Learning Exercise
Policy practitioners should equip themselves with the right skills, knowledge, and tools that are necessary for giving the best advice regarding policy development (Jansson, 2017). Policy analysts either work as individuals or in teams in order to analyze problems at all levels of life and come up with solutions to solve the challenges at different levels of life. Apart from starting a proposal, a social worker policy practitioner can also assume the role of a caregiver by taking care of elderly members of the society who can no longer take care of themselves. They can also assume the role of human rights activists by seeking justice for sexually abused children and fighting against child abuse as well as ensuring homeless families have access to food, shelter, and clothing. Social worker policy practitioners can also work together with agencies and develop policies that are in line with state requirements and regulations, as well as creating awareness on drug and substance abuse, especially among young people Jansson, 2017).
Social work practitioners should possess planning, assessment, and intervention skills, which helps them to fit in different sectors of society (Schneider, 2017). A social work practitioner is able to choose the best role to perform in society, depending on the skill they are more conversant with. A social worker practitioner should have the ability to realize that challenges occur at all levels of life, such as individuals, family, or groups, and it is possible to develop solutions to the challenges at any level (Schneider, 2017).
When social workers are making decisions on the role to assume, they face ethical dilemmas. However, in order to overcome the ethical dilemma, a social worker practitioner has to come up with the facts underlying the situation at hand and use the facts to assess whether the situation involves ethical or legal issues (Jansson, 2017). The practitioner also has to come up with available options and the possible repercussions, critically analyze the available options, choose the best option, and use the viable option to implement the decision regarding the role to undertake (Schneider, 2017).