Yolanda Wyche

Social Work 4710

Exam: Discussion

Upon completion of my Bachelors of Social Work degree. I plan to use the skills and knowledge
learned from my course work and field placement to empower my clients. I want to pursue a generalist
practice position in the beginning of my career. I would like to work with the older population. However,
I am interested in other populations. I look forward to empowering the client population with tools to
help strengthen the community one person at a time; or one family at a time.
The information in chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8 relate to Detroit and other major cities. The cities have a
variety of social services to assist the citizens. Some services come from the government local and state.
Some services are delivered through faith based organizations. And some services are delivered through
private organizations and commercial organizations. Detroit is going through a transitional phase right
now with the bankruptcy case. Some citizens are experiencing pension deductions. These citizens may
need a supplementary form of assistance to help them with health care issues and other issues.
Detroit has a poor population as the chapter suggest. Whereas, as the citizens are living from
pay check to pay check. Some people are living below the poverty line or just above it. This is true in the
city and the surrounding suburbs. The people in these situations need assistance and will be seeking
some kind of social services. According to the traditional providers voluntary non-profit agency offer the
advantages of neighborly friendliness. Karger & Stoesz 2014. Which can been seen as an asset to the
person receiving the service.
American liberals from the past established the welfare state with the passage of the Social
Security Act of 1935. Harry Hopkins a social worker was the head of the Federal Emergency Relief
Administration, developed the calculus for American liberalism. Unfortunately, liberalism lost ground.
Karger & Stoesz 2014. Commercialization and private service providers are servicing the populations
that the government once provided for. A new generation of social entrepreneurs has emerged. Human
services markets include nursing care, hospital management, and managed medical care. In Detroit we
have a medical center. The DMC that is surrounded by a poor to middle class neighborhood. The citizens
use this facility every day. The disenfranchised and others use these facilities. Health maintenance
organizations are prevalent in most cities.
Cities have a dense population. Therefore, social problems are a significant part of city life. Social
problems from child abuse to marriage counseling will be addressed in cities like Detroit and other
places. Community building is a part of social services in the city. City planning and social policy
professionals work together in some instances.

In conclusion there will be opportunities to serve any population in the inner city of Detroit: On a forprofit basis or from a non profit organization. The practice skills are valuable to empowering the client
population. These skills will be valuable in the political arena. As American cities rebuild and transform

the need of social service providers will be on the rise. The information in these chapters has been a
good source for human service providers to refer to.

Reference
Karger., J.K. & Stoesz, D. (2014)
American Social Welfare Policy: A Pluralist Approach (7 edition).
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:
Pearson Education Inc, Prentice Hall