Because anyone can work as a social worker.
I just re-watched the first episode on YouTube. It starts with Norm providing counseling services to a foster kid who'd been caught shoplifting. Because why not?
Later on, he was sent out to follow-up on a former client of his whom taken a job at an adult massage parlor. He was told to get her away from the massage parlor or else he would be sent to jail by his boss. For some reason, he wasn't allowed to tell anyone at the massage parlor that he was Taylor's social worker. And she really didn't want to stop prostituting herself.
Now I'm pretty sure that Taylor was a high school student. Which makes me wonder why she was allowed to remain in a business of prostitution at all once Norm's boss learned that she was selling herself for money. I mean, why not report the business to the police for sex trafficking instead of sending Norm to get her out?
Then again, it's possible that Taylor was an adult. If so, then she has the right to make bad decisions. Norm could try offering her work opportunities elsewhere, but Taylor ultimately had the right to remain employed at the massage parlor and take the risk that she'd eventually be arrested for prostitution.
Norm ultimately convinced Taylor into leaving the life of prostitution by telling her that "You're a huge whore." And apparently, she became an employee at the social work office and dated Norm and at least one other social worker over the course of the show. Because you don't learn anything about social work ethics or boundaries when you're forced to be a professional social worker via court order.
I vaguely recall that real life social workers spoke out against "The Norm Show" when it first aired, though I struggled to find evidence of this when I searched online. Which makes sense, I guess. It was 20 years ago. And I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have gotten it back then, even though it makes complete sense to me now.
"The Norm Show" was a completely cynical program about an often cynical profession. Despite the faulty premise, I'm hopeful that they actually portrayed some of those sad cynicisms about the profession before the show ended, such as the tendency of social workers to become consumed with their work and to become overwhelmed by stress. As it is, I remember the show but I don't remember watching the show when it first aired. It might be worth checking out a few more episodes to see how things evolved.