Introduction to Social Work – SOC301 VU

Lesson 01
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WORK-I
(Topic 01-04)

Topic 01: Course Contents

• Definition of Social Work

• History & Philosophy of Social Work
• Social Work in Pakistan
• Islamic values & Social Work
• Professional & Voluntary Social Work
• Principles of Social Work
• Role of a Social Worker
• Modern Concept of Social Work
i. Preventive
ii. Curative
iii. Rehabilitative
• Social Work Methods:
a) Primary Methods
i. Social Case Work
ii. Social Group Work
iii. Community Organization
b) Secondary methods
i. Social Welfare Administration
ii. Social Research
iii. Social Action
• Social Work in Diverse Settings: Important Fields of Social Work Practice are:
• Medical Social Work
• School Social Work
• Youth Welfare
• Women Welfare
• Child Welfare
• Minorities
• Addicts
• Ageing
• Disables
• Social Work Theories
• Social Work Research
• Values and ethics in social work
• Different social work approaches to interventions
• Social work interventions in disaster situations
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• Contemporary challenges for social workers

• Social Legislation

Topic 02: Learning Outcomes of the Course

• Understand the history & philosophy of social work & theories that guide social
work practice.
• Report on the ethical & practice standards that guide the profession of social
work.
• Demonstrate awareness of various roles of social workers.
• Critically analyze the social structures and ecological contexts which influence
people through marginalization, oppression and privilege.
• Develop an understanding of how social work promotes positive social change &
assists people in managing their daily lives and experiences.
• Self-reflect on personal development in emotional, cognitive, behavioural &
social domains.
• Describe the relationship between theoretical perspectives & practice approaches
of social work methods with respect to the various social work fields.
• Develop a conceptual framework & practice paradigm that provides them with the
knowledge, skills, values, principles to evaluate their own practice in the breadth
of contexts, working with individuals & families, groups and communities.
• Demonstrate critical thinking skills in the spheres of research, practice & ethics of
social work profession to help the people of diversity, including ethnicity culture,
race, class, gender, sexuality, age and disability.
• Engage in policy making, advocacy strategies & social change that advance social
& economic justice.

Topic 03: Definition of Social Work

• Social work as a professional activity of helping individuals, groups or communities

enhance or restore their capacity for social functioning and creating societal
conditions favourable to the goal. (NASW, USA)
• Social work as a field within human services and a part of services of the government.
It considers social work as an important service to the society focusing on the
individuals and families in need (UNESCO, 2000).
• Social work as a practice based and academic discipline promotes change and social
development. Accordingly, the principle of social justice, human rights, collective
responsibility, and respect of diversities are vital in the field (IFSW).
• Social work as a practical profession designed at helping people address their
problems and matching them with the resources, they need to lead healthy and
productive lives (AASW).

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• Social work as an Applied Social Science of helping people achieve an effective level
of psychosocial functioning and effecting societal changes to enhance the well being
of people (Cox &Pawar, 2006).
• Social work as a profession which is concerned about the person’s personal
adjustment to his/her environment to enhance person’s social functioning(Mendoza,
2002).
• “The social work profession promotes social change, problem solving in human
relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being.
Utilizing theories of human behaviour and social systems, social work intervenes at
the points where people interact with their environments. Principles of human rights
and social justice are fundamental to social work” (IASSW & IFSW, 2004).

Topic 04: Distinguishing Characteristics of Social Work

• The relationship is the key in the social work process.

• Most social workers are employed in agency settings.
• Basic aim of social work is to help clients help themselves or to help a community
to help itself.
• Traditionally, social workers have provided services to individuals and families.
• Focus is on the wholeness & totality of the person.
• Emphasis is on the importance of the family in moulding & influencing
behaviour.
• Utilization of community resources in helping people to solve problems is very
important.
• Use of the supervisory process provides for guidance & direction of inexperienced
workers & for continuing growth of the experienced.
• Social work has a unique educational program involving class work and practical
field work experience.
• Social work has distinctive professional bodies….. IFSW, IASSW, AASW.
• Orientation in psychiatric concepts
• Stress on understanding people.
• Social interactions & resultant social functioning & malfunctioning.
• Social problems & human behaviour inhere to a considerable degree in the social
institutions of humanity.

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Lesson 02
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WORK-I
(Topic 05-08)

Topic 05: Objective of Social Work

The objectives of Social work are to:

• Solve psycho-social problems.

• Fulfil humanitarian needs.
• Solve adjustment problems.
• Create self-sufficiency.
• Making harmonious social relations.
• Develop democratic values.
• Provide opportunities for development & social programme.
• Provide socio-legal act.
• Change the environment in favour of individual’s growth and development.
• Bring Change in social system for social development.
• Promote values of human dignity & self- worth of every person, social justice &
human rights, democratic pluralism, people’s participation & self- determination,
local self-governance, peace & collaborative social relationships.
• Democratization of the socio-economic & political systems.
• Empowerment of vulnerable groups.
• Food & nutrition, water & sanitation, livelihood & employment, health, housing,
environmental sustainability, literacy & basic education.
• Relief & rehabilitation of victims of displacement, social conflict &
environmental disasters.
• Use culture-sensitive evidence-based methods of prevention & amelioration of
social problems.
• Within the generalist, clinical & social action approaches of Social Work.
• Participatory training, legal aid, advocacy & public interest litigations, conflict
resolution.
• Relief & rehabilitation in emergency situations
• Administration of non-profit organizations
• Policy & programme planning, implementation, monitoring & evaluation.

Topic 06: Social Work Practice Approaches

Three types of approaches to interventions:

• Maintenance
• Therapeutic
• Emancipatory
(Dominelli, 1997; Payne, 2005)
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Maintenance Approach

• Conventional view of social work.

• Individual functioning or adaptation to situation.
• Objectively examine a person’s circumstances.
• Its more focused on individual and family relationships.
• Ignores the connection of problem with the larger whole of the society.
Example

• Assessing an old person’s need for aid and adaptations strictly in terms of current
physical health & eligibility for services.
• Tries to address the current needs and pacify the existing situation.
Therapeutic Approach

• Off-shoot of maintenance school.

• Principal aim is to enhance psychological & emotional functioning so that a
person can handle his or her own affairs.
Example

• Trauma counselling of an alone old woman.

• Student counselling for exam phobia.
Emancipatory Approach

• Associated with radical Social Work.

• Questions the current balance of power in the society and distribution of
resources.
• Identifies the oppressive nature of contemporary social relations.
• Social Worker’s responsibility is to address racial operations.
• Combines advocacy & lobbying on changing policy & social positions.
• Ensuring social justice at individual, group & community level & seeking
structural changes to make it happen.
Examples

• Policy changes & enactments for Women empowerment.

Similarities

• All are legitimate.

• All three schools of thought aim for helping individuals, groups or community to
enhance their capacity.
• Take responsibility for particular behaviours with certain ethics.
• Make decisions that improve their coping skills.
• Commonly make use of some skills e.g. interviewing people, making need
assessments.
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Topic 07: Social Work Profession

Features of Social Work Profession

• A contextualized discipline &profession takes place in specific context.

• Dominated by the boundaries of the nation /state but often transcends them to cater
for internationalized social problems like:
• International adoptions
• Immigration
• Human trafficking
Social Work Profession

• Impact of globalization and market imperatives

• Wide range of employing agencies
• National international legislation and social policies
• Genocide
• International imprisonment
• Natural calamities
• A profession with multiple accountabilities – to employers, service users, policy
makers, professionals in associated disciplines like:
• Medicine
• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Law
• A constantly changing profession --- as it is subjected to professional governmental
regulation.
• Constantly fragmenting boundaries & changing nature enable social work activities
to be appropriated by other professions like:
• Psychology
• Care Management
• Mental Health
• Sociology
• Anthropology
Challenges of Social Work Profession

• To secure its scientific basis, credibility & professional status since its inception.
• Social work profession is staffed primarily by women whose work was & still
socially devalued.
• Professional identity.
• Focus is primarily on social relations rather than symptoms of the problem.

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IFSW & IASSW

• AASW, IFSW, IASSW, CSWE

• IFSW -- over 1.5 million professional social workers located in 84 countries and
over 0.47 million members.
• IASSW -- 3000 schools of social work offering professional qualifications.

Topic 08: Relationship between Social Work and Social Welfare

Social work & Social Welfare are based on three premises:

1. Person is important.
2. He or she has personal, family, & community problems resulting from interaction
with others.
3. Something can be done to alleviate these problems & enrich the individual’s life.

Social Welfare

• Often confused & sometimes used synonymously.

• Broader meaning & encompasses:
• Social work
• Public welfare
• Other related programs & activities.
• “Organized system of social services and institutions, designed to aid individuals
and groups to attain satisfying standards of life and health” (Friedlander, 1980).
• Encompasses the Well-being & interests of large number of people, including their
physical, educational, mental, emotional, spiritual & economic needs.
• Many professionals deliver social welfare services, but social workers have always
been prominent welfare service providers.

Social Work

• Seeks to enhance the social functioning of individuals, singly and in groups, by

activities focused upon their social relationships which constitute the interaction
between man & his environment (Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).

Social Work & Social Welfare

• Social work is a mechanism or a process to achieve the objectives of social welfare.

• Social welfare is a set of organized & institutionalized welfare services which are
rendered by the professional social work practitioners equipped with specific skills,
techniques & value based social work education.

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Lesson 03

HISTORY OF SOCIAL WORK

(Topic 09-12)

Topic 09: History and Evolution of Social Work

Social workers have played an important role in the advancement of human civilization since
long ago. They uphold social justice by reducing inequality and promoting human rights.
Social workers try to improve the quality of life of unfortunate people in the society and help
them realize their true potential. This is done through counselling, mediating between the
needy and charitable organizations or the government, and other activities. Social work helps
to solve a lot of problems in the society, and it contributes significantly towards the cultural
and moral advancement of humankind.
Need to Understand the History
The diversity of social work represents a great challenge for social work research, education
and practice in the rapidly internationalizing and globalizing world. This challenge can be
met successfully only with a deep philosophical and historical understanding of the
characteristics of a particular country – and welfare regime – including the specific traditions
of welfare systems and the position and role of social work within them.
Research into the philosophy and history of social work strengthens this understanding
through analysing the conceptual and genealogical fundamentals of the traditions of social
work. This kind of research contributes to the theoretical self-conception of social work
which is necessary for the development of social work as a modern profession.
Modern History of Social Work
All major religions encourage people to help the poor, and some of these religions were
formed thousands of years ago. Therefore, it can be said that social work originated in the
ancient times, when human beings started to perform charity work. In the Western word, the
first documented instance of organized social work occurred during the 3rd century, right after
the Christian church was legalized by Roman Emperor Constantine I.
The church set up hospitals, poorhouses, orphanages and homes for the elderly, and these
establishments received grants from the Roman Empire. By the 6th century, the church had
developed an elaborate system for distributing food and other consumables to the poor.
During the 19th century, industrial revolution led to a lot of social problems in England and
the United States, including poverty, diseases, mental disorders, prostitution and others. As
such, there was a great need for social work.
Churches and governments establish effective systems and laws to provide assistance for the
needy, and many individuals started to form groups and organizations to perform social work.
Social work, as a profession, originated in the 19th century.

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Topic 10: History of Social Work in UK

Social upheaval and mass migration contributed significantly to the evolution of social work
in the UK. The population of cities were increasing dramatically during the industrial
revolution, and many people were afflicted by poverty and diseases. The UK government
responded by offering free treatment in hospitals and hospital almoners were recruited to help
in the treatment of patients. These almoners were regarded as social workers and their roles
began to include other social responsibilities in the following years.
Social work in the UK developed as a philanthropy activity on the margins of statutory
services, social work in the 20th century became increasingly professional activity, either
carried out directly by the state, or carried out by the voluntary sector on its behalf. Social
work has been incorporated steadily into statutory mechanisms since its “high tide” in the
1970s.
Not only has the state won the right to intervene in the lives of individuals, it has effectively
taken control over how this should be carried out and by whom. Voluntary social work
agencies cannot now function without some measure of control over their activities by the
local authority and by the legislature. Even in the era of “care in the community”, it is the
local authority which inspects voluntary institutions and give out contracts for work on its
behalf.
Poor Law
In English history, legislation relating to public assistance for the poor. Early measures to
relieve pauperism were usually designed to suppress vagrancy and begging. In 1601, England
passed the Elizabethan poor-relief act, which recognized the state’s obligation to the needy;
it provide for compulsory local levies to be administered by the parish, and it required work
for the able-bodied poor and apprenticeship for needy children.
Local reluctance to support the poor from other areas led to settlement laws limiting
migration. Institutional relief was provided by the poorhouses, where the aged, sick or insane
were grouped together.
From c. 1700, workhouses were established where the poor were expected to support
themselves by work. However, because of widespread unemployment and low wages, it
became customary in the late 18th century to give home relief.
Poor-law amendments of 1834 sought to establish uniform assistance by placing relief under
national supervision; they curtailed human relief and modified the settlement laws.Those
amendments assumed that pauperism stemmed partly from unwillingness to work rather than
from inadequate employment opportunities. As a result, poor relief was maintained at a level
below that of the poorest laborer. The local government act of 1929 established the basis for a
more far reaching and humane approach to the conditions of the poor.

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After the Second World War

After the Second World War, the scope and variety of provisions outside the Poor Law
rapidly increased. There were, however, a number of gaps and anomalies in the provisions.
Nearly every scheme was administered by a different authority. Besides, all workers were not
covered by these insurance schemes. Some were covered by one scheme but not by the other.
Similarly, there was no special provision for protection of dependents of a large family.
Those whom needs were not otherwise met, still had to have recourse to local Poor Law
relief.
The Beveridge Report
So far, the development of provision against poverty from various causes had proceeded
piecemeal without coordination. In June 1941 Sir William Beveridge was entrusted with the
task of surveying the existing national schemes for insurance and allied services. His report
was presented to the British parliament in the year 1942 and since then it has been
implemented by various acts of the parliament.
The main recommendations of the report were:
1. The recommendations of the report amounted to a comprehensive plan for a
unified system of social insurance and social assistance on a national basis.
2. The report proposed a new system to overcome the deficiencies found in existing
arrangements. Instead of a multiplicity of authorities, there should be one
authority namely, the Ministry of Social Security. Besides, the rates of benefits for
different contingencies should be uniform.
3. Instead of only part of the population being insured, the whole population must be
insured and protected and all within one group should pay one flat rate of
contribution.
4. There should be no means test for any insurance benefit, taking account only of a
person’s savings and other recourses. It is because management of one’s income is
an essential element of one’s freedom.
5. Standing behind the social insurance scheme, the report envisaged a scheme of
national assistance for those who for one reason or other did not satisfy the
contribution or other conditions for benefit.
6. As regards workmen’s compensation, the report recommended that provision for
industrial accident and disease should be made through a scheme to be
administered by the ministry of social security.
Implementation of Beveridge Scheme
The government accepted the Beveridge Report as the basis on which the social security
structure should be built. After the War, Family Allowances Scheme was introduced in
1946.In 1948, National Health Service was created. Most of the recommendations were
embodied in the National Insurance and Industrial Injuries Acts which came into force in
1948.To administer the scheme of Family Allowances, National Insurance and Industrial
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Injuries, ministry of National Insurance was set up in 1949.The Poor Law came to an end
with the passing of the National Assistance Act, 1948.
Topic 11: History of Social Work in USA
As a profession, social work officially originated in the 19th century as a movement primarily
experienced within the United States and United Kingdom. After the demise of feudalism,
those in poverty were seen as a direct threat to social order, so the government formed the
Poor Law and created an organized system to provide care to them. While the industrial
revolution sparked great leaps in the technological and scientific advancements, the great
migrations to urban areas throughout the Western world led to increased social problems and
in turn social activism. During this time rescue societies were initiated to provide support to
resolve the problems of poverty, disease, prostitution, mental illness and other afflictions.
In the late 1800s, a new system emerged as a method for providing aid for social ills. As one
of the most influential early professionals in social work, Jane Adams was the founder of the
US Settlement house movement to establish settlement houses in poor urban areas for
volunteer middle-class social workers to alleviate the poverty of their low-income
neighbours.
Jane Adams- Mother of Social Work
“We stand today united in a belief in beauty, genius, courage, and that these can transform
the world.”-- Jane Adams 1881
Jane Adams was one of the first social workers in the US. When she was 27 years old, she
visited the Toynbee hall settlement house in London and she developed an aspiration to open
a similar house in Chicago. In 1889, she partnered with her friend Ellen Starr to set up a
settlement house called the Hull-House. They gave speeches about the social problems that
were plaguing their neighbourhood, raised funds and encouraged young women to become
volunteer social workers.
After 2 years, the Hull-House was providing assistance to around 2000 people every week.
As she became more famous in Chicago, she began to take on greater civic responsibilities
such as founding a school of Philanthropy, conducting investigations on social problems and
campaigning for peace. For her extraordinary efforts in social work, Jane Adams was
awarded the Noble Peace Prize in the year 1931.
History of Social Work in the USA
Focused on the cause of poverty through research, reform, and residence, early social workers
in the movement provided the poor with educational, legal and health services. By 1913,
there were 413 settlements spread across 32 states in the nation to improve the lives of the
poor.

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Modern Social Work History in America

In the early 20th century while the movements for social reform continued to escalate and
many schools of social work were established, the question of whether social work was a
profession lingered. In 1915, Dr. Abraham Flexner famously contended that social work was
not a profession because it lacked specific application of theoretical knowledge. As a result,
the professionalization of social work began by concentrating on the case work and the
scientific method.
In 1918, the American Association of Hospital Social Workers was established to boost
formal education opportunities in social work. In 1929, despite facing competition with the
rising popularity of psychology, there were ten university programs in social work to add
more scientific bases to dealing with patients and challenging behaviors from mental
dysfunction.
As World War II came to a close, social work saw another great rise in the number of social
workers to serve the needs of military veterans returning home from battles. By 1955, the
National Association of Social Workers (NASW) was formed to promote professional
development, advance social policies, enhance educational opportunities in the field, and
maintain professional standards of practice.
Today, social workers continue to lead the way towards social justice by developing private
and charitable organizations to serve individuals and communities in need. Now as one of the
most diverse health care fields, opportunities in social work continue to grow much faster
than the average for all other occupations.
National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
1955: On October 1, the National Association of Social Workers is created through the
merger of seven organizations –
1. The AASSW, American Association of School Social Workers
2. The American Association of Medical Social Workers (AAMSW)
3. The American Association of Psychiatric Social Workers (AAPSW)
4. The National Association of School Social Workers (NAASW)
5. The American Association of Group Workers (AAGW)
6. The Association for the Study of Community Organization (ASCO)
7. The Social Work Research Group (SWRG)
Membership is limited to members of the seven associations and subsequently to master’s
degree-level workers graduating from accredited schools of social work.

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Topic 12: History of Social Work in Pakistan

In 1951, when the government of Pakistan sort the assistance of the United Nations with a
view to formulate a social welfare program befitting a free country. A year later the first
batch of the UN social welfare consultants arrived in Karachi and this marked the beginning
of a new orientation in the field of social welfare. In the absence of trained social workers,
the advised the government to give priority to social work training as without qualified
workers, social welfare projects and programs cannot be properly implemented.

On the recommendation of the UN advisor, the government of Pakistan (Health Division)

drew up a plan for initiating an organized social welfare program in the country in 1953. in
the initial stage, the governments responsibilities were confined to imparting training,
encouraging voluntary agencies and sponsoring of urban and rural development projects.

National Planning Commission

The government therefore, set up a Planning Board in 1953 to prepare a plan of economic
development for the country. A social welfare section was created in the Planning Board to
investigate social problems and social needs arising out of social change and economic
development in the country; to review the social policies and legislation in the various fields
of social welfare; and to prepare a five year plan for social welfare programs. This section
was later on named as the National Planning Commission.

National Council of Social Welfare

The council was created in 1956 to stimulate the welfare activities of voluntary organizations
by providing financial assistance and consultative services. Subsequently, provincial councils
were formed in the provinces with the objective of helping the voluntary welfare agencies
both in expansion and coordination.

Directorate General of Social Welfare

The central Directorate of Social Welfare was abolished in 1962 as a result of

decentralization of certain subjects under the new constitution. In September, 1964, the
Directorate General of Social Welfare was created in the government of the then West
Pakistan.

Social Welfare Department

In July 1970, one Directorate and one council of social welfare was established in each
province of Pakistan.

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Functions of the Directorate

• To establish and supervise community development projects, Medical Social

Welfare and School Social Work units.
• To set up socio-economic centres, day-care centres and model orphanages.
• Registration, supervision counselling to the voluntary Social Welfare agencies.
• Undertake Social Work research
• To recommend and draft social welfare legislations.
• Coordination of all social welfare programs

In other words, two organizations have principally been set up by the provincial
governments to look after social welfare programs in their respective provinces. In 1979,
separate department of Social Welfare was established. Afterwards in 1996, the segment
of Women Development and in 1998, the segment of Bait-ul-Maal was also attached with
Social Welfare Department. Later on in 2012, a separate department of women
development was established and the segment of Women Development was separated
from Social Welfare and Bait-ul-Maal department.

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Lesson 04

SOCIAL WELFARE IN PAKISTAN

(Topic 13-15)

Topic 13: Directorate of Social Welfare in Pakistan

History of Social Work in Pakistan
Every new and existing Voluntary Social Welfare agency has to be registered under
Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies (Registration and Control) Ordinance of 1961.Almost 28
colleges offer Social Work as optional subject at bachelor’s level. Only 08 public sector
universities imparting education on social work subject is quite inadequate. While tertiary
level education in social work is offered in University of the Punjab, University of Sargodha,
University of Peshawar, University of Bahawalpur
Community Development Program

• 133 Units serving around 1.70 million beneficiaries

• District, Tehsil and Sub-tehsil level Objectives
• Promoting better community living
• Tapping local recourses
• Formation of CBOs and NGOs
• Self-reliance and encouraging local leadership
Major Programs of SW Directorate in Punjab
Community Development Program:

• 133 Units serving around 1.70 million beneficiaries

• District, Tehsil and Sub-tehsil level Objectives
• Promoting better community living
• Tapping local recourses
• Formation of CBOs and NGOs
• Self-reliance and encouraging local leadership
Medical Social services Projects:

• 36 Districts of Punjab
• At all major districts and Tehsil hospitals
• Help to poor and needy patients
• Arrange medicines
• Financial Assistance
• Follow-up Services
Shelter Homes:

• 8 Shelter homes in province

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• Protection to women
• Institutional care and Vocational Training
• Destitute women
• Rehabilitation
Hostel for Working Women:

• 10 hostels in the Province of Punjab

• One at Ex-divisional HQs and two at Lahore and RWP
Social Services Centre for lost and kidnapped Children (NIGEHBAN)

• 08 Social Services Centers

Homes for Old and Infirm Persons (AAFIAT)
• Working at Lahore, Multan, RWP
• Senior citizens provided shelter, food, treatment and rehabilitative services free of
cost.
Homes for Disabled Persons (NASHEMAN)

• Working in Lahore
• Providing institutional care to inmates
Half way Home (DARUL SAKOON)

• Mentally Sick Patients

Social Welfare Training Institute

• To cater the training needs of social workers in the techniques and methods
of SW.
SW Departments at National Level

• National Commission for Child Welfare and Development

• National Center for Rehabilitation of Child Labor
• Pakistan Bait-ul-Maal
• National Trust for the Disabled
• Juvenile Justice System
• National Training Center for Disabled Persons
• National Institute for the Handicapped
• Helen Keller Center for Hearing Impaired Children
• Women Welfare Centers
• Socio-economic Centers for Women
• Day care Centers
• Model Orphanages

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Topic 14: Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies

Voluntary Social Welfare Agency (VSWA)

• Set up by some individuals in their private capacity.

• To render social services.
• Depends on support & cooperation of the people it serves.
• May or may not receive any Govt. grant.
“Voluntary Social Welfare Agency means an organization, association or undertaking
established by persons of their own free will for the purpose of rendering welfare services in
any one or more of the fields mentioned in the Schedule and depending for its resources on
public subscription, donations or Government aid”(Voluntary Social Welfare (Registration &
Control) Ordinance 1961).
Features of Voluntary Social Welfare Agency (VSWA)
Also called Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) or Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs)

• Voluntary & created by the people themselves at grassroot level.

• These agencies should have the legal status in the Registration & Control
Ordinance of Voluntary Agencies, 1961.
• Should have the managing committee elected / nominated by members.
• Should have a sense of commitment to human development / welfare.
NGOs or NPOs

• Should have the potential to plan or implement its own programme through its
own voluntary & paid workers.
• Should raise its funds from the community.
• Should maintain its accounts & be accountable to people & the Govt. so far it
receives grants.
Unlike Voluntary agencies, public agencies are sponsored & controlled by the Govt.
Role or Functions of VSWA

• Motivating & organizing people to solve their own problems.

• Providing communication channels between the people & the public agencies.
• Promoting innovative or pilot projects / programmes.
• Undertaking projects or programmes entrusted by the Govt. for a more in-depth
study of the needs of the weaker sections of the society.
Grant-in-Aid by Government

• Payment of financial assistance by the Government to voluntary Agencies to

defray part of the cost of the services

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On conditions to:

• Maintain standards of services

• Provide right of inspection & direction
In case of unsatisfactory services or response, the gov. may uphold the:

• Right to with-hold payment

As these aids are not to substitute funds but to supplement private finances & efforts

• That’s why considered as “Matching Grant/Principle”

Reasons for Grant-in-Aid by Government

• To ensure a minimum standard of services throughout the country by assisting the

already existing Agencies & institutions.
• To assist Agencies to strengthen & improve their services by employment of
professionally qualified staff.
Reasons behind Grant-in-Aid by Government

• To encourage major NGOs through financial assistance & Technical advice &
cooperation, to experiment with new services.
• To encourage the growth of Social Work literature & an awareness of social
welfare work in the community.
Some Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies

• Edhi Foundation
• Shoukat Khanum Hospital
• Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
• Ansar Burney Trust
• Agha Khan Rural Support Programme
• Aurat Foundation
• Shahid Afridi Foundation
• DarulSukun
• Health & Education Development Organization
• TCF – The Citizens Foundation
• Rural development Foundation of Pakistan
• Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund
• Oxfam Pakistan
• PAWS – Pakistan Animal Welfare Society
• Kashf Foundation
• Legal Aid Women Trust
• AGHS Legal Aid - Child Rights Unit
• MWO – Aghosh Orphan Care Home
• CPDI – Center for Peace & Development Initiatives
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• EHSAS – Education, Health and Social Achievement Services

• Al-Khidmat Foundation
International NGOs Working in Pakistan

• Bilqees Sarwar Foundation (BSF), headquarters in Dubai, established in 2005.

• United Nations Children’s Fund, established on 11th December, 1946, assistance
to children and their mothers, UNICEF headquarter in New York City, Geneva.
• United States Agency for International Development (USAID), administering
civilian foreign aid, established on 3rd November 1961 and headquarters in
Washington D.C.
• SOS Children’s Village, established in 1949 at Vienna, Austria by Hermann
Gmeiner (philanthropist), welfare of children.
• Fred Hollows (1992), treatment for vision problems and preventing from
blindness under The Fred Hollows Foundation. Sydney, Australia
• Plan International, founded in 1937 by John Langdon-Davies, children’s rights
and equality for girls.

Topic 15: Difference between Professional and Voluntary Social Work

• Professional social workers - help people in their needs as their job and they are
well trained
• Voluntary workers - work for welfare of others without pay or any reward.
• Not qualified or trained in this profession.

Voluntarism

• German word - ‘honorary post’

• Most vulnerable groups within our societies
o poor, sick, elderly
• Humanitarian assistance, which is humanity & humanitarian conviction.
• Public appreciation for what he or she is doing.
• Devotion & dedication to serve the entire mankind.

Difference between Professional and Voluntary Social Work

• Extended to an individual, but when it addresses the needs of a community at

large, it is referred to as voluntary social work.
• Professional Social work implies all those activities which are done for profit
using professional skills & core competencies of social work.
• Different according to their target groups.
• Both driven by the incessant urge to contribute positively to society.
• In both, spheres of influence encompass humanity at large.
• Professional social work is done by those who do it for a living

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• Professional social workers are required to be trained & qualified for the work
they do
• Paid just like regular working people, for the job they do.
• Voluntary social workers usually work on an unpaid basis
• Similar work & as a whole the work benefits society
• Do not treat the work as a 9 to 5 undertaking.

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Lesson 05

SOCIAL WORK AND ISLAM

(Topic 16-17)

Topic 16: Concept of Social Work in Islam

• In Islam serving others is a great act of worship. Only in serving people that we
shall have a share in Allah’s Mercy.
o Well-wisher to all.
o Ready to help everyone.
o Accepting others’ rights over his own possessions.
Two Principles for Muslims

• Worship of Allah
• Serving to humanity
o Means doing good and talking in a good manner with parents, relatives and
orphans.
Allah mentions in Qur’an,
“Do not worship except Allah; and to parents do good and to relatives, orphans, and the
needy. And speak to people good [words] and establish prayer and give Zakah”. (Chapter 2,
Verse 83)
Islam teaches Muslims the ways to live and perform in a better way in a society.
Worship Allah and associate nothing with him and to parents do good, and to relatives,
orphans, the needy, the near neighbour, the neighbour farther away, the companion at your
side, the traveller and those whom your right hands possess. Indeed Allah doesn’t love those
who are self-deluding and boastful. (Chapter 4, Verse 36)
A Muslim must translate his Eeman (Faith) into the actions of service to humanity. The
Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said:
He who sleeps satiated while his neighbour goes hungry is not dear to Allah.
Allah defines the person with the noble and righteous attributes as:
Righteousness is not that you turn your faces towards the east or the west, but (true)
righteousness is (in) one who believe in Allah, the last day, the angels, the books and the
Prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the
traveller, those who ask (for help) and for freeing slaves (and who) establishes prayer and
gives Zakah (those who) fulfill their promise and (those who) are patient in poverty and
hardship and during battle. These are the ones who have been true and it is those who are the
righteous. (Chapter 2, Verse 177)

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• Concept of Social work is more than a philosophical concept in Islam.A practical

draft that outlines the why, whom & who of service delivery.
✓ Why - because we believe form of worship incomplete without helping deeds
✓ Whom – to categories of people & groups & issues related to be met
✓ Who – by people having different characteristics of workers
Why?

• Why we should establish formal social services in our communities

• Our worship is incomplete without helping deeds
• Each & every Muslim has to contribute to the welfare of society.
Who?

• Who is best qualified to carry out the duty of serving the community in the area of
social services?
• One who having believed totally completely & with understanding is then
compelled by his belief to act upon them through service to humanity thus
completing their faith.
For Whom?
Towards whom these services should be directed

• It is directed to spend of your substance for:

o Kin - related either by blood or marriage
o Orphans - children whose fathers have died
o New Muslims
• Needy - interpreted to mean any need
• Wayfarer - traveller or a transient
• Those Who Ask - anyone who asks for help and is a genuine case must be helped
• Ransom of Slaves
How?

• How are we going to achieve these objectives of Islamic social service?

• By Regular Charity – Creating communities where members give regular charity
(compulsory and voluntary), benefit each other & feel responsible for each other.
• The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said, “the best of all activities is the social service”.
• The Holy Prophet (PBUH) also said, “he who undergoes to relieve the needy, the
desolate and the poor is one who undergoes in the service of God”.
• The Quran says, “he who believed in God do not make your alms worthless by
reminding people of them or by injury”.
• Islam does not, forever, like dependency and irresponsible alms giving or taking.

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• The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said, “verily the best things which ye eat are those
which ye earn yourself”.

Topic 17: Socio-Economic Institutions in Islam

1. Zakat (Zakah)

Zakat is one of the pillars of Islam. It provides economic justice in society. It means purity
and cleanliness. It is portion which is set apart from wealth for needy and poor people.

The Holy Quran says,

“Indeed those who believe and do righteous deeds and establish prayer and give Zakah will
have their reward with their Lord, and there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they
grieve”. (Chapter 2, Verse 277)

Zakah is obligatory on Ummahs of all the Prophets of Islam.

“And he used to enjoin on his people prayer and Zakah and was to his Lord pleasing”.
(Chapter 19, Verse 55)

Giving Zakah is part of one’s faith. A Muslim craving to attain piety and righteousness, needs
to give Zakah out of his / her wealth.

2. Bait-ul-Maal

Is a financial institution where Muslims keep Zakah, donations, charity.Bait-ul-Maal means

the house of wealth. First established by Caliph Umar (May Allah Be Pleased With Him).
Aims of Bait-ul-Maal include:

• To reach needy & poor people by distributing Zakah.

• To alleviate the problems of those people belonging to underprivileged &
marginalized sections of society.

3. A Beautiful Loan to Allah

Providing help to deprived people of any nature is what Allah appreciates and strongly
reiterates.A Qur’anic verse, mentions about the beautiful loan and its benefits:

Who is he that will loan to Allah a beautiful loan but which Allah will double into his credit
and multiply many times? (Chapter 2, Verse 245).

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The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said:

“Whoever removes a worldly grief from a believer, Allah will remove from him one of the
grieves of the Day of Resurrection. And whoever alleviates the need of a needy person, Allah
will alleviate his needs in this world and the Hereafter.”

And

“Humanity is a family of Allah; so the most beloved of Allah is he who lives his family
wholeheartedly and maintains good behaviour with his fellow beings (Sho’b-ul-Eeman)

“And man’s helping his brother is Sadaqah (Charity). A drink of water he gives is Sadaqah.
Removing something harmful from the road is Sadaqah. (Al-Adab-Al-Mufrad)”

“You should be merciful to people on earth and Allah on high will be merciful to you (Abu
Dawood and Reyadh ul Muslimeen)”.

Religion of Peace and Love

Spirit of love is not confined to the world of human beings, but is extended to animals
as well.

“Allah is merciful to kind people. Be kind to those on the earth, the one in the heavens will be
kind to you. (Tirmidhi)”

Social work - makes people aware of their potentials, capabilities, talents to become self-
sufficient and independent. Similarly, Islam motivates the Muslims and humanity to be self-
reliant and capable. Islam has never called upon Muslims to lead a life of dependency. As
followed by the social work, Islam focuses on the innate strengths of individuals. Secures
honourable lives for those who are unable to secure their living.

Islam unequivocally proscribes discrimination on the basis of colour, caste, creed or position.
Concept of brotherhood or fraternity permeates all Islamic rituals, customs & community
living.

‘Justice’ - the Holy Qur’an: “When you judge between people,” “you should judge with a
sense of justice” (Chapter 04, Verse 58).

Allah commands justice and good conduct and giving to relatives, and forbids immorality
and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.
(Chapter 16, Verse 90)

Sadqa and other voluntary alms giving are enjoined by Islam to help redress the economic
hardship of the poor. Islam forbids extravagancy, gambling, mendicancy and begging:
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The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said, “the worst of feast are the marriage feast in which the rich
are invited and the poor are left out”.

The Quran says, “the man who denies justice is the man who repulses the Orphan with
harshness and encourages not the feeding of the indigent”. At another place the Quran says,
“help ye one another and righteousness and piety”.

Islam specifies the rights and obligations of man towards his family neighbour and Society

The Quran says, “And do good to parents, kins folk, those in need and neighbours”.

The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said, “By His in whose hand stands my life, no servant of God
really believe until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself. He is not a believer who
eats his full belly while his neighbour lies hungry.”

4. Waqf

• Institution originated during the time of the Holy Prophet (PBUH)

• Formalized & legalised during the period of the Caliphs.
• Through Trust-property activities like education, social welfare & relief.
• Social work values are compatible with Islamic principles completely.
• Both emphasize individualism, human treatment of the distressed and collective
efforts to solve individual and community problems.

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Lesson 06

RELATIONSHIP OF SOCIAL WORK WITH OTHER SOCIAL SCIENCES

(Topic 18-20)

Topic 18: Relationship of Social Work with other Social Sciences

“Social Work has drawn it's knowledge & insight from political science, psychology,
sociology, economics, medicine, psychiatry, anthropology, biology, history, education &
philosophy but by synthesis it has developed into a science of its own” (Friedlander)

• It borrowed concepts from other social sciences

• Now developed as a body of knowledge, skills & methods
• Social science is an umbrella term:
o sociology
o anthropology
o Psychology
• These sciences discuss human interactions, behaviour, society & relationships by their
own methods and ways. Such as:
o Sociology is the study of human society.
o Psychology is focused on the study of the behaviour of individuals.
Social Work

• A profession concerned with helping individuals, families, groups & communities to

enhance their individual & collective well-being.
• It helps people to develop their skills & their ability to use their own resources to
resolve problems like:
o Poverty
o Unemployment
o Domestic violence
Psychology and Social Work
Psychology is the study of mind.
• According to McDougall -- It is the positive science of conduct & behaviour.
• According to Murphy -- It is the science that studies the responses which the
living individuals make to their environment.
Psychology studies the general principles of human attitude & behaviour. Psychology studies
an individual in abstract. It studies mental aspects of individuals through individualistic
approach. It is focused upon internal qualities of individual & their manifestations in terms of
behaviour.

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Social work has an intimate relationship with psychology. Social work while solving
individual and group problems:

• Attempts to study individual from his mental perspective

• Studies the social psychology of individual concerned with the behavioural & social
problems
• This knowledge is essential for social work practice.
o For example in Social Case Work intervention.
Social Workers help individuals by studying their attitude, perception, learning ability &
intelligence quotient. They try to affect the behaviour of the individual concerned. Hence a
decent part of the knowledge of psychology has been incorporated in the theory of social
work.
Economics and Social Work
“Economics on one side is the study of wealth; and on the other hand a part of study of man”
(Marshal).

• Economics as a branch of knowledge studies man’s actions regarding how he earns

wealth and how he spends it towards meeting his needs?
• Economics attempt to study how people attempt to accommodate material scarcity to
their wants?
Fulfilment of material needs of an individual is an important aspect of social life. Thus an
individual’s personal & social life is affected to a great extent by the economic conditions.
Problems in society usually arise due to unfulfillment of people’s material needs. Social &
economic conditions are interconnected & interrelated. Essential to study growth and
development. Social work includes relevant parts of economics in the knowledge of social
work.
Political Science and Social Work
Political science deals with association of human beings in the form of political units and the
government. State has the power to control economic, moral, cultural & religious relations &
mutual interaction between individuals, groups & communities. Number of problems can be
solved through enactment of legislations.
Social work studies the nature of association & interactions of individuals, groups &
communities for inclusive growth & development. Social work looks into the policies,
schemes, programmes and link them up to the needs of the communities for the betterment of
the people.

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Statistics and Social Work

Statistics is the science which deals with the methods of collecting classifying, presenting,
comparing and interpreting numerical data to throw some light on any sphere of enquiry.
(Saligman)
Statistics is the method of judging collective, natural or social phenomenon from the result
obtained from the analysis or enumeration or collection of estimates. (King)
Used to measure the results of cause & effect relationship between two phenomena. It makes
it easy for humans to understand, describe & measure the effects of his own actions or the
actions of others. Helps social workers to effectively solve the problems of individuals,
groups & communities by providing accurate measurement of various facts associated to
those problems.
Social Anthropology and Social Work
Anthropology devotes itself to the primitive human being & the primitive society. It studies
activities that bring satisfaction to psycho-physical needs. It studies the folkways, mores,
traditions & values.
Social work students receive information regarding tribal organizations, their values, beliefs,
and customs. On basis of this information they try to understand the needs & problems of the
tribal people. Then an appropriate action plan is prepared for the solution of their problems.
Ethics and Social Work
Ethics is science that deals with good conduct, the righteousness or correctness of behaviour.
On the basis of social behaviour, the norms of morality are developed.Social work helps
individuals in solving their psycho-social & adjustment problems. To enhance understanding
and skills in solving value conflict, social work has incorporated some knowledge from ethics
for training social workers.

Topic 19: Sociological Contributions in Social Work

• Sociology - study of society

• Study of human beings, their interrelationship & the relationship with the
immediate social environment.
• To be precise and specific, the subject matter of sociology includes:
Social Morphology
Encompasses matters like population, its qualities, social groups, social institutions, and
organization etc.
Social Processes
Co-operation, competition, conflict, accommodation, adaptation, assimilation, adjustment &
socialization.
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Social Control
Religion, tradition, folklore, morality, beliefs, laws, values.
Social Pathology
Crime, delinquency, suicide, unemployment, corruption, family disorganization, poverty, and
climate change issues.
Sociology
Sociology deals with human organizations, their structure, their relationship, gaps underlying
the psycho-social needs, social interactions which are important for maintaining a decent
standard of living in the society.
Social Work and Sociology
Psycho-social problems of individuals, groups or communities cannot be diagnosed and
solved without having the knowledge about their social environment. Knowledge base of
sociology is essential for the social workers as:
• Sociology - studies different patterns of interactions of individuals & groups.
• Social work - responsible for the solution of the problems of these individuals &
groups.
• Social environment - shaping an individual’s life by affecting his/her attitude &
behaviour.
For gaining such knowledge social workers depend on sociology. Individual behaviour is
mostly conditioned by culture, tradition, folk ways, values, norms, beliefs. Constituents of the
culture are studied in sociology. To solve the problems borne out of cultural malfunctioning.
Social roles & expectations of individuals understand the roles & expectations by studying
sociology. Social work solves psycho-social problems also enters into the field of social
development.
Knowledge about social problems & their factors forms an important part of the body of
knowledge of social work. Social process like cooperation, competition, conflict,
accommodation, adaptation, assimilation, adjustment socialization validates their means of
work, gain acceptance & popular support. Hard fought ideological debates within the
adherents of each discipline.

• Charity Organization Society (COS) approach - favoured the person-centred

approach
• Settlement approach - favoured a structural change to resolve the problem.
Difference between Social Work and Sociology

• Sociology - approach to society is theoretical & theory building is its major

concern.
• Social work has to be practical & deals with problems.
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• Sociological theory is based on facts drawn from complex social reality.

• Often these theories are of little value to the practitioners.
• Social workers work to be fragmented & oriented only towards the problem at
hand.
• Sociology claims to be a value free discipline.
• Social work is a value-based profession, based on humanitarian principles.

Topic 20: Sociological Theories and their Application to Social Work

Social work profession is heavily influenced by sociological theories. Subject matter involves
society, community, family, religion, nation & groups. Sociological methods are considerably
influenced by natural sciences. Professional social work & sociology emerged in European
society in 19th century. Society is the unit of analysis in sociology (Inkeles).It studies the
internal differentiations & how they interact & influence each other.

Weber Studied the relationship between religion & capitalism. How the religion helped
capitalism emerge (Max Weber). Sociology also studies the external characteristics of the
population & rate and stage of its progress.Durkheim’s studies help social workers to study &
understand the social institution & to analyse political, economic, social & legal
stratifications & its impact on social relationships & social functioning (Durkheim).

Sociology has a significant influence on social work. Charles Booth’s theoretical perspective
provide analysis of social reforms and poverty, gave new perspectives to understand the
society (Charles Booth).

Theoretical Contributions of Sociology

1. Systems theory used in Ecological model of social intervention (Germain, Carel in

Reamer(ed), 1994: 103)
2. Three approaches of Sociology:
• Structural functionalist
• Marxian
• Interactionist
contributed to the understanding of sub-cultures and delinquency.

Key theorists and their concepts are

• Foucault’s concept of power: His theory addresses the relationship between power &
knowledge. His thoughts influenced social work activists.

• Marx’s class relationship theory describes: Individual’s position in the society is

determined by his or her role in the production process.

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• Erving Goffman’s major areas of study included: sociology of everyday life, social
interaction, social construction of self, social organization of experiences & concept
of total institutions & social theory of symbolic interactionism (Erving Goffman).

Provided great deal of help for social work practitioners in designing their interventions from
individual to organizational level.Role, status, authority, power, rights, responsibility, groups,
communities & nations are used in casework, group work & community organization.Study
of family, types of families, changing roles of family members, changing functions of family
& its members, the problems & means are used to resolve these problems.Problems of elderly
& their solutions.

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Lesson 07

PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL WORK

(Topic 21-24)

Topic 21: Principles of Social Work

Principles of Social work are guided by a distinct set of abstract values & a Code of Ethics.
These are the accepted practice principles for the purpose of informing our intervention with
clients. There are basically Eight Social Work Principles:

Principle of Acceptance

• Requires a sincere understanding of clients.

• Humanely, considerately & afford them dignity and worth.
• Understand clients’ perspectives & welcome their views.

Principle of Acceptance

• Social worker does not differentiate a person with particular religious beliefs,
economic position, social status, & a particular cast.
• Accept the client with all his/her strengths & weaknesses.

Principle of Individuality

• Recognize & appreciate the unique qualities of that client.

• “Begin where the client is”.
• Freedom from bias & prejudice
• Avoidance of labelling & stereotyping
• Recognition & appreciation of diversity
• Knowledge of human behaviour.
• “To be individual & to be treated not just as a human being but as this human
being with personal differences”

Purposeful Expression of Feelings

• Opportunities to express their feelings freely.

• Go beyond "just the facts" to uncover the underlying feelings.

Principle of Non-Judgmental Attitude

• Do not judge others as good or bad, worthy or unworthy, dignified or undignified.

• Non-blaming attitude & behaviour.

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Principle of Objectivity

• Examining situations without bias.

• Victim-blaming approach is avoided.
• Avoid injecting personal feelings & prejudices in relationships with clients.

Controlled Emotional Involvement

Three components:

• Sensitivity to expressed or unexpressed feelings

• Understanding based on knowledge of human behaviour
• A response guided by knowledge & purpose.

Principle of Self –Determination

• Recognition of the right & need of client’s freedom in making their own choices
and decisions.
• Assure that everyone has the necessary resources, services, & opportunities;
• Advocate for policy & legislative changes that improve social conditions &
promote social justice.

Principle of Self –Determination

• Not impose his decisions on the client.

• A range of alternative
• Final choice of client for choosing an appropriate alternative.
• Will power, self-confidence & decision making.

Principle of Confidentiality

• Identity, discussion with professionals, professional opinions about clients, or

records.
• Essential for developing trust, a key ingredient of any effective working
relationship.

Topic 22: Roles of a Social Worker

There are multifarious roles of a Social Worker. Diversity of social worker’s roles
provides opportunity for a great deal of creativity in social work practice.

Advocate

• Fight for the rights of others

• Work to obtain needed resources
• Concerned for vulnerable & disempowered
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• Speak for those who are unable to speak up for themselves

• Work at local, community and state level.

Case Manager

• Locating helping services & assisting their clients to access those services
• Work for:
o Homeless
o Elderly
o Chronic physical or mental health issues
o Disabled
o Victims of domestic or other violent crimes
o Vulnerable children.

Broker

• Responsible for identifying, locating & linking clients to needed resources

• Assists in choosing the most appropriate service option
• Assists in negotiating the terms of service delivery.
• Quality, quantity, and accessibility of services.

Educator

• Teaching people about resources

• How to develop particular skills:
o Budgeting
o Caring discipline of children
o Effective communication
o Service availing mechanisms
o Meaning of a medical diagnosis
o Prevention of violence

Facilitator

• Gathering and facilitating individuals & groups of people together

o community development
o Self-advocacy
o political organization
o policy change
• Involved as group therapists and task group leaders.

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Organizer

• As an Organizer the worker performs tasks of Community organization and social

action. It may involve:
o economic development
o union organization
o social research
o policy formation

Manager

• Well suited to work as managers & supervisors

• Better able to administer institutional social welfare services
• Influence policy change and/or development
• Advocate for all underprivileged people

Counsellor

• Express their needs

• Clarify their problems
• Explore resolution strategies
• Applies intervention to develop & expand the capacities of clients
• Empower people by affirming their personal strengths
• Capacities to deal with their problems more effectively

Mediator

• Intervenes in disputes between parties to help them

o Find compromises
o Reconcile differences
o Reach mutually satisfying agreements
• The worker has a neutral stance among the involved parties

Researcher

• Evaluates practice interventions

• Evaluates program outcomes
• Extends & disseminates knowledge
• Seeks to enhance the effectiveness of social work practice

Community Change Agent

• Improve or restructure some aspect(s) of community service/ provision

• Achieve planned change at multiple levels
• To bring awareness, collective consciousness, development, growth & prosperity
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Topic 23-24: Characteristics and Qualities of a Social Worker I&II

Love of People

• This acts as the greatest motivation for social work

• The worker must like and be interested in people

Emotional Maturity

• A complete developmental state

• Sober image of reality
• Be able to work independently
• Cope with frustrations
• Control impulsive behaviour
• Recognise related factors
• Take definite action

Self-awareness

• Striving towards self-knowledge by being in touch with his/her own needs, motives &
values.

Interpersonal Communication Abilities

• He has to be both tactful and acceptable

• Ability to listen should be equally good as the ability to talk

Empathic understanding

• Being able to think with someone by separating yourself from your own frame of
reference

Eager to Learn

• Must have an ambition to know more so as to deliver a better service.

• Could be achieved through self-development.

Assertiveness

• It is the manner in which the worker handles, expresses and asserts him/herself in
the face of others.
• Involves the capacity of the worker to convey in such a manner that the rights of
all participants are respected.
• Does not imply passivity or aggressiveness.

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Perseverance

• Expected to provide more assistance with less resources.

• Must be tenacious.
• Challenges must be accepted without hesitation.

Responsibility

• Responsibility is owed to the clients and the community.

• Must be self-disciplined & primarily responsible to him/herself.
• Maintaining confidentiality & general ethics.

Optimism

• Believe in change & development and must be self-motivated.

• Maintaining a positive view of life.
• Shouldn’t leave hope.
• Involves an optimistic belief and the ability to convert obstacles into positive
opportunities.

Enthusiasm

• An intense interest, desire and” bubbly” zeal.

• Usually accompanied by a sense of humour that is both contagious and
motivating.
• Energetic, full of potential with high zeal & zest.

Spontaneity

• Unforced & unplanned expression of feelings in the course of natural exchanges is

necessary to motivate change, growth & development.

Goodwill

• Relationship with clients should be sincere & radiate warmth.

• Expressed both verbally & non-verbally, it ought to be easy to connect with
people.

Open-hearted

• Knowing how to reveal himself / herself & how to be a ”familiar” person.

• Tolerate the others opinion, welcoming to new ideas and situations.

Sincerity

• Honest in his / her actions and motives.

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• Requires sincerity in the way in which the worker expresses himself / herself.
• Uniformity between behaviour, words and attitudes.

Creativity

• Create something from nothing.

• Encouraging from discouraging.
• Light from darkness.
• To change & develop things

Adaptable

• Attempting to bring about change

• Be able to adapt him/herself according to the changes and circumstances

Discretion

• Continuously make judgements in accordance with accurate and objective

insights.
• Involves choices and decisions regarding ethical issues, strategies & processes.

Energetic

• Worker’s energy is required to initiate change & development.

Leadership Potential

• Able to utilise his/her leadership potential in all situations & on all levels to influence
people as to the benefits of intervention.

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Lesson 08

PRIMARY METHODS: COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION-I

(Topic 25-27)

Topic 25: Definition of Community Organization

Community

• Group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in

common.
• Permanently shared lives of people over a region.
• A permanent local aggregation of people having diversified as well as common
interests & served by a constellation of institutions.
• Common interests & characteristics and/or a geographic location and/or identity in
social-cultural, political, economic or professional spheres.
• Implies togetherness.

• Is the basic primary method of social work profession.

• To render welfare services for the well-being of the community.
• To the adjustment between the needs and resources of a community.
• In terms of a single unit & is meant to be applicable to the community as a whole.
• McNeil -- the process by which the people of communities as individual citizens or as
representative of groups join together to determine social welfare needs, plan ways of
meeting them & mobilize the necessary resources.
• Mildred Barry -- process of creating & maintaining a progressively more effective
adjustment between community resources & community welfare needs.
• A participatory process through which communities are helped to
o identify common problems or goals
o mobilize resources
o develop & implement strategies

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• Facilitates a community to work for their felt developmental needs & help them to
utilize the necessary resources.

Topic 26: Philosophy of Community Organization

• Based on the Principle of Cooperative Spirit

• Based on the spirit of democratic values & principles with the focus on creating
democratic involvement
• Focuses on empowering
• Social workers focuses on learning skills to help themselves & others
• Focuses on the power of individual’s collectiveness
• Coordination -- with adjustments & inter-relations of the forces in the community
life for common welfare.
• Adjustments are made & remade to keep pace with the changing conditions of
community life.
• A democratic method
• Belief in the worth & dignity of the individual
• Community grow & change for the better
• Community’s faith in its own destiny & its ability to work for its own betterment
• Social workers work for:
• Faith in people
• To develop people’s faith in themselves
• Foster cooperative activity
• Cordial relationship between people
• Sink/sacrifice individual’s differences in view of common interests.

Topic 27: Values of Community Organization

1. Dignity and worth of the individual -- trust the individual’s potentialities

2. Importance of freedom to express ones’ individuality
3. Great capacity for growth within all social beings
4. Providing basic physical necessities without which fulfilment of life is often
blocked
5. Struggle & strive to improve one’s own life & environment
6. Receive help in time of need & crisis
7. Individual feels responsible & which is responsive to individual feeling
8. Creating Social climate which encourages individual growth & development
9. Participate in the affairs of one’s own community
10. Practicability of discussion, conference and consultation
11. Self-help as the essential base of any program

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Lesson 09

PRIMARY METHODS: COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION-II

(Topic 28-29)

Topic 28: Assumptions of Community Organization

The basic assumption on which the method of Community Organization relies is that
Communities of people can Develop the capacity to deal with their own problems. Another
assumption is that people Want to change and can change.

It is important that people should participate in Making, adjusting, or controlling the major
changes. Changes in the community are self-imposed or self-developed. For this purpose, a
‘holistic approach’ would be better to deals with the problems of community as compared to
‘fragmented approach’. Democracy requires cooperative participation & action in the affairs
of the community.

Communities of need, help in organizing to deal with their needs. Community’s Strength to
deal with their own problems. Narrow individual interests. Community want change but resist
at the same time. For this purpose, community also need Expert guidance. To involve interest
of community planned change are introduced– so that the community people may derive
immediate tangible benefits. People’s active participation in formulation, implementation &
evaluation of plans. For this purpose, the method of consensus should be developed. Multiple
factors behind the problems - multidimensional approach must be employed for tackling

Topic 29: Characteristics & Process of Community Organization

A Process

• The capacity of the community is important.

• Community organization is the process by which the capacity of the community is
utilised to achieve community needs.

Identification of Needs & Resources

• Community organizers help to identify the needs and recourses of the community.
• It brings a harmonious combination between community needs & resources.

The Community is Considered as a Client

• Whole community is treated as a single unit.

• Emphasis is on the community rather than on individual or group.
• Entire community is considered as a client.

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Involvement of Community Organizer

• Community organizer helps the community through his facilitation roles to

identify its needs, plan programmes & to evaluate its programmes.
• The community worker works like the facilitator.

Community Organization is a Means & Not an End

• The end (result) is the total welfare of the community, not the CO.
• CO is the process or means to get to the desired results (the end).
• All the programmes should be organised to achieve the wellbeing of the
community.

Community Organisation Process

1. Study
2. Problem identification & analysis
3. Assessment
4. Determination of strategies
5. Organization of programs and people and recourses
6. Action
7. Evaluation
8. Modification & continuation

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Lesson 10

PRIMARY METHODS: COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION-III

(Topic 30-32)

Topic 30: Community Organization & Community Development

Community Development

• A skilled process
• Communities cannot be helped unless they themselves agree to this process.
• How the community is working at the grass root level
• How responsive key institutions are to the needs of local communities
• Inter-related as two sides of same coin.
• Goals of CD, the CO method is used.
• UN -- economic, physical and social aspects.
• For achieving total development community organisation is used.

Similarities

• Common philosophical base

• Enable people to live happily & fully developed life.
• Basic faith in the common man & his right to.
• Self-help & help the people to help themselves to solve their own problems.

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Topic 31: Objectives of Community Organization

• Adjustment between the resources available & felt needs

• Information about the resources & needs
• Work for the welfare of the community
• Sound ground for planning & action
• A sense of cooperation integration & unity among people
• Take better participation in the developing community programs
• Identifying causes of various problems affecting the community
• Fulfilment of people basic needs
• Understanding among the people about the issues & needs
• Create a suitable ground for the basic need’s completion & eradication of
problems
• Individuals, groups & organization to focus on their point & challenge their
objectives for fulfilment
• Reforms in the community for eradication of community evils
• Democratic leadership among people
• Ability & better thinking to work for the betterment of community
• Develop spirit of common interest & sacrifice
• Promotion & progress of community
• Removal of blocks to growth
• Release of full potentialities
• Full use of inner resources
• Development of capacity to manage one’s own life
• Ability to function as an integrated unit

Topic 32: Principles of Community Organization

Acceptance

• Organizer should accepts the community & should get himself accepted.
• Various socio-cultural groups.

Understanding of Felt Needs & Resources

• Identify felt needs & the priorities.

• Explore the resources inside & outside.

Individualization

• Identify problem-groups.
• Prepare special plans to bring weaker and problem-groups at par.

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Community Self-Determination

• Determination of needs, resources & plans.

• Not to impose his own views.

Freedom within Limits

• Guides the decision-making process.

• Common interest or to the interest of special section.

Empathy not Sympathy

• Non-judgemental, objective oriented & facts based.

Flexible Functional Organization

• Formal & informal leaders.

• Diffusion of responsibilities.
• Delegation of authority.

Progressive Program Experience

• Evolutionary in character.
• Consonance with the ability of people.

Meaningful Relationship

• Objective oriented.
• Not engaged in discriminatory practices.
• Self-reliance of community

People’s Participation

• At all levels.

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Lesson 11

PRIMARY METHODS: COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION-III

(Topic 33-35)

Topic 33: Definition of Social Case Work

• Primary method of social work

• Concerned with the adjustment & development of individual towards more
satisfying human relations.
• One to one relationship
• Problems of one individual are different from those of another.
• Humanistic attempt to help people who have difficulty in coping with the
problems of daily living.
• Uses the case-by-case approach.
• Aims at individualized services

Historical Perspective

• Originated in U.S.A. in the 2nd decade of this century.

• American Charity Organization Society in 1877 on the pattern of the Charity
Organization of London
• Find out ways and means of helping the poor and needy
• Friendly visitors
• Visit the homes of the poor for purposes of
o assessing their need
o rendering material assistance
o giving them guidance &advice
• subsequently supplemented by 'paid agents'
• Find out ways and means of helping the poor and needy
• Friendly visitors
• Visit the homes of the poor for purposes of
• assessing their need
• rendering material assistance
• giving them guidance &advice
• subsequently supplemented by 'paid agents'
• Terms 'paid agents' &'the poor' were supplanted by caseworkers and clients
respectively

Causes of Human Problems as conceived by Social Case Workers

• Lack of material resources

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• Misconceptions about situations & relationships and lack of appropriate

information
• Illness or health related handicaps
• Emotional distress resulting from stressful situations
• Personality features or deficiencies

Definitions of Social Case Work

Mary Richmond (1915)

Art of doing different things with different people, co-operating with them to achieve
some of their own & society’s betterment.

Mary Richmond (1917)

Art of bringing about better adjustments in the social relationship of individual men or
women or children.

Mary Richmond (1922)

Processes which develop personality through adjustment consciously affected, individual by

individual, between men and their social environment.

Jarrett (1919)

Art of bringing an individual who is in a condition of social disorder into the best
possible relation with all parts of his environment.

Taft (1920)

Social treatment of a maladjusted individual involving an attempt to understand his

personality, behaviour and social relationships and to assist him in working out better social
and personal adjustment.

Watson (1922)

Art of untangling and restructuring the twisted personality in such a manner that the
individual can adjust himself to his environment.

Towle (1947)

A method by which certain social services are made available in areas of unmet
needs.

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Bowers (1949)

Art in which knowledge of the sciences of human relations & skill in relationship are
used to mobilize capacities in the individual and resources in the community appropriate for
better adjustment between the client and all or any part of his total environment.

Hollis (1954)

Method employed by social worker to help individuals find solution to problems of

social adjustment which they are unable to handle in satisfactory way by their own efforts.

Gordon Hamilton (1956)

Those processes which develop personality through adjustment consciously affected,

individual by individual between man and his social environment.

Perlman (1957)

Process used by certain human welfare agencies to help individuals to cope more effectively
with their problems in social functioning.

Safrad

Method employed by a social worker to help individual, find a solution of their

problem of social adjustment which they are unable to handle in a satisfactory way by their
own effort.

Queen (1932)

Art “of adjusting personal relationship”.

Lee (1923)

Art of changing human attitudes.

Taylor (1926)

Process concerned with the understanding of individuals as whole personalities and

with the adjustments of these to socially healthy lives.

Raynolds (1935)

Process of counselling with a client on problems which are essentially his own,
involving some difficulty in his social relationship.

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Raynods (1935)

That form of social work which assists the individual which he suggests to relate
himself to his family, his natural group, his community.

Klein (1938)

Technical method in social work - a way of adjusting to the client to his personal
problems.

DeSchweiinitz (1939)

Processes involved in giving service, financial assistance, or personal counsel to

individuals by the representatives of social agencies, according to polices established and
with consideration of individual need.

Swift (1939)

Art of assisting the individual in developing and making use of his personal capacity
to deal with problems which he faces in his life.

Strode (1948)

Process of assisting the individual to best possible social adjustment through the use
of social case study, social resources and knowledge from relative fields of learning.

Topic 34: Objectives of Social Case Work

• To make good rapport with the common people

• To find-out, understand & solve the internal problems of an individual
• To strengthen ones’ ego power
• To prevent problem
• To develop internal resources

Objectives of Social Case Work Treatment

• To prevent social breakdown.

• To conserve client's strength.
• To restore social functioning.
• To provide happy experiences to the client.
• To create opportunities for growth and development.
• To compensate psychological damage.
• To increase capacity for self-direction.
• To increase his social contribution.

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Topic 35: Nature and Characteristics of Social Case Work

• Relationship arise out of shared & emotionally charged situation

• Relationship contains elements of acceptance, expectation, support & stimulation
• Client & case worker are interdependent
• Case work relationship may have several therapeutic values
• Improvement of condition
• More adjustment within the society
• Development of personality
• Capacity building
• Relationship needs outside help

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Lesson 12
PRIMARY METHODS: SOCIAL CASE WORK - II
(Topic 36-38)

Topic 36: Interviewing in Case Work

• Interview refers to meeting or conference (formal or informal) between two or more

persons for specific purpose.
• It is an art used in every situation for better understanding and better relationships.
• It is the foundation on which theory and practice of social case work is based
• Interviews are conduced to:
1. To obtain knowledge of the situation.
2. To understand other person.
3. To make the person understand you.
➢ Client means any person who is seeking help or is being offered specialized service.
Interview and observation

• Face to face conversation, or questioning, for the purpose of eliciting information to

understand and analyze issues/ problems in question.
Social Case History

• It is the first step

• History may obtain by:
o Interview with the client
o Interview with the relatives, employer, teacher and friends of the client.
Format of interview schedule
The format of interview schedule may focuses on:
1. History of the problem
2. Personal history
3. Habits
4. Occupational history
5. Income
6. Any specific experience (if it is needed)

Topic 37: Techniques of Interviewing in Case work

• To understand an individual who comes with emotional problems and painful

situations.
• Basic attempt to put the client at ease and make it possible for him to express his
feelings
• Share the value of individuality, worth & respect for the client
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• Believe in the client’s self determination

• To recognize the role of emotional & unconscious processes in influencing the
attitudes and behaviour of the client
• To provide emotional support to relieve immediate anxiety of the client
• To give importance to the transference of mutual respect, professional relation &
good communication

Topic 38: Principles of social case work

Seven Principles
1. Individualization
2. Purposeful expression of Feelings
3. Control of Emotion
4. Self-determination
5. Acceptance
6. Non-judgmental Attitude
7. Confidentiality
Individualization

• To analyze an individual not from a single aspect but from various aspects.
• Problem of every individual is different from another & depend upon her/his
intelligence
• According to the intellectual level, socio-economic situation and ego strength,
ones capacity & resources.
Purposeful Expression of Feelings

• To express her/his feelings freely

• Listen purposefully to client’s feelings
• One’s psycho-social problems.
Control Emotional Involvement

• Without feeling any one’s emotion with sensitivity, it’s impossible to find-out her/his
problem & get a solution of that problem.
• Three ways:
o Sensitivity
o Understanding
o Response
Self determination

• Let the client take her/his own decision

• Give him/her a chance to decide, what is right or wrong for him/her

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Acceptance

• Accept an individual as a person of “worth & dignity”

Non-Judgmental Attitude

• Have no right to judge any one as guilty or innocent.

Principle of Confidentiality

• Take the problems of the client in confidence and keep it a secret.

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Lesson 13
PRIMARY METHODS: SOCIAL CASE WORK - III
(Topic 39-41)

Topic 39: Prerequisites of Case work and Roles of Social Worker

Social worker acts as the change agent. He must be a person who is capable of changing
himself and his attitude to be in keeping with the values and principles of case work. He must
be open to new ideas and develop the capacity for self-awareness. Self-awareness is a never
ending process, and the ability for self-awareness is an essential quality in order that the
social worker may be able to perceive his own biases and shed them to be able to render
effective casework service to clients. Related to the belief in the basic assumptions in case
work is the necessity for the social caseworker to cultivate appropriate attitude and qualities
necessary for social work.
Three major roles

• Clinical/behavioural change role;

• Role of the consultant/educator;
• The broker/ advocate role.
Clinical/behavioural change role
In the clinical/behavioural change role, the caseworker focuses his attention on those aspects
of the client’s behaviour which cause stress to him or others.
Role of consultant/educator
The caseworker may be required to give consultation to other social workers and
professionals from other disciplines and to provide social work practice instruction to
students of social work.
As an educator, the case worker may impart information, transmit knowledge, give advice,
correct perception or explain situational factors which are hidden from the client’s view.
The advocate/broker role
The advocate/broker role is of two types. The first aspect, that is, the caseworker’s
commitment to the individual client or family as regards locating resources and services for
meeting urgent material needs has been mentioned earlier.

Topic 40-41: Process of Social Case Work-I&II

Six Phases/Steps
1. Intake (First Interview) – Rapport Building
2. Psycho-Social study (exploration/Investigation)
3. Psycho-Social diagnosis (Assessment)
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4. Intervention/Treatment (Problem-solving process)

5. Monitoring and Evaluation
6. Follow-ups and Termination
1. Intake (First Interview) – Rapport Building

• Client comes to an agency for professional help through a Case worker.

• Relationship between two persons of unequal positions and power is developed.
• Accept client as a person in a stressful situation
• Respect the client’s personality and help him resolve.
Areas for probing:

• The stage of the problem

• The nature of request and its relation to his problem
• Does the request relate directly to his needs/problems?
• His adjustment to his social functions in job, family, etc.
• The state of his physical and mental health.
• His appearance in his first meeting.
2. Psycho-Social study (exploration/Investigation):

• Psycho-social study is the initial assessment of client’s current, relevant past and
possible future modes of adaptation to stressful situations and normal living
situations.
Perlman-Contents of case work study:

• Nature of the presented problem

• Significance of the problem
• Cause(s), onset and precipitants of the problem.
• Efforts made to cope with problem-solving.
• Nature of the solution or ends sought from the case work agency.
• Actual nature of the agency and its problem solving means in relation to the client
and his problem.
3. Psycho-social Diagnosis (Assessment):

• Perlman (1957) – Diagnosis helps in determining the focus of treatment, further

collection of facts and deciding the best course of action to solve the problem.
• Diagnosis is concerned with understanding both the psychological or personality
factors which bear a causal relation to the client’s difficulty and the social or
environmental factors which tend to sustain it.
• “Social diagnosis is the attempt to arrive at an exact definition as possible of
social situation and personality of a given client”.

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Content of Social Diagnosis:

1. Nature of the problem brought and the goals sought by the client, in their
relationship.
2. Nature of the person who bears the problem and who seeks or needs help with the
problem.
3. Nature and purpose of the agency and the kind of help it can offer and/or make
available.
Process of Diagnosis:

• Shifting the relevant from irrelevant data

• Organizing the facts and getting them into relatedness.
• Grasping the way in which the factors fit together
• Preparing the meaning as a whole.
4. Intervention / Treatment (Problem-solving Process):

• Hamilton-Treatment is the sum total of all activities and services directed towards
helping an individual with a problem.
• The focus is relieving of the immediate problem and, if feasible, modifies any
basic difficulties which precipitated it.
Method of Social Treatment:
1. Administration of concrete and practical services: e.g. money, medical care,
scholarships, legal aid, etc.
2. Indirect treatment (modification of environment, both physical and social): e.g.
camps, group experience activities, training programmes, etc.
3. Direct Treatment:
• Counselling-marriage, occupational, family, school, etc.
• Therapeutic Interviewing-family and marital therapy
• Clarification
• Interpretation and Insight
• Psychological support.
• Resource utilization
• Environment modification
5. Monitoring and evaluation:
Monitoring provides crucial feedback to case worker and the client regarding:

• Whether the treatment program is succeeding as desired,

• Whether established goals have been achieved,
• Whether modifications in the program are necessary

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• Whether the client is being helped in real sense.

6. Follow-up and Termination:
Worker should:

• Discuss the original as well as the revised goals and objectives

• Achievements during the helping period
• Factors helpful or obstructive in achieving the objectives
• Efforts needed to maintain the level of achievement
• Feelings aroused by disengagement.
Termination:

• Frequency and amount of contacts should be gradually decreased.

• Termination of the helping process brings up in both the case worker and the
client(s) many feelings – both positive and negative – which must be verbalised
and discussed.
• Follow-up is done to help client maintain the improvement.

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Lesson 14
PRIMARY METHODS: SOCIAL CASE WORK - IV
(Topic 42-45)

Topic 42: Recording of Social Case Work

• Recording improves professional skills and techniques of the social worker and he
can learn by his own errors.
• Help to evaluate his own work, but can also improve upon his own methods.
• Help in building worker-client relationship
• Add to body of knowledge of social work and also make this knowledge
communicable.
• Helps in making supervision and teaching easier and effective.
• Used for social research and planning
• It helps the workers show his agency what work he has done.
• Recording provides continuity of work, if another replaces one worker.
• It proves useful for future references.
• Helps in providing service on a systematic basis.

Topic 43: Techniques of Social Case Work

Purpose and concern for the client system
The purpose is to find out internal problems and try to solve it. It is the concern to make good
rapport; feel one’s feelings and aims at individualized service.
Expectation at three levels

• Case worker to client

• Client to case worker
• To what extent help can be provided
Accuracy of Empathy and Clear Communication

• Think positively in others point of view

• What extent you are sympathetic
• Ability to perceive and communicate accurately
• Sensitive to express feeling towards client by voice, posture and good
communication
Non-Possessive warmth

• Respect, acceptance, liking, caring and concern for the client in a non-dominating
way.

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Genuineness and acceptance

• Person of genuineness being real, honest in approach and never go beyond limit.
Authority

• Capacity to handle any situation, being resourceful and helpful.

• Having knowledge, attitude, experience and position to identify and solve internal
problem of client.

Topic 44: Components of Social Case Work

• Person
• Problem

• Place
• Process
Problem (Grace Mathew)
1. Problems related to illness and disabilities
2. Problems due to lack of material resources
3. School related problems.
4. Problems related to institutionalization
5. Behaviour problems
6. Problems of marital discord
Person or client
An individual under stress.

• Nature of the problem and the agency will determine the kind and extent of
knowledge necessary to help him.
• A person’s behaviour has meaning and purpose.
• Cannot make the needed adjustment because of his lack of motivation and
emotional stability.
• Under double stress.
• Behaviour and strength in social functioning largely depend on his past
experience, present situation and future expectations.
Problem

• Vitally affect a person’s social functioning

• Unmet needs – economic, medical, educational

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• Stress – psychological, social or physical

• Multifaceted and dynamic nature of the clients problem
• Necessary to select a part of the problem on the basis of:
o What the client want and needs
o What the case worker’s professional judgement indicates as possible and
desirable solutions
o What the agency is for and can offer
• Problems tend to create a chain reaction
• Different conception about the problem due to psychological stress or social
perception.
Place or Agency

• Organized institution for expressing the will of a society or welfare of its people.
• Classification of social welfare agency:
o Private or public agency
o Primary or secondary agency
o Local, provincial or National agency
o Closed or open agency
• Effectiveness of service will depend on the resources of the agency, competence of its
staff and support of the community.
• Employed by the agency, the range and nature of his function being defined and
limited by the agency.
Process:

• An art and can only partly be taught.

First contact

• Establishment of a relationship which can be maintained throughout the case.

Social History

• Picture which the case workers makes of his client

• Information given by the client
• Impression the client makes
• Knowledge he has acquired in his training and experience.
• History is collected not for its own sake; it is an essential basis of constructive
help.

Topic 45: Similarities & Differences between SCW & Counselling

Similarities

• Both have the same objective

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• Both attempt to help those individuals who are in trouble

• Both deals with the same type of clients

• In need of help in some aspect of social-emotional living

• Both deals with the same type of problems

• Effectiveness of both depends on relationship

• Both believe in the worth and dignity of the client

• Both have common principles

o Accept client as he is and provide opportunities for self expression
o Client has every right to determine his own path for his own recovery from
malfunctioning.
Differences

• In counselling, help is provided to the client without social services whereas in

case work administration of services is a major treatment strategy to resolve
problems
• Agency is not essentially required in counselling but social case work is always
practiced in agency settings
• Counsellor is concerned most of the time with one type of problem but in case
work the client is studied and understood as a whole.
• In counselling the emphasis is on the problem not on the person concerned, but in
social case work the emphasis is basically on client and the type of service is
provided.
• Counsellor is independent in the counselling practice but the case work services
are provided through agency

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Lesson 15
PRIMARY METHODS: SOCIAL GROUP WORK - I
(Topic 46-48)

Topic 46: Types of Groups and SGW's Definition

Group
“A number of people or things that are located gathered or classed together”. (Oxford
Dictionary)
Social Group

• Whenever two or more individuals come together and influence one another, they
may be called a social group (William Ogburn)
• Social group is a group of two or more persons who are in state of interaction with
one another (Mayer Nimkoff)
o A family living in a home
o Group of employees working in same organization
o Group of classmates
• Groups are classified on the basis of relationship, size, and criterion.
• On the basis of relationship; there are three types of Groups:
Monad: Groups in which a single person is a focus of group relationship.
Dyad: Group composed of two people in a relation.
Triad: Group composed of three people.
With reference to the nature of social contact and intensity of social interaction; the types of
groups are numerous.
On the basis of intimacy and nature of relationship:
Primary Group

• Family
• Neighbourhood
• Local brotherhood
• Close friends and peers
Secondary Group

• Place of employment
• Classroom
• Shopkeeper-customer relation
• Doctor- patient relation
On the basis of identification:
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In-group

• Family, Tribe, Gender, Occupation, Games or interest group.

• For a player of a cricket, his cricket-team is in-group for him.
Out-group

• For a student of social work; the other students of social work are in-group for
him, but the students of any other discipline are an out-group for him.
On the basis of rules and regulations:
Formal group

• Organizations, banks, hospitals, educational institutions, official associations and

firms
Informal group

• Four employees belonging to four different departments taking their lunch

together is an example of an informal group
On the basis of structure:
Voluntary group

• You can join people watching a game in the playground, you can become a
student in a college and you can join an organization.
Involuntary group

• A family is an involuntary group because an individual has no control over his

birth-to be born or not born in a specific family. Age group is also an involuntary
group.
Delegate group

• A parliament is a delegate group as it represents wishes and needs of the public, a

group of expert.
On the basis of relations to society:
Un-social group

• Introverts, people with adjustment problems or psychological anomalies, drug

addicts, criminals, thieves and murders.
Anti-social group

• Terrorist groups, criminals, thieves, murderers, students demonstrating protest.

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Pro-social group

• Groups who work promoting education, reducing poverty, providing health care,
treating drug addicts.(pink ribbon campaign, think tank).
Social Group Work

• Primary method of social work which develops the ability of individual’s through
group activities.
• Concerned with the social development of individuals.
• Practice requires a deep knowledge about how humans interact in groups.
Definition of Social Group Work
A method through which individuals in groups and in agency settings are helped by a worker
who guides their interaction in program activities so that they may relate themselves to others
and experience growth opportunities in accordance with their needs and capacities to the end
of the individual, group and community development (H.B.Trecker -1955).
Social Group Work is a method of social work which helps individuals to enhance their
social functioning through purposeful group experiences and to cope more effectively with
their personal, group or community problems (Konapka -1963).
Historical Perspective

• Began with various kinds of activities under the auspices of the church.
• During 1855-65, YMCA & YWCA were organized.
• Settlement movement developed during the latter part of nineteenth century.
• Group work mainly developed in British & American settlement houses.
• Jane Addams - first settlement house in Chicago in 1889
• Group work, and settlement houses in which it was practiced, offered citizens the
opportunity for education, recreation, socialization, and community involvement.
• Settlement houses groups offered groups as an opportunity for citizens to gather to
share their views, gain mutual support, and exercise the power derived from their
association for social change.
• Dr. Pratt - a physician in 1905, first to use a group as a treatment modality.
• Both case work & group work were used by social workers in the early twentieth
century.
• Group workers joined with six other professional groups to form the National
Association of Social Workers (NASW).

Topic 47: Theories underlying Social Group Work

Learning Theory:

• Provides a frame work for understanding human behavior.

• If behavior is learned then it can also be unlearned.
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• Group can provide reinforcements to strengthen behavior.

• It also provides a framework for group workers to modify behavior.
• Achievement of group tasks and development, or helping the members to unlearn
behaviors that create problems in their social functioning.
Systems Theory:

• Helpful to explain the functioning of a group.

• System theory attempts to understand the group as a system of interacting elements.
• Probably the most widely used & broadly applied theory of group functioning.
• Groups are social systems with the several interdependent members (Parsons, 1951)
• Functions as a unified whole to maintain order and a stable equilibrium.
• The act of survival depends upon four basic functions:
o Integration
o Adaptation
o Pattern maintenance
o Goal attainment
Exchange Theory:

• To find an explanation for the human transactions of giving and receiving.

• People help because they want to gain goods from the one being helped.
• People calculate rewards and costs of helping others.
• The triple obligations of social exchange- to give, to receive and to repay – are to
be understood not as self- interest but in terms of interpersonal, hence inter-group,
relations.
• Persons that give to others try to get something in return, and persons who receive
from others are under pressure to give in return.
• This process of exchange tends to create equilibrium to balance the exchanges
(Toseland& Rivas, 2018).

Topic 48: Basic Assumptions of Social Group Work

Basic Assumptions of Social Group Work:

• Man is a social animal.

• Social interaction is the result of group life.
• Man’s achievements can be increased, changed and developed through group
experience.
• Capacity to solve problems may be increased through group experience.
• Group recreational activities are beneficial to both individual(s) and society.
• Group Experiences have permanent impact on individual(s).
• Group work focuses its attention on two types of activities - program and social
relationships in the group.
• Social Group Work believes in the principle of ‘whole man’.
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Lesson 16
PRIMARY METHODS: SOCIAL GROUP WORK - II
(Topic 49-52)

Topic 49: Characteristics of Social Group Work

Group work is practiced by group itself

• Individual changes & personality growth are the outcomes of group work
• Group work is practiced by the help of its own members.
Based on humanitarian philosophy

• A group gets its inspiration from the happiness, joy and prosperity of the member
of that particular group within a community.
• A group must have a sense of belonging and group philosophy.
Gives aspiration to help each other

• By living together, sharing problems & emotions, the members get an aspiration
to help each other.
• The group helps the individual when she/he is in problem.
Provides more skill and information

• Member share their knowledge among themselves

• Get more information about science, resources and techniques.
Develops human personality

• After group formation & their networking with other groups, workers and agency
develop their personality.

Topic 50: Objectives of Social Group Work

• For the intellectual, emotional and psychological growth of groups and solve the
problems of adjustment through group process.
• To prepare the individual to learn how to perform responsibility in a democracy
style of working
• Leisure time.
• To learn the division of labor and specialization of roles.
• To transmit knowledge, experience and skill to one another.
• To encourage the individual as member of the group to express their feelings,
ideas and desires.
• To prepare people for social change.

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Topic 51: Purpose of Social Work with Groups

• Habilitation: helping members grow and develop.

• Rehabilitation: restoring members to their formal level of functioning.

• Correction: helping members who are having problems with social laws or mores.
• Socialization: helping members learn how to get along with others and do what is
socially acceptable.

• Prevention: helping members develop and function at an optimal level and helping
them prepare for events that are likely to occur (Klein, 1972).

Topic 52: Common Needs addressed by Social Group Work

• Coping with major life transition

• Need to acquire information or skills
• Need to improve social relationships
• Need to cope with illness
• Need to cope with feelings of loss or loneliness

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Lesson 17
PRIMARY METHODS: SOCIAL GROUP WORK - III
(Topic 53-55)

Topic 53-55: Principles of Social Group Work – I, II&III

• Principles provide a framework to work with the group.

• Guiding assertions of statements that have come from experience and research.
• Objectives of social group work can be fulfilled only within the frame work of
principles.
Principle of Planned Group Formation
Group is the basic unit through which the service is provided to the individual, consequently,
the agency and the worker are responsible for the formation of group or the acceptance into
the agency of already formed groups must be aware of the factors inherent in the group
situation that make the given group a positive potential for individual growth and for meeting
recognizable needs.
Principle of Specific Objectives
Specific objectives for individual as well as group development must be consciously
formulated by the worker in harmony with group wishes and capacities and keeping agency
function in mind.
Principle of Purposeful Worker-Group Relationship
A consciously purposeful relationship must be established between the worker and the group
members based on the worker’s acceptance of the group members as they are and upon the
groups willingness to accept help from the worker because of the confidence the members
have in him and in the agency.
Principle of Continuous Individualization

• Groups are different and that individuals utilize group experience in a variety of
ways to meet their different needs; consequently, continuous individualization
must be practiced by the worker.
• Groups & individuals in the group must be understood as developing and
changing.
Principle of Guided Group Interaction

• Primary source of energy which propels the group and influences the individuals
to change are the interaction and reciprocal responses of the members.
• Group worker influence this interaction by the type & the quality of participation.

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Principle of Democratic Group Self-Determination

• Group must be helped to make its own decisions and determine its own activities,
taking the maximum amount of responsibility in line with the capacity and ability.
• Primary source of control over the group is the group itself.
Principle of Flexible Functional Organization

• Group worker guides the group by setting up an organization to meet the group
needs.
• Organization thus established should be understood by the group members, should
be flexible and encouraged only if it meets the felt need of the members.
• Organization should be adaptive and should change as the group changes.
Principle of Progressive Program Experiences
Program experiences in which the group engages should begin at the level of the member
interest, need, experience and competence and should progress in relation to the developing
capacity of the group.
Principle of Resource Utilization
Total environment of the agency and the community possess resources which should be
utilized to enrich the content of group experience for individuals and for the group as a
whole.
Principle of Evaluation

• Continuous evaluation of process & programs in terms of outcomes is essential.

• Worker, group and agency share in this procedure as a means of guaranteeing this
greatest possible self-fulfillment.

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Lesson 18
PRIMARY METHODS: SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH-I
(Topic 56-57)

Topic 56: Social Research

What is Research?
Finding truth or reality existing in the universe, through using some techniques, methods and
methodology.
Social Science Research

• Systematic method of exploring, analyzing and conceptualizing human life in

order to extend, correct or verify knowledge of human behavior and social life.
• Seeks to find explanations to unexplained phenomena, to clarify the doubtful and
correct the misconceived fact of social life.
“Systematic method of discovering new facts and verifying old facts. Their sequences inter
relationship, causal explanations and the natural laws govern them” (P.V. Young)

Topic 57: Social Work Research

• Systematic investigation into the problems in the field of social work.

• Study of concepts, principles, theories underlying social work methods & skills.
• Involves the study of the relationship of social workers with their clients, individuals,
groups or communities on various levels of interaction or therapy as well as their
natural relationships & functioning within the organizational structure of social
agencies.

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Lesson 19
PRIMARY METHODS: SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH-II
(Topic 58-60)

Topic 58-59: Alternatives to Social Research I&II

• How the knowledge is derived out?

• Majorly four sources:
1. Personal experience and common sense
2. Expert and authority
3. Popular and media messages
4. Ideological beliefs and values
1 -Personal Experience & Common Sense
Examples

• Working women are more privileged while researches show that they face double
burden and are more suppressed.
• Economic scene present males as major contributors in national as well as
household levels, facts are otherwise.
• Big houses are more comfortable, research proves that small houses are more
sellable and have more market value.
Rationale behind the Myth
Examples

• Women are bad drivers- research proves more traffic accident ratio by males in
traffic records.
• Traffic jams are usually caused by women.
Five Errors on the basis of Personal Experience
1. Overgeneralization: Fatty people are more jolly, Muslims are extremists.
2. Selective observation: Reinforce pre-existing thinking, neutrality and balanced
manner is ignored, e.g., Caste judgements, horoscope identification.
3. Pre-mature Closure: Instead of research based results, conclusion drawn on the basis
of pre-determined mindset and biases, gather small evidence and jump to conclusion,
e.g., Professors forget, Chemistry teachers are dry.
4. Halo-effect: Belief construction based on impression of highly positive or prestigious
reputation, e.g., Harvard PhD is more authentic, Brand consciousness
5. False Consensus: Whatever I think is perfect, other people also think on the same
lines, e.g., women within four walls are more loyal to their families.
Social Research helps to address these errors.
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2.Experts and Authority

• Experts might extend their ideas in the fields in which they are not an authority,
e.g., religious scholars, Professor in physics gives opinion about musicology.
• Experts might promote ideas that strengthen their own power, position and
prestige (3Ps), e.g., Cricketers in different ads.
3.Popular and Media Messages

• Media Reports fuel perception of masses and stimulate myths. Media creates hype.
e.g., Pakistan’s image distortion, Dharna politics, dowry promotion in Molty Foam
advertisement, Gender discrimination through fairness creams.
4.Ideological Beliefs and Values

• Actions are promoted and defended on the basis of political, religious and
ideological beliefs, e.g., Concept of chastity, gender division of labour, shame
phenomenon.
• People are usually weak in three things:
• Geographic knowledge

• Scientific literacy
• Clear logical thinking

• Advanced countries with high use of IT, believe in horoscopes, ghosts, supernatural
interpretations.

Topic 60: Social Research & Scientific Community Norms

Social Research

• The decisions backed up by research are more valuable and authentic.

• The subject matter of social sciences is human social life which is highly fluid,
inevitably changing, and difficult to measure precisely.
• Social science research is a broad umbrella which covers anthropology, criminology,
management sciences, etc.
Scientific Research

• Systematic investigation through which we observe and find truth and reality.
• Scientific knowledge is based on three things:
• Social Theory (a system of interconnected logical ideas. Condenses & organizes the
knowledge about the social world and explains how its works)
• Data (Numerical and non-numerical information and evidence carefully gathered as
per standardised procedures)
• Empirical Evidence (What we can observe and experience through human senses)

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Scientific Community Norms

1. Universalism: Where ever and by whosoever research is conducted, should be judged
on scientific basis.
2. Organized skepticism: research should pass through critical thresh-hold and intense
scrutiny and should not be accepted in care-free manner.
3. Disinterestedness: Neutrality, unbiased, receptive to new ideas and unexpected
observations.
4. Communalism: Must be shared with others, public property, should be reviewed by
other researchers.
5. Honesty: No cheating, No plagiarism, fair and transparent.

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Lesson 20
PRIMARY METHODS: SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH-III
(Topic 61-62)

Topic 61: Qualitative Research

Methods and Methodology

• Interlinked & Interdependent but Different

• Methodology encompasses the entire research process; philosophical assumptions,
ethical principles, socio-organizational context, political impact of new knowledge
• Method refers to the collection of specific techniques to study selected units,
gathering refining, analysing data and reporting results.
Qualitative Research

• Qualitative research is research dealing with phenomena that are difficult or

impossible to quantify mathematically, such as beliefs, meanings, attributes, and
symbols.
• Qualitative observation deals with the 5 major sensory organs and their
functioning – sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing. This doesn’t involve
measurements or numbers but instead characteristics.
• Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human
behavior and the reasons that govern such behavior.
• Different types of qualitative research methods are an in-depth interview, focus
groups, ethnographic research, content analysis, case study research.
Advantages of Qualitative Research

• It enables more complex aspects of a persons’ experience to be studied (Acid

throwing, Domestic violence)
• Fewer restriction or assumptions are placed on the data to be collected.
• Not everything can be quantified, or quantified easily
• Individuals can be studied in more depth
• Good for exploratory research and hypothesis generation
• The participants are able to provide data in their own words and in their own way
(real life situations – ethnographic research, real behavior patterns)
Disadvantages of Qualitative Research
• It is more difficult to determine the validity and reliability of linguistic data
(terms, jargons, frequency)
• There is more subjectivity involved in analyzing the data. (researcher’s biases)
• “Data overload” – open-ended questions can sometimes create lots of data, which
can take a long time to analyze!
• Time consuming
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Topic 62: Quantitative Research

Systematic empirical investigation of any phenomena via statistical, mathematical or
computational techniques.
Quantitative research is generally made using scientific methods, which can include:

• The generation of models, theories and hypotheses

• The development of instruments (scale, questionnaire) and methods for
measurement
• Experimental control and manipulation of variables
• Collection of empirical data
• Modeling and analysis of data
• Evaluation of results
Advantages of Quantitative Research

• Allows the researcher to measure and analyze data.

• Researcher is more objective about the findings of the research.
• Can be used to test hypotheses in experiments because of its ability to measure
data using statistics.
Disadvantages of Quantitative Research

• Context of the study or experiment is ignored.

• Does not study things in a natural setting or discuss the meaning things have for
different people.
• A large sample of the population must be studied for more accurate results
Difference between Qualitative & Quantitative Research

Attributes Qualitative Quantitative

Analytical objectives Focuses on to describe individual Focuses on describing the

experiences and beliefs. characteristics of a
population.

Types of questions Open ended questions Close ended questions

asked

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Data collection Use semi-structured methods such Use highly structured

Instrument as in-depth interviews, focus methods such as structured
groups, and participant observation observation
using questionnaires and
surveys

Form of data Descriptive data Numerical data

produced

Degree of flexibility Participant responses affect how Participant responses do not

and which questions researchers influence or determine how
ask next and which questions
researchers ask next

Qualitative “vs.” Quantitative?

• Research question guides the choice (questionnaires, & surveys for any product in the
planning phase)
• Choice of methods is situational
• If you wish to carry out statistical analysis of the opinions of a group of people about
a particular issue or element of their lives, you can ask them to express their relative
agreement with statements and answer on a five- or seven-point Likert scale.
• Opinion about food habits, brands, products
• Sources of quantitative data include:
o Surveys, whether conducted online, by phone or in person.
o Observations, which may either involve counting the number of times that a
particular phenomenon occurs, such as how often a particular word is used in
interviews, or coding observational data to translate it into numbers;
Secondary data, such as company accounts.
• Complementary
o Research more complete with both
• Each requires resources and time
o Can be amended for rapid analysis

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Lesson 21
PRIMARY METHODS: SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH-IV
(Topic 63-65)

Topic 63: Observation Method

• Most commonly used data collection method in behavioral science.

• A process of recording the behavior patterns of people, objects, and occurrences
without questioning or communicating with them.
Definition

• Involve the systematic recording of observable phenomena or behavior in a

natural setting (Gorman & Clayton)
• The systematic description of events, behaviors, and artifacts in the social setting
chosen for study (Marshall & Rossman, 1989) (p.79).
• Observations enable the researcher to describe existing situations using the five
senses, providing a "written photograph" of the situation under study (Erlandson,
Harris, Skipper, & Allen, 1993).
Why We Observe?

• Allows to study people in their 'natural setting' without their behavior being
influenced by the presence of a researcher.
• Data collected can 'fill out' & provide a deeper, richer, understanding than survey.
• Enables to study groups of people together, that is, it allows for the study of
interaction between the members of a group.
• To add to our understanding of interview data.
• To identify patterns that may occur in the behavior of people, social interactions,
or the setting.
• To see patterns people are unwilling to talk about.
• To provide direct personal experience and knowledge.
• To add to or “move beyond” the perception of both the researcher and
participants.
What We Observe?

• Formal and informal patterns of interaction among people.

• Ways people organize themselves
• Informal or formal rules in operation
• Recurring events
• “Down time” when things don’t happen
• Sequence of events
• Differences in what happens at various times
• Ritual and Ceremonies
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• Crises
• Unplanned activities.
Characteristics of Observation

• Both a physical and a mental activity.

• It captures the natural social context in which persons’ behavior occurs.
• Observation is purposive and not casual.
• Scientific observation is systematic
• Observation is selective on the basis of the nature, scope and objectives of his
study.
• Observation is recorded immediately
• Observation is expert
• Observation is verifiable

Topic 64: Classification and Style of Observation

1. Three Ways of Classifying Observation Methods
1. Participant vs. Nonparticipant observation.
2. Structured vs. Unstructured observation,
3. Direct vs. Indirect observation.
Participant Observation

• Observer is a part of the phenomenon or group which is observed and he acts as

both an observer and a participant.
Example:
A study of tribal customs by an anthropologist by taking part in tribal activities like folk
dance.

• Persons who are observed should not be aware of the researcher’s purpose. Then
only their behavior will be ‘natural’.
Non - Participant Observation

• Observer stands apart & does not participate in the phenomenon observed.
• Calls for skill in recording observations in an unnoticed manner.
Example
Use of recording devices to examine the details of how people talk and behave together.
Direct Observation

• Observation of an event personally by the observer when it takes place.

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• Flexible and allows the observer to see and record subtle aspects of events and
behavior as they occur.
• Free to shift places, change the focus of the observation.
Example: Observer is physically present to monitor
Indirect Observation

• Does not involve the physical presence of the observer

• Recording is done by mechanical, photographic or electronic devices.
Example
Recording customer and employee movements by a special motion picture camera installed
in a section of large store.
Controlled Observation

• Carried out either in the laboratory or in the field.

• Typified by clear and explicit decisions on what, how, and when to observe.
• Primarily used for inferring causality, and testing casual hypothesis.
Uncontrolled Observation

• Does not involve over extrinsic and intrinsic variables.

• Primarily used for descriptive research.
• Participant observation is a typical uncontrolled one.
2.Styles of Observation

• Unstructured observation Describing what occurs. Researcher usually does not

have a preconceived idea about what would occur.
• Semi-Structured observation Using a checklist to record what you have found.
Requires that you have an idea about what will be found.
• Structured observation Starting with an operational definition of what you want
to measure – and counting only the behavior or situation that “fits” the definition.
3.Planning Observation

• Carefully examine the relevance of observation method to the data need of

selected study.
• Must identify the specific investigative questions which call for use of observation
method. These determine the data to be collected.
• Must decide the observation content, specific conditions, events and activities that
have to be observed for the required data.
• For each variable chosen, the operational definition should be specified.

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• The observation setting, the subjects to be observed, the timing and mode of
observation, recording procedure, recording instruments to be used, and other
details of the task should be determined.
• Observer should be selected and trained. The persons to be selected must have
sufficient concentration powers, strong memory power and unobtrusive nature.
Selected persons should be imparted both theoretical and practical training.

Topic 65: Interpretation, Advantages & Disadvantages of Observation

Observation Tools & Recording Devices

• Observation guides
• Recording sheets or checklist
• Schedule
• Field observation log
• Mechanical devices
How to Interpret Observations?
Descriptive
Requires no inference--You see something and record it.
Inferential
Requires making inferences about something underlying what is observed. For example,
students enrolled in Vocational Training Institutes in different courses can show a trend and
researcher can develop an inference from this enrolment.
Evaluative
Requires making an inferenceand a judgment from the observed behavior. e.g., I wonder
whether people enjoy a good challenge. “Good Challenge” is an evaluative judgment. I
observe Charley scrunching up his puzzle and infer 1) he “failed” and 2) he hates to lose!
Advantages of Observation

• Reliable and objective

• Natural setting
• Useful for young and shy children
• No need of equipment or tool
• Useful for individuals as well as groups
• Immediate detection of problems
• Most direct measure of behavior
• Provides direct information
• Easy to complete, saves time
• Can be used in natural or experimental settings

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Lesson 22
PRIMARY METHODS: SOCIAL WELFARE ADMINISTRATION (SWA)
(Topic 66-72)

Topic 66: Social Welfare Administration

Social Welfare Administration

• A process through which social work services, both private and public, are
organized and administered.
• Twin concepts of social welfare and administration embedded in it
• Administration -- part of governance as old as society itself.
• As governance systems evolved efforts made to institutionalize welfare.
• Welfare provisions - an integral part of governance system, hence a part of
administration.
• Knowledge & skills associated with administration are heavily drawn from
‘managerial sciences’.
• Called a process of transforming social policy into social action.
• Two clusters of knowledge and skills are involved.
• One - techniques of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating &
budgeting.
• Second - specific client groups and their needs.
Social Welfare
All social interventions that are intended to enhance or maintain the social functioning of
human beings (Ralph Dolgoff)
All collective interventions to meet certain needs of the individual and / or to serve the wider
interests of society (Richard Titmuss)
Social Work & Social Welfare

• Social Work is a discipline using specialized techniques for administering social

welfare services.
• Social Welfare is an overall term signifying a state of total well-being of the
community.
Social Welfare

• Centered on two basic concepts

1. Social Problem
2. Ways in which the society responds to its problem (policy, legislation, procedure).

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Definition
Process of transforming social policy into social services (John C. Kidneigh, 1950)
A two way process:
1. Transforming policy into concrete social services and
2. The use of experience in recommending modifications in the policy.
Process of working with people in ways that release & relate their energies so that they use
all available resources to accomplish the purpose of providing needed community services
and programs (Harleigh Tracker, 1971)
Administration of social agencies translates the provisions of social legislation and the aims
of private philanthropy and religious charities into the dynamics of services and benefits of
humanity (Friedlander, 1955).

Topic 67: Features of Social Welfare Administration

Features of Social Welfare Administration
1. Deals with social welfare agencies & helps them to achieve their objectives for the
target groups for which they are working. Specifically concerned with identification
of social objectives, the formulation & implementation of proposed programmes to
achieve the objectives laid down.
2. From functional point of view, it includes three perspectives of social problems:
a) Restoration of impaired social functioning;
b) Provision of resources, social and individual, for more effective social
functioning;
c) Prevention of social dysfunction.
3. Despite variations in size, scope, structure and types of programs, every agency has a
governing board as an apex body for final decision-making.
a) The board is generally represented by the community it intends to serve.
4. Requires optimum utilization of its available resources together with active
community participation, so that the ultimate goal of programmes can be achieved
properly
5. Social welfare agencies have to allocate certain portion of their resources for survival
so that the organization can continue to exist.
6. Social welfare agencies generally function in a cooperative manner & ensure
participation of all the members in administration of their activities.
7. Growing trend to recruit professionally qualified manpower.
a) Helped in introducing professional approach in their functioning.
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Topic 68: Areas of Administration

Areas of Administration
1. Organization & structure.
2. Policy making & planning.
3. Program development & use of sound methods and techniques.
4. Functions of the executive and board.
5. Specialization & coordination.
6. Supervision & leadership.
7. Public relations.
8. Maintenance of proper records.
9. Mobilization of recourses and budget.

Topic 69-72: Principles of Social Welfare Administration I, II, III&IV

Social Work Values
Values of the profession are the substance upon which services are developed & made
available to persons who need them.
Community and client needs
Needs of the community and individuals within it are always the basis for the existence of
social agencies & the requirements of programs.
Agency purpose
Social purpose of the agency must be profoundly formulated, specified, understood and
utilized.
Cultural setting
Culture of the community must be understood as much as it influences the way needs are
expressed & the way services are authorized, supported, & operated by the people who need
them.
Purposeful relationship
Actual purposeful working relationship must be established between the administrator, the
board, staff, & the constituency.
Agency Totality
Agency must be understood in its totality & wholeness.
Professional Responsibility
Administrator is responsible for providing high quality professional services based on values,
morals & standards of professional practice.

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Participation
Appropriate contributions of board, staff and constituency, are pursued & utilized through the
continuous process of dynamic participation.
Communication
Open channels of communication are essential to the complete functioning of people.
Leadership
Administrator must carry major responsibility for leadership of the agency in terms of goal
accomplishment & the provision of professional services.
Planning
Process of continuous planning is fundamental to the development of significant services.
Organization
Work of many people must be arranged in an organized manner & must be designed so that
responsibilities & relationships are clearly defined.
Delegation
Delegation of responsibility & authority to other professional persons is essential.
Purposive Co-ordination
Work delegated to many people must be properly coordinated.
Resource Utilization
Resources of money, facilities and recruits must be carefully fostered, conserved and utilized
keeping in view the trust granted to the agency by society.
Change
Process of change is continuous, both within the community and within the agency.
Evaluation
Continuous evaluation of processes & programs is essential to the execution of the agency’s
objectives.
Growth
Growth & development of all participants is endorsed by the administrator who provides
challenging work assignments, thoughtful supervision, & opportunities for individual and
group learning.

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