PART I: Overview of the Field
• In your own words, provide a definition of this field.
Social work is a profession whose main aim is to empower and give other people the opportunity to prosper and develop as individuals. When applied on a broader scope, social work becomes an engagement that heavily dwells in the art of empowering community members to become better, either through offering them opportunities or providing them with resources to improve their situations. Specifically, foster care and adoption services are a branch of social work that deals with the facilitation of minors in need of special attention or care or protection. These services provide vulnerable children with the opportunity to grow in a ‘normal’ environment under the trustee of interested families or individuals who feel blessed enough to take care of these children.
• Who are the primary clients helped by this field of practice?
Social work, in general, is a field that deals with at-need individuals, regardless of age, gender, or race. The profession aims at addressing those groups of people in the community that are most vulnerable. Vulnerability thus defines social work and the kind of organizations that develop within a community. For instance, social needs like unique conditions like homelessness or even old age or environmental pollution can drive social care initiatives that are aimed at helping those vulnerable group of people at-risk of these instances. A social worker is thus guided by those social needs that affect a specific group of people in ‘finding’ their clients or group of clients, whose needs define them.
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• What types of problems (individual and community) does this field of practice address?
Foster care and adoption services help alleviate the problem created by both different human-made and natural instances. The at-risk and vulnerable children are in every society, a problem either brought about by natural calamities or instances of human irresponsibility that put children at risk. Vulnerable children face the problem of homelessness, lack of basic needs such as food, shelter, and clothing, and they become a social menace once they start to involve themselves in crime. Foster care and adoption services hence deal with the problems of trying to remove these children from a life of a destitute and rehabilitate them to be responsible and productive members of the community. The services also deal with providing children with a second chance in life, by providing them with a near-family life that helps them grow as ordinary members of the community, especially for children with no parents.
• What are the historical roots of this field?
The Social Work profession is not by itself a discipline of academic proficiency; rather, it borrows its functions from a number of disciplines that augment it to a holistic applicable discipline. Nonetheless, historians predicate Social work to a scientific origin that derived its foundation principles on the social theory. Initially, social work was seen as a concerted effort to provide relief to the ‘pauper’ individuals in the society, hence the term “Poor Laws” coined in the 17th century in England. Social work is historically based on three focal ends; individual casework, social administration, and social action. Social work and its identity as a movement gained popularity in the 19th century during the industrial revolution and the period thereafter, when societal struggles escalated, and urban-based societal problems like poverty and disease skyrocketed. Poverty was particularly a powerful instigator to social work, and acclaimed individuals of the social work profession like Jane Adams framed their work on poverty as an essential strand of social work.
• What social movements have been associated with this field?
There are a number of historical movements that are associated with social work and initiatives driven by a social need to address underlying issues. The settlement house movement in 1880 was such a movement that was born out of the need to improve the lives of laborers in London. In America, young Jane Adams, a medical student, duplicated such a movement in helping immigrant children and women. In the 20th century, similar initiatives developed, aimed at addressing social evils, particularly poverty and poor working conditions. The start of the 20th century saw the growth of the medical movement supported by the growth of the civil labor movement that characterized the post-World War period. Over time the social work movements have developed into different fields that advocate for diverse issues such as sexuality, civil rights, feminism, anti-nuclear initiatives, to environmental issues. The 21st century has brought to light the New Social Movements that address diverse issues leading to the formation of green parties and latent movements like global citizens movement that are international.
• Identify the important trends for this field. Is the problem growing? Are job opportunities expanding?
Urbanization and globalization have created new issues such as global warming, poor waste disposal, the emergence of new gender identities, among many other issues. This has led to a growth in the field of social work as individuals try to address critical issues through civil initiatives that create global interest and drive the narrative within the decision-making mechanism. The development of the social media platform and its continued role in influencing the global narrative, even within previously conservative institutions such as governments, has re-ignited the importance of social work. Today, education institutions are reporting an increased enrolment in academic disciplines associated with social work. More so, environment concerns, illegal human movement and abuse, coupled with the ever-present fear of nuclear war has meant that job opportunities in social work are continuously growing.
• What is the pay scale for social workers this field?
The pay scale in the field of social work is undefined, mainly due to the diversity in issues being addressed. However, within the government structure, a social worker is paid averagely $ 42,681 per year. Within the private sector, social work is a high-paying job that differs depending on the issue being addressed.
PART II: Services Available
• Describe the different types of agencies and programs that provide services in this field of practice.
Agencies in this field are structured depending on the individual needs of children that arise before, during and after adoption and offering foster services. For example, there are federal agencies involved in investigating instances of child abuse and instigating procedural guidelines that ensure the enrolment of children under the foster care and adoption programs (Administration for Children and Families Initiatives, Children’s Bureau, And Federal Interagency Work Group on Child Abuse and Neglect). There CPS (Child Protective Services) is a government agency responsible for addressing issues of child neglect or abuse. The agency is also known as ‘Social Services’ or the DSS (Department of Social Services). There are state-sponsored programs and services through which children are put under in ensuring that they are taken care of and emerge as responsible citizens.
• Describe at least one local agency and their direct services. Agencies can be found using the Internet.
Baker Victory Services is a private adoption agency that is located in Lackawanna, New York. The agency is involved in a number of other services beyond that of offering adoption services. Under the OLV Human Services, the Baker Victory Services provides education, residential services, and community-based services. The agency is also involved in support programs and services that engage the community in initiatives that are aimed at improving the lives of children and families. The community-based services include foster care/emergency foster care, vocational services, outpatient clinic, children home and community-based services, preventive services and care management.
• Describe at least one statewide or national organization that provides advocacy services regarding a particular problem/issue addressed by this field of practice.
Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children
This is an interstate agency that is responsible for the administrative implementation of set procedures governing the placement of children between different states. The AAICPC provides both legal and structural assistance to states when facing challenges involving the placement of children between two or more states. The agency addresses the problem of overlapping interest or concerns that may occur between states when the placement of children into foster care or adoption comes into question. It is a platform through which states can engage legally and find amicable solutions when there are issues with child neglect or abuse cases that need collaborative actions between agencies in different states. The agency is also involved in the implementation of legal concerns that involve children in dire situations that involve different states while working with Public Human Agencies or other private placement agencies in different states.
• What does this organization advocate for? Where is the target of their advocacy efforts?
The AAICPC advocates the implementation of public policies, especially when it comes to dealing with issues affecting children and the challenges that arise in their placement from one state to another. While numerous agencies are dealing with child abuse and the restoration initiatives involved in foster care and adoption services, the implementation of set policies has always been an issue. The AAICPC ensures that the children involved are adequately protected by ensuring that state agencies adhere to set down procedures and regulations involving adoption, placement into foster families or residential care, and placements involving family members. The target of AAICPC is to see an improved implementation of interstate policies that ensures that states provide the needed services that protect children from abusive incidences.
References
Andrews, A. B. (2014). Oral History and Social Work. Encyclopedia of Social Work , 5 (2). doi: 10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.994
Fenton, J. (2017). The Social Work Context. Values in Social Work , 18–40. doi: 10.1057/978-1-137-52833-9_2
Kelly, W. (2017). In Foster Care. Understanding Children in Foster Care , 189–213. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-65376-1_10
Kim, F., Myers, H., McKee, R., & Raleigh, G. (2019). Conceptualizing an Adoption Pedagogy: Expanding Beyond “Teaching Adoption.” Adoption & Culture , 7 (1), 1. doi: 10.26818/adoptionculture.7.1.0001
United States Government. (2012). Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children. Encyclopedia of Human Services and Diversity , 3 (2). doi: 10.4135/9781483346663.n54
Vandivere, S., & Mcklindon, A. (2010). The Well-Being of U.S. Children Adopted From Foster Care, Privately From the United States and Internationally. Adoption Quarterly , 13 (3-4), 157–184. doi: 10.1080/10926755.2010.524871
