Financial Social Work

Author(s):  
Reeta Wolfsohn ◽  
Dorlee Michaeli

Financial well-being is an individual responsibility in twenty-first century America, even though research reveals a serious inability for many Americans to attain it. Social workers have the education and training to help people modify behavior and a history of working with low-income and minority families, as well as the skills to engage and empower clients, making them the best professionals to help Americans take control of their money and their lives. This article explains how incorporating financial-literacy skills and models of financial behavioral change into the social work curriculum would benefit both social workers and their clients. It describes the financial social work model and an understanding of its relevance to the social work profession.

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Smith ◽  
Kristin V. Richards ◽  
Lisa S. Panisch ◽  
Victoria M. Shelton

Social work clients need financial literacy skills. Many clients are faced with the task of overcoming increasingly complex and challenging financial obstacles that can take a dire toll on their physical and environmental stability and mental well-being. Social workers who lack skills in financial literacy are at a disadvantage when helping their clients overcome economic hardships. Financial therapy is an emerging intervention that merges techniques of psychotherapy with financial education. This integrated approach can be used by social workers in generalist settings to promote financial problem solving. Few baccalaureate social work (BSW) programs provide students with education about financial problem solving from this angle. A curriculum model and overview of a pilot course introducing BSW students to a manualized form of this approach is presented. Overall, students found the course beneficial and expressed interest in using this intervention in practice. Student feedback is reviewed, along with directions for further study.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 41-57
Author(s):  
Sabina Pawlas-Czyż

The purpose of the article is to consider a unit and family experience in confrontation with an oncology disease, showing a high degree of complexity and psych-social functioning marked with a disease. The knowledge on physical, social, emotional, existential-spiritual consequences of the disease is the basis for the ability to assess, to which degree the disturbances affect the well-being of the family and his family. However it is one of the prerequisites which encourages for deepening theoretical bases for the actions for undertaking practical consid-erations with reference to the shape of the aid offer which should be available within the support system for the patients and their families in oncological disease within social work. Among the activities concerning executing care of the patients, being recommended in the oncological tasks of the social workers is the need to accompany the units and the family faced with the disease in obtaining the possibility to function in social roles as most as possible: marital/partner, family, in professional roles. These oncological social workers undertake effective interventions allowing for overcoming the consequences of the crisis caused by the disease and strengthening the resources in the interpersonal relations and the environment of the patient. The professional work oriented to strengthening the families of the oncologically sick persons consti-tutes a special area which may extend the professional identity of the social worker with the activity in the field which is somehow a statutory obligation of the social work, but its use in practice is not a common phenomenon.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shabbeer Ahmed

The relationship between counselling and social work has always been complex and interactive. Relationship, one person interacting with another, is at the heart of all social work in health and social care settings. Social work emerged as profession in the 20th century and today it is profession charged with fulfilling the social mandate of promoting well being and quality of life.  Thus social work encompasses activities directed at improving human and social conditions and alleviating human distress and social problems. It is essential that social workers take responsibility for developing and improving those skills which enable them to build relationships. This enables them to provide a professional service for which they can be accountable. Social workers become involved with people needing support in a crisis, change, transition or loss; protection from self or others; help to deal with disadvantage or injustice; in fact any combination of life changing events depending on the particular circumstances (Seden and Katz 2003). The present paper attempts to focus on relationship between counselling skills and social work practice.


Author(s):  
Nkosinathi Vetfuti ◽  
Veonna Marie Goliath ◽  
Nevashnee Perumal

Social work in the child protection field presents an opportunity to positively transform the lives and future of vulnerable children, but frequently at a cost to the mental health and well-being of the social workers concerned. Social workers must constantly manage children’s trauma, resource challenges and parents’ emotions. Providing supervision to social workers is mandatory in the social work profession. Although there are three functions of supervision, it is argued that the support function is neglected in favour of the administrative and educational functions of supervision. The support function of supervision aims to equip social workers to manage their work-related stress especially in the field of child protection. In light of the literature reviewed on the benefits of the support function of supervision juxtaposed with contrasting anecdotal evidence that suggests a neglect of the support function of supervision in practice, a qualitative study was undertaken in South Africa with the aim of enhancing the understanding of the experiences of social workers in child protection services in respect of the support function of supervision. The study’s major finding pointed to an absence of the support function in supervision. Child protection social workers experienced a need for continuing professional development to increase their competence and reduce burnout. The findings also highlighted the value of peer support as a significant experience in child protection work. It was concluded that organisational compliance with the minimum standards set out in the Supervision Framework of the Department of Social Development, in partnership with the South African Council for Social Service Professions, and the inclusion of peer mentoring could contribute significantly in enhancing the mental health and well-being of child protection social workers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-110
Author(s):  
Thomas Considine ◽  
Kim Heanue ◽  
Paul Hollingdale

The social work bursary for England was introduced in 2003 for all students on qualifying degrees. Following a review of social work education funding, the bursary was capped in 2013. This meant that higher education institutions have had to develop policies for the allocation of bursaries and that student cohorts included students with a bursary and others who did not receive this financial support, thus creating an exclusionary system. This article presents the findings from an exploratory qualitative study that investigated the experiences of students who completed their placement under these new arrangements. The findings indicate that students who did not receive a bursary experienced additional stressors that had an adverse impact on their well-being. These findings may have significance for future research in light of considerations to abolish the bursary for all social work students.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (10) ◽  
pp. 1234-1246
Author(s):  
Lambert K. Engelbrecht ◽  
Abigail Ornellas

Purpose Within a neoliberal environment, financial vulnerability of households has become an increasing challenge and there is a requirement of financial literacy education, a necessary activity to facilitate sustainable development and well-being. However, this is seldom a mainstream discourse in social work deliberations. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach First, introducing the neoliberal impact on financial well-being and capability for vulnerable households, the authors’ postulation is substantiated on a seven-point argument. The contexts of financially vulnerable households are sketched. Second, a conceptualisation of financial literacy is offered, and third, perspectives on and approaches to financial literacy as a fundamental capability are presented. This is followed by a theoretical foundation of community education as a practice model in social work to develop financial capabilities. In the fifth place, prevailing practices of Financial Capabilities Development (FCD) programmes are offered. Subsequently, the implications of a neoliberal environment for social work practice are examined. Findings The revised global definition of social work encourages the profession to understand and address the structural causes of social problems through collective interventions. As a response, it is argued that community education towards FCD of vulnerable households within a neoliberal environment should be an essential discourse in social development. Originality/value The authors reflect on the significance of FCD, highlighting its contribution towards human security and sustainable development. Although this paper draws on Southern African contexts, the discourse finds resonance in other contexts across the world.


Author(s):  
Sarah Gorin ◽  
Mary Baginsky ◽  
Jo Moriarty ◽  
Jill Manthorpe

Abstract Recent years have seen a re-emergence of international interest in relationship-based social work. This article uses children’s accounts of their relationships with social workers to build on previous research to promote children’s safety and well-being. Interviews were undertaken with 111 children aged six- to eighteen-years old across ten different local authorities in England, as part of the evaluation of Munro, Turnell and Murphy’s Signs of Safety pilots within the Department for Education’s Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme. The interviews reveal four key findings: that children look for care and reciprocity in their relationships with social workers and this can be achieved through listening and small acts of kindness; that they are adept at recognising aspects of social workers’ verbal and non-verbal communications which indicate to the child whether they are listening and interested in them; that there are times in which children are particularly vulnerable especially if parents are resistant to engagement or children’s trust is broken; and that children actively use their agency to control their communication and engagement. The article concludes by highlighting children’s relational resilience and the importance of ensuring opportunities for children to develop new relationships with social workers when previous relationships have broken down.


1997 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 835-838 ◽  
Author(s):  
James G. Hanson ◽  
James G. McCullagh

A 10-yr. study of 746 social work undergraduates' perceived satisfaction with seven factors related to their career choice suggested high satisfaction with social work as a career; with the purposes and functions of social work, and the students' initial volunteer experience. There were no significant changes in satisfaction over the 10-yr. period, which findings parallel those of other studies in which similar methods have been used with practicing social workers.


Author(s):  
Susan Flynn

Despite the traditional social justice mandate of social work, and critical and radical theoretical traditions that pursue egalitarian and just societies, the engagement of the social work academy with Irish politics has been underwhelming at best. While there are abstract analyses that address sociopolitical theory and ideological wrongdoings related to neoliberalist rationality, attention in social work academia to the nuts and bolts of everyday political life in Ireland, such as democratic party politics and electoral representation, leaves much to the imagination. This article therefore pursues a more grounded reading of social justice in Irish politics for social workers. The supporting proposition is that to effectively interject in political misrecognition and marginalisation, social workers must understand the present political state of play. Towards achieving this, Axel Honneth’s theory of recognition aids thematic critical commentary on the literature.


2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-127
Author(s):  
Annie Pullen Sansfaçon ◽  
Marion Brown

This article presents the results and theorization of a 4-year Grounded Theory project that sought to understand the processes and dynamics involved in the professional adaptation of internationally educated social workers now practicing in Canada. In-depth interviews with 66 participants, who undertook social work education outside of Canada and have subsequently settled to practice in the country, were conducted. Results highlight that the social work educational background of the professionals not only offers key conceptual, theoretical, and analytical foundations needed to adapt knowledge and skills to practice abroad, but also provides tools to navigate and negotiate professional adaptation processes as a whole. We conclude that ultimately, social workers may adapt well to their new work contexts because of the transferability of social work skills, knowledge, and values to new practice settings, thus facilitating interventions with services users and also their own process of professional adaptation.


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