Social Worker Practices for Family Support and Social Justice

Introduction: High-Quality Practices in Social Work

There are many issues to consider when a social worker is in the process of offering the best possible services to families. For a student who plans to enter the field of social work, there are important matters that must be understood and planned for. Because of the diversity that social workers encounter in terms of clients' ethnicities, and the need for sensitivity, thoroughness, and full professionalism, it behooves a student entering this field to learn all he or she can about the emerging realities encountered in practice. The need for competence and awareness has never been greater than today. This paper focuses on those high-quality practices that help support families.

Immigration Policy and Ethical Challenges for Social Workers

Through his referencing of a quote from The New York Times, author Evan Imber-Black explains that "immigration panic" has pushed the debate about fair treatment of immigrants and immigration laws "far out into the desert of extremism" (Imber-Black, 2011, p. 129). Imber-Black is troubled by the recent "draconian" legislation enacted in Arizona, which makes it a felony for any individual to "provide transportation, shelter, or employment to an undocumented immigrant" (p. 129). He notes that in America during the last few decades, the sentiment too often has been to "attack those who are different" and to attempt to generate "mistrust, even among documented immigrants" (p. 130).

Because of these anti-immigrant dynamics and the tensions directed toward minorities, family therapists, social workers, and researchers who seek "new knowledge to help families build better lives" are in great demand, Imber-Black asserts. The need to "take action on the side of social justice" and to "listen collaboratively" to clients in order to "secure local knowledge" is considerable, he explains.

Social workers have been challenged by the recent immigration debate, according to an article in the peer-reviewed journal Social Work (Furman et al., 2008, p. 283). In order to be certain they are offering high-quality practices, social workers need to stay focused on families and children. In fact, the past few decades have seen social workers "moving toward an increased alignment with the medical model," which zeros in on "pathology and disease" (Furman et al., 2008, p. 283). Given this trend, empowerment and advocacy have been taking a back seat in the social work milieu. As evidence, Furman asserts that there has been "a decline in the number of social work programs" offering "macro practice sequence," and there has been a dearth of available jobs in the advocacy component of social work (p. 283).

Among the stumbling blocks for the social work field is the fact that social workers are increasingly confronting "many ethical dilemmas" based on recent legislation that places restraints on the "manner in which social workers can provide services to undocumented Latino immigrants" (Furman et al., 2008, p. 283). How does a competent, well-trained social worker decide between professional ethics and legal mandates that are clearly discriminatory against immigrants? That is the central question posed by Furman. The author references the fact that many communities in the United States are feeling the "negative economic effects of punitive anti-immigrant ordinances." The point is that the social worker is obliged to carry out the duty to provide support for families and children notwithstanding restrictive, ethnicity-based laws that limit services to potential clients.

References

Associated Press. (2011). Immigration law blamed for reported bullying of Hispanic students in Alabama. Fox News. Retrieved October 23, 2011, from http://www.foxnews.com.

Beaulier, S. (2011). Viewpoints: Alabama's immigration law is economically absurd. The Birmingham News. Retrieved October 23, 2011, from

Collins, D., Jordan, C., & Coleman, H. (2009). An introduction to family social work. Cengage Learning.

Furman, R., Negi, N., & Cisneros-Howard, A. L. M. (2008). The immigration debate: Lessons for social workers. Social Work, 53(3), 283–285.

Hepworth, D. H., Rooney, R. H., & Rooney, G. D. (2009). Direct social work practice: Theory and skills. Cengage Learning.

Imber-Black, E. (2011). Toward a contemporary social justice agenda in family therapy research and practice. Family Process, 50(2), 129–131.