I believe that Social Work is a growing and developing profession, in which has a contested nature due to the variation of definitions which differs depending on the individual being asked. Personally, I feel that globally, the definition of Social Work is highly generalized, in order to encompass the vasting approaches that many different countries have towards it. Globally, I think Social Work is about promotion of social change, and the importance of the liberation and empowerment of people. I think that by any definition, Social Work has to be defined as a purely practice based profession whereby all knowledge we have of the subject is underpinned by past practice, and our ability to reflect and implement change from this. (International Association of Schools of Social Work and the International Federation of Social Workers (IASSW/ IFSC), 2014)
I think that Social Work is based around Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, whereby physiological (warmth, food, water, rest) and safety needs (i.e. security) provide a basic standard of which Social Work aims to help provide. It is once this has been achieved, that Social Workers then try and help those with psychological needs. (McLeod, 2018) I feel that even globally, basic needs are and must be the first focus of Social Workers.
Social Work within the UK, has only had professional status for the past 18 years when it became protected under The Care Standards Act (2000), meaning that it maintains a high caliber of Social workers. I think that Social Work is about identifying specific needs for the individual or group in question.
I think that Social Work takes on a mainly liberal approach whereby although Social work has been influenced by other ideologies such as Neo-liberalism and Managerialism, works currently off a system whereby man makes his own path in life and is in complete control of his own destiny. Social workers help provide people with the tools and services required in order to encourage individuals.
I think liberalism feeds into the idea that service users are either ‘deserving’ or ‘not-deserving’. This is currently the system in place, which works to support those who hit certain criteria which the deserve the help of social workers. As soon as a service user no longer hits that requirement, the support they did receive simply vanquishes. This is seen through the threshold criteria set out within The Care Act 2014. Before this, the duty of assessment came from it a combination of legislation including The NHS and Community Care Act 1990, Disabled Persons Act 1986, and The Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970. This Threshold system works in tiers whereby it determines whether local authorities have legal duties. (Social Care Institute for Excellence, 2015)
There is much professional framework that pins down what Social Work currently is in the UK. The Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC) is currently the main regulatory body which holds the power to add and remove Social Workers from the register. The HCPC is an independent regulator, which ensures a high standard of practice throughout the UK, and a standard of proficiency that is needed to be met. (Health and Care Professions Council, 2018)
Social work takes many forms within the UK, and includes working with a range of people including adults, older adults, families, and children. It is multi-faceted, and has many dimensions to what is assumed to be a correct answer. Social Work should not be over simplified, and it is wrong to assume that the same model can be applied over and over again which is where I feel that it is failing. Each type of social work requires different approaches suited to the needs and problems of that specific group.
With around 11 million children within the UK, Social work plays an important role in protecting them, with around 2 million classed as ‘vulnerable children’. The definition of vulnerable children being that of under the age of 18, and being considered at risk of harm due to lack of proper care and/or protection. (Longfield, 2018)
When looking at children’s Social Work, it is important to note the key legislation that embeds the standards which Social Workers must adhere too; the Children’s Act 1989. Although the policies have adapted with different governments, in 2005, 5 key outcomes were established. These 5 outcomes being; staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution, economic wellbeing, and being healthy. All areas when working with children and families will be considered, in order to ensure the wellbeing of the child. (HM Treasury, 2003)
When working alongside adults, the way which Social Work runs, differs to that of working with children and families. I think that Social Work alongside adults (18-64) is influenced by Neo-liberalism, in that it is based off an economic set of ideas, whereby profits overpower all else. This can be seen within day to day life through examples such as the rising of tuition fees rising, public transport fees, and paying for prescriptions (for specific people). This influence means that Social Workers working alongside adults, are needed in order to help individuals exercise choice, improve their own quality of life, and help to achieve economic wellbeing.
Working alongside adults can also include older adults. As of July 2017, out of every 1000 people, around 285 of those were aged over 65 and above, which shows a real need for Social workers alongside older adults; specifically, when they account for 60% of social work spending (Randall, 2017). I think the emphasis when working alongside however, is very much focused upon encouraging older adults to be as independent, and self-supporting as possible. Working alongside older adults presents a number of rather different challenges than those presented when working along groups such as families and children. One of the problems with working alongside older adults is the many more medical problems which can arise; on average older adults have 3-4 long long term conditions, which often mean that the ability to care for one’s self can disappear.
The way in which Social Work is defined today, hasn’t always been that way. Even within the past 20 years, definitions have changed and been developed upon as the profession itself grows and changes. However, I think that in the current day, many ‘definitions’ fall more into the realm of a mission statement, of the ideals we wish the profession to have and practice. I think that sometimes the definitions become a vision of what it is we want social work to be in the ideal world, and forget that it does have many failings which do not always promote these ideals that Social Work is supposedly defined as.
I think Social Work doesn’t work that well in the UK, due to the way in which they run. I feel they try and apply the same models over again to situations whereby the model does not fit, and the outcome does not always end up being the most positive.
I think Social Work in the future will be highly dependent on which government is in power and changes within governments themselves. Government so heavily weighs in on the approach in which Social Work takes, with Conservative providing a minimal safety net whereby it leaves people with a greater private life until the point whereby they are in greater need of intervention. However, I see Social Work moving from a crisis reaction approach, to seeing more preventative measures being put in place. I think that the Social Work profession will start to have many more specializations. For example, we will see the role of Social Workers move into education, whereby they work within academic settings which is the main form of contact with a child outside of the home environment. It is within academic settings that children can be monitored in terms of behavior, and early signs can be identified.