Instead, the first response is to isolate her from the one thing that could help her achieve stability; her child. Responding to Amelia with empathy and understanding was my goal for the interview, and I felt as if I did a fairly decent job of it. 'Amelia' agreed in that she felt as if I was truly listening to her feelings, rather than just going through the motions. Employing eye contact, smiles at the appropriate time, sympathetic responses and gestures of empathy all helped elicit additional information throughout the interview with Amelia.

Section 1- 4

Question 1

The six main areas of social work take into consideration 1). The methods of guiding practices, 2) provides a measure of accountability, 3) describes a way to standardize practice across the different agencies throughout Australia, 4) provides a basis for quality and expectations of service users, employers, social workers, and other professionals 5) provides an assessment benchmark for the various practices, and 6) provides a guide for ongoing professional development.

Question 2

Standards such as the ones espoused by this document provide an assurance to the various stakeholders that certain behavior can be expected from those stakeholders. The service user will have the confidence that his/her situation will be effectively addressed, the social worker will understand the standards that apply in every situation, and the agency and other professionals will have the surety of knowing what behaviors apply in specific circumstances.

Question 3

My personal understanding of the practices, methods and standards as epitomized by the written standards has provided me with a much more in-depth knowledge of not only what it means to be an effective social worker, but the depth of issues that a social worker will come in contact with on a regular basis.

Not only do I have a clearer understanding of the types of behaviors that I will encounter, but also the type of behavior that is expected...

In social work it's imperative that each situation be considered on its own merits. Sometimes, the list of standards may not apply to a specific scenario. In such cases, the standards might be compromised, or may not even be adhered to at all. In such circumstances the social worker will have little guidance and may have to handle events in an intuitive manner. This may not all be bad (especially if the social worker is imbued with excellent intuition) but it would likely lead to a number of situations that could turn out quite badly for all the stakeholders.
Question 5

The practice standards apply to methods, accountability, standardization and the nuts and bolts of what a social worker, and other stakeholders are required to accomplish in certain circumstances. The ethics are different in that the govern how people should act overall and in specific situations. Ethical standards provide for a manner in which people act, while practice standards apply to what should take place.

Review Question

A social worker provides for the equalization of opportunities for all members of society, but focuses on those who are on the short end of the stick. By empathizing and understanding how certain members of society may be lacking with regards to opportunities, and then supplying those members with positive outcomes, would greatly influence the way different members of society interact with one another.

The 'good' social worker will enhance and improve the societal environment by providing equal opportunities for all members. A social worker is also a coordinator between the service user, the funder(s) and the other stakeholders in order to efficiently address a variety of Wsocietal circumstances.