Professional social workers are generally regarded as those who hold a professional degree in social work. In some countries and jurisdictions, registration or licensing of persons working as social workers is required and there are mandatory qualifications. Elsewhere, professional associations establish academic requirements and experience for admission to membership.
Video Qualifications for professional social work
United States
A social worker, practicing in the United States, usually requires a doctorate (Ph.D or DSW), a master's degree (MSW) or a bachelor's degree (BSW or BASW) in social work from the accredited Social Work Education Council (CSWE) in most states. However, in some areas, a social worker may be able to receive a license with a bachelor's degree or even a colleague in any discipline. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the largest professional social worker organization in the United States.
Depending on the university, a four-year degree can be arranged in different ways and refers to many fields, including social work theory, psychology, human development, sociology, social policy, research methods, social planning and social administration.
A person with BSW is considered a "generalist" and MSW is considered "advanced specialist or generalist"; Ph.D. or D.S.W. (Doctors of Social Work) generally conduct research, teaching, or policy analysis, often in higher education environments.
Various states in the United States "protect" the use of the title of social workers by law. Title use requires licensing or certification in most states. The license or certification also requires a prelicensure check through the ASWB (Association of Social Work Boards), with the exception of the State of California, which creates and regulates their own license exams. More than half of all countries offer licenses at different levels of social work practice, and clinical social work is governed by licenses in all states. The graduation rate for the Masters degree license exam is about 74%.
Maps Qualifications for professional social work
Canada
Four years Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) is required to enter the field in most of Canada. In Alberta, entry-level requirements are a diploma in social work practice. A Master's Degree in Social Work (MSW) is usually required to provide psychotherapy treatments. Official Social Workers with advanced clinical certification in Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan are allowed to use DSM independently (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) to make mental health diagnoses. These provinces have a clinical registry for this purpose. In the province of Nova Scotia, MSW social workers can make a 'mental health' diagnosis.
To legally use the title "social worker", candidates must register with their provincial oversight body. Some provinces also require a prerequisite for certification through the Association of Social Working Boards (ASWB).
United Kingdom
The main qualifications for social work are Bachelor's degree (BA, BSc or BSW) in social work, offered at UK universities from September 2003 onwards. There are also available master's degrees (MA, MSc or MSW). It has superseded the previous qualification award, the Undergraduate Diploma in Social Work (DipSW), although its graduate college, Postgraduate Diploma in Social Work (PGDipSW) is still given and allows the holder to enroll and train as a social worker. DipSW was first awarded in 1991 and removed throughout the UK in 2009. Prior to this, a recognized qualification was the Qualifications Certificate in Social Work (CQSW), which was awarded between 1975 and 1991.
Claiming to be a social worker or social worker of a student without registering with a relevant Register of Relevant Works and holding or undergoing training for a recognized qualification is now a criminal offense. Social workers should renew their enrollment every three years. These regulations offer protection to vulnerable persons by ensuring the professional regulations of persons working as social workers. They also promote the development of the workforce, as all social workers must participate in at least fifteen days of professional training over a three-year period in order to qualify for their registration updates.
Unregistered or unqualified social care practitioners in the UK, often referred to as Social Services Assistants, Child and Family Workers or Community Care Assistants or Community Care Workers (not to be confused with domestic workers or home care), are social care practitioners the unregistered who often do not have formal social work qualifications and they should practice under the direct supervision of registered social workers. This is not the case in Scotland where the scope of enrollment for social service workers is more advanced.
In the mental health sector in the UK, social workers can be trained as Approved Health Mental Health Doctors and Approved Physicians. With the implementation of the 2007 Mental Health Act, it has replaced the previously Approved Social Worker's role and is open to other professionals such as community psychiatry nurses, psychologists and occupational therapists, while maintaining a social work ethic. AMHPs are responsible for organizing and contributing to assessments under the Mental Health Act of 1983, as amended by the 2007 Mental Health Act.
Upon qualification, social workers may undertake further training under the 'Post-Qualification Framework' social work. Prior to 2007, there were four awards available under this framework:
- Post-Qualifying Award - for advanced social work practices and management
- Mental Health - Training to become an Approved Mental Health Professional or AMHP, which may lead to being appointed as an Approved Doctor with further postgradaute and doctoral training.
- Child Care Award - a qualification to work with children and teenagers
- Practical Practice Awards - qualifications for working as teachers, supervisors and assessors for social worker students about their job placements
In 2007, the General Social Care Council and the UK partners implemented a new framework that brings together this award in a simpler structure that enables a broader study to calculate the three levels of social work award: specialist, high specialist, and advanced.
Australia
The four-year Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) is required to enter into the Occupation of Social Workers in Australia, although some universities also offer two years, acceleration, MSW-graduate entries. Graduates of programs recognized by the Australian Social Workers Association (AASW) are eligible for membership. An individual with an overseas qualification may apply for consideration of the recognition of their qualifications through a formal application for assessment by the AASW. Australia is alone among the advanced English-speaking OECD countries because it does not have a registration requirement for social workers. Most companies specify that applicants must be eligible for AASW membership, and only graduate courses are recognized by AASW eligible for membership. However AASW membership is not compulsory and only one-third of the social workers are members. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a continuing requirement of AASW accredited membership and should include accountability, acquire new knowledge & information skills development (CPD Policy 2011/12, AASW). There is no such requirement for non-members.
Socionom is a Swedish and Danish term for a person with a degree in social work and a related subject. In Sweden education "socionom"/Bachelor of Social Work is 3.5 years.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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