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SERVICE PAPER

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Community and Professional Service Paper

Capella University

MPH5922: Public Health Practicum 2

Jessica Tidd

July 2022

Understanding the values of professional values in community service work

Community service is all about helping the most vulnerable and underserved segments of society. As a social worker interacts directly with clients, their professional values are critical to creating a positive practitioner-client connection. In Australia, community service work is intimately related with principles such as social justice, inclusivity, self-determination, confidentiality, and honesty. Analysis of human service domains, concerns and obstacles encountered with social workers in the course of community service work, as well as theoretical approaches to community service in the United States will be discussed in this study.

“Domains of Human Service”

We must distinguish between aid offered to “individuals, families, organizations, as well as communities” while considering the vast and current field of human service. As a result, human service may be divided into four categories. All social workers must see their customers as social beings and creatures while examining the first domain, which deals with delivering social services or help to persons. As a result, social workers play an important role not just in helping people grow personally, but also in helping they become more socially active. The social workers also play a crucial role in giving their clients with assistance, both physically and mentally, that allows them to survive (Alwafi, 2020).

Keeping in mind the importance of integrity and respect while working with families, social workers need to keep these principles in mind when they engage with families. To this end, social workers work with families to establish a sense of equilibrium so that all members of the family can cooperate as well as work together as a team while also learning to compromise when necessary in order to achieve the family’s overall aim (Lypka, 2018).

Working with groups, social workers guarantee that people who fall into the same category are grouped together to prevent problems with “confidentiality, mutual trust, and social upgrading requirements.” Ethical competencies must be used by social workers in order to protect the privacy and confidentiality of their clients. With this goal in mind, they make care to foster a climate where the group’s members can trust each other and respect each other’s contributions within the context of a larger community.

Last but not least, social fairness must be taken into consideration while delivering community services or aid. “Awareness of different communities, diversity acknowledgment and acceptance as well as increased empathy” is the core ideals of social workers or community service providers in Australia. Counseling, therapy, and education, for example, are often used as social tools in the fight against society’s many forms of dysfunctional behavior (McDonald, 2020).

Social Justice

The teaching of social justice in certain theological traditions is accompanied with socialistic economic systems. Social justice is widely accepted as a broad notion based on the equal rights of all people. Societal injustices, such as those produced by past or current war, are a central concern of conflict theory. This sort of ideology seeks to advance the interests of oppressed groups within a population, while simultaneously undermining or attacking the interests of oppressor groups. The concept of “social justice” relates to ensuring that the rights of all people are upheld and protected. There are no exceptions to this rule. Everyone’s happiness isn’t guaranteed by the objective of a perfect society. Everyone, on the other hand, has a good possibility of finding happiness in their own lives. They are unstoppable in the face of a systematic barrier or prejudice. In reality, there is no clear framework for social justice, but that is why participation is so crucial. As long as a country supports equality and social justice, it can progress.

The idea of social justice summarizes the economic, legal, political, and moral circumstances of existence and growth in society. Social justice is a lens through which people see the world around them. A society’s system of interpersonal interactions, social rank, division of labor, and distribution of wealth are among the most important qualities. Two crucial ideals, such as inherent equality and impartiality, are represented in social behavior and institutions when it comes to understanding social justice.

Many people believe social justice is only relevant when it’s examined through the prism of social structure, but this is simply not true. As long as there is a sense of fairness, social justice is required in every community. As a result, several academics have argued that the idea of justice is not necessary to understand social justice. As a result, these problems can only be resolved if all of the people engaged in them are addressed. All community service professionals should adhere to justice and moral correctness. The way governments and social institutions identify and assist individuals in need is also a part of societal justice. In order to deal with cases of injustice, we need fairness, rights protection, as well as prevention.

Social Barriers Faced in the Community Service Sector

It’s possible for a specific kind of conduct to become entrenched in certain societies. Changing patterns of behavior in a community may be influenced significantly by an individual, an event, or an activity involving the whole community at large. A week or two is not uncommon, but they may take a generation or more to finish. After the World Trade Center assault, the community’s attitudes and habits were drastically altered in only one day. Automobiles, telephones, the internet, and other means of communication have all had an impact, in addition to shifting social norms. Cult people, philosophies, and music have also spawned new social groups and cultural subcultures. Every generation has its own unique set of languages, cultures, and traditions, and these may shift through time. People and communities must adapt to changes in the terrain as they occur.

It is possible for a society to experience subtle changes that are only discovered after they have already occurred. Members of the community are shaped by the beliefs, behaviors, and roles they see in their families and the communities in which they grow up. When it comes to the younger generation, there is a growing trend toward consumer societies (consumer societies). Why not just purchase it instead of doing it yourself? Our ability to be self-sufficient diminishes as a result, and as a result, when we see advertising for a product, we assume it is superior. Almost every element of our existence is now reliant on automobiles. New vistas have been opened, but so has the ability to focus on what we already know. Government has also helped rebuild communities by becoming service providers or by regulating service industries. In today’s culture, persons with disabilities are directly cared for by service providers and members of the community. People are exposed to commercials and printed materials. Families and friends contribute to the social stigma associated with disability.

In the community service sector, we look at a scenario from the standpoints of the clients and the social workers as a social environment. The customer seeks help from a specialist because of his or her particular set of circumstances. There are also “professional background, practicing beliefs and aiding obligations” that go along with becoming a social worker. Both partners have difficulties in undergoing a transformation. While a social worker has knowledge and experience, their talents and judgments may vary from those of their coworkers. Misunderstandings and ineffectiveness are common when a client’s viewpoint does not align with the support resources available to them (Alwafi, 2020).

Complaints and anxieties may make customers feel weak, which is still another social barrier. Because dealing with shame, embarrassment, and the inability to openly discuss problems is difficult for both social workers and clients, overcoming stigmas takes more time and effort. Additionally, in certain societies, seeing a social worker may be considered a taboo. Counselors are expected to conduct themselves in a trustworthy manner at all times in order to maintain the credibility of their work. In order for clients to participate in the process of transformation, professional community services must communicate with them and be patient, all while keeping in mind the significance of human connections (Varas-Doval, 2021).

Theoretical Approaches Underpinning Professional Community Service Work

To be a social worker, one must have a thorough understanding of social work theory. It distinguishes social work from other forms of aid that aren’t grounded in science. With the help of social work theory, social workers may be more effective in their job (Lypka, 2018).

According to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), clinical social work “It’s the application of social work theory and methodology to the treatment and prevention of psychosocial dysfunction or impairment, particularly emotional and mental illnesses. Understanding human growth and psychosocial environment is the basis for it.” To summarize, social work practice is grounded on theory. There are a range of theories to support community service activities. Investigate the significance and advantages of human connection as a foundation for its capacity to achieve good change using the human relations method. According to this theoretical paradigm, the importance of human interactions refers to the recovery of a client’s functioning. In this way, evidence-based treatments are used to assist persons with social issues in the public sector, which is why this strategy is effective (McDonald, 2020).

REFERENCES

Alwafi, E. M., Downey, C., & Kinchin, G. (2020). Promoting pre-service teachers’ engagement in an online professional learning community: Support from practitioners. Journal of Professional Capital and Community.

Laverack, G. (2019). Public health: power, empowerment and professional practice. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Lypka, A. (2018). Infusing participatory digital service-learning to deepen community-engaged professional excellence: Triumphs and challenges. The Reading Matrix: An International Online Journal, 8(2), 77-93.

McDonald, C., Craik, C., Hawkins, L., & Williams, J. (2020). Professional practice in human service organisations. Routledge.

McGlone, P., Watt, R., & Sheiham, A. (2001). Evidence-based dentistry: an overview of the challenges in changing professional practice. British dental journal, 190(12), 636-639.

Varas-Doval, R., Sáez-Benito, L., Gastelurrutia, M. A., Benrimoj, S. I., Garcia-Cardenas, V., & Martínez-Mart́inez, F. (2021). Systematic review of pragmatic randomised control trials assessing the effectiveness of professional pharmacy services in community pharmacies. BMC health services research, 21(1), 1-13.