Applying Social Justice Principles in Social Work with Children
| 5 Min Read
Social justice principles are embedded in the very mission statement of today’s social workers. The National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics outlines the need for social workers to promote social justice in their work with others. Social justice is one of the six main values of the profession.
So, what is social justice in social work, and how does it contribute to the core mission of social workers?
Social justice examples in social work include making sure individuals get equal opportunities, are offered participation in decision-making, and are provided with the necessities to thrive. Social justice in social work can be a crucial element of a social worker’s daily duties. The principles of social justice are applied in social work for all, including disabled, low-income, and elderly individuals. When social workers engage in social justice work with children, they do what they can to ensure they receive what they need and are treated like humans and with respect. By promoting social justice in social work, social workers enhance the social welfare of their underage charges.
It can be complex for social workers to promote social justice in their work with children, as their needs and desires can often be overlooked or considered unimportant. They work hard to make sure children’s perspectives are heard amongst the din of bureaucratic noise. Striving to achieve social justice for children and adults is part of a social worker’s professional responsibility.
Social Justice Principles
According to Human Rights Careers, the four common principles of social justice include:
- Human Rights: An important principle of social justice is the idea that everyone deserves basic human rights. These rights generally include life, food, safety, and education.
- Access: This principle states that all individuals should have access to opportunities. No one should be restricted from things like education or healthcare due to their race, income, age, etc.
- Participation: Participation in terms of social justice means that marginalized populations have a seat at the table and are empowered to state their needs.
- Equity is a way to achieve equality by recognizing existing inequalities and ensuring that everyone gets a fair chance.
These principles are vital when working with children, as underage people often can’t advocate for themselves. Social workers can help give them a voice, ensuring they have the ability to achieve the four social justice principles.
Benefits of Social Justice in Social Work
Social workers recognize the common thread between social work and social justice and incorporate these principles into their work with children and adults. A dedicated social worker sees social justice as a vital part of their work to protect individuals and their physical and emotional development.
Applying social justice to social work:
- Supports the protection of vital human rights.
- Ensures education for marginalized groups and at-risk communities.
- Grows respect for specific issues.
- Highlights available resources.
- Promotes the development of resources that address the needs of diverse communities.
- Enables a better understanding of the people who make up our society.
Perhaps these benefits are most pronounced in children, who need protection from oppression and discrimination but are also young enough to apply the resources they receive to build happy, healthy lives. Social justice for children makes for healthy, productive, and engaged members of society and gives children healthy self-esteem that they carry into adulthood, providing them with ambition, motivation, and the knowledge that a better future for themselves and their families is possible.
Social workers can ensure children get an appropriate degree of independence for their age, personal privacy, access to quality education and healthcare, and a standard of living that promotes human dignity. Social workers have the potential to change the world for the better, and it all begins with obtaining strong and superior social justice for children. Earning your master’s degree in social work from a program that encourages understanding of social justice ensures you’re prepared for the challenges and opportunities.
Effective Strategies in Social Justice
Social workers don’t give up on their clients. They use their social work roles to ensure clients are treated with dignity and respect by the myriad of agencies they will deal with in their journey. Children benefit from all of this, as it is as much a matter of obtaining justice for them as it is for their parents and adult family members.
The National Association of Social Workers breaks down how social justice can be applied in social work by:
- Providing access
- Providing education
- Providing advocacy
- Fair treatment
These guiding ideas can lead to actions that help a variety of communities deal with the issues and barriers they face. Social workers are in a unique position to understand the lives of their clients and figure out the most effective strategy to promote the principles of social justice. They facilitate strong relationships with people by visiting homes, sitting down with family members, and talking about their problems. Ideally, children are included in these discussions, as the decisions affect them directly.
Sometimes, children alone need services, but getting social justice for the child may involve the entire family. For example, obtaining housing, financial assistance, food, education equality, and proper healthcare benefits the children and the whole family.
Understanding how social justice principles tie into the important work that social workers do is essential to ensuring that barriers are broken down and justice is found, even for the youngest of clients. Earning a Master of Social Work can ensure you’re prepared to tackle challenges head on and apply social justice to your work.
Online Master’s in Social Work
Social justice is a large part of a social worker’s advocacy for children. They apply social justice principles from the Our Lady of the Lake University online Master of Social Work program in everything they do to ensure the children grow as well-adjusted, healthy, happy, and productive adults.
Our program features a unique focus on the Hispanic population. It is one of only three social work programs in the country with an emphasis on serving the urgent needs of the Hispanic community, the fastest-growing demographic nationwide. This transformative program develops you into an expert social worker serving children, adults, families, and communities.
To download our comprehensive guide to working with children in the social work field, please click here.