SWU182 - A Social Services Perspective of Government

Social service values and ethics play a crucial role in the political arena. Social workers navigate power in policymaking and politics to elicit social change while being grounded in core social work values and ethics1. 

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has outlined six core values on which the code of ethics is based, including service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence 2 3. 

Social workers should engage in social and political action that seeks to ensure that all people have equal access to resources, employment, services, and more 4. 

Elections should be viewed in light of social work values, including social justice, integrity, human relationships, competence, service, and dignity and worth of the person 5. 

Modern just societies respect the rights of individuals and ensure basic liberties to all members of society 6.

Social workers empower individuals and groups to influence social policies and institutions and promote social justice. Social workers advocate for change to ensure that all people have equal access to the resources and opportunities required to meet basic needs and develop fully.

Empowerment and social service values and ethics are essential in the political arena. Here are some ways that social workers can promote empowerment and uphold social service values and ethics in the political arena:

• Encouraging client participation and empowerment in societal decision-making 1.
• Engaging in social and political action that seeks to ensure that all people have equal access to resources, employment, services, and more 2.
• Challenging social injustice and pursuing social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people 2.
• Focusing primarily on issues of poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and other forms of social injustice 2.
• Understanding and working with local politics and power structures to facilitate necessary political engagement 5.
• Directly involving in politics and encouraging client involvement in politics based on fundamental values of the profession such as commitment to social justice, equal rights, and fair 6.

In summary, social workers can promote empowerment and uphold social service values and ethics in the political arena by encouraging client participation, engaging in social and political action, challenging social injustice, focusing on issues of poverty and discrimination, understanding local politics and power structures, and directly involving in politics.

Self-determination is a core social service value that plays an important role in the political arena. Here are some ways that social workers can promote self-determination and uphold social service values and ethics in the political arena:

• Encouraging client participation and empowerment in societal decision-making 5.
• Advocating for policies that promote self-determination and autonomy 1.
• Respecting clients' right to make their own decisions and choices 2.
• Ensuring that clients have access to information and resources that enable them to make informed decisions 2.
• Challenging social injustice and pursuing social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people 6.
• Focusing primarily on issues of poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and other forms of social injustice 6.

It is important to note that the principle of self-determination is a core value of the social work profession and is reflected in the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics 1 2. 

Social workers must align their practice with social work ethics and values, including self-determination 1. 

Social workers should engage in social and political action that seeks to ensure that all people have equal access to resources, employment, services, and more 6 .

Social workers have ethical responsibilities to the broader society, including promoting the general welfare, public participation, and social and political action. Here are some ways that social workers can uphold social service values and ethics in the political arena:

• Social workers should promote the general welfare of society, from local to global levels, and the development of people, their communities, and their environments 2.
• Social workers should advocate for living conditions conducive to the fulfillment of basic human needs and should promote social, economic, political, and cultural values and institutions that are compatible with the realization of social justice 2.
• Social workers should facilitate informed participation by the public in shaping social policies and institutions 2.
• Social workers should provide appropriate professional services in public emergencies to the greatest extent possible 2.
• Social workers should engage in social and political action that seeks to ensure that all people have equal access to the resources, employment, services, and opportunities they require to meet their basic human needs and to develop fully 2 4.
• Social workers should challenge social injustice and pursue social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people 4 6.
• Social workers should focus primarily on issues of poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and other forms of social injustice 4 6.

It is important to note that social workers' political involvement is based on fundamental values of the profession, such as commitment to social justice, equal rights, and fairness 6. 

Social workers should align their practice with social work ethics and values, including promoting the general welfare, public participation, and social and political action 1. 

Modern just societies respect the rights of individuals and ensure basic liberties to all members of society 5 .