Category: Social Work

Abstract

This paper presents a firm argument in support of the Littlejohns and Thompson’s assertion that those interventions that take in account and are founded up on the available community capacities are likely to realize the kind of change desired unlike those based up on the traditional top-down approach to community development.

It addresses concepts such as self-determination, self-reliance, resilience, empowerment and socio-ecological perspective in the context of this assertion. It supports their assertion on the basis of the multi-sectoral nature of community development and capacity building in human services.

Introduction

Development is a multi-faceted human phenomenon that requires participation and input of every individual member and various communal groups like youth groups, women groups, charity groups and others.

Development in this task will be understood as positive progress made in different spheres of human life intended to raise the living standards of all members of the society regardless of their social status, race, gender, and religion, ethnic and political affiliation Somerville (2011,p.120).

It is important to note that different communities have and have had at different times unique and diverse development needs. Meaning that what is urgent in one particular region within the same country may not be a priority in another region. Consequently, development experts have put forward different approaches to community development.

The top-bottom and bottom-up approaches to community development have been in application by many communities for a considerable period of time both in the developed world as well as in the developing countries Somerville (2011, p.121).

However, proliferation and acceptance of values and ideals of liberal democracy have caused a shift to support and adoption of bottom-up, side in and third sectors approach to community development Somerville (2011, p.120).

This change of approach to community development in many societies emanated from experience and studies that found out that the top-down approach was to a large extent an impediment to an inclusive development because majority of the masses for which development is sought are locked out from taking part in development decision making process Somerville (2011, p.121).

It is worth noting that bottom-up development approach is largely informed by the principle of popular participation which is a core value of liberal democracy which many societies have been embracing in the recent past following the demise of Cold war from which capitalism and its political values reaffirmed its dominance as the ideology of the day courtesy of the Western countries led by the United States.

Somerville (2011, p.121) explains that the concept of free enterprise shows the ideas behind bottom-up community development, that is, the belief that people should be at liberty to develop socioeconomically as they wish through free trade and exchange.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss Littlejohns and Thompson’s assertion that interventions which considers and are founded up on available community capacities are bound to be more successful in bringing the kind of change wanted than those designed in an exclusively traditional top-down method.

Top-Down Approach Vs Bottom-Up Approach

As already noted above sustainable community development is a complicated process that has motivated different approaches to its management Purvis and Grainger (2004, p.140). Top-down and bottom-up are the most common and oldest approaches that various communities have used in their endeavor to attain meaningful and sustainable social-economic well being.

Top-down approach refers to community development that is determined and directed from the top by the government in conjunction with other powerful organizations, while bottom-up approach refers to independent, self-directed community development or simply a situation whereby development is governed and directed by members of community themselves (Somerville 2011, p.121; Larrison 2002, p. 56).

Therefore, top-down community development is carried out by the government to the community while in bottom-up community development is carried out by the community itself.

Pike et al. (2006,p.30) notes that in traditional top-down community development resolutions on where to implement development plans is usually taken by national –central government policymakers and developers without knowledge, approval and involvement of community members.

On the other hand, in bottom-up approach proposal for development strategies is made at the communal level by community members and therefore enjoys a strong communal support Pike et al. (2006, p. 30). Bottom-up methods endorse promotion of development in all territories through mobilization of the socio-economical capacities and competitive advantages of every locality and region.

So that in top-down approach community development is directed by the government while in bottom-up approach it is decentralized or in some countries devolved with a vertical collaboration between different levels of government and horizontal collaboration between public and private bodies Pike et al. (2006, p. 31).

Pike et al. (2006,p.31) argues that top-down community development largely assumes a single sectoral approach while bottom-up community development is multi-sectoral or territorial in approach to development and largely dependent on locality or environment endowment of a region.

Top-down development promotes development of large industrial projects that are expected in reciprocal to stimulate and support other socio-economic activities whereas bottom-up community development fosters use of development capabilities and potential of each area, so as to encourage a developmental adjustment of the local or regional economic system to the changing economic milieu Pike et al (2006,p.32).

In traditional top-down community development monetary and fiscal support, incentives and subsidies acts as the major factors of stimulating socio-economic activities while in bottom-up community development the community itself provides stimulants and key conditions for the progress of socio-economic activities Pike et al. (2006,p.32).

Boosting acquisition of skills, know-how and abilities of people and communities, especially in developing communities is a core feature of bottom-up community development. The intention is normally to help the poor defeat causes of their omission from actively and meaningfully taking part in socio-economic activities and misery.

The major principle of bottom-up approach is that development planning is done by the population itself through their own institutions. It lays emphasis on available capacities via institutional building, consensus and harmonization and offering new services. This is what is called capacity building or community building in development affairs Somerville (2011, p. 198).

Capacity building in human services

Even though a considerable number of development managers, policymakers and scholars support the traditional top-bottom community development owing to their socio-economic, political and ideological backgrounds, practical experiences have shown that bottom-up community development is more effective in delivering inclusive community development services and programs that offer the majority improved living standards.

In my view I do agree with Littlejohns and Thompson’s assertion that interventions that consider and are founded up on available community capacities are more effective with respect to social work and capacity building in human services.

For instance, Somerville (2011, p.121) argues that top-down approaches to community development lead to a number of problems for communities while bottom-up approaches are relatively different and more effective in addressing community development needs and responding to provision of social services.

Community development needs whether economic or those related to availability, affordability and accessibility of human services like health care, education, housing, leisure, recreational facilities as well as heritage all which add value to the socio-economic well being of the community are naturally unique in a given way to the locality or region in question Gboku and Lekoko (2007, p. 26).

However, different localities and regions always share a lot in terms of development needs because need for accessible clean water, good health care services and quality education, for instance, is universal. Certain factors however like geographical, demographic, and cultural features bring in uniqueness of those needs, especially in respect to approach.

And since provision of and for these services is largely dependent on availability of resources (financial and non-financial), emphasis on optimal utilization of the locally available resources is likely to make easier provision of human services Gboku and Lekoko (2007, p. 26).

Basing capacity building in human services on existing local and regional capacities enables stakeholders to deal with problems associated to policies and methods of development while taking into account capabilities, limits and development needs of the communities in question Gboku and Lekoko (2007, p. 26).

Once the capabilities, limits and development needs of the communities have been identified through active involvement of the community members, stakeholders find it easier to deal with pillars of community development, that is, social capital, socio-ecological considerations, resilience, self-reliance, empowerment, self-determination and strengths perspective Pike et al. (2006, p.32).

This fact is anchored on the premise that bottom-up community development is multi-sectoral in approach.

Unlike the top-down approach where development is done to the community by the government, which of course have its own limitations, bottom-up community development involves a combination of energies by various stakeholders including community members as individuals and groups, scholars, local authorities, ministries, non-governmental organizations, professionals among others.

Through this arrangement each group is enable to play its development roles to the best of their abilities. For example, the government and other powerful organizations provides economic infrastructure like roads, schools and hospitals, while local authorities concentrates on its role of maintaining the facilities provided.

The community provides the needed social and human capital as well as financial capital through taxes and levies on their communal income-generating activities Pike et al. (2006, p. 32).

Self-determination, Self-reliance and Empowerment

Involvement of the community members fosters self-determination and self-reliance of the members in development processes. Phillips and Pittman (2009, p. 52) argue that bottom-up community development ensures that residents of a locality or region feel that they are part of the development programs and activities initiated by insiders or outsiders of goodwill like charity groups and Non-Governmental Organizations.

In other words, they feel that they are involved in determining what is most urgent to them as opposed to the traditional top-down approach through which development programs are imposed upon the community some of which may not be of need or urgent. In other words, community members are offered an opportunity to prioritize their development needs.

That feeling of involvement and ownership of the development programs encourages communal support towards development initiatives by authorities and other organizations like NGOs Phillips and Pittman (2009, p. 52).

On the contrary, interventions that do not involve community members may be seen as a scheme to exploit their resources and capacities and thus lack their support and eventually fail to bring about kind of change its initiators intended to bring.

This involvement enables community members to identify what they feel is critical in facilitating their self-reliance, which most individuals and communities seek instead of depending on others whose help usually comes with strings attached.

OECD (1997, p.152) points out that participatory approach to community development needs enables community members to define activities which are important to them thereby increasing their self-reliance.

For example, an intervention that seeks to support health care services where herbal medicine is still in use can identify successful herbalists and support them financially to enable them carry out their activities more professionally than dissuading community members from taking herbal medicine in favor of their conventional medicine.

Extension of such support to community developers is likely to make the community to see conventional medicine introduced by other initiators as complementary to their traditional herbs not a threat to their cultural values. In a nut shell, any intervention that is seen by community members as a threat to their accepted way of life is likely to ignite opposition however good it could have been.

This fact calls for resilience and a deep understanding of the community’s cultural, political, economic and social aspects and needs on the part of the those engaged in community capacity building otherwise known capacity building organizers (Phillips & Pittman 2009, p. 52).

Social Capital and Its Relation to Community Development

Mattessich (cited in Phillips & Pittman, 2009, p. 49; Leonard & Onyx 2004, p. 56) explains that social capital or capability lies at the centre of community development. Mattessich defines social capital as interconnections or social networks among people. Mattessich asserts that those social networks are currently recognized at the individual level and community level. Social capital offers value to individuals as well as communities.

He argues that community development includes to a large extent building social capital because levels of social capacity of a given community influences the way development of a community goes forward and the speed at which its development efforts take place.

With respect to capacity building in human services social capital enables individuals through social networks to access services which would have otherwise been elusive to access individually. In turn individual participation or membership in those social networks benefits other members of the society and by extension the community (Phillips & Pittman 2009, p.49).

So that interventions that focus on improving human services and social work of a given community are likely to be more successful through intensified development of social capital among individuals. Interventions that take this fact into consideration are likely to realize their desired change faster than those that do not invest efforts in strengthening social networks.

This argument is anchored on the fact that through social connections individuals are able to put together ideas on how best they can improve their living conditions. They are also able to identify their strengths and weaknesses. This enables them to improve on their weaknesses and polish their strengths for a better life.

Social capital facilitates harmonization or coordination of initiatives in capacity building with respect to social work and human services. In practice, people and communities that have meaningful social networks are easier to work with as far as improvement of their human services is concerned. Therefore, Social capital and individual and community empowerment are closely related (Phillips & Pittman 2009, p.49)

Resilience and Socio-ecological Perspective Capacity building in Human Services

Community development needs are non-static. They keep on changing as result of environmental, political, socio-economic and cultural alterations. Consequently, flexibility on the part of the policies made in respect to capacity building in human services is significant because it determines whether interventions made can respond to changes taking place with regard to community development needs.

Paton and Johnston (2006, p. 313) argues that capacity building programs should make sure that there is an integrated progress of socio-economic livelihoods, environmental and cultural aspects of the community life, and that they should be self-preserving both in terms of their positive impacts on the environment and generation of future resources land their ability to work together with other initiatives.

Paton and Johnston (2006, p. 313)further argue that since change is inevitable in social life flexible communities and the programs on which they are founded should incorporate mechanisms for change and adaptation which include but are not limited to community discussion, supervision, appraisal and feedback.

Good capacity building organizers too need to be flexible so that they can accommodate dynamics of the community life in their attempts to intervene in the area of capacity building in human services Brooks and Goldstein (2004, p.91).

Conclusion

There are many factors that influence success of capacity building aimed at helping people and communities improve their living standards in a world that has extensive inequalities and social disadvantages.

Various interventions in capacity building in respect to social work and human services aims at upholding pillars of self-sustaining community development, that is, self-determination, self-reliance, resilience, empowerment, socio-ecological perspective among others.

As argued above, bottom-up community development has proven effective in achieving these objectives in comparison to top-down community development which has many shortcomings and accompanying inequalities in terms of allocation of resources and opportunities in communities.

In short, three major factors influence success of capacity building efforts in human services namely: characteristics of communities, characteristics of a community-building process and characteristics of community building organizers such as commitment, understanding and experience Mattessich (as cited in Phillips & Pittman 2009, p. 52).

Reference List

Brooks, R., & Goldstein, S., 2004, The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence, and Personal Strength in Your Life. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional.

Gboku, M. L. S., & Lekoko, R. N., 2007, Developing programmes for adult learners in Africa. Pretoria: Pearson South Africa.

Larrison, C. R., 2002, A comparison of top-down and bottom-up community development interventions in rural Mexico: practical and theoretical implications for community development programs. London: Edwin Mellen Press.

Leonard, R., & Onyx, J., 2004, Social capital and community building: Spinning straw into gold. London: Janus Publishing Company.

Mattessich, Paul W. et al., 1997, Community building: what makes it work: a review of factors influencing successful community building. Lexington Parkway North Saint Paul, MN: Amherst H. Wilder Foundation.

OECD., 1997, International co-operation for habitat and urban development: directory of non-governmental organizations in OECD countries. New York: OECD.

Paton, D., & Johnston, D. M., 2006, Disaster resilience: an integrated. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas Publisher.

Phillips, R., & Pittman, R. H., 2009, An Introduction to Community Development. New York: Taylor & Francis

Pike, A., 2006, Local and regional development. New York: Taylor & Francis

Purvis, M., & Grainger, A., 2004, Exploring sustainable development: geographical perspectives. London: Earthscan.

Somerville, P., 2011, Understanding Community: Politics, Policy and Practice. Bristol: The Policy Press.

Organizational analysis refers to evaluation of an organization’s systems, functions and capacity in order to enhance productivity and performance through increasing efficiency of the workers. It does so through study of the behaviors of people in order to create efficient relationships. It involves creation of work models based on theories that depict the way an organization functions and develops.

It is accountable for the response of organizations to changes and the ways in which an organization introduces changes (Hepworth & Hepworth, 2006). Organizational analysis must be distinguished from organizational planning which involves design of the organization’s structure and division of responsibilities within the organization.

The purpose of organizational analysis is to determine the best way to increase the efficiency of an organization. Organizational models are the basis for organizational skills. Models help determine the most effective way to achieve a particular set of goals and objectives.

They are usually based on structure, technology, or behavior of members of an institution. Sociologists have four basic models to choose from including the classical or rational model, the participative or national model, the cognitive model, and the social-technical model.

Fredrick Taylor is credited with pioneering the rational model. He argued that the most effective way to achieve completion o task was the best way. In his view, the best method was the one, which allowed a person to perform task in the least time available.

It was his opinion that if both the management and employees performed tasks in this way, organizations would become more efficient in their delivery of service (Perrow, 1970, p. 93). His theory was criticized on the basis that sometimes workers had to engage in multiple-tasks at once. The rational model perpetuates the view that an organization can achieve desired results through modification of strategies (Powell and Dimaggio 1991).

The participative or national model takes a holistic view towards organizations. They do not exist as a single unit; they are systems. In as much as they pursue their own goals, they also pursue other goals outside their main business and must balance the two sets of goals.

Modification is not planned, but occurs abruptly because of conditions, which cause instability in the organization. It’s a result of natural reaction based on values and behaviors of the members. Changes in one sector of the organization affects all other departments. A leader or social worker cannot change only one department within the organization but has to change the entire organization

According to the socio-technical model, organizations can alter their structure as they keep evolving. Exchange of information and interactions of members usually bring change to the structure of an organization.

The organization is affected by other factors within its surroundings such as human behavior, social factors, technology and other variables. A task is successfully performed through conversion of an input into an output and tasks are subdivided (Hughes and Wearing 2007, p. 152).The success of an organization is primarily determined by the time, the level of technology and the location.

The cognitive model takes the position that an organization has three major components: The unit responsible for processing information; the unit responsible for decision-making; and the arrangement or setting of the organization.

The decision-making unit is also charged with the task of finding solutions to problems while the setting unit is responsible for task distribution and coordination. Complex tasks are divided into specific tasks, which require specialization for efficiency. A social worker must determine which of the three models is best applicable to the assigned social work.

Various important skills in organizational analysis are relevant and applicable to social work practice. Proficiency in organizational skills is important because social work involves interacting with people who have undergone complex and perplexing skills (Ewalt, 1996).

It is a multi-disciplinary practice involving working with people of different backgrounds in terms of race, culture, gender, sexual orientation, religion and even disability (Bogo 2010).

People are always reluctant to open up to social workers. Every social worker must be equipped with efficient communication skills. They involve listening, speaking, reading, and writing. A social worker must be able to empathize with their client and relate to their experience.

This will involve creation of meaningful relationships, a key factor organization analysis skill. The relationship must be within the ethical professional boundaries. Getting through the barriers that inhibit the care recipient should be the goal of every competent social worker (Jones and May, 1992).

The social worker can apply any of the following organization analysis models, a psychosocial approach, Cognitive or a behavioral approach, Participative therapies, a task-centered approach, a client-centered technique, or intervention approach (Greenwood and Levin 2007, p.92).

Time management skills will come in handy for the social work. He or she must schedule appointments after putting the availability of the client. He or she must be punctual and must show up in time for appointments.

A social worker must possess excellent record keeping skills. Social work involves giving care or guidance to people with historical records that must be recorded. For instance people on the wrong side of law who are serving probation terms or children who have been placed in foster homes.

Every meeting with the care-recipient and signs of progress or regression must always be recorded to keep the relevant authorities updated on the efficiency of the social work. If social work is not effective, alternative measures can be sought either on recommendation by the social worker or upon assessment of the records (Perrow, 1970).

The ability to collect data, interpret it, and process it into information comes in handy for a social worker. The social worker must be in a position to hold an interview with the care recipient, listen to their point of view, and record it in an impartial and inclusive manner.

Failure to interpret the data correctly can lead to conveyance of the wrong information to the relevant authority and can have negative effects for either the social worker or the care-recipient.

Social workers usually have multiple responsibilities and clients to attend to. The organizational analysis skill of prioritizing is very essential to them. They must give priority to the most important or urgent tasks and handle them first.

If for example, a child placed in care has run away from the home, and at that time, the social worker is holding a session with someone who is on probation for drunken-driving, the social worker should weigh the options. Thereafter, he or she should give priority to the child first as the session with the person undergoing probation can be postponed and held later (Bogo 2010, p.54).

The skill of assessment and planning helps a social worker to organize his schedule appropriately. On evaluation of a situation, a social worker should be in a position to decide on the next step that should be taken. He or she should be in a position to determine whether the services are still needed or whether they should be dispensed with.

In-depth understanding of the human behavior is essential in social work and so is the ability to respond calmly to violent emotions (Farley et al 2003, p.101).The social worker must understand every client individually and should not judge him or her based on heresy or stereotypes.

Understanding human behavior enables a social worker to evaluate and settle on the appropriate intervention mechanism. For instance, confrontational intervention is not encouraged for violent clients.

Prediction helps a social worker predict and anticipate what might happen next and take the necessary precautions or action. The social worker can rely on analysis based on previous experiences and incidences. Formulation of hypothesis is important in helping a social worker solve a social problem.

For example if a child under care fails to turn up at school, the social worker may hypothesize that he or she maybe have harassed or intimated; is looking for someone; or has run-away and start solving the problem from there.

The four methods a social worker may use have been listed as working with individuals through counseling, working with groups, working with families, or working with communities.

The perspectives of the social worker have an impact on the service he or she delivers. The perspective of a social worker must always be anti-sexist, anti-racist; anti-exploitative; and anti-discriminatory at all stages taking a radical perspective or perception leads to biased delivery of service.

Intervention means interfering with a situation in order to alter or affect the outcome. A social worker should only intervene after considering how urgent the problem is, the consequences of non-intervention, chances of success of the intervention, his competence and capability to intervene, whether the client is willing to solve the problem, and the extent of the problem (Bogo, 2010).

The skills are important in service delivery and management because they enhance the quality of service delivered by the social worker. Timely intervention may mean that drug addict is rehabilitated or a child placed in care is able to integrate in the new family. It may also lead to a change of attitude by the care recipient who may be healed from trauma and depression, return to normalcy, and work or take care of him.

Successful probation and other rehabilitation measures would reduce the rate of recidivism and de-congest prisons. Early intervention prevents a client from engaging in retrogressive behavior. If a social worker lacks organizational analysis, skills his delivery will be poor and inefficient and the objective of the social work will not be achieved (Hepworth and Hepworth, 2006).

In conclusion, human service organizations that provide social care may end up enhancing or inhibiting self-care. Social work has been able to promote social justice through caring of the minorities and the disadvantaged. People are able to recover from traumatizing situations.

It also enhances integration of society of people who had gone through abuse or who cannot access basic needs due to abject poverty. On recovery, people are able to take care of themselves and resume their daily social lives.

On the other hand, social work has been known to inhibit self-care. Some clients tend to over-rely on the social worker. Some only obey instructions when they know that the social worker is about to come for supervision and once the social worker leaves, they go back to their usual habits. Clients also rely on social worker for basic things such as management of emotional situations and reduction of stress levels.

They cannot take care of themselves without presence of the social worker. Reforms must be made so that social work does not end up inhibiting self-care. Clients must adopt organizational analysis skills so that they can take care of themselves independently without supervision by a social worker.

Reference List

Bogo, M 2010, Achieving competence in social work through field education, University of Toronto Press, Buffalo.

Ewalt, P 1996, Multicultural issues in social work, NASW Press, Washington, D.C.

Farley, O. et al. 2003, Introduction to social work, Allyn and Bacon, Boston.

Greenwood, J., & Levin, M 2007, Introduction to action research: social research for social change, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks.

Hepworth, H., & Hepworth, H 2006, Direct social work practice: theory and skills, Thomson Brooks/Cole, Belmont.

Hughes, M & Wearing, M 2007, Organizations and Management in Social Work, Sage, London.

Jones, A & May, J 1992, Working in Human service Organisation: A critical introduction, Pearson education Australia, French Forest.

Perrow, C 1970, Organizational analysis; a sociological view. Calif, Wadsworth Pub. Co, Belmont.

Powell, W., & Dimaggio, P, 1991, The New institutionalism in organizational analysis, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

The Main Issues and Findings Reported in the Reading

In this article, the main issue that arises is on how a social worker can help a minority group that is suspicious of his or her activities. It is the responsibility of the social worker to help, but the people to be helped do not trust those who offer the help. The article tells about Israeli students who were social workers, assigned to help ten Pakistani nationals who found themselves in Israel during a Gaza Strip war between the two countries.

During the war, some of the Pakistani nationals found themselves in Israel. As a result of the hostility between the two nations, these hostages did not trust the Israeli social workers. These hostages were seriously injured during the war. When taken to Israeli hospitals where they were to get treatment, these hostages were very suspicious of the treatment given to them.

They thought they would be poisoned instead of being treated properly. They felt that the Israeli social workers were not really determined to help them, but only wanted to kill them (Krumer-Nevo, Krumer-Nevo, & Idit, 2006).

Some of these hostages succumbed to their injuries and this increased the suspicion of the group towards the social workers. Due to this suspicion, it became very difficult for them to accept any help from the social workers in Israel. This meant that helping them was not easy.

The Relevance of the Reading in Understanding Human Behavior in the Social Environment

This reading is very relevant in understanding human behavior in the social environment. This can be explained with the fact that it is necessary for the social workers to understand that the minority group will always have the feeling of being intimidated by the dominant group.

It helps one realize that although such incidences of misunderstanding and mistrust may be felt between the majority and the minority groups, a social worker should understand and learn how to co-exist with people of different backgrounds, race, ethnicity and culture.

One should understand that the minority group may have different views and also suspicion of the services they are given by the social workers who come from the class of the majority.

The minority will always feel at risk and sometimes insecure. It is very important for a social worker to have such kind of information and learn how to help this marginalized group in a very positive manner. By doing so, there will be a harmony and healthy co-existence between the two groups

The Potential Relevance of the Reading for Generalist Social Work Practice

This reading is very crucial for generalist social practice. It helps in realizing and understanding that human diversity should be embraced. People from a certain culture will always feel that their culture is unique, the best, and should be practiced and observed by all. For generalist social work practice, it is important to understand the effect of such suspicion on their work.

They must understand that their work is meant to offer reprieve to those who are suffering due to a given unfortunate phenomenon. To do this successfully, they need to win trust of people they work for, especially when they are the minority group.

Reference

Krumer-Nevo, M., Krumer-Nevo, M., &Idit, W. (2006). Factors Affecting the Interest of Israeli Social Work Students in Working with Different Client Groups. Journal of Social Work Education, 42(3), 443-463.

The separation of social services from cash assistance was supported by the NASW since it occupied a lot of their time and limited their opportunities to focus on other areas. Social workers also had to perform the roles of both overseers, checking whether their clients adhere to the rules to receive support, and an assistant, providing help to the clients. They had the power to withhold the money, which often led to clients calling them manipulators (Mott 1976). The separation helped social workers concentrate on their primary tasks and areas of expertise and also protected welfare recipients from situations when they were denied their cash by their helpers. At the same time, some poor families experienced certain problems in being underserved since they stopped receiving enough support. While children whose parents intentionally declined supervised social work were often left without much-needed attention from social workers who specialized in providing care for them (Popple 2018).

Lyndon B. Johnson famously declared the War on Poverty and initiated the Economic Opportunity Act, which marked a major change in the government’s approach to welfare. The act expanded the number of social programs which were aimed at helping the most vulnerable segments of society to receive a job, education, and healthcare. The reform altered the public perception of welfare, which was now seen as necessary to address the problem of poverty, which began to be viewed as a social evil (Segal 2016). This also inevitably affected the role of social workers and their own views on their profession. It revived the interest of social workers to change the environment of their clients through government assistance, rather than to encourage them to adjust to their difficult life situations (Zastrow 2017). This enabled many workers to become community organizers and advocates of the poor people they worked with to challenge the status quo and bring change.

References

Mott, P. E. (1976). Meeting Human Needs: The Social and Political History of Title XX. Columbus: National Conference on Social Welfare.

Popple, P. R. (2018). Social Work Practice and Social Welfare Policy in the United States. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Segal, E. A. (2016). Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective. 4th ed. Boston: Cengage Learning.

Zastrow, C. (2017). Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare: Empowering People. 12th ed. Boston: Cengage Learning.

Social workers should work towards effective delivery of services by identifying and solving problems using the evidence-based practice (EBP) approach and literature review. Garthwait (2017) suggests that the cases of resistant and unmotivated clients require effective communication and professional skills, allowing the social worker to understand the causes of clients’ reluctance and select appropriate strategies. Levenson (2017) recommends that clients’ non-compliance with specific interventions should not be viewed as resistance or hostility but as a normal response or protective reaction of trauma survivors. Zastrow and Hessenauer (2020) explain how reflection might be used during motivational interviewing. The work also describes relevant implementation strategies for working with resistant clients.

Resistant clients present a major practice problem since the lack of client-provider cooperation, rapport, and trust undermines the success of social work interventions. Vulnerable elderly individuals from diverse backgrounds often experience emotional or physical trauma that makes them reject professional help and social work interventions. Assessment and intervention resistance can disrupt the change process and discourage the efforts of the client’s support system. Therefore, the social worker needs to adapt his/her communication skills and respond to involuntary clients’ needs who demand more support and attention than motivated and voluntary clients.

Resistant clients may feel uncomfortable or humiliated around social workers. Vatsalya’s social workers may benefit from the guidelines by Garthwait (2017) and focus on improving their professional skills (anticipated empathy, cultural competence) to understand the reasons behind the problem and improve rapport and engagement. It is also important to treat clients with respect, ensure clear communication, and encourage choice and freedom of expression. Additionally, the research by Levenson (2017) can be used to help the social worker apply a trauma-informed approach, empowerment, and collaboration instead of punitive responses to resistance. The notes on motivational interviewing by Zastrow and Hessenauer (2020) might be used at the agency to overcome resistance by reflecting the client’s response in a neural form and avoid confrontation. Overall, the study of the literature discussed above might improve client-provider collaboration and effectively respond to resistance.

References

Garthwait, C. L. (2017). The social work practicum: A guide and workbook for students (7th ed.). Pearson.

Levenson, J. S. (2017). Trauma-informed social work practice.Social Work, 62(2). Web.

Zastrow, C. H., & Hessenauer, S. L. (2020). Generalist social work practice: A worktext. Oxford University Press.

Social work is an essential element of society, which ensures that people in need can get aid and assistance from skilled professionals. It is important to understand the main directives of its development and potential, which leads to the formation of certain ideas about it. In this regard, understanding the essence of social work from the standpoint of social philosophy is relevant. The starting point of the analysis is expedient to accept the immanent property of a person, where experience is one of the most valuable components.

One of the key elements of a social worker is his or her ability to work with families and veterans, regardless of their diverse set of backgrounds. In my own experience, I had limited exposure to veterans, but diversity-based counseling was conducted during my work in foster care and aiding people with disabilities. The majority of cases involved individuals with various educational, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic differences.

Another essential skill of a social worker is the capability of identifying and assessing the needs of psychosocial functioning. In addition, he or she must be able to formulate and integrate effective treatment procedures for veterans. In my own limited experience with veterans, I only had a chance to provide assistance with finding their needs. They primarily consisted of adapting to the conflict-free life in the United States and developing strong coping skills in regards to any form of psychological issues, such as PTSD. During my foster care provision period, I regularly was in a position where I needed to analyze the psychosocial functioning of the clients.

Moreover, a social worker needs to be able to implement treatment modalities, which requires judgment and skill in problem-solving and crisis interventions. I had this type of experience when I was aiding people with disabilities who struggled with a wide range of issues. The treatment plan integration was required, and it revolved around finding solutions based on the individual set of problems. Depending on the type of the issue, it was essential that I utilize a correct set of crisis intervention techniques, which was the most suited to the case.

One should be aware of the fact that a social worker must possess an ability to maintain and establish effective working relationships, and it goes alongside communication with representatives, staff, and clients. Although the given requirement is necessary at any aspect of social work, in my experience, it was most needed when I worked in foster care. The involvement of minors made the communication process highly important in order to ensure the effectiveness of work relationships.

The last critical element of a social worker is knowledge of fundamentals in regards to disabilities, medical and mental health treatment procedures, and diagnosis. When I worked with people with disabilities, I learned the crucial relevance of being knowledgeable about acute and chronic pain. It was the main problem among the given category of clients who struggled to perform even the simplest tasks. I also needed to assess their cases depending on their medication use.

In conclusion, it is important to note that a social worker needs to possess a wide range of capabilities. These might include an ability to work with a diverse set of families and veterans and assessing psychosocial functioning through coping skills. They also involve one’s professionalism at implementing treatment modalities and establishing plausible relationships through effective communication. In addition, a social worker needs to be highly informed and knowledgeable in the fundamentals of medical practice and terminology.

Competency-oriented instruction is based on a popular concept of the importance of excellence in clinical practice. The capacity to integrate and implement social work expertise, principles, and skills to action circumstances in a premeditated, deliberate, and competent way to support individual and group well-being is social work (CSWE, 2015). Public servants have a variety of competencies that may be classified according to their positions. Programs can add capabilities aligned with their purpose and objectives. Each ability represents the information, beliefs, abilities, cognitive and emotional processes. Emotional and cognitive mechanisms that constitute proficiency at the highly technical training level are supplemented by a series of behaviors that combine these components (CSWE, 2015). The preceding statements reflect the fundamental material and mechanisms that inform the activities, while these traits represent measurable components of the skill sets. Comprehending social workers is nuanced and multilayered, and the measurement approaches employed by initiatives and the evidence gathered differ depending on the context. I see the application or implementation of social work in communities, hospitals, and even learning institutions.

The capacity to show ethical and technical conduct is the first social work proficiency. Employees of the civil service are conscious of the profession’s value base and moral standards, as well as applicable laws and legislation that may have an effect on activities at the nano, mezzo, and mega dimensions. Civil servants respect sound decision-making mechanisms and extend critical reasoning principles to operation, research, and strategy systems (CSWE, 2015). Government workers know unique ideas and the differentiation between personal and professional concepts. They also acknowledge how their impressions and emotional responses impact their professional judgment and behavior (CSWE, 2015). Civil service workers are familiar with the profession’s tradition, purpose, duties, and obligations.

Social work is mainly completed by governmental employees whose roles include solving and coping with daily life problems. I have seen civil service professionals providing various community evaluations and interventions. Assessment is a continuous aspect of the complex and collaborative phase of social work practice for and on behalf of various people, households, associations, organisations, and neighborhoods, as social workers recognize (CSWE, 2015). Individuals, households, associations, organisations, and neighborhoods are among the varied clients and sectors assessed by social workers, who understand hypotheses of human nature and the social atmosphere and objectively interpret and incorporate this information. They gather and arrange evidence, as well as use analytical thinking to analyze knowledge from stakeholders and constituencies (CSWE, 2015). Government workforces extend understanding of human nature and the social world, as well as person-in-environment and other interdisciplinary conceptual frameworks. These officials conduct implementations in the review of client and constituency appraisal data; they establish publicly agreed-upon intervention targets and priorities focused on a critical evaluation of talents, desires, and challenges among clients and constituents; and choose effective intervention methods based on appraisal, study experience, and the values and priorities of the clients.

Public service employees must partake in a variety of practices. Government employees recognize how diversity and differences define and influence the human condition, and they play an important role in identity creation (CSWE, 2015). As a result of distinction, social workers recognize that a person’s living conditions may involve inequality, hardship, marginalization, and isolation, as well as wealth, influence, and acclaim. Public service workforces often consider the degree to which a culture’s institutions and beliefs, including social, fiscal, political, and cultural exemptions, may oppress, delegitimize, alienate, or establish privilege and influence.

An individual social worker’s expertise is seen as progressive and complex, evolving due to ongoing learning. Competency-based instruction is a curriculum-design methodology that focuses on results. The results strategy seeks to ensure that students can show the incorporation and implementation of skills in practice. Social work practice competence comprises various interconnected qualifications and element activities, and student learning success assessment is a critical part of a competency-based curriculum.

Reference

Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). (2015). Commission on accreditation commission on educational policy: Education policy and accreditation standards for baccalaureate and master’s social work programs. Web.

Social workers, who regularly communicate with diverse clients and colleagues, might face engagement challenges and barriers to establishing initial relationships. The generalist approach to social work guides a planned change in various areas of practice (Garthwait, 2017). Based on the Generalist Intervention Model (GIM), engagement is the first phase of the planned change process, requiring an appropriate application of verbal and non-verbal behavior (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2018). In the following post, I will explain potential engagement challenges in my social work field education experience and discuss personal action plans that might be used to address engagement at Vatsalya Adult Medical Daycare Center.

As my field education experience involves communication with elderly clients, the first potential challenge is establishing rapport with depressed, mentally disabled residents or individuals with hearing/visual impairments. The second potential problem is the maintenance of a client’s self-determination and autonomy. The value of a client’s self-determination, or “free choice of one’s acts or states without compulsion,” should be respected in contrast to the approaches of communitarianism and full participation (Murdach, 2011, p. 371). Cultural competency is another challenge since my placement agency represents a culturally-diverse environment, so its residents require a personalized approach respecting individual differences. As a core micro-practice skill, interviewing might be employed to engage with individuals from different ethnic backgrounds and cultures (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2018). The final challenge is to efficiently use empathy, warmth, and genuineness because the social work profession involves the risk of compassion fatigue/burnout, which should be prevented.

Personal action plans should be developed to include appropriate interviewing techniques to initiate meaningful client-provider relationships. Primarily verbal elements (active listening) might be used for visually-impaired clients and non-verbal mechanisms for residents with limited hearing abilities (facial expressions, eye contact). Verbal communication with mentally-disabled individuals may be difficult, but it is imperative to avoid discriminating against these residents and be compassionate and patient while waiting for their feedback during interview sessions. In response to the second and third challenges, I would consider action plans that encourage clients’ growth and empower them to reach their highest potential through self-determination, cultural empowerment, and autonomy. The means of helping Vatsalya’s residents maximize self-determination might include social workers’ support of clients’ preferences, informed choices, and the discussion of positive and negative consequences involved in the decision-making.

In addition to the action plans described above, it is vital to express empathy, warmth, and genuineness while working with elderly clients. It should be noted that social work is not a purely scientific discipline but a practice of positive client-provider relationships (Murdach, 2011). Thus, positive verbal communication may consist of encouraging phrases displaying warmth and empathic responses expressing the social worker’s honesty and genuine understanding of clients’ feelings (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2018). Based on effective sharing, self-other awareness, and mental flexibility, empathy is an important therapeutic tool in social work, as it inhibits aggression, prevents conflicts, and leads to positive client outcomes (Gerdes & Segal, 2011). Mental flexibility is the key to empathetic practice without compassion fatigue/burnout. The ability allows a social worker to enable receptiveness to clients’ feelings or experiences and disable it outside of the workplace to regulate one’s emotions.

Overall, potential engagement challenges in the social work practice can be addressed by developing effective action plans. Establishing rapport with elderly and disabled clients might be based on the appropriate choice of verbal or non-verbal elements during interviews. Self-determination and cultural diversity of residents should be encouraged via the discussion of clients’ personal preferences, informed choices, and decision-making consequences. Finally, empathy, warmth, and genuineness are crucial for conflict-free communication and positive outcomes but may cause compassion fatigue demanding a social worker to developmental flexibility.

References

Garthwait, C. L. (2017). The social work practicum: A guide and workbook for students (7th ed.). Pearson.

Gerdes, K. E., & Segal, E. (2011). Importance of empathy for social work practice: Integrating new science. Social Work, 56(2), 141–148.

Kirst-Ashman, K. K., & Hull, G. H., Jr. (2018). Understanding generalist practice (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Murdach, A. D. (2011). What happened to self-determination?Social Work, 54(4), 371–373.

For this assignment, I decided to interview Christa Countee, Director of Field Education/Lecturer California State University East Bay department of social work who has a Master’s degree in Social Welfare from the University Of California Berkeley (MSW). Her specialization is child welfare and her social work experience spans over 17 years. Transcripts of the interview:

My initial question to her was her length of service and experience in the field of social service, which I learned began in the year 1992 which accords her with an experience span of 17 years. She informed me that as a high school student she volunteered in social service programs and after her graduation in 1998 she began working with the Bank of America and attended Trinity College as a part-time student. In the year 1992 social services agency was a table clerk in the human resources department and continued with her part-time school.

She attained her Bachelor’s degree through the PACE program for adult college education worked while she attended part-time school and while completing education she had always wanted to be a teacher and work with children and was recruited by a social work organization after working for 9 years as a clerical worker. Since she always desired to be a teacher, she began working with the social services department and was transferred to the children’s department because where she could pursue the cause of children and their education. This service gave her the experience of working with children who come to school most often do not have the vital resources due to the economic problems of their parents. Most parents don’t have jobs and do not work, and some children are homeless and come to school with all these problems. As a child welfare worker she worked with these neglected children and she found that one of the biggest challenges working with these children was their inability to graduate from high school. These children are much older and are not able to successfully graduate from high school and go back to their homes and families without any substantial skills, education, and abilities.

Today, she has immense knowledge about the problems which children face in their lives and welfare workers are expected to teach children to emancipate and be ready by the age of 18 years to take up a job and earn a living for themselves, which becomes impossible with some children who cannot support themselves by the time they are 16 to 18 years of age. She found this a challenge and decided to work for the school district which helps children to graduate by helping them in every way possible so that they can emancipate. She finds it extremely rewarding when children are given the resources to graduate successfully from school, which is one of the primary outcomes of the services which social workers provide children with. She particularly remembers one incident of a young 9-year-old girl, who had 9 other children in the family. This girl and her sister had to go to a foster home where the foster mother decided to keep the sister and not her. The girl then fell in love with a man who was a pimp and forced her into prostitution and the girl faced many problems and was really angry.

The general salary of a social worker is about 71000 annually and with the current recession, she feels that there is likely to be a cut in the allocation for social workers which would definitely affect children and families. She feels that education is the best way for people to get out of poverty and her current focus is on higher education and working with community colleges. Child workers earn about 71000 dollars annually and her advice to all social workers is that if one gets a job to work for the government, it is the best job in the world and one should look no further. To be a social worker an MSW degree is important and it is really important to do the job one loves to attain true job satisfaction.

The interview was highly informative and I learned that love of the profession and work is of crucial importance in the field of social work and it could be mentally challenging to be encountering the numerous problems which children and families face in their lives. I also learned that job satisfaction is important for success and that social work provides inner satisfaction which comes from helping people achieve their goals. I feel that I am ready to take up the challenging work of a social worker and would like to help as many people as possible in the course of my work. Since the salary received by a social worker is decent, the job would also support me financially.

For social workers, it is essential to interpret the complex behavior of the people they work with. For the elucidating of people’s behavior, it is necessary to understand the theory that lies behind the people’s actions and society in general. Practice Pyramid is one of the models aimed to help social work students to apply the knowledge in real cases. First, the model is focused on the student’s experience rather than pure theoretical knowledge (Gordon & Mackay, 2016). Even though theory is very important for social workers, when it comes to reality, the knowledge is usually bent and adapted to the particular situation in real life. The visual nature of the approach is what makes the model attractive and easy for students to learn and analyze their practices. Also, the flexibility of the Practice Pyramid allows students to consider knowledge as something preliminary, which is going to be changed and adapted to certain cases in real practice. In addition, a collaboration of students with educators, which allows creating knowledge together, and an exploratory approach of the model is critical in the successful training of social workers.

Moreover, pragmatism in creating new knowledge is important to consider as well. Pragmatism allows us to keep in mind that the knowledge that is created based on experiences is only valid for particular conditions of the experience (Hothersall, 2016). It allows the student not to take any knowledge as an absolute and to be more flexible in each situation. In the case of working with other adults, it is essential to understand the behavior of each individual as a unique case since elderly people tend to have mental health issues. Both pragmatic approach and Practice Pyramid are useful in terms of flexibility of knowledge for practical use in every individual case.

References

Gordon, J., & Mackay, G. (2016). The Practice Pyramid: A model for integrating social work values, theory and practice. Journal of Practice Teaching & Learning, 14(3), 64-80.

Hothersall, S. J. (2016). Epistemology and social work: Integrating theory, research and practice through philosophical pragmatism. Social Work and Social Sciences Review, 18(3), 33-67.