04 Jan Historical Divides and Ethical Obligations Within Social Work response to 2 colleaques

                                              SOCIAL WORK 

              SOCW – 6361 Social Policy: Analysis and Advocacy

 

Discussion 2: Historical Divides and Ethical Obligations Within Social Work response to 2 colleaques

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) specifies the ethics and values of the profession in their Code of Ethics. Section 6.04 of the Code of Ethics (1999) states:

Social workers should engage in social and political action that seeks to ensure that all people have equal access to the resources, employment, services, and opportunities they require to meet their basic human needs and to develop fully. Social workers should be aware of the impact of the political arena on practice and should advocate for changes in policy and legislation to improve social conditions in order to meet basic human needs and promote social justice.(Preamble, p. 8)

With the requirement of social and political action among social workers, there is little political activity among clinical social workers. Why? What barriers exist that prevent social workers from fulfilling this ethical obligation?

What does it mean to be a macro social worker? A micro social worker? Do these differentiations have any real meaning? If not, why is this language used when referring to the social work profession?

In this Discussion, you will look at the obligation of social workers to engage in political action in their practice and discuss why there appear to be different perceptions of the responsibility for political action among social work professionals.

Respond by Day 6  ( Note!!! PLEASE WRITE OUT EACH QUESTION BEFORE PROVIDING A RESPONSE. “Please I need an excellent paper”

 

to a colleague (see below) with a suggestion of how to address these schisms, both historical situations and current but yet unidentified ones. Does social action need to be separate from social work practice?.

 

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the resources and the current literature using appropriate APA format and style.

Be sure to support your responses with specific references to the resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full APA-formatted citations for your references both within the text and on the referencing section.  PLEASE ALWAYS INCLUDE THE REQIRED TEXTBOOK as part of the references and if possible some of the REQUIRED READING if applicable. Please always start by referring to THE TEXTBOOK, below  REQUIRED

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK

Becoming Effective Policy Advocate 8TH 18

Author: Jansson, Bruce S.

ISBN-13: 978-1-305-94335-3

ISBN-10: 1-305-94335-X

Edition/Copyright: 8TH 18

Publisher: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co.

 

Learning Resources

Required Readings

 

SOCW 6361 Webliography

These websites will be required throughout the semester. Become familiar with these websites, especially when doing research for your assignments.

 

Jansson, B. S. (2018). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice. (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Series.

• Chapter 1, “Joining a Tradition of Social Reform” (pp. 3–31)

 

Community Toolbox. (2016). Chapter 5 Section 1: Strategies for community change and improvement: An overview. Retrieved from http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/assessment/promotion-strategies/overview/main

 

Gutiérrez, L. M., & Gant, L. M. (2018). Community practice in social work: Reflections on its first century and directions for the future. Social Service Review, 92(4), 617–646.

Hill, K. M., Ferguson, S. M., & Erickson, C. (2010). Sustaining and strengthening a macro identity: The association of macro practice social work. Journal of Community Practice, 18(4), 513–527

 

Required Media

 

TEDx Talks. (2015, July 15). Inspiring change through community organizing: Dara Frimmer [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DtILpmsCcA&t=8s

 

Optional Resources

 

MSW home page

Use this link to access the MSW home page, which provides resources for your social work program.

 

Shakeema Mapp 

RE: Discussion 2 – Week 1

COLLAPSE

Post an analysis of historical divides (such as the schism between Jane Addams and Mary Richmond) and historical influences on current social work practice with respect to policy advocacy and action. Do such schisms exist in contemporary social work?

In the National Association of Social Workers, the preamble states that the primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people (National Association of Social Workers., 2017). Also, in most social service agencies, social work practitioners focus on the individual client problems more so than the bigger issues in society (Jacobson, W., 2001). The social work field has been a divided into different levels of social work practice. Among those different practices consist of micro, mezzo, and macro levels. Micro social work is a practice of working directly with an individual, and or family (Hill et al., 2010). Mezzo social work is the level right between micro and macro where the practitioner works directly with a small group (Hill et al., 2010). Macro social work is targeted at large systems in society where the social worker works on making improvements and or changes (Hill et al., 2010).

Jane Addams views focused primarily on social reform and political action. She was a social reformer and activist (Michals, D., 2017). She was involved in creating the Hull House, which was in the United States of America, the first settlement house. Whereas Mary Richmond’s primary focus was on the micro level of social work, such as individual case work. Richmond was the director of the Charity Organizational Department of the Russell Sage Foundation (Social Welfare History Project, 2011). She dedicated her practice to ensuring low-income families were receiving appropriate services. Richmond’s studies included findings for the causes of poverty and social exclusion in the interaction between an individual and their environment. Addams’s views were primarily towards advocating on behalf of vulnerable populations.

The schisms between Addams and Richmond are prevalent in contemporary social work. They prevent social workers from fulfilling their ethical obligations as some social workers are focused on advocation on behalf of their clients and vulnerable populations whereas many others focus on the environmental factors that contribute to the challenges in their clients lives

If you think these divides exist, how do they prevent social workers from fulfilling their ethical obligation(s)? Are they important differentiations?

Due to the divide in the social work field, a social worker’s ethical obligations often are not met. The NASW Ethical Standard, 6.01 Social Welfare, mentions that social work practitioners should promote the general welfare of society from local to global levels and the development of people, their communities, and their environment (National Association of Social Workers., 2017). In addition, the NASW also mentions that social works focuses on the individual well-being in a social context and the well-being of society (National Association of Social Workers., 2017). Since there is a higher demand and interest in individual, micro-level social work, practitioners are leaning away from the mezzo/macro levels of practice. This causes a lack in advocacy and involvement in positive improvements and change for mezzo/macro population. Personally, I feel that when mezzo/macro levels are receiving assistance, there are individuals who still do not meet the criteria for assistance. For example, an individual receives only social security in which they could barely pay bills may not be approved SNAP benefits due to their income. I feel that these individuals will need direct assistance rather than through group or society support to maintain a stable lifestyle.

 

References

Hill, K., Ferguson, S., & Erickson, C. (2010). Sustaining and Strengthening a Macro Identity: The Association of Macro Practice Social Work. Journal of Community Practice, 18(4), 513– 527. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705422.2010.519684

Jacobson, W. (2001). Beyond Therapy: Bringing Social Work Back to Human Services Reform.

Social Work, 46(1), 51–61. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/46.1.51

Michals, D. (2017). Jane Addams. Retrieved from https://www.womenshistory.org/education[1]resources/biographies/jane-addams

National Association of Social Workers. (2017). Code of ethics. Retrieved from https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

Social Welfare History Project (2011). Mary Ellen Richmond (1861-1928) – Social work pioneer, administrator, researcher, and author. Social Welfare History Project. Retrieved from http://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/social-work/richmond-mary/

 

 

 

2 days ago

 Tyler Johnson 

RE: Discussion 2 – Week 1

COLLAPSE

 

 

Jane Addams advocated social action, believing that social conditions were the primary causal factor behind welfare concerns (Smith, n.d.).  Mary Richmond supported the rehabilitation of the individual (Smith, n.d.).  The debate between Richmond and Addams illustrated the polarization of the individual and the environment (Smith, n.d.).  Mary Richmond believed that social work could be a profession if the criteria were narrowed to deal strictly with individual casework (Smith, n.d.).  Group work and community work were eventually included as social work methods, but social action was almost always overshadowed by casework (Smith, n.d.).  Social workers advocate for the vulnerable population to help empower and develop creative solutions for overcoming barriers they encounter and provide them with social policies that allow them to obtain resources, housing, and services from different government and private sectors (Jansson, 2018).  By seeking to change social policies that impact vulnerable populations, policy advocates change existing rules, policies, and budgets (Jansson, 2018).  Policy advocacy has considerably improved the well-being of millions of Americans (Jansson, 2018).  Policy advocates aim to change social policies (Jansson, 2018).  The NASW Code of Ethics has made a positive impact on social work practice.  It requires social workers to engage in political and social action (Jansson, 2018).  It states how social workers should engage in social and political activity, act to expand choice and opportunity, promote conditions that encourage respect for cultural and social diversity, and act to prevent and eliminate domination (Jansson, 2018).

 

 

Schisms exist in contemporary social work because vulnerable populations experience discrimination and prejudice (Jansson, 2018).  These populations include racial groups, sociological groups, dependent groups, nonconformist groups, model groups, and economic groups (Jansson, 2018).  Nonconformist groups are subjected to discrimination because they are widely viewed as violating important social norms (Jansson, 2018).  Model groups are denied resources and services because many Americans believe they have no social issues (Jansson, 2018).  Social workers risk ignoring many of these groups’ social and economic needs if they limit themselves to the knowledge of their cultures and perspectives (Jansson, 2018).  The schisms in social work practice today prevent social workers from fulfilling their ethical obligation when they are set in their cultural ways and if they do not follow the set of standards created for them in the NASW.  These schisms are essential in social work because they can prevent specific individuals and groups of people from receiving the proper help and service that they need.  Social workers will come across many different groups of people they would not want to serve, but they must follow the NASW Code of Ethics.   

References:

Jansson, B. S. (2018). Becoming an Effective Policy Advocate: From Policy Practice to Social Justice (8 ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Series.

 

 

Smith, L. (n.d.). A Futurist’s Reflections of Social Work’s Systems Model Success. University of Calgary.