SOCIAL WORK
The social work profession promotes
social change, problem solving in
human relationships, and the
empowerment and liberation of
people to enhance well-being. The
aim of social work is to help individuals
fit better into their environment and
change the environment so that it works
better for them.
The context of social work is a place
that requires professionals to direct their
service on the needs of people who
experience vulnerability, oppression,
and poverty.
GOALS OF SOCIAL WORK
1. Caring
2. Curing
3. Changing
GOAL OF CARING
Caring refers to the heart of social work.
It focuses on the well-being or welfare
and comfort of the individual or
community. This goal is concerned with
the enhancement of the quality of life in
prisons, the upgrading and humanizing
services in nursing homes and juvenile
facilities, and the constant advancement
of care given to populations in need.
GOAL OF CURING
Curing refers to the aspect of treating
people with problems in social
functioning. This should be flexible in
order to meet the varying problems of
different clients and communities. It is
necessary to facilitate the participation
of the client in this process in order to
“cure” their problem.
GOAL OF CHANGING
Changing refers to the active
participation of the social workers in
social reforms. This goal comes from a
perspective that there is a persistence of
poverty, environmental destruction, and
social disintegration.
It recognizes that the political,
economic, and social structures add in
the worsening of social conditions. This
reality puts the poor and the needy in a
more challenging situation which
consequently becomes a critical concern
of social institutions and the social work
profession.
CORE VALUES OF SOCIAL WORK
1. Right to Self- Fulfillment
2. Responsibility to Common Good
3. Responsibility of the Society
4. Right to Satisfy Basic Needs
5. Social Organizations required to
facilitate individual’s effort at self-
realization
6. Self-realization and contribution
to society
RIGHT TO SELF-FULFILLMENT
Each person has the right to self-
fulfillment which is derived from his/her
inherent capacity and thrust toward the
goal of helping and facilitating change in
others.
RESPONSIBILITY TO COMMON
GOOD
Each person has the responsibility as a
member of the society to seek ways of
fulfillment that contribute to common
good.
RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SOCIETY
The society has the responsibility to
facilitate self-fulfillment of the individual
and the right to enrichment through the
contribution of its individual members.
RIGHT TO SATISFY BASIC NEEDS
Each person requires he harmonious
development of his powers socially
provided and socially safeguarded
opportunities for satisfying his or her
basic needs in the physical,
psychological, economic, cultural,
aesthetic, and spiritual realms.
SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS
REQUIRED TO FACILITATE
INDIVIDUAL’S EFFORT AND SELF-
REALIZATION
The notion that individual and society
are interdependent provides a
perspective that the society has the
responsibility to provide appropriate
social resources, it is the right of the
individual to promote change in social
resources that do not serve his/her
need-meeting efforts.
SELF-REALIZATION AND
CONTRIBUTION TO SOCIETY
To permit both self-realization and
contribution to society by the individual,
social organization must make available
socially provided devices for need-
satisfaction as wide in range, variety,
and quality as the general welfare
allows.
CONCEPTS IMPLIED IN VALUES OF
SOCIAL WORK
1. Concept of human potentials and
capacities
2. Concept of social responsibility
3. Concept of equal opportunities
4. Concept of social provision
CONCEPTS OF HUMAN POTENTIALS
AND CAPACITIES
This is premised on the belief that a
person is inherently endowed with
potentials and capacities.
CONCEPT OF SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
An individual has the obligation to
contribute to the common good and
society.
CONCEPT OF EQUAL
OPPORTUNITIES
This is premised on the ideal of social
justice, two elements of which are
fairness and equality.
CONCEPT OF SOCIAL PROVISION
This is based on the premise that there
will always be unmet needs or problems
which are beyond one’s capacity to
solve. It is not the fault of the social
worker.
SCOPE OF SOCIAL WORK
Social Work as Primary Discipline
A. Adoption and services to
unmarried parents
Difficult decision to keep the baby or
place it for adoption. Applies both
individual and group counseling to assist
women in making decisions
B. Foster Care
Removing children from homes and
placing them to foster homes
temporarily. Works with the parent,
child and court to administer court
decisions to remove a child due to
detrimental situations
C. Residential Care
Group care home or a residential
treatment center. These are for children
exhibiting anti-social behaviors that
require intensive treatment
D. Support in own home
Support services to keep children in
their own homes. Counseling, family
consultations, clients with appropriate
institutions such as day care centers and
homemaker services.
E. Protective Services
Protecting the child from abuse,
maltreatment, exploitation by parents.
Seeks to protect the child
without infringing the rights
of parents.
F. Family Services
Family Counseling involves family case
work, family group work and family
therapy.
Family life education strengthens family
relationships through educational
activities to prevent family breakdown.
G. Income Maintenance
Public assistance – financial aid to the
poor. It includes cash grants, food
stamps, general assistance such as
hospital and medical care, and
supplemental security income.
Social Insurance – social provisions that
are funded by employers and employees
through contributions to a specific
program.
Other forms - Cash in kind benefits,
emergency support funds, and other
resources that can be used by the poor
for food and shelter.
Social Work as an Equal Partner
A. Support for people in their own
homes program
Helping older people remain in
their homes and linking them with
community programs such as
health care, meals and home care
services.
B. Support for people in the long-
term care facilities
Refers to nursing homes or other
group living facilities.
 C. Community Services
Community organization activities –
gathering and analysis of data,
matching delivery of services to the
population distribution, securing funds,
coordination with existing agencies and
educating the general public about the
services.
Community planning – involvement of
social workers’ with the physical,
economic and health planners in the
long range planning of communities.
Social Work as a Secondary
Discipline
A. Correctional Facilities – provide
counseling and link them to the
outside world, provide support
upon release.
B. Industry – Support to both
managers and employees. Serves
as basis for development.
C. Medical and Health care –attend
to the social and psychological
factors contributing to the
medical condition of the patients.
D. Schools - facilitate the provision
of direct educational and social
services and provide direct social
case work and group work to
selected students. Act as pupil
advocate focusing on the urgent
needs of the selected students.
PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL WORK
RELATIVE TO RESPECT FOR HUMAN
RIGHTS
1. Upholding and promoting human
dignity and well-being
Social workers should respect, uphold,
and defend each person’s physical,
psychological, emotional, and spiritual
integrity and well-being. They should
work toward promoting the best
interests of individuals and groups in
society and the avoidance of harm.
2. Respecting the right to self-
determination
Social workers should respect, promote,
and support people’s dignity and right to
make their own choices and decisions.
3. Promoting the right to
participation
Social workers should promote the full
involvement and participation of people
using their services in ways that enable
them to be empowered in all aspects of
decisions and actions affecting their
lives.
4. Creating each person as a whole
Social workers should be concerned with
the whole person, within the family,
community, societal, and natural
environments, and should seek to
recognize all aspects of a person’s life.
5. Identifying and developing
strengths
Social workers should focus on the
strengths of all individuals, groups, and
communities, and thus promote their
empowerment.
PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL WORK
RELATIVE TO SOCIAL JUSTICE
1. Challenging discrimination
Social workers have a responsibility to
challenge discrimination on the basis on
characteristics such as ability, age,
culture, gender or sex, marital status,
socio-economic status, political opinions,
skin color, racial or other physical
characteristics, sexual orientation, or
spiritual beliefs.
2. Recognizing diversity
Social workers should recognize and
respect the diversity of the societies in
which they practice, taking account into
individual, family, group, and
community differences.
3. Distributing resources
Social workers should ensure that
resources at their disposal are
distributed fairly, according to need.
4. Challenging unjust policies and
practices
Social workers have a duty to bring to
the attention of their employers, policy
makers, politicians and the general
public the situations where distribution
of resources, policies, and practices are
oppressive, unfair, harmful, or illegal.
5. Working in solidarity
Social worker, individually, collectively,
and with others have a duty to
challenge social conditions that
contribute to social exclusion,
stigmatization or subjugation, and work
toward an inclusive society.
PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL WORK
RELATIVE TO PROFESSIONAL
INTEGRITY
1. Upholding the values and
reputation of the profession
Social worker should act at all times in
accordance with the values and
principles of the profession and ensure
that their behavior does not bring the
profession into disrepute.
2. Being trustworthy
Social worker should work in a way that
is honest, reliable, and open, clearly
explaining their roles, interventions, and
decisions, and not seeking to deceive or
manipulate people who use their
services, their colleagues, or employers.
3. Maintaining professional
boundaries
Social worker should establish
appropriate boundaries in their
relationships with service users and
colleagues, and not abuse their position
for personal benefit, financial gain, or
sexual exploitation.
4. Making considered professional
judgments
Social worker should make judgments
based on balanced and considered
reasoning, maintaining awareness of the
impact of their own values, prejudices,
and conflict of interest on their practice
and on other people.

5. Being professionally accountable

Social worker should be prepared to
account for and justify their judgments
and actions to people who use services,
to employers and the general public.