Useful Social Work Articles for Macro Students at The Social Work Helper

Several years ago, I posted four problems why the social work profession fails to meet its mission, particularly for macro students and students of color. In addition, I made another post about the strengths and weaknesses of social work today. Not surprisingly, social work leaders were absent on the national conversation of Michael Brown's death in Ferguson, Missouri. Social workers are supposed to be advocates for the poor and oppressed, yet social workers are rarely invited to speak as a collective voice on the news media. The "experts" are non-social workers--elected officials, journalists, lawyers, and social scientists--who are far removed from issues affecting the community at the ground-level. This trend is very disturbing and disappointing.

The contributors at The Social Work Helper has since published more recent articles that highlighted what I discussed in greater detail. I hope you enjoy what these authors have to offer because I share the same sentiments regarding the social work profession: too much focus on title protection / clinical casework and not enough focus on serving the people most in need through advocacy / policy-making. Social work pioneers such as Jane Addams, Frances Perkins, Dorothy Height, and Whitney Young would be ashamed to see how the social work profession lost sight of its mission.

• Top Five Reasons Why Social Worker Is Failing (August 2014)
• The Struggles of Being a Macro Student and How We Can All Be Supportive (July 2014)
• Licensed Social Workers Don't Mean More Qualified (February 2014)

Stay tune for further updates to this post.