From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsocial workˈsocial work noun [uncountable] SSwork done by government or private organizations to improve bad social conditions and help people who are poor, have family problems, are unable to find a job etc
Examples from the Corpus
social work• The two senior posts. were held by women with experience in youth and social work.• If anything, social work teaching is in even greater disarray.• But Hearn also has extensive social work experience, especially in the area of child care.• Kahan called for 80 percent specialisation in areas such as children's services and only 20 percent on general social work training.• Gillian I started training in social work after I left university.• These are then assessed, a social care plan formed, and the social work interaction planned and evaluated within a framework.• The social work was familiar territory.• Many support activities utilized traditional social work skills and were indistinguishable from much social work practice. 