What are types of social work?

Administration and management, advocacy and community organizing, and child welfare are types of social work. There are many different kinds of social work. Here are some details on these types of social work and others:

• Administration and management

Social work administrators are proactive social workers that work for public and private organizations, and seek to provide services to clients.

In addition to conventional administrative knowledge, social workers in this field must also have knowledge regarding social policies, and the delivery systems for social services.

They also need to have an understanding of human behavior, and a strong commitment to social work values and ethics.

• Advocacy and community organizing

Advocacy is one of the cornerstones of all social work. In broad terms, social work champions the rights of individuals and communities with the objective of accomplishing social justice.

Community organizing is essential to advocating the rights and services of large groups of people. You have power in numbers when social workers can help band together communities to seek out how they can improve social services and their communities as a whole.

• Child Welfare

Child welfare social workers seek to help some of the most vulnerable children and their families. This includes work with adolescents, and teenagers as well.

This type of social work has the goal of providing safe and nurturing environments for children. Sometimes this means social workers have to intervene in a family's life if a child's living environment is deemed to be unsafe or unhealthy in some way.

Children and teens who have experienced neglect or physical or emotional abuse are supported by social workers and a wide range of services they provide.

• Aging

Social workers often work with the elderly population to try and get them the proper services they need in their old age. This helps seniors live independently and with dignity.

Social workers employ services and strategies that seek to improve the aging population's quality of life and their overall participation within their communities.

• Developmental disabilities

Social workers in this field help families and children that have developmental disabilities understand their legal rights and the public services that are offered to them.

They often try to find special services for children in need. These services can help to improve a developmentally disabled child's life and assist them in living as independently as possible.

• Health care

Social workers in this field help individuals and families obtain the proper medical services. They might also provide counseling in certain scenarios where grief or acceptance is an issue.

In addition to helping families deal with medical financial burdens and difficult situations, healthcare social workers might also conduct research in their field, and develop specific programs.