SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE

Foundations of Social Work Practice

Foundations of Social Work Practice

Introduction

For a log time, interest has reemerged in the integration of human services with education, specifically in linkages between social work services and schools. This theme has been one goal in numerous school reform efforts. It has been argued that if children and families are overwhelmed with social and economic difficulties, the task of learning becomes difficult. Because the schools reach every child and family, integration of services with schools can help to enhance educational performance. School-linked services are valued as a means to provide direct services to children and families, connect children and families with community services, coordinate services within schools, and facilitate communication among teachers, children, and families. (Monkman 2002)

This paper documents the experiences of one effort to apply the theories and experiences of past school linked services programs to a school reform partnership between a university and a public school system. It describes the major factors that contributed to the success of the project, the techniques for reducing and avoiding expected barriers, and the new lessons that emerged over a seven-month period.

Discussion

Beginning

Beginning phase of any social work is the most important one. Therefore it requires the following skills in particular.

Advocate for families, individuals, carers, groups and the community with various agencies and prepare cases that represent the best interest of the clients

Explain clearly to clients the procedures, practices and likely outcomes of the advocacy.

Review and record the effectiveness of the advocacy situation according to legal and organisational practice

Liaise with others to access additional information that can inform initial contact and involvement (Allen-Meares 1996)

University/Public School Partnership

The University/Public School Partnership began in 1989 as a unique arrangement in which the university manages the public school system through a 10-month contract. A management team from the university handles all the functions of the locally elected policy-making body, the School Committee, although the committee retains the power to cancel the contract with the university. The city government is expected to maintain the base budget for the school system, and the university offers expertise from among its faculty, staff, and students and raises new funds from government, corporate, and foundation sources.

This arrangement is in place in a small city of 30,000 people, with a school population of about 4,000 in seven schools (one high school, one middle school, four elementary schools, and one preschool). The community is adjacent to a large urban area, and it has long been a destination for new immigrants m the United States. During the past two decades, the area increasingly has become the home of Latin American, Puerto Rican, and Southeast Asian families. It is one of most economically impoverished cities in the state. (Lee 2003)

At the beginning of the partnership, the university's School of Social Work (SSW) was asked to help the school system strengthen its organizational capacity to help children function more effectively in academic settings. At that time, there were limited social services programs and few formally trained human services providers in ...