Which family member did you select as an example client? What are the social and psychological needs of this client?
Social workers serve in a position of power to promote social justice and human well-being by advocating for clients and their families as well as for agencies, communities, and causes.
To empower vulnerable individuals to advocate for themselves, social workers aim to promote self-determination. This approach encourages clients to rely on their strengths and a social worker’s expertise to guide them in making decisions.
Clients may not be aware of how to address the influences of power and privilege involved in their situation. Social workers must try to understand the scope of issues related to power and privilege that the client is facing and to advocate for them at the individual level as well as for human rights and social justice issues affecting their community and society. It is critical for social workers to understand the influence of power and privilege on clients’ perspectives in order to facilitate effective client-social worker relationships and to advocate for positive change related to social justice issues relevant to client needs.
Choose a family member from the case study in Wk 1 Assessment Prep: Family Case Study Examples as your focus for this summative assessment.
Select 1 of the following social work settings related to the individual you selected as an example context for meeting with this client:
School
Disability services agency
Mental and behavioral health services agency
Domestic violence shelter
Victim advocacy agency
Research the influence and effects of power and privilege on social justice for individuals who may be facing circumstances similar to the selected client’s situation.
Assessment Deliverable
Create a report in 700 to 1,050 words to your supervisor as if you were a social worker preparing to discuss a client’s case in the selected agency setting. Respond to the following questions in your report to your supervisor:
Which family member did you select as an example client?
What are the social and psychological needs of this client?
How might power and privilege influence this individual’s well-being?
How might the experiences of discrimination or oppression contribute to the inequities seen with this client?
What are the current and potential barriers to services for the chosen family member? How do those barriers connect to bias, prejudice, or discrimination?
What strengths do the client and the family have?
What advocacy needs does this family member have? How would you use your power and privilege as a social worker when advocating for social justice for this family member?
How might the NASW Code of Ethics help guide your work with the family member?
Support your responses with information from your research.
Formatting Requirements
Select a format for your summative assessment:
A written report in 700 to 1,050 words,Cite sources according to APA guidelines.
