The Role of the Social Worker in Community Development
Abstract
The Role of the Social Worker in Community Development SAGE Publications, Inc.1967DOI: 10.1177/002087286701000402 Caroline F. Ware It is timely to reconsider the role of the social worker in community development in the light of changes which are taking place in the scope and concepts of community development and the broadening horizons of social work. In the past, social workers have taken a smaller part in community development programs in Latin America than many have felt that they should. Although social work includes community organization as one of its professional techniques, social workers have not been the ones mainly responsible for initiating, shaping or administering community development programs, with a few outstanding exceptions. The members of other professions who have been responsible for such programs have tended to regard social workers as merely one among many resources which can be mobilized for specific tasks; but social workers have often complained that they are being ignored and their real potential neglected. The situation varies somewhat from country to country, but in broad outlines this has been the position during this decade of development. The reasons are several and they arise from both sides. The majority of social workers have been