Week 6 Discipline and Ideas in the Applied Social  Demonstrate

 Serve others
Sciences
THE CLIENTS OF SOCIAL WORKERS
SOCIAL WORKERS: WHO ARE THEY? Social workers deal with individuals, groups or organizations, and
Social work is mandated to promote the welfare and well – being of a communities. They all face different conditions, and a social worker must help
society. Social workers help individuals, groups, families, organizations, and them adapt to these circumstances.
communities function more productively, and provide them with favourable Individual Clients. Are usually those who are handicapped in their
societal conditions so as to achieve their goals (Zastrow, 1996). financial, personal, or social handicapped in their financial, personal, or social
More specifically, social workers, according to Gibelman (1995): relationships. They are people experiencing distress and physical or mental
1. Empower people to develop and to optimize their potential to health issues. Clients can also include academically – delinquent students,
solve and cope with problems. abused children, and street children, the elderly, and indigent patients who need
2. Make available to people the resources and services in an effective medical assistance.
and human manner Groups or organizations may refer to families experiencing calamities
3. Link people with systems that provide them with resources, and difficult circumstances. They can also include groups or organizations of
services and opportunities migrant workers, impoverished families, persons left in the care of foster homes.
4. Contribute to the development and improvement of social policy Groups may also refer to senior citizens who need help in making the most out of
Since social work is considered to be the only profession that has the their retirement.
responsibility and mandate to provide social services, practitioners should be Communities. These include informal settlers who migrated from other
rigorously trained and must acquire the expertise needed to provide the necessary areas and facing unemployment and other problems in the city as wells as
services to their clients. communities devastated by natural calamities like typhoons and earthquakes.
Community clients can also include indigenous people like Aetas in Tarlac or
CLIENTELE and AUDIENCE of SOCIAL WORK those displace by mining operations in some parts of the country.
Client versus Applicant
A client according to Gambrill (1997), is someone who makes an explicit NEEDS OF VARIOUS TYPES OF CLIENTELE AND AUDIENCES OF
agreement with a social worker about the purpose of their work together. Some SOCIAL WORKS
clients start off as applicants, or those who need help but may not necessarily The needs are generally that of wanting to be empowered, to be socially
seek it; thus, these applicants are not entering into any agreement with the social included by way of insuring that one receives what is legally due him/her and
worker to solve the issue. The social worker and the client must be a good match, that one receives the necessary care he/she deserves. Some people need their
so that the two could find solution to the problem at hand. This also because the right respected, some need justice, and others need social welfare help to put
social worker and the client influence each other, the process will become more them on their feet.
effective if they both recognize that they need help from each other. The goals of
the client and the social worker, as shown in table below, should also be SETTINGS IN SOCIAL WORK
compatible. The broad scope of social work enables its practitioners to thrive in a wide
Client’s Goal variety of settings. Social workers are found in the following:
 Obtain help with problems Government. We find social workers in the different branches of
 Preserve self – respect government, both at the national and local levels. For instance, they work at the
 Limit invasions of privacy Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the executive
 Satisfy needs for dependence and nurturance department primarily responsible for upholding the social welfare of Filipinos.
 Seek assurance that nothing is wrong Here are some of the department’s numerous projects where social workers help
Social Worker’s Goals in implementing;
 Establish and maintain area of expertise  Pantawid Pamilya Program
 Use expertise  Adoption and Foster Care Program
 Make money  Supplemental Feeding Program
  Gender and development programs Community. Social workers usually serve marginalized communities
Social workers also take part in the International Social Welfare Services such as informal settlers and indigenous people. They work as community
for Filipino Nationals program for the DSWD, which help Filipinos going organizers and development specialists in these communities.
through crises. Social workers also work in the following;
 Philippine General Hospital – they help accommodate indigent SERVICES, PROCESSES, AND METHODS IN SOCIAL WORK
patients and make sure that they will be served. Social workers engage in various endeavours including case work. Social
 Philippine Red Cross – they are involved in relief and rescue group work, community welfare organizations, social research, and social
operations in times of crisis. actions. In pursuing these endeavors, they perform different activities and
 National Penitentiary and the Bureau of Corrections – they provide employ various methods to serve their clients.
counseling services to prisoners, train them to become useful members of society Case Work - In case work, social workers primarily deal with individuals
once they are released. who struggle in adjusting to life situations and are in need of outside support
 Philippine Charity Sweepstake Office – social workers evaluate (Stroup, 1960). These include victims of bullying, homeless people, and run
financial assistance requests for medical purpose. away. A social worker helps them achieve full recovery toward becoming
productive members of society
Private Sectors. In private organizations, social workers often serve as Social Group Work - Like case work, social group work is concerned
human resource development officers who facilitate health and wellness with the development of better human relations (Stroup 1960); however, it is a
programs that help employees maintain their work – life balance. Social workers particularly focused on group experience. Social group work helps clients
assist business in building relationships with local communities, by promoting develop more socially acceptable and desirable behavior. Grace Coyle defines
corporate social responsibility. Social workers are also hired by private hospitals, group work as a voluntary activity involving shared experiences among the
medical centers, and rehabilitation centers to help patients obtain medical members of a group and aimed at bringing about the growth of its members
assistance and provide continual support with their particular medical issues. (Coyle, 1939 in Witmer, 1942). Group work also aims to foster greater
Here are some private sectors that hires social workers: camaraderie among individuals and members of a community.
 Motorola  GMA  3M  ABS - CBN  Google  San Miguel Community Welfare Organization - Community welfare organization
Corporation focuses on the establishment of relationship between two or more groups to
improve the community. This social work service is an aspect of community
Civil Society encompasses organizations and groups including non – organization, which involves public and private agencies in developing the
governmental organizations (NGOs), charity groups, faith –based and religious community and empowering its people.
groups, labor unions, and community organizations. Social workers are Social Research - Social workers undertake research when they perform
employed by civil society organizations to help deliver social welfare services to case work, group work, and community welfare organization. They use their
marginalized communities. They participate in relief and rescue operations findings to better understand their clients and improve their services. Social
during times of crisis, facilitate psychological debriefing sessions for victim of research is done using both qualitative and quantitative methods as well as tools
disasters, so they can go back to their normal lives. Here are example of non – and methods from other social sciences such as psychology, sociology, and
governmental organizations: anthropology.
Social Action - This is the concrete action taken by social workers to gain
 Ayala Foundation  Health Action Information Network  Caritas
support for their advocacies from mass media, policymakers, and government
Manila  Philippine Business for Social Progress  Gawad Kalinga  ABS –CBN
officials. A concrete example of social action is lobbying for the passage of a
Foundation
proposed bill to become a law.
At the end of the lesson we learned that.
Schools. Both public and private schools employ social workers who
work as teachers or professors, researchers, or administrators. Other are  Social workers serve individuals, groups, and communities. They help
employed as guidance counselors who help address mental health concerns, clients adapt to the circumstances that they are facing.
behavioural problems, and academic delinquency issues. Social workers also  Social workers are found in a variety of settings, including the
help students get a head start in career planning. government, private sector, civil society, schools, and the community.
  Social work involves various types of services, processes, and methods
such as case work, social group work, community welfare organization, social
research, and social action.