Social Work's Focus of Concern

Every profession has a focus of concern. Social Work as a profession is concerned with the
person-in-his-life situation or, more specifically, the individual's social functioning. Social
functioning, results from the individual's performance of a diversity of roles in society, such as
husbands and wives in their marital roles, in their parental roles if they have children, and in their
work roles if they are employed.

 Every job has something it focuses on. Social Work focuses on helping people deal with
their life situations, especially how they interact with others and with society. This is
called social functioning. Social functioning means how well a person does in different
roles in life—for example, as a husband or wife, as a parent if they have children, or as
a worker if they have a job. Social workers help people do well in these roles so they
can live better and healthier lives.

Problems in social functioning occur when the demands of a role do not match a person's
capacities, or when one's role performance is in conflict with those of others. Problems can also
occur because of factors in the environment, such as its failure to provide resources needed for
role performance or because the resources or opportunities that are available are beyond the
coping capacities of people;

 Problems in social functioning happen when a person has trouble doing their role in
life. This can happen for a few reasons:
 When what is expected in a role is too hard for the person (for example, a parent who
doesn’t have enough time, money, or support to care for their child).
 When a person’s way of doing their role clashes with others (like arguments between
parents or between workers and bosses).
 When the environment doesn’t provide enough help or resources (like no access to
jobs, education, or health services).
 Or when the help is there, but it’s too hard for people to use because they are sick,
stressed, or poor.
 Social workers help people face these challenges so they can function better in their
daily lives.

The goal of social work is the "enhancement of social functioning whenever the need for such is
either socially or individually perceived."¹ This is done through efforts whose aim is to help
individuals deal with their social situation's by changing themselves, their environment, or both.

 The goal of social work is to help people improve how they live and interact with
others, especially when they or society see that they are having problems. Social
workers do this by helping people:
 Change themselves (like learning new skills or coping better),
 Change their environment (like finding better support or services),
 Or change both, so they can live healthier, safer, and more successful lives.
The activities performed by social workers fall under what have been established as the three
general functions of social work: 1) preventive which is concerned with identifying and dealing
with potential areas of disequilibrium between persons and the environment; 2) remedial
(including rehabilitative) which aims to assist people in identifying and resolving problems that
have resulted from the disequilibrium between themselves and their environment; and 3)
developmental which aims to seek out, identify, and strengthen the maximum potential in
individuals, groups and communities, frequently through the provision of individual and social
resources. These functions are interrelated. In practice, many social workers engage in all three
functions, particularly when dealing with multi-problem client systems.

 Social workers do many kinds of work, but their activities are grouped into three main
functions:
 Preventive – This means helping people before problems happen. Social workers try to
spot early signs of trouble and help people stay balanced in life.
 Remedial (or Rehabilitative) – This means helping people solve problems that have
already happened. Social workers help people fix issues between themselves and their
environment (like home, school, or work).
 Developmental – This means helping people grow and reach their full potential by
giving support and resources. This can be for individuals, groups, or whole
communities.
 These three functions are often connected. In real life, social workers usually do all
three at the same time, especially when helping people with many different problems.

Values Foundation
The values foundation of professional social work consists of its philosophy, values, principles
and professional ethics. The philosophy or basic belief of social work is that every human being
has worth (halaga) and dignity (pagkatao). This is true whether one works with that human being
on a one-on- one basis, as member of a small group, or as part of a larger collectivity. Social
work adheres to many values, but the ultimate value of the profession rests on the conviction that
it is good and desirable for every human-being to fulfill his potential, to realize himself, and to
balance this with equal efforts to help others do the same. This value commitment implies that
every individual has a potential and capacity that can be harnessed toward his own self-
realization, but that the individual also has a social responsibility, that is, to contribute to the
common good. This value commitment is clearly evident in the way a social worker uses the
group as an instrument to respond to the need or problem of one group member even as this
person also contributes to the development or problem solving of other group members.

 The foundation of professional social work is built on its beliefs, values, principles, and
ethics (knowing what is right and wrong). The main belief of social work is that every
person has worth (halaga) and dignity (pagkatao). This is true whether a social worker
is helping one person, a small group, or a whole community. Social work has many
values, but its most important value is the belief that every person should have the
 chance to grow, discover their abilities, and live a full life—while also helping others do
the same. This means that:
 Everyone has potential to improve their life.
 Everyone has a responsibility to help others and to do good for the community.
 You can see this in how social workers use group activities to help one person with
their problem, while also encouraging that person to help others in the group. It's
about helping and being helped, so that everyone grows together.

Social Workers are guided by basic principles or rules of action which emanate from the belief
that every human being has worth and dignity. Let us briefly review these principles, and how
they apply to work with groups.
1. Acceptance. The social worker's education and the agency's support of his helping role form
the basis for respecting the group whatever its circumstances. It means the worker must deal with
the group in its own reality. It means understanding the meaning and causes of the behavior of
the individuals that compose the group, and the meaning and causes of the behavior of the group
as a whole. It means that one should always accept the individual and the group even if one does
not always approve of the individual's or group's action.
 This means the social worker respects the group, no matter what their situation is. The
worker should try to understand each person’s behavior, as well as how the group acts
as a whole. Even if the worker doesn’t always agree with what the group does, they
must still accept and support them as people.
2. Participation. This principle requires the worker to involve the group in all the steps of
problem-solving. Professional training is not an excuse for "taking over" in the course of the
helping relationship. The worker should build upon and utilize the group's own strengths and
resources. A wise move would be to make the group understand that its active involvement is
expected from the start until the end of the helping relationship.
 The group should be actively involved in solving their own problems. The social worker
is not there to take control, but to guide and support. It’s important that the group uses
its own strengths and that everyone knows their involvement is needed from start to
finish.
3. Self-determination. The worker must respect the group's right to determine its own goals and
the means for achieving them. It is expected, however, that with the worker's presence as a
helping person, he will contribute his knowledge and experience towards the group's problem-
solving efforts. A clear understanding of this principle can help avoid the ever-present danger of
manipulating the group for personal ends, or, on the other extreme, of agreeing to everything the
group wants to do regardless of its implications or consequences. Self-determination does not
mean that the worker should not intervene or set limits on plans and actions of the group if it is
necessary to do so.
 The group has the right to decide what it wants to achieve and how to reach those
goals. The social worker gives advice and support, but shouldn’t force their own ideas.
Still, if the group’s plan could cause harm, the worker has the right to guide or stop it
for everyone's safety.

4. Individualization. No two groups are the. same even as there are characteristics common to all
groups. It is therefore necessary to know the specifics relating to every group, such as the people
that compose it their concerns, values and attitudes, expectations, goals, etc.; the group's level of
organization, its goals, its communication, affectional and leadership structure, and other
important dynamics, and the environment in which the group exists and with which it interacts.
The principle of individualization makes the worker conscious of the group's particular situation,
and the need to respond accordingly. This is especially important in the Philippines where most
social workers deal with groups coming from poverty-stricken families and communities, and it
is so easy to make generalizations about the nature of their needs and problems, which can make
one in- effective in his helping efforts.
 Each group is unique, even if they share some problems. The social worker must learn
about the group’s specific situation, like who the members are, what they care about,
their goals, and how they communicate. This is very important in places like the
Philippines, where many groups face poverty, and it's easy to make wrong guesses
about their needs.
5. Confidentiality. In working with groups, the worker often finds members sharing information
of a confidential nature. Planned group experiences also tend to make for uninhibited expression
of thoughts and feelings. It should be presumed that in these, as in all similar situations, the
worker can be trusted to ob- serve the principle of confidentiality. Certain realities in the
Philippine setting, e.g., inadequate facilities, a highly personalistic culture ("I think of the group
as my family") make the principle of confidentiality difficult to observe. However, a professional
helper should exercise good judgement and handle a situation in such a way that client privacy is
protected. The worker should also bear in mind that a group situation may have more constraints
with regard to the principle of confidentiality than in a one-to-one helping relationship and so he
must know how to set limits on the extent of sharing confidential information in the group.

 Sometimes, group members share private or sensitive information. The social worker
must keep this information safe and not tell others. In group settings, it can be harder
to keep things private, so the worker needs to use good judgment and make sure
people’s privacy is protected as much as possible.

6. Worker self-awareness. This requires self-understanding (beliefs, values, biases, etc.) and
consciousness of one's responses to the group, i.e., whether they are professionally motivated,
(i.e., to be helpful to the group) or personally motivated (i.e., to meet his own needs or aim).
Self-discipline is crucial here, considering that in the Philippines majority of the poor feel that
they owe the worker a debt of gratitude ("utang na loob") for helping them. Such a situation
makes it easy for the worker to manipulate a group. However, it is just as possible for a group to
manipulate a worker who is inexperienced and lacks self-confidence. Given all these, self-
awareness, is crucial to effective helping as it makes possible the worker's conscious use of self
which is very important in social work.

 Social workers must understand their own thoughts, feelings, and reasons for helping.
Are they doing it to help the group, or to feel good about themselves? In the
Philippines, some people may feel they owe the worker a favor (“utang na loob”),
which can lead to manipulation. The worker must stay professional, fair, and aware of
their actions and feelings.

7. Purposeful relationship. A social worker's professional relationship with a group does not just
happen or move in a desired direction. It is deliberately planned, based on a careful study of the
group's problem or situation. In social work, the generic helping/social work problem-solving
process involves a series of sequential steps which proceed through time, with each step
characterized by certain events and activities unique to it. The steps are: assessment (study and
problem definition); action-planning; plan implementation (intervention); evaluation (assessment
of helping results), and termination of the helping transaction. Each step has a thrust that gives
meaning to the worker-group relationship at any given time. The steps combine into a process
that illustrates a purposeful relationship.

 The social worker’s relationship with the group is carefully planned. It follows a
process with clear steps:
 Assessment – understanding the problem
 Planning – deciding what to do
 Implementation – putting the plan into action
 Evaluation – checking if it worked
 Termination – ending the help properly