DuBois and Miley (2008) highlight the following goals and scope of social work calling them tenets.
- Empower people, individually and collectively, to outline their own problem-solving and coping capabilities more effectively.
- Support a proactive position with regard to social and economic policy development to prevent problems for individuals and society from occurring.
- Uphold the integrity of the profession in all aspects of social work practice.
- Establish linkages between people and societal resources to further social functioning and enhance the quality of life.
- Develop cooperative networks within the institutional resources system.
- Facilitate the responsiveness of the institutional resources systems to meet health and human service needs.
- Promote social justice and equality of all people with regard to full participation in society.
- Contribute to the development of knowledge for social work profession through research and evaluation.
- Encourage the exchange of information in those institutional systems in which both problems and resources opportunities are produced.
- Enhance communication through an appreciation of diversity and through ethnically sensitive, non-sexist social work practice.
- Employ educational strategies for the prevention and resolution of problems.
- Embrace a world view of human issues and solutions to problems.
The goal and scope of social work as laid down here is noble and broad—to help an individual be included in society and to transform the very society that creates structures that marginalize individuals from full participation in the enjoyment of social services and resources of the community. Change sought is one that makes an individual and the community a better place for everyone.
