Do social worker's enable the government to avoid addressing the real needs of people?

Question

Social workers are the go between. They go between the people who are in need and the people who have the resources to attempt, often unsuccessfully or with minimal results, to sustain livelihoods at a level where often less than basic needs are even met.

I have been in the feild for over 10 years. I have worked with sexually abused children in schools and adults (in every agency), mentaly ill through community mental health, mostly schizophrenics and severe bi-polars, domestic violence in the courts and in the detective bureau, as well as, on national levels. Just wanted get the opinion of others. Feeling burnt out again.
Thanks.

Answer 1

I 100% believe the gov puts a limit of how many they need to assist in order to save money ask ralph kline former Albertas premier.A common practice to keep the poor ,poor in order for them gov to have money.

Answer 2

there's a little known process that some social workers get into which is called Participatory Community Development. It is a way in which social workers can make a true transformative difference in the system rather than just helping out a few individuals.

The idea is to encourage the community to help themselves. Kind of counselling for the community instead of for the individual

Basically what you do is you talk to the individuals in an area or in a similar situation and get to understand what their issues are, and then you pull them together somehow (this is the hard part - a barbecue can be a good way.) And then you listen to them as a group, and when an issue is clearly described you ask them what they want to do about it...

It's amazing once things start to move how quickly things change. Of course it is quite an art, but i think it is well worth learning.

Answer 3

Your question would certainly ring true with a critical (marxest) analysis of social work (see radical social work for more on this). Social work rides a fine line between being an agent of social control and social change. A major part of this challenge is workers who become less focused on their professional identification (e.g. an independent agent in an agency) and an agency employee. Also depending on ones orientation (e.g. being focused on both micro and macro change - truely embracing empowerment practice) makes a big difference. The more focused on individual difficulties one is without addressing the macro level contributions to this, the more one is probably acting as an agent of the state. However if one is also seeking to link those without power and working with them to make demands upon the larger system..the more one can work to change the system.

Answer 4

In this field, if you don't feel burned out at some point your not doing your job. I work in a homeless shelter and I see people just living off of the fat of the land doing absolutely nothing but getting high. I also see a few that seriously want to change their lives around but don't know how. Those are the people that I give my energy to so when I see them accomplishing their goals, it replenishes me and reminds me why I got into this field in the first place, to help others in need.

Answer 5

Correction Social workers are State employees who's main job is to bring revenue into the state by offering assistance. Thisw money is channeled down through the Federal; government

Answer 6

there's a social worker helping me right now; being listened to helps- nothing has helped me more (as an abused child of alcoholics) than the Alanon 12-step program.....I always give my counselor a current list of meetings in our area.....
also
cnvc.org
training in compassionate communication.
sounds like you need some empathy right now...
if you can find a local practice group for Non-violent Communication (Marshall Rosenberg) it's very refreshing...
also
My Space, Marv Ellis, Underwater Not Underground
very positive hip hop from the Northwest (Eugene OR)

Answer 7

AS long as social workers do their primary job of assistance to needy types, I have no quarrel with them. When they try to be the arbiters of public policy, then that is something else again. Social workers are SOCIAL SCIENTISTS. Scientists look foolish trying to set policy. Where do people who have a university degree that is ranked third in rigor in academia get the gall to think that they are adequately trained in the science of human behavior. Social science can bring us to ruin with it's expertise posturing. So, I suggest that you are having a crisis of conscious. You people need to strip away the relativistic, post-modern nonsense you were taught in university and start getting real with real peoples problems.

Answer 8

Huhhhh ?
I think you should win the "Most Meaningless bunch of Verbiage" award .
That sounds like you took a bunch of sentences out of a book and ran them all together but WHY ?
Your have gibberish and babble going there . . .
Were you trying to impress a teacher or someone who might not suspect that you have NO clue as to what you are droning on about ?

Answer 9

pretty much the government only likes us for our tax money

Answer 10

yes ,right on