The Importance Of Social Work

In 2019, fourteen percent of Americans were living below the poverty line, says the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That statistic is why the nation needs more involvement from social workers. Although the United States of America is one of the greatest nations on earth, it also has some of the most broken people. To make it works, most people do not understand how social workers can benefit the common people of the U.S. Social workers are involved in almost every single career field and help unify and improve the lives of the American working class.

Social Workers benefit society by guiding veterans to do what is best in their minds and body, getting children new homes and finding them a place to belong, also by bringing communities together in many ways. The roles of those who choose a career in social work may vary on the type of work one does. The job field for this career path is almost never-ending, and the salary ranges from $45 000 to a higher end of 000 .

According to the Social Work Lice nsure,“Social workers help individuals, familiess, and communities combat difficult or stressful life situations. They work in rehabilitation centers, schools, hospitals, hospices, and correctional facilities, and often cooperate with professionals in other social service programs. They may help children with behavioral disorders, families in poverty, or victims of domestic abuse. No matter which community they serve, social workers provide care and advocate for their clients. In addition to one-on-one counseling, social workers help their clients access social services like hospice care, 12 step programs, or financial assistance.

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Social workers do not work as private therapists, although some social workers may perform individual counseling as part of their services” (SWL par 2).

This career includes many paths that could be beneficial for those considering social work. Although this career brings happiness to the individuals involved in it, it can also bring hurt by seeing the pain of thousands of people throughout their career. In addition, in the branches of the armed forces there are many different aspects that a social worker could work in. In the article Civilian Social Work: Serving the Military and Veteran Populations, Savitsky says the following : “Social workers have a critical responsibility to support this population, though the window of opportunity to affect these individuals and their families are small.We must attend to their wounds while they are still fresh, before the development of unhealthy behaviors and coping mechanisms compromises their resiliency. As a profession, social work must adopt a proactive approach regarding its engagement with this population through military and civilian partnerships, dissemination of useful resources and clinical tools, and appropriate education and training. Social workers must lead the campaign to identify and connect service members, veterans, and their families to the services they need” (Savitsky 337).

This quote outlines the duties of a social worker throughout the armed forces. Some of the specific paths include helping soldiers in their deployment, culture, families, and their schooling. Social workers also help the wounded, those with substance abuse, and those who are incarcerated. The day-to-day life is more fast-paced in this specialty of the career and also helps bring closure to the families that are hurting. Savitsky says that military families are no different than the general population, and that is very true. Everyone needs access to the same level of support staff that these soldiers have. Everyone needs social workers.

In Analyzing the Educational Backgrounds and Work Experiences of Child Welfare Personnel: A National Study, Lieberman says: “This article details a national investigation of the relationship of professional social work to public-sector child welfare. Its purpose to determine the prevalence of social work-trained personnel in public child welfare; to establish whether significant trends in educational preparation for professionally trained social workers had developed in this field in the last decade; and to assess the relationship between educational background and the degree to which the worker sees himself or herself as formally prepared to practice in this field” (Lieberman 491).

In this study of the different aspects of child welfare it bears very interesting results, says Lieberman. The definition of child welfare is social work centered upon the welfare of children (as upon improvement in health and home conditions) and  vocational training. This means that  social worker does everything in their power to provide a child with the best possible situation available. In most cases, they help children get out of the broken adoption system, and away from abusive households. This field brings the most heartbreak, but also brings the largest reward. They help give these children a second chance so to speak. Although this is one of the lower-paying sides of social working the reward in the end makes it worth it for those in this path.

Another aspect of child welfare is that of adoption. Adoption is the act of legally taking another’s child and bringing a child up as their own. Jini L. Roby says that by using social justice as the conceptual foundation, the author presents the structural barriers to socially just intercountry adoptions (ICAs) that can exploit and oppress vulnerable children and families participating in ICAs. They argue that such practices threaten the integrity of social work practice in that arena and the survival of ICA as a placement option (Roby 295). The aspect of adoption is a wonderful thing that is truly so amazing but at the same time it is a base of so much deceit. People exploit parents to gain money multiple times for the same child by falsifying paperwork and lying. Schemes like these are happening every day and are growing faster than the police can shut them down. Part of the job of these types of social workers is to find ways to shut down and prevent these crime rings. Since these social workers have been introduced, it has significantly lowered the number of these schemes.

The magic that comes when one unites lost/lonely children to caring/loving adults that will raise them as their own is one of the best feelings in the world for these social workers. People in this field are some of the most determined and hardworking individuals on Earth. A single adoption of a child can last months and even years. This also makes this occupation the most tedious and time-consuming. These workers must always be ready for any challenge that will arise and be ready to face it head-on.

Getting deeper into a real person’s perspective, the researcher has found a ladies article about her day-to-day life being a social worker. This goes through the pros and cons, risks and rewards, and real-life scenarios of a social worker in the U.S. Karen Green is currently a school social worker and has played a significant part in many lives throughout her career. She knew she wanted to follow this path when in high school, the decision was made when she knew she wanted to help people for the rest of her life. Green says, “you have to genuinely care about people to be successful” (Jacobson 22). Through the stress and overwhelming days, she pushed through because she wanted to see all she could do to benefit the ones around her. The day-to-day life she sees are one-on-one meetings with hurting students, group meetings with parents, and a lot of paperwork. The commitment with her is something people in all career paths can look at and be inspired by the things she does that no one else will.

Finally the community involvement is one that ranges in every direction of social working. This goes through the children, the sick, the armed forces, death, marriage, etc. In Social Work’s Role in Collaborative Community-Academic Partnerships: How Our Past Informs Our Future, Adams talks about how the field of social work may be well poised to enhance its ability to engage in partnerships and research around partnerships given its emphasis on conducting practice research and its historical roots in boundary-spanning (Adams 19). “The historical foundations of the field (for example, acting as boundary spanners, advocating for marginalized individuals) place social workers in an ideal position to become leaders in the development, sustainment, and strengthening of CAPs” (Adams 19). The guidelines of the community and the involvement are all that are needed to gain a collaborative community and academic partnership.

In conclusion, a social worker has been put into society to benefit all people in need of the help they can provide. Within this assortment of literature, the researcher hopes that the readers will understand the benefits of social workers within this nation and their community. Social Workers in society are benefiting the general population by being involved in many elements such as: guiding veterans to do what is best in their minds and body, getting children new homes and finding them a place to belong, and also by bringing communities together in many ways.