Quiz - Role & Functions of Social Workers

Question 1-10 Indicate whether the role of the social worker described below is a

1. broker
2. advocate
3. enabler (including trainer or teacher)
4. mediator
5. controller (Social Control Agent)

1. The staff of the New Life Association met the Director of Social Welfare and urge her to provide an addition social worker to each half way house for the ex-mentally ill to provide after care services to those who have just left the half-way house and returned to the community.

Answer: ________

2. A single parent is working full time and comes to the family service centre to seek help to locate services that can look after her children after school and before they return home. The social worker helps the single parent to find a Children and Youth Centre nearby that offers after school care programme until the parent returns to pick up the child.

Answer: ________

3. A social worker helps a divorcing couple to settle their disagreement over child custody.

Answer: ________

4. A youth worker provides interpersonal skill training to a group of volunteers.

Answer: ________

5 A group of social workers holds a press conference to accuse the government of cutting the financial support to the mentally retarded.

Answer: ________

6. A community worker prepares a group of residents in a temporary housing area before they meet the government officials from the Housing Department.

Answer: ________

7. An old woman came up to a family service centre of the Social Welfare Department and told the social worker that she would like to apply for elderly hostel but did not know how to apply. The social worker helped the old woman to locate an elderly hostel and to complete the application process. What role was s/he performing?

Answer: ________

8. In a family life education programme, the social worker discusses with the parents about ways to establish good communication with their adolescence children.

Answer: ________

9. When a social worker seeks for redistributing social resources more equally to the poor, what role is played by the social worker?

Answer: ________

10. A Probation Officer requires one of his probationers to observe curfew, i.e. returning home before 11 p.m. every day.

Answer: ________

Question 11-13: Identify in the following situations what the social worker would seek to change:

A. The social system

B. Individual client

C. The linkage between individual clients and the social system

D. The interaction among individuals

11. A rape victim, young woman at age 21, came to a social worker to seek help. The social worker suspected that the young woman was mentally handicapped, however she did not "fit" into any category of clients now being served by her own agency or any other social service agencies and could not find a Clinical Psychologist to perform an assessment.

Answer: ________

12. In a new town, a social worker found that most of the single-parents in the caseload are isolated and without much social support. She organized a single-parents group to facilitate mutual support.

Answer: ________

13. A social worker is running an intensive job assistant programme to recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance. Some of her clients do not have the work habits and working skills required for finding a job in the open market.

Answer: ________

14. Which of the followings describes a major difference between good friendship and professional social work relationship?

• A. Mutual trust is involved
• B. Confidentiality is maintained
• C. The relationship has a purpose or not.
• D. Interaction is important

Question 15-18

There are four sources of authority for the social worker:

1. clients
2. social work profession
3. agency
4. law/legislation

Examine the cases below and identify the source of authority -

15. A woman sought help from a family service centre after being seriously beaten by her husband. During the first session, the social worker found out that it is, in fact, a repeated episode and child abuse was also involved. The woman agreed finally that she would seek shelter with her young children. The social worker contacted Harmony House for her and assisted the social worker at Harmony House to arrange for the client's admission to Harmony House.

Answer: ________

16. An ex-prisoner after discharge had hardly anything in his pocket and had no family members to support him. He went up to the Society for the Rehabilitation of Offenders. He asked for financial assistance. The social worker made an assessment and gave him $30 a day and up to two weeks. The social worker asked him to come back every other day both for the financial assistance and also see how the agency can help him to find job.

Answer: ________

17. One day, an outreach worker, Tom, was at an electronic game shop. While he was talking to a client, he saw another client, Peter, nearby appears to be troubled by another two men. Tom moved towards Peter and asked the two men politely if there is anything he can help. The two men asked Tom who he was. Tom said that he is a social worker and he is working with Peter. The two men looked at Tom and whispered to each other. They said to Peter, "Remember what we said and we would come back", and walked away.

Answer: ________

18. A young child aged of 4 was frequently locked up at home and cried a lot whenever alone. A neighbour contacted a family service centre of the Social Welfare Department. The social worker tried several times to contact the mother of the child, but every time she said she was too busy to talk to the social worker. One day, the neighbour called the social worker again and said the child is now crying. The social worker went to the apartment immediately and still could hear the child cried. With no one answering the door for some time, and seeking advice from her supervisor, the social worker decided to call the Police for help and broke into the apartment and took the child away.

Answer: ________