Keywords
addiction
pandemic
social work
COVID-19
Number of views: 9232
Number of downloads: 5077
Abstract
The profession of social work is dedicated to the betterment of society and to the protection of marginalized and vulnerable groups. The profession’s mission is detailed in the set of seven core values: service; social justice; dignity and work of the person; importance of human relationships; integrity; and competence. Relationships between people and among groups are the primary tools of social work assessment, intervention and evaluation. In the time of coronavirus and COVID-19, there are many challenges for professional practitioners to adhere to social work’s core values as well as to maintain their own health and welfare in a time of uncertain and rapidly changing situations. This paper will examine the challenges and innovations for each social work core value and present ideas for innovation and adaptation suited to these times. The paper will present challenges and innovations using examples of two community agencies providing services to people who are homeless and addicted. In summary we will offer some insights and expectations for the future of social work in the coming years, after this experience of coronavirus and COVID-19.
References
Aronson, Louise. 2020. “‘Covid-19 kills only old people.’ Only?” New York Times, March 22. Retrieved March 24, 2020 (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/22/opinion/coronavirus-elderly.html).
Beddoe, Liz. 2020. “Responding to a crisis: Social Work profession, policy, and practice.” Australian Social Work 73(2): 131-136. DOI: 10.1080/0312407X.2020.1720758
Bunis, Dena and Jenny Rough. 2020. “Governors order Coronavirus-related restrictions across America.” AARP, March 27. Retrieved March 27, 2020 (https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/government-elections/info-2020/coronavirus-state-restrictions.html).
Cabanatuan, Michael. 2020. Coronavirus: Asian American groups compile hate crime reports as Trump persists in ‘Chinese virus’ attacks. San Francisco Chronicle, March 19. Retrieved March 28, 2020 (https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Coronavirus-Asian-American-groups-compile-hate-15144295.php).
Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. 2020. Washington, DC. NASW Press. Retrieved March 23, 2020 (https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English%20%20%20%20%20%20%20retrieved%20on%20March%2023).
Farkas, Kathleen. 2020. Personal Communication. March 17, 2020.
Hutchins, Sonja S., Benedict I. Truman, Toby L. Merlin, and Stephen C. Redd. 2009a. “Protecting vulnerable populations from pandemic influenza in the United States: A strategic imperative.” American Journal of Public Health 99(2): S243-S248. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2009.164814
Hutchins, Sonja S., Kevin Fiscella, Robert S. Levine, Danielle C. Ompad, and Marian Mc-Donald. 2009b. “Protection of racial/ethnic minority populations during an influenza pandemic.” American journal of public health 99(2): S261–S270. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2009.161505
Kerson, Toba S. 1979. “Sixty years ago: Hospital Social Work in 1918.” Social Work in Health Care 4(3): 331-343. DOI: 10.1300/J010v04n03_08
Maglajlic, Reima A. 2019. “Organisation and delivery of social services in extreme events: Lessons from social work research on natural disasters.” International Social Work 62: 1146–1158. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872818768387
Meng. 2020. “Meng Introduces resolution to denounce anti-Asian sentiment caused by coronavirus.” March 25, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2020 (https://raskin.house.gov/media/press-releases/meng-introduces-resolution-denounce-an-ti-asian-sentiment-caused-coronavirus).
Monnier, Jen. 2020. “Coronavirus Poses Unique Threat to U.S. Homeless Population.” Scientific American March 11. Retrieved March 25, 2020 (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/coronavirus-poses-unique-threat-to-u-s-homeless-population1/).
Murphy, Mike. 2020. “Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says grandparents are willing to die to save economy for their grandkids.” Market Watch March 23. Retrieved March 24, 2020 (https://www.marketwatch.com/story/texas-lt-gov-dan-patrick-says-grandparents-are-willing-to-die-to-save-economy-for-their-grandkids-2020-03-23).
Murphy, Tom. 2020. “Telemedicine emerges as care option during COVID19 outbreak.” APNews March 21. Retrieved March 28, 2020 (https://apnews.com/54da28f-75c478ac1130170677958a7b5).
NASW. 2020. “Message from NASW President Kathryn Conley Wehrmann regarding Coronavirus Covid-19 Pandemic.” Retrieved March 23, 2020 (https://www.socialworkers.org/News/News-Releases/ID/2110/Message-from-NASW-President-Kathryn-Conley-Wehrmann-regarding-Coronavirus-Covid-19-Pandemic).
Nemir, Samy. 2020. “LGBTQ advocacy groups sue Trump’s HHS for refusing to enforce anti-discrimination rules, leaving community especially vulnerable amid COVID-19 pandemic.” Lambda Legal March 19. Retrieved March 26, 2020 (https://www.lambdalegal.org/news/ny_20200319_lgbtq-advocacy-groups-sue-hhs-refusing-to-enforce-anti-discrimination-rules-community-vulnerable-covid-19).
Ott, Miles, Shelly F. Shaw, Richard N. Danila, and Ruth Lynfield. 2007. “Lessons learned from the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.” Public health reports 122(6): 803–810. https://doi.org/10.1177/003335490712200612
Partnership for Drug-Free Kids. 2020. “12-Step Programs Use Technology, Social Distancing During COVID19 Crisis.” March 19. Retrieved March 28, 2020 (https://drugfree.org/learn/drug-and-alcohol-news/12-step-programs-use-technologysocial-distancing-during-covid-19-crisis/).
Ricciulli, Valeria. 2020. “How can New York City protect the homeless from coronavirus?” Curbed Newsletters March 13. Retrieved March 25, 2020 (https://ny.curbed.com/2020/3/13/21178079/coronavirus-nyc-homeless-services-covid-19).
Rosoff, Philip M. 2008. “The Ethics of Care: Social Workers in an Influenza Pandemic.” Social Work in Health Care 47(1): 49-59. DOI: 10.1080/00981380801970814
Schuetz, Jenny. 2020. “America’s inequitable housing system is completely unprepared for coronavirus.” Brookings Institute March 12. Retrieved March 25, 2020 (https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2020/03/12/americas-inequitable-housing-system-is-completely-unprepared-for-coronavirus/).
Smith, Lauren A. 2020. “How to help the most vulnerable through the pandemic.” The Chronicle of Philanthropy March 11. Retrieved March 25, 2020 (https://www.philanthropy.com/article/How-to-Help-the-Most/248227).
The Times Editorial Board. 2020. “How do we keep coronavirus from ravaging L.A.’s homeless encampments?” Los Angeles Time March 20. Retrieved March 25, 2020 (https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-03-20/editorial-how-to-pre-vent-coronavirus-from-ravaging-homeless-encampments).
World Health Organization. 2015. “Best Health Practices for the Naming of New Human Infectious Diseases. Retrieved March 28, 2020 (https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/163636/WHO_HSE_FOS_15.1_eng.pdf?sequence=1).
License
Manuscript authors are responsible for obtaining copyright permissions for any copyrighted materials included within manuscripts. The authors must provide permission letters, when appropriate, to the Society Register Editors.
In addition, all published papers in Society Register are published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Unported License.
1.1 The Author hereby warrants that he/she is the owner of all the copyright and other intellectual property rights in the Work and that, within the scope of the present Agreement, the paper does not infringe the legal rights of another person. The owner of the copyright work also warrants that he/she is the sole and original creator thereof and that is not bound by any legal constraints in regard to the use or sale of the work.
1.2. The Publisher warrants that is the owner of the PRESSto platform for open access journals, hereinafter referred to as the PRESSto Platform.
2. The Author grants the Publisher non-exclusive and free of charge license to unlimited use worldwide over an unspecified period of time in the following areas of exploitation:
2.1. production of multiple copies of the Work produced according to the specific application of a given technology, including printing, reproduction of graphics through mechanical or electrical means (reprography) and digital technology;
2.2. marketing authorisation, loan or lease of the original or copies thereof;
2.3. public performance, public performance in the broadcast, video screening, media enhancements as well as broadcasting and rebroadcasting, made available to the public in such a way that members of the public may access the Work from a place and at a time individually chosen by them;
2.4. inclusion of the Work into a collective work (i.e. with a number of contributions);
2.5. inclusion of the Work in the electronic version to be offered on an electronic platform, or any other conceivable introduction of the Work in its electronic version to the Internet;
2.6. dissemination of electronic versions of the Work in its electronic version online, in a collective work or independently;
2.7. making the Work in the electronic version available to the public in such a way that members of the public may access the Work from a place and at a time individually chosen by them, in particular by making it accessible via the Internet, Intranet, Extranet;
2.8. making the Work available according to appropriate license pattern CC BY-NC 4.0 as well as another language version of this license or any later version published by Creative Commons.
3. The Author grants the Publisher permission to reproduce a single copy (print or download) and royalty-free use and disposal of rights to compilations of the Work and these compilations.
4. The Author grants the Publisher permission to send metadata files related to the Work, including to commercial and non-commercial journal-indexing databases.
5. The Author represents that, on the basis of the license granted in the present Agreement, the Publisher is entitled and obliged to:
5.1. allow third parties to obtain further licenses (sublicenses) to the Work and to other materials, including derivatives thereof or compilations made, based on or including the Work, whereas the provisions of such sub-licenses will be the same as with the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Creative Commons sub-license or another language version of this license, or any later version of this license published by Creative Commons;
5.2. make the Work available to the public in such a way that members of the public may access the Work from a place and at a time individually chosen by them, without any technological constraints;
5.3. appropriately inform members of the public to whom the Work is to be made available about sublicenses in such a way as to ensure that all parties are properly informed (appropriate informing messages).
6. Because of the royalty-free provision of services of the Author (resulting from the scope of obligations stipulated in the present Agreement), the Author shall not be entitled to any author’s fee due and payable on the part of the Publisher (no fee or royalty is payable by the Publisher to the Author).
7.1. In the case of third party claims or actions for indemnity against the Publisher owing to any infractions related to any form of infringement of intellectual property rights protection, including copyright infringements, the Author is obliged to take all possible measures necessary to protect against these claims and, when as a result of legal action, the Publisher, or any third party licensed by the Publisher to use the Work, will have to abandon using the Work in its entirety or in part or, following a court ruling in a legal challenge, to pay damages to a third party, whatever the legal basis
7.2. The Author will immediately inform the Publisher about any damage claims related to intellectual property infringements, including the author’s proprietary rights pertaining to a copyrighted work, filed against the Author. of liability, the Author is obliged to redress the damage resulting from claims made by third party, including costs and expenditures incurred in the process.
7.3. To all matters not settled herein provisions of the Polish Civil Code and the Polish Copyright and Related Rights Act shall apply.