The Legal Status of the Thai Social Work Professions Council during the Covid-19 Epidemic

Abstract

The Social Work Professions Council is originally established to promote Social Work Profession Practitioner and monitor and evaluate the standard of social work services. The current epidemic of Covid 19 impacts the social workers to adjust their works to the New Normal methods. This academic article presents the legitimacy of Social Work Professionals in Thailand. The first point of the article examines the legal status of the Social Work Professional Council. The second point explores how the licensed social workers were affected by this Social Work Professional Council during the epidemic of Covid 19. The findings present in three parts. Firstly, the Social Work Professions Council under this first Social Work Profession Act B.E. 2556 regards as a juristic person by the Public Law. Under Administrative Law, this Council also regards as the administrative agency. With this consequence, the Social Work Profession Act forces all professional social workers must hold the licenses. Secondly, the social workers must work under the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations B.E. 2548. However, it finds no prosecutions. Lastly, the third part recommends that 1) Social workers should be more actively concerned about self-development; 2) the social work agencies must seriously reassure their staffs holding licenses; 3) the Social Work Professions Council should impel the professional compensations to Civil Service Commission and advance the quality of social work to the international standard; and, for during the covid 19 epidemic, the Council should be flexible about the procedures (i.e. extending the licenses, monitor).