Social Work Practice
Essays

Introduction- Grief is a part of being human, everyone experiences transformation in many ways; active, passive, pushing and shoving, begrudgingly, etc. Loss and grief, rather than being a tragedy of living, and be an…

The evolving concept of Cultural Competence is an area of reformation that is changing the delivery of many aspects of health and social work services. The delivery of social work services, especially in periods of…

According to Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory, there are five environmental systems that an individual interacts with: 1. Microsystems – these are the institutions and groups that most directly impact the child's development and include family, school, community, and peers 2. Mesosystem - this refers to the relations between the different Microsystems, for instance the relation between th parents and the teachers/ school; or between the parents and the church, and so forth. These contexts too effect the child. 3. Exosystem - an external system of another may impact one of the ecosystems (or microsystems) of the child. For instance, the mother's work may impact the child's family life, or a teacher's challenging domestic situation may influence her teaching hence impacting child. 4. Macrosystem – this is the wider culture in which the child lives. These include developing and industrialized countries, socioeconomic status, poverty, and ethnicity . The larger cultural context shares a common identity and shapes thoughts, behavior, feelings of the child. The macrosystem also changes gradually and subtly over time due to its own often indiscernible influences. (Kail, & Cavanaugh, 2010). 5. Chronosystem: The external sociohistorical and personal events that happen to the child that impact him. For instance, divorce may negatively impact the child, particularly during the first year. As regards, sociohistorical changes, females have never had it better than now with the increase of tolerance and gender equality

The primary points shared on how to practice with Aboriginal people is developing awareness and understanding of indigenous traditions and their wealth of knowledge. Social work is not restricted to the office and as a…

Describe some of the early childhood messages or rules you remember hearing as you were growing up. Which of these do you still believe? Which have you now discounted?

This work will develop perspectives and comprehension and understanding of how changes in the family system interact among part of the social system and will analyze, synthesize and compare and contrast information from…

The film "Lean on Me" is viewed from the perspective of a strengths-based assessment of its lead character, Principal Joe Clark. Clark, who is known to be unorthodox, is nevertheless selected to reform Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey. His "tough love" approach alienates members of the faculty and community, but he is ultimately effective in bringing about much-needed change.

In the article Dilemmas of international social work: a paradoxical process in indigenisation, universalism and imperialism (Gray, 2005), international social work is discussed in regards to a three branched dilemma.

In my personal statement, I described my own upbringing in a rather xenophobic culture and my struggles to overcome these biases not only professionally, but in my own life as well.

This assignment consisted of a series of answers to the following questions concerning social work and child abuse/neglect: 6-1. Outline the typical social service treatment provided to a physically abusive family. What are the goals of this treatment? What are some ways that one could achieve their intended outcomes? 6-2. How does one treat neglectful families? Be sure to include in your discussion the following: Where do the concepts of equilibrium and disequilibrium fit in? Define and explain. What are the intended outcomes of this treatment and how do they differ from treatment provided to physically abusive families? How would you explain why social workers typically say that neglectful families are the hardest for them to deal with, be successful with, etc? 6-3. When only one child within a family is abused, siblings are often overlooked by the helping agency for treatment planning. Adult victims of child abuse often share that their siblings didnt want any part of it. What treatment needs might these siblings in an abusive family have? In your appraisal, what might motivate siblings to avoid treatment? As a social worker, how would you engage the siblings in your attempt to convince them to join the familys treatment process? 6-4. Child sexual abuse is surrounded in controversy. Society tends to isolate not only the offender but the worker dealing with such issues. Treatment methods are sometimes controversial and limited. First, outline the various types of treatment available for sexual offenders. Which do you feel is likely to be most effective? Defend your view. Review the web page entitled Stories of Hope (http://www.stopitnow.org/storiesofhope). Find Jim or Edwards story and read. After reading one of the Dad stories, answer the following: What impact did this story have on you? Have you changed your position? Explain. 7-1. When we evaluate the effectiveness of foster care (or any item), we also need to be asking: from whos perspective? From the social workers perspective, briefly describe some of the therapeutic components to foster care placement. In your professional opinion, which one do you consider to be most important? Explain. From the foster childs perspective, what would you imagine they might say? View the video entitled Voices of Youth (http://www.kidscount.org/kidscount/video/voices.html). You will meet a group of former and current foster youth who will share some of their views on this topic and help you answer these questions! 7-2. Along with children available for adoption, there is a small, but special needs category of children with varying needs that require safe shelter but are not appropriate for a standard foster home placement. Who are these children? Briefly describe some of these children: what special needs do they have? What makes them inappropriate for basic foster care? What are some of the alternatives available? Are they a good match already or do you have ideas about other options that need to be created? Explain. 7-3. The concept of birth parent/foster parent relationship building is understandably a hard sell. Until very recently, those two sets of parents were, by policy, not allowed to meet or communicate. The premise was, and still is (for many), that there is an inherent conflict of interest on both sides. Interestingly enough, this is the same argument that is raised by those who oppose 'differential response” and 'concurrent planning”. What is your appraisal of this strategy? Do you think it can work? If you were 'in charge”, what would your directives to your staff be? Explain your rationale. View the video located at: http://www.kidscount.org/kidscount/video/making.html. Youll meet and watch birth parents and foster parents working together and hear from them directly as to their reactions to this new approach. After viewing, have you changed your position at all? Share your insights either way. 7-4. There are a myriad of frustrations and pressures for the social worker in protective services. Everyone that he/she works with has a different message based on different needs (see uploaded resource entitled textbook page 360 ). What specifically are some of the frustrations of working on within a bureaucracy? What helps social workers to cope? What are the dangers, and how can one prevent them? Students are encouraged to do a quick search on the topic 'compassion fatigue” for new ideas on coping strategies to share. 8-1. First, view presentation on "How Resiliency Happens" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=playerembedded&v=XYbDfm8ZEs4). After viewing the video: Discuss your assessment of the Resiliency Model: is it a viable approach for the child welfare system? What strengths can you identify? What limitations? Were there any points in the presentation that stood out to you? Explain. 8-2. Discuss the ways in which schools are involved in the prevention of child abuse? In what other ways can schools contribute to the prevention of child abuse? 8-3. The current system to protect and serve children and families has its share of weaknesses but also many strengths. Discuss one or more strengths that you see in the current system and explain. What changes should be made in the current helping system to better serve children in the future? 8-4. There seems to be a trend of involving and partnering with offenders in varying degrees to help develop new and more effective prevention strategies. Sex offenders and parents who maltreated their children are two examples. What is your opinion of this strategy? Do you see value in this approach? What concerns, if any, can you identify? Explain.