Тема 3. Social Worker

Social Workers are highly qualified specialists. They belong to an especially delicate profession. The most basic characteristics of social workers are the following. The first characteristic is the ability to perform a specific role of a mediator between children and adults, a family and society, a personality and microenvironment and so on. The second is the ability to establish non-formal communication, to build up relationships on the basis of a dialogue, as equals. The third is the ability to influence on communication, human relations, to change the situation in microsocium. And also the ability to stimulate, to encourage a client to perform this or that activity and so on.

Social workers perform a nurturing role, a function of social assistance and protection. Social workers are called upon to enhance the self-development of personality, to create the most favorable, psychologically comfortable conditions. They do their best to help people to live, developing active actions of the client himself and his personality.

A social worker doesn't instruct, doesn't preach, doesn't supervise, doesn't forbid. He inspires, encourages a person to an action, to an initiative, to creativity. At the same time he does his best to help people to establish friendly humanistic relations, to restore the lack of communication and treat each other with kindness and mercy.

Social worker is in the midst of people. He feels their spirits, interests, and problems. He is always his clients' ambassador.

The other aspect of his work is that a social worker should influence on a client and his immediate environment, relationships between groups of people, the situation in socium. His compulsory qualities are psychological erudition and consideration. He also should be a humanist and communicable person. He should possess spiritual and cultural values and a sense of tact. He should analyze social events, see his role in the societal life of the country, have strict ideological and moral principles.

The specific of the functions of social worker means natural combination of personal qualities, many-sided education, all-sided training, erudition of a specialist and so on.

As it is noted in the short Social Work Dictionary, U.S.A., social worker's main professional value is his "ability to create and maintain professional relationships..., enhance successful human relations and interaction between people and their immediate environment; ... ability to encourage clients (including individuals, families, groups and communities) to solve their own problems and to gain the trust; ... ability to mediate and negotiate between conflicting parties".

Exercises

1. Give Russian equivalents to the following words and word combinations.

To belong to; to supervise; to negotiate between conflicting parties; community; to inspire; to gain the trust; to solve a problem; to establish non-formal communication; to treat each other with kindness and mercy; to preach; to enhance the self-development of personality; human relations; protection; to forbid; as equals; to create the most favorable, psychologically comfortable conditions; a nurturing role; to do one's best; to instruct; all-sided training; to encourage a person to creativity; to restore the lack of communication; to have strict ideological and moral principles; a sense of tact; compulsory qualities; spiritual and cultural values; consideration; ambassador; to be in the midst of people; many-sided education.

2. Translate the following words and word combinations from Russian into English.

Улаживать отношения между конфликтующими; принадлежать; работать в условиях неформального общения; отношения между людьми; защита; широкая образованность; община; всесторонняя подготовленность; приказывать; решить проблему; запрещать; завоевать доверие; создавать условия наибольшего благоприятствования, психологи­ческого комфорта; иметь четкие идеологические и моральные принципы; обязательные качества; быть среди людей; чувство такта; на равных; руководить; широкая образован­ность; поучать; способствовать саморазвитию личности; сделать всё возможное; побу­дить человека к творчеству; устанавливать доброжелательные, гуманистические отно­шения; проявлять доброту и милосердие по отношению друг к другу; вдохновлять; настроение; чувство такта; выполнять; обладать; деликатность; духовная и общая культура.

Additional text

Please, read the text, translate, ask all sorts of questions and render it.

Social work is traditionally defined as a profession that helps the poor, the deprived and the underprivileged. Its goals were characterized by many, and concisely stated by Gambrill (1979), in four essential areas:

1. The improvement of the individual's capacity for growth and the development of his potential.

2. Enabling the individual to use services provided by society.

3. Ensuring humanistic action of existing services.

4. Initiating new policies.

Social workers must study the meanings of quality of life. Knowledge (mainly empirical) should be produce about the specific, perhaps culture bound, content of self actualization, physical activity, social influence, cultural-educational activity, personal recreation, physical conditions, institutional roles, cultural compatibility with the environment, peace of mind (mental health) physical health, intimate friendship, integrity of values, self confidence (identity), physical security, social confidence, stable belief structure.

The basic issue of every profession is to compare the disciplinary knowledge and procedures and apply them to the solution of real life problems; in social work this is called intervention. Social work intervention does not mean direct contact with the client; it means that the social worker sees to it that the client receives the appropriate service. Sometimes from the social worker and another time from someone else. In cases when interventions don't exist, social workers should try to invent appropriate ones.

Social work has disciplinarian sources: psychology, sociology, medicine, economics, law.

As Lehman says, the term "quality of life has an appeal, capturing the notion that the ultimate concern of all health and human services is the well-being of people".

Every member of society is a potential client of social work, and the major societal function of social work is the improvement of quality of life for all people.

Text 1

Welfare

The images from America’s past reflect how health and welfare concerns are viewed in the United States. The first image is that of the self-reliant frontiersman. Armed with only an axe, a rifle, a Bible, and a strong will (and sometimes a bottle of whiskey against “snakebite”), he goes out into the wilderness alone and survives. He asks no man for help (“God helps them that help themselves”).

The second historical image is that of the pioneer community, the groups that circled their wagons for protection, shared their food, and helped each other when things got rough. They came together to build each other’s houses. They had great barn-rising parties in which everyone took part. All together helped to build the community school, hire the teacher, find the doctor, fight the fire and pay the sheriff. When a neighbor needed help, the help was there (“A friend in need is a friend indeed”).

There is some historical truth in both images. Obviously many millions did make it in America with more than a little help from their friends. Other had enough ingenuity, pluck and luck to make it on their own. The famous rags-to-riches and poverty-to-power stories had and have real-life parallels. But there are also the many who did not succeed in America. There were those who, working long hours in factories or “sweatshops”, were too tired to educate themselves when the day was done. There were also those who could not move to where the grass was greener because they were kept where the cotton grew.

Social welfare in the United States has always been torn between the concepts of the independent, self-reliant individual and the interdependent, caring community. Generous to other nations, Americans have been much less charitable at home. They have often appeared to be more compassionate towards victims of earthquakes, drought, and famine than towards people in need in their own land. There seems to be more truth in the observation that Americans very often are too proud to ask for help and welfare. Education and technical skills have long since replaced the axe and the hunting rifle. But some Americans still feel that people who can’t find some kind of work somewhere deserve in part what they get or don’t get.

Text 2

The Social Welfare Legislation

The welfare situation improved greatly through social welfare legislation of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the mid-1930s. Today, of course, there are many federal, state and local programs that helped the unemployed, shelter, and feed the homeless, and care for the sick. Local community institutions, churches, charitable groups, and voluntary service organizations also play a large part. There is no single welfare system, but rather a mosaic of measures created to help those in need.

If someone losses his or her job, for example, there may be a number of benefits he/she is entitled to, ranging from full pay up to a certain period, reduced percentage thereafter, state unemployment compensation, eligibility for retraining, pension plan, and payments from a company–sponsored or private unemployment insurance. Health costs may also be covered by union contract with the management. In case of long-term unemployment, federal funds can be claimed.

The federal government sets nationwide standards for the minimum hourly wage level, or the official poverty level. It finances and organizes national programs such as Social Security, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, the Food Stamps program, Unemployment Insurance, and Workmen‘s Compensation, Supplemental Security Income, Medicare, and Medicaid. These different program help alleviate financial problems for the elderly and/or those who cannot work or afford proper nutrition and health care. In 1986, over $450 billion was spent by the federal government on social welfare.

Programs and amounts of support vary greatly among the states and depend on the individual social and economic situation of the recipient.