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KNOWLEDGEANDPHI
LOSOPHI
CALFOUNDATI
ONI
NSOCI
ALWORK

UNI
T1
SOCI
ALWELFARE,
SOCI
ALSERVI
CESANDSOCI
ALWORK

OUTLI
NE
I
. SOCI
ALWELFARE
a.Defi
nit
ion

b.Vi
ewsorConcept
ionCat
egor
ies

c. Goal
s

d.Soci
etal
Responset
oUnmetNeeds

I
I. SOCI
ALSERVI
CE
a.Def
ini
ti
on

b.Needsf
orSoci
alSer
vice

c.Mot
ivat
ionsorReasonsf
orPr
ovi
dingSoci
alSer
vice

I
II
. SOCI
ALWORK

a.Def
ini
ti
onofSoci
alWor
k

b.Def
ini
ti
onofSoci
alWor
ker

c. Def
ini
ti
onandCat
egor
iesofSoci
alWor
kPr
act
ice

d.Gener
icTer
msi
nSoci
alWor
k

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SOCI
ALWELFARE,
SOCI
ALSERVI
CEANDSOCI
ALWORK(
int
err
alat
ed)

SOCIALWELFARE
 coverspracticall
yev erythingt hatmendof orthegoodoft hesoci ety.
 isanorganizedconcer nofal lpeopl eforallpeople( Gertr
ude)
 theorganizedsy st em ofsoci alser vicesandi nsti
tutions,designedt oai
di ndi
vidualsandgr oups
t
oattai
nsat i
sfyingst andar dsofl ifeandheal t
h.( WalterFriedlander)
 incl
udes laws,pr ograms,benef its and serv i
ces whi ch assur e orstrengthen provisi
on for
meet
ingsoci alneedsr ecogni zedasbasi ctot hewel l-
beingoft hepopul at
ionandt hebet t
er
f
unct
ioningoft hesoci al order( ElizabethWi ckenden)
o pr ovisionsmaybedi rectedt oward…
 St rengtheningexi stingar r
angement s
 Mi tigati
ngt hehar dshi psorhandi capsofpar t
iculari
ndivi
dualsandgr oups
 Pi oneeringnewser vices
 St imulatingabet teradapt ati
onoft hesoci alstruct
ureincludi
ngcr eat
ionofnew
 Page2of2

pr
ogramsasneeded
 Combi nati
onofal ltheseappr oachestosocialneeds
 Alltheorganizedsoci alarrangement swhi chhav ethei
rdi r
ectandpr i
maryobjectivethewell-
beingofpeopl ei
nasoci alcontext.Itincl
udesabr oadr angeofpoliciesandserviceswhi char
e
concernedwi thvariousaspect sofpeopl e’sli
ves– theirincome,secur i
ty,heal t
h,housing,
educati
on,recreat
ion,cul t
uraltradit
ions,etc.(Pre-
ConferenceWor kingCommi tteef orthe15th
Int
ernati
onalConferenceonSoci alWel far
e)

SocialWelf
areencompassest hewel l
-bei
ngofal
lthemembersofhumansociety,i
ncl
udi
ngtheir
physical
,mental,emoti
onal
,social,economicandspi r
it
ualwel
l-
bei
ng.Thus,hi
story(f
rom mutual
aidtoor gani
zedservi
ces)givesusaccount sofwhatsociet
yhasdoneandcont i
nuestodot o
respondtovari
ousneedsofitsmember s.

Societ
yr espondstounmetneedsorprobl
emsthr
oughthefoll
owingways:
1. Indivi
dualandgroupef f
ort– syst
emati
candv olunt
aryeff
ort
sunder
takenbyi
ndi
vi
dual
and/ orgr
oupsinr
esponsetotheunmetneedsofpeopl
einacommunit
y
2.Majorsoci
etali
nst
it
uti
onswhi
chhavet
hei
rdesi
gnat
edr
olesandr
esponsi
bil
i
tiesf
ormeet
ing
humanneeds
3.Soci
alAgency–i
samaj
orpr
ovi
sionf
orhel
pingpeopl
ewi
tht
hei
rpr
obl
ems.

2Vi
ewsorConceptionsofSocial Welfar
e
1.Resi dual–t empor ar
y,offer
edduringemer gencysituati
onandwi t
hdrawnwhent he
regularsoci
alsystem isagainworki
ngproperly
2.I nst
ituti
onal–seessoci alwelfar
easpr oper,l
egit
imat efunct
ionofmodernsociety
.
Thatsomei ndi
vidualsarenotabletomeetal ltheirneedsisconsider
eda“ nor
mal”
conditi
on,andhel pi
ngagenciesareacceptedas“ r
egular”soci
ali
nsti
tut
ions
TheSt at
eshal lpr
omot eaj ustanddynamicsoci alorderthatwill
ensuretheprosperit
yandi ndependenceoft henationandf r
eet hepeople
fr
om povertyt hrough pol i
cies thatpr ovi
de adequate socialservice,
promotefullempl oyment,ar i
singstandardofl i
ving,andani mproved
quali
tyofl
if
ef oral
l.

Cat
egor
iesofSoci alWel farePr ograms
1.Soci alSecur i
ty–r efer stot hewhol esetofcompul sorymeasur esi
nsti
tutedt oprotectt he
i
ndividualandhi sf ami lyagai nsttheconsequencesofanunav oidabl
einter
rupt i
onorser i
ous
diminut i
onoft heear nedi ncomedi sposablef orthemai ntenanceofar easonabl estandar d
ofli
ving.
2.Per sonalSoci alSer vi
ces-r eferstoser vi
cefunctionswhichhav emajorbari
nguponper sonal
problems, individual situati
onsofst r ess,i
nterpersonalhelpingorhelpi
ngpeopl einneed, and
thepr ovisi
onofdi rectser vicesincol laborat
ionwi t
hwor kersf r
om governmentandv oluntary
agenci es
3.Publ ic Assi stance – r ef
erst o mat eri
al/concr ete ai
ds/suppor t
s provides,usual lyby
governmentagenci est opeopl ewhohav enoi ncomeormeansofsuppor tf orthemsel ves
andt heirfami li
esf orr easonssuchasl ossofempl oyment,naturaldi
saster
s, etc.

Col
l
ecti
veconcernofsocietyfort
hewel
l
-bei
ngofi
tsmember
s,i
ntur
n,i
sexpr
essedi
nthe
pr
ovi
si
onofconcr
etesoci
alser
vices.
 Page3of3

SOCIALSERVI CES
 Ref er
st ot hepr ograms,servicesand otheracti
vi
ti
esprovi
ded underv ar
iousauspi
ces,to
concr
etelyanswert heneedsandpr obl
emsoft hemember sofsociet
y.Thesesoci
alservi
ces
maytaket heform ofserv
icesto…
o I ndi
vidual
sandf amili
es
o Gr oups
o Peopl ewithSpecialproblems(handi
capped,ment
all
ychal
lenged,et
c.)
o Communi ty

Soci
alWel
far
eismeaninglessunlessthereisaconcret
edemonst
rat
ionofi
ts“
concer
nfort
he
wel
l
-bei
ngofhumansoci
ety”t
hroughactualsocialser
vices

Whyi
sthereaneedforSoci
alServi
ces?
 Therearepeoplewhohav eneedsandproblemsbey ondthei
rowncapaci
tyf
orsol
uti
on
 SocialWelfar
e and SocialServi
ces has been accept
ed as l
egi
ti
matefuncti
on ofmoder
n
i
ndust
ri
alsoci
etyi
nhelpingpeopleful
fi
llt
hemselves

Mot
ivat
ions/Reasonsf orprovidi
ngSoci alWel f
are/Services
 Humani t
arianandSoci alJusti
ceGoal s–r ootedfrom t hedemocr aticidealofsoci aljustice, and
i
sbasedont hebel i
efthatmanhast hepot enti
altor eali
zehi mself
, exceptthatphy sical,social,
economi c,
psy chological,andotherfactorssomet i
meshi nderorprev entshimf rom r eali
zinghi s
potent ials
 Soci alCont rolGoal–basedont herecogni ti
onoft heneedy ,depr
ived,ordisadv antagedgr oups
mayst rikeout ,indiv
iduall
yand/orcol l
ecti
v el
y,againstwhatt heyconsidertobeanal i
enat i
ngor
offendi ngsoci ety.Societytheref
or ehast osecurei tselfagainstthet hr
eatstol i
fe, property, and
politi
calst abi l
i
t yinthecommuni t
ywhi char eusual lypresent edbyt hosewhoar edepr ivedof
resour cesandoppor tunit
iestoachieveasat i
sfyi
ngl if
e.
 Economi cDev elopmentGoal–pl acespr i
orit
yont hosepr ogramsdesi gnedt osuppor tincr ease
i
nt hepr oduct ionofgoodsandser vi
ces,andot herr esour cesthatwi l
lcontributet oeconomi c
dev elopment .Thei mmedi atebenef i
ciari
esofsuchpr ogramsmaybet heable-bodi ed,relativel
y
better-offmember soft hecommuni t
y.

SOCIALWORK
 I sthepr of essi onwhi chisconcer nedwi thman’ sadj ustmentt ohi senv ironment :aper son( or
groups)i nr el ationt oaper son’s( ortheir)socialsi tuat
ion.Thi sisr eferredt oasaper son’s
“social
f unctioni ng, ”whichresultsfrom theper f
or manceofhi sv ari
ousr olesi nsociety.
Causesofsoci al dysfuncti
oning…
o Per sonali nadequaciesorsomet i
mespat hologieswhi chmaymakei tdiff
icultformant o
copewi tht hedemandsofhi senv i
ronment( poorphy sicalconst i
tution,wrongat ti
tudes
andv alues, poororunr eali
sti
cper cepti
onofr eali
ty,i
gnor ance,andl ackofski ll
s)
o Si tuational inadequaciesandot herconditionswhi char ebey ondman’ scopingcapaci ti
es
(l
ack ofr esources and oppor tunit
ies i nt he soci ety,existence ofr esources or
oppor t unitieswhi ch,howev er,arebey ondt her eachorcopi ngcapaci t
iesofpeopl e,
existenceofanunj ustorexpl oit
ativesit
uat i
on)
o Bot hper sonal andsituational i
nadequacies
 Al lsocialwor keref fort
sarether ef
or efocusedonei therhelpi
ngaper sonadj ustorcopewi thhi s
envir
onment ,or ,modi fyi
ngorchangi nghisenv i
ronment /sit
uation,orbot h.
 Page4of4

 Soci alWor ki sapr of essi onalser vicewhi chmakesuseofsci enti

ficknowl edgeandski llsas
bases f or engagi ng peopl ei n pr obl em- sol vi
ng,whet her i ndivi
dual ly,i n gr oups,or as
communi ti
es.I tmakesuseofbot hhumanandmat er ialr esour cesi nt hesol utionofsoci al
funct ioningpr obl ems.
 Soci alWor kseekst oenhancet hesoci alf unct ioningofi ndividuals,si nglyandi ngr oups,by
activitiesf ocusedupont hei rsoci alr elat i
onshi pswhi chconst it
ut ethei nt eract ionbet weenman
andhi senv ironment .Theset hreeact ivitiesmaybegr oupedi ntot hreef unct ions:r est orat ionof
i
mpai r ed capaci ty ,pr ov i
si on ofi ndiv idualand soci alr esour ces,and pr ev ention ofsoci al
dysf unct ion.( Uni tedSat esCounci l onSoci alWor kEducat ion)
 OnJune27, 2001, theI nter nat i
onalAssoci ationofSchool sofSoci alWor kandt heI nter nat ional
Feder ationofSoci alWor ker sjoint l
yannouncedt hisnewi nternat i
onaldef ini
t ionofsoci alwor k
whi ch, i
tisbel iev ed, i
sappl icablet osoci alwor kpr act i
tioner sandeducat or sinev eryregi onand
count ryoft hewor ld:
The soci alwor k pr ofessi on pr omot es soci alchange,pr obl em- sol vi
ng i n human
rel
at ionshi psandt heempower mentandl i
ber at i
onofpeopl et oenhancewel l
-being.Ut il
izi
ng
theor iesonhumanbehav iorandsoci alsy stems,soci alwor ki nt
ervenesatt hepoi nt swher e
peopl ei nteractwi tht heirenv i
ronment s.Pr inci pl
esofhumanr ightsandsoci alj ust icear e
fundament al tosoci alwor k.
SocialWor ki nitsv ar i
ousf ormsaddr essest hemul t
iple,compl ext r
ansact ionbet ween
peopl eadt heirenv ir
onment s.I t
smi ssi oni st oenabl eal lpeopl et odev elopt heirf ullpot ential,
enricht heirl ives,andpr ev entdy sfunct ion.Pr ofessionalsoci alwor ki sf ocusedonpr obl em-
solv i
ngandchange.Assuch, soci alwor ker sar echangeagent si nsociet yandi nt hel i
v esoft he
i
ndi vidual s,f ami lies,andcommuni ti
est heyser ve.Soci alwor ki sani nterrel atedsy st em of
values, theory ,andpr actice.
 Soci alWor ki nt roducedi nt he1930’ sasasy st emat icmet hodofhel pingpeopl ei nt hef ieldof
publ i
cwel farei nt hePhi lippines,camet obeof fi
ciallyr ecogni zedasapr of essionwi tht he
passageofal aw byCongr essi n1965el ev at i
ngSoci alWor kt oapr ofessi on.( RA 4373)I t
definedsoci alwor kasapr ofessi ont hati s“ pr imarilyconcer nedwi thor gani zedsoci alser vice
act
ivi
tyai
medt of aci
li
tat
eandst rengt
henbasicsoci
alrel
ati
onshi
pinthemut ualadj
ustment
bet
weenindivi
dualsandthei
rsocialenvi
ronmentf
orthegoodoftheindi
vi
dualandsoci
ety,and
bytheuseofsocialworkmethods.”
 In1977,thePhi li
ppi
neAssoci at
ionofSoci alWorkers,I
nc.(PASWI )cameupwi t
hitsown
defi
nit
ionofsocialworkas“ t
hepr ofessi
onwhichf ost
ers,f
acil
it
atesandst r
engt
hensbasi
c
soci
alrel
ationshi
psinordert
oachi evetheful
ldevel
opmentoft heindi
vi
dualandsoci
etybyt
he
useofsocialworkmethods.”

Theter
m“ socialwork”ismistakenl
yusedi
nr ef
err
ingtoactsofchari
ty,
orphi
lant
hropy
,
and“soci
alworker”i
sof tenusedinoursociet
ytor
efertochar
it
ableindi
vi
dual
swhof i
ndti
meor
prov
idemateri
alresourcesfortheneedy.

SOCIALWORKER
 Accor di
ngt othesoci alworklaw,t hesoci
alworkerisapr acti
ti
onerwhobyaccept ed
standardsoft raini
ngandsoci alwor kprof
essi
onalexperi
ences,possessest heskil
lto
achievetheobject i
vesasdefinedandsetbyt hesocialworkprofessi
ont hroughtheuse
ofthebasi cmet hods,casework,gr
oupwor kandcommuni tyorgani
zati
on.
 He/ Shehast heknowl edgeoft echniquesofsocialworkwhicharedesi gnedtoenable
i
ndividuals,gr
oupsandcommuni t
iestomeett heirneedsandsol vetheirprobl
emsof
 Page5of5

adjustmenttochangi ngpat t
er nsofsociety.
 Throughcoor dinatedactionshe/ shecanhel pi mpr oveeconomi candsocialcondi
tions,
andhe/ shemustbeconnect edwi t
hanor ganizedsoci alworkagencywhi chissuppor t
ed
parti
all
yandwhol l
ywi t
hgov ernmentorcommuni ty-sol
ici
tedfunds.
 Tobeabl etopr acticethesoci alworkgraduate,afterfini
shi
ngt heBachelorofSciencein
SocialWor k( BSSW)degr eemustpasst helicensur eexaminationannuall
ygivenbyt he
Boardf orSoci alWor kersoft heProfessionalRegul ati
onCommi ssion,t
hegov er
nment ’
s
over-al
lregulatingbodyf orthepr ofessi
ons.

SOCIALWORKPRACTI CE
 Ref er
st ot he activi
ti
es carri
ed outby t he socialwor keri nv ari
ed instit
ut i
onalset t
ings,
communi t
iesand pr ivat
epr acti
ce.Thewor kersaddr essa f ullrangeofhuman pr oblems
i
nvolvi
ngindividual
s,famil
iesandgr oups.Theseset t
ingsar edivi
dedi nt
o2cat egories:pr
imary
andsecondary .
1.Pr i
mar ySetti
ng–soci alagencieswhosepr ogr amsandser vi
cesar ethedi r
ectscopeof
social
wor k.
2.Secondar ySett
ing–agenci es,insti
tut
ionsandor ganizat
ionswhosepr i
mar yfuncti
onis
toprovideservi
cesotherthansoci alwelfar
ebutwhi chempl oysocialwor kerstosupport,
str
engthen,orcompl ementt heirown ser vicessuch ashospi t
als,school s,housing
agencies,cour
ts,andev enindustri
es.

Gener
icTer ms
 WORKER–r eferstothesocialworker,
thepersonwho, bysustai
nedmentalorphysicaleffor
ts,
performstasksandact iv
iti
esdesignedtohelpthecli
entov er
comeanobst acl
eordiffi
cultyand
achievearesultoranend.
 HELP-i swhatt heworkerdoestoassistthecli
entbygivinghi
m assist
anceorsupplyi
ngwhati s
neededsot hathecanadv ancetowar danobjecti
veoraccomplishanendoragoal .
 CLI ENT–i st hepersonorgr oupofpersonswhoengaget heservi
cesorhelpofthewor ker,t
he
i
ndiv i
dual
,family,gr
oup,orcommuni ty.

Ref
erence:

1.Mendoza,
ThelmaLee,
SOCI ALWELFAREANDSOCI
ALWORK,
Rev
.Ed.,
MegabooksCo.,2002
2.DeGuzman,Leonor
aSeraf
ica,I
NTRODUCTI
ONTOSOCI
ALWORK,NewDayPubl
isher
s,1992