Social Work Student Handbook

Social Work: A Caring Profession

Social Work is a dynamic profession that requires skilled, knowledgeable, and compassionate practitioners. Social workers serve people, in the context of their families, neighborhoods, and communities, over the entire life cycle. Career opportunities for social workers abound in diverse community settings and organizations. Types of social work include: early intervention, adoption and foster care services; school-based social work; youth/child mentoring and after-school programs; juvenile justice and corrections; judicial/court programs; mediation programs; domestic violence prevention and intervention services; public sector social services; disaster relief; immigrant and refugee programs; mental health and counseling services; substance and alcohol addiction recovery; emergency family shelters and homelessness services; day programs for children and the elderly; residential geriatric communities and nursing homes; developmental disabilities support programs; sexual assault crisis intervention and child advocacy services; hospital social work; and hospice care organizations.
The social work program at EMU is a professional degree program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education [CSWE], the national standard-setting association for social work degree programs in the United States. In the current educational policy and accreditation standards, the Council states:

The purpose of the social work profession is to promote human and community well-being. Guided by a person-in-environment framework, a global perspective, respect for human diversity, and knowledge based on scientific inquiry, the purpose of social work is actualized through its quest for social, racial, economic, and environmental justice; the creation of conditions that facilitate the realization of human rights; the elimination of poverty; and the enhancement of life for all people,
locally and globally (CSWE, 2022, p. 14).

Generalist Social Work Practitioners

Students trained on a bachelor degree level are generalist social work practitioners. The purpose of the undergraduate social work training is to provide a broad foundation of education so that the student has the versatility to work effectively in a variety of roles in community settings and human service organizations. Generalist social workers follow the NASW Code of Ethics and especially use the NASW core values: service, social justice, dignity & worth of the person, importance of human relationships, and competence, as guides to arriving at ethical professional decisions. Social workers require openness to continuous personal and professional growth. They understand the need for self-awareness and self-care in order to remain compassionate and effective in their work.

Generalist social workers value social, racial, economic, and environmental justice. They participate in social action to bring about social change especially for those persons who are vulnerable, living in poverty, or other oppressive conditions. Social workers use understanding of policy processes to address inequality, oppression, and situations where persons lack adequate resources. Social workers advocate on behalf of clients and for democratic principles at the local, state, and national levels. Social workers also promote positive change processes within community organizations.

Generalist social workers use scientific understanding of human behavior and eco-systems to support optimal human development and join efforts to preserve the earth's environment to continue to sustain all groups of people and earth's resources. Professional social workers analyze human needs on micro, mezzo and macro systems levels.

Students who graduate with the BSW degree from an accredited program should be ready for beginning social work practice with individuals, families, groups, and organizations. In most states, BSW trained social workers are eligible for licensure at the bachelor level after receiving 100 hours of qualified supervision of full-time practice experience. This process may take one to two years after graduation.

Many students may also wish to pursue graduate study in social work at the masters' and or doctoral levels. Graduate study in social work is preparation for specialized practice beyond the generalist practice level. Some students go straight into graduate school after earning the BSW while others prefer to work in the field with the BSW credential. Acceptance into CSWE accredited advanced standing masters' programs is possible for BSW graduates.

States also license masters' degree trained social workers at the masters' level after a period of qualified clinical supervision and full-time practice experience, and passing the clinical level licensure exam. Social Workers may pursue the PhD degree in social work to prepare for roles in research and teaching in the field.