The social work profession emerged in Puerto Rico in the early years of the 20th century. As a colony of the United States (US), the profession's inception was highly influenced by the social work movement in the US, but also by the diversity of social and economic problems on the island, particularly in the rural areas. Under military governments, the practice of social workers on the island emphasised interventions at the macro level rather than the micro level. More specifically, direct services at the community level became the prime method of intervention employed by social workers in rural communities around the island, with the main purpose of integrating all citizens into the mainstream of society (Guardiola-Ortíz, 1998; Negrón-Velázquez and Zavaleta-Calderón, 2003; Estremera-Jiménez, 2015).

The social work profession was formally created in 1934 with the adoption of Law #41 which regulates the practice of social work in Puerto Rico [Ley para de regulación del Trabajo Social en Puerto Rico]. In 1940 this law was revised, changing its name to Law #171. Although a few parts of it have been revised since, the social work profession is still regulated by this law. As of today, there are around 7,000 licensed social workers in Puerto Rico. Most social workers are employed by the governmental agency the Department of Children and Family Services, and in the school setting.

Puerto Rico has twelve undergraduate and four graduate social work programmes. Of these, only one master, one doctoral, and two undergraduate programmes are offered in the public education system. The remaining programmes are part of the private education sector.

Undergraduate education is geared toward a generic social worker model, while graduate studies are specialised. As generalists, social workers are expected to learn professional competencies that address the micro, mezzo, and macro level of intervention. Social work scholars in Puerto Rico teach a diversity of social work competencies. Policy practice is taught to guide students to become successful advocates for just social welfare policies.

In recent years, the field of policy practice has been recognised as one of the most important social work methods to promote structural changes in societies.