The status of social work as perceived by key human service professionals

Abstract

Since 1994 social work as a core human service profession in South Africa has been experiencing its own parallel process of transformation and is thus undergoing a major paradigm shift. However, key human service professionals seem not to appreciate the shift and often continue to hold obsolete perceptions of the profession. It is these perceptions that militate against efficient and effective service delivery, the central premise of this article. Together with understanding what perceptions prevail around social work, the paper recommends how training, teamwork and the general image of social work may be enhanced to allow improved access to, and delivery of, service.