Social Work Matters: Californians' Perceptions of Social Welfare.

SENSORY perception; PUBLIC opinion; QUESTIONNAIRES; STATISTICAL sampling; SCALE analysis (Psychology); SOCIAL case work; SOCIAL workers; OCCUPATIONAL roles; PROFESSIONAL identity; DATA analysis software; DESCRIPTIVE statistics

This article reports on findings from a representative survey of Californians (N = 946) and their perception of social work and its professionals. Analysis of the survey data indicates that the public holds a generally positive view of social work and its "helping" nature, although social work is considered one of the least prestigious professions. Respondents primarily associated social work with child protection and behavioral health roles, and less often with tasks such as community organizing, promoting social justice, and crafting social policy. Implications are considered for renegotiating the identity of social work and foregrounding social justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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