Social workers are challenged by the variety of problems presented to them by the client systems they serve. Problems vary by type and degree of severity. Social workers are challenged to creatively seek out and develop resources to assist with the different problems and client systems that they encounter in their social work experiences. Social workers are challenged to be advocates for those who are unable to advocate for themselves. Groups needing a social worker's advocacy include children, the aged, the disabled, minorities, and the poor.
Social workers make decisions every day.
Some decisions are easy, such as deciding when to schedule appointments. Other decisions are difficult, such as whether to take an abused child into protective custody and place that child in a foster home. Social workers frequently make decisions that are considered to be ethical dilemmas . Ethical dilemmas pose difficult and painful challenges to social workers. They involve deciding which ethics, among the ethics subscribed to by the social work profession, should take precedence in situations with clients.