasses social welfare policy and laws, the social delivery system and several professions.* - *increases in the production of goods and services and other resources that will contribute to economic development.* III. **SOCIAL WORK** - *the profession which is concern with man's adjustment to his environment; a person or a group in relation to a person's social situation, referred to as social functioning which results from the performance from his various social roles in the society. Ex: son, father, husband.* - **The profession which is** **concerned with man\'s adjustment to his environment; a person (or groups) in relation to a person\'s (or their) social situation.** - **The Profession that is practiced independently or as part of a team in many different fields (Lee-Mendoza, 2008).** - a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversities are central to social work.  Underpinned by theories of social work, social sciences, humanities and indigenous knowledge, social work* *engages people and structures to address life challenges and enhance wellbeing. The above definition may be amplified at national and/or regional levels (International Federation of Social Work). - **The profession which is primarily concerned with organized social service activity aimed to facilitate and strengthen basic social relationships and the mutual adjustments between individuals and their social environment for the good of the individual and of society (Republic 4373).** - The primary mission of the social work profession is to "enhance human well­being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty" (NASW, 2008). - This profession is committed to the pursuit of social justice to enhance the quality of life, and the development of individuals, groups, families, and communities to its full potential. IV. **SOCIAL FUNCTIONING: SOCIAL WORK'S FOCUS ON CONCERN** - **Social functioning** in social work is considered as its unique focus and makes it distinct from other helping professions (Horejsi and Shefor 2006:5). - **Social functioning** is defined as a person's ability to accomplish those tasks and activities necessary to meet his or her basic needs (food, shelter and medical care; the ability to protect oneself from harm, finding acceptance, purpose in life\...), perform his or her major social roles (expectations from gender, ethnicity, religion, culture, occupation, and community) as required by a particular subculture of a community. - **[Three (3) Activities to Improve Social Functioning: ]** 1. ***Social care**- refers to those actions and efforts designed to [provide people in need with access to the basics of life] (food, shelter, protection from harm, etc.) and opportunities to meet their psychosocial needs (belonging, acceptance, and comfort in times of distress).* 2. ***Social treatment**- involves actions designed to [modify or correct] an individual's or family's dysfunctional patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior. The primary focus is facilitating change through training, counselling, and other forms of therapy.* 3. ***Social enhancement services**- emphasize the "[growth and development] of clients in a particular area of functioning without a problem having necessarily been identified."* - **[The Threefold Bottom Line Goal of Social Functioning:]** 1. An optimally social functioning person 2. An environment that supports, sustains, and promotes the optimal social functioning of the person 3. Balanced reciprocal interactions between the person and his or her environment. - **[Five Factors of Social Functioning:]** 1. ***Motivation**- what people want and how much they want it;* 2. ***Capacity**- internal resources that people bring to the change process, which include his/her physical, emotional, psychological, or intellectual fitness or mal adaptiveness to deal with and work out possible solutions for his/her problems;* 3. ***Opportunity**- conditions of the environment that invite and support change such as the availability of support groups and other external resources;* 4. ***Service**- professional actions aimed at the motivation, capacity, and opportunity brought by the client, which includes the interventions of the social worker and the social services within and outside of the social agency; and* 5. ***Problem**-* the situation that the client and social worker are addressing. - **The individual as a "BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL", ECONOMIC and SPIRITUAL being** - "The individual is a biopsychosocial being", according to Prof. Lee-Mendoza, means that these are inseparable, interacting forces- biological, psychological and social- that influence human behavior and personality. - **Aspects of a Person that Help Explain the Technical Term** **Social Functioning:** 1. ***Biological aspect*** 2. ***Psychological aspect*** 3. ***Social aspect*** 4. ***Spiritual aspect*** 5. ***Economic aspect*** - ***[The social component includes the following elements:]*** a. ***Societal**- aggregate and social patterns which create the social climate we live in;* b. ***Institutional**-family, government, education, and social services;* c. ***Status**- age, sex, race, and religion;* d. ***Normative**- the forms in which social behaviors are expressed, and the rules that shape these forms;* e. ***Interactive**- t*he type of interaction and perceptions of interactions made between one's self and others that are the basis of behavior. - ***Social Functioning** means the interaction between the individual and his situation or environment* - ***Social Environment** -- a network of overlapping systems of cultures and institutions* - ***Social Situation** -- an impinging segment of the social environment; smaller, more immediate environment that "has meaning for the individual and that is uniquely perceived and interpreted by him, in which he has one or more status -- roles, identities, is a group member and a role performer"* - *[A social situation is considered functional] when it experienced as:* a. *livable and favorable,* b. *supportive and facilitative of well-functioning human beings and of their environing social and ecological system.* - *[A social situation is considered dysfunctional] when it is:* a. *structurally and culturally inadequate or disorganized;* b. *aimless, unfocused, ambiguous, contradictory;* c. *threatening or harmful;* d. *lacks needed resources and opportunities;* e. *presents insurmountable barriers;* f. *stimulates unacceptable stress or impulses;* g. *generates severe interpersonal role and value conflicts* h. *requires performance, knowledge, and skills that beyond an individual's capacity or ability* i. *does not validate identity* - *The social worker's "job assignment" involves "mediating" (Schwartz), or "matching" (Gordon), striking a balance between people's coping ability and situational/environmental demands (Bartlett).* - **[Causes of Social functioning problems might be identified in the following areas:]** 1. **Personal inadequacies or sometimes pathologies** that make it difficult for the individual to cope with the demands of his/her situation or environment; 2. **Environmental inadequacies or if the situation** is such as to be beyond the coping capacities of the individual; and 3. **Inadequacies from both the individual and the environment.** - **Ways to improve/enhance individual's social functionin**g: 1. **Changes directed toward the individual** if personal inadequacies or sometimes pathologies make it difficult for the individual to cope with the demands of his situation or environment. 2. **Change strategies directed toward the environment** if it is the latter that us beset with inadequacies or if the situation is beyond the coping capacities of the individual. 3. **Change strategies directed toward both the individual and the environment.** **Person-in-Environment (PiE) Model in Social Work** - **A central and guiding framework for social work practice. It is based on the belief that an individual can only be understood in the context of their environment (e.g. physical, familial, spiritual, social, political, societal, etc.). Thus, practitioners must consider both the person and the various aspects of their environment in their assessment, planning, and intervention processes. This dual focus on the person and environment has been a distinguishing feature of social work, setting it apart from many other disciplines (Kondrat, 2008).** **Systems Theory** **Systems Theory states behavior is influenced by a result of factors that work together as a system and are interconnected -- each part plays an important role in the function of the whole, and the whole in turn supports and sustains the parts.** - **A person's family, friends, school, work, economic class, home environment, and other factors all influence how a person thinks and acts.** - **A social worker must observe and assess all of the systems a person experiences, as they contribute to their behavior and well-being, and work to strengthen those systems as they are connected and influence one another. This is used to develop a holistic view of individuals within their environment, which is then used to lead to the most appropriate practice intervention.** **Within Systems Theory we will also explore roles (routine tasks and behaviors of people within a system). We all have roles and engage in them whether we recognize it or not. Some examples of roles are leader, caretaker, parent, child, sibling, enabler, scapegoat, citizen, spouse, and worker. Many people feel their roles identify them. This may reinforce behaviors when positive feelings or experiences are associated with the role(s) or maybe a motivator for change when the role(s) are connected to more negative feelings or experiences. Knowing what roles a person is engaged in, and how they perceive each role, will support your work in understanding their experiences and what needs are presenting.** **ECOLOGICAL THEORY** **Ecological Theory focuses on the interaction between the individual and their environment. It discusses the active involvement of people with their environments and development as well as both (environment/development) continuously changing.** **In social work practice, this can best be understood by looking at individuals, families, policies, communities, and cultures and identifying strengths and weaknesses in the transactional processes between the systems.** **Bronfenbrenner believed an individual's development was affected by everything in their surrounding environment and divided the environment into five different levels: the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macrosystem, and the chronosystem.** 1. **The microsystem is the system closest to the individual and the one in which they have direct interactions. Some examples include home, school, or work. A microsystem typically includes family, peers, or caregivers. Relationships in a microsystem are bi-directional, meaning, how you respond and react to the people will affect their response and reaction to you. This is the most influential level within the theory.** 2. **The mesosystem is where a person's individual microsystems are interconnected and influence one another. These interactions have an indirect impact on the individual, which can be positive or negative depending on the elements of the system working together (positive) or working against each other (negative).** 3. **The exosystem refers to a setting in which the person is not an active participant, but still affects them. This includes decisions that affect a person, but they have no decision-making abilities. An example of this would be a child affected by a parent losing a job.** 4. **The macrosystem is the cultural environment in which the person lives and all other systems that affect them such as economy, cultural values, and political systems.** 5. **The chronosystem encompasses transitions and shifts throughout a person's life. It looks at the timing of the event in relation to a person's development, such as how death affects children of different ages. Historical events that occur during a person's life are also explored.** **Tyler, S. (2020, May 26). *The Person in Environment*. Pressbooks. https://uark.pressbooks.pub/hbse1/part/main-body/** **Yesudhas, R. (2015). From Functional to Social Justice Stance: A Review of Social Work Approaches.** **Mendoza, T. (2008). Social Welfare and Social Work. Third Edition. Central Book Supply, Inc.**