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Social Worker Facts & Worksheets

Social Work is a profession promoting social change, development, unity, and the empowerment of people and their communities.

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Social work is a practice-based profession promoting social change, development, unity, and the empowerment of people and their communities.

See the fact file below for more information on Social Workers or alternatively, you can download our 28-page Social Worker worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

History of Social Work

  • In the Middle Ages, the Christian church wielded enormous power over European society, and Christians saw charity as both a responsibility and a sign of morality. 
  • This charity took the form of direct relief, such as giving money, food, or other material goods to meet a specific need, rather than attempting to address the root causes of social ills. 
  • Because there was no effective bureaucracy below city government capable of large-scale charitable activities in Europe until the early modern period, priests and bishops filled this role.
  • In the 19th century, social work as a profession officially began as a movement, and was mainly experienced in the United States and the United Kingdom. 
  • Following the fall of feudalism, people who were in poverty were viewed as a direct threat to social order, so the government enacted the Poor Law and established an organized system to care for them.
  • Since the first social work class was taught at Columbia University in the summer of 1898, social workers have led the way in establishing private and charitable institutions to help those in need. 
  • Social workers continue to address societal needs and bring our country’s social problems to public attention.
  • In terms of the development of social service at the turn of the twentieth century (1910-1920), women and feminist movements were critical in establishing social work as a profession. 
  • On the one hand, their discourse reinforced the dualist vision of social roles, believing that care work was appropriate for women because they were supposed to have softness, empathy, solicitude, love, abnegation, and so on.
  • Today, social work is known for its critical and comprehensive approach to understanding and intervening in social problems. 
  • This has resulted in the recognition of poverty as a social and economic phenomenon rooted in societal policies rather than a personal moral flaw.

Educational Qualifications

  • Enrolling in a social work degree program is the first step toward becoming a social worker. To prepare for a career in social work, it is critical to find the right school and social worker degree options. 
  • Each program will provide a variety of social work courses to ensure that students are adequately prepared for their future careers.
  • The most widely accepted minimum academic requirement is a bachelor’s degree in social work (BSW), but a degree in a specialized industry such as psychology, sociology, or public health administration could also qualify an individual for some entry-level jobs in the field.

Characteristics

  • Every day, social workers deal with challenging and sensitive cases. Respect is one of the most important personal characteristics of social workers. 
  • Respect is essential for keeping proper professional boundaries and following an ethical code.
  • Passion is required for any job to be done well, but it is especially crucial in the field of social work.
  • Due to the fast-paced and strenuous nature of the job, social work professionals are prone to burnout. A social worker’s passion for their work and the difference they make to the lives of the people they help motivates them to give their all to each client and case.
  • Communication, both verbal and nonverbal, is an essential skill for social workers. It is critical to be able to communicate effectively with a wide range of people. 
  • It is part of social workers’ responsibility to advocate for their clients. However, social workers must first understand the client’s needs in order to do so.
  • A good social worker must have the ability to understand and share others’ feelings. 
  • It can be a humbling experience for a person approaching a social worker to reach out and seek what they require. When social workers respond with empathy, their clients feel validated rather than judged.

Duties and Functions

  • Social workers are responsible for assisting clients in dealing with day-to-day issues. 
  • They frequently assist clients who are dealing with issues brought on by neglect, abuse, domestic violence, mental health issues, and parental substance abuse.
  • It is part of a social worker’s role on a daily basis to aid individuals in navigating a wide range of positive and negative stressors, such as assisting parents with the emotional challenges of adopting a child, assisting a professional in navigating a new career, or working with someone who is trying to exit an abusive relationship, overcome an addiction, or consider divorce.
  • Social workers are tasked with assisting clients in meeting their wellness initiatives; they may refer them to medical professionals for further treatment, support groups specifically tailored to their client’s issue, job placement recruiters, and childcare resources.

Types of Social Workers

Child and Family Social Workers

  • They work with children and families to improve their psychological and social functioning as individuals and as members of a family unit. They assist parents in learning how to support their children to achieve their full academic potential and work to maximize overall family well-being.

Community Social Workers

  • They work with individuals to assess their needs and make referrals to community resource services. These social workers may be in charge of establishing systems within communities that provide help or assistance.

Criminal Justice Social Workers

  • They are a subset of social workers who work with clients in the criminal justice system. Offenders, victims, and their families are among those they assist. Criminal Justice Social Workers’ daily responsibilities vary depending on where they work.

Disability Social Workers

  • They assist people who have mental or physical disabilities or difficulties. They also help individuals understand their diagnoses and provide guidance and support as they make lifestyle changes to cope with their disabilities.

Environmental Social Workers

  • They develop and implement strategies to promote life on the planet based on theories of ecological and social justice, spirituality, human rights, and biological sustainability.

International Social Workers

  • They focus on providing education, counseling, and other forms of assistance to people all over the world. Gender inequality, poverty, child labor, natural disasters, and war are some of the issues addressed by these types of social workers.

Social Worker Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Social Workers across 21 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching the career of Social Work, which is a practice-based profession promoting social change, development, unity, and the empowerment of people and their communities.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Social Worker Facts
  • First Impressions
  • Social Work Summarized
  • Becoming a Social Worker
  • Notable Social Workers
  • Art of Helping
  • Social Working
  • Social Workplace
  • Rewarding Job
  • Social Programs
  • I Am a Social Worker Too!

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the 5 duties of a social worker?

Each client is different, and therefore the tasks a social worker does for them will fall into most or all of these five categories: assessment, treatment, securing resources, monitoring improvement, and being an advocate. However, each client’s experience within those tasks will be unique.

What do social workers do on a daily basis?

Social workers help people who are struggling with different kinds of problems. They help families and individuals. They give advice and guidance to people who want to improve their lives.

What is the most difficult part of being a social worker?

Some of the hardest things about being a social worker are the emotional stress from seeing injustice and abuse, and the challenge of working with vulnerable and marginalized populations. There can also be a lot of physical stress and injuries from the job.

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Link will appear as Social Worker Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, August 30, 2022

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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