COMPONENT OF SOCIAL CASE WORK: THE PLACE

 COMPONENT OF SOCIAL CASE WORK

INTRODUCTION

Social case work is the primary method in social work practice. In social case work, a social worker works with an individual, helps an individual who faces problem in the day-to-day functioning. This method deals with both the social and psychological aspects of an individual’s life. The term “social” implies the experiences of the individual with other people and his/her environment, and the term “psychological” implies the thoughts and feelings which occupy the mind within an individual. Thus, the social aspects deal with the interpersonal experiences of the individual and the psychological aspects deal with the intrapersonal experiences of a human being. In order to understand the individual person, it is important to understand the various components of social case work and the importance of the components in dealing with the problems of the individual.

Social case work is defined by Mary Richmond in 1915, as “the art of doing different things for and with different people by cooperating with them to achieve at one and the same time their own and society’s betterment.”

The nucleus of social case work is given by H.H. Perlman which is, ‘a person with a problem comes to a place where a professional representative helps him by a given process’. This entire phenomenon is also known as the 4P’s and is used in most of the situations where a person seeks professional help.

There are four components of casework known as the 4 P’s:

1.       The person

2.       The problem

3.       The place

4.       The process

        

           THE PLACE

‘The place’ is a social service agency or a social service department where the person comes for help with his/her problem. Place may include a larger institution (e.g., the local authority), or the smaller social work microcosm (e.g., the psychiatric social work department in a mental hospital). Place may also include the institutions in which caseworkers’ practice (schools, child guidance clinics, children’s departments of the hospitals and courts and so on).

Classification of Social casework agencies:

Social casework agencies may be classified based on the following three factors:

1.       Source of support- These are the agencies which are funded by public taxation (child welfare, physical and mental health programs, etc.) or voluntary contribution.

2.       Source of professional authority – Some agencies are primary agencies which carry full authority and responsibility for their social functions and some are secondary agencies which derive their authority and responsibility from the host agency.

3.       Special function and area of concern- Primary agencies may be both public and private. These agencies choose to work in particular area in which they give services. Secondary agencies are associated with the work of some other profession, such as medicine, education or law and cater to their specific knowledge and purpose.  

Characteristics of social agency

Some of the characteristics of social agency as given by Pearlman are described below:

1.       Help the society: A social agency protects members of a society by helping individuals and groups against social breakdowns, to prevent their maladjustments and to promote the development of better or higher levels of humans functioning.

2.       Develops a suitable program: A social agency develops particular programs and activities depending on the needs of the people, availability of funds, the knowledge and competency of the agency staff, the interest, resources and support of the community.

3.       Has an organizational structure: The social agency has a structure and is made up of many members with different purposes and powers, all dependent upon one another in the agency’s overall functioning. Each member of the agency is assigned different tasks and responsibilities.

4.       Consists of skilled personnel: The agency consists of trained caseworker who has specialized knowledge and skill to deal with problems of people to assist them in better social functioning.

5.       Meeting point for client and social worker: The agency brings the client and social worker together and enables them to interact in a professional manner. In majority of the cases, it provides the meeting point for the social worker and the client.

Social workers need to understand the agency in which they are employed. They also need to be able to understand other social agencies working in the allied areas. The first task in understanding an agency is to define its boundaries. The second task is to determine environmental factors that influence the structure and functioning of the agency. The third task is to understand the structure and functioning of the agency system.