Social work and advocacy
Advocacy is the corner stones of the social work profession and a vital role for the professions future. Section 6.04 of the NASW Code of Ethics charges "social workers to engage in social and political action that seeks to ensure that all people have equal access to the resources, employment, services, and opportunities they require to meet their basic needs and to develop fully. Social workers should be aware of the impact of the political arena on practice and should advocate for changes in policy and legislation to improve social conditions in order to meet basic human needs and promote social justice."(NASW, Code of Ethics, 1999). Advocacy and political action by social workers has been overshadowed by the shift to clinical social work. This however is due in part to social workers seeking positions with better pay. To some degree, the profession has only its self to blame for not advocating for our clients and ourselves as a profession. In addition, funding sources that workers relied on for salaries have been cut and there has been a shift to a more conservative political view in Wahsington. Due to the lack of a better analogy, programs have disappeared while we were sleeping. Like a a thief in the night, social
In only 3 1/2 years the current conservative administration has in one way or the other harmed virtually every aspect of American life that address the needs of our client population. The need for a return to the origins of social work and the call for greater participation in advocacy and political action is a must for ensuring that rural communities will be able to receive needed funding for programs that address the unique needs of rural families. 01 states that " Social workers should work toward the maintenance and promotion of high standards of practice. We sat idol while conservative governmental officials came in the unlocked back door and cut programs. While the above analysis is only a personal opinion as to why the social service industry is faced with the current situation, the Code of ethics charges social workers to advocate for the "Integrity of the Profession" through "responsible criticism". Historically rural community funding for social service agencies has been minimal at best. With limited resources and more and more social workers moving away from the "trenches" and to clinical based settings, clients that were most in need are finding themselves with fewer and fewer resource providers to turn to. Inorder to preserve the integrity of the profession we will have to once again take the role of advocate seriously. Comming full circle as a profession that has had to advocate for recognition as such, we are beginning to see the need to return to the origins of our profession. Relying on the examples of those who advocated before us, Octavia Hill,Clara Barton, Jane Addams, Edward Thomas Devine, Harry Lloyd Hopkins, Jeannette Rankin and countless others stand as examples of the power of advocacy. These are all critical areas that impact the profession of social worker, but has enormous implications for the client population that we serve.
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Acceptance Essays
