Robert C. Crouch, MSSW, is School Social Worker, Metropolitan Public Schools, Nashville, Tennessee. Social work has been plagued by the possesses a unique body of knowledge, difficulty of defining itself succinctly a distinct method, or its own values, and yet with sufficient breadth and The Commission on Practice of the unity to cover the diverse specialties National Association of Social Work and fields of practice. This difficulty ers has accurately dealt with this diffi has contributed to the lack of recogniculty by indicating that, although as tion of work as a separate and pects of its Working Definition of distinct profession, equal in status Social Work Practice, namely, certain with other professions. That values, purposes, sanctions, methods, work draws on the theory, knowledge, and knowledge, are not unique to so and skills of many other disciplines cial work, their combination in and that many work functions work is distinct from any similar ag are also carried out by other profesgregation in any other profession.6 sions have further slowed the recogni tion of work as a distinct pro fession. The attempts to correct this DEFINITIONS problem have taken many different The followng definition is offered in forms, and many of them have conan attempt to conceptualize the con tributed to the ongoing redefinition of tral and unifying goals of work: Each definition has ac curately identified some aspects of the Social work is the attempt to assist profession, but few have satisfactorily those who do not command the means delineated the central goals that are t0 human in acquiring common to all types of work, and in attaining the highest pos even though these goals are what bring Slble degree of mdependence together highly diverse activities and Several facets of this definition require make them A definition elaboration. Human subsistence is is needed that incorporates these cenjjere defined as consisting of five fun tral and unifying goals. damental components—physical, eco A survey of the literature reveals nomic, emotional, political, and that an approach often taken in definsubsistence. Physical subsistence re ing work is to describe the acfers to the individual's access to the tivities and tasks of individual goods and services necessary to his workers or of given specialties in soown health and that of hjs dependents; cial work practice.1 The task of idenit ajso inciudes the provision of living tifying the central goals of work conditions as free as possible from is difficult to do without referring to illness, disease, and injury. Such goods the diverse endeavors that are called an(j services include food, clothing, social work. The deficiency of such housing, sanitation facilities, heat, and an approach is, as Gordon pointed physical safety, out, that it does not offer a theoretical Economic subsistence means that basis which sets forth the unifying an individual has sufficient command purposes of work.2 0f wealth to provide himself and his Some approaches to a definition dependents with physical subsistence, have attempted to align aspects of soThe wealth can take the form not only cial work with accepted criteria for of money, but of occupational skills, the definition of a profession. Often real property, or native talents as well, included in such criteria is the deEmotional subsistence refers to a velopment of a unique body of knowlsufficient sense of happiness and well edge, a unique method of practice, being to free the individual from de and an established set of values, ethics, bilitating emotional states that inter and goals.3 Other criteria have infere with the performance of normal eluded societal sanction,4 self-governdaily acivities and responsibilities or ing bodies to control practitioners, that pose a threat to the health and and requirements regarding the comsafety of himself or others. (This is pletion of an established curriculum.5 not to imply that emotional subsis There are obvious problems with tence means the total absence of any the attempt to argue that work depression, anxiety, or fear, a certain