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KNOWLEDGE AND PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATION IN SOCIAL WORK

UNIT 1
SOCIAL WELFARE, SOCIAL SERVICES AND SOCIAL WORK

OUTLINE
I. SOCIAL WELFARE
a. Definition
b. Views or Conception Categories
c. Goals
d. Societal Response to Unmet Needs
II. SOCIAL SERVICE
a. Definition
b. Needs for Social Service
c. Motivations or Reasons for Providing Social Service
III. SOCIAL WORK
a. Definition of Social Work
b. Definition of Social Worker
c. Definition and Categories of Social Work Practice
d. Generic Terms in Social Work

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SOCIAL WELFARE, SOCIAL SERVICE AND SOCIAL WORK (interralated)

SOCIAL WELFARE
 covers practically everything that men do for the good of the society.
 is an organized concern of all people for all people (Gertrude)
 the organized system of social services and institutions, designed to aid individuals and groups to attain
satisfying standards of life and health. (Walter Friedlander)
 includes laws, programs, benefits and services which assure or strengthen provision for meeting social
needs recognized as basic to the well-being of the population and the better functioning of the social
order (Elizabeth Wickenden)
o provisions may be directed toward…
 Strengthening existing arrangements
 Mitigating the hardships or handicaps of particular individuals and groups
 Pioneering new services
 Stimulating a better adaptation of the social structure including creation of new
programs as needed
 Combination of all these approaches to social needs
 All the organized social arrangements which have their direct and primary objective the well-being of
people in a social context. It includes a broad range of policies and services which are concerned with
various aspects of people’s lives – their income, security, health, housing, education, recreation, cultural
traditions, etc. (Pre-Conference Working Committee for the 15 th International Conference on Social
Welfare)
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Social Welfare encompasses the well-being of all the members of human society, including their physical,
mental, emotional, social, economic and spiritual well-being. Thus, history (from mutual aid to organized
services) gives us accounts of what society has done and continues to do to respond to various needs of its
members.

Society responds to unmet needs or problems through the following ways:

1. Individual and group effort – systematic and voluntary efforts undertaken by individual and/or
groups in response to the unmet needs of people in a community
2. Major societal institutions which have their designated roles and responsibilities for meeting human
needs
3. Social Agency – is a major provision for helping people with their problems.

2 Views or Conceptions of Social Welfare

1. Residual – temporary, offered during emergency situation and withdrawn when the regular
social system is again working properly
2. Institutional – sees social welfare as proper, legitimate function of modern society. That
some individuals are not able to meet all their needs is considered a “normal” condition,
and helping agencies are accepted as “regular” social institutions
The State shall promote a just and dynamic social order that will ensure
the prosperity and independence of the nation and free the people from poverty
through policies that provide adequate social service, promote full employment, a
rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life for all.

Categories of Social Welfare Programs

1. Social Security – refers to the whole set of compulsory measures instituted to protect the individual
and his family against the consequences of an unavoidable interruption or serious diminution of the
earned income disposable for the maintenance of a reasonable standard of living.
2. Personal Social Services- refers to service functions which have major baring upon personal
problems, individual situations of stress, interpersonal helping or helping people in need, and the
provision of direct services in collaboration with workers from government and voluntary agencies
3. Public Assistance – refers to material/ concrete aids/ supports provides, usually by government
agencies to people who have no income or means of support for themselves and their families for
reasons such as loss of employment, natural disasters, etc.

Collective concern of society for the well-being of its members, in turn, is expressed in the provision of
concrete social services.

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. These social services may take the form of
services to…
o Individuals and families
o Groups
o People with Special problems (handicapped, mentally challenged, etc.)
o Community
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Social Welfare is meaningless unless there is a concrete demonstration of its “concern for the well-being
of human society” through actual social services

Why is there a need for Social Services?

 There are people who have needs and problems beyond their own capacity for solution
 Social Welfare and Social Services has been accepted as legitimate function of modern industrial society
in helping people fulfill themselves

Motivations/ Reasons for providing Social Welfare/ Services

 Humanitarian and Social Justice Goals – rooted from 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 prevents him from realizing his potentials
 Social Control Goal – based on the recognition of the needy, deprived, or 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.
 Economic Development Goal – places priority on those programs designed to support increase in the
production of goods and services, and other resources that will contribute to economic development.
The immediate beneficiaries of such programs may be the able-bodied, relatively better-off members of
the community.

SOCIAL WORK
 Is the profession which is concerned with man’s adjustment to his environment: a person (or groups)
in relation to a person’s (or their) social situation. This is referred to as a person’s “social functioning,”
which results from the performance of his various roles in society.
Causes of social dysfunctioning…
o Personal inadequacies or sometimes pathologies which may make it difficult for man to cope
with the demands of his environment (poor physical constitution, wrong attitudes and values,
poor or unrealistic perception of reality, ignorance, and lack of skills)
o Situational inadequacies and other conditions which are beyond man’s coping capacities (lack of
resources and opportunities in the society, existence of resources or opportunities which,
however, are beyond the reach or coping capacities of people, existence of an unjust or
exploitative situation)
o Both personal and situational inadequacies
 All social worker efforts are therefore focused on either helping a person adjust or cope with his
environment, or, modifying or changing his environment/ situation, or both.
 Social Work is a professional service which makes use of scientific knowledge and skills as bases for
engaging people in problem-solving, whether individually, in groups, or as communities. It makes use of
both human and material resources in the solution of social functioning problems.
 Social Work seeks to enhance the social functioning of individuals, singly and in groups, by activities
focused upon their social relationships which constitute the interaction between man and his
environment. These three activities may be grouped into three functions: restoration of impaired
capacity, provision of individual and social resources, and prevention of social dysfunction. (United Sates
Council on Social Work Education)
 On June 27, 2001, the International Association of Schools of Social Work and the International
Federation of Social Workers jointly announced this new international definition of social work which, it
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is believed, is applicable to social work practitioners and educators in every region and country of the
world:
The social work profession promotes social change, problem-solving in human relationships and
the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being. Utilizing theories on human behavior
and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environments.
Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work.
Social Work in its various forms addresses the multiple, complex transaction between people a d
their environments. Its mission is to enable all people to develop their full potential, enrich their lives,
and prevent dysfunction. Professional social work is focused on problem-solving and change. As such,
social workers are change agents in society and in the lives of the individuals, families, and communities
they serve. Social work is an interrelated system of values, theory, and practice.
 Social Work introduced in the 1930’s as a systematic method of helping people in the field of public
welfare in the Philippines, came to be officially recognized as a profession with the passage of a law by
Congress in 1965 elevating Social Work to a profession. (RA 4373) It defined social work as a profession
that is “primarily concerned with organized social service activity aimed to facilitate and strengthen
basic social relationship in the mutual adjustment between individuals and their social environment for
the good of the individual and society, and by the use of social work methods.”
 In 1977, the Philippine Association of Social Workers, Inc. (PASWI) came up with its own definition of
social work as “the profession which fosters, facilitates and strengthens basic social relationships in
order to achieve the full development of the individual and society by the use of social work methods.”

The term “social work” is mistakenly used in referring to acts of charity, or philanthropy, and
“social worker” is often used in our society to refer to charitable individuals who find time or provide
material resources for the needy.

SOCIAL WORKER
 According to the social work law, the social worker is a practitioner who by accepted standards
of training and social work professional experiences, possesses the skill to achieve the objectives
as defined and set by the social work profession through the use of the basic methods,
casework, group work and community organization.
 He/She has the knowledge of techniques of social work which are designed to enable
individuals, groups and communities to meet their needs and solve their problems of
adjustment to changing patterns of society.
 Through coordinated actions he/she can help improve economic and social conditions, and
he/she must be connected with an organized social work agency which is supported partially
and wholly with government or community-solicited funds.
 To be able to practice the social work graduate, after finishing the Bachelor of Science in Social
Work (BSSW) degree must pass the licensure examination annually given by the Board for Social
Workers of the Professional Regulation Commission, the government’s over-all regulating body
for the professions.

SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE

 Refers to the activities carried out by the social worker in varied institutional settings, communities and
private practice. The workers address a full range of human problems involving individuals, families and
groups. These settings are divided into 2 categories: primary and secondary.
1. Primary Setting – social agencies whose programs and services are the direct scope of social
work.
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2. Secondary Setting – agencies, institutions and organizations whose primary function is to

provide services other than social welfare but which employ social workers to support,
strengthen, or complement their own services such as hospitals, schools, housing agencies,
courts, and even industries.

Generic Terms
 WORKER – refers to the social worker, the person who, by sustained mental or physical efforts,
performs tasks and activities designed to help the client overcome an obstacle or difficulty and achieve a
result or an end.
 HELP- is what the worker does to assist the client by giving him assistance or supplying what is needed
so that he can advance toward an objective or accomplish an end or a goal.
 CLIENT – is the person or group of persons who engage the services or help of the worker, the
individual, family, group, or community.

Reference:

1. Mendoza, Thelma Lee, SOCIAL WELFARE AND SOCIAL WORK, Rev. Ed., Megabooks Co., 2002
2. De Guzman, Leonora Serafica, INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WORK, New Day Publishers, 1992