BUREAUCRACY AND SOCIAL WORK
A bureaucracy is a type of organization or subcategory of an organization, Zastrow (2009). It is a system of administration distinguished by clear hierarchy of authority, rigid division of labor, clear defined rules and regulations, specialization and impersonal relationships. The aim of bureaucracy is to help the agency to accomplish the most rational and efficient agency operation. The social work profession fits well with the Weber classic definition of bureaucracy in which that those whose role is to control how the organization functions are in structural position that enables them to do so Breakwell & Rowett (1982). An example from the fieldwork placement, the hierarchy was so vivid and respected that every time services like request for school transport fees, medical transport fees and rental financial help were rendered the social worker had to write the request, followed procedures by writing what is
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By implementing these laws and policies, social workers in an agency need to put them into practice directly to the specified situations. This is because legislative policies are often broad and general in their language, it is then up to the varies departments to interpret the broad language and make it specific enough so that programs can be created and implemented, Rocha (2007). As social work agencies are part of the Social Protection Department, the legislation passes policies such as Adoption Act, Children’s Act to their offices because they deal with children welfare issues. For instance, my supervisor from the fieldwork told me that any every child under the age of 18 is protected by the law, as she or he is considered a child by the Children’s Act. So if abused, the child could be taken from home to a place safer for their welfare when they see it fit alongside the court of
Case Study Assignment Dalia M. Frend Western New Mexico University Case Study Assignment Case and Client History Helen is 32-year old African American married female. She entered the emergency room at aabout 3 A.M. restrained by policemen. Helen was reported to have been partying at a bar when she gradually become louder and exceedingly wilder. She was seen standing on the bar’s table, talking excessively, and knocking over glasses.
Bureaucracy is a hierarchical authority structure that is large and complex which I organization composes of appointed official’s. Each appointed officials has specialized asked to be accommodated for. A myth is that Americans dislike bureaucracy but it’s not true because Americans are generally pleased with bureaucrats. The myth that bureaucracies are growing bigger each year is half a myth and half-truth.
This starts from the Government Legislation all the way to local working. Each agency or professional would have different roles of expertise so all vulnerable children and young person will need corresponding help from education, health, child social care and also the voluntary division and most often the justice service. This is why it is important that all the different services available have good communication between each other. Safeguarding and promoting the safety of children depends on how effective partnership between agencies and professionals and all people involved in the safety of a child have a responsibility to safeguard them. The local police, visitor, GP, childminder, nursery, after school clubs, health, hospital, school,
From time immemorial, parents have been tasked with the responsibility to protect their children and have been granted the right to raise them as they deem fit. This is enforced in the 14th amendment of the United States Constitutions which expressly states that no state in the nation should deprive any person of life, liberty or property without undergoing the due process of the law (Young-Bruehl, 2013). This implies that the U.S. law grants all individuals the freedom to establish homes and bring up children. However, this right does not necessarily mean that the society should remain oblivious and indifferent to the plight of neglected and abused children and thus, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) of 1974 was established
If we are able to prevent children entering the child care system, we are also preventing the problems that would cause children in the future from entering the system. As social workers, and in particular in this case, child welfare social workers, we should not neglect our responsibility in deconstructing systems of oppression that have led to the unfair treatment of children and their
Many social workers deal with heartbreaking cases daily such as having to remove children from their home and even witnessing them live in a dangerous environment. They also work with children with behavioral issues and special needs as well. Social workers place abused children in loving homes, find employment and housing for homeless families, counsel families to find better solutions to their problems,and help pregnant women , adoptive parents, and adopted children navigate the adoption system. It is important that child welfare social workers protect the children they work with as much as they can , according to careers in psychology “children who grow up in happy homes where all of their needs are met, typically grow up to become happy, stable, and well adjusted adults. On the other hand, those that grow up surrounded by unpleasant and dangerous situations often grow up suffering from mental and emotional unrest.
The profession of social work is comprised of multiple interrelated concepts that serve practical and bureaucratic purposes. Theories and ethics are two concepts that both guide daily social work practice and validate the profession of social work to external bodies. Theories for practice in social work provide frameworks for understanding and delivering social work interventions and for interacting with larger systems that impact services users and social workers (Healy, 2014, p.7). Ethical codes provide an outline concerning the general character of social workers and professional conduct. Ethical codes are utilized to guide social workers in daily practice and protect both service users and professional reputation (Banks, 2003, p.133).
Also, the act is a constituent policy since it was created to help prevent, treat and identify child abuse and neglect. The act that was enacted difference that the act that was implemented because there are modifications that take place to ensure that the act is applicable to the present events. Furthermore, everything is better said than done. Therefore, when this act was implemented it proposed that the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare establish the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect and that the Secretary make grants and contracts with public agencies and nonprofit private organizations. However, in 1996, the reauthorization of CAPTA abolished NCCAN and created an Office on Child Abuse and Neglect within the Children’s Bureau in its place and coordinated with NCCAN’s former functions (The Children’s Bureau Legacy: Ensuring the Right to Childhood).
However, the history of child welfare in the United States have shift between family preservation and child safety. In the early 1970s, is when they saw a chance to reduce children’s time in foster care and expedite paths to permanency. By 1997 the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) (P.L.105-89) marked the first time related to permanency were explicitly stated in legislation, which was an opportunity in changing the landscape of child welfare practice. Therefore, the law begins to connect safety and permanency by substantiation how both factor was necessary to how they achieve the overall child well-being.
Child welfare is a very important topic in today's society. However, that has not always been the case. In the past, children have been viewed as property and were often taken advantage of. Many individuals that took action against this exploitation succeeded, and thus the child welfare system was created. The child welfare system has many functions, such as investigating neglect or abuse, providing protection and care, arranging safe homes, assisting with reunification or adoption, and much more (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2013) .
Before this time, there were next to no public child protection agencies, but the push to make it public was successful and more and more states began to adopt child welfare services. That same year, in 1935, as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal, Congress passed the Social Security Act. In the Social Security Act, there was a vague clause that gave the Children’s Bureau the authority to cooperate with public welfare agencies to ensure child welfare services to children especially those living in rural
Erasmus Mundus Master in Social Work with Families and Children 4th edition - 2016-2018 1st Semester Name: Rojika Maharjan 1. Social work has evolved with different “theories in social work”; either concepts derived from other social sciences such as psychology or sociology or “theories for social work” which are the core philosophy of social work practice specified to give a professional purpose and approach to practice (Healy, 2014). a) Regarding the context of children and families, system theory and strength theory are appropriate. i)
This limits his eligibility when applying for assistance from social welfare. Also, in considering resources and objectives, the priority of James’ needs may create a problem for the social worker. This can be seen in James’ urgent need for housing, which can be facilitated if he has a stable job. Thus, James needs to become certified. However, housing surpasses certification in James’ priority of needs as he has limited time to stay at the
Social work is a dynamic helping profession, where the main goal is to improve the welfare of every individual in a society. Law is a system of legal rules that governs the way members of society interact with each other. Law is necessary for order, justice, punishment, protection and to settle dispute. Social workers need to have familiarity with the legal process and the understanding of basic legal principles in order to effectively be able to assess and intervene on behalf of clients. Problems where social work and the law overlap have consistently challenged social work professionals.
The social work field has been commended for its versatility; social work majors have many more career options available to them than other professionals such as psychologists. Within some areas of social work practice there can also be extreme variation. One such area is the newly developed field of occupational social work. With social work’s growing presence in the workplace, there is considerable debate as to what the job description should entail. After reviewing many activities of an occupational social worker, I believe the field should focus on assisting employees with health care, stress management, arranging employee support groups, retirement preparation, and assisting laid-off employees.