WORKSHOP REGULATING ACCESS TO PROFESSIONS: NATIONAL PERSPECTIVES. Breakout session 3: Social workers

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1 WORKSHOP REGULATING ACCESS TO PROFESSIONS: NATIONAL PERSPECTIVES Breakout session 3: Social workers Ana Isabel Lima Fernández President General Council of Social Work, Spain Brussels,17June 2013 General Council of Social Work, Spain

2 INTRODUCTION Spain is a latecomer to the professionalization of social work compared with the rest of Europe In the 80s, the newly established democratic system with an accompanying framework of citizen s rights and duties and the institutionalization of social services were crucial factors in the advancement of social work, a job focused on ensuring attention to citizens in need. In 1983, a Social Assistance was turned into a University Degree called Diploma in Social Work. In 2008, when Spain joined the European Higher Education Area, a new Social Work Degree was created as well as a Master s degree and PhD programs. From the 1990s onward, Social Work continued to evolve, ranking as a reference profession in the Public Social Service System and increasing its reach to NGO s and the private sector.

3 WAYS TO PROVIDE SERVICES AND TARGET POPULATION: FIELDS OF ACTION The Social Worker s profession develops in the public and private sectors in close coordination with the Government s social policies There is virtually no area of social work that does not directly involve the public interest and particularly fundamental rights. Education Healthcare Prisons Courts ((usually Family and Juvenile, but also of Violence Against Women). Social services system: Immigration and refugees Seniors People with disabilities Homeless people Women Childhood Family Youth Addictions Employment and Training Areas of work that come to form the map of the profession and which include

4 WAYS TO PROVIDE SERVICES AND TARGET POPULATION: FIELDS OF ACTION From the professional point of view, the interests of the companies they serve can interfere with social work practice. From the client or user point of view, as already noted, one has to remember that beyond the interests of contractors or even the public administration itself, users are the ultimate recipients of the professional act. Self-employment in social work is becoming more and more popular because of the growing complexity of the mechanisms ruling the Welfare State and, in many other cases, by public authorities expanding public services, which in turn need to be contracted. This shows the need of new parameters to organize the profession, which until recently has been mainly practiced in the public sector.

5 MANAGEMENT OF THE PROFESSION In Spain, social work is not a "regulated profession" because a specific regime for its free exercise is not established by law Moreover there is not a specific activity list exclusive to social work, except that granted by the University Degree and the following membership in the social worker s college or professional organisation. The social work profession is a "regulated profession" under the European Directive on the Recognition of Qualifications as laid out in the RD 1.837/2008 of November 8 transposing the Directive to Spanish legal system This means that, in practice, the only organization of the profession comes from professional associations and at an international level, from the General Council of Social Work.

6 The General Council of Social Work 37 Social Worker s professional organisations / colleges 40,000 members Profesisional Organisations Spain Colegios Oficiales de Álava, Alicante, Almería, Aragón, Asturias, Ávila, Badajoz, Baleares, Burgos, Cáceres, Cádiz, Cantabria, Castilla- La Mancha, Castellón, Cataluña, Córdoba, Galicia, Granada, Guipúzcoa, Huelva, Jaén, La Rioja, Las Palmas, León, Madrid, Málaga, Murcia, Navarra, Palencia, Salamanca-Zamora, Sevilla, Soria, Tenerife, Valencia, Valladolid y Vizcaya

7 The General Council of Social Work Responsible for the management of social worker s professional practice Responsible to ensure the proper practice of the profession and the defense of fundamental rights and quality of life for citizens. Guarantee professional activities from both formal and ethical standpoints Legal disciplinary responsibility in the exercise of professional associations. Protect the interests of consumers and users of professional services. Objectives:

8 Information, Research, Prevention, Assistance, Advocacy, Mediation, Planning, Management, Assessment, Supervision Teaching Functions of Spanish social workers: Social workers as reference professionals within the public primary health care system The code of Ethics also serves as an inspiring guide for professional activity and establishes the procedures according to which any complaints from service users should be assessed.

9 CURRENT TRENDS AND MOBILITY AMONG SPANISH SOCIAL WORKERS Mobility in Europe is common in part due to the homogeneity of academic qualifications in each country in accordance with the EU Directive. Social Work is included in the directive and involves three or more years of Higher Education. The directive is of great importance because professionals are subjected to a Code of Ethics and common penalty regime. Need for a structure capable of ensuring the quality and control of the services offered. Social work is situated, as in other European countries, at higher levels of academic qualification Organizing the profession would ensure that professionals acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to cope with the diverse and complex issues surrounding the welfare system with higher chances of success.

10 ANA ISABEL LIMA FERNÁNDEZ President General Council of Social Work, Spain Thanks you