- Adult services social workers and their agencies choose a family-centered approach in order to:
- help individuals and families achieve optimal outcomes to improve the quality of their lives
- offer the greatest opportunity for change
- enhance family self-reliance
- increase their effectiveness by the creative and efficient use of family, community, and agency resources
- take a more proactive approach.
- Communities benefit from family-centered social work because:
- strengthening families strengthens the community
- family-centered practice creates opportunities for collaboration and reduces duplication of efforts
- family-centered practice makes optimal use of private and public resources.
Family-centered adult services social workers:
- Maintain the social work values and practice skills that have always been a part of competent social work, but emphasize the strengths perspective, support the empowerment of consumers, and work with families and individuals, rather than individuals only.
- Respect and support the individuality and autonomy of consumers, while recognizing both the interdependence of family members and the interdependence of families with the community.
- Acknowledge that families define themselves. Their definitions exist whether or not the social worker knows and shares them, may differ from member to member within the family, and may change over time.
- Value and respect the family, no matter what the definition.
- Recognize that families, and their individual members, have the right to:
- confidentiality
- self-determination
- be heard
- expect honesty and genuineness from the social worker
- define success and set goals
for themselves.
- Believe:
- that every member of a family has value, importance, and strengths.
- that all families are capable of change and success.
- Carry out their work with an understanding of the social, emotional, cultural, and economic connections among family members as well as their family roles and relationships with each other.
- Recognize:
- that families have unique cultures, values, histories, rituals, roles, and structures, and that they know themselves better than anyone else does.
- that it is normal for families to have issues, conflicts, and need for help at some time.
- that times of crisis afford opportunities for change.
- Recognize that cultural competency is essential for building relationships, effective helping, and understanding the wishes and needs of families.
- Increase their cultural competency by:
- remaining open to learning through both formal and informal means
- seeking training and other information about families’ cultures
- giving families the opportunity to educate social workers about their cultures.
- Have basic competencies to recognize and address, but not necessarily meet, the needs of all family members, including children.
- Practice in a flexible choice of locations, at times, and in ways that are safe, accessible, and appropriate to the family and social worker.
- Are empowered to use their professional judgment to set appropriate boundaries, consistent with the NASW Code of Ethics, to enhance the family’s self-reliance.
- Are guided by the NASW Code of Ethics and these principles as they help families by:
- clarifying the issues and concerns they face
- facilitating more effective communication among family members
- enabling families to recognize their own strengths and capabilities
- providing them with information about resources
- helping families see the potential consequences of their choices
- working with them to help achieve their goals
- advocating for the rights and needs of families in the agency and the community.
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