Social Welfare
SOCIAL WELFARE AND SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
Social work, as a profession, originated in the 19th century in England. The initial challenge was to identify the decisive role of social work: Advocacy or reaching out with social needs of individuals. This essay attempts to focus on the contemporary role and functions of the social work in its aspects of diversity, complexity and variety of setting especially in the 21st century. It critically evaluates the way social welfare system is being delivered, the ideology behind the change of policies, and how the changes have influenced social welfare in the UK. The main objective is to discuss the issues and challenges relating to the role of the social worker and to value the significance of the development in social work. Function of Social work in the UK and the Role of a Social Worker
An attempt to explore the role and function of the social worker should address one fundamental question – ‘What is social work?’ Apart from some established ideas of a social work, it is also significant to ask, ‘What is it that represents social work?’, ‘What skills and expertise are expected of social workers?’, ‘What training and education is appropriate/ adequate for social workers?’, and ‘What are the roles of the social worker that might set them apart from other professions?’ Cree V., finds it almost impossible to find a simple definition of social work with which everyone is likely to agree. (Cree, 2003, p.3). Beresford and Croft capture the fluidity of the function and scope of social work. They say, “All the signs are that the roles and tasks of social work have not been and are still not well known to the public or to service users. Studies of public and service user understandings from the 1980s and 2000s both provide evidence to this effect” (Beresford, Adshead and Croft, 2007). As they continue to explicate the reason for this flexibility, they note disengagement between producers of definitions and the users
Social work, as a profession, originated in the 19th century in England. The initial challenge was to identify the decisive role of social work: Advocacy or reaching out with social needs of individuals. This essay attempts to focus on the contemporary role and functions of the social work in its aspects of diversity, complexity and variety of setting especially in the 21st century. It critically evaluates the way social welfare system is being delivered, the ideology behind the change of policies, and how the changes have influenced social welfare in the UK. The main objective is to discuss the issues and challenges relating to the role of the social worker and to value the significance of the development in social work. Function of Social work in the UK and the Role of a Social Worker
An attempt to explore the role and function of the social worker should address one fundamental question – ‘What is social work?’ Apart from some established ideas of a social work, it is also significant to ask, ‘What is it that represents social work?’, ‘What skills and expertise are expected of social workers?’, ‘What training and education is appropriate/ adequate for social workers?’, and ‘What are the roles of the social worker that might set them apart from other professions?’ Cree V., finds it almost impossible to find a simple definition of social work with which everyone is likely to agree. (Cree, 2003, p.3). Beresford and Croft capture the fluidity of the function and scope of social work. They say, “All the signs are that the roles and tasks of social work have not been and are still not well known to the public or to service users. Studies of public and service user understandings from the 1980s and 2000s both provide evidence to this effect” (Beresford, Adshead and Croft, 2007). As they continue to explicate the reason for this flexibility, they note disengagement between producers of definitions and the users
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