Luisa Lopez is director of the Human Rights and International Development Division at the National Association of Social Workers. Lopez and Tulane University’s Eileen Ihrig recently authored an article on the role of social workers in international aid and development for Monday Developments, a publication of InterAction, the voice of the U.S. and international non-governmental organization community.

InterAction gave us permission to reprint the article below:

Social Workers: Ready for the Challenge

Preparing international development staff through social work education.

BY LUISA LOPEZ, DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RIGHTS & INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS DIVISION, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL WORKERS AND EILEEN IHRIG, DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS, TULANE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK, COUNCIL ON SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION-COUNCIL ON EXTERNAL RELATIONS

SOCIAL WORK IS A GLOBAL, human rights based profession with a central but often over­looked role in the provision of equitable, transparent and effective humanitarian aid. Its schools train students in problem assessment, com­munity outreach and participatory planning, which make social work graduates ideal candidates for jobs in the international arena. Grounded in holistic, participatory approaches cen­tered on human behavior and systems theory, social work programs inte­grate classroom learning with practical internships.

An education in social work prepares professionals to act in multiple capaci­ties such as:

• providing psychosocial support services to individuals and families;
• promoting community participa­tion through utilizing community

organizing skills;

• building capacity of communities;
• managing projects and programs;
• advocating for services; and
  • developing policies and building social protection systems.

For social workers, working across disciplines with professionals from education, health and justice systems is standard practice.

NGOs employ social workers glob­ally in a widening range of projects and tasks ranging from staff care to devel­oping community-based alternatives to institutional care for children without parental care. For example, in Tanza­nia a large, international NGO paired a social worker and a water/sanitation expert who worked together with village leaders to create effective water councils to ensure the lasting value of the NGO’s work to the local community. Socialworkers also provide mental health and psychosocial support to communities in crisis or those recovering from trauma. In Liberia, social workers from interna­tional NGOs worked alongside UNICEF to develop guidelines for the psycho-social care and support of demobilized child soldiers in interim care settings. They also provide critical staff care and support in complex emergency settings.

Social workers have expertise in net­working, community organizing and coordinating among a variety of assis­tance efforts in a given location. In Jamaica, a social worker providing community training in disaster risk reduc­tion engaged community members in learning how to improve construc­tion techniques. Because of the social worker’s emphasis on participation, the community reported a greater sense of community building and cohesion. Similarly, a social worker hired by a consor­tium of leading international humani­tarian aid organizations coordinated a process to create policy guidelines for the construction of safe schools in disaster-prone areas. She invited broad participation across disciplines and as a result, disability advocates ensured that the guidelines addressed the accessibil­ity needs of disabled students who oth­erwise would have been marginalized.

The employee qualifications that humanitarian aid and development agencies seek correspond closely to social work skills.

As a 2009 study by Martha Bragin and Monica Garcia demonstrated, the employee qualifications that humani­tarian aid and development agen­cies seek correspond closely to social work skills as defined by standards adopted by the International Associa­tion of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) and International Federation of Social Workers (WSW) in 2004. For example, U.S. social work programs require all students to have coursework and field experience in cross-cultural work, problem assessment, community out­reach, administrative skills and par‑

ticipatory planning. The standards also recognize the importance of ethi­cal principals in working with indi­viduals and communities. Guidelines and principles have been developed domestically and globally including the National Association of Social Work (NASW) Code of Ethics (U.S.) and the Ethics in Social Work Statement of Principles developed and adopted by the IFSW and IASSW.

The global network of schools and professional social work associations worldwide mirrors the aid and develop­ment community’s need and desire for global perspectives and coordination. This global community in the social work profession allows graduates to work effectively with their counterparts in other countries. In an emergency set­ting, staff hired from local schools of social work are often well-prepared and well-situated to immediately provide and coordinate services.

This network extends to the InterAc­tion community, as social work pro­grams in the U.S. and abroad collabo­rate with InterAction members around the globe. Social work professionals in NASW and the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), both U.S.-based professional organizations, are actively engaged with a range of INGOs and UN agencies.

Additionally, there are many opportu­nities for the international community to learn front and connect with social workers. One such forum is the June 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development in Hong Kong that will bring together over 2,000 social work and social development scholars and practitioners to examine international social work issues.

Social workers bring a strong commit­ment to social justice and human rights, deep ethical convictions and a wealth of experience working across cultures and disciplines to address a range of issues and challenges confronting urban and rural communities worldwide. From humanitarian work and emergency disaster preparedness and relief, to capacity building and community orga­nizing, social workers contribute to international development through sys­tems and networks that ensure long­term sustainable development and the protection of human dignity. “