PERAN PEKERJA SOSIAL DALAM PENDAMPINGAN ANAK SEBAGAI SAKSI PADA PROSES PERADILAN PIDANA DI PENGADILAN NEGERI KLAS I A PADANG

Professional Social Workers according to Article 1 paragraph (14) of Law Number 11 of 2012 on the Criminal Justice System of Children in the Class IA Court of Padang the child as a witness has been damping by social workers but in practice not all children who witnessed accompanied by social workers the. The problem discussed is how the role of Social Worker in Child assistant as Witness and constraint and optimization of social worker role in child assistance as witness to criminal justice process in Class Court of First Class A Padang Specification of this research is analytical descriptive research with sociological juridical approach. The data used are primary data and secondary data, The data obtained are analyzed qualitatively and presented in the form of analytical descriptive. Based on the research result, the role of social workers in assisting the child as witness in the judiciary is to make the child social report to be used as the guidance of the court hearing. Social workers should be able to make children express opinions and express themselves freely. Listen to the child's opinion of a criminal incident he / she has heard, seen and experienced by himself / herself. Social Workers should create an atmosphere of discussion that does not make children more cornered. The obstacles faced by social workers in their role as witness counselors are the limited number of social workers, scholarly backgrounds or non-supportive counselors, lack of cooperation network, time of implementation of assistance that is sometimes not in accordance with the plan, has no shelter for children so it should find a place of reference for the child. Optimizing the role of social workers in assisting children as witnesses is to equip judges on the understanding of social research

Social Worker Role in Times of Austerity

Background: The financial austerity policy imposed to Portugal by Troika - the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund in 2011, led to a tremendously social crisis. Under these dominant trends in Europe, which were felt especially in certain countries, such as Portugal, we feel ourselves forced into an analysis and reflection on the impact of this conjuncture in social workers, especially analyzing the role played by social workers and its critical consciousness relative to this neoliberal model and imposed austerity policies. Methods: This article results from an analysis of empirical data collected after the entry of Troika in Portugal, during 2013. Were conducted 26 in-depth interviews to front line social workers, with the purpose of obtaining a narrative of their daily work practice and with the concern of encouraging reflection on them. Results: Analysis shows the predominance of a maintenance role at the expense of more emancipatory approaches and thus, this results point to the relationship of this maintenance role with the sociological paradigm of social regulation and shows also, how social work is still attached to a conservative agenda. Secondly, one finds a weak critical reflection among social workers, being very afraid to speak out against the system, taking on a submissive attitude and subservient to the policies of social cuts imposed.  The analysis then raises the challenge for social workers to develop a critical reflexivity Conclusion: The results highlight several important observations in terms of social woker role and that a critical activity is urgently required to social workers.

The Role of Social Worker in Developing Information Needs among Street Children (A case study in Surabaya Indonesia)

Information needs among children is interesting topic because the way they looking for information are difference with adult. Usually children require assistance from certain person to help them finding the right and valid information. In the case of street children who living in social institutions, social worker role is very important to help then finding information because most of street children have no formal education, so they need to directed at finding and retrieving information to develop their knowledge. The number of street children in Surabaya increasing every year, this condition forced Surabaya Social Service to implement appropriate strategies to reduce the problems related to street children. Ones were through the assistance from the Regional Technical Implementation Unit (UPTD) "Kampung Anak Negeri" staff in Surabaya. The aim of this research is to describe the role of social worker in developing information needs of street children in UPTD Surabaya. Data in this research was collecting using questionnaire. The research method is quantitative descriptive with total population (32 people) become respondent, consisting of all street children (15 children) and social worker (17 person) in UPTD "Kampung Anak Negeri" Surabaya. The result show that social worker in UPTD Surabaya have a potential role in developing information needs among street children, especially when they playing as facilitator and educator roles. Social worker support street children to find information that as many 9 (60%) street children mostly need information related to their hobbies (such as music, sports). Around 13 (76.5%) social workers provide an opportunity for them to disclose that information, and for more aware and independent in the process of finding information 12 (70.6%) social worker teaches street children a strategy to obtain appropriate information like visit the library or using the internet (with permission). According to 12 (70.6%) social worker, the ability of street children to finding information is still dependent on social worker role as facilitator and educator. But, the social worker role as community representatives and technical, become a supporting role for the success of finding information that street children needs..

Strengths-Based Social Work

The strengths-based approach to the provision of social work services is said to rest on a respect for the worth and dignity of every individual and a concern that every individual be able to fulfill his or her potential. The strengths perspective transforms the role of the social worker role from that of an authority to that of a collaborator and seeks to facilitate client identification of internal and external strengths and resources and delineation of goals. Numerous criticisms have been raised about the approach, which has not been standardized in practice and has not been systematically evaluated through rigorous research to ascertain the effects of the approach or its acceptability to clients. As a consequence, numerous ethical issues are raised, including questions relating to client self-determination and informed consent. Additional research is needed to further evaluate the value of this perspective to client growth and development.