Definition Of Risk Social Work
Welcome to this special issue of the journal of social work practice on risk in social work risk is often defined in terms of the probability of harm occurring gigerenzer 2014.
Definition of risk social work. The objective of srm is to extend the traditional framework of social protection to include prevention mitigation and coping strategies to protect basic livelihoods and promote risk taking. In social work in a risk society it is argued that reconfigurations between state politics science and people as a result of responses to risk are particularly felt in the world of social work. Webb 2006 this is because social work invariably deals with vulnerable dangerous and challenging populations under conditions of uncertainty and. Madden 2003 rome 2013 and slater and finck 2012 provide broad overviews of the relevance of law in social work practice.
Risk is intimately linked to notions of trust blame danger uncertainty and pleasure. The social work profession s core mandates include promoting social change social development social cohesion and the empowerment and liberation of people. Risk assessment in this context amounts to a set of procedures formal and informal used by social workers and other human services professionals to identify children at risk of harm as a result of maltreatment. Gitterman dedicated a text to risk and resilience theory in which contributors discussed distressing life conditions and.
Reamer 2015 provides a comprehensive overview of risk management issues in social work and practical strategies to protect clients and prevent malpractice claims liability and disciplinary proceedings. Although in social work practice the concept is far more multi faceted the profession is concerned with the seriousness of i e. Some agencies and social work ethicists are strong proponents of a risk management approach to handling ethical issues. According to this approach workers should identify the risks of various courses of action to determine the best course to take.
The risk and resilience approach has influenced social work practice literature. Negative value placed on the particular harm as well as its likelihood. Consequently the concept of risk assessment is a core activity within social work and further to this minimising risk has become a central element. Indeed calder 2002 describes risk assessment as a systematic collection of information in order to identify if risks are involved and identify the likelihood of their future occurrence.
Sociologists and some social work academics argue that risk as a calculative capacity to predict probable outcomes. Risk analysis risk assessment and risk management are ever expanding industries. Some writers claim we are now living in a risk society.