Immigration and refugee issues are a global concern for social work across the globe especially with the increasing globalization, and economic and social change. Countries and communities are experiencing rapid utilization of resources which creates fear and tension and results in tension and conflict forcing people to move and seek refuges in more stable and accommodating nations (Diconou, Racovita-Szilagyi & Bryan, 2016). Social workers bodies acknowledge the extraordinary challenges that immigrants’ refugees face, and thus it is part of their role to assess refugees and help (Haidar, 2017). This paper looks at social work with individuals through the case of an immigrant refugee’s family Mohammed, Sara and their two children Abdi and Samira; from Afghanistan to Australia, their experiences and challenges and how social work can help them.

Case scenario

Mohammed, his wife Sara and their children Abdi and Samira are refugees in Australia from Afghanistan where they were also initially displaced. Upon getting to Australia, they first spent four years in a refugee’s camp and three years in detention. They are currently settled in the inner city in a two bedroom apartment. Mohammed is seeking work as an electrician, and the children are in school while Sara stays in the house all day and hardly goes out. For six months, Sara has been unwell experiencing a wide range of symptoms including headaches, nausea, and insomnia. The children are scared of the authority and are teased at school because of their English, poor speaking skills. The family hardly socializes and is very cautious about interacting with people especially those from Afghanistan like them.

Assessment framework and issues under the elements of this framework

Social workers use social work assessment frameworks to identify immediate problems with social work cases, make decisions and develop an approach to assisting the social work families. The common approach social work assessment framework is effective in identifying immediate and long term concerns in social work cases. The common approach framework focuses on six areas of welfare including health, sense of culture and identity, material basics, learning, participation and love and safety (Australian Government Department of social services, n.d). The areas covered by the common approach framework ensure that all areas of an individual’s well being are catered for it eh assessment to provide the assistance offered to meet the needs of the person as a whole.

Short term and long term issues

Using the framework the immediate concerns for Mohammed and his family are health for Sara his wife, mental and emotional health for Abdi and Samira the children at school and material basics for the whole family. Sara has been unwell for over six months, and health welfare is critical for her well being so that she is a position to take care of her children and the family in general. Basic materials such as foods, clothing, stable shelter, access to transport and employment are also primary to the sustainable wellbeing of the family Australian Government Department of Social Services, n.d). Mohammed is yet to find work and Sara spends time in the house unwell thus their basic needs are a challenge needing immediate attention. The children education and the safety of the whole family at home, in school and with neighbors is also critical to their immediate well being. The children are afraid of authority in school, and the whole family is cautious at home. Mental and emotional health is also an immediate concern given the traumatic experience they have had from Afghanistan to their arrival in Australia to put them at ease and enable them to feel safe enough to live their lives to the full.

The long term concerns for the family are learning, participation, sense of culture and identity and relationships. Learning is critical to their settling and becoming part of the Australian resident’s community. The family needs to learn the language and social skills to fit in and belong to the community. The children are facing challenges with language i school, but language can only be achieved with time and practice. Participation is also critical, but it needs to be developed with time since they need to feel safe, be stable and well health wise to participate within the family and in the community. Developing a sense of culture and belongi9ng is also vital especially since Mohammed and his family come from a much-defined culture and the need to uphold that in Australia to be self-aware and grow as individuals. However, culture and identity can only be achieved after they are emotionally, mentally and physically ready to interact with people from their culture which they are at the moment cautious of thus identity is achievable but in the long run.

Social work knowledge on which assessment is based

The social work knowledge that will inform the assessment for the case scenario is international migrants and refugees social work knowledge which is human rights based, evidence-based, holistic, multilevel and strengths-based knowledge (Potocky, 2013). Refugee immigrants are often perceived as inferior and undeserving by natives of the countries in which they seek refuge which is likely to get in the way of ensuring they are treated as human and overlooking their human rights. Social workers must thus be knowledgeable about human rights and the misperceptions surrounding immigrants’ refugees to be aware of their assessment and counter the attitudes and practices that result from the stereotypes in their assessment. The social workers also need knowledge of the strengths in the refugee’s culture and them as individuals and as people to leverage the strengths in their assessment and work around their weaknesses. Dealing with international immigrants and precisely refugee’s needs and holistic approach because of the many challenges that the refugees face or have experienced in their transition. Knowledge of holistic practice ensures that the social workers are aware of the interconnection and explication of the experiences, culture, challenges and the transition among others of the refuges. The social workers should also know multilevel practice whereby problems targeted by social work belong to three levels which include micro, meso and macro (Potocky, 2013). Micro issues relate to individuals, family or small groups, the meso issue relates to local communities or organizations awhile macro issues are more complicated to organizations and systems regarding international immigrants and refugees.

Intervention strategies in the assessment stage

The assessment stage of the social work process is about analyzing the situation of the client who is the subject of the social worker to determine what type of assistance is needed. The strategies at this stage are thus about ensuring the assessment stage is effective in identifying the problems and needs for the client. One of the strategies for the assessment stage is to use tested and proven assessments tools such as systems or TIES which are checklists of the social work. By using the assessment tools, the social worker can ensure the information collected is clear about priorities and direction of care needed and that all areas are covered (Clemons, 2014). The assessment tools will help prioritize immediate needs to long term concerns. Another strategy is to approach the assessment with sensitivity especially to diversity and the assessment process (Clemons, 2014). Sensitivity and openness to diversity ensure that the social worker exercises due care in handling and sourcing for information from the clients. Another strategy is to use the appropriate assessment approaches for various areas, For instance, a model of social theory should be used in assessing the social situation while mental and emotional health should be assessed using proven psychology assessment models (Social care Institute for excellence, 2017).

Professional and personal values and beliefs

The professional and personal values and beliefs for social work are mostly intertwined although in practice professional values and beliefs supersede personal values and beliefs. The professional and personal beliefs and values include social justices, human dignity and worth, recognition of the need and importance of human relationships, service, and integrity (Miler, 2018). Social work is about promoting humanity, justice and human welfare to different people from their challenging social setups. Social worker represents and delivers social services on behalf of and to people who are oppressed, and thus a social worker has to believe and uphold the values of social justice. A social worker should also believe in and uphold integrity and have a high reverence for human relationships to deliver social change fairly and justly. The social worker also has to be competent to serve in the position with the necessary knowledge and skills to meet the duties and responsibilities of a social worker adequately. Some personal values such as respect and openness to diversity and service are also important since social workers deal with cases of diverse people concerning race, sexuality, and ethnicity among others.

Social work ethics and values

Social work professions are guided by the code of ethics governing social workers. The code of ethics dictates the professional values and beliefs such as social justice, service, recognition of the importance of human relation, human dignity and integrity among others. Ethics expected in social work practice are also dictated in the code of ethics, and they include informed consent, comprehension of cultural awareness and social diversity, avoidance of conflict of interest, uphold confidentiality and privacy with the information they get in the line of duty and respect for clients and colleagues ((National Association of Social workers, 2017). The ethics and values provided by the codes of ethics for social workers should guide every social work professional in handling their cases and delivering their duties to the clients they serve and thus they will guide the social work process for Mohammed and family case.

Ethical dilemmas

Social work is susceptible to a wide range of ethical; dilemmas including confidentiality issues, obligations to minors, conflicting personal values and clients values, compensations and rewards from clients, conflict with colleagues or the administration and self-determination issues (Gleeson, 2018). All the information social workers have access to in the line of work is protected by the privacy and confidentiality clause of t6he code of ethics. However, sometimes a social worker may come across information that is criminal or can have others which may require them to break the confidentiality value and thus raise an ethical dilemma. Personal values may collide with professional values such as faith and religion where the social worker is expected to serve clients unbiased, but their personal beliefs come into crossroads with the client believes. For instance, a social worker may hold the belief that people of color are inferior and yet ethics require the social worker to help the client. In such ethical dilemmas, professional ethics and values out way personal values. Therefore, a wide range of ethical dilemmas may arise in the case of Mohammed and his family, but the code of ethics provides a solution to ethical dilemmas to help navigate them and uphold professionalism.

References

Australian Government Department of Social services (N.d). Families and children: The common approach. Retrieved on 5 April 2019 from https://www.dss.gov.au/families-and-children/publications-articles/the-common-approach

Clemons, J, Wenger (2014). Client system assessment tools for social work practice. North American Association of Christian Social Work Association. Retrieved on 6 April 2019 from https://www.nacsw.org/Convention/WengerClemonsJClientFINAL.pdf

Diaconu, M., Racovita-Szilagyi, L., & Bryan, B. A. (2016). The Social Worker’s Role in the Context of Forced Migration: A Global Perspective. Interdisciplinary Journal of Best Practices in Global Development, 2(2), 1.

Gleeson, Patrick. (2018, June 29). A List of Ethical Dilemmas Facing Social Work. Work – Chron.com. Retrieved from http://work.chron.com/list-ethical-dilemmas-facing-social-work-21946.html

Haidar, A. (2017). Social Workers and the Protection of Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Advocate’s forum, The University of Chicago.

Miller, Ashley. (2018). Top 5 Values in Being a Social Worker. Work – Chron.com. Retrieved on 5 April 2019 from http://work.chron.com/top-5-values-being-social-worker-11466.html

National Association of Social workers (2017).Codes of ethics of the National Association of Social workers. Retrieved on 6 April 2019 from https://socialwork.utexas.edu/dl/files/academic-programs/other/nasw-code-of-ethics.pdf

Potocky, Miriam (2013). Encyclopedia of social work: Immigrants and refugees. Oxford University Press.  Retrieved on 5 April 2019 from http://oxfordre.com/socialwork/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.001.0001/acrefore-9780199975839-e-193/version/

Social Care Institute of excellence (2017). Assessment in social work: a guide for learning and teaching. Retrieved on 6 April 2019 from https://www.scie.org.uk/publications/guides/guide18/natureofassessment/theories.asp