Discuss thr role of group workers in different settings of case work.

Case work different setting:

Social work professionals work with family, children, individuals, elderly, delinquent, schools, mental health, rehabilitation, etc. the services are grouped in various fields of practice. Models of working vary as per the needs and nature of settings. The field settings in which case worker work are:

Social Group Worker in Community Development Setting:

Community Development (CD) is a broad term applied to the practices and academic disciplines of civic leaders, activists, involved citizens and professionals to improve various aspects of local communities. Community development seeks to empower individuals and groups of people by providing them with the skills they need to effect change in their own communities.

These skills are often created through the, formation of large social groups working for a common agenda. Community developers must understand both how to work with individuals and how to affect communities positions within the context of larger social institutions.

Social Group Worker in Institutional Settings:

The rise in the number of institutions there has also been an increasing movement of children towards residential care. A frequently cited reason for institutionalizing children is lack of access to quality schools in many rural and semi-rural areas. Parents, unwilling to risk the poor education that is nearer to them, enroll their children in institutions much farther away, typically residential institutions. Other factors also contribute to institutionalized childhood socio economic strife, brought about by the breakdown of livelihood options in rural areas, migration to the cities in search of livelihood, family circumstances like abuse, abandonment etc.

Not only do various situations lead to institutionalization of children, research also shows that placing a child in an institution is often the first choice in situations of social, economic and emotional crisis, due to the belief that these children will be offered a better life in residential care. This may not be necessarily true, but is nonetheless an additional reason why children may find themselves in residential homes rather than their own.

Social Group Worker in Clinical Settings:

The clinical social workers are specially trained to provide mental health services to clients. They work with clients to diagnose and treat mental or emotional problems, and often provide one-on-one, family, and group therapy. An LCSW may provide referrals for other services, such as counselors who specialize in particular types of treatment or social programs that can help the client in other parts of his or her life.

This professional must usually have a master’s degree and several years of clinical experience before he or she can be licensed. A social worker can also be a valuable part of a patients health care team hospital social workers work directly with patients or families to help them address certain needs.

For instance, if a child is born with a severe and disabling illness, a social worker can find temporary housing so parents can stay with the child, and work with the family to make sure they understand the nature of care required when the child comes home. He or she can help the parents apply for any programs that may help them to care for the child, such as special insurance or social security in the US.

They take some of the burden off the parents in a situation like this, so parents can focus on care of their child. Similarly, social workers who work with the elderly in hospital settings may counsel patients or their children on resources available for long-term care as needed.

Social Group Worker in School Settings:

School social workers pick up where teachers leave off. They are perhaps the professionals best equipped to address the social and psychological issues that can block academic progress. Through counseling, crisis intervention and prevention programs, they help young people overcome the difficulties in their lives, and as a result, give them a better chance at succeeding in school.

About 5% of the nations approximately half a million social workers work in the schools, primarily in public school settings. Besides helping youth with traditional academic problems, social workers aid others whose specific social, psychological, emotional or physical difficulties put them at risk for falling through the cracks.

These include homeless youth, gay and lesbian youth and young people with physical or mental health disabilities. Because social workers are trained to think of innovative solutions to complex problems, their interventions often make a strong difference for young people at risk for academic failure.

Social group worker in institutions for children and adolescent:

Government and voluntary organizations, both are offering institutional services for children and youth like observation homes, orphanages, homes for the street children, etc. In these institutions children are fed, clothed and sometimes restored in their families. The significant part here is that the group living situations are based on the socialization and teaching the children life oriented skills to the children.

The role of the group worker is also very important here. He deals. with the children and adolescents who are placed in the institutions. Without their families these children need the services which can release their anxieties, loneliness and life outside the institution. Educational, clinical and specialized services are given to them. The functions of the social group worker on the institutional team are twofold to help with the group living situation and to conduct special groups. His role includes such as:

• Group work with formed groups of children.
• Working with parents groups.
• Being responsible and helping in the group.
• Supervision and coordination of group workers.
• Supervision of volunteers.
• Referral of services and resources for the need of the children.
• Participating in the diagnosis of individuals and and placing them in institution, treatment plans, and plans for after-care.

Social Group Worker and Services for the Aged:

The purpose of group work with the aged people are to raise their self-esteem, to give them opportunity for planning, to make them part of their own small community, to establish great and strong bond with the group members and family members also. Functions of the group worker with the elderly includes the following, working out different kinds of programs as per the needs of the group, direct work with certain groups of aged, contact with individuals outside the group, training, coordination and supervision of volunteers and consultancy to older citizens in relation to social action.