The definition of social workers. Overview and Rationale
Overview and Rationale
“The Social Work Dictionary defines change agent as “a social worker or other helping
professional or group of helpers whose purpose is to facilitate improvement” (Barker, 2003, p.
64). Although this task seems simple, the task can be very difficult. Social problems are large
scale and deeply entrenched. Trying to facilitate change, and do so in ways that improve
people’s lives, is the foundation of the social work practice, hence the reason they are often
called change agents” (Segal, Gerdes, & Steiner, 2015). This assignment is designed to provide
you with the opportunity to make decisions as if you were a social worker enabling change.
Assignment Description
You will submit a response based on the exercise on page 346 (Box 11.6) of the text book. The
prompt discusses an incident involving four Phoenix, AZ Latino high school students who were
detained in Canada and questioned about their immigration status in 2002. You will be asked
to do the following:
1. Analyze the situation by responding to the prompts in the exercise.
2. Explain what social workers can do to address the needs and challenges of the various
parties involved on micro, mezzo and macro levels. Be sure to clearly indicate which
level of practice you are referring to (micro, mezzo and macro) in your responses.
3. Personal reflection: What could you do to address the situation of these students? What
barriers do you face, and what could you do to reduce these barriers?
This exercise is to be no more than three typed pages and should include at least two
references (peer reviewed journals) to support actions of social workers and yourself in this
situation. You should support actions listed with peer reviewed journal articles in an effort to
demonstrate how the activities/actions are evidence-based. Doing this will also introduce you
to professional literature on social work and assisting those in dealing with immigration issues.
Social Work
Name:
Institution:
Social Work
Introduction
Social workers are often referred to as the agents of change because they are aimed at promoting social change through enhancing individuals’ abilities by helping them solve their problems and including them in systems that provide appropriate resources to the individuals who are in need. Additionally, social workers also help in influencing the correct operations of the systems, which are meant to help members of the societies and also crucial in facilitating social policy development. It is also essential to comprehend that social workers face numerous challenges as they execute their mandates. The literature evaluates the Wilson four incident and examines how social workers may help the parties involved.
It is essential for social workers to comprehend the different issues which are present among the immigrants, particularly the undocumented children. The first thing a social worker should ensure is that the children’s rights are respected once they are apprehended. In this regard, it is necessary to ensure that the children are not detained for over 72 hours before they are taken to children shelter (Walden University, 2019). Most essentially, a social worker may also ensure that the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM) Act is enforced to enable the children to children to continue with their education. The enforcement of the Act would help these minors since they were brought to the country when they were still young, and they have lived in the United States for the most part of their lives.
At the individual level, it is essential for the social workers to ensure that they obtain suitable housing; in this case, the children should be taken to children centers. At the community level, it is vital for social professionals to make sure that the children have access to services such as health care, among other essential services. At institutional and policy levels, would recommend that the young children be permitted to continue with their education and policies should be changed to allow the children who were brought to the United States when they were young and have no criminal records should obtain the legal status; this is essential in ensuring that they have the same experiences with other children.
Depending on the situation the children are in, I would help by providing them with counseling sessions which would help in promoting their socio-emotional strengths; this is fundamental in ensuring the that students’ performance does not drop in school and they do not consider themselves as inferior compared to the legal students (Jones, 2018). I would also cooperate with other organizations and stakeholders to advocate for policy changes, which may ensure that undocumented children are provided with federal funding such as student loans and other forms of financial aid. One barrier that may be encountered is facilitating policy changes; the systems in the country are highly inflexible, and this would take a lot of time. I would, however, cooperate with the necessary stakeholders t...