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SW 101- KNOWLEDGE AND PHILOSOPHICAL

FOUNDATIONS OF THE SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION

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Subject Instructor
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a. Social work is the profession which is primarily concerned with organized social
service activity aimed to facilitate and strengthen basic social relationships and
the mutual adjustment between individuals and their social environment for the
good of the individual and of society by the use of social work methods.
- “Social work” is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that
promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the
empowerment and liberation of people. Principles of social justice, human rights,
collective responsibility and respect for diversities are central to social work.
Underpinned by theories of social work, social sciences, humanities and
indigenous knowledge, social work engages people and structures to address life
challenges and enhance wellbeing. (Global Definition of the SW Profession
approved by IFSW and IASSW)
b. A “social worker” as used in RA 4373 is a practitioner who by accepted
academic training and social work professional experience possesses the skill
to achieve the objectives as defined and set by the social work profession,
through the use of the basic methods and techniques of social work (case
work, group work, and community organization) which are designed to
enable individuals, groups and communities to meet their needs and to solve
the problems of adjustment to a hanging pattern of society and, through
coordinated action, to improve economic and social conditions, and is
connected with an organized social work agency which is supported partially
or wholly from government or community solicited funds.
c. A “social work agency” is a person, corporation or organization, private or
governmental, that engages mainly and generally, or represents itself to
engage in social welfare work, whether case work, group work, or community
work, and obtains its finances, either totally or in part, from any agency or
instrumentality of the government and/or from the community by direct or
indirect solicitations and/or fund drives, and/or private endowment.

SOCIAL WORK & RELATED CONCEPTS

Social Welfare
● Covers practically everything that men do for good society.
● Characterizes social welfare as an organized concerned of all people for all
people.
● The organize system of social services and institutions, design to aid
individuals and group to attain satisfying standards of life and health.
● It includes those laws, programs, benefits and services which assure or
strengthen provisions for meeting social needs recognized as basic to the
well-being of the population and the better functioning of the social order.

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GOALS OF SOCIAL WELFARE

1. Humanitarian and Social Justice Goals - This goal of social welfare is rooted in
the democratic ideal of social justice, and is based on the belief that man has the
potential to realize himself, except that physical, social, economic, psychological
and other factors sometimes hinder or prevent him from realizing his potentials.
This concept submits that it is right and just for man to help man, hence, social
services. This goal involves the identification of the most afflicted, the most
dependent, the most neglected, and those least able to help themselves, and
making them the priority target for the investment of scarce resources.

2. Social Control Goal - This goal is based on the recognition that the needy,
deprived and disadvantaged groups may strike out, individually and/or
collectively, against what they consider to be an alienating or offending
society. Society therefore has to secure itself against the threats to life, property,
and political stability in the community which are usually presented by those who
are deprived of resources and opportunities to achieve a satisfying life. Social
services to dissidents, and to juvenile and adult offenders exemplify the social
control goal of social welfare.

3.  Economic Development - This economic development goal places priority on

those programs designed to support increases in the production of goods and
services, and other resources that will contribute to the economic development.
The immediate beneficiaries of such programs may be the able-bodied, relatively
better-off members of the community. Examples of the social services which
pursue economic development goals are:

● Social services which directly contribute to increased productivity among

individuals, groups and communities, such as counseling services for the
youth and for the adjustment of workers to industrial settings; labor welfare
services and facilities; services for the rehabilitation of handicapped workers;
skills training for the unemployed and the underemployed, integrated social
services for farmers;
● Social services which prevent or relieve the burden of dependence on adult
workers of such dependents as the very young as well as the very old, the
sick, the disabled, etc. which could hamper their productivity. Examples of
these are day care centers, old age homes, health clinics and rehabilitation
centers;
● Social services which prevent or counteract the disruptive effects of
urbanization and industrialization on family and community life, and help
identify and develop local leadership in communities. Examples of these are
family life education services, leadership training programs, and various types
of community services which enhance or develop self-reliance and therefore
promote people's own capacities for problem solving. 

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Given the three major goals of social welfare is a vast field of human endeavors.
It covers among others, programs, services and benefits that are established and
administered to respond to a variety of human needs and problems. They be under
government or private auspices and can be undertaken on a local, national or
international levels. This vast field of social welfare may be further broken down into
specific “fields” or “settings” for social work practice characterized by certain
programs and services, and staff functions and activities which take into account the
particular type of clientele being served: Among these are the following:

1. Public Assistance. This field is concerned with programs and services to those
individuals and families who do not have sufficient resources to meet their
basic needs.

2. Family Welfare. This field is concerned with the improvement, strengthening

and support of the family in meeting its own needs. It involves programs,
activities and measures that would prevent or resolve problems of role
performance and relationships which is threatened the stability of the family
as social unit.

3. Child Welfare. This field is concerned with programs and services which
secure the protection and well-being of children.

4. Youth Welfare. This field is concerned with programs and services which
promote, physical, economic, emotional and intellectual well-being of
children.

5. Rehabilitation of the Disabled and other Special Group. This is concerned

with programs and services to the blind, deaf, mutes, orthopedically
handicapped and other whose conditions or situations call for special
attention.

6. Rehabilitation of People in Crisis Situation. This field is concerned with

programs and services addressed to victims of natural and other disaster,
displaced families like evacuees, rebel returnees and squatters.

7. Health. The social workers main concern in the field of health in the
Philippines is the interplay of economic, social and psychological factors in
medical care.

8. Correction. This field covers programs and services to legal offenders, both
minors and adults.

9. Community Welfare. This field encompasses a variety of programs and

services which have their main goal the well-being of entire communities.
Social workers in this field concern themselves with the provision of
opportunities that would enable people in the community to work together

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towards common goals, particularly those that would bring about their
common upliftment.

10. Industry. The contribution of social work to the industrial field is associated
with the increasing efforts to provide workers with more employment
benefits and other services for their own as well as their families’ welfare.

11. International Social Welfare. An increasing number of social workers are

being employed in regional and international agencies and organization.

12. Education and Training. If we are to define social work practice as any
organized activity of a trained social worker that involves the utilization of
social work knowledge and skills, then the education and training could be
considered as fields of social work.

13. Social Planning. Social Planning or social welfare planning as a field of

practice call for social workers with the competencies required for
employment in planning bodies and assisting them in the formulation of
policies and programs and responsive to the needs and problems of a
particular sectors of society

Social Service

Social services refers to the programs, services and other activities provided
under various auspices, to concretely answer the needs and problems of the
members of society.

There is a need for social services, at all times, everywhere because there are
people who have needs and problems beyond their own capacity for solution.

The term social services referred to a variety of programs among which were
social/public assistance, child welfare, corrections, mental hygiene, public health,
education, recreation, labor protection and housing and many more.

▪ Social Functioning
● It is that results from the interaction between two forces – the individuals
coping capacities and the demands of his situations/environment. The social
workers’ “’job assignment” involves “mediating’, or “’matching”, or striking a
balance between people’s coping ability and situational environmental
demands.

Social Work's Focus of Concern

Wernes Boehm, 1958

Social Work seeks to enhance the social functioning of individuals, singularly
or in groups, by activities focused upon their social relationships which constitute
interaction between individuals and their environments. These activities can be

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grouped in three functions: restoration of impaired capacity, provision of individual

and social resources, and prevention of social dysfunction.

William Schwartz, 1961

The general assignment of social work profession is to mediate the process
through which the individual and the society reach out to each other through a
mutual need for self-fulfillment. This presupposes a relationship between people and
their nurturing group which we would describe as "symbiotic" - each needing the
other for its own life and growth, and each reaching out to the other with all the
strength it can command at a given moment. the social worker's intervention lies at
the point where two forces meet: the individual's impetus toward health, growth and
belonging, the organized efforts of society to integrate its parts into a productive and
dynamic whole.

William Gordon, 1969

The central focus of social work traditionally seems to have been on the
person-in-his-life-situation complex - a simultaneous dual focus on man and his
environment. this focus has been concentrated at some times on the side of the
organism as interpreted by psychological theory and at other times on the side of
environment as interpreted by sociological and economic theory. The mainstream of
social work, however, has become neither applied psychology nor applied sociology.

Harriet Bartlett, 1970

Social functioning is the relation between the coping activity of people and
the demand from the environment. This dual focus ties them together. Thus, person
and situation, people and environment, are encompassed in a single concept, which
requires that they be constantly reviewed together.

Louise C. Johnson, 1989

Social workers become involved when individuals are having difficulty in
relationship with other people; in growing so as to maximize their potential; and in
meeting the demands of the environment. Harriet Bartlett has described this
situation as "people coping" and "environmental demands". The bringing together of
these two aspects of living in society can be termed social functioning. The core of
social work endeavor is to find the client and the worker interacting in relation to
problems in social functioning which problems are reasons for worker-client
interaction. Thus, the ultimate goal of social work practice is the enhancement of the
social functioning of individuals.

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CAUSES AND RESPONSES TO SOCIAL FUNCTIONING PROBLEMS

Social Functioning (or social role performance)-problems may be caused by factor in

the person (e.g., his/her physical condition, attitudes, values, perception of reality, etc.
which affects one’s :coping”), factors in the situation or environment (e.g. lack of resources
or opportunities expectations that the beyond the individual’s coping capacities), or factors
in both the person and the situation or environment. In view of these, social worker’s efforts
are aimed at changing the nature of of the person-situation interaction. Specifically, social
work intervention is always directed toward enhancing or improving the individual’s social
functioning through any of the following ways:

1. Changing strategies directed toward the individual or personal inadequacies or

sometimes pathologies are making it difficult for the individual to cope with the
demands of his /her situation or environment
2. Changing strategies directed toward the environment if it if the latter that is beset
with inadequacies, or if the situation is such as to beyond the coping capacities of the
individual; and
3. Changing strategies directed toward the interaction of the individual and the
environment.

▪ Social Environment
o It is a network of overlapping social systems and social situations, including
ecological systems, cultures and institutions, whereas the social situation is
an impinging segment of the social environment.

THE HISTORY OF SOCIAL WORK

A. BEGINNING IN ANCIENT TIMES

1. Helping the needy and the distresses is as old as civilization itself although not
necessary on a formal organized basis.
2. In ancient china refugee was provided for the sick the poor, also, provision for
distribution clothing and feeding the unfortunate.
3. In Greece and Rome there were “xenodochia” or guesthouses for the custody and
care of various classes for the unfortunate.
4. Alms- giving war recognized by the religious as a duty or means of obtaining grace
for the giver.
5. It was only slightly more than 100 years ago that the magnitude of social problems
made it necessary to recognize under private and public initiative services for the
needy.

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B. OLD WORLD BACKGROUND (European Beginnings)

1. Religious motivation became the most powerful incentive for benevolence charity.
Particularly in the Jewish and Christian religious teaching. The charity was motivated
primarily by the desire of giver the recipient of alms dignity whereas almsgiving ennobled
the generous giver.
1.1 The early Christians helped one another when facing poverty
1.2 Medieval church entrusted the administration for charity to the bishops, local,
priest, and the deacons.
1.3 With the acceptance of Christianity as state religion, institutions for the poor
were established in monasteries, serving as orphanages, as homes for the old, the sick, and
the handicapped, and as refuge for the homeless.
Missionaries devoted their time to missionary teaching collecting alms, and distributing
relief to the destitute. They established charitable institutions.
Later on, Institution replaced by the “hospitals” for old and sick person, orphans abandoned
children, pregnant woman.
2. Beginning concept for social welfare
2.1 A Common Chest (1520)
The prototype of the modern day community chest. Martin Luther conceived that
there should be a “common chest” for the receipt of food, money and the church to assist
the needy. The responsibility for the collection of fund and the distribution of relief to the
destitute, the sick and orphans was assumed by local authorities, but the church wardens
played the leading role relief administration.
2.2 Individualization
During the 16th century the Spanish philosopher, Juan Luise de Vives advance the
idea that the fate of the individual poor deserved attention. There should be investigation of
the social condition of every pauper family. He recommended that aid be provided through
vocational training, employment, and rehabilitation instead of the customary distribution of
alms
2.3 Hamburg experiment (1788)
Professor Busch Commissioner for Public Relief introduced a district system of investigation
and distribution of relief to individual pauper through volunteer committees The poor were
interviewed and the individual needs of each family were determined Children and youth
were in elementary courses and in industrial school was attached to the central orphan
asylum.
2.4 Military workhouse (1790)
-was establish in Munich by Bejamin Thompson, later count of Rumford to prevent begging
by able-bodies pauper. Pauper The Workhouse manufactured Clothing for the army by
utilizing the employable poor. Both the Hamburg and Munich relief system were financed by
taxation and by collections of voluntary gifts.

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2.5 Elberfeld system (1853)

The city of Elberfeld introduce the idea of financing relief exclusively by public taxation.
2.6 Daugthers of charity (1633)
-Were the forerunners of social work The organization was founded by St. Vincent de Paul
who recruited young women of the peasant class for charitable work They were trained in
nursing the poor.
Father Vincent de Paul was the most important reformer the charities the Catholic Church
during the seventeenth century.

C. ENGLISH SOCIAL WELFARE

1. Philosophical base
1.1 Religious foundation
In medieval England care of the poor was an activity of the church. The main motive
for almsgiving was the salvation of the soul of the donor. Consequently, the almsgiver had
little concern for the humans being who received charity. The church devoted from ¼ to 1/3
of the tithes and offerings collected from parishioners for charity.
1.2 Early charities
1.2.1 Relief to the destitute was first distributed by the priest with the help of the
church wardens and deacons.
1.2.2 In the 13th and 14th centuries, religious order and church institution relieved the
parish churches form most of the duties of caring for the poor.
1.2.3 From the 12th to and 15th century the work of the church was supplemented by
the relief activities of the guides. Craft and merchant guild, rural fraternities, and social or
church guilds were organized primarily for the purpose d mutual self-help, brotherhood and
fellowship.
2. Political Foundation
The English(Elizabethan) Poor law of 160 I remained for a long time basis of English
social welfare. It was a codification of preceding poor relief legislations starting with the
Statue of Laborers in 1349.
Its salient point was:
1. Primary responsibility for the care of the poor belonged to the individual’s family
and relatives
2. Those responsibilities that could not be supported by relatives had to be cared for
by the parish or the local community.
3. Only the poor who were bona fide resident of the parish were eligible for
assistance.

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4. The parish must maintain the impotent poor from voluntary contribution of the
parishioners through collection.
5. The general tax was levied to provide the “poor tax” and was the main source for
the financing for the poor relief.
In England up to the early part of the 20th century personal failure was considered
the main cause for poverty.
The Poor law distinguished three (3) classes of poor; a) the abled-bodied poor; b) the
important poor; c) dependent children.
3. Emerging concepts of social welfare
3.1. Principle of investigation
Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847) a parish minister in Scotland introduction the
philosophy of personal, parochial relief, He organized a program of private charity on the
principle of neighborly aid. He developed the principle of investigation od each case of
destitution on an individual basis and attempting a solution to the cause of distress. He
stressed that personal interest in the fate of the destitute is essential.
3.2 Individual Approach (prototype of case study)
Fifty Year after Chalmer’ pioneer work, the London Charity Organization Society
Organized a program of relief based on his idea and laid the foundation of the individual
approach in social work now known as “case work”.
3.3. Social reform
Edwin Chadwick, the first pioneer in public hygiene, investigations into the cause of
poverty and the means of an effectives social reform, He recommended a system of
government providing under central direction decent aid to the door, a sound public health
protection, adequate housing, recreation, and public school for entire population. He was
ahead of his time. It was many decades before his vision became an accepted concept of
society.
3.4 Charity Organization Society
The C.O.S. Encourage the growth of private charities, the giving of donations be
quest in their behalf, and in the initiative among the volunteers for bringing individual to
families in economic distress.
The C.O.S. believed that the individual was responsible for his poverty and that the
acceptance of the public relief f destroyed the self-respect of the pauper and led him to
subsist on alms. The pauper should therefore be asked to exert all his abilities to maintain
himself.
The C.O.S. Used well-to-do volunteer to give aid for the poor but their main emphasis
was to exert moral influences that would change the way of life of the poor.
The example of the London C.O.S. of 1869 was followed in other cities in England and
The United States .it developed cooperation between poor relief and private charities,
succeeded in eliminating some fraudulent set up, prevent duplication of support, and

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strengthened the concept of rehabilitation of the poor. It formed the groundwork of

casework in individual aid, and community organization.
3.5 Settlement house (prototype of the modern-day community center)
It was introducing in London during the latter half of the 19th century and the first
one was called Tonybee Hall. Its basic purpose was to establish contact between the
educated men and women and the poor their mutual benefits, so that by common work and
studies thy could exercise a cultural influence beyond the teaching of special subject. It’s
reached out to children and adults
The attitude of a superior “lady bountiful” which still prevailed in charity societies
was replace by cooperation and learning on the part of both instructor and worker attending
lectures and discussion group.
3.6 Social Research
Social research was a third important factor that influenced the social philosophy and
the practice relief in England. The most important among the survey, was that mad by
Charles Booth Started in 1886. The study showed that one-third of the London population
was living on or below the “poverty line” These findings disproved the previous theory that
poverty was always the fault of the individuals.
The studies showed that the deterrent features of the poor laws were no solution
and that environment, inadequate housing, and unhealthy sanitary equipment.
The findings of social research showed the necessity of introducing more effective
measures of social reform.
4. Twentieth century development
4.1 Beveridge Report- 1941
The Beveridge Report, named after the man who headed the committee which
prepared the report, is the basis of the present social security program of England.
Its underlying philosophy is that British people should be secured against want and
other social evils, and that security could be rendered while preserving the personal
freedom, enterprises, and responsibility of the individual fir his family.
It declared that goal of social security was to guarantee a basic level of income for
every citizen with own efforts, so that his initiative to secure for himself and his family more
than a more subsistence minimum should not be stilled.
4.2 England’s Social Security Program
The present structure of the British social security program follows the
recommendation of the Beveridge Report. It consists of;
4.2.1 Social Insurance
Health insurance, unemployed insurance, old age and invalidity insurance,
workman’s compensation, and special grant for marriage, child birth, and funeral expenses.
4.2.2 Family allowances:

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Upon application these are paid to every family with two or more children under 16
year of age regard to financial condition of the family. It represents government support to
parents in the bringing up to children.
4.2.3 Public assistance:
(a) Financial assistance to person in economic need; and
(b) institutional and individual services.

D. AMERICAN SOCIAL WELFARE

American social welfare was founded on the concept of the English Poor Law which
remained the basis for public welfare in the U.S. up to the end of 19th century. Paupers,
beggars and vagrants were regarded as criminals. Whatever that cause of his distress, the
pauper was regarded as a morally deficient person.
Today the principle continues to be upheld that the individual is primarily
responsibility for his welfare but that the community should establish a basic measure of
security in areas beyond the individual’s control.
1. Historical development of American government social welfare
1.1 First phase: Poor relief – almshouses
Relief was given in various ways:
1. Outdoor relief to pauper in various in their own homes;
2. Farming out to the lowest bidder who undertook to care a single” pauper”
3. Contract usually with the lowest bidder for the care of all pauper in a given
locality;
4. Care in alm houses which was under direct control of public officials; and
5. Indenture or “binding out” a form apprenticeship.
The cost of poor relief was met by the poor tax and later by public taxes
1.2 Second phase: State (public) institutional care for special groups.
These programs were designed to remove some groups on inmates from the
undifferentiated misery of incarceration in the local almshouse and indicated recognition of
a special claim these person ha on the sympathies of the community. Institution was set up
for:
1) Care of the insane
2) Care of the mentally deficient
3) Care of the blind
4) Care of the deaf and deaf-mute
1.3 Third phase: State Board of Charities and Corrections.
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The Purpose was state supervision of the administration of institution care. The first
state board was organized in Massachusetts in 1863. It emphasized the family system by
placing children and adult in the community wherever it was not absolutely necessary to
keep them in almshouses, hospital, or asylums.
These state agencies had the power:
1) To recommendation Institutional changes to legislature
2) To compel the Institution to carry out the intent of the relevant statues as
interpreted by state agency.
1.4 Fourth phase: Aid to the needy without institutionalization
Special measures were enacted by state legislature to meet the needs of special
groups without placing them in institutions.
Pensions for the blind – Illinois, 1903
Mothers’ aid- Missouri, 1911
Old age pension- Montana, 1923
In 1909 President Theodore Roosevelt called the White House Conference on
Dependent Children. It inspired the creation of the U.S. Children Bureau This was the first
tacit assumption of federal responsibility for social welfare.
1.5 Fifth phase: Federal government entry into social welfare
The welfare pattern throughout the nation on the eve of the Great Depression a
patch work consisting of local, country, state, and private activities. Three fourths of all the
aid to indigent was provide under public measure However, the service were far from
adequate. They were in a real sense a simply a preferential from of poor relief.
The great depression of the 1930s hits the U.S. with a jarring impact. Millions of
unemployed had no place to go and there was mass destination. Now the federal
government had to step in with a series of emergency relief measure. Previous to this states
were mainly responsible social welfare.
1) Emergency Relief and Reconstruction Act (1973)- to assist industry and agriculture,
to provide funds to states for relief work.
2) Civilians Conversation Corps- 1933, provided work opportunities for young men in
the conversation of natural resources.
3) Federals Emergency Relief Act- 1933- Provided for grants states for relief
unemployment.
4) Work Progress Administration – 1935- , a large scale program of relief through
employment in publicly sponsored projects.
All these measure were considered temporary. It was planned for the federal government to
withdraw from social welfare as soon as the crisis was over. What responsibility for social
welfare, culminating in the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935.

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1.6 Sixth phase: Social Security

In 1935 the Social Security Acts was passed at the instance of the President Franklin
Roosevelt. It changes the emphasis from limited aid to a few needy people to a
comprehensive system for the entire population. It brought mush broader resources to bear
upon the problems of social welfare it was a new approach to the problem of income
maintenance in time of crisis. It consists of 3 part:
1) Contributory social insurance:
Death, Disability, Illness in old age, Retirement
2) Public Assistance:
Old age, aid to the blind, aid to the disabled, aid to families with dependent children,
Medicaid
1.7 Seventh Phase: War on poverty
In 1964 the Economic Opportunity Act was passed and “War on poverty” became the
rallying point. The Act was specifically geared to deal with the problems of poverty,
education, manpower training, mental health, vocational rehabilitation, public health and
medical care, housing, urban development. However, many of the programs started during
this period have been phased out or cutback for lack of federal support.
2. Major development in U.S. Private Social Welfare
2.1 Charity Organization Societies
1) A” friendly visitor” was installed in order to determine the need for every
applicant and the necessary measures for each case. (pioneering in case study)
2) Training School for Applied Philanthropy was set up in New York in 1898. The plan
was to formulated by Mary Richmond in 1897. (Pioneering I social work education)
2.2 Settlement house
1) Concept
It was a place for working people where their higher moral and intellectual capacities
were developed to insures full participation in democracy as exemplified by the U.S.
2) Hull House (In Chicago)
-was the first settlement house in the U.S. It was founded by Jane Addams and Ellen
Gates Starr in 1889.
Residents of settlement houses became the champion for social reform. They fought
for:
a) Equal opportunities for the poor and the handicapped; and
b) The abolition of prejudice and discrimination against people because of their skin
religious, race and foreign birth
Programs they had:

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Boys and Girls club

Kindergarten
Adult education
Handicraft
Art and cultural workshop
3. Basic Policy of American Social Welfare
3.1 Basic Principle
The individual id primarily responsible for his welfare but the community should
establish a basic measure of security in areas beyond the individual’s control.
3.2 Basic objective
The development, achievement, and happiness of the individual.
3.3 Some basic ideas that influenced social welfare
3.3.1 Protestant ethic
One’s life should be avocation followed with zealous and disciplined scrupulosity If a
woman worked hard and invested his income, he was likely to prosper Wealth represents
meritorious achievement in addition to material benefits
3.3.2. Laissez-faire (free-enterprise)
There should be freedom to invest and trade for men worked harder when they
worked for Themselves
3.3.3 Social Darwinism (survival of the fittest)
Successful competition in the market place in inevitable accompanied by hardship and
inequities. Only those for survival the competition.
E. PHILIPPINE SOCIAL WELFARE
1) Pre-Spanish Time
● Basic concept: Bayanihan & Damayan
● Source of policies: Maragtas & Kalantiao Code

2) Spanish Time
● Basic Philosophy: religion was the motivating force for charity
● Forms of Charity: alms giving, charitable institutions and hospitals for the
poor: Ecomenderos provided food.
● Source of funding: religious orders, contribution and donations of rich
individuals, subsidy from the Spanish government (in the Philippines and in
Spain)

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Significant development-institutions established by religious orders

a) San Lazaro Hospital (1578) took care of indigent beggars and sick “natives”,
hospital for lepers
b) Sa Juan de Dios Hospital (1596)- took care of indigent and sick Spaniards
c) Hospici de San Jose (1810)-for the care or orphans and the aged
d) Asilo de San Vicente de Paul (1885)-asylum for care and protection of
indigent/orphaned girls
e) Offered religious instructions, primary education and housework training for
inmates
f) Santa Isabel-school for indigent boys
g) San Juan de Letran-school for indigent boys.

For indigent outside institutions, almsgiving was regularly practiced by

churches/convents/affluent individuals and families. The outbreak of the revolution against
the Spanish government led efforts to take care of women provided leadership in nursing
wounded soldiers who need medical care. Religious orders like “Hermano’s responded,
several women provided leadership in nursing wounded soldiers particularly after the
execuation of Dr. Jose Rizal on December 30, 1987. National Association of the Red Cross
was organized 1899 to provide medical supplies/food to the revolution in the Province of
Luzon.

3) First Philippines Republic (1896-1902)

Tandang Sora (Melchora Aquino) took care of the sick, wounded and fed soldiers.
Hilaria Aguinaldo, wife of the President of First Republic introduced the concept of
the Red Cross.

American Colonial Period (1899-1946)

● Birth of voluntary organizations for social welfare (ex: Associated Charities
1987)
● Public Welfare-government begins its responsibility for social welfare.
● The Americans occupied the country in 1899 and introduced new educational
system, new health methods and religious freedom.
● In 1908, Philippine General Hospital was established followed by University
Hospital and Protestant Episcopal Service of America and the Mary Johnston
Hospital under the Methodist Church.
● On February 5, 1915, Public Welfare Board was created under Legislative Act
No. 2510 to coordinate welfare activities of various existing charitable
organizations.
● In January 1917, a government orphanage welfare Ville was set up, the first
government entity to operate as a welfare agency and an initial step in child
welfare.

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● It was inspired by the passage of the US’ Jones Law 1916. It enunciated the
principle of church and state. Henceforth, the government could no longer
support the private institutions. It was constrained to put up its own
child-caring institutions
● Parens Pariae-child welfare concept that it is the duty of the government to
place children in better circumstances, whenever the parents could not
provide adequate care for themselves.
● Child welfare Laws-led to the establishment of more child caring institutions
for orphans, abandoned, neglected children, feeble-minded, non-leprous
parents, are, training and treatment of juvenile delinquents.
● In 1900 attempts to alleviate the condition of deaf children at the Philippine
Normal School; in 1910, a school for the deaf and blind was organized
● Associated Charities of Manila (1917) was founded with a concept of
Community Chest-to centralized receipt/distribution of donations to
charitable organizations and later expanded its objectives to include provision
of relief goods and employment to deserving based on study of
conditions/needs of applicants.

Private Social Welfare

Associated Charities, Inc. of Manila was established by a group of Manila residents in

1917. Its objective was to assure community responsibility for social welfare. It became the
first family welfare agency and the first to use “casework” in the Philippines.
● In 1907, L aGota de Leche was established to furnish child caring institutions
with fresh cow’s milk from a dairy farm in Pasay Manila supervised by
veterinarian and it opened a free consultation clinic for mothers.
● In 1910, The Philippine Anti-Tuberculosis Society was organized with aim of
encouraging research and data collection about tuberculosis and combat its
spread and its spread and it succeeded in securing government support.
● In 1911, that led to open the Quezon Institute in Quezon City
● In 1913, the Association de Damas Filipinas was organized by civic spirited
women to help, mothers and their children using funds obtained from
membership fees and later funds granted by Public Welfare Board.
● In 1921, Office of the Public Welfare Commission was created under the
supervision of the Department of Interior It absorbed the functions of the
Public Welfare Board.
● In 1922, the Office of the Public Welfare Commissioner introduced solicitation
forms which required public to demand donations for charities, to protect the
public and organizations from illegal collecting of funds
● Care and custody of neglected/delinquents’ children and providing probation
officers for them, boys and girls reformatories under the City of Manila

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became the Philippine Traiing School for Bos and Girls, respectively, under the
supervision of the Office of the Public Welfare Commissioner.
● Congregate system was introduced by Division of Dependent Children in the
Office of the Public Welfare Commissioner. This system was introduced in
Welfareville by grouping the wards in separate cottages based on certain
considerations such as children’s needs and problems.
● Significant development of social welfare during Governor-General Frank
Murphy in 1933a
o Scholarship grants for professional raining in social work in US
o Social helath centers in selected communities. Housing committee
was created to study housing problems that resulted to 31 model
houses in Tondo
o Encourage the establishment of private colleges and technical schools
o Gen. Murphy supported women suffrage by signing a law which was
enacted by the Philippine legislature enfranchising women in 1933
which took effect in 1937
o The economic depression in the 1930’s created serious economic
problems, thus Associated Charities was unable to cope with many
applicants’ relief/social services from office of the Public Welfare
Commission under Dr. Jose Fabella but got a boost when Frank
Murphy appropriated a large mount to provide assistance.
o Josefa Jara Martinez obtained a diploma in social worker from new
York School of Social Work in 1921, introduced the SW’s scientific
approach when she was detailed at Associated Charities.
Bureau of Public Welfare (1941) under the Department of Health and
Public Welfare
Functions:
1) To coordinate, supervise and relate all social services activities
2) To provide social services to children with special needs
3) To provide public assistance to needs individuals and families

4) Commonwealth Period
● President Manuel L. Quezon worked for social justice, passed the anti-usury
laws, the 8 hour labor laws fixing minimum wages (P1 in province and P1,25
in cities), laws related to insurance, pensions and women and child labor. He
initiated housing projects making it possible for tenants to buy on easily
installment plans.
● He created relief boards and other bodies to undertake relief activities during
periods of natural calamities, economic crisis and unemployment.
● In 1940, Office of the Commission of Health Public Welfare was abolished and
replaced by a Department of Health and Welfare.

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5) Japanese Occupation (1942-1944)

● Private individuals, groups and organizations undertook relief of prisoners of
war, displaced worker’s etc.
● Josefa Llanes Escoda, President of National Federation of Women undertook
and organized relief work activities and Asuncion A. Perez, the Director of the
Bureau of Public Welfare were incarcerated in Fort Santiago for underground
activities.
● Social welfare activities focused mainly in giving medical care/treatment,
food/clothing to the wounded soldiers, prisoners and civilians.
● The Bureau of Public Welfare closed when a war broke out, was reorganized by
Executive Commission that attended to resident’s general welfare.
● When there was a food shortage in 1943, the Bureau stopped its operation.
Volunteer organizations like Phi. Red Cross, YWCA, and National Federation of
Women’s League undertook relief work.
● Despite its difficulties, PGH, St. Luke’s, Mary Johnston and North Gen Hospital
continued to provide medical treatment, food and shelter.
● Churches and convents were used as centers of operations by volunteers.
After the liberation, relief work continued.
● Workers of Philippine War Relief Inc. organized in US by group of sympathetic
Americas, accompanied the liberating army when it landed in Leyte in 1945
and assisted in the provision of medical services and material relief operation.
Other relief agencies were Emergency Relief Office, Emergency Commission
Administration (UNRRA)

6) Post-Liberation Years (Relief and Rehabilitation Period (1945-1950)

Trends
a) First assumption by the government of the major responsibility of social
welfare
b) Establishment and growth of the public assistance program
c) Emergence of a national; social welfare agency
Factors that prompted government social welfare
a) World War II
b) Social unrest (dissident movement)
The Bureau of Public Welfare reopened in 1946 but lack of funds greatly
affected its operation. On October 4, 1947, recognizing the need for a more
centralized and better integrated social welfare program, it became the Social
Welfare Commission.

Three (3) categories of SWC services:

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1) Child Welfare work including probation and parole services and institutional
care for various groups.
2) Public assistance in the form of relief and casework services to indigent war
victims and the physically handicapped and infirm.
3) Coordination and supervision of all public welfare activities.

Other Activities
4) Establishment of welfrare Home for Women and Girls as result of
anti-venereal disease rive control conducted by SWC, DOH and Bureau of
Labor; provided shelter, medical care, vocational training and guidance to
rehabilitate to young wayward women.
● Setting up of employment and related services under its Public Assistance
department.
● The late 40’s was the upsurge of new socio-economic/political problems
which threatened the stability of government under Pres. Quirino.
● SWC was instructed to conduct economic survey mostly in Central Luzon. It
recommended a better coordination of government services in the field.

Private and Rehabilitation

● Council of Welfare Agencies of the Philippines, Inc. 9CWAP) was a
coordinating and planning body for social welfare. Its prime mover was
Minerva Laudico.
● Community Chest of Greater manila 1949 was organized for joint fund raising
and coordinating and planning body for social welfare. Its prime mover was
Irene Ellis Murphy UN adviser on social Welfare.

First Members of the PASWI Board:

● Josefa Jara Martinez
● Carmen montinol Luz
● Minerva Laudico
● Olympia Pia Lozano
● Flora Luiz Palomar
● Felicidad Silva
Philippine Association was organized in 1948, main objective was to upgrade and maintain
the standards of the social work profession
Relief and Rehabilitation
1) Philippine Civilian Affairs Unit (PCAU, 1945)- Unit of the US Army that distributed
relief supplies during the supplies during the period of liberation.
2) Philippine Relief and Trade Rehabilitation and Administration (PRATRA, 1945-1950)- a
trade establishing agency which used its profits for relief.

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Rice Wage Formula- in connection with PRATRA, Irene Ellis Murphy, UN Consultant of
Social Welfare and her group developed the rice Wage Formula. The Rice Wage Formula
consisted of the number 145. According the Murphy team, it took the equivalent of 145
gantas of rice a moth for a family of 5 to be able to meet its basic needs. Multiply the
current price by 145 and the result is the income in pesos need by the family to live in a
month.
3) War Relief Office (WRO, 1945-1956)-for the relief and rehabilitation of indigent
victims of war especially unrecognized guerillas, their widows and orphans. Created
by Congress, the law was the first public assistance program in fact and not only in
name.
Social Amelioration
● President’s Action Committee on Social Amelioration (PACSA, 1948-1950) was
established by Pres. Quirino to counteract social unrest (dissidency). It had six-point
program:

1. Study and define social welfare problems and human needs

2. Develop a coordinate plan of action to meet these needs
3. To help improve the standards of social services
4. To serve as a national committee for the International Conference on Social
Welfare
Community chest was established primarily in response to the need an+d
desirability of having one organization with the responsibility of raising funds and
allocating them to member agencies on the basis of needs.
● Asuncion A. Perez was appointed Chairman of PACSA and became the first woman
MEMBER OF THE President’s cabinet. In 1949, the Council of Welfare Agencies of the
Philippines of the Philippines and the Community Chest Center of Greater Manila
were organized. She was the responsibility of raising funds and allocating them to
member agencies on the basis of needs.
● On January 3, 1951, SW+PACSA=Social Welfare Administration
Division of SWA
1. Division of Public Assistance-responsible for relief
2. Child Welfare Division-casework and guidance services
3. Division of Rural Welfare- created by Administrative Order no.7 on September 5,
1851 due to increasing social problems in the rural areas. It studies as basis for
determining services, establishing and maintaining welfare services in government’s
land settlement areas for victims of dissidence and disaters and the establishment
and maintenance of welfare services for non-Christian tribal group
● In 1954, SWA was organized and this division developed new community
programs such as self-help centers, community kitchen and cottage industries.
The Social Amelioration Program of rural areas which was a major concern of

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Pres. Ramon Magsaysay strongly supported the new programs in the Division of
Rural Welfare.
● This is the government’s concern for social welfare through:
a. The distribution of land to the landless,
b. The construction of feeder roads to improve communication and
c. The construction of artesian wells
Self-help became the underlying philosophy for the rural community
development projects facilitated by the SWA’s Rural Welfare Division

❖ The Department’s comprehensive social welfare program were concerned of the

following:
1. Preventive and remedial programs and services for individuals, families and
communities
2. Protective, remedial and development welfare services for children
3. Vocational rehabilitation and related services for the PWD’s and special
groups
4. Training, research and special projects

● Republic Act No. 4373 (1965)- an act to regulate the practice of Social Work and
the operation of Social Work Agencies in the Philippines:
The Law requires the following:
1. Completion of BSSW Degree
2. 1,000 hours of supervised field practice
3. Passing of government board exam in SW for licensing or registration as a
social worker
4. Provided for the creation of a Board Examiners (now Board for Social
Workers) that will
administer its provision
5. Empowered SW (now DSWD) to license and accredit public and private
organizations of social welfare work
● The passage of the RA 4373 empowered the Social Work Educators and
conducted National Workshops for Social Work Education in the following years:
1967,1968,1969,1972 and 1976.
It accomplished 3 things:
1. Redefined the goals of social work education o make it more realistic and
relevant to national development
2. Defines the objectives of the undergraduate curriculum and determine the
content of the curricular areas.

● As result of the First Workshop, Philippine Council of Schools of Social Work was
organized. It is now known as SSWAP, Schools of Social Work Association of the

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Philippines. Today, SSWAP has been renamed to National Association of Social

Work Education, Inc. (NASWEI) Its main purpose is to upgrade and maintain
standards of social work education.
❖ RA 4373 was the formal recognition of social work as a profession in the Philippines

❖ RA 4373 was enacted on June 19, 1965 and amended by RA 5175 last August 4, 1967

❖ RA 5175 or Social Welfare Act, elevating the SWA into a Department, signed by Pres.
Marcos.
Strengthening of government social welfare (1960’s)
1. Revitalization of child welfare
- UNICEF assisted Social Services Project was set up in 1961 to improve social
services to children and families as part of the country’s total development
program. In 1967 it was integrated into the SWA.
Significance:
- Revitalization of child welfare (public and private) from residential care to the
strengthening of the family unit (foster home care, needy children’s services,
after-care, etc.). Increase professionalization of social work. In-service training
and study grants for master degree social work was made available to social
workers in public and private agencies.
● Integrated Social Welfare Program
- Was set up by Mrs. Imelda Marcos in 1966. It decentralized Welfare Ville
institutions and modernized institutional care for children.
1. Reception and Study Center (1964)
2. Nayon ng Kabataan for Orphans
3. Marillac Hills-home for girls with special problems
4. Don Vicente Madrigal Home-for delinquent boys
5. Elsie Gatches (1961) – for mental retardates
6. Golden Acres – Home for the aged and/infirmary

● REPUBLIC ACT. 5416. Creation of the Department of Social Welfare

On June 15, 1968, Pres. Ferdinand Marcos signed RA 5416 creating DSW.
8.2.1 Policy” “it is the responsibility of the government to provide a
comprehensive program of social welfare services designed to ameliorate the
conditions of distressed Filipinos, particularly to those who are handicapped
by reason of poverty, youth, physical and mental disability, illness or old age
orwho are victims of natural calamities, including assistance to the members
of the cultural minorities to facilitate their integration into the body politic”.
Programs

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1. family and child welfare

2. Youth wefare
3. Rehabilitation of the handicapped
4. General assistance in times of disasters and calamities

Development of Social Welfare (1970’s)

● United Nations-declared “development Decades. UN called on member
nations to focus on development efforts aimed at improving the quality of life
or majority of the populations suffering from poverty and its accompanying
problems such as: malnutrition, lack of skills, ill-health, low economic
productivity, low income, unemployment, dependency, poor housing, etc.
● On September 8, 1976, Department of Social Welfare became the department
of Social Services and development shifting emphasis from the traditional
(institution based) to community-oriented programs and services (peoples
own capacities for problem solving). Serve the 30% bottom poor through a
package of programs of “SPDEFS”. Service was facilitated through baranganic
approach.
The Eighties
● Self-employment assistanc (SEA) as the MSSD’s banner program was
upgraded to be more responsive to client’s needs.
● Total family approach that guided the program put emphasis on food
production and nutrition, and provided training in business management
skills.
● Other significant achievements of MSSD:
1. Launching of Case Management System which involves the use of MSSD’s
internal and external resources using Total Family Approach with a set of
Social Welfare Indicators.
2. Primarily health care0relatd activities were integrated into the MSSd’s
services on the barangay level support of Ministry of Health program.
3. Greater cooperation and coordination among NGO’s is response to MSSD’s
technical assistance; consultation, planning and monitoring workshops.
● Increased participation of local government units in social welfare activities
● Intensified coordination and partnership with NGO’s resulting to 138
licensed/accredited NGOs and many others.
● On January 30, 1987 under Executive Order No. 123, Pres. Cory Aquino
reorganized MSSD into DSWD, form welfare or relief agency to the greater
task development. Major social programs were family and community
welfare, child and youth welfare, women’s welfare as provided for under EO
123.
The Nineties/early 2008

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● DSWD gave priority to low income municipalities (LIMs) and other socially
depressed barangays. Greatly involved in disaster management involving
in Crisis Incident Stress Debriefing.
● On October 10, 1191, RA 7160 known as the local Government Code, take
into effect the localization of programs/services from national
government agencies. The basic premise for the transfer is that it is the
local government that knows better the needs and problems of people. As
a result, mandate of DSWD changed from direct service provider to policy
and program developer.
2000 Present
On 2003 CIDDS became KALAHI-CIDSS of the movement against
poverty. It is the government’s key strategy for poverty alleviation whose
ultimate goals infrastructure, livelihood and financing interventions.
KALAHI-CIDSS as implemented by DSWD is a prioritize problems, propose
solutions and develop projects which they implement and manage.
History of DSWD
● 1915- The Public Welfare Board (PWB) was crated and was tasked to
study, coordinate and regulate all government and private entities
engaged in social services.
● 1921-The PWB was abolished and replaced by the bureau of Public
Welfare under the Department of Public Instruction.
● On November 1, 1939, Commonwealth Act No. 439 created the
Department of Health and Public Welfare.
● 1941, the bureau of Public Welfare officially became a part of the
Department of Health and Public Welfare. In addition to coordination
services of all public and private social welfare institutions, the bureau
also managed all public child-caring institutions and the provision of
child welfare services.
● In 1947, President Manuel Roxas abolished the bureau of Public
Welfare and created the Social Welfare Commission, under the Office
of the President, ad its, place.
● In 1968, Republic Act. No. 5416. Known as the Social Welfare Act of
1968, created the Department of Social Welfare, placing it under the
executive branch government.
● In 1976, the Department of Social Welfare was renamed Department
of Social Services and Development (DSSD) through Presidential
Decree No. 994. This was signed into law by Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos
and gave the department an accurate institutional identity.

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● On June 2, 1978, the DSSD was renamed Ministry of Social Services

and Development (MSSD) in line with the change in the form of
government
● In 1987, the MSSD was reorganized and renamed Department of
Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) through Executive Order
123, which was signed by Pres. Corazon Aquino.
● Executive Order No. 292, also known as the Revised Administration
Code of 1987, established the name, organization structure, and
functional areas of responsibility of DSWD and Further defined its
statutory authority.
● In 1991, Republic Act 7160, otherwise known as the local Government
Code of 1991, developed the basic services of the DSWD to local
government units.
● Current projects include the National Household Targeting System for
Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), Pantawid Pamilyng Pilipino Program
(Pantawid Pamilya) and Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive
and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS.

FUNCTIONS OF SOCIAL WORK

OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

✔ Explain the nature, purpose and functions of social work and their application
to general and specific situations.

FUNCTIONS OF SOCIAL WORK

Function of social work refers to the natural activity of social work or the statements
of how social work operates. According to Prof. P.D. Mishra social work operates to assist
individuals in adjusting to the institutional frame work of the society and attempts to modify
the institutional frame work itself in appropriate areas. He classified the functions of social
work into the following 4 major categories:

1. Curative Function
The services provided under curative functions are–medical and health services,
services relating to psychiatry, child guidance, child welfare services, services for the
handicapped or disable in the form of protection and rehabilitation. These kinds of services
aim to cure the physical, social, material, psychological sickness of individuals in the society.

2. Correctional Function
The correctional function of social work has three broad areas, such as:

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a) Individual reform service which includes prison reform, probation, parole and
other related services.
b) Services for improving social relationship which includes family welfare services,
school social work, industrial social work etc.
c) Services for social reform that includes employment services, prevention of
commercial sex work, beggary prohibition services and removal of untouchability etc.

3. Preventive Function:
It includes life insurance services, public assistance, social legislation, adult education
and prevention of diseases etc. This type of function basically deals with the services relating
to the prevention of problems like insecurity, unlawfulness, ignorance, sickness etc. It is
directed towards the elimination of those factors in the social environment or those
deficiencies in the development of personality that prevents the individual from achieving a
minimum desirable standard of socio-economic life.

4.Developmental Function
Developmental function includes the tasks of socio-economic development activities
such as: education, recreational services, urban and rural development programs and
programs of integration etc. which are primarily concerned with the development of
individuals, families, groups and communities.
The basic functions of social work can be divided in 3 broad interdependent and
interrelated categories, visa;
1. Restoration of social functioning
2. Provision of resources and
3. Prevention of social dysfunction.

1. The restoration of impaired social functioning is the oldest and most commonly
known function of social work profession. This function is subdivided into curative
and rehabilitative aspects. The curative aspects are to eliminate environmental
factors that have caused break down of social functioning of individuals, groups or
communities and the role of the rehabilitative aspects is to recognize and rebuild
interaction patterns in the society. As mentioned earlier, social work tries to
intervene at the point where the individual interacts with his environment. The
environmental factors hindering the functioning of a person may be social, economic,
political or cultural. This function emphasizes at problem solving through
modification in the psycho-social environment of individual and groups and through
bringing about changes in the attitude of recipients of the services. Therefore, if a
person becomes dysfunctional due to any of the above mentioned environmental
factors, the first task at hand will be to restore the person’s normal functioning. The
second task will be to assess the damage caused by the dysfunction and strategies
are devised to rehabilitate the person socially and bring him back to the normal
mainstream.
2. Provision of Resources is further subdivided into developmental and educational. The
developmental aspects are designed to extend effectiveness of existing social, human
and material resources or to bring about full utilization personal capacity for more

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social interaction. The educational functions are designed to make the public aware
about specific conditions and needs for new and changing resources and approaches.
3. The prevention of social dysfunction involves early detection, control and elimination
of conditions and situations that could obstruct effective social functioning. The main
two divisions are preventions of problems in the area of human interaction
(individuals and groups) and secondly, prevention of social ills. Although it is a very
important function of social work, it is neglected in most situations. Social work has
generally concentrated on the curative and rehabilitative function and has worked on
the problem solving model. However, keeping in the mind the rapidly changing social
scenario, it has become imperative to adopt the preventive approach to social work.
The profession should ensure that problems are neither created nor eliminated at
the very beginning. For this function the social workers play a crucial role of
conscientization, capacity building and organizing people so that they themselves can
prevent social dysfunctions.

ATTRIBUTES OF A PROFESSION
1. SYSTEMATIC BODY OF THEORY
⮚ Skills that characterized a profession flow from and are supported by a fund of
knowledge that has been organized into an internally consistent system called a body of
theory
⮚ Social Work, like all other profession derives knowledge from many different sources,
and in addition, builds its own body of knowledge from practice.

3 TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE WHICH SOCIAL WORK USES:

a. Tested Knowledge – is knowledge that has been established through scientific study
(research)
b. Hypothetical knowledge – still has to undergo transformation into tested knowledge.
c. Assumptive Knowledge – “practice wisdom”

2. PROFESSIONAL AUTHORITY
⮚ Extensive education in the systematic theory of her discipline provides the professional
with the type of knowledge which the layman does not have.
⮚ In a helping relationship, the professional’s judgment and authority are respected and
accepted by his “client”, unlike in a transaction with a non-professional where the rule is
the “customer is always right”.
⮚ This authority ascribed to the professional by the reason of her educational background
gives the client a sense of security that the professional has the capacity to help him
with his problem.
⮚ The professional social worker, like any other professional, should guide and assist her
client only along her area of competence or she would violate the authority of another
professional group.

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3. COMMUNITY SANCTION
⮚ Recognition of professional authority is exposed not only in the client-professional
relationship but also in the professional-community relationship. The community
sanctions a profession’s authority by way of giving it certain powers and priveleges.
Among these powers and priveleges are the professional’s control over its:
A. Training centers - usually achieved through an accrediting process exercised by
one of the associations within the profession
B. Admission into the profession - has been achieve through the passage of RA
4373 requiring the completion of a BSSW degree, the passing of a government board
examination and then registration, in order to qualify to social work practice
C. Standards for professional performance - The Board for Social Workers of the
Professional Regulation Commision is the proper body to whom complaints about
malpractice can be reported.
4. REGULATIVE CODE OF ETHICS
⮚ Every profession has a built-in regulative code, partly formal and partly informal, which
compels ethical behavior on the part of its members. This code serves to check the
possible abuses which can arise out of a profession’s exercise of authority, and tis
accompanying powers and privileges. The professional usually swears to a formal
written ethical code upon being admitted to practice.
5. PROFESSIONAL CULTURE
The culture of a profession consists of its values, norms, and symbols. This attribute
particularly differentiates a profession from a non-professional occupation. Some aspects of
“culture” are also found in the different occupations, but they are not as clearly established
and do not exert the same control on the members of other occupations.
a.Social Values – refer to the basic and fundamental beliefs of a group, practically the
reason for its existence.
b.Professional Norms – are the accepted standard of behavior of doing things, which
guides the professional in various situations.
c. Symbols – of a profession are its “meaning-laden items” including emblems,
insignias, dress history, its idioms and vocabulary and its stereo types of the professional, the
client and the layman.

THE PHILOSOPHICAL BASES OF SOCIAL WORK

OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

✔ Illustrate the interlocking relationship among the values, knowledge and

practice as common base of SW practice.
✔ Show appreciation of the philosophy, values, principles and ethics of social
work.
✔ Articulate value dilemma in applying the philosophy, values and ethics of
social work in relation to the Filipino value system.

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PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL WORK

The philosophy or basic belief of social work is that every human being has worth
and dignity. This belief is generally associated with:

1. DEMOCRATIC THEORY-views man as having worth because he is capable of reason,

of rational analysis, and choice.

2. HUMANISM-Howard Mumford Jones, an outstanding humanist, states, “Humanism

implies an assumption about man. It implies that every human being by the mere fact of his
existence has dignity, that this dignity begins at birth, that the possession of this dignity,
even if dimly realized by the possessor, is or ought to be, the continuum of his life, and that
to strip him of this dignity is to degrade him in so outrageous a way that we call the
degradation inhumane “.
⮚ This is true whether one works with the human being on a one on one basis, as a
member of a small group or as part of a larger collective. For the social worker who
must always deal face to face with the human condition, a belief in human worth dignity
is crucial. It is also this philosophy which provides the rationale for the values held by
the profession.

3. RELIGIOUS VIEW-Man is created in the image and likeness of God (and having a soul,
some would even add).

LEARNING ACTIVITY 4

Below is a list of things which are important to every human being. Please rank according to
your preference with five (5) as the highest and one (1) as the lowest. Justify your
preference.
______ family
______education
______money/material possession
______ health
______ helping people in need

“Value” is defined as that worth a person attaches to certain things, systems or

persons within the realm of usefulness, truth, goodness or beauty. They are formulations of
preferred behavior held by individuals or groups, including their preference for certain
means, end and conditions of life, often accompanied by a strong feeling. William Gordon
states that to “value” something is to “prefer” it, and a measure of the extent of a
preference is what price, effort or sacrifice one will make to obtain what is preferred,
whether article, behavior or state of affairs. Our values often dictate our attitudes, actions
and behavior and determine our relationship with others. The social worker is influenced by
different value systems. These include his own personal values, the values of the religious,

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social or cultural group to which he/she belongs and of course, the values of his/her
profession.
Besides adhering to the values of the profession, the social worker should have an
awareness and understanding of the different value systems which exist in our society. She
should understand the dominant values of Filipinos, her own personal values, the values of
certain religious groups, ofg the poor, the rich, the politicians.

The following are some of the dominant values of the Filipino around which other specific
values cluster:

1. Social Acceptance. Defined as being taken by one’s fellows for what one is, or
believes he is, and being treated in accordance with his status. This value is facilitated
facilitated by such intermediate values as Smooth Interpersonal Relation (which is
believed to be acquired and preserved principally through “pakikisama”, euphemism,
and the use of a “tulay” or go-between), and Amor Propio (sensitivity to personal
affront and functions to protect the individual against loss of social acceptance),

2. Emotional Closeness and Security in a Family. This value is believed to be facilitated

through the following: sacrificing individual interest for the good of the family,
parental striving to give their children an education even at great cost to themselves,
older children sacrificing for the younger siblings, and mothers especially, making
sacrifices for the family.

3. Authority Value. The belief is that families will remain close if someone exerts firm
authority, and that such person must be respected and obeyed.

4. Personalism. This value attaches major importance to the personal factor which
guarantees intimacy, warmth and security of kinship and friends in getting things
done.

5. Utang na Loob. This value literally means debt of gratitude. It is granted when a
transfer of goods or services takes place between individuals belonging to two
different groups.

6. Patience, Suffering and Endurance. A cultural belief that a person must suffer before
he can gain happiness.

SOCIAL WORK VALUES

The following values constitute a minimum set of commitments for social workers.

1. Each person has the right to self-fulfillment, focusing his inherent capacity and thrust
toward that goal.

2. Each person has the obligation, as a member of the society, to seek way of
self-fulfillment that contribute to the common good.

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3. Society has the obligation to facilitate the self-fulfillment of the individual and the
right to enrichment through the contribution of its individual members.

4. Each person requires for the harmonious development of his powers socially
provided and socially safeguarded opportunities for satisfying his basic needs in the
physical, psychological, economic, cultural, aesthetic and spiritual realms.

5. As society becomes more complex and interdependent, increasingly specialized

social organization is required to facilitate the individual’s effort at self- realization.
Although conflicts between individuals and society can never be entirely absent,
social organization should be such that conflicts are reduced to a minimum. Because
the individual and society are interdependent, it is the responsibility of society to
provide appropriate social resources as it is the right of the individual to promote
change in social resources which do not serve his need-meeting efforts. At the same
time, it is the individual’s obligation to satisfy his needs as much as possible in ways
that contribute to the enrichment of society.

6. 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.

In addition to the foregoing, there has been an agreement in the profession that the
ultimate value of social work rests upon a conviction that it is good and desirable for the
human being to fulfill his/her potential, to realize himself/herself, and to balance this with
the equal effort to help others do the same. This value is based on democratic theory and
its assumptions about the human being. That some human beings do not or are unable to
fulfill their potential is the reason for the existence of social work. The different functions of
social work – preventive, remedial, developmental – are all addressed to removing or at
least minimizing the factors which prevent the individual from realizing or fulfilling his/her
potential. These factors can be biological/physiological, psychological, economic, social,
cultural, and others.

VALUE DILEMMAS
Since every individual has value systems and strong feelings about his/ her values, it
is only understandable that there would be clashes among these values, or what are better
known as value conflicts or value dilemmas.
For the social worker who must work with all types of people and face many different
situations, such dilemmas pose a big challenge. The worker should recognize and not deny
the fact that he/she has personal, cultural, professional and other values. It would serve
him/her well to inventory these, to know his/her priorities and if possible, mentally rehearse
how he/she will handle specific value dilemmas that might confront him/her in practice.
While this is no guarantee of a totally objective response to given situations (because there
is no such thing) at least such prior knowledge can result to a more disciplined rather than
spontaneous or impulsive response to situations. The following are the common value
dilemmas which confront practitioners:

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● Conflict between the worker’s personal/cultural and professional values: e.g.,

What are the worker’s priorities? When does he/she prefer one to the other?
● What should the worker do when the client’s values are not compatible with
one’s professional values?
● What should the worker do in a situation where he/she is certain that the client’s
value is detrimental to the latter’s own welfare?
● In case of conflicting positive value should he take prudence?

Although it is not possible to anticipate, and it is necessary to therefore prepare

one’s responses to all the different conflicts involving values which the worker is likely to be
confronted with, those that have just been mentioned are among the major conflicts that
occur frequently. It will therefore help the social worker to study these questions carefully
and consider ways of coping with them.
PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL WORK
Endowed with a fundamental philosophy and professional values, the practice of
social work is guided by certain basic principles or rules of action for the practitioners. These
principles emanate from the values which differentiate them from principles of action that
are founded on tested knowledge. The following are principles which social workers are
expected to apply in work with all types of client system.

ACCEPTANCE. The social worker brings into the relationship with the client his/her
professional education and experience, and the agency’s support of his/her helping role in
keeping with its societal prescribed goals. This forms the basis for respecting the client –
individual, group, or community – under any circumstances. This leads the worker, not only
to an understanding of the meaning and causes of the client’s behavior, but also to a mode
of meeting and interacting with the client, that is, non-judgmentally. The worker manifests
genuinely warm interest in the client, a concern about his/her situation, the cause(s) of the
difficulty or problem, and what can be done about it.

The principle of acceptance does not mean approval of deviant attitudes or behavior.
“The object of acceptance is not the good but real” which means dealing with the client as
he/she is in reality. This is the very essence of acceptance.

Acceptance also means that we recognize that the people have strengths and
weaknesses, and capacities and limitation. Part of acceptance is also the personal discipline
with which the worker is able to accept the client system’s eccentricities, biases and
prejudices. Being human, the worker may find some behavior hard to take but does not
react in ways that may be prejudicial to the client. Instead, the worker tries to find some
explanation for the client’s behavior which becomes the basis for an objective response to it.

PARTICIPATION OF THE CLIENT IN PROBLEM-SOLVING. The client participates in the entire

helping process. The worker does not take over in a helping relationship. From the time the
worker begins to gather information, the client is asked to provide pertinent facts, and to
present his/ her own perception of the situation. Then he/ she is involved in defining the
nature of the problem, and when many problems exist, he/ she is involved in prioritizing
these problems. He/ she actively participates in planning ways of resolving the problem, in
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considering possible alternatives. Then whenever appropriate the client must also act in
relation to the problem. The worker should not do anything that the client can do
himself/herself. The essence of this principle is client involvement during the entire period of
the helping relationship. The worker builds upon and utilizes client strengths. A wise move
would be to have the client understand from the start of the helping relationship that
his/her participation will be expected. The worker then encourages this throughout the
professional relationship.

SELF-DETERMINATION. Whether the client is an individual, a group or a community, the

worker respects the client’s right to determine what area of need or what problem it is in
the which he/she wants to be helped, its goals, and the means to achieve them, making
certain, however, that they do not get in conflict with the goals of the agency. This is the
essence of self-determination. The worker will not manipulate the client but will provide the
necessary guidance so that the client can look at the problem objectively, understand what
choices or alternatives are open towards problem-solution and their implications and
consequences, and then decide accordingly. Her presence as a helping person, is expected to
contribute her knowledge and experience towards the problem solving efforts.

How then does the worker factor fit into such a situation given our emphasis on
client self-help? A worker who is accepted by the client and whose professional education
has provided him/her with at least the basic competencies for engaging people in
problem-solving will know when and how to “come in” in the course of their relationship
and perform a helping role.

Are there no limits to client self-determination? Self-determination is not

exercised by the client “automatically” regardless of the circumstances, for if that were so,
there would be no need for a helping person. The worker’s role should not be a passive one.
The extent of worker participation in client’s decision- making depends a great deal on the
client’s own capacity for decision-making. Such capacity may be limited by age (i.e., being
too young or too old), and incapacitating conditions (like being a prisoner), mental
retardation and mental illness. However, these conditions should not make the worker
assume that the client is not capable of expressing choices or making decisions. Caution
should be exercised in such cases. The worker should try to get the client involved in some
way, if possible. If not, the guardian or next-of-skin should be consulted.

INDIVIDUALIZATION. As the saying goes, no two individuals are the same. This principle
involves the “recognition and understanding of each client’s unique qualities and the
differential use of principles and methods in assisting him/her toward a better adjustment,
… based upon the right of human being to be individuals and to be treated not just as a
human being but one with his personal differences.”

This principle means that the worker recognizes that while human beings have many
things in common, there are also important individual differences which must be accepted.
The social worker should therefore relate to each client as an individual in a situation, which
involves the interaction of different factors- physical, social, psychological, etc. The impact of
the interplay of these factors on one individual and his/her consequent reactions that will
not be the same as of another individual.

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The principle of individualization requires the worker to appreciate what is unique

about a given client’s situation. While clients may present the same problems to the worker,
the circumstances of the problem, the client’s perceptions and responses will be different.
The principle should be observed not only in working with individuals but also with
groups and communities. Groups are, after all, composed of individuals, each of whom is
unique in his/her own way. The worker therefore sees to it that one group member is not
lost in the whole, even that member becomes part of the whole. Then, of course, no two
groups are alike, even if they are in pursuit of the same characteristics. Groups are different
even if only for the difference in the quality of interaction that takes place among the
members of each group. This is also true to communities; no two communities are ever the
same.

A very important implication of the principle of individualization is that we should

give every client- individual, group, community – our interest and attention, making sure
that the uniqueness of the client’s situation is taken into consideration, from the time the
worker studies and gathers data about the problem, until the preparations for and actual
termination of the helping relationship.

CONFIDENTIALITY. The idea behind the principle of confidentiality is to provide the client
protection, within the limits of the law, from harm that might result from his divulging
information to the worker. Trust is an important element in a client-worker relationship.

The essence of the principle of confidentiality is privacy. Every individual has a right
to privacy, which, Webster defines as the condition of being private, i.e., away from public
view. Privacy, however, is not easy to observe especially in the Philippine setting. Certain
realities like, lack of space and physical facilities often make it difficult for social workers to
conduct interviewing and counseling sessions in private. This is true whether the sessions
are carried out in the agency or in the client’s home. In addition, when the worker makes
home visits, it is not unusual for a client to say that privacy is not necessary since the
members of the household do not keep secrets from each other. This attitude, rooted in the
value of family closeness calls for the worker to use her best judgment. The worker may go
along with the presence of others. The client, after all, cannot anticipate all the turns that
the interview might take and the expressed lack of concern for privacy may be explained by
the lack of previous experience in a helping relationship and what it entails. A professional
helper should exercise good judgment and handle a situation in such a way that client’s
privacy is protected.

WORKER SELF-AWARENESS. In its broad sense, this principle means that the social worker is
always conscious that his/her role is to make use of the professional relationship with the
client in a way that will enhance primarily the client’s development rather than his/her own.

As a human being, the social worker also has complex personal motivations. The
worker is influenced by his/her own cultural values and beliefs. He/she is also not immune
to certain biases, prejudices and negative attitudes about certain things and persons. Any of
these may enter into the worker’s relationship with clients and affect his/her objectivity and
fairness. The worker should therefore have sufficient self-understanding, and should be

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conscious of his/her own responses to his/her client. He/she must always examine his/her
feelings, whether they are positive or negative, and whether these responses and feelings
are professionally motivated, i.e., for the purpose of helping the client or personally
motivated, i.e., to fulfill one’s own needs or purposes.
Self-discipline is crucial to the principle of worker self-awareness. There will always be
opportunities to manipulate people and their affairs. This is especially true in the Philippines
where majority of social work clients are poor, have little education, and are often beholden
to anyone who can give them any form of help.

The conscious use of one’s self is also part of this principle. Just when to pose a
question, when to make an interpretative remark, or when to use silence, are some of all
acts that reflect on the worker’s conscious and disciplined use of self. The latter also includes
the capacity to set limits on clients when necessary. The worker should be aware that the
goal is for the client to learn to “internalize” limits, so that the client himself/herself
develops self-discipline.

Another aspect which is related to worker self-awareness is the need for the worker
to be aware of how he/she responds or reacts to manipulation by others. Such manipulation
can be done consciously or unconsciously by clients (and others with whom the worker has
to relate in the course of his/her work) who are much older, or who hold position of power
and/or authority over the worker. By recognizing the reality of manipulation by others, the
worker can learn how to deal properly with acts that undermine his/her effectiveness as a
professional helping person.

SOCIAL WORK ETHICS

ETHICS is the science that is concerned with morals and right conduct. Professional ethics is
the system of ethical principles and rules of conduct which is social work. This is the
concrete expression of its philosophy, values and principles discussed in the previous lesson.
It guides the social worker’s professional relationship with clients, co-workers/profession,
agency and community public.

Many of these principles and rules of conduct are articulated in a formal, written
Code of Ethics (so you can frame and hang it in your wall!). They have been drawn from the
experiences of the members of the profession and have been adopted by them. In addition,
there are also unwritten rules, i.e., duties and obligations expected from a professional
person in his/her dealings with the parties mentioned earlier. These are “givens” and do not
have to be written down, but they have the same force as the Code of Ethics. These “givens”
come from a professional’s sense of reason which helps one to discern “right:” from
“wrong”. Some people also consider “conscience” as a guide in doing what is right. Being
guided by one’s sense of right and wrong makes a social worker do what is ethical and avoid
what is unethical.

What is embodied in the Code of Ethics, along with the informal, unwritten rules
which govern the conduct of practitioners constitute the social work profession’s system of
ethics. Both are important. Together, they serve as a compass which guide social workers on
what path to follow in their professional relationships.

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Why is there a need for a system of professional ethics? Does it make any difference
in your work as a professional practitioner? The following are among the purposes served by
professional ethics especially if these are codified:

1. They help check abuses which can result from the powers and privileges
accompanying the monopoly enjoyed by the profession (for example, social workers
enjoy a monopoly in the preparation of client case histories in agencies dealing with
child adoption);
2. They provide the community some protection against abuses by members of the
profession (e.g., the community is made aware of professional standards in the light
of which the conduct of members may be evaluated and, if necessary, censored);
3. They set forth basic principles which serve as guidelines to members of the
profession, and which are helpful in the socialization of future professionals;
4. They set guidelines for relationships, if not specific duties of members to each other,
to their clients and other parties;
5. They are a useful resource for the enrichment or improvement of the
professional/educational curriculum.

CODE OF ETHICS FOR SOCIAL WORKERS

The following is the Philippine Association of Social Worker’s Code of Ethics as
revised in 1998; the original /first code was adopted in 1964, then revised in 1972.
We, the members of the Philippine Association of Social workers, Inc. believing:

▪ In the inherent worth and dignity of all persons emanating from a Supreme Being
who direct our actions of love for one another;

▪ That every human being has natural and social rights, capacities and responsibilities
to develop his full potentials as a human being;

▪ In the human being’s capacity to change and recognize the value of unity in diversity,
individual differences and pluralism in society;

▪ In free men living freely in a free society where poverty is neither a fate nor a
punishment but a condition that can and must be changed;

▪ In the family as the basic unit of society and its vital role in the growth and
development of the individual, the family system, and the community;

▪ That the government, the private sector and the public have a joint responsibility to
promote social justice and to ensure the political, economic and social well-being of
all people;

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▪ In the role of social workers as agents and advocates of change and in the promotion
of professionalism, responsibility and accountability; and

▪ That our professional practice is deeply rooted in our cultural values.

We will abide by these standards of ethical conduct:

A. Relative to Self and the Profession
1. To conduct myself in a manner consistent with the philosophy, principles, values and
beliefs of the social work profession;
2. To act at all times with honesty, openness, and transparency in all my professional
transactions;
3. To constantly work towards my own professional advancement so as to contribute to
the promotion of social work practice;
4. To contribute time and professional expertise to activities that promote respect for
the integrity and competence of social workers;
5. To share research knowledge and practice wisdom to colleagues and other
professionals;
6. To be vigilant and act to prevent the unauthorized and unqualified practice of social
work;
7. To support the professional association duly organized and constituted for the
professional welfare of all social workers;
8. To respond and volunteer my professional services in times of emergency;
9. To uphold and protect the dignity and integrity of the profession; and
10. To promote cultural values that will enhance the practice of the social work
profession.
B. Relative to Clients
1. To uphold the basic human rights of clients and serve them without discrimination;
2. To accept primary responsibility and accountability to clients, respecting their right to
self-determination, and observe confidentiality in all my dealings with them;
3. To seek out the marginalized and ensure equal access to the resources, services and
opportunities required to meet basic needs; and
4. To expand choices and opportunity for all persons, with special regard for
disadvantaged or oppressed groups or persons.

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C. Relative to Colleagues
1. To acknowledge and respect the professional expertise of other disciplines,
extending all necessary cooperation that will enhance effective services;
2. To bring any violation of professional ethics and standards to the attention of the
appropriate bodies inside and outside the profession and ensure that relevant clients
are properly involved; and
3. To advocate with legislative and policy bodies for the welfare of all colleagues.
The observance of a profession’s system of ethics is not totally free of problems. There
are ethical dilemmas that face social workers at present time such as:
1. Manipulation. In our setting, manipulation comes in many forms, such as in the
matter of influencing clients to act in the way a worker wants them to act in response
to a given situation, or manipulating agency reports to justify budgetary requests.
2. Advocacy. Social workers are engaged in advocacy work that will benefit a large
segment of the society’s population. It is however observable that in the cause of
advocacy, some promote unnecessary conflict situations, resorting to various
machinations, including the use of insult, embarrassment, distortion of the truth,
disruption, and violence. Rational processes are set aside, “for the end justifies the
means.”
3. Conflicting loyalties. An accepted norm in a profession like medicine as quoted by
Thelma Lee-Mendoza in her book Social welfare and Social Work “do nothing and
admit to nothing which will discredit the profession in the eyes of outsiders. “Would
loyalty to a client’s cause be a justifiable reason for not upholding loyalty to one’s
organization or colleague group?
4. Cultural and other realities. Our culture presents certain ethical dilemmas to the
social worker. Social workers know that our personalist culture often calls for the use
of “personal connections” to facilitate action on a client’s request. The use of one’s
connections, however, quite often means that one has to disregard accepted agency
rules or channels, with the resultant effect that one’s success in using ‘connections”
can be to the disadvantage of another worker’s client.

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THE LEGAL BASES OF SOCIAL WORK

OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

✔ Identify the legal bases of social work profession.

PROVISIONS OF RA 4373
Article 1 Definition of Terms

Section 1
▪ “Social Work” is the profession which is primarily concerned with organized social
service activity aimed to facilitate and strengthen basic social relationships and the
mutual adjustment between individuals and their social environment for the good of
the individual and of society.

▪ A “social worker” is a practitioner who by accepted academic training and social

work professional experience possesses the skills to achieve the objectives as defined
and set by the social work profession, through the use of the basic methods and
techniques of social work (casework, group work and community organization) which
are designed to enable individuals, groups and communities to meet their needs and
to solve the problem of adjustment to a changing pattern of society and through
coordinated action improve economic and social conditions and is connected with an
organized social work agency which is supported partially or wholly from government
or community solicited funds.

Article II Board of Examiners for Social Workers

Section 2
A) There shall be created a Board of Examiners for Social Workers, composed of a
chairman and four members who shall be appointed by the President of the Republic of the
Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments from among social
workers of recognized standing in the Philippines.

B) The Board shall have the following functions

▪ To administer the provision of this act

▪ To administer oaths in connection with the Administration of this Acts. . .. . . to issue,

suspend and revoke certificates of registration for the practice of social work in the
Philippines and when necessary adopt such measures as may be deemed proper for the
maintenance of the good standing and the ethics of the profession of social work
▪ To investigate violation of this Act.

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Article III Examination and Registration of Social Workers

Section 10
Unless exempt from registration, no person shall practice Social Work in the
Philippines as defined in this Act or be appointed as social worker or to any position calling
for social worker in any social work agency whether private or government without holding a
valid certificate of registration as a social worker issued by the Board of Examiners for social
workers.

Section 11
All applicants for registration as social workers shall be required to undergo a written
examination which shall be given by the Board annually in Manila…. subject to the approval
of the Commission of Civil Service and the President of the Philippines.

Section 12
In order to be admitted to take the social work examination an applicant must at the
time of the filing of his or her application, establish to the satisfaction of the Board that
▪ He or she is a citizen of the Republic of the Philippines

▪ He or she is at least 21 years of age

▪ He or she is in good health and of good moral character

▪ He or she has received a diploma as a holder of a bachelor’s degree in social work from
an institution, college or university duly accredited and or legally constituted
▪ He or she has completed a minimum period of one thousand hours of practical training
in an established social work agency under the direct supervision of a fully trained and
qualified social worker.

Section 17
Certificates of registration as a social worker shall be issued to all applicants who
pass the examination after approval of his or her rating by the President of the Philippines,
an upon payment of required fees.

Section 21
The Board shall also have the power to revoke or suspend the validity of certificate of
registration of a social worker for the following grounds;
▪ Unprofessional conduct

▪ Malpractice

▪ Incompetency or serious ignorance of or negligence in the practice of social work

▪ Or for making use of fraud, deceit or falsity to obtain a certificate of registration.

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Article IV - Registration of Social Work Agencies

Section 23
No social work agency as defined herein shall operate and be accredited as such
unless it shall first have registered with the Department of Social Welfare and Development
which shall issue the corresponding certificate of registration.

Before any social agency shall be duly registered, the following requirements must
have been complied to wit;
▪ That the applicant must be engaged mainly or generally in social work activity

▪ That the applicant must show in a duly certified financial statement that at least 60% of
its funds are disbursed for direct social work services and
▪ That the applicant keeps a social work record of all cases and welfare activities handled
by it.

Article V - Sundry Provisions Relative to the Practice of Social Work

Section 26
The following shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred pesos nor
more than two thousand pesos or imprisonment for not less than one month nor more than
two years or both in the discretion of the court.

▪ Any person shall practice or offer to practice social work in the Philippines without being
registered or exempted from registration in accordance with the provision of this Act.

▪ Any person presenting or attempting to use as his own, the certificate of registration of
another

▪ Any person who shall give any false or fraudulent evidence of any kind to the Board or
any member thereof obtaining a certificate of registration as social worker

▪ Any person who shall impersonate any registration of like or different name

▪ Any person who shall attempt to use a revoked, suspended certificate of registration.

▪ Any person who shall in connection with his or her name, otherwise assume, use or
advertise any title or description tending to convey the impression that he or she is a
social worker without holding a valid registration

▪ Any person who shall violate any provision of this Act

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▪ Any person or corporate body who shall violate the rules and regulations of the Board
orders promulgated by it, duly approved by the President of the Republic of the
Philippines, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act; or

▪ Any person, corporation or entity operating as a social work agency without the
corresponding Certificate of Registration issued by the Social Welfare Administration

THEORIES AND PERSPECTIVES IN SOCIAL WORK

OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

✔ Categorize the knowledge base of social work.

✔ Explain generalist social work practice.

SOCIAL SYSTEMS THEORY is best summed up by the phrase, ‘the whole of a system is
greater than the sum of its individual parts’. The focus of this theory is on the development
and transformation of systems and the interaction and relationships between them.

● System - as a set of elements that are orderly and interrelated to make a functional
whole. The different parts or elements of a system do not function in isolation but
function by depending on and interacting with each other to complete the system as
a whole. The whole cannot be complete without the presence and participation of
each of the elements.

When applying this theory to social work, the basic aim of utilizing social systems theory
is for assessing and for determining the target system or subsystem for intervention or to
bring about positive change. The assessment is in regard to identifying the main system, the
system’s subsystems and the other systems that are positively and/or negatively affecting
the system, but particularly assessing the interaction between all of these systems. Based on
this assessment, the social worker is able to best determine which system or subsystem
requires intervention to bring about the necessary change.

Example: When working with a child who presents with behavioural problems at school a
social worker may determine that the child is the target for intervention and will utilize a
cognitive behavioural approach in an attempt to change the negative behaviours.
Alternatively, the social worker may fully assess the child as a system, examining the
physical, biological and physiological subsystems of the child as well as the systems that
interact with the child, such as family, school and community. After a full assessment the
social worker discovers that the parents are in the middle of a divorce and a custody battle
over the child, and many mornings before the child goes to school he witnesses an argument
between his parents. The social worker then decides to focus the intervention on the
parents and attempts to change their patterns of interaction versus focusing on the child.

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Thus, a full systems assessment has enabled the social worker to determine the best system
in which to intervene.

Pincus and Minahan (1973; 1977) have identified four systems for social workers to
consider when determining intervention strategies.
1. Change agent system – the system that is facilitating the change, for example the
social worker, the agency, the legislation and policies that influence the resources
and work.
2. Client system – the individual, family, community or other groups with whom the
change agent system is working.
3. Target system – the system identified as most appropriate to receive the intervention
(that is, the parents as the target system versus the child).
4. Action system – other systems that assist or work collaboratively with the change
agent system to help facilitate change.

When considering each of these systems, the social worker may discover that several of
these systems are often the same. For example, the client system and the target system may
be the same (that is, a child is the client system and the intervention is conducted with that
child to bring about change), or the change agent system and the target system are the same
(that is, as a change agent system a social worker from a social service agency is working
with a client system, and the social worker needs to assist in changing policies of the social
service agency in order to bring about necessary change). The important aspect to
remember is that utilizing a social systems approach requires social workers to fully assess a
system and enables them to be creative in their intervention strategies.

The basic assumptions of social systems theory are as follows:

1. The whole system is greater than the sum of its parts. A system should be viewed as
consisting of several interlocking elements and/or subsystems that interact together
to form a functional purposeful whole. These elements and/or subsystems each have
a purpose and are not randomly constructed together. For example, . When
considering the individual, these elements should not be viewed in isolation but
should be considered together in creating the whole individual.
2. The parts of a system are interconnected and interdependent. A change or
movement in one part of the system will cause a change or movement in other parts
of the system. For example, in considering a couple relationship as a system, the
actions and behaviours of one subsystem, person A, should be viewed in relation to
the actions and behaviours of the other subsystem, person B. A’s behavior towards B
will influence B’s behaviour towards A, and A’s response to B’s behaviour will
influence B’s response to A’s behaviour. Therefore, when examining a system one
must look at the ways in which the parts of the system interact and interconnect to
make the whole. As with this example, the behaviour and actions of A cannot be
explained without considering the behaviours and actions of B.
3. A system is either directly or indirectly affected by other systems. Not only do the
different elements and subsystems of a system interact and affect each other, but
systems interact and affect other systems. For example, individuals, as a system, are
either directly or indirectly affected by their families, friends, employers, teachers,

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communities and society. Some of the influence can be direct, such as a mother
implementing consequences for a child in order to decrease the child’s negative
behaviour (Payne, 1991). Other influences can be indirect, such as a decrease in
funding for social service agencies, which limits the amount of services a client can
receive. Therefore, in addition to understanding and assessing the interaction and
influence of elements and subsystems of a system, outside systems that directly or
indirectly affect a system should be considered.
4. All systems have boundaries. Each system has a boundary that distinguishes it from
other systems although there may be overlapping boundaries in some situations. For
example, the family system has subsystems that overlap, such as a mother–daughter
subsystem, and sibling subsystem. Although each system has boundaries, they are
permeable at different points. This depends on the extent to which a system is open
or closed. An open system is more permeable and more receptive to change and
development. A closed system is less permeable and is resistant to outside influences
and prefers to remain static.
5. All systems need to maintain homeostasis or keep a steady state. This is achieved by
the system maintaining an internal balance or growing and developing in an effort to
reach goals. Systems can sometimes experience an imbalance or experience blocks in
attempting to reach their goals and this is what social workers are most likely to
observe when clients present to social service agencies. The goal is to return the
system to homeostasis and/or a steady state.

Based on these assumptions, social systems theory can be argued to place the emphasis
on the interactions, interrelatedness, interdependence and transactions between various
systems (Payne, 1991). Social systems theory would not recommend a medical model that
places the focus of intervention on one aspect of an individual, but rather would
recommend a full assessment of the individual as a system and interactions of this system
with other systems in the environment. Therefore, the intervention is not necessarily
focused on the presenting problem or the client system, but after a complete multi-system
assessment may focus on another system that will alleviate the problem and create needed
change.

Social systems theory is primarily used in social work practice for assessment. This theory
provides a framework for the social worker in assessing the client system and how that
system is influenced and affected by other systems in the environment. Based on this
thorough multi-system assessment, the social worker will then determine the most
appropriate system in which to intervene. Social systems theory enables social workers to
widen their view of the client problem and the many other systems that could be
contributing to the problem, thus allowing social workers to determine where the
intervention should best be focused (that is, on the individual, the family, community, social
service agency or society). The theory also holds that the social worker and client system
may reach the same goal through several different avenues.

In order to facilitate change in a system, one must assess how the system is currently
operating. Social systems theory hypothesizes that a system’s operations include four basic
steps: (1) inputs; (2) throughputs; (3) outputs; and (4) feedback. The input is what goes into
the system in order to make it work. This could include physical or material resources

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needed in order to reach a goal or produce a specific result or information or

communication as received by other systems. Throughput is how the system processes or
uses the input. Output is what the system produces as a result of receiving and processing
an input (that is, throughput). The output is transmitted to the environment and to other
systems which then determines the success or failure of the system to reach the goal or
produce a specific result which then feeds back this information to the system. The feedback
is not only produced once an output has been submitted, but is produced throughout the
whole process.

Example: A secondary school has established a goal of increasing the examination results of
final year students by 20 per cent over the next academic year. The school determines the
best way to achieve this goal is by providing each student with one-hour tutorial sessions a
week and therefore provides money to hire tutors to deliver the sessions and rooms for
them to take place. The sessions are run over the course of the year. The students attend the
sessions and participate in the tutorials as well as supplying weekly feedback to the head
teacher as to whether they find the tutorial helpful and informative. The students sit the
examination at the end of the year and produce examination results. Based on the results,
the school determines whether their inputs were sufficient in meeting their goal.

The ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE focuses on the person-in-environment and the

continual interactions and transactions between persons, families, groups and/or
communities and their environments. The focus on the ecological perspective is on ‘the
growth, development and potentialities of human beings and with the properties of their
environments that support or fail to support the expression of human potential’. Social
workers who work from an ecological perspective will focus on directing their practice
towards improving the interactions and transactions between individuals, families, groups
and/or communities and their respective environments in order to promote continual
positive growth and development.
When examining the fit between person and environment, the social worker must
take into account the physical and social aspects of the environment and how culture
impacts the interplay between them. The physical environment includes the natural world
(that is, nature) as well as the built world (that is, construction of the environment by
society), and the social environment includes the human communication and relations
within society. Both the physical and social environments are influenced by the culture,
values and norms within the society.

The ecological perspective holds three basic principles that are also evident in social systems
theory, which include the following:
1. Interdependence of networks. As with the social systems theory, persons in their
environments are viewed as interrelated and interdependent, thus, the person and
environment can only be understood when examining the relationship between the
two. Within the ecological perspective, this relationship is often written as person:
environment and can be further explained as being positive, negative or neutral.
2. Cyclical nature of ecological processes. The ecological perspective requires ecological
thinking, which examines the relationship and exchanges between A and B as
explained above within social systems theory.

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3. Non-linear. The interaction between the individual and the environment is non-linear
as stated above under principle number two. The individual responds to the
environment and the environment in turn changes and responds to the individual.
Often the individual or the environment has to self-regulate or self-organize in order
to have a more positive person: environment fit.

The role of social workers within the ecological perspective is to improve the
transactions between persons, families, groups and/or communities, which can require
intervention in the person, environment or both. Interventions with the individual can work
to increase self-esteem, self-worth, coping skills, autonomy and competence, or attempt to
decrease psychic discomfort. Interventions in families and groups can work to enable the
members to recognize and change their interactions and patterns of communication.
Alternatively, interventions into the environment can work to increase the adaptive fit for
individuals, such as attempting to reduce and eliminate discrimination, oppression and
prejudices, and increase opportunities for individuals and groups to actively engage with the
environment to meet their specific needs.
The person: environment fit is at the center of the ecological perspective. The aim for
social workers working from this perspective is to evaluate the level of person: environment
fit and then tailor interventions for either the person, environment or both to increase the
level of fit. The intervention should reduce stress within the individual, family, group and/or
communities, and promote positive growth and development. Stress is defined as the
‘outcome of a perceived imbalance between environmental demands and capability to
manage them with available internal and external resources’. Therefore, social workers work
with individuals to alleviate the stress by improving the person: environment fit.

Person: environment fit: Is the actual fit between an individual’s or a collective

group’s needs, rights, goals and capacities and the qualities and operations of their
physical and social environments within particular cultural and historical contexts.
This fit could be classified as favourable, minimally adequate or unfavourable.

When there is a positive person: environment fit, individuals feel a sense of

adaptedness, which includes feelings of security and perceptions of themselves and their
environment as holding resources necessary to support their human growth and potential.
Alternatively, a negative person: environment fit is a result of individuals lacking a sense of
security within their environment and experiencing inadequate personal and environment
resources which are needed to maintain and feed their growth and development. A negative
person: environment fit leads to the individual experiencing stress. This level of stress varies
by the extent to which the individuals perceive their ability to obtain the necessary
resources.

Stress - Is the internal response to a life stressor and is characterized by troubled

emotional or physiological states, or both.

Example: An individual may feel overwhelmed and stressed with a recent diagnosis of
terminal cancer of a family member who contributed to the financial and emotional
resources of a family, but the individual may seek help, assistance and resources from
extended family members and the community church in order to meet the family’s needs,

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which in turn greatly reduces the level of stress. Alternatively, another individual in the same
situation may not have the extended family or community church to assist and alleviate
stress and, thus, the individual experiences an amount of stress that she or he perceives as
unbearable. Therefore, the first individual may be able to improve her or his level of person:
environment fit, while the second individual is experiencing a gradual decline in her or his
person: environment fit.

Life stressors are usually caused by external forces and ‘takes the form of a real or
perceived harm or loss, or threat of a future harm or loss (i.e. illness, bereavement, job loss,
difficult transitions, interpersonal conflict, or countless other painful life issues and events).
These external factors may be perceived as a challenge to individuals who have the
resources to cope with the factors, or they may lead to internal stress, such as physiological
and/or emotional consequences when individuals do not have adequate resources to enable
them to cope with the external factors. Therefore, the ability and extent to which individuals
cope with external pressures and factors depends on the availability and adequacy of their
environment’s resources.

Three different ways in which individuals attempt to create or maintain an adaptive

person: environment fit:
1. Change oneself in order to meet the environment’s perceived expectations or
demands, and take advantage of its opportunities.
2. Change the environment so that the social and physical environment are more
responsive to one’s needs and goals.
3. Change the person: environment transactions in order to achieve an improved fit.
Although individuals are continually adapting to their environments, this does not
mean that they are passive or do not challenge the status quo in favour of a more
suitable environment.

The ecological perspective seeks to support individuals in creating person: environment

fits that promotes diverse, supportive environments and positive human growth and
development.

Implementing The Ecological Perspective: The Life Model

The life model of social work practice was developed within social work by, which
was based on the ecological perspective. The life model views the purpose of social work as
assisting in the improvement of the level of fit between people and their environments
particularly by helping people find and utilize their personal and environmental strengths
and resources to assist in alleviating life stressors and/or to intervene in the environment to
create better resources to meet the needs of individuals. The life model focuses on the life
course or the ‘unique pathways of development that each human being takes – from
conception and birth through old age – in varied environment, and to our infinitely varied
life experiences’. The life model works to the life course, particularly as it is nonuniform and
perceives the life course as varying based on diverse environments, cultures and diversity
within human specificities, such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic
status and physical/mental. Working from a life course perspective versus a life stages
perspective allows individuals to grow and develop as necessary for their environments,
based on their cultures and determined by their historical, individual and social time versus

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predetermined stages as defined by the predominately dominate culture set in a specific

time. In working from a life course perspective, the life model seeks to help individuals
alleviate the life stressors that emerge throughout the life course, such as stressful
development transitions, difficult social transitions and traumatic life events. Developmental
transitions include moving through the life course and into the different roles of humanity,
such as adolescence, adulthood, parenthood and older adulthood. Each of these
developmental transitions brings with it some adjustments for the person, which will vary in
difficulty for each individual depending on the rules and norms of the dominant culture,
subcultures and the availability of resources from the environment. Social transitions will
also vary in difficulty for each individual and can include starting a new job, having a child or
ending a relationship. Lastly, traumatic life events also can cause difficulty and stress for
individuals such as the loss of a loved one, or loss of something that has value and
significance to an individual. Life modelled practice seeks to work with individuals to utilize
their strengths and resources in order to create a positive person: environment fit and, thus,
alleviate the stressors and achieve positive growth and development. The model is phasic
and is organized into the initial, ongoing and ending phases. The model’s initial phase
involves assessing the current level of person: environment fit, including personal
biopsychosocial features and environmental properties. This assessment includes
considering the level of stress as experienced by the person and her or his coping strategies.
The problems and goals are to be defined by the client and shared by the social worker in
order to collaboratively participate in problem-solving activities, which initiates the ongoing
phase. This phase involves interventions that can be tailored to the individual by working to
increase self-esteem, self-worth, competence and autonomy or by attempting to change the
physical or social environment to create a better person: environment fit. In the ending
phase the social worker and client address feelings around termination and develop plans
for addressing any future life stressors. Life modelled practice is an empowerment-based
approach and is sensitive to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, physical and mental
states, and other differences between the social worker and the clients, and includes the
following principles:
1. A collaborative relationship between social worker and client. The
relationship between the social worker and client is viewed as a partnership where
both parties bring knowledge that influences the work together.
2. The client is viewed as the expert not the social worker. The social
worker acknowledges that clients are the experts in their own experiences and the
social worker is not to place her or his own values and beliefs onto the clients.
3. Empowerment. The social worker and client are working to enhance the
power of the client. Empowerment could be enhanced by linking the client to informal
or formal support systems and/or participating in political activities in order to
advocate for services and resources.

THE ANTI-OPPRESSIVE MODEL

In social work, the anti-oppressive model aims to function and promote equal,
non-oppressive social relations between various identities. Dominelli (2002) defines it, "in
challenging established truths about identity, anti-oppressive practice seeks to subvert the
stability of universalized biological representations of social division to both validate
diversity and enhance solidarity based on celebrating difference amongst peoples". It

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remains dedicated to principles of social justice, which is also upheld in NASW values, by
acknowledging diversity within oppression and considering the intersection and hierarchies
of the "isms" that construct people as victims or perpetrators. The anti-oppressive model
analyzes and advocates against macro & micro levels of oppression and emphasizes on social
justice and social change along more empowering and emancipatory lines.
The complex and unequal role of "power" and "isms" are considered as an immense
complication in anti-oppressive practice. Those who benefit as in most relationships are
those who with most power. Thompson argues that there are essentially three stacks of
barriers in anti-oppressive practice. They are personal (P), cultural (C) and structural (S). P
refers to personal and prejudice factors. C refers to culture, commonalities, consensus and
conformity. S refers to Structural aspects like sociopolitical force or other social dimensions.
Thompson refers as P being embedded in C and C in S, interacting with each other in
continuum. Anti-Oppressive Practice seeks to identify strategies to construct power in a way
that will address the systemic inequalities that are operating simultaneously at the
individual, group and institutional level, as opposed to producing and reproducing
oppression.

Personal / Individual Oppression: Personal / Individual Oppression includes the values,

beliefs and feelings held by individuals that affect interpersonal relationships. According to
Dominelli (2002, p. 6), anti-oppression is “a methodology focusing on both process and
outcome, and a way of structuring relationships between individuals that aim to empower
users by reducing the negative effects of hierarchy in their immediate interaction and the
work they do together.”

Cultural Oppression: Language has a contribution to oppression in general, language with its
marking function constructs social structure and an interplay in creating cultural values.
Government records categorize people who are neither white or male, as ethnic presuming
white people do not have an ethnicity but are the norm, and white people are often
"de-raced" in discourses.

FEMINIST SOCIAL WORK

Feminist social work practice is based on principles derived from the political and
social analyses of the women's movement. As a practice approach, feminism emphasizes
gendered analyses and solutions, democratized structures and processes, diversity and
inclusivity, linking personal situations with political solutions, and transformation at all levels
of intervention. Feminist practice is in concert with a multisystem approach; it complements
and extends strength-based social work. It requires of the practitioner, regardless of method,
to be relational and open to other ways of knowing and understanding. Feminist social work
practice broadly encompasses intervention knowledge and skills based within and informed
by the political and social analyses of the women's movement. Feminism provides a critical
lens through which social workers understand, and then work to ameliorate, the concerns
and issues primarily of women. Feminist theory also suggests new processes for working
with women, processes that in turn influence other practice paradigms.

CORE PRINICPLES OF FEMINIST SOCIAL WORK

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● •Gendered lens: An understanding that societal dynamics and relations shape, and
are shaped by, gendered roles and responsibilities. With respect to practice, this
means that the status and experiences of women need to inform the identification,
analysis, and solution of problems, as well as the processes used. It is tempting to
think that since women are the majority of social work practitioners and clients, the
profession automatically incorporates gendered analysis into interventions. This
principle, however, speaks specifically to understanding the power dynamics
generated by gender norms, expectations, and behaviors, not merely women
working with women.
● •Personal is political: One of the most famous slogans of the women's movement,
this principle links the individual experiences of women with broader societal
structures and trends. In order to understand and make this connection, the
seemingly “mundane” aspects of what it means to be female and male, and how
these roles are socially reproduced, must be deconstructed. This examination then
informs the change process. One strategic implication of this is the demystification of
knowledge that women are “experts” in their own lives and that problem analysis is
built on shared experiences. Narrative development and consciousness-raising are
primary tactics in understanding and examining societal problems and concerns, and
the impact that these concerns have on individuals. Practice is centered on
facilitating and acting on these understandings.
● •Democratized structures and processes: Within feminist practice, the ways in which
a goal or objective is achieved is often as important as the actual achievement.
Attending to the process of practice, from a feminist perspective, means facilitating
collaborative styles such as consensus decision-making and delegation or rotation of
tasks. Structures, such as collectives or “flattened” hierarchies, are put into place to
support such cooperative processes. While this principle has greatest relevancy for
the development and maintenance of programs and organization, it also pertains to
the broader dynamics of networking and relationship building as central components
in practice. The value of egalitarianism as critical to feminist social work is
underscored. Commitment to this principle necessitates attention to process as well
as product. This, in turn, can result in a tension between how a project unfolds and
the outcome of the effort.
● •Inclusivity and diversity: While understanding the gendered dynamics essential in
feminist analysis and practice, it is not the singular factor in comprehending the
patterns of subordination and oppression in the United States and other countries.
Feminism has become increasingly committed to the elimination of all forms of
oppression and the facilitation of full participation by bridging differences. This
necessitates working toward the understanding of social problems and solutions
through perspectives other than that of white, middle class women. It also requires
the close examination of the ways in which various forms of privilege are manifested
in practice efforts (no matter how well-intentioned the efforts are).
● •Transformational: Recognizing gender subordination does not mean that women
are merely included in status quo arrangements, which are then left unaltered.
Feminist practice seeks, and contributes to, basic structural and cultural changes in
terms of gender roles, norms, and status. Moreover, it challenges the manifestation
of other oppressions, such as racism, homophobia, ageism, or classism, and thus, is
“transformational because it involves a vision of a society that does not exist and

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sees social, political, and economic change as necessary for that vision to be
realized”.

These principles can have a powerful influence on practice, as the following examples
suggest:
● A clinician would work in partnership with individuals and families, helping them
understand how the presenting issues or problems are connected to larger societal
dynamics informed, at least in part, by gender.
● A group worker would facilitate groups in a way that advanced shared leadership,
collective consciousness-raising, and mutual aid with attention to gendered
communication patterns and roles.
● An agency director would promote organizational structures and procedures that
supported team-building, participatory decision-making, open governance, and
minimized hierarchy, and would institute mentoring programs and other supports to
enhance opportunities for members of subordinated groups (for example, women,
people of color, and people with disabilities).
● A community organizer would emphasize empowerment-oriented processes,
promote democratic and inclusive development strategies, and facilitate leadership
development particularly among underrepresented group members.
● A policy analyst or practitioner, in the institutional arena, would help reveal the
gendered realities of social problems, such as the feminization of poverty or the
many ways in which the state attempts to regulate the lives of women.
● A social movement activist, on the societal level, would help articulate the
connections between personal problems and broader structural trends so that a
political solution could be generated, while being mindful that the voices of women
and other oppressed groups be heard through coalitions and other collective
strategies.
CHAPTER 4
GENERALIST SOCIAL WORK
LESSON 1

GENERALIST SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE FRAMEWORK, CHARACTERISTICS,

& ELEMENTS

OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

✔ Distinguish between direct and indirect methods and varied approaches in

social work.
✔ Discuss the essential elements of social work practice.

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DIRECT AND INDIRECT PRACTICE

1. Direct Practice – range of professional social work activities with or on behalf of
clients, in which goals are established, worked toward and reached through
personal contact and immediate influence with those seeking social services.
2. Indirect Practice – those professional social work activities such as
administration, supervision, research, publication, policy development, education
(classroom and field instruction) which may not involve immediate or personal
contact with clients being served. It was the term used to describe macro social
work, served for many years as a reference to social work’s commitment to
environmental modification and the alleviation of social problems. It is the catch
phrase for change efforts involving the environment and the social welfare.

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF SW PRACTICE

4Ps: Person, Problem, Place, Process.

PERSON
Person is an individual who has tried all methods to resolve the problem but has found no
respite, and finally has come to the case worker for some direction. The person has
exhausted all his resources and is determined to seek professional help. This person, called
the client, comes with certain expectations from the case worker/ agency.

Characteristic of persons:
● The behaviour of an individual has an inherent and explicit meaning- it may be to
gain satisfaction, to prevent frustration or to maintain balance-in-movement.
Whether behaviours promote well-being depends largely on the functioning of the
personality of the individual.
● The client’s personality is partially genetically inherited and partially shaped up
because of the interaction with the environment. Every client is a product of nature
and nurture.
● Clients are in a process of being in the present and becoming in the future.
● Clients are always under stress during the process- being a client itself is a stress.

To understand human behavior and individual differences, Grace Mathew (1992) gives the
following propositions:
● An individual’s behaviour is conditioned by his/her environment and his/her
experiences.
● Behaviour includes thoughts, feelings, reactions etc. The conditions and influences
surrounding the person constitute the environment.
● For human growth and development, it is important that certain basic needs should
be met (Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs).
● Emotional needs are genuine and they cannot be met or removed through
intellectual reasoning.
● Behaviour of any individual is purposeful and is in response to the individual’s
physical and emotional needs.
● Other people’s behaviour can be understood only in terms of one’s own emotional
and intellectual comprehension.

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PROBLEM
Problems include those factors that affect the person’s social functioning. Problems are
multifaceted and can be at various levels such as:
-individual problems
-group problems
-community problems
Problems can be categorized as internal psychological and external social problems
Problems have a chain reaction. The core problem initiates a chain reaction:
For Example: failure in exams, poor self-confidence, loss of status, relationship problem,
inability to get job……etc. Being a client itself is a problem. Problems are an outcome
of the cause-effect process. That is, a problem can be a result of an unfavorable
situation (cause- failure in exams) and the result is an unfavorable situation (effect- poor
self-confidence). The client may not be aware of the core of the problem. The client
may experience the problem for the first time or might have experienced it earlier. The
problem can be of various natures- adjustment, stress, frustration, lack of resources,
and additional member in the family or ill health.

PLACE
It is an agency/organization that renders professional help/service to the client. It is a place
where an umbrella of care is available to the client. The agency develops programs to cater
to the needs of the client/community. A social agency is an organization which expresses the
will of the society. The agency has an administrative structure, which fulfills the task of
providing professional help. The agency should be flexible enough to reach out to the client.
The community should be aware of the agency’s existence and functioning.

PROCESS
It is defined as the procedural path adopted to find a solution to the client‟s problem
situation. Study, Assessment, Intervention, Termination and Evaluation are the main phases
of the social case work process. They are the threads of the process that will continue to be
inter-woven throughout the social case work process. Though these steps may be perceived
in order, they are actually not performed in sequence. Eminent authors on social case work
like Gordon Hamilton and Skidmore have pointed out that these steps are woven in and out,
one process paralleling another. Though a temporary or tentative assessment of the person
and his/her problem is made in the beginning with a planned intervention strategy, still the
case worker draws inferences and continues to study and understand the client better.
Intervention and treatment begins with the first contact - the study process itself is
treatment - as it helps the client to clarify the problem for himself, and to make changes in
his life situation resulting from this understanding. Assessment is on persons and not on
problems and while trying to understand the nature of the problem, we try to understand
what sort of person has the problem. Thus, understanding is a continuous process. As long
as assessment continues, the phases of study, intervention, termination and evaluation
continue to recur. The phases may overlap and may proceed simultaneously. However, there
would be an emphasis on one phase at a time.

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OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

✔ Explain the phases/steps of the social work helping process in the context of
Planned Change.
✔ Illustrate the sequential application of the SW helping process using a sample
case situation.
✔ Identify social work intervention, tools and techniques utilized in the helping
process.

PLANNED CHANGE AND THE SOCIAL WORK HELPING PROCESS

STEPS IN HELPING PROCESS

The social work helping process consists of the following sequential steps which are
followed when working with any type of client system, i.e., individual, family, small group,
community:
(1) Assessment;
(2) Planning;
(3) Intervention of Plan Implementation;
(4) Evaluation; and
(5) Termination

The first two steps are considered as the Beginning Phase of the helping process, the
third step is the Middle or Intervention Phase, while the last two comprise the Ending Phase.
The steps proceed through time, and each stop (or phase) is characterized by certain
distinctive events and activities which tend to repeat themselves. Thus, we cannot say that
the steps are neatly separated or that one has to be entirely completed before moving on to
the next step.

ASSESSMENT
Max Siporin defines assessment as “a process and a product of understanding on
which action is based.” The process involves the collection of necessary information and it s
analysis and interpretation in order to reach an understanding of the client, the problem,
and social context in which it exists. It should be emphasized that the ultimate purpose of
assessment is to provide understanding necessary for appropriate planning. The specific
product of such understanding is agreement between the client and worker as to the
“problem to be worked on.” The worker is expected to write an Assessment Statement for
the identified problem.

In the past, and assessment statement was referred to as a “diagnoses” or “social

diagnosis.” These terms, however, connote illness or abnormality, and tend to imply that
one person (i.e., the worker) rather than two (the worker and client in dynamic interaction)
makes the decision as to what the problem is and does not project the process that is

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involved. Thus, Assessment Statement appears in most social work literature and seems to
also be the preferred term in the field of practice today.

INITIAL CONTACT(S) WITH CLIENT/INTAKE

The first contact between the client and the worker may come about in different
ways:

1. The client initiates the contact. An individual, a couple, a group, or representatives of

an organization or community may, on their way, seek the help of an agency social
worker about a concern or problem for which they think the worker is in a position to
help.

2. The client is referred to the worker or agency by some interested or concerned party
– a relative, neighbor, teacher, etc. Sometimes, clients like legal offenders are merely
forced to secure help. They are called “involuntary clients”.

3. The worker reaches out to the (potential) client and offers his/her services. Many of
our agencies do such “outreach” efforts because few people are aware of existing
community agencies and the services they offer or many are too shy, or are not
adequately motivated to seek help.

THE INTAKE PROCESS

Intake is the process by which a potential client achieves the status of a client. On the
client’s part, this involves the presentation of the self and the problem or need as he or she
is experiencing it. On the part of a social worker, this involves some assessment of the client
and the problem and whether or not the agency is in the position to help him or her. A good
intake interview should provide the client with adequate understanding of the agency and
its policy and program in relation to his need or problem, as well as the responsibilities and
obligations from both client and worker. Based on actual experience, Filipino clients tend to
regard social welfare agencies as providers of material needs. Once their needs are met,
many of them do not return to the agency even when asked to do so. Potential clients lose
interest upon learning that the agency does not give material aid. This implies that you
should be perceptive about a client and make an effort to help him/her understand what the
agency can do to solve the problem or improve his/her life situation, through ways that are
not immediately recognized but which you can point out during the intake process.

The intake process may end either with you or the client deciding not to proceed, or
the client committing to have client status (however tentatively or reluctantly) and you
committing your agency to provide services (however limited). When the latter occurs, a
initial engagement may be said to have taken place.

This is very important because you are given the opportunity to lay the foundation
for a positive interaction with the client which is essential to the helping process. Thus, from
the initial contact with any system you should already consciously apply knowledge and skill,
as well as professional values and principles.

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In work with small groups, you may choose between conducting individual intake or
group intake, sometimes, both. Much depends on the setting and the nature of the problem.
For example, in the mental health field, emotionally disturbed clients and/or their families
have greater need for privacy so that individual intake is more commonly practiced.

No formal intake is done when the client is a large collectivity like a community.
However, during the initial community assembly, you should see to it that the equivalent of
an intake process that is undertaken with the individuals and families or small groups is also
done. Likewise, you must keep a record that approximates what is found in an Individual
Intake Form community identifying information, presenting problem and circumstances
relating to this, background data and other pertinent information obtained during the initial
contact with the community.

THE PROBLEM

1. Knowing the Presenting Problem

During the initial contact or intake process the client or some significant other
party who has identified an individual, family or group as having a problem that is a
threat to their own, or other’s welfare, usually states the problem as it is being
experienced or perceived. This is called the “presenting problem”. This maybe
described or stated as symptoms (anxiety, lack of motivation, etc.), behavioral
configurations (marital discord, poor school performance, unemployment, etc.), or as
needs (housing, money, etc.).

Regardless of how the contact between you and the client is initiated, you
should start with what the client (or significant system which is the source of referral)
sees as the problem. I am using the word problem here not in its limited meaning,
i.e., as “dysfunctional behavior” or “ pathology” but in its broad and inclusive
meaning, that is, “a need, issue, question or difficulty that relates to the human
functioning and is being brought forth for study and action by the worker and a
system. Expressions like “start where the client is” and “felt need are expressions to
point out to the need to understand what is that the client views as the problem.
Later, as more data are gathered, it may be reformulated or changed, with his/her
participation.

It is expected that when client comes, he or she may present a variety of

problems. During the initial contact or intake, they should be heard as presenting
problems that have to be explored, with you obtaining as much information about
each problem being presented. The exploration will unavoidably touch on goals,
usually immediate ones that will provide some relief from the problem the client
presented. You should take careful note of these as they not only provide clues about
the client’s motivations for seeking help but also help you to begin to assess whether
there is a fit between the client’s expectations and what service the agency can offer.
We shall focus on goal-setting in the next lesson. Your skill in communicating, relating

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and interviewing, are essential from the very start along with such positive
characteristics as sensitivity, genuineness, and empathy.

You may be able to come up with your own tentative definition of the
problem(s) based on the data including observations she has made from the initial
contacts with the client. What should now follow is a definition of the problem for
work, which you and the client should do together.

2. Defining the Problem for Work

The following statement by Compton and Galaway underscores the

importance of this activity:

We cannot possibly overemphasize the point that effective work depends on

appropriate problem identification. The way you define the problem will define what
data are collected and will dictate what are seen as appropriate answers. This step
must be right or all else fail. There can be no engagement between client and worker
without a common understanding of what they are about together from the client’s
frame of reference. This does not mean that you should set aside your definition of
the problem. It means that you and the client must spell out both definitions and
agree an ordering the problems for work

The same authors refer to the problem-for-work as “the place of beginning

together,” which specifically means any or all of the following:

a. the problem or part of the problem that client system feels is most important
or a good beginning place;
b. the problem or part of the problem that in the worker’s judgment is most
critical;

c. the problem or part of the problem that in the worker’s judgment can most
readily yield to help;

d. the problem or part of the problem that falls within the action parameters of
the helping system.

The common ground for work is sometimes defined quickly, but there are
times when you have to do series of interviews in order to agree on a common
starting point. What happens when a common ground cannot be reached? Compton
and Galaway suggest that in such a situation, you and the client may find it necessary
to acknowledge this fact and for the present at least, discontinue your efforts. In
settings like courts where social workers have a legal mandate to provide supervision
to clients, the former should report the matter and ask the court to decide the next
step.
Two social work techniques are particularly useful during problem definition:
prioritization and partialization.

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As you gather and review data, you will often find that several problems have
to be attended to. Which problem to address first requires that you prioritize the
problems that have been identified and assessed. Prioritization means that you have
to consider the problems in the order of importance so that the most important is
addressed ahead of another or others.

McMahon stresses the need for a client to build up a sense of trust in you and
your agency’s ability to be helpful and therefore suggest that you try to select first a
problem that has a high change potential for resolution or need satisfaction.

Partialization refers to the process of separating from the universe of

problems of the client the specific problem or problems that are to become the focus
of worker-client attention. It is impossible, especially with multi-problem clients to
deal with their whole range of problems at one time. Partialization facilitates the
development of a common ground for work that is necessary in a social work helping
relationship.

The initial engagement with a system (the client or significant others) is

firmed up by the agreement on the problem for work. The next activity – data
collection, follows.

DATA COLLECTION

A variety of sources available from which to obtain the information that is necessary
in assessment.

1. Primary sources. The most direct means of gathering data is through personal
interviews using carefully planned questions. The client and other systems are the
primary sources of such data. Individual and group interviews may be used.
In addition to the question and answer method of getting information, skilled
listening and observing can yield very helpful information.

2. Secondary sources. Reading records, reports and documents, studies and

evaluations and other written materials like written communications with other
professionals are often available for use. How reliable are the data they provide, or
how competent and objective were those who prepared them should be carefully
considered.

The following are some of the principles of data collection:

1. The clients should be the primary source of information although not necessarily the
only source.
2. The data you collect should be related to the problem at issue.
3. You should not acquire information that you would be unwilling to share with the
client.

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4. The client should be informed about the source being used to obtain information.
There are also certain kinds of information that can be obtained only with the client’s
consent.
5. Most data should be obtained only after the problem-for-work has been identified
and the worker and the client have agreed on what data need to be gathered.

The worker should try to tap all possible sources of reliable data before beginning to
make an assessment, and all these data are best clustered under three major categorical
headings: problem i.e., scope, duration, severity, person(s) experiencing the problem (i.e.,
coping capacities, motivation) and environment that surrounds the person(s) and problem(s)
being addressed (i.e., informal and informal resources) and influences that contribute to the
problem.
WRITING AN ASSESSMENT STATEMENT

After a review of the literature on this step of the helping process, I think Maria
O’Neil McMahon’s ideas are the most useful and appropriate for adoption in the Philippine
setting. Let me present these components of an Assessment Statement to you followed by a
illustration.

1. Opening causal statement

Begin by clearly indicating who has the problems, what the problem is, and
why the problem exist at this time. The “why” can consist of an immediate causal
factor which may have resulted from a series of factors.
In looking for the cause of a problem, you should realize that there are many
possible causes, from personal to structural, to societal. The one most directly
related o the problem is the cause that is cited in an assessment statement. The
other “preceding causes” should also be cited with a clear explanation of how
they are connected to the problem – in order to better understand the problem
for the purpose of planning and intervention

2. Change –potential statement

A problem’s change potential is dependent on three independent factors:
problem, person, environment. These factors have direct impact on the
maintenance or resolution of the problem.

Problem. You and the contact system (client or some significant others) consider
the nature of the problem and its change potential by answering the following
questions. Can this problem be resolved? Is the nature of the problem
irreversible (e.g. terminal illness)? How long has the problem been going on, who
are involved and to what extent?

Person. You need to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the person or
persons having the problem. An appraisal of the change potential of a problem in
so far as the person factor is concerned should answer questions like what is
his/her/their motivation and capacity for change? Are they able to cope with it
alone or accept help from others? What is their change potentials?

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Environment. In considering the environment in which the problem is located

you should know the following. What formal or informal resources are available
in the environment that can promote the necessary changes? What restraining
forces are there that are stronger than supportive resources? With optimum use
of available resources, what is the expected outcome?

3. Judgment about the seriousness or urgency of the problem. Based on available

data, you should be able to answer this question: To what extent is this? a
life-or-death-mater for the person(s) concerned? Life-endangering situations
require your immediate attention even if in your judgment the change potential
for the problem is very low.

ASSESSMENT STATEMENT

Agnes is in need of a place where she can temporarily stay safe enough as she has run
away from an alcoholic husband who has been abusing her physically for almost twenty
years now. She was successful in leaving their house after a fight which has almost led to her
stabbing. She was lucky to be spared from the incident when a barangay tanod passed by
their residence and tried to stop the husband from doing the act. She sought refuge with a
neighbor who until now had provided her food and accommodation. She fears for her life as
she is thinking the husband may discover her whereabouts. The neighbor could not assure
her security then as the husband is known to be “basagulero” in their place. Agnes has
gained strength in leaving the husband after learning that a lot of non-government
organizations and government as well are trying to help victims like her.

Agnes has three female children ages 12, 10 and 9 who were left with the husband. She
had not seen them for the past three days since she left their residence. She fears the
children may not have gone to school as the husband would not dare prepare their baons.
The fear has escalated the fact that the children were not spared from battering every time
Agnes left. The neighbors had allegedly heard the youngest one night to be pleading for help.
However, no one dared to rescue the minor for fear of repercussions.

Resources for Agnes problem, are available in the community and the change potential
for her is quite bright, especially because the law is on her side and other supportive services
can be tapped. Agnes children are also priority for interceptive efforts.

If her problem is not attended to immediately, Agnes might be forced to return home or
she might try to solve her problem in ways that may be harmful to her. Her children, on her
part, is clearly “at risk” with the husband, especially now that she has left.

There is also need to reach out to the other family members for possible
mainstreaming, the mother (who resides in another town adjacent theirs), a brother who is
married but has no child who is engaged in business.

The preceding Assessment Statement makes clear that the priority problem which
the worker has decided to address (in agreement with the client) is Agnes and her children’s
need for “protective custody”. It is apparent that there are other problems to be addressed

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in the family, but this will follow later. The choice of the “priority problem” also illustrates
what I stated earlier, that a good principle to follow when there are several problems in need
of attention is that he worker should attend first to a problem that has a high change
potential resolution.

CHARACTERISTIC OF ASSESSMENT
The characteristics of assessment are as follows;
(1) It is ongoing. Although it is the primary focus of the early stages, it takes place
throughout the helping relationship. As new information becomes available,
new understanding of the client and the situation develops, and become part
of the ongoing assessment.
(2) It focuses on understanding the client in the situation and in providing a base
for planning and action.
(3) it is a mutual process involving both client and worker.
(4) there is movement within the assessment process. Louise Johnson states that
this movement comes “from observation of parts of the service situation, to
identification of information needed for understanding, to collection of facts
about parts of the service situation, to explanation of the meaning of the facts
collected, to putting together facts and their meanings about various parts in
order to understand the total situation.
(5) Both horizontal and vertical explorations are important. A horizontal study of
the client’s situation is a study in breadth, to identify all possible parts,
interactions and relationships. This facilitates understanding of the nature of
the problem those parts identified as most important to the situation or to the
solution of the problem are later explored in depth, i.e. vertically.
(6) Assessment identifies needs in life situations, defines problems, and explains
their meanings and patterns.
(7) Assessment in individualized. No two assessment statements are exactly the
same since every assessment is related to the unique situation of every client.
(8) Judgment is important in assessment because many decisions have to be made.
Which parts to consider, how to involve the client, how to define the problem
are some of these decisions.
(9) No assessment is ever complete. It is not only possible to have complete
understanding of any situation but many clients’ needs are urgent and require
that the worker must decide when his\her understanding is adequate enough
basis for action, even as efforts to understand the client and the situation
continue.

PLANNING
GOAL- FORMATION AND INTERVENTION-PLANNING

Planning is the link between assessment and intervention. Although it is often

considered part of the assessment process, it is so important in the helping process that it
should be discussed separately.

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The planning process translate the content of assessment into a goal statement that
describes the desired results, and is also concerned with identifying the means to reach the
goals.

Guided by social work values and a body of knowledge, planning allows you, with the
client’s participation, to move from problem definition to problem solutions. The end goal
of planning is planned change.
Two major tasks are involved during the planning stage: formulation goals that
directly relate to the client’s need or problem, and defining the specific actions or
interventions that are necessary in order to achieve the goals.

GOALS AND PLANS

Goals are ends. They are desired or expected outcomes of an endeavor. When
qualified by the work “optimate,” “general,” or “optimal” this means that the stated goals
are the final, overall, or long-range results to which efforts are directed. If you are writing up
the goals for a helping relationship and you want to test whether what you have formulated
are indeed goals and not something else, consider whether they answer this question: In a
nut shell, goals are concerned with solutions.

Ultimate Goal

At the end of two months (September, 30), Aileen will be able to relate with his
peers more positively, i.e., he will be able to express disagreement, frustration or anger,
without physically hurting any of them.

Objectives

1) Aileen will at least be minimally participating in discussions and other group activities
by August 15.

2) Aileen will be able to fully express his thoughts and feelings both positive and
negative about herself, her peers, her family, etc. and her situation by August 30.

3) Aileen will be able to disagree or object to his peers’ ideas or opinions without
resorting to obscene or abusive language by September 15.

4) Aileen will be able to express anger and resentment without challenging/provoking

her peers to a fight by September 30.

If your goals are not complicated and do not require a lengthy time frame, I suggest
you just use the term goals or helping goals.

You should always bear in mind that goals should always relate to a client problem or
situation. Furthermore, in formulating goals, it is important to consider your expectations as
well as of the client, and significant others in the client’s environment.

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Goals give direction to your relationship with the clients. Thus, to be useful, goals
should have the following characteristics:

1. Specific, concrete and measurable. Goals that are stated in too broad or
general terms are difficult to measure. This makes it difficult for you to know if they
have been accomplished. Thus also making it difficult to hold you accountable for
your professional activities.

2. Feasible. Goals should be realistic and attainable. There is no point in

formulating goals that that have no reasonable chance of being accomplished
because you and/or your client has constraints in terms of time, interest, abilities and
resources. These are better referred to as variables of motivation, capacity and
opportunity.

Can goals be changed after they have been set? Of course! Goals should be
constantly evaluated, and flexibility should be observed because original goals may
no longer be appropriate to changing situations as the plan is implemented.

If there are ends (goals), there should be means to achieve them. These
would consist of the specific actions or steps to be undertaken in order to reach the
goals. Jointly made by you and the client, they comprise what is called an Action Plan
or Intervention Plan. This is arrived at in the same way you arrive at problem
definition and goals – by considering not only your own expectations but also, those
of the client and significant others in his environment. Campton and Galaway remind
us that any differences in these expectations have to be negotiated and resolved.
They also call our attention to a common error in social work which is that of offering
an intervention plan without considering alternatives with the client. This must
sound familiar to you, for indeed, in your own setting, many social workers allow
token gestures of client participation but in reality clients are often denied
involvement in intervention planning. A systematic review of client strengths when
preparing an intervention plan – personal and other resources – preferably in
relation to each goal, is viewed as one way of avoiding this danger.

INTERVENTION

Social work literature has many other terms for intervention: action, plan
implementation, treatment. Whichever term is used (and which term is used will depend on
the practitioner’s orientation, e.g., a clinical social worker will use “treatment” instead of the
other terms), this phase in the helping process is concerned with the action that would
accomplish the solutions to your client’s problems.

From the very start, I have underscored the importance of client participation and
involvement in the helping process. However, at this point in our discussion, our focus is on
your activity. Thus, intervention involves in the rendering of all the specific and interrelated
services appropriate to the given problem situation in the light of the assessment and
planning. It includes all the goal-related activities you will undertake following the
agreement you forged with the client based on the problem to be worked on and the plan of

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action to be pursued. I am using “intervention” here in its narrower or limited meaning, not
the broader term “treatment” which embraces all the efforts of a worker from the first
contract with client until change efforts are undertaken.

Campton and Galaway have very apt words on two of the phases of the helping
process: 1) deciding what to do, and 2) doing the decided. The first involves the assessment
and planning steps and the second, intervention. Obviously, it is during intervention that you
are faced with the challenge of putting into operation your professional knowledge, values
and the skills to help the client reach your mutually defined goals.

INTERVENTIVE ROLES IN DIRECT PRACTICE

A discussion of your activities in relation to problem-solving efforts will have to dwell

on your interventive role which refer to the behaviors expected by means of which both the
client and you expect to help accomplish the goals agreed upon.

There is today an expanding social work practice literature on the subject of worker
interventions. Different authors use different terminologies to present them, e.g.,
“methods”, “functional models”, “interventive models”, and “interventive roles”. I will use
the last one – interventive roles – to avoid confusion. Many social workers continue to use
“methods” to mean the traditional social work methods of casework, groupwork, and
community organization, whereas I am using ‘models” in the context of social work practice
strategy/approach in our last Course Unit.

I will present interventive roles culled mainly from three sources. My selection of
interventive roles has been influenced by two major considerations, i.e., they are relevant to
our own local client problems/situations and they transcend specific modes of practice. I
think they will not go out of fashion and can be used with any client system!

RESOURCE PROVIDER

This role engages you in the direct provision of material aid useful in eliminating or
reducing situational deficiencies. Concrete resources are mobilized, created and directly
provided to the client who is assisted in making optimal use of them. The direct
administration of programs of material aid usually involves the worker in the following
activities: 1) case-by-case involvement of the client in the study and evaluation process, i.e.,
of determining needs and forms of meeting these needs; 2) an determination of eligibility
within the administering agency’s terms of reference; 3) a judgment that the provision of the
service or benefit will promote the client’s best interest; 4) recruiting, selecting, training,
supporting, collaborating with personnel offering direct care, like foster parents and day care
workers.

Programs which focus on resource provision abound in the country today –

temporary financial assistance, skills training, employment, assistance with medical care,
etc. The poverty situation in the country, made worse by natural calamities, renders such
programs relevant and deserves great deal of attention from social workers at all times. The

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administration of such program is an important and legitimate professional responsibility.

The provision of resources as a social work activity should not be equated with dole-outs.
The word “dole”, according to the dictionary means alms, or the giving out of money or
goods, usually out of charity. It has a connotation of indiscriminate giving which is not done
in social work. The direct provision of any form of material aid in social work is always
preceded by a careful evaluation of client need and the most appropriate ways by which it
can be met. Furthermore, resource provision is not limited to money or goods but other
concrete services that are necessary in order to achieve the helping goals for the client. The
following illustrates this interventive role:

Maria was referred by some barangay officials to the local social welfare office which
has special programs and services for solo parents. After the intake interview, the worker
found her eligible for several of the agency’s services that would make it possible for her to
start a new life. These includes loan assistance for a livelihood project under the agency’s
Self-employment Assistance Program, skills training for his two teen-aged out-of-school
sons, and enrollment of his four-year old daughter in the agency-operated Day Care Center
and Feeding Program for the three-year-old son who is undernourished.

EVALUATION

Evaluation in social work is done on two levels: (1) on the level of direct practice with
clients and (2) on the level of program implementation. The procedures of conducting
evaluation and the problems likely to be encountered in the process are believed to be
essentially the same in both social work practice and program implementation so that there
is really no need to make a sharp distinction between these two levels.

An honest-to-goodness evaluation in social work should utilize scientific methods to

measure outcomes. Therefore, as in any good research, the evaluation is directed toward
the following:

1. measuring the outcomes (dependent variables) of programs or specific

interventions;

2. measuring the change process or the nature of the intervention themselves

(independent variables); and 3) utilizing a research design that will permit you to
attribute the outcome to the change processes. Evaluation that is concerned with
outcomes or effectiveness is called summative evaluation while evaluation that is
concerned with looking at the process of the work is called formative evaluation.
Both types of evaluation can be undertaken at both program and direct practice
levels, and comprise what is called evaluation research.

Hudson and Grinnel offer a useful model for both program and practice evaluation
(see figure 1) called “Elements of Program Structure and Logic”. It shows that the structure
of an evaluation, whether program or practice evaluation will involve four elements or sets
of variables: inputs, activities, outputs and outcomes.

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Program Program Program

Program Activities Outputs Outcomes
Inputs
Also: Also:
Interventions Objectives
Independent Dependent
Variables Variables

Source: Hudson T and Grimmel, R (1989) Program Evaluation in Compton, B. and Galaway,
B., Social Work Process (5th Edition) (P. 541). Belmont, California: Wadsworth, Adapted by
editing.

Figure 1. Elements of Program Structure

The four elements are explained:

1. Inputs are the resources necessary to implement the program or the

intervention. At the program level, this may include cash, particular types of staff
like trained house parents in childcare institutions, and clients for the service. At
the direct practice level, this would include things like your time, skill and access
to information and resources to carry out the intervention plan.

2. Activities are the things that agencies do to produce change, i.e., services. They
are the causes of the change (independent variables). At the program level this
may include things like intake interviewing, counseling, referral, etc. At the direct
practice level, this means the process of interventions or the things that you and
your client will do to implement the intervention plan.

3. Out puts are the immediate results of the program or intervention plan. An
example is when the provision of skills training to an underemployed person
results in that person’s getting a better paying job. The output is having secured
the good paying job.

4. Outcomes are the longer-term benefits from the program or intervention plan. In
the case of the example given earlier, the long term benefits for the client
because of the better-paying job could be improved self-esteem and self-support.
Outcomes provide the socially justifying reason for the intervention or program.

FORMATIVE EVALUATION

It is important for practitioners to realize that summative and formative evaluation

are interrelated. Many practitioners, however, if they do practice evaluation at all, do it more
in terms of evaluating the outcomes of intervention activities, and less terms of the
processes that take place during intervention.

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Formative evaluation forces the worker to find out whether the intervention plan is
being implemented as designed. Intervention plans can be viewed on two levels, the
conceptual level (what you agree to do by way of a plan in order to achieve your goals,
which is usually in written form) and the operational level (what you actually do, the
activities you do, and the client engage in to accomplish the goals). During formative
evaluation, your musk ask yourself whether the plans have been done, as planned. It is fairly
common to have plans which are not implemented, for different reasons. Formative
evaluation allows you and your client to discuss these reasons and to decide on the
appropriate action to take. Sometimes the appropriate action is to revise the intervention
plan, which may also call for a modification of the goals and redefinition of the problem.
Compton and Galaway note that program and intervention methods in social work are often
poorly conceptualized. Because of this, “efforts to measure outputs and outcomes may be
premature unless workers are also simultaneously engaging in formative evaluations
directed toward conceptualizing and measuring the extent of your intervention activities is
viewed as an appropriate beginning place for your research efforts. Before you do this,
Compton and Galaway emphasize that “you need a clear picture of how you are going to go
about intervening and why you believe that the intervention, if accomplished, will lead to
the objectives you and your client have established. After you have done this, then, you can
proceed to thinking about summative evaluation.

QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE MEASURES

Do you know of any social workers who do evaluation of their practice? I am sure
they are not many. This is not surprising because this is the reality everywhere else. Social
workers are active in many areas of work but not in evaluation, or, for the, matter, not in
search.

It is believed that the current state of knowledge regarding measurement of

outcomes of social work intervention is a reason for difficulties in doing evaluation.
However, it should not be a reason for not doing any evaluation. Your evaluation of your
practice is an important aspect of your professional responsibility, and if you who really want
to examine whether your interventions are working or not, you have to overcome whatever
barriers there maybe to evaluation.

You need to know whether the methods and procedures you are using in your
practice are effective or not. The field of research offers measurement techniques which can
evaluate individual, group, and environmental change.

Qualitative measures like case studies where you describe the situation of the client
before and after intervention, can be used. This will show the value of your approach. You
can use this technique to measure the effects of individual and group treatment on the
individual.

Quantitative measures among the more recent designs for evaluating change efforts
of social workers. Among the examples cited for evaluating individual change are Behavioral
Counts, Goal-Attainment Scaling, Self-Ratings on Emotional States, and Value Clarification
Ratings. There are also techniques for measuring group structures and group processes, as

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well as social psychological instruments that have been developed by social scientists and
can be adapted for evaluation of changes in groups. If you really wish to do evaluation and
want to learn more about these them and other quantitative techniques, you can consult
standard texts in sociology and psychology.

Although we can and should be critical of the current state of evaluation in social
work, we acknowledge that there exist many self-evident data that can show the
effectiveness of the interventive activities and programs of social workers and social work
agencies. Much of these data relates to changes in the client’s reality or environment. Some
examples are changes in the agency policy, rules or procedures, utilization of needed
community resources, enactment and implementation of national and local legislation (e.g.,
employee benefits, tenancy laws and anti-pollution laws). However, as to the effectiveness
of the intervention plan used, this should not be made with the worker just certifying to its
effectiveness. There are ways of assessing certain types of environmental targets. These
includes the use of available documentation (e.g., policy change embodied in a manual),
interviews with objective and reliable persons who can attest to the changes that have taken
place and the use of measurement scales (e.g., scales to measure variables in the
environment that have impact on participants in those environments).

To be able to do systematic evaluation of practice with an individual, group, or

community, the following are needed and so I’ll call these the “essentials” for doing
evaluation:

1. A clear definition of the goals and objectives to be attained. These should be written
down so that the direction being pursued is clear to both worker and client. To put it
simply, how can you tell if you have been effective. In helping if you were not clear in
the first place as to what it was that you wanted to do?

2. A clear definition of the intervention and change activities to be undertaken. All the
authors who have written on the subject of evaluation, particularly those who
focused on the problem-solving approach to practice underscore the need to be very
specific in stating interventive plans. For example, instead of just saying “counseling”
it is suggested that the worker be very specific, e.g., help with learning about
budgeting, assertiveness, job-seeking, etc. because by doing this, one is better able
to tell which particular activities had a major effect on the accomplishment of the
goals that were established.

3. Documentation of the activities undertaken to achieve the goals defined. Records

and other written documents of the activities undertaken are necessary for
evaluation. Documentation provides a way of monitoring the activities of the worker
and the client. This is undoubtedly superior to any attempt at later recall of events
which have long transpired. These records also tell the worker and the client about
the discrepancies between the plans and implementation, who did not follow
through on their agreements, what actions were inappropriate or were not handled
properly, etc. and therefore why the goals are not being attained or were not
attained.

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TERMINATION

Different terms are used to refer to the last phase of the social work helping process
– “termination”, “closure services”, “disengagement”. Whichever term is used, however, this
phase means the helping relationship has come to its end, and the social worker must have
adequate understanding and skill for an effective termination of this relationship.

WHEN IS A HELPING RELATIONSHIP TERMINATED

As in all other human relationships, there is a time for separation. This is the time
when you must not only help the client system to move away, but to move yourself from the
relationship. Want conditions call for such disagreement? The following are among the most
common reasons for terminating the client-worker relationship:

1. When the goals set by you and the client have been reached. As pointed out
earlier, goal-setting is a very important task undertaken by you and the client
during the planning phase of the helping relationship. Their attainment is often
the major consideration for deciding that it is time for you and the client to
disengage from this relationship.

2. When, after a reasonable period of time, there has been very little movement
toward the attainment of the goals formulated, and the prospect for any change
situation is held unlikely. During the helping process, it does not take long before
you can observe indications of whether there is potential for change or progress
toward the desired goals. You should know what is a “reasonable period of time”
to allow for the helping relationship to show some positive movement. You
should also know when is the tie to give up because you are convinced that
nothing can be gained by continuing the helping relationship. This lack of
movement can happen even in the case of a client who in the beginning was
highly motivated to engage in problem-solving with your help. It is expected,
however, that you will exert effort to deal with these indications of lack of
movement (e.g., client non-compliance with his/her expected tasks or
responsibilities). The existence of irreconcilable differences between you and the
client should also be confronted realistically and viewed as a valid reason for
termination.

3. When q You are expected to periodically evaluate the progress of the helping
relationship with the client and should not resist “letting go” of the client when
there are clear indications that the latter can already manage, i.e. achieve the
planned goals by himself/herself.

4. When an agency does not have the resources needed by the client or you do not
get your agency’s approval to provide the services needed by the client. When
service applicants are accepted and become agency clients, the presumption is
that the agency is in a position to respond to the client’s needs or problems.
However, it is not always possible to know at the start all the resources that a
client’s problem or situation will require for you to be able to accept or reject the

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client for service. It can also happen that during the intervention phase the
worker will see the need for the client to receive some vital service which the
agency does not or will not provide (e.g., clients’ needs a group-guided
experience in addition to the one-on-one mode of helping which is all that your
agency provides. Any of these situations can lead you to decide to terminate the
helping relationship. The process of referral often follows. (I shall discuss this
shortly).

5. When the systems outside the client make it difficult for the client to continue
with the helping relationship or when these systems influence the client to
discontinue the relationship. Some clients are dependent on other systems –
their families, residential institutions, etc. – whose support and cooperation are
essential to sustained participation in some needed social work program. For
example, an out-of-school youth who needs to undergo skills training as a
prerequisite to job placement needs the financial support can lead to a
termination of the helping relationship with you or your agency in cases where
the agency does not have substitute resources for the client. Or, in the case of
children living in an institution but who have to be brought to another agency for
a needed treatment program, the inability of the institution to provide
transportation for the children’s safe and prompt travel to said agency would be a
reason for discontinuing their use of its treatment program.

6. When, one of the reason or another, you have to leave the agency. If you resign
from your job, go on extended leave, or are given other assignments that
sometimes gives give you no choice but to pre-terminate ongoing helping
relationship. What may result is the transfer of your client to another worker, or
the client’s referral to another agency.

In this last kind of termination that occurs in the field, I use two terms – transfer and
referral for after care services which I would like to differentiate.

Transfer is the process by which a client is referred by you to another worker, usually
in the same agency, because you will no longer be able to continue working with the client,
or because you think another worker is more competent to work with the client’s problem.
Whatever the reason, a transfer should first be discussed with the client, and care should be
taken to-effect a smooth transfer.

Referral is the act or directing a client to another worker/agency because the service
that the client needs is beyond the scope of your agency’s services. A referral involves just
the giving of instructions to the clients as to where the agency is located and whom to look
for. A real referral means you will do your best so that the client will obtain the service that
is needed. This may involve explaining the agency’s policies and rules, clarifying the client’s
questions about the agency to prepare him for the bureaucratic intricacies that will likely
confront him/her, and providing tips or instructions on how to deal with these.

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THE COMPONENTS OF TERMINATION

Termination can mean different things to different people. When a client and you
have had a meaningful relationship, it is normal for both of you to not only have mixed
feelings about the relationship that is about to come to an end, but also to actually feel a
sense of loss, or perhaps even grief over the impending separation. On the other hand, a
client or you may actually feel relieved and welcome the reality of termination, especially
when the helping process, for one reason or another has been a difficult one for either client
or you , or both.

Ellen Pincus and Anne Minahan present three major components of the termination
process: disengagement, stabilization of change, and evaluation.

Disengagement

While termination is supposed to have been discussed from the beginning of the
client-worker helping relationship, the reality often evokes certain feelings and reactions
from both worker and client, which must be faced.

On the client’s part the following are among the most common reactions that have
been identified.

1. Denial. Denial is a defense mechanism that is employed to avoid painful feelings. This
is manifested in such behavior as ignoring or avoiding any discussion of termination;
or not keeping appointment after termination is discussed. Johnson states that it is
important for you to “reach for feelings” at this point, so that you can move through
the termination process.

2. Emotional reactions. Fear of loss or fear of the unknown can give rise to feelings of
sadness or of grief. There can also be anger expressed in verbal outburst or physically
violent behavior directed toward you and/or other significant systems. Some clients
regress to old patterns of behavior to punish you, or to be punished by you so there
could be an extension of the helping relationship. To deal with these reaction, accept
the client’s feelings and the fears, anxieties and past experiences that are source of
these feelings. This effects a working through of the client’s feelings and enables
him/her to disengage from the relationship in a helpful manner.

Some clients may not only regress when termination approaches but may also
introduce new problems to justify the continuation of the helping relationship. The
parties have to examine why these new problems have been introduced and whether
they warrant the continuation of the service.

3. Bargaining. Some clients try to negotiate an extension of time or a modified

schedule which will mean fewer contracts with you. Some offer promises or gifts. You
should be understanding but firm in terminating the helping relationship if she is
convinced it is time to do so.

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4. Depression. Listlessness, little energy, withdrawal, sadness, helplessness, despair,

absence of motivation to go on are the manifestation of depression. Pain is real and
evident. There is regression in accomplishments.

5. Acceptance. The client manifests an increase in energy, and is able to talk about the
good and the bad times and to think about the future. There is “quiet expectation” as
the clients begins to show interest in forming new attachments. The client returns to
his/her level pf functioning before the depression and moves away from self-pity or
self-centeredness.

If the clients differ in their reactions to terminate, what factors influence these
reactions? The following are some of these factors:

1. Length of service. Generally, termination is less difficult for clients who have
been engaged in short-term and therefore less intensive involvement compared to
clients who have been involved in a long-term helping relationship. Strean points out
that a long-term relationship is likely to have stimulated dependency needs and
wishes, transference reaction, revelation of secrets, embarrassing moments,
exhilaration, sadness and gladness.

2. Attainment of client goals. Goal attainment is an accepted primary

consideration for termination. Clients who acknowledge that their goals have been
attained usually face termination with a positive and even cheerful attitude.
However, it is important for you to understand that goal or task attainment does not
necessarily mean that the client wants the relationship with the worker to end. Thus,
signs of reluctance or resistance to termination should be explored with the client
and handled accordingly. Stream points out that intervention at termination is not
very different from your activities at any other time during the helping process. This
means that you also have to plan activities based on your assessment of the client
and his/her situation, the client’s level maturation, and the meaning of termination
to the client.

Very related to goal attainment as a factor that influences a client’s reaction to

termination is clarity of goals. This lack of clarity between you and the clients as to
the goals being addressed can result in the helping relationship going on and on. If
one does not know where he/she is going, he/she will never get there. This is true
also of any helping relationship. An individual client, a group, or a community that
was not clear in the first place on why it got in to a relationship with a helping person
like you is not going to be in a good position to discuss the ending of that
relationship.

3. Client-worker relationship. The subject of client-worker relationship is so

important that it cannot be overemphasized in social work. No client who has been
involved in a meaningful relationship with you looks forward to termination with
cheer and enthusiasm. On the other hand, when a client’ experiences with you have
not been positive or when the client feels his/her needs are not being properly
understood and responded to, the client may express the wish to terminate the

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helping relationship before it is time to do so. Pre-termination does not occur only at
the instance of the worker but also of the client. When it is the client who
pre-terminates and there is no “good” reason like transfer of residence to a really
distant place (which may then call for a referral to another agency), it is not only an
embarrassment or a reflection on you but can create problems for the client. This can
be avoided if you are sensitive to signs or manifestations or resistance or negative
feelings on the part of the client and are willing to deal with them promptly and
properly,

4. Modality of intervention. Your particular helping mode influences your

client’s reaction to termination. In work with small groups, for example, termination
can be anxiety-provoking because a group member has to cope not just with the
impending separation not only from you but also from the other group members. In
the Philippines, many social workers assigned to work in certain communities for
indefinite periods of time do not experience the “separation anxiety” that usually
accompanies termination. This is because while their work with communities on
particular projects or concerns may have been completed, they continue to stay in
their assigned community and therefore also maintain their relationship with their
residents.

SOCIAL WORK SKILLS, TOOLS

& TECHNIQUES
Tools in Social Work Practice
1. Interviewing
- It is the main tool used in social work practice. It is a asset of verbal and
nonverbal interactions which is usually conducted between two people
although two or three others may be present and participating now and then.

2. Discussion
- It is a type of verbal interaction, of informal conversation among a group of
people. At best it is democratic growth experience for the participants. In
general, group discussion provide opportunities for: (1) contributions from
different viewpoints; (2) participation in decision-making and hopefully, in
plan implementation; (3) developing creative potential for group members;
(4) learning (5) growth change.

3. Referrals
- It is the process by which a client is helped to move on to another resource
for service. Referrals are necessary because no single institution or agency
can serve all the needs of man in a complex society.

4. Case Recording
- It is an account in writing of the progress of a client in case as it moves from the
beginning of the problem-solving phase towards its eventual solution and finally
to its or a condensed or summary recording.

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Types of Recording

a. Narrative- It is actually concerned with the reporting of facts. It may be

condensed or process
⮚ Condensed – It is an abridged, compact version which may have been
reduced from its former voluminous size. It is generally useful for all
types of cases of clients, whether individual, family group or
community, and is used practically in all types of social welfare
agencies
⮚ Process- It is a written description of the dynamic interaction that has
taken place in an interview. It should contain the of the interview,
worker’s observations, description of the intentions, impressions,
workers roles, and plan
b. Summary recording – It is a review, or a recapitulation of material which has
already appeared in the case record. It is good device for organizing and
analyzing facts.
Four general types of summaries:
⮚ Social histories
- Social histories are of two types: the socioeconomic
history which is most often used when many of the
welfare clients presenting problems usually involve the
problem of economic survival, and the psychosocial or
psychological history which is generally used with
clients presenting an impairment of the psychological
functioning.
⮚ Periodic summaries
- They are made to cover a certain period of time
during which the case is under the acre of or is
being handled by the worker. This is applicable to
long-term case work, groupwork with formed
groups, and with community work.

⮚ Transfer summary
- It refers to the summary made when the case is to
be transferred to another worker or is being
referred to another agency. It may contain a brief
statement of the problem, the treatment plan and
what has been accomplished so far.
⮚ The closing entry or summary
- It focuses on the causes and results of the
treatment or intervention. It covers the situation at
intake and the reasons involved, the problem that

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emerged, the treatment given, services extended,

or intervention made, the progress, movement or
change achieved, and the results or status of the
case.

c. Interpretative, Diagnostic, and Evaluation Recording- This type of

recording is directed to pointing out the meaning of facts. Its
significance lies in the social interpretation of the case by the worker.
It carries in fact, his own opinion. He must write down what what the
problem is, how the client is getting along about the situation, and
what is the bature of the worker’s service, help or treatment.

Skills Social Work Practice

1. Differential diagnosis
- This skill refers to the ability of the workers to understand the uniqueness of
the person in his situation and to adapt his techniques to him. No two
persons are completely alike in their identities, even twins. They are fall
under the same general category as in the case of the street children but even
if they come from the same environment or community there is usually an
element of difference in each child.
2. Timing
- It refers to the workers own tempo or pace-whether it is too fast or too slow
for the person or people he is working with.
- It refers to the worker’s ability to take the action at some pertinent point in
time when it would be most effective.
3. Focusing
- It refers to the abilty of the worker to concentrate both his and the client’s
efforts on the significant aspects of the situation that require work and
retaining that focus until some conclusions or progress has been reached. It
also means that not losing sight of the client and his presenting problem in
the midst of the overall problems being encountered by his family.
4. Partialization
- It refers to the worker’s ability to assess the totality of the problem, breaking
it down into manageable parts, and helping the client think about it and
decide where to start. It is necessary because a problem, even that of
poverty, is seldom simple. It is made up of several components, causes or
contributory factors which have to be resolved in order to solve it.
5. Structuring
- It refers to the worker’s ability to determine the setting and the boundaries
that will be most conducive to the work to be done. It includes the choice of
physical setting –where how often, under the circumstances, with whom a
worker will meet whether with the individual alone or with whom a worker
will meet whether with the individual alone or with the family, at what time
and for how long; delineation of rules-spoken and unspoken that will govern
these contacts and agreement as to what resources and services will be
involved.
-

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6. Case management
- It is briefly included here as the manner and timing in the delivery of social
service. Where there is scarcity of resources or too much bureaucracy or rd
tape, plans may miscarry or be aborted resulting in great disappointment or
frustration not only of the workers but also of the client.
7. Skills establishment
- The skills establishing partnership with the client is an important component
of the social worker’s skills. They are listed engagement, empathy,
communication and observation as necessary in a good working partnership.
8. Engagement
- It is the period during which the worker begins to relate himself to take at
hand. The worker’s task in engagement is to (1) involve himself in the
situation, (2) establish communication with everyone concerned, (3) begin
the define the parameters within which he will work, and (4) create an initial
working structure.
- The engagement process should result in (1) the worker being part of the
situation, (2) initial communication channels being opened, (3) the worker
and the client linking arms (kapit bisig)in their approach to a common
concern with each other knowing what his responsibilities and functions are,
and (4) having agreed on the next step in the process.
9. Empathy
- It refers to the workers ability to put himself I the shoes of the clients so that
he can understand latter is thinking of the feeling about his problem or
situation.
10. Communication
- It is sharing or exchange of thought between two or more persons. There are
at least two parties involved in communication; the sender and the receiver.
In social work it is the process by which an idea is transferred from its source
to a receiver with the intent to change the latter’s behavior or between the
worker and the client. The former may want to alter the latter’s behavior and
attitude or motivate him to alleviate his own condition or situation. In the
same manner the client makes known to the worker his feelings, wishes, or
aspirations. Through the reciprocal process of communication and
understanding the client is then in the best position to transform new
information into new behavior.

- Communication is a basic ingredient in helping people. Communication may

be verbal, nonverbal, or symbolic.

a. Verbal Communication
- It is transmitted in word which may be spoken or written.
Communication between the client and the worker is usually in
words which are often transmitted unconciuolsy, accompanied by
nonverbal communication, that, is expressed in either one’s
behavior during the period of contact, in interviewing or
discussion.

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b. Nonverbal Communication
- This is communication without the use of words. It is conveyed
through the person and the setting. The person’s
appearance-physique, posture, body odor, dress, tension, facial
expression, behavior, silence of speech tone or voice, gestures or
movements, eye contact, touch, body-sounds all convey message
to the client.
11. Observation
- It is noticing it and paying attention to what is being verbally said or
nonverbally communicated. Oftentimes the worker is so intent on listening to
or watching a client tht he fails to realize that what he is observing and the
conclusions he isa bout to make may be colored by his own values.

Techniques in Social Work Practice

1. Small talk
- It refers to inconsequential conversation. It is used in almost all contacts
between the worker and the client. It is used by the social worker at the
beginning of a contact that is the first interview or the first home visit to put
the worker and the client, especially the latter, at ease.
2. Support
- It is to encourage, to uphold, to sustain some aspect of the client’s
functioning-his strength, his attitude, his eagerness to do something about his
problem. It means to sustain or keep steady, to give courage, to express faith
and confidence and to give realistic approval to an individual or group.
Supportive techniques sustain in the motivation and capacity of people while
they are using a service.
a) Ventilation-This technique involves bringing to the surface the
feelings and attitudes that need to be brought out because these
are affecting the psychosocial functioning of the person harboring
them-the client. Here the workers task is to facilitate the expression
of the client’s emotion so that it can be brought out in the pen for
consideration. Ventilation eventually reduces the heightened
feelings of the client.
b) Reassurance- The techniques involves assuring the client that the
situation with which is struggling has an attainable solution and
that he has the capacity to deal with his own problems.
Reassurance can also be used with respect of the client’s capacities,
feelings and achievements.
c) Instillation of Hope – It is given when the workers demonstrates
interest in the client’s efforts and progress, encouraging his efforts
offering realistic assurance, and expressing hope the things will be
better.

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3. Exploration
- It is used to elicit necessary information; to bring out details about
experiences and relationships as the clients perceives them; and to examine
the feelings connected to the relationships and experiences.

Exploration may be divided into two types according to (Reid and Shyne):
a) The first exploration about clients’ situation and his relation to it
b) The second exploration into the client’s own behavior
4. Clarification
- To clarify is to make understandable a point or two. As a technique it is often
used in connection with exploration. When worker explores, he must also
make the client understand clearly his questions and inn turn also make sure
that the understand clearly the information or message the latter is conveying
to him.
5. Education and Advice
- This was formerly known as advice-giving and counseling. However, later day
writers like Reid and Epstein were of the opinion that education is the better
term because giving suggestions and advice is a special form of education.
Northern support this stand.
- According to Schwartz one f the major task of the social worker is to
contribute data, ideas, facts and value concepts which are not available to the
client and which may prove useful to him in attempting to cope with the part
of social reality which is involved in the problem with which is working. Thus
theworker based on his knowledge of the client I his situation offers
suggestions (educational information) and advice to serve two functions: to
give the client specific recommendations that, if carried out, may further the
attainment of his goals; and provide the client with an important source of
emotional and cognitive stimulation.
6. Universalization
- The utilization of a common of human exoereinces abd the strengths of
others to cope with situation similar to those which are troubling the client,
The universalization to pick up or choose a certain trait or pattern if behavior
characteristics of all the members of a particular culture or of all human
beings.
7. Reward and Punishment
- One gets rewards for good behavior or is punished for misbehavior. This is a
technique well understood even by young children and the young people-the
teenagers. It is also used with adults although in another guise, not obviously
reward or punishment,
8. Role Rehearsal and Demonstration
- Role rehearsal may be used extensively when learning new ways of behavior
is required. It is done by discussion or actual setting up of role play situation
or by demonstrations. The client participates, acts in the simulated situation.
In this way he is able to assume and develop some of the feelings that the
acua; event will call into play.

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9. Confrontation
- To confront is to come face to face with hard facts of the situation-with
reality, to bring a person face to face with something. In social work it is to
bring the client to face the reality of a feeling, behavior or situation.
10. Conflict
- is a type of stress produced when a person is motivated by two or more
needs in such a manner that the satisfaction of another one. The conflict
maybe in the individual himself, between him and others, or between groups.
11. Manipulation
- Means skillful management of events. Thus in social work there is such a
thing as environmental manipulation as when for example a child is removed
from a troubled home and placed under temporary care in order to save him
from a cruel and abusive parent. Or, the worker may manipulate a situation to
give an insecure client success which will bolster his own ego or self-esteem,
such as success in sports for a shy teenager.
12.Andragogy
- It reinforces the efforts of direct service workers to enhance client’s social
functioning. Malcolm Knowles, an authority on adult learning describes
andragogy as the art and science of helping adults to learn.
13. Consciousness-raising (Conscientization)
- It means the arousing of man’s positive self-concept in relation to the
environment and society through a liberating education which treats learners as
active agents rather than passive recipients learning.

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