Abstract: Traditional social work depends on governmental and nongovernmental departments while modern social work evolves in forprofit division hand in hand with those traditional ones, and has become the fastest developing area in the social work of western countries. On the basis of discussing the professionalization of social work occupations in the Western countries and welfare pluralism, this paper analyzes the development of professional social work in private practice and forprofit organizations in western countries, and proposes the consistent adherence to the development of welfare diversity, improvement of professionalization and regulation of professional ethics for the development of social work in China, in order to promote the growth of professional social work in forprofit organizations in our country.

Key words: professionalization of occupation, welfare diversity, forprofit social work, enlightenment