1. What is the general job description for professional social worker, whether protective or one who has another job description? What are the minimum qualifications for this job? The role of a professional social worker is comprehensive and diverse. A general job description would include elements like willingness to transport clients to and from services, helping clients to access the resources available to them, and actively communicating with clients on a daily basis. Whether in child protective services or not, a professional social worker interacts and teams with other related professionals including psychologists. In the case study detailing a day in the life of a child protection services worker, the social worker teams with teachers as well as therapists. As the case study also shows, social workers will sometimes need to fill out forms to facilitate the legal processing of clients, helping clients navigate the tricky and complicated bureaucratic organizations and processes they may come into contact with. Professional social workers are basically on call at all times, coordinating different people and organizations. The minimum qualifications for this job are not detailed in the case study, but generally a higher degree like the MSW is required to prove core competencies and fulfill the challenging duties of professional social work.

2. What authority do social workers have?

Social workers have the authority to make critical decisions that help their clients. When working with clients who are children, they can make decisions related to the child’s home environment. In the case study, for example, the social worker made the difficult decisions to take a child from the biological parents and place the child in a foster home. The decision is not made hastily; the social worker considers multiple issues and only places the child in foster...

Describe what is meant by a Code of Ethics for the child protective case/social worker?
Almost all professions have formal codes of ethics they clearly state and follow to maintain the integrity of the profession. Child protective services and other types of social work are no exception. In fact, the social work profession is guided by codes of ethics that have meaningful and direct impacts on client outcomes. For example, the child protective worker in the case study needs to protect client autonomy and anonymity, but without sacrificing the ulterior objective of child protection.

4. Describe what is meant by professionalism and discuss specific activities related to being professional child protection/social worker.

Professionalism refers to the social worker’s mastery of core competencies, which are standardized and uniform. Certification programs and training are standardized so that professional social workers demonstrate their ability to work within the parameters of the law and the ethics guiding the profession. The specific activities that are related to being a professional child protection worker or social worker in general include being certified, upgrading and updating skills sets as required, and keeping up to date with new laws and public policies related to their client populations and geographic area.

5. What is meant by Ethnic/Cultural Competence?

Ethnic or cultural competence is one of the most important factors in the field of professional social work. Professional social workers need to be aware of their own background and biases, and also become knowledgeable about cultural diversity. For example, culture will impact the ways different clients perceive authority or react to crisis situations. Communication styles will…