"The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. A historic and defining feature of social work is the profession's focus on individual well-being in a social context and the well-being of society. Fundamental to social work is attention to the environmental forces that create, contribute to, and address problems in living" (NASW code of ethics).
The set of core values that Social Workers use are:
* Service
* Social justice
* Dignity and worth of the person
* Importance of human relationships
* Integrity
* Competence.
The NASW code of ethics looks at the value of Responsibility as Service. It states that social workers' primary goal is to help people in need and to address social problems. Social workers elevate service to others above self-interest, and social workers draw on their knowledge, values, and skills to help people in need and to address social problems.
Justice is considered as social Justice for social workers. Social workers are to "pursue social change" and on the behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people. Social workers' social change efforts are focused on all forms of social injustice, especially on the issues of poverty, unemployment, and discrimination.
Dignity and Worth of the Person is the core value of Human Services known as respect for others. Social workers are supposed to treat each person in a caring and respectful fashion being mindful to individual differences and cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers seek to enhance clients' capacity and opportunity to change and to address their own