Agency function and social work principles

The concept of agency function is examined in relation to the nature of the social work task. It is often the case that agency function is seen more as a problem for social work and not as one of its characteristics. It is argued in this paper that the agency itself is not responsible for the apparently delicate state of present day social work, but that on the contrary, the failure to appreciate social work's relationship to society and social processes in part accounts for its uncertain condition.