The Implications of Immigration for the Training of Social Work Professionals in Spain

Abstract

Important demographic changes have been taking place in Spain during the last two decades as a result of immigration. Due to an ever‐increasing multicultural spread, social work professionals are faced with the new challenge of providing quality services to diverse ethnic populations. After briefly describing the main characteristics of immigration in Spain, their implications for the provision of social services and the need to provide multicultural training for social workers are analysed. The conceptual framework proposed addresses some of the main variables that professionals working with these minorities should take into account, emphasizing: culture; language; family support; community resources; clients' explanatory model of the problems; provision of services for multiple problems; ethnic discrimination; and assessment instruments. Some key points for multicultural training in this field are discussed, paying special attention to the need to develop culturally sensitive and bias‐free diagnostic tools; accreditation and funding of professional programmes; and cross‐cultural competence training. The main contents and objectives of a multicultural training course for social workers are described.