Social Work Assessment Within Child And Family Field – Importance And Challenges

Works and Responsibilities of Social Workers

Overview of Social Work Practice

Discuss social work assessment within a specific field of social work practice.

Social work is a major career option. Describing the works and responsibilities of social workers is difficult as their works include a various range of work fields. The narrow description might say a social worker helps people to overcome the social and personal challenges they face, yet it does not mention the details of those challenges. People who are drug addicts, living life on or under poverty level, facing psychological or physical health problems, having child and family issues are the ones seeking help from social workers. Social workers improve the standard of the lives of these people by building a support system for them. Social work puts emphasis on social justice to bring a change in the society. The job of social workers can be individualistic where they have to focus on one person and his difficulties. They can also work in institutions such communities, hospitals, schools in order to serve a wider range of people. The social work practice depends on specific process set on a few social work models set upon social work theories. Conducting the process of social work effectively demands certain qualities and skills from the social workers. A thorough understanding of social work and its practice on the field of child and family regarding the skills, theories, and values is needed for the purpose of serving the people efficiently. This essay broadly discusses the skills and processes of carrying out the social works and the concerns around it, the theoretical applications, and the influence of values, beliefs, cultural perspectives, and ideologies in both general and the specific work field with special reference of New Zealand.

Assessment is the first step in the process of resolving any social problem. To this end, relevant data is first systematically collected and reviewed to identify the skills needed to analyse it, and develop an effective response. The analysis is the key to any assessment and the analysis helps in getting the best result. The first step is the assessment under which the professionals maximize their potential and also get a better understanding of the topic. According to Milner, Myers and O’Byrne (2015), the data collection methods reflects the intention of the parties and also takes into consideration both the inter and the intra levels of participation. Emotional and situational factors need to be considered while making the analysis as well as the environmental and the geological factors. These all go into strengthening the factors that make the robust assessment possible. Therefore, to bring a more elaborate as well as clear understanding of the subject, the professionals need to set their goals and study the interventions that make the study more reliable. As discussed by Parker (2017), the data collection method also goes through a serious of changes and therefore it is essential for the professional to document the changes that are being encountered to make a concise and clear assessment. The assessment has to follow a very cogent and systematic approach and they have the liberty of seeking help from individuals, groups, and communities that can put their ideology in place. It will be justified to say that assessment starts as one of the initial phases of any problem-solving situation. Childcare and familycare are important aspects in New Zealand. On this context, there are scopes of development the regarding child protection policies. There are gaps and risks in the practices of social works that need addressing in the policies to protect the interest of the children and their families (Kelsey, 2015). There are certain reasons for assessing the childcare policies in New Zealand. It has been observed that the social workers, who are engaging in this field, are working under pressure and they have to take difficult decisions in adverse environment. Further, the child protection system in New Zealand is experiencing political scrutiny and it is important to understand whether all the policies are effective as the safety of a child depends on it (Gerritsen, Morton, & Wall, 2016). Further, as the discourse in respect of risks relating to child protections have shifted, it is necessary to conduct a correct assessment in this field. Therefore, the purpose of assessment is a crucial step for social workers in comprehending the situation of the individuals, especially in the field of child and family care.

Importance of Assessment in Social Work

A proficient social worker requires the ability to emotionally interact and effectively communicate with people (Koprowska, 2014). Developing positive communications and understanding an individual’s needs necessitates that the social worker follow a specific process of assessment, analysis, diagnosis and treatment. Consequently, social workers must possess a range of psychological, professional, and cognitive skills (Cournoyer, 2016). Assessing the client requires effective hearing and communication. It also requires showing of empathy to earn the client’s trust. If the social worker comprehends the mental and physical condition of the client, they can produce accurate information about the client’s situation that can be effectively communicated to those professionals who have to recommend treatment. The assessment should include a description of the client and the issues they are facing, along with any past behavioural history. Analysing the information acquired and diagnosing the problem and its cause will need the social worker to think creatively and critically as the individuals often are complex and have diverse problems. Applying possible solutions for the treatment is one of the most difficult parts of social work. This requires a high tolerance level and emotional intelligence level of the social worker. The social worker must have patients to go through the treatment process and the procedure to get justice for the clients. In the case of the social workers working on child and family problems, these skills play essential parts. Communicating with a child can be the most challenging task of the social workers. According to Garbarino (2017), the person has to be empathetic, showing emotional side of his to connect with child on an emotional and personal level. Moreover, the conversation should have a supporting and assuring tone (Garbarino, 2017). This is also applicable in the scenario where a social worker is working with a family to preserve their rights and bring them social justice. Self-awareness will always be there among the clients, which will create a barrier between them and the social workers. Garbarino (2017) also states that it is the responsibility of the social workers to respond to them genuinely and with warmth. In the practice of social work, along with information provided by the clients, the workers should also understand by observing the symptoms that what is not being disclosed. According to Cournoyer (2016), in the process of assessment and analysis, both the client’s information and the worker’s critical judgement of the case are vital. Based on the problems faced by the clients, treatment actions are planned. The range of issues among children and family can be manifold, such as health and mental issues, physical abuse, poverty, adoption, education, and more. Some of these problems need clinical help and others require legal action. The practice of social work necessitates the social workers to support and guide the clients through the procedures of recovery. Thus, it is required from the social workers to possess a set of emotional and communication skills to work efficiently in the professional field.

The Need for Emotional and Communication Skills in Social Work

Like any other practices, social work has its own barriers too. These problems regarding the limitations can arise from both the clients and the government. The root of most of the social problems is social inequality and imbalance. Apart from poverty, there are issues such as illness, depression, physical abuse, and drug abuse that occur due to the economic difference within the society. As discussed by Howe (2017), it is the duty of social workers to do advocacy for their clients, which become immensely challenging when many authoritative bodies fail to comprehend the full extension of a social problem. In the practice of social work, the workers face personal problems too. The work of a social worker connects him to individuals on an emotional level. In many cases, the adversities of the families affect the social workers too and make them emotionally exhausted. Mental disorders and drug abuse are two of the most raging social issues in the contemporary world. These clients have the tendency of showing aggressive and violent behaviour towards the social workers (Greene, 2017). According to Parker (2017), in their practices, the social workers have to interview people related to their clients. In many cases, these people refuse to talk or help in any kind. Community resources are also low to provide services like homeless shelter, rehabilitation centre, recovery group meetings for the people in that community. These problems create major complications for the social workers who work with child and family. In this field, the social workers directly reach to their clients and try to get an accurate understanding of the problems (Garbarino, 2017). This field of social work deals with every kind of social problems, which makes it a high demanding work field. As a result, the caseload for the social workers of this field increases and makes it difficult to cope with. Proving a home for neglected, orphan, abused children has started to turn into an arduous responsibility due to the lack of attention of the government on the issue of foster care. The growing rate of child abuse and domestic violence are increasing concerns of the social workers as these two factors have a powerful impact on the children. These are the reasons behind the increment of bullying in schools, violent behaviour, drug addiction and depression among children and youth. Thereafter, while individual or government obligation can restrain the process of social work, the caseload and high demand can make the practice exhausting.

Barriers and Challenges in Social Work Practice

As social work deals with understanding the human mind, there are a few psychological theories to understand human behaviour in the practice of social work. The models of social work practice guide the social workers in the implementation of theories in their practice. The theories explain the issues and the models present possible solutions (Howe, 2017). Social practice models are Task-Centred Practice (TCP), Narrative Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) model (Healy, 2014). While TCP is a direct process of identifying and solving problems of the client (Doel, & Marsh, 2017), Narrative Therapy focuses on improving the condition in which the client is living rather than the problem itself. CBT is a process where the social worker helps the client to identify the self-destructive behaviours and helps them change it (Turner, 2017); and SFBT is way of making the clients figure out the solutions of their own problems by asking question to him. The Psychosocial Theory was developed by Erik Erikson (McLeod, 2013) who in his theory divided human life cycle into eight stages for the development of human psyche. The stages are hope, will, purpose, competency, fidelity, love, care and wisdom; and each stage has separate age range from infancy to maturity (McLeod, 2013). The theory explains a person’s view of himself and their reaction to their environment, which assists social workers understand how to treat a particular patient according to that person’s age. Psychodynamic Theory, developed by Freud, explains the dilemma between the conscious and unconscious forces of the human mind (Guntrip, 2018). This helps the social workers to find the reason behind the behaviour of the clients and provide them proper service. Carl Jung’s Transpersonal Theory is a spiritual as well as psychological theory (Bullis, 2013; Charet, 2015), which talks about developing stronger ego as a person reaches maturity age. Social workers can utilize this theory for the betterment of the client’s behaviour and habit (Greene, 2017). Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory argues that behaviour can be changed by reinforcing it (Zimmerman, 2013). Instead of just theoretical learning, it can be more effective for individuals if it is observed in the surroundings. This theory demonstrates the social workers how to use behavioural models to eliminate bad behaviour and place good behaviour in the clients. The System Theory sees humans as a part of social environment, and thus proposes how factors such as family, friends, condition of home, office and school environment and economic background effect an individual’s actions (Payne, 2015). With the help of this theory, social workers can determine which factors negatively affect the client. Thereby, they are able to develop a better supportive environment for that client. In the discussion of the particular chosen field, it can be said that every child needs a healthy environment to grow in, and the System Theory and Narrative Therapy help a social worker to provide that to the child. The Transpersonal Theory, Social Learning Theory; and the CBT and SFBT model help the individuals to recover from self-destructive habits and behaviours. Psychodynamic Theory along with TCP model brings the required change in family system such as helping a family dealing with poverty. Social workers implement multiple psychological and sociological theories, and models in analysing and assessing the clients’ situations.

The social workers and their clients are human and members of institutions. Thus, they are inclined to have personal, organisational and professional values, beliefs, cultural perspectives, and ideologies. Moreover, each of these biases can also affect a social worker’s assessment of a client. For example, a social worker’s particular ideological perspective can be that they do not agree with the actions of the clients or the theoretical justification behind it. Yet, in compliance with professional ethics, the social workers cannot allow their personal values to influence how they behave towards a client (Levy & Slavin, 2013). On the other hand, ideologies also play a role in the foundation of social policies. Political ideologies influence the government to create policies to satisfy their view on a subject. Cultural perspectives of the social workers provide them a better comprehension of the clients. According to Levy and Slavin (2013), a social worker with better understanding of different cultures has the ability to acknowledge the specific needs of the clients. Cultural perspective of a social worker can influence him on preserving human rights and achieving justice for the people. Every society has, to some extent, people from multiple cultures living among them. The job of a social worker is to rectify the negative discrimination in the society and take actions to detain that. The cultural perspective of the social workers can prevent them from doing fulfilling their responsibility. National Association of Social Workers (“Standards and Indicators for Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice”, 2015) is emphasising on the practice of cultural competence among the social work practice, as it is a necessary characteristic element for the social workers. As the social workers looks after the needs of people and their empowerment, it is crucial that they understand the need without any judgment to their culture in order to do justice to them. The personal, organisational and professional values of a social worker can create conflicts among themselves. In the practice of social work, personal values of the worker may influence his identification of the clients’ problems. An individual also evolves as he gathers more experience and goes through influences. According to Reamer (2013), these experiences and knowledge change his values too, and thus influences differently on his judgements. The organizational values on the other hand, change through time and hence it indicates different perspectives to the situation of the clients. Factors such as political change, economical advances, and cultural change determine the organizational values, and that change influence on the assessment of social work. Professional values are the work ethics and guidelines that the social workers in general have to follow. This formal guideline of social work directs the workers on the purpose and process of social work (Reamer, 2013). A proper guideline will direct the social workers to make accurate assessment of the clients and by that improve the practice. The personal beliefs of the social worker can influence way of assessment. The personal beliefs of social workers include valuing the clients and maintain their dignity. They believe every individual has his own worth and is an important part of the society. Therefore, they assess with compassion and empathy. It can be said that the influence of personal, organizational and professional values, beliefs, cultural perspectives and ideology effect on the social worker’s assessment of the client’s situation and needs.

A theoretical take on the concept of social work will reveal it as a kind of profession where people work for the wellbeing of the society. In social work practice, workers try to understand a human and his surrounding condition that affects him, and based on that observation and information provide social, legal, monetary aid in order to solve his problems (Milner, Myers & O’Byrne 2015). The theories of social work also give the general idea that social work is to provide social justice to individuals and families. The community-based social workers help their communities to function properly. They help to raise funds, create support groups, and communicate with the authorities for monetary help on behalf of the people of their community. According to the definition of social work approved by the IFSW General Meeting and the IASSW General Assembly (“Global Definition of Social Work – International Federation of Social Workers”, 2014) it includes both academic discipline and professional practice in order to increase social influence social change, development and integrity. Social workers job is based on principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversities. With the utilization of the theories of social work and other social sciences, it involves in social welfare and improvement of human life. A better understanding of this definition requires a broader structure such as a national level structure. The practice of social work as a profession is relatively novel in New Zealand (Beddoe & Harington, 2015). Through social policies, the government is trying to bring social change and development in the social condition. The New Zealand government recently shifted from its social welfare approach to social development approach. The ANZASW Social Work Practice Standards (2014) intend to guide the social workers through their practices. According to these standards, with the help of social work theories and frameworks, social workers should help the clients to evaluate themselves and bring the desired changes. According to Payne (2015), it is the social workers’ responsibility to connect the clients with the system in order to provide them resources, services and opportunities to improve their lives. Connecting troubled clients with community can be useful in providing them a supportive system. The standards also direct the social workers to deliver just and effective social services, and promote social development outcomes in order to make environmentally sustainable community. Along with developing and improving policies, social workers should also protest against policies that promote inequality. Therefore, it can be said that the government of New Zealand is developing its theories on social work and improving the condition to make the practice of social work easier.

Social work covers every kind of social issues that an individual, family group, community, or a society might face. The concern of social workers is to provide their clients a support system that helps them to face and overcome their challenges. Social work promotes social welfare and development, and it aims to create a balanced and just society. People, who practises social work has to face challenges from diverse fields, thus social work requires a range of competences and skills, such as effective communication, empathy, creative thinking and more. There are certain theories that are applied in social work to create models of social work processes. Personal ideologies, cultural perspectives and different values have an influence over the assessment of social work practice. With the help of the specific field of child and family, and social work practice in Aotearoa New Zealand, the importance of social work has been emphasised. A clear conclusion can be deduced from the above discussion that social work practice has a higher purpose. It not only focuses on individualistic crises, but also perceives the greater picture where a problem is not personal but social.

References

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