DEVELOPING A SUSTAINABLE INTERNATIONAL MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK PROGRAM IN TBILISI James T. Decker, Ph.D., LCSW Chair/Director Professor California State University, Northridge

INTRODUCTION TWO INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDE THE BASIC LEADERSHIP FOR THE GLOBALIZATION OF SOCIAL WORK. INTERNATION FEDERATION OF SOCIAL WORKERS (IFSW) INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOLS OF SOCIAL WORK (IASSW) A THIRD ORGANIZATION IS THE COUNCIL ON SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION (CSWE)

HISTORY 1996 THE IFSW ESTABLISH A TASK FORCE TO DEVELOP A GLOBAL DEFINITION OF SOCIAL WORK 1997 THE TASK FORCE STATED THAT THERE WAS SUFFICENT COMMONALITY EXIXTED TO DEFINE SOCIAL WORK AS ONE PROFESSION 2001 IFSW AND IASSW AGREED UPON AN INTERNATIONAL DEFINITION OF SOCIAL WORK THE SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION PROMATES SOCIAL CHANGE, PROBLEM SOLVING IN HUMAN RELATIONSS AND THE EMPOWERMENTAND LIBERATION OF PEOPLE TO ENHANCE WELL-BEING. UTILIZING THEORIES OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL SYSETEMS, SOCIAL WORK INTERVENES AT THE POINTS WHERE PEOPLE INTERACT WITH THEIR ENVIORNMENTS. PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ARE FUNDAMENTAL TO SOCIAL WORK. BOTH IASSW AND IFSW NOTE THAT SOCIAL WORK IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY IS DYNAMIC AND EVOLVING, AND CAUTION THAT NO DEFINITION SHOULD BE REGARDED AS EXHAUSTIVE

GLOBAL QUALIFING STARDARDSFOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE GIVEN THE ENORMOUS DIVERSITIES ACROSS NATIONS AND REGIONS THE STANDARD SETTING DOCUMENT WAS DEVELOPED TO BE SUFFICIENTLY FLEXIBLE TO APPLY TO ANY CONTEXT, SPECIFICALLY TAKING INTO ACCOUNT EACH COUNTRY’S OR REGIN’S SOCIOPLITICAL, CULTURAL, ECONOMIC, AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT WHILE ADHERING TO GLOBAL NORMS AND STARDARDS. THE PURPOSE OF DEVELOPING A STANDARD SETTING DOCUMENT WERE TO: Protect the “consumers'” or “clients” of social services; Take account of the impact of globalization on social work curricula and social work practice: Facilitate articulation across universities on a global level; Facilitate the movement of social workers from country to another; Drew a distinction between social workers and non-social workers; Benchmark national standards against international standards; Facilitate partnerships and international student and staff exchange programs;

GLOBAL QUALIFYING STANDARDS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE ENABLE IASSW AND IFSW, IN DEVELOPING SUCH STANDARDS, TO PLAY A FACILITATIVE ROLE IN HELPING THOSE FACULITIES, CENTERS, DEPARTMENTS OR SCHOOLS OF SOCIAL WORK THAT LACK RESOURCES TO MEET SUCH STANDARDS; AND GIVE PRACTICAL EXPRESSION TO THE AIM OF IASSW, AS SOME SAW THE FORMULATION OF GLOBAL QUALIFYING STANDARDS TO BE THE CORE BUSINESS OF IASSW.

DEVELOPING AND PROMOTING EXCELLENCE IN SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE GLOBALLY BY DEVELOPING GLOBAL QUALIFYING STANDARDS, IASSW AND IFSW INTENDED NOT TO SET MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR PRACTICE BUT RATHER TO PROMATE STANDARDS THAT SCHOOLS OF SOCIAL WORK SHOULD ASPIRE TO ON A CONSISTENT BASIS. ACROSS THE WORLD, SOCIAL WORK TRAINING AND EDUCATION DIFFER TEMENDOUSLY. IN DEVELOPING THE GLOBAL STANDARDS, IFSW AND IASSW NOTE THAT ALTHOUGH GLOBAL STANDARDS MAY BE USED TO BENCHMARK NATIONAL NORMS AND STANDARDS, NATIONAL AND REGIONAL EXPERIENCES AND PRACTICES MUST BE INCORPORATED INTO THE FORMULATION OF GLOBAL STANDARDS.

PRINCIPLES OF INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL WORK THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPLES REFLECT SOCIAL WORK’S FUNDAMENTAL COMMITMENT TO SERVING PEOPLE (IFSW) Every human being has a unique value, which justifies moral consideration for that person. Each individual has the right to self-fulfillment to the extend that it does not encroach upon the same right of others, and has an obligation to contribute to the well-being of society. Each society, regardless of its form should function to provide the maximum benefits for all of its members. Social workers have a commitment to principles of social justice. Social workers have the responsibility to devote objective and disciplined knowledge and skill to aid individuals, groups, communities, and societies in their development and resolution of personal-societal conflicts and their consequences. Social workers are expected to provide the best possible assistance to anybody seeking their help and advice, without unfair discrimination on the basis of gender, age, disability, color, social class, race, religion, language, political beliefs, or sexual orientation. Social workers respect the basic human rights of individuals and groups as expressed in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international conventions derived from that Declaration.

Social workers pay regard to the principals of privacy, confidentiality, and responsible use of information in their professional work. Social workers respect justified confidentiality even when their country’s legislation is in conflict with this demand. Social workers are expected to work in full collaboration with their clients, working for the best interests of the clients but paying due regard to the interests of others involved. Clients are encouraged to participate as much as possible, and should be informed of the risks and likely benefits of proposed courses of action. Social workers generally expect clients to take responsibility, in collaboration with them, for determining courses of action affecting their lives. Compulsion which might be necessary to solve one party’s problems at the expense of the interests of others involved should take place only after careful explicit evaluation of the claims of the conflicting parties. Social workers should minimize the use of legal compulsion. Social work is inconsistent with direct or indirect support of individuals, groups, political forces, or power structures suppressing their fellow human beings by employing terrorism, torture, or similar brutal means. Social workers make ethically justified decision, and stand by them, paying due regard to the IFSW International Declaration of Ethical Principles, and to the International Ethical Standards for Social Workers adopted by their national professional association.

Values and Ethics Global social work practice is based on the values of human rights and social justice. A core concept is the principle of social inclusion by alleviating poverty and promoting self-determination and self-sufficiency of vulnerable and oppressed people. These basic principles transcend the particular cultures and social welfare systems in various parts of the world and are the most universal beliefs that characterize social work globally. The IFSW and IASSW have given high priority to developing an international ethical code that includes 12 statements of the fundamental principles that underpin social work and provides a related set of guidelines for ethical practice. The following principles reflect social work’s fundamental commitment to serving people (International Federation of Social Workers): Every human being has a unique value, which justifies moral consideration for that person; Each individual has the right to self-fulfillment to the extent that it does not encroach upon the same right of others, and has an obligation to contribute to the well-being of society; Each society, regardless of its form, should function to provide the maximum benefits for all of its members; Social workers have a commitment to principles of social justice;

Social workers have the responsibility to devote objective and disciplined knowledge and skill to aid individuals, groups, communities, and their societies in their development and resolution of personal-societal conflicts and their consequences; Social workers are expected to provide the best possible assistance to anybody seeking their help and advice, without unfair discrimination on the basis of gender, age, disability, color, social class, race, religion, language, political beliefs, or sexual orientation; Social workers respect the basic human rights of individuals and groups as expressed in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international conventions derived from that Declaration; Social workers pay regard to the principles of privacy, confidentiality, and responsible use of information in their professional work. Social workers respect justified confidentiality even when their country’s legislation is in conflict with this demand; Social workers are expected to work in full collaboration with their clients, working for the best interests of the clients buy paying due regard to the interests of others involved. Clients are encouraged to participate as much as possible, and should be informed of the risks and likely benefits of proposed courses of action; Social workers generally expect clients to take responsibility, in collaboration with them, for determining courses of action affecting their lives. Compulsion which might be necessary to solve one party’s problems at the expense of the interests of others involved should take place only after careful explicit evaluation of the claims of the conflicting parties. Social workers should minimize the use of legal compulsion;

VALUES AND ETHICS Social work is inconsistent with direct or indirect support of individuals, groups, political forces, or power structures suppressing their fellow human beings by employing terrorism, torture, or similar brutal means; and Social workers make ethically justified decisions, and stand by them, paying due regard to the IFSW International Declaration of Ethical Principles, and to the International Ethical Standards for Social Workers adopted by their national professional association. According to the IFSW, member associations are responsible for promoting debate, education, and research regarding ethical questions. The IFSW principles and policy statements are meant to act as guidelines rather than prescriptives for practitioners.

Global Ethical Standards for Social Workers for Professional Conduct It is the responsibility of the national organizations in membership of IFSW and IASSW to develop and regularly update their own codes of ethics or ethical guidelines, to be consistent with the IFSW/IASSW statement. It is also the responsibility of national organizations to inform social workers and schools of social work about these codes or guidelines. Social workers should act in accordance with the ethical code or guidelines current in their country. These will generally include more detailed guidance in ethical practice specific to the national context. The following guidelines on professional conduct apply: Social workers are expected to develop and maintain the required skills and competence to do their job; Social workers should not allow their skills to be used for inhumane purposes, such as torture or terrorism; Social workers should act with integrity. This includes not abusing the relationship of trust with the people using their services, recognizing the boundaries between personal and professional life, and not abusing their position for personal benefit or gain; Social workers should act in relation to the people using their services with compassion, empathy and care; Social workers should not subordinate the needs or interests of people who use their services to their own needs or interests;

Social workers have a duty to take necessary steps to care for themselves professionally and personally in the workplace and in society, in order to ensure that they are able to provide the appropriate services; Social workers should maintain confidentiality regarding information about people who use their services. Exceptions to this may only be justified on the basis of a greater ethical requirement (such as the preservation of life); Social workers need to acknowledge that they are accountable for their actions to the users of their services, the people they work with, their colleagues, their employers, the professional association and to the law, and that these accountabilities may conflict; Social workers should be willing to collaborate with the schools of social work in order to support social work students to get practical training of good quality and up to date practical knowledge; Social workers should foster and engage in ethical debate with their colleagues and employers and take responsibility for making ethically informed decisions; Social workers should be prepared to state the reasons for their decisions based on ethical considerations, and be accountable for their choices and actions; and, Social workers should work to create conditions in employing agencies and in their countries where the principles of this statement and those of their own national code (if applicable) are discussed, evaluated and upheld. The document “Ethics in Social Work, Statement of Principles” was approved at the General Meetings of the International Federation of Social Workers and the International Association of Schools of Social Work in Adelaide, Australia, October 2004.