‘Social work is a vital profession- Chairman, OZONE

THANJAVUR: 11, March: ‘Social work is a vital profession,’ said Dr.K.Govindaraju, Chairman, South Zone Board of Continuing Education(OZONE) addressing in a five day workshop on Social themes by Social work department organized by Bharthidasan Constituted College for women in Orthanad.’Social Work studies are of professional in nature, designed to challenge and support social workers in the acquisition of both fundamental and higher level skills, as well as helping them to achieve personal academic growth and professional development, providing placements of the programme, offering an opportunity to gain real experience right from the start’ Chairman of the Board added. Addressing the social work students Dr.K.Govindaraju further said ‘There are many jobs that a social worker can perform because the field is so diverse. Most have at minimum a bachelor’s degree, and many in this field have master’s degrees in social work and have gone through additional training. After graduating, social workers are called Professional  social workers, may work not only in a variety of settings like hospitals, schools, social organizations, but are also work  as therapists, where they may perform one-on-one counseling with a variety of clients. Since this last job is relatively well-defined, this explanation will focus on non-therapy related work settings for the social worker. Some social workers are employed to help people navigate the welfare system not only give advice, but also help people find resources to improve their lives. The skilled worker has access to information about daycare opportunities, free job or personal counseling services, drug and alcohol cessation programs, reduced price or low income housing, and programs that may help augment someone’s food supply. These workers often have a bachelor’s degree in social work, and tend to work as a motivating force to help people become emotionally and financially stable so they can get off welfare quickly’.Dr.K.Govindaraju further said ‘In other settings a social worker might work for departments that protect children, either through schools or through Child Protective Services departments. They may be required to observe children in their home setting, make recommendations for removal of children from dangerous or abusive homes, for children removed from their homes, or work toward reunifying families. They may give testimony in court as to dangerous or unsafe conditions that would allow for the removal of children, or they may give testimony that a parent who has lost his or her children due to abuse or neglect has now made sufficient progress to be reunified with a child. A social worker is also a valuable part of the healthcare team, when hospital social workers work directly with families or with patients to help them meet certain needs. They may offer brief, as-needed counseling, but they also have access to information on resources that might prove helpful to families or patients. For instance, if a child is born with severe and disabling illness, a social worker can find temporary housing so parents can stay with the child, help the parents apply for special insurance to care for the child, and work with the parents to make sure they understand the nature of care required when the child comes home. They take some of the burden off the parents in a situation like this, so parents can focus on care of their child’. Earlier Dr.A.Sivagami, Head of the Department of Social Work department of this College for women at Orthanad welcomed the gathering.Thanjavur DRO-Suresh Kumar said that the need for setting up an exclusive cell in this college for preparing the coaching for service commission examinations. The students those performed well were honoured with Souvenir of the program. The Principal i/c Dr.Prabawathi proposed vote of thanks.EtNS.