CHAPTER 6

Professionals and Practitioners in

Social work
Roles and Functions of Social Worker’s
 Human Service  Staff Developer
Broker  Administrator
 Teacher  Agent of Social
 Counselor Change
 Case Manager  Professional
 Workload Manager  Researcher
 Skills and Qualifications of Social Workers
• Must develop the foundation of their expertise by completing a
four-year degree program
• Must pass the licensure exam for social worker’s
• Possess specific skills necessary in their practice
• Should have a good communication, listening, interviewing,
and writing skills
• Social worker’s should have the knowledge and skills in
assessing human problems and locating, developing
appropriate resources
 COMPETENCY
 This is the foremost ethical require for professional
social worker’s (Hepworth & Larsen, 1986), as seen
in knowledge, values, skills, and attitudes. It fulfill
their professional roles effectively

 Possessing skills alone does not ensure competence

 Areas of Specialization in Social Worker
 Social workers often choose to increase their
competency in a particular field of specialization

 The areas of specialization in social work include;

Child and Family Social Work, School and Social
Work, Gerontological Social Work, Clinical Social
Work, Community Social Work, and Gender
Development Social Work
 CHILD AND SOCIAL
FAMILY WORK
 Focuses on welfare and
security of families, children
and adolescents
 Attend to the needs of
children and their families
 They make home visits and
investigate allegations of
child or domestic abuse
SCHOOL SOCIAL
WORK
 Focuses on schools where
social who serve as
counselors
 They coordinate with
parents and teachers of
delinquent students
 They study the background
of students
 GERONTOLOGICAL
SOCIAL WORK
 This is carried out in social
welfare institutions that take
care of the elderly,
especially those separated
from their families
CLINICAL SOCIAL
WORK
 They usually found in public
or private hospitals and
clinic of rehabilitations
center
 They attend to physical and
mental health issues of
patients
 Social worker’s coordinate
with family members or
relatives
 COMMUNITY SOCIAL GENDER
WORK DEVELOPMENT
 Social worker’s based  This area aims to
in local communities promote equal rights and
create a demographic opportunities for men
profile of the community and women in both
and assess the needs of public and private
its residents agencies
 Promote gender equality
 Career Opportunities for Social Worker’s
 NGOs  Corrections staff
 Health Social members
Worker’s  Government
 Youth Workers Worker’s
 Researchers  Other Fields
 Instructors
Certain Areas of Specialization in Social
Work

Specific educational
attainment
 The Regulation of Social Work Practice in
the Philippines
 Republic Act no. 4373 regulates the practices of
social work and the operation of social work agencies
in the Philippines. This law sets the standards for the
quality of service provided by social workers. The
Philippines Association of Social Workers Inc.
(PASWI) also helps in monitoring the practice of
social work
 The Social Worker’s Right to Effective
and Ethical Working Environments
 Social worker’s are expected to balance the needs of clients,
families, and those of other people involved in the profession.
The involvement of service users is essential in creating
effective and ethical working environments for social work. To
uphold such right, the International federation of Social
Workers (ISFW) approved a guidance policy on working
environments in 2012
 Effective and ethical working environments value moral
practices, adherence to standards, good quality services, and
professionalism. These environments also practice consistency
between principles valued by both social workers and their
managers. Dual accountability is also considered . Most of all,
ethical and effective working environments place prime
importance on respecting and supporting clients
 A framework encompasses training and
supervision, workload managements, and
professional improvement. Both social workers
and their employees to collaborate in
upholding ethical practices
 Agencies must ensure the
protection of clients, social
workers, and their
employees
 Social workers must always
consider previous research
and experience in their
practice
 Social workers and their
agencies need to uphold
agencies and to uphold the
transparency
 Agencies must create
policies that prevent threats,
violence, and other forms of
abuse towards to the clients,
social workers, and staff
members
 Social work agencies must
protect those who raise their
concern abouth unethical
and unsafe practices
 Social workers must uphold  Agencies also need to create
human rights and social politics ensuring the health
justice and occupational safety of
 Social workers also need to social workers
be fully aware of their
professionals an ethical roles
and responsibilities
 The Social Worker’s Code of Ethics
 The social worker’s conduct and comportment
 The social worker’s ethical responsibility to clients
 The social worker’s ethical responsibility to
colleagues
 The social worker’s ethical responsibility to
employers and employing organizations
 The social worker’s ethical responsibility to the social
work profession
 The social worker’s ethical responsibility to society
 The Social Worker’s Code of Ethics in the
Philippines
 The Social Workers’ Code of Ethics in the Philippines can be considered parallel
to the NASW Code of Ethics. It was promulgated by the Philippine Association of
Social Workers, Inc. (PASWI) and highlights the following values and principles:
 An individual dignity and worth
 A person’s ability and rights to maximize his or her potentials
 Man’s ability to recognize the importance of respecting difference
among individuals.
 The acknowledgement of poverty as a condition that needs to be
alleviated
 The recognition of the family as an essential player in further developing
individuals and the community
 The needs to practice professionalism and accountability
 The values and characteristics of Filipino culture as the foundation of
social work practice
 The Code also makes the following declarations:

Relative to Self and the Professions

 To embody the values and principles practiced in the
social work profession
 To practice honesty and transparency
 To continue developing professional expertise, and, in the
process, advance the practice of social work
 To help promote the discipline and encourage others to
regard the profession with respect
 To impact one’s knowledge with fellow social workers and
professionals from the other fields
 To help prevent cases of unauthorized and incompetent social
work practice
 To support the professional organization that regulate the
practice of and uphold the welfare of social workers
 To volunteer and help during emergencies
 To uphold cultural values that will help improve the
profession
 Relative to Clients

 To respect human rights and prevent discriminatory

practices
 To be responsible for the welfare of clients and protect
confidential information, but also to let clients make their
own decisions
 To help everyone, especially the marginalized, gain access
to resources and opportunities that they need
 To assist people, especially the disadvantaged and abused,
in finding more options and opportunities
 Relative to Colleagues
 To recognize the importance of knowledge and skills from
other disciplines in developing the social work profession
 To report unethical practices in the profession to the authorities
 To work with legislators in upholding the welfare of social
work practitioners
 THANK YOU 

Members:
Maica Jana Emmanuela Milan
Jannah Cecilia Iris Gabuya
Armary Kate Ramos
Alec Zohanne Labra
Jeramae Basalo
Elizamen Sarino
Regila Kate Villamero
Carl Vincent Silva
Charles Justine Cabezas
(12 Humss 4A)