ABOUT THE PROFESSION OF SOCIAL WELFARE Text prepared by the Steering Committee a

nd Supervisory Professional-COFI - CFESS â ¢ Definition of the profession: The Soc

ial Work profession has been regulated in Brazil in 1957, but initial vocational
training schools have emerged since 1936. It is a profession of higher educatio
n and to do it, it is necessary for the graduate record his diploma at the Regio
nal Council for Social Services (CRESS) of the state where you want to act profe
ssionally, there are 24 and CRESS three basic state police and the Federal Counc
il of Social Service (CFESS), the surveillance of professional practice in the c
ountry, covering all states. The law regulates is 8662/93. Since its beginnings
to today, the profession has been redefined, considering its inclusion in the so
cial reality of Brazil, considering that its social meaning is expressed by the
demand to act in the sequels of the social question in Brazil, in other words, i
t reveals the social inequalities and economic, the object of professional activ
ity, manifested in poverty, violence, hunger, unemployment, material deprivation
and existential, among others. The professional work is done primarily through
institutions that provide public services designed to serve people and communiti
es who seek support to develop their autonomy, participation, exercise of citize
nship and access to social and human rights, may be the network state , private
and NGOs. Vocational training is general, allowing insight into psychosocial and
social issues with a basic theoretical and methodological directed to the under
standing of processes related to economic and political reality of the Brazilian
context where political gesture to social care for the ills of society. For a c
ompetent professional practice requires a continued investment in qualifying, it
may dispose of courses, specialization, master's and doctoral degrees available
, empowering themselves in their specific practices. Areas of interest: The role
of social workers is done by developing or proposing public policies that can m
eet the access segment of the population to services and benefits earned and soc
ially constructed, especially those in the area of Social Security. In general,
institutions ordering the Professional Social Services dealing with issues relat
ed to: children homeless in early labor, difficulties with family or school, no
school, at social risk, with disabilities, without families, drug addicts, hospi
talized, sick, unemployed adults, drug addicts, family or marital conflict, caug
ht in conflict in labor relations, hospitalized patients, organized interest gro
ups in political advocacy, disabled, institutionalized elderly, isolated, organi
zed into community centers, hospitalized patients, ethnic minorities and other e
xpressions of social issues. Due to the accumulated experience in institutional
work, the (o) Social Worker has been characterized by their interest, expertise
and involvement in the management of public policies and contribute effectively
in today's construction and defense of them, like the Unified Health System - SU
S Organic Law of Social - LOAS and the Statute of Children and Adolescents - ACE
, participating in the municipal councils, State and National, as well as confer
ences in three levels of government, where to draw the general guidelines for im
plementation, control and evaluation social policies. Professional characteristi
cs: The formation of (the) Social worker is humanistic, therefore, committed to
values which dignify and respect people in their differences and potentials, wit
hout discrimination of any kind, building design as an ethical / political and p
rofessional, sanctioned in its Code of Professional Ethics, a commitment to Free
dom, Justice and Democracy. To this end, (a) Social Worker to develop as a profe
ssional attitude to the capacity for critical / reflective to understand the iss
ues and people with which he deals, by requiring reporting and the ability to co
mmunicate orally and in writing, political articulation to make referrals techni
cal -operational sensitivity in dealing with people, theoretical knowledge, capa
city for mobilization and organization.
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Conditions of work: (a) Social Worker must have adequate and decent conditions,
ensured by hiring institutions, allowing for listening, meeting, contacts and re
ferrals necessary for the technical-operative action, pursuant to Articles 4 . a
nd 5. Law 8662/93, skills and professional attributes.€We need to ensure human
and material resources for its activities is carried out competently and effecti
vely, as well as facilitating the exercise of confidentiality and professional p
rinciples. In general, (as) Social workers are hired / employed (as), but logs a
re also the practices of individual character, after all, legally recognized as
a "professional person". The workload should consider the activities of planning
, implementation, study / research, evaluation and relationship to the "populati
on" served, quantitatively and qualitatively. So, has varied from 6 to 8 hours o
r even less in cases of accessories and consulting. Qualification required: The
course, sponsored by Public Universities, Private and Community, Temse held in f
our years at least, these practice-oriented curricula by the Brazilian Associati
on of Education and Research in Social Work (ABEPSS), based on the National Curr
iculum Guidelines, approved in 1996. Across the country, around 90 schools regis
tered, and many have post graduate courses, and latu strict sense. Insertion in
the labor market: through public tenders, selection processes, widely publicized
in the press, or modalities chosen for job offer or solicitation for specialize
d technical services. It is a profession that considers an ethical question to u
ndergo the process transparent, public, in that it publishes and promotes princi
ples of democracy and probity. Labour market: institutions that have hired (a) S
ocial Worker in general are: municipalities, associations, charities and support
for the struggle for rights, judiciary and prison system, health, business, tra
de unions, social welfare, NGOs, community centers, schools, foundations, univer
sities, research and advice. As social injustice and inequality are persistent a
nd structural, while there remain professional field and in this sense, it is al
ways possible to expand the "labor market", the time when, paradoxically, the re
sult of the same political and economic orders that wipe the employment in the c
ountry, also retract some fields in proportion to the population of professional
s in the country (around 53,000, data from the last update of the registration o
f CRESS). One has to consider expanding, for example, the contract for municipal
planning / scheduling of social policies, due to the internalization / decentra
lization of public policies; request advisory or consulting projects and social
programs; solicitation of projects for fundraising; and others. Compensation: Th
ere is a minimum wage law, the category is organized, mostly in trade unions by
branch of activity, having their pay set by collective agreements in various are
as of work. Thus, considering regional disparities and economic logic, wages hav
e varied, practicing is $ 400.00 to $ 5,000.00, depending on area and experience
of technical / political and theoretical / methodological. Today there are 05 u
nions in the country of Social Workers and a National Federation Information abo
ut the profession: More information about the profession of Social Work at the n
ational level, can be found on page of the Federal Council of Social Service - C
FESS: http://www . cfess.org.br e-mail: cfess@cfess.org.br or in the pages of th
e Association of Teaching and Research in Social Work - ABEPSS: www.abepss.org.b
r. In states local information can be accessed through the addresses of the Regi
onal Councils of Social Service - CRESS, also located within the Home Page of CF
ESS.
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