Author: Andre Coleman

It is difficult that to describe and understand the value of care because value of care has very narrow in terms of the all the aspects of health and social care. Care value defines the rules, principles, regulations, and guidelines that every carer has to follow during their services to their clients. The values play dominant role in terms of influencing the carer because it dealt with decision making activity and practical actions with them. It need to know the values, ethics and rights. It also need to know the age, gender, ability, ethnicity, and identity’s of carer. It is also important that to know the influence of the practice to carer. It is also important that to know the relationship between values and government policy that can affect society. It also need to looking at the how the values affecting individual’s live in terms of their own lives. The value of care is also important for an organization. There are certain principles which can be consider to enhance the quality of care. These principles includes, the anti-discrimination practice has to be promotes, the information has to be friendliness in nature and also same time maintenance is also important. The freedom of people in terms of their right which also should be independence, of their choice, safety, and with all these need to be promoting and supporting at the same time. The individual’s personal beliefs and their identities should be acknowledge. The protection of people is also important in event of abuse. The communication skills of individual and the relationships between service users and carer is also important, it should be providing in effective way. The individualised care is as much important as to provide them care in terms of values. If there should any violation occurs in terms of care value, there should be a possibility of the dismissals and also sued of laws. It sometimes organization should be suffered a lot and it should be close. The above are also possible when there is a violation in code of conduct. The care values are dominant as it considers clients expectation from their health and social care services.

The below are certain points which need to considers for enhancement of quality of care.

Clinical governance

Organization need to be more responsive as they serves with formal structures to the clients. Organization has to be dealt with the other aspects such as follows national standards framework. Organization has to deliver high quality services for excellency of the organization. The commitment is requires from the all levels in organization to provide coherent services to the clients. It is the important aspects to enhancing the quality of care.

Change Management

Change management is important aspects as the question of enhancing the quality of care. The nurses or care are different at level of their works, so change management of that can be important aspects to enhancing quality of care. Change management should be do with the success and failures of individuals in organization. It is the important aspects to enhancing the quality of care.

Monitoring

The three approaches of evaluation of quality of care is important and it need to be monitor. These three approaches are structural assessment, care processes and care outcomes. The auditing is important part which helps to organizations to identifying the problems and developing the solution. It is a worthwhile processes to enhance the quality of care.

Care Standards

There are certain standards which need to be fulfil and maintain at the time of serving the work. The interventions and treatments should be make with the proper guidance. These standards has to be make with research and innovation. Organization has to encourage the innovative practice within framework of standards. The quality of care should be enhance by maintaining and promoting the care standards.

Professional Qualities

Professional individuals has to improve their skills. At the same time, they have to be work consistently and reasonably with multi-tasking abilities. It necessary for an organization to take periodically audit on the skills and qualification of the individuals. It gives the detailed information that where the individual’s lack of skills and how to be improve it, in other words what type of training require to the individual. It is the important aspects to enhancing the quality of care.

Issues related to quality

The issues such as poor discharge planning, lack of involvement in care, lack of skills, poor understanding of the needs of clients, unprofessional behaviour, poor standards of care and the problem of inequality distribution to care need to be address. These issues are important and the expertise power has to find the solution to overcome from such issues. It is the important aspects to enhancing the quality of care.

Policies

There should be a policies for the quality issues to dealt within the organization. Policies need to be frame, maintain and implement periodically within the organization. It is the important aspects to enhancing the quality of care.

Conclusion:

Individual does not need to go beyond their duties and responsibilities to enhance the quality of care. Clinical governance provides us with a framework to begin transforming care quality. Change management is important for enhancing the quality of care. Individual has to be take care of the standards of care at the time of performing their duties. Individual has to be develop and improve their skills to enhance the quality of care.

Evaluate the needs of three groups of service users and the care that can be provided for them in health and social care in Britain, including the specific roles of care assistants and social workers in each group.
Introduction

Health and social care is an immense service sphere experiencing a rapid change. With every change of government the importance to health and social care services has been amended. Priorities to health and social services are rising. With rapid change there comes an uncertainty, the only reason behind this is many times people in their lives needs a care taker in one form or the other – at home, or at hospitals at the time of surgery. Health and Social care is a profession where someone takes care of a person who has a special need. A person in special need would be a child, an adolescents, it may be a person who is experiencing physical disabilities, a mentally challenged person. This is a profession devoted to deliver a quality care and support to an individual or a group of people where the needs have been examined and identified as well. This can be formally explained as a profession purvey care, support, shelter, protagonist for a dependent person. This is applied and made in action after a great research and analysing the need and the special care that the dependent person is in need of. This Health and social care service is available all over the world however they are known by some different phenomena as the region differs. For example in Europe Health and social care is known as Social pedagogy where as in U.K. it’s called as child and young care the same is called in Canada. Scene long time the people are served from a health care organisation, and it has been a long time where physically challenged people or mentally retarded people rely upon sources such as health and social care organisations. After a proper examination on the need of the dependent a subsequence care is provided. Unfortunately these situations are also faced by people who are impotent or are not reproductive, even after surviving for the whole life they don’t have any one in their lives to take care for them. The dependents are generally divided under three major groups which are missioned as follows.

Children or Juveniles

People who are older

People who are Physically challenged or Mentally retarded

Health and social care workers have got lots of liabilities on them for the client as soon as they undertake a patient; it means they have taken the responsibilities of the client and their protection. Such a organisations are growing all over the world and are supported at a great deal by the government. An employee before being appointed in such organisation undergoes from a wide range of qualification and degrees.

Definition of Needs:

Needs refers as positive, motivating hunger that compels action for its satisfaction. Needs range from basic survival needs (common to all human beings) satisfied by necessities, to cultural, intellectual, and social needs (varying from place to place and age group to age group) satisfied by necessaries. Needs are finite but, in contrast, wants (which spring from desires or wishes) are boundless.

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/need.html

First of all, We have to understand what are the needs.

As per holistic approach, the needs are such as cultural, social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual and physical. As per services and resources, the needs are such as mobility, home care, social care, nursing and medical. As per famous psychologist Abram Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, are self-actualisation, esteem needs, belongings and love needs, safety needs, and psychological needs.

Abram Maslow’s hierarchy of needs chart.

Needs and Wants

Care assistants and social care workers has to understand what is their needs and wants. Care assistants and social care workers have to distinguish the difference between needs and wants. Needs and Wants of care assistants and social care workers should need to be asses to understanding for the assessor within the organization.

Challenges for Health and Social Care

A Health and social care organisation is a challenging and a honouring as a profession which aims to provide service to the needy ones. It also provides protection and shelter to the dependents. The health and social care organisation needs to understand the need and accordingly apply the required skill on the client. They have the power of understanding of the approach which best fits with the patients. The Health and social care department keeps a record of the dependent with clear information about the dependent and his daily routine so as to understand and improve the requirement. Such organisations practice Anti discriminatory and treat the client with their best regardless of which race, country, age, and sex does he belongs to. They provide social services and assistance to ameliorate the social as well as the psychological behaviour of the person who is not able to help himself. As discussed above the people who require special need are basically divided into three groups

Needs of Children

Hiring a Health and Social carer for children is common now days. Child with single parent is major clients for such organisation. With change in time the requirement of humans has been changed a lot which draws the parents to go out for work and no one is there to look after their juveniles so as to protect them from getting into delinquencies parents require someone who looks after their kids when they are out as to make the child literate about the social life. Many parents decide to do so even to improve the psychological functioning of the children as well as to look after their studies. It is often found that a child with less assistance has more possibilities to fall in bad deeds. Here the carer plays a vital role for the parents and guides the child toward good things and teaches him that social values of the society. Hiring a social carer solves such problems and tends the child towards good things. These organisations helps those parents with the child having learning difficulties, such children are taught by the social workers and learns the moral values of the life. Children who have behavioural difficulties such as talking to elders in an ill-mannered way the workers also teach them how to behave. Sometimes children fall in bad companies and acquire bad addictions such as having drugs alcohols the health and social care department also helps the child to rehabilitate by giving them a lively atmosphere. Children with high level of truancy are rare but in need of a person who looks after their studies, social workers work and analyse which is the better way for the individual to grab the interest in studies.

Roles of Care Assistants and Social Care Workers for children

Every care assistants and social care workers who provides the services to children needs to have their assistant. This assistant helps with care assistant and social care workers for the duties regarding teaching and caring to children. Children’s education requirements are vary according to their parents and schools. As care assistants and social care workers roles, they have to have basic qualification like diploma, with previous related experience. There is also need of college degree sometimes.

Instruction

The care assistant and social care workers have to instruct the children in terms of their learning activity. The care assistant and social care workers have to take care of the children by give proper instruction to them in terms of their education, behaviour, and safety. The care assistant and social care workers also have to check the grade papers after receiving children’s assignments. The care assistant and social care workers have also give suggestion of activities and lesson suitable to children to their parents.

Supervision

The care assistant and social care workers have to supervise the children while their break. The care assistant and social care workers have to supervise children when children are playing. The care assistant and social care workers also have to take care that children do not hurt themselves of others. The care assistant and social care workers also have to make sure that they do not go out of the premises. When there is need of or any event of problem arise, the care assistant and social care workers have to handles it as per situation very calmly. The care assistant and social care workers have to informs their superior in event of problem to get better solution of that.

Cleaning

The care assistant and social care workers have to make sure that the workspace need to be clean at the times. The care assistant and social care workers have to clean the premises accordingly. The care assistant and social care workers have to make sure that the playing area of children need to be safe so at the time of playing they are interact with one another without getting hurt.

Nurturing

When parents are busy with some other works or the teachers in the schools are busy with some other works, the care assistant and social care workers have to be with children when children get hurt. When they become sad, the care assistant and social care workers have to be with children to get out of it. The care assistant and social care workers also have to keep children clean and neat. The bathing and diaper- changing have also be do with clean by the care assistant and social care workers. The care assistant and social care workers have also make sure children get food regularly and provides the nutritious meals and snacks for the children throughout the day.

Discussions

The care assistant and social care workers have to prepare and confer the progress of children with their parents. The care assistant and social care workers have responsible to give progress report to the parents of children. The care assistant and social care workers should be helpful and also aware of the needs and issues related to the children. The care assistant and social care workers have to provide excellent feedback of the children.

Old Age people

In certain stage of life people do need a care taker after an age, even after having friend’s relatives and family they sometimes fail to access the needs, in this stage the person in special need requires a care taker who look after the patient and take good care of them. They even protect the client and take proper care of them. Unfortunately some people who are impotent and could not grow their families, are very hapless people such organisations do provide service to them. After reaching to a certain age few people undergo some disease such as Paralysis etc. These organisations provide service to such hapless people. The organisation takes care of aged people by doing household job for them such as cleaning in house, washing their cloths, Vacuuming in the corridor etc. They also take personal care such as helping them in taking shower, bathing, dress them up and toileting etc. Such a job needs a lot of patience and dedication above all it need the willingness and affection for the needy one which are often found in the workers of such organisation. The organisation has also opened a place where cares for such people are available. The place is also known as House of Commons where people of almost same age group stay together and spent there last inning of life. This care is taken by the Health and social care organisation.

Roles of Care Assistants and Social Care Workers for old age people

The workers in such organisation have very responsible work on their shoulders here they not only need to take care of the old people but also understand them. They should be a good listener so as to listen and understand that feeling of the old people who have lost their understanding and A Health and social care organisation is a challenging and a honouring as a profession which aims to provide service to the needy ones. It also provides protection and shelter to the dependents. The health and social care organisation needs to understand the need and accordingly apply the required skill on old age people. They have the power of understanding of the approach which best fits with the old age people. The Health and social care department keeps a record of the dependent with clear information about the dependent and his daily routine so as to understand and improve the requirement. Such organisations practice Anti discriminatory and treat the old age people with their best regardless of which race, country, age, and sex does he belongs to. They provide social services and assistance to ameliorate the social as well as the psychological behaviour of the person who is not able to help themself.

Physically challenge people

People who are mentally retarded or physically challenged are very hard to take care of. Since family member fails to take good care of such people such clients are better assisted by such experienced social workers. Unluckily few people are born with such disabilities and many a times in spite of being a mother and father, Parents are not able to understand the requirement of the person who is experiencing such disabilities.

Roles of Care Assistants and Social Care Workers for physically challenge people

Concerning about health

The care assistant and social care workers need have to concerned about the health of handicapped people or disabled people. The care assistant and social care workers have to be monitored medication activity of handicapped or disabled people. The care assistant and social care workers have to perform their task as per the suggestion of general practitioner of handicapped or disabled people. The care assistant and social care workers have to perform their duties under the direction of the registered nurses.

Managing under definite standards

The care assistant and social care workers have to manage the handicapped or disabled people as per assistance under personal hygiene and ambulation.

Preparing, managing and reporting

The care assistant and social care workers have to prepare record of handicapped or disabled people’s progress and serviced performed by them. The care assistant and social care workers also have to maintain record of the handicapped or disabled people’s progress and serviced performed by them. The care assistant and social care workers also have to reporting to the superior and guardian when there is a changes in condition of handicapped and disabled people.

Performing various duties

The care assistant and social care workers have to be perform the various duties such as cooking, washing the outfits, cleaning the dishes, and shopping for handicapped or disabled people. The care assistant and social care workers have to perform various housekeeping duties.

Caring in various aspects

The care assistant and social care workers have to take care of disabled or handicapped people and their families in events of the family disruption or restoration and helplessness. The care assistant and social care workers also have to provides companionship, personal care and help in adjusting new lifestyles to handicapped or disabled people and their families.

Instruction and advisory

The care assistant and social care workers have to instruct handicapped or disabled people on issues such as nutrition, personal hygiene, and house hold cleanliness. The care assistant and social care workers also have to advise handicapped or disabled people on issues such as nutrition, personal hygiene, and house hold cleanliness.

Participating and consulting

The care assistant and social care workers have to participate in case reviewing and consulting with responsible people to evaluate the handicapped or disabled people needs and planning for their future services.

Transporting

The care assistant and social care workers have to facilitate the handicapped or disabled people transportation from their location to other location such as physician’s place, or any outing or using vehicles.

Conclusion:

The needs of people vary from one to another, as similar to this the needs of three groups also vary such to children, physically challenge people and old age people. Similar to needs of these three different groups the roles of care assistants and social care workers is also different. It need to be evaluate for development of clients.

PART 1Introduction

As individuals we work with people, interact with them and might disagree or agree with them on issues. Conflict management means putting in place ways that reduces bad aspects of conflict and raising the good aspects of it at standards the same or higher than the place where the conflict took place. Additionally, conflict management seeks to improve learning and group results, that is capability or performance in a business environment (Ra him, 2002). People might disagree in decision making because they might have ideas of their own. Conflict may be important to groups and businesses, when managed well, it increases group results (e.g. Alpert, Osvaldo, & Law, 2000; Booker & Jame son, 2001; Ra-him & Bono ma, 1979; Kuhn & Poole, 2000; Church & Marks, 2001). Part 1 of this paper explains conflict, it’s types and my experience of it at Mining Building and Contractors Ltd ( MBC,Obuasi), Ghana and a conclusion at the end. Part 2 of this paper explains building trust, relationships and communications, the importance of these skills to an organization as well as a personal reflection on these skills and a conclusion.

Conflict may be defined as a basic variance between individuals due to differences of opinions, ideas, beliefs, values, needs or objectives.

Types of Conflict

Intrapersonal It is a conflict that develops within an individual when he argues with himself about something. It could be simple as wanting to use office item for personal use when he knows he should’t be doing that.

Interpersonal It is a conflict between two separate individuals, this form of conflict is what people typically have in mind when they think of conflict.

Functional Ambiguity and role specifications in organizations could create problems.

Intergroup This conflict normally happens in the cases of various ethnic or racial groups. Each group could feel threatened and may feel that their respective culture is not duly respected.

Conflict Management

Conflict management is about helping improve the positive aspects of conflicts. It does not necessarily mean doing away with conflicts.

Personal experience

I worked at MBC Ltd, Obuasi with a colleague at the Accounts Office. My colleague’s uncle was the Marketing Manager but wasn’t in good terms with Mr. Ocloo, the Accountant, who was our boss. I got to know our boss was someone who was really passionate about his work and disliked lazy and insolent people. I built a strong relationship with my boss and always listened to and respected his views. My boss observed my colleague most of the time missing at the office, this continued for a few weeks. My colleague had been visiting his uncle during periods which there were no work at the office. One day I returned from an errand to find out my colleague had had a confrontation with our boss because of his continuous absence during working hours. He also had reported the case to his uncle who had come and exchanged words with our boss and had worsened the situation. I quickly called my colleague and spoke to him about the way our boss had observed him for a long period before voicing out his frustration. I recommended to him outside apologizing to our boss. I also advised him to go back to his uncle’s office to calm him down. I then ensured he explained things to his uncle and admit it was his fault to make peace. I later talked to my boss for hours explaining that, my colleague was at fault but he really left when we had finished with our work. I wanted to make sure the case does not escalate to higher levels and wanted it solved that day. It wasn’t easy because we had to stay behind after office hours when everyone had left to resolve the issue. Both my colleague and his uncle came back with my colleague apologizing and acknowledging the mistake that brought about the conflict. I helped solve the solution because it would have really developed into a real mix-up which would have brought other parties and disciplines into the matter.

Conclusion

Every day we work with people, who might wrong us or rub us in a way. I personally think conflict is unavoidable but can be managed. At the workplace individuals should always be thoughtful and always try to negotiate with fellow workers to resolve conflicts. Workers must be sensitive to the feelings of other workers and understand that individuals may react to anger, fear and frustration. Workers should provide viable solutions to problems amongst themselves. Mangers should identify and analyse the reason for conflict to understand the root cause of conflict. Any solution for resolving the issue should be aimed at doing away with the root cause. Managers need to have good communication skills to be able to empathize with all the concerned parties and put across their solutions convincingly. Conflicts should be resolved in a healthy way without favouring any individual; all parties involved should be treated with respect and spoken to politely. Managing conflict effectively is valuable in the progress of an organization.

PART 2
Introduction

Nowadays, businesses are looking for ways to help maintain trust, build good relationships and acquire communication skills in helping them achieve growth in their workplace. Trust is explained as the condition of preparedness for an interaction with something or someone without protection (Duane C. Tway, Jr.,1994). Trust, relationships and communication at the workplace is very essential to the success of a business and wellbeing of people at work. Trust is seen by others as equivalent to trustworthiness, explaining trust in the subject of individual traits that stimulate positive expectations on other individuals behalf(e.g., Butler & Cantrell, 1984; McKnight et al., 1998).Organisational relationships can be grouped into functions, departments and teams; union, staff and the management. These relationships are influenced by how people individually treat each other in the workplace, http://www.dol.govt.nz/er/bestpractice/prc/infosheets/GPG-WP-RELATIONSHIP.pdf (Accessed on 03/12/12). Culture of trust is beneficial in disorganized and uncertain places, (Bjerke, 1999).

Why the need for Building Trust, Relationships & Communication?

Effective communication, trust and good relationship with workers is an organization is vital in attaining results, eliminating stress and providing a vibrant atmosphere where workers feel free to ask for help, share opinions and also actively contribute in progress of organization. These skills help encourage team members encourage each other and work efficiently and effectively. Fostering these skills in the workplace enhances decision making and implementation in an organisation. Trust gives way to developing a relationship more effective between the trustor and trustee (Blau, 1964). To build successful relationships in workplaces involves trust. Trust brings about efficient communication, healthy relationships and employee motivation in an organization. Having these elements at the workplace motivates employees to work harder. The existence of these skills in the workplace makes organizational goals easy to achieve. Any organisation that excels in these skills is able to get things done progressively and successfully.

Personal Reflection

When I started work at MBC Ltd, (Obuasi), the first thing I did was to learn and quickly adapt to the organisational behaviour and culture. The next thing was to win the trust of fellow workers and build good communication levels and relationships with them. I was humble, obedient and was always eager to work. I became more involved in issues of workers in the company. This made me my boss favourite and made him sometimes go to the extent of discussing his personal issues with me. I had already won his trust and had built a vibrant relationship with him. As a new worker of the company, it was not done overnight but through hard work I was able to achieve it. If I saw workers not in good terms at work, I will quickly try to address it. I will have a conversation with the people involved and if it was still not working, I will try a higher authority. I always made sure that no party felt betrayed or offended but it was always a win-win case. I also kept private information from others confidential. When we had finished with work and the place seemed boring I would suggest a group meeting where we thrived on issues to be addressed at the office. We did this at least two times and really helped us a lot and always brought the best in us. I suggested this to fellow workers but did not work at start because some managers did not agree with the idea. Gradually interest for it grew and the company now holds a special meeting once every month where selected workers from various departments share views and discuss problems facing them to managers. This really improved communication and enhanced good relationships and trust in the organization.

Conclusion

Communication, trust and relationships can be improved in all workplaces, no matter the size of the company. The basis of an individual’s interaction in the workplace is through these skills. These skills are very important and should be amalgamated into team building in every organization. Individuals should be encouraged to stop engaging in activities that will reduce trust existing between workers. Workshops and meetings should be organized to prepare and educate workers on developing good communication skills and fostering healthy relationships among themselves. It is never easy to impress or satisfy everyone at the workplace because we are human but we must also know that it takes a lot of effort to fix a broken relationship or trust that existed between workers than to prevent it from happening. If any company wants to move from being just a working group to a high performing one these skills must be taking seriously. None of us is perfect but we can be much more effective and efficient if we work on building good relations, having easy and simple communication systems and being trustworthy. This will inspire and influence others to help build a successful business environment.

Various theories have been significant in forming and recognising organisations. Throughout the twentieth century, the theory and practice of organisations have been modified from a more traditional management approach were efficiency and profits were the main goals to a more networked approach where service and user satisfaction are the focal points (Hughes and wearing 2007). Each organisation is different. Differences relate to varying missions, demographics, location, physical environment, management style, levels of funding and financial conditions, and whether the organisation is public, nonprofit, or for-profit, among other factors. This essay will discuss the importance of organisational mission/vision statements, structure, resourcing and service in distinguishing human service organisation from one another as well as provide theoretical analysis on how this can influence the organisations practices and services.

Human service organisation is the word often used to describe health, welfare, and educational organisations, and is generally identified as organisations whose goals are to provide some kind of service for people individually or communities (Gardner 2006). Human service organisations set out influence in structuring the nature of social work practices. The agency provides the decree and authorisation for carrying out societies order in regard to the health and well-being of the citizens and regulates the resources essential to accomplishing this work (Hanson, 1998).

Human service organisations obtain their purpose from community needs and priorities, as characterised by the social settings at any given time. In many ways social work practice is established , facilitated, and at the same time controlled by the purposes and operating modes of human service organisations. In theory , purpose is comparatively consistent across all human service organisations in that in a broader sense “meet the needs and contribute to the well being of consumers , and to contribute to the overall social welfare (Jones and May 1992,pg.84 , as cited by Gardner 2006).It is imperative that the overall vision does conveys the broad hopes of the organisation as well as comprehend the intricacy of its purpose.

Womens Domestic Violence Crisis Service (WDVCS) is a Victorian State-wide service for women enduring violence and abuse ‘from a partner or ex-partner, another family member or someone else they are close to’. Women Domestic Violence Crisis Service acknowledge the diversity of women and children’s experience and supplies a response that respects the unique needs of the individual woman and their children. WDVCS will ensure that the response meets the requirements of the organisation’s funding and service agreement and its legal obligations. The organisation through feminists realised the importance of servicing woman who have been experiencing domestic violence, and the wants for those women to be safe. At the beginning, WDVCS started from several individuals houses, were they would answer phone calls to service the community, to what is now classified as an organisation. The philosophy of the organisation is that violence is not acceptable on the basis of human rights and that women experiencing domestic violence have the right to be safe. Domestic violence does not affect one certain type of individual but in fact affects a vast array of individuals from across all levels of society and from all types of religious, ethnic and race groups.

The Women’s Domestic Violence Crisis Service of Victoria (WDVCS) acknowledges that the staff of the organisation are a vital and valuable resource. WDVCS has an obligation to supporting the growth and preservation of a demographically diverse workforce that is highly skilled, motivated and resourced to ensure quality and continuity of service delivery. All staff of WDVCS are expected to work within the Philosophy, Policies and Procedures of the organisation and abide by the Code of Conduct.

WDVCS is not an auspice, it is a corporate association in its own right which means WDVCS has its own board, CEO, coordinators and staff .WDVCS has four coordinators, Telephone crisis coordinator, accommodation coordinator, communication coordinator and Quality committee coordinator. All of whom supervise the phone team and accommodation team. The Communication coordinator works on community development and media projects which was established by WDVCS in 2008, the aim of the project is to educate women on how to share their experience in domestic violence to the public via the media and also to empower women to respond to media in a self-assured way. The board of WDVCS is responsible to set all WDVCS strategic plans of the organisation. The board insures all the risk managements of the organisation, as well as ensures that the CEO utilises the organisation resources, budget in order to carry out the strategic plan. WDVCS has nine female board members who came from diverse factions of the community.

Organisational structure frequently involves an array of values and beliefs about the roles and responsibilities on how decisions should be made by using a criterion. The Women’s Domestic Violence Crisis Service of Victoria (WDVCS) has a commitment to feminist, democratic work practices. It is essential that decision-making authority be informed by processes that are participatory, democratic, transparent and responsive to the needs of women who use the service. There are two ways decisions can be made ,formal and informal, the formal part is governed by board .WDVCS is not a very hierarchical organisation as such. The organisation has regular meeting, quality committee which involve staff member who have inputs to the organisation policy and procedures via quality meeting and they make recommendation for same policy to be taken for further discussion on staff meeting, CEO of the WDVCS stated in the interview that ‘they take a more democratic and concise of organisation decision making but the end of the day the final decision lies back to CEO’. Worker’s involvement and input to worker meeting and quality meeting result in less frustration with organisational superiors as participation allows workers to feel somewhat accepted. The community does not have much input on the organisation decision making process , however if user or community member were interested in the organisations decision making process they can be nominated to join the board that way they can become more involved. The only way the organisation receive input from community is the feedback from their clients via telephone service and through women who access the accommodation but it is an area the organisation is working on to improve via WDVCS website. So the community can have an opportunity to have an input and provide feedback.

The Women’s Domestic Violence Crisis Service of Victoria (WDVCS) is committed to a rights advocacy direct service delivery model. The service model emphasises a crisis intervention response, which prioritises safety, informed choices and the rights of women to control decision making about available alternatives. This service model offers high quality crisis intervention, counseling, advocacy, support, information, referral and emergency accommodation services to women and their children who are victims of domestic/family violence. The service model is primarily focused on reinstating women and their children’s right to live safely in the community. This service delivery model supports the unique role of the WDVCS as the only statewide telephone crisis service and supported emergency accommodation service provider for women and children who are victims of domestic/family violence. The Women’s Domestic Violence Crisis Service of Victoria (WDVCS) recognises the basic human rights of all women and children to: safety, shelter and food; live free of fear and violence; and dignity and respect. WDVCS is committed to providing responses that respect the rights of women and their children to be supported in their efforts to be free from violence in an environment that is safe from physical, sexual, emotional/psychological, economic and verbal abuse.The primary service users of WDVCS are women and their children who are victims of domestic/family violence.

The Majority of the WDVCS service users are self referral, however they might get a hold of WDVCS information from other services in the sector such as the police, other domestic violence services, community health or the yellow pages. WDVCS has a policy to empower women even if other service do initial referral WDVCS staff will make sure to speak to woman to hear her story with empathy

Today, viewpoints toward how organisations should be run vary considerably from the classic bureaucracy expressed by earlier theorists. Efficiency has culminated to have its appeal as the most crucial goal or characteristic of organisations.

The work environment itself is seen as a critical variable in how much and how well organisations function to attain their purposes.

In today’s view organisations are dynamic, developing and changing in interaction with external stimuli. Partnerships within and between organisations form and restructure among employees and interest groups as each searches for to improve its own interests. Within this framework, each organisation cultivates a unique philosophy that influences how it functions (Hanson, 1998).

Human service organisations are so different; it is not feasible to touch on all the aspects that affect the organisational base of practice. Internal factors have to do with decisions largely made within the organisation about how it will accomplish its business. External factors include social welfare laws and regulations, judicial decisions, funding allocations, and the level of competition among similar agencies in the community. These and other factors determine the parameters in which the organisation functions and set the boundaries for social work practice within them.

A literature review is a critical and in depth evaluation of previous research in a particular area. It allows anyone reading the paper to establish why you are pursuing this particular research program. The role of a literature review is to discover answers to a research problem. Machi & Mc Evoy (2008 pp.3) explain an advance literature review as “the foundation for identifying a problem that demands original research, and is the basis for the study of a research problem.” Both authors even explain further that a literature review critically proposes further research which guides the problem into identifying research objective which then leads to findings and conclusion from the whole research. Therefore the literature review covers areas such as the synopsis of work life balance, the benefits, the approach of gender towards work and life, policies implemented and the best practice approach to balancing work and non-work demands.

2.1 The Synopsis of Work Life Balance

Work-life balance is defined as “the equilibrium between the amount of time and effort somebody devotes to work and that given to other aspects of life”. http://www.healthatwork.org.uk/pdf.pl?file=haw/files/Work-lifeBalance.pdf. However Kaila (2005 pp.223) relates work life balance as “creating supportive, healthy work environments for employees who are striving to better integrate their work and personal responsibilities”. In the early nineteen century society had categorised working as dominant over life and personal commitments. However, in this new millennium of the twenty century, the changing patterns of individuals’ interest, gender, social roles and particularly the workforce have shifted where individuals are seeking personal values and managing the complexities of life expectations.

2.2 The Benefits of Work-Life Integration:

The key business drivers for work-life balance in the workplace tends to foster positive outcome such as increase productivity, reduced turnover, raised morale attract and retain employees. Thompson et al. (1999 pp.14) indicated

“if an organization fosters individual work-life integration a central expectation is a positive impact on individual work performance. Professionals experiencing time stress or psychological stress because of their high workload and maybe because of the demands of private life that they cannot fulfill satisfactorily, will be likely to suffer from low concentration and in the end lower productivity.”

Conversely, Hudson (2005) analysis underlined that employees in organizations who don’t have a balance of work and non work matters tends to experience and generate negative outcomes. In fact Hudson (2005) expressed further by implying that employees are more likely to be less productive, less committed and highly decisive of leaving the organisation once they are experiencing increased stress due to work/life conflicting issues and are perceived of having no control over balancing work and non-work demands.

However Kaiser et al. (2010) believed that if one viewed balancing work and life concept as a means of lowering absenteeism, reducing stress and health issues, then one can safely relate that work-life integration can have a positive impact on employees’ performance and productivity. So based on what was stated above, it may appear that the organisations are the ones benefiting from work-life balance. However Kossek & Lambert (2005) implied that employees also benefit from work-life balance outcomes where workers experience lower level of stress, reduce work and non-work conflicts and constrains and have greater autonomy and flexibility in achieving work-life balance. In light of what was stated above by relevant authors, it is prudent to point out that work-life integration can have a positive outcome which benefits the employees and enhance the organisation.

2.3 Organizational Behaviour towards Work-Life Balance:

The present magnitude of viewing work life balance is to promote a healthy balance between work and non work commitments which should be the main idea for organisations to consider. However not all managers view work life balance as positive outcomes for the organization. In fact Rodbourne (1996) argued that the work/life culture can be perceived as a factor correlated to less job security and negative career progression due to the utilization of work/life policies. Conversely, Druker (2000) implied that it is corporation social responsibilities to encourage work-life balance within their organization.

However more and more organizations are promoting and even offering work life balance programs in the workplace. Herlihy & Maiden (2005) imply that successful organizations are where they are today because they invest in their employees since they recognised that people are capital assets of the organizations rather than a cost to be administered. Both authors also believed that in order for employees to be effective at work, they themselves need to be able to make unique contributions to the organisation that lies within the contexts of their own personal condition. In relation to Herlihy & Maiden (2005), Powell (2010 pp 199) explained that “individuals success in managing the work-family interface is influenced by the environments that their employers provide and the strategies they adopt.” Powell (2010) continued further stating that employees who have family-supportive managers and work in organization that offers family-friendly initiatives tends to stay with the organization.

2.4 Gender and Work Life Balance

The early version of working in society was composed that men were the dominant ones towards work while women were distinguished as housewives, however the structure of that conception has dramatically change where women are just as equal to men in aspect of professionals. Maron (2009) reported on Equal Stress signified that studies have found that women are contributing 44% of the household family income compared in the past and that childcare by men have increased in recent times. Friedman & Greenhaus (2000) pointed out that long ago it was known that men was the breadwinner and women was the stay-at-wives, however changes has shifted in the composition of the workplace tremendously. Friedman & Greenhaus (2000) noted that women make up half the workforce and is increasing in higher levels whereas there is fewer pressure on men categorized has the sole breadwinner.

Korabik et al., (2008 pp.223) stated that the “gender role ideology” conceptualized the tradition that women should give priority to family responsibilities and men to work responsibilities.” However Korabik et al. (2008) advocated the fact that the gender role ideology emphasizes a more stereotype role where it often produce a negative impact on both mothers and women and have developed a one-sided judgmental analysis. Instead the detriment effect of this should impact on men also so that women should not be expected to conform to the stereotype gender role.

Despite the many variations of work and life roles for women, Cleveland et al. (2000) stated that the underlying assumption focuses that the model life-role for women was homemaker and that working women careers and work commitments would be interrupted by pregnancy and childcare. Cleveland et al. (2000) imply that yes women do stop working briefly due to pregnancy however majority of them do return to work after that short interruption. Reeves (2010) emphasizing that whether women are taking care of children, cleaning, cooking and dealing with errands, women of today has been and are working harder than before to meet the demands of work at home and on the job.

Reece & Brandt (2006) pointed out that most working men, just as women, need to balance work and personal life and now have choices which relate to marriage and family life concerns. According to Strober (2010) reported on US Banker News proclaimed that 40% of men wants to be employed by organizations that allows them to employ there managerial skills and at the same time still have time to be successful fathers and husbands.

2.5 Policies behind work-life balance:

In many organizations there are a range of policy choices that have been put in place to accommodate employees in the field of work life issues. Polices implemented in organisations are intended to assist employees, especially caregivers and females, to manage work and personal conflicts. Supporters of policies argue that the policies in HR practices help people achieve balance of work and life issues. Sparrow & Cooper (2003 pp.220) applied the situational theory framework quoting “work-life balance policies are introduces where the organizations sees a direct link between them and a solution to problems of absenteeism, and staff turnover”. He indicated that employers are implementing policies as part of a strategy in attempt to illustrate caring responsibilities for coping parents.

However, according to Hudson (2005 pp.14), “the mere availability of extensive and generous work/life policies does not necessary result in widespread utilisation by employees or subsequently improvements in work/life balance reductions in work/life conflicts.” He explains that the complex nature of work-life balance policies is not being utilized because employees are afraid to use the programs as a result of fear of negative consequences. Coussey (2000) mirrored Hudson (2005) statement by implying that employers may believe that it is insignificant benefits of having these polices and that employees may be unable to afford to make use of these policies because of concerns that it may affect their career progression.

However, according to Torun (2007 pp.5) “the potential benefits of work-life programmes, can lead to real qualitative and quantitative benefits for the employer in terms of productivity gains, lower turnover rate, a stronger team spirit and loyalty to employer.” His analysis of work life balance is associated with employees’ performance which provides evidences that a well structure programme can assist with time management benefits for both the employees and the employers in terms to increase productivity and at the same time personal life satisfaction. Conversely, to compliment to Torun (2007) analysis, Crouter & Booth (2009) implied that organisation that has a supportive work-family culture is associated to positive outcomes that organisations benefit from such as increase commitment, higher job satisfaction, lower absenteeism, decreased work family conflict, decreased psychological distress, fewer somatic complaints and decreased role strain.

Edwards, Scott & Raju (2003) said that work life program have been created to assist with the managing of working individuals’ responsibilities of both work and personal matters. Galinsky & Johnson (1998) argued that these very said policies are suppose to be seen as essential way of attracting and retaining best talent for organisations. Burke & Cooper (2006 pp.149) have similar opinion to Galinsky & Johnson (1998) statement by quoting that “the provision of work-life benefits more clearly distinguishes an employer from its competitors and might have substantial effects on an organisation’s image as “good place to work”. Conversely to state, in this particular area all authors that have given their analysis about policies and work-life balance are simply emphasizing that organisations that implement work -life policies tend to attract committed employees to work for them.

2.5.1 The Characteristics of Work-Life Balance:

The transition of work-life balance challenges the cognition that the demographic workforce has changed drastically in recent years. The fact of the matter is that the workforce includes dual-earner partners who are married and have the responsibilities to care for children and presently some are also burden with adult-care responsibility too. Because of these encounter, several legislation policies was introduced in the UK to accommodate the European workforce commitment, just to name few from the set are:

Parental Leave

Maternity Leave

Flexible Time

Time off for dependants

2.5.2 Flexible Working:

The concept of flexible working has been commonly utilized by many organizations to assist employees with balancing work and life. Many employers understand the need for flexible working because of the growing diversity of women in the workplace, ageing population and young adults pursuing an education and wishing to work at the same time. In fact reporter Coughlan (2009) studies have found that every two person in an organisation there are now more than one person in education.

According to Peper et al. (2005) employees need flexibility in the workplace that would assist them to balance the demands of work and family. Peper et al., (2005) implied further that employees no longer anticipate their jobs as long life, but do except to build self-opportunities from working. Specifically the ability to keep this in mind is very essential for managers. Robertson (2007) critically send a very important message stating that organizations that offer flexible working arrangements to employees offers employees to promote good balance between work and home life will evolve to healthy employees and healthy employees are good for business. To coincide with Robertson (2007), Konrad (2006) argued that studies have found that employees who have access to work-life flexibility demonstrate stronger organizational commitments and decreases employees intention to leave the organisation.

2.6 Best Practices promoting Work-Life Balance:

The complexity of a best practice approach would be appealed by employees once offered by organisations. By exhibiting this context it would assist in develop strategic responses and positive concepts for employees and employers. Burke & Cooper (2008 pp.229) “best practices in the workplace are generally understood as a set of practices or actions which results in optimum outcomes, ideally benefiting both employees and the employing organisation.” Burke & Cooper (2008) further explains that the imperative of work practices increases the morale of meeting the dual agenda of employees’ well-being and workplace effectiveness.

To mirrored Burke & Cooper (2008), according to Taylor (2002) he indicated that organizational practices often assists companies to achieve competitive advantage in the marketplace. They argued that these practices usually enhance business performance in organizations that implement practices. However, another theorist Cooper (2005) disagreed with the statement above, she indicated that what is consider good practice in one organizations may not be appropriate in one another. According to Lewis & Cooper (2005 pp.5) “good practice in a specific context may be inadequate tomorrow, which is why an understanding of the process is more useful than just practices for sustaining long-term positive outcomes.”

The nature of best practice approach predominantly utilized in organisations is initially defined to support employees work-life responsibilities and commitments. Brown (2005) found that the utilization of best practice approach of work life integration does not only benefit employees, but also organisations and employers with an open mind to this approach somehow succeed in attracting valued employees and maintain a motivated staff whereby delivering positive outcome. In the interim to promote work life balance organisations should adopt best practice approach that would encourage flexibility and positive results in both employees and employers.

So perhaps incorporating family-friendly policies and practices in the workplace could make a difference for employees with a lot of responsibilities, commitments and work life situations. However Hein (2005) argued that family-friendly policies and practices can assist employees with the complexity of work life issues. Hein (2005) explain further that even though policies and practices exist, however employees tend to be hesitant to proceed to use them because of career concerns or the fact that line managers discourage them from using it. All the authors here are simply emphasizing that employers should create a family-friendly organisational culture approach where employees and senior managers must be in favour of such practices and should be seen using the same practices.

Summary

Reviewing the literature studied indicated by various authors, foster the linked with job satisfaction and commitment to work life balance. The concept of this seems that the authors all have a one-sided view to work life balance and the effects to employees’ performances, commitments and at the same time organization effectiveness. The evidence illustrates supports that the propensity for negative outcome of performance to arise is expected to hinder productivity, especially when there are conflicts between managing time for non-work and work related issues. To present a link with the literature review, an evaluation of the methods of research carried out to conclude to findings of employees would be employed in the next chapter.

This essay examines the Supporting People programme, a scheme introduced on 1st April 2003 with the aim of addressing the housing needs of society’s most vulnerable individuals (Supporting People, 2009). Firstly, the programme will be described, followed by a focus on how it actively seeks to involve individuals with disabilities and complex health and support needs to be involved in their support and care arrangements.

The Supporting People programme is a decentralised programme delivered through 152 authorities and by voluntary, community, and housing associations. At any one time, the programme can be supporting as many as one million people from a range of disadvantaged groups. Service users include older people, the homeless, those with mental health issues, and women at risk of domestic violence. The Supporting People Quality Assessment Framework (QAF) agreed a new core objective that would focus on service user involvement and empowerment. This objective is aimed at cutting across all core objectives and involves a commitment to supporting independence, informed choice, consulting with service users, and offering opportunities to be involved in the running of the Supporting People services. Some of the service user involvement initiatives currently underway are discussed throughout this essay.

Sitra, a registered charity offering policy, training and consultancy for housing with care and support, are a charity who are “working closely with central government and national bodies to ensure that the views and perspectives of the sector, and the vulnerable people that it supports are represented and understood” (Sitra, 2011a, p.1). In their efforts to achieve this, they have introduced the concept of ‘partnership’ working between organisations and service users. Partnership working is aimed at involving and empowering people in improving services and the experience of using them. This actively supports the governments Personalisation Agenda, which places a huge emphasis on the inclusion of service users in the design and delivery of services (Dickinson and Glasby, 2010).

Sitra also run two training courses in client involvement, which are ‘co-produced’ and ‘co-delivered’ by staff and service users. One of the training programmes is entitled ‘Client Engagement: Getting the Thinking Right’ (Sitra 2011b). This course is designed to challenge organisations to find new ways of working that encourage and actively seek to involve service users. A second training program, entitled ‘Client Engagement: Making it a Reality,’ emphasises how the way staff communicate, listen, gather feedback and involve service users has an impact on service user involvement (Sitra, 2011c). Through such training programmes, organisations are provided with ideas and models for service user involvement.

At a local level, Westminster have been involving service users in their support and care arrangements via the Mental Health Service Users Panel (Supporting People, 2007). The panel comprises a group of service users who work with the council in the planning and development of present and future housing projects to meet the needs of local people. Initiatives such as this one directly support the Tenants Services Authority (TSA), which has highlighted service user participation as a key component for Registered Social Landlords (TSA, 2008). Indeed, under the Supporting People Quality Assessment Framework (QAF) housing related support and care providers are now required to place service users at the centre of their strategic plans in efforts to demonstrate quality service provision and achieve level A standard (i.e. evidenced examples where no standards score C). Even to achieve level C (minimum required standard), providers need to demonstrate that they have fully engaged with service users (TSA, 2010).

Another local initiative demonstrating how the Supporting People programme has been working towards service user involvement is NOAH Enterprise (Gill, 2010). NOAH Enterprise is a charity based in Luton (Bedfordshire) designed to help people who are homeless or contending with issues around exclusion. Service user involvement is claimed to be an integral part of the “way of life” at NOAH Enterprise, with examples being that service users are involved in helping in their Welfare Centre or at retail outlets. There is also the opportunity to learn transferable skills in workshops, thus empowering service users towards independence. Every volunteer and service user who helps NOAH Enterprise over a 3-month period receives a certificate of achievement, thus demonstrating the active encouragement of service user involvement.

There are also a number of events that have been organised around client involvement, including a client involvement conference to be held in mid-2011 (Sitra, 2011c). This conference has been co-organised by staff and service users, demonstrating new ways of working together in partnership being put into practice. A similar conference was held in January 2010, which included participation and presentations from both staff and service users.

One problem confronted by the Supporting People programme in their service user involvement efforts has been lack of support from some tenants, especially in sheltered accommodation (Audit Commission, 2009). However, regular audits conducted since the inception of the Supporting People programme have primarily highlights the benefits of these service user involvement initiatives. Such benefits include improvements in tailored support through active service user involvement (Audit commission 2005). The Audit Commission report that the Supporting People approach to service user inclusion and staff and service user partnership has helped move many providers from a more paternalistic approach to one where service users are able to influence services. Furthermore, increased service user involvement was a key feature of those authorities who received higher inspection scores. Such findings are supported by an evaluation conducted by Cameron et al. (2007) that found that integrating services to support people with complex needs is most effective when the service is determined by the characteristics of the service user.

References

Audit Commission., 2009. Supporting People Programme 2005-2009. [online]. Available from: http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Downloads/spprogramme200509acfinalreportclg.pdf [cited 03 April 2011].

Cameron, A., et al., 2007. The challenges of joint working: lessons from the Supporting People health pilot evaluation. International Journal of Integrated Care, 7, 1-9.

Dickinson, H. and Glasby, J., 2010. Third Sector Research Centre Working Paper 30 The personalisation agenda: implications for the third sector. [online]. Available from: http://www.tsrc.ac.uk/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=U8tazrnMZ%2Bs%3D&tabid=500 [cited 03 April 2011].

Gill, S., 2010. Positive outcomes and service user involvement. Bulletin. NOAH Enterprise.

Sitra., 2011a. [online]. Policy and public affairs. [online]. Available from: http://www.sitra.org.uk/policy_and_public_affairs/ [cited 03 April 2011].

Sitra., 2011b. Client engagement: getting the thinking right [online]. Available from: http://www.sitra.org/1230/ [cited 03 April 2011].

Sitra., 2011c. Client involvement in housing support and care: Sharing and learning good practice. [online]. Available from: http://www.sitra.org/client_involvement_conference/ [cited 03 April 2011].

Supporting People, 2007. Supporting people newsletter. [online]. http://www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/Supporting%20People_V6.pdf [cited 03 April 2011].

Supporting People, 2009. The Supporting People Programme. Thirteenth Report of Session 2008-09 Volume I, House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee. London: The Stationery Office Limited.

Tenant Services Authority (TSA), 2010. Quality Assessment Framework (QAF) Regulatory framework for social housing in England from April 2010. [online]. Available from: http://www.tenantservicesauthority.org/server/show/ConWebDoc.20175 [cited 03 April 2011].

Tenant Services Authority (TSA), 2008. Regulatory guidance for registered social landlords. [online]. Available from: http://www.tenantservicesauthority.org/server/show/ConWebDoc.15355 [cited 03 April 2011].

With the continuously growing number of older population in the country and the life expectancy that keeps on increasing, the demand for the elderly care is also equally on the increase. Consequently the government are also putting in effort in order to continue improving the service provided for the elderly care such as the introduction of personalisation into the care service in the government policy in December 2007, when the Putting People First concordat was published. This is the reason why this assignment will be looking into this concept of personalisation in further depth along by looking at the strengths and limitations of implementing it into the social care.

CONTENT

The term personalisation as picked up by the Department of Health and is being used as a term to describe the series of reforms drawn out in the 2007 concordat Putting People First. In its formulations the policies have been set within the following framework of improving access to universal services, the prevention and early intervention, the increase of choice and control by the users and also growing social capital for the care (Department of Health, 2009). In addition to this, personalisation is about giving people more choice and control over their lives in all social care settings. It also means to recognise the user as a person with strengths and preferences and it starts with the user instead of the service (Social Care Institute for Excellence, 2012).

The reasons why personalisation is introduced in social care is because the government is against the ‘one size fits all’ concept in terms of providing care as it has been found to have not met most of the needs of the user especially with the fact that all users are different. The second reason is to finish up the The 1988 Griffiths Report on Community Care in which it advises that social services should become ‘brokers’ to a range of care and support providers. It also proposed that social workers should take on a ‘care management’ role.Thirdly is to combat the McDonaldisation in social care. This McDonaldisation thesis consists of five primary components of efficiency (minimising time in delivering care), calculability (trying to get user to believe that they are getting quality care for lesser money spent), predictability (where the care provided are highly routine and predictable), control (standardised and uniform care provider) and also, culture (as part of the standardised control). Finally, personalisation is implemented due to the convergence of disability movement and also the increasing neo-liberal marketisation. The disability movement as a part of service user movement and the social model of disability have been a really powerful driving forces in lobbying for government reforms. An evidence for this is the Community Care (Direct Payments) Act, 1996 where the direct payments have been made available to the disabled adults of working age in England and have since been extended to other groups (Carr, 2010). The popularity and success has stimulated much of the personalisation around service users and also the development of personal budgets (Glasby and Littlechild, 2009).

In November 2010, A vision for adult social care: capable communities and active citizens document was published, with personal budgets and personalisation, put central along with prevention, health and social care integration and the development of a plural and creative social care market to enable choice forming central aspects of the continuing social care reform. In this document too, it was made clear that personal budget alone does not in itself mean that services are automatically personalised. People should get personal choice and control over their services rather than the inflexible block contracts – from supported housing to personal care (Department of Health 2010). Glasby (2012) explained that the concept of personal budgets is rather than assessing the user’s needs and selecting services from fairly limited menu of options, personal budgets start by placing each individual into a cost band and being up front about the resources available. By knowing how much of money is available for them to spend on their needs then allows them and their circle of support to make decisions about how the money could best be spent (by direct services, direct payments, public services, the independent sector, paying family and friend or any of the combination).

Some of the strengths of using personalisation concept are the user’s outcomes can be improved and at the same time, costs can be reduced as people who control their own budgets are able to find smarter solutions for meeting their needs and can reduce their need for paid support. This is possible because the person is empowered to make the better, right kind of decisions, seize new opportunities and respond more quickly to their own problems. In the old welfare system the government pushes resources into those services that it believes people need. Users can only receive little benefit from these resources because it is unlikely that the services are perfectly tailored to meet their needs and there is no opportunity for the user to mobilise those resources to ‘pull in’ in other resources. However, when someone has a Personal Budget they are able to make quality, efficient use of those resources. Such as rather than paying ?10,000 per year at the day centre and the user will simply have to put up with whatever services offered there that they do not value. Instead, if the user is given a ?10,000 Personal Budget they then can actually spend some of their budget on those particular services they value, e.g. only coming into the centre on the ‘good days’. This process explains why people can get better lives with less money as the money that can be controlled works better with the new found freedom than the money that cannot be controlled (Duffy, 2010).

Other than offering better quality choices and empowering the service user, personalisation also is shown to be consistently cost effective of the public finance as found by Glasby and Littlechild (2002) that direct payments support are on average 30-40 per cent cheaper than the equivalent directly provided services. In addition to this, it was discovered that carers feel the relationship between them and the service user has improved due to them or their relatives being able to access the direct payments (Rethink Mental Illness, 2011). Finlayson (2002) also suggested that this positive relationship between the carer and service user is central to carer’s job motivation and satisfaction as in turn it will increase the quality of care provided. Another advantage of this concept as suggested by Zarb and Nadash (1994) is that the flexibility of the service is enhanced. The service provided is fitted around the user’s time on top of their different needs rather than fitted around the carer’s timetable.

Although according to the findings discussed earlier that expressed the positive outcomes of personalisation, there are few limitations associated into practicing it. The first one is that it is inappropriate to some users especially those who are mentally incapable and the elderly. It is found to be a daunting experience as they are suppose to manage their own financial arrangements directly which will also add extra burden and unwanted stress for them. On top of this, most of service users are also anxious by becoming employers and having to deal with responsibility particularly when they are unwell. This is especially with regard to assistance with the direct payment’s managing of the service user, either by family member, friend or support agency on the user’s behalf. In addition to this issue, the potential problem that could possibly happen regarding the vulnerable user is being exploited and potential for their money to be fraud (Leece and Bornat, 2006). On the other hand, as suggested by Glasby and Littlechild (2009) the local authorities have a key role in making their systems as simple as possible and also proportionate to the risk, along with the availability of independent support (such as peer support and support agency) and the advent of self-directed support to reduce potential hassle from this concept should any problem arise.

Another limitation of this concept is the community care assessments that are carried out sometimes underestimated the needs of user, especially those with mental illness as their needs are subjective (for instance, not so obvious on a good day) and therefore failed to be met. To make matter worse, these assessments are often not person-centred as it lacks of user’s involvement in decision making thus, they tend to be passive recipients and disempowered. This highlights the need of a better person-centred assessment by the professionals involved as the central element in the direct payments is ‘good assessment’. Hence, a better, different kind of relationship needs to be developed between the professional and the users as well as other approach to allocate the community care resources for this particular service user (Leece and Bornat, 2006).

Another problem is direct payments and personal budgets are identified as a threat to the professional expertise of the social workers, as well as the longer hours due to the flexibility needed. It was also suggested that at one critical point, services will not be able to be managed properly as more users are becoming employers thus, changing the ‘balance of the services'(Leece and Bornat, 2006). In contrast, direct payments and personal budgets are able to free social workers up to focus on people who are in greater need of support and thus, reconnect their value base and principles of profession (Glasby and Littlechild, 2009).

Furthermore, the monopoly of market with the increasing choice through the direct payments is seen to be a problem. This will someway force the existing providers to make more effort to be more appealing to the service users in order to avoid of going bust. Additionally the real goals of these providers are often doubted as whether they will put quality care over profit-making (Leece and Bornat, 2006). The argument against this is that with the presence of competition, the providers will struggle to increase their quality of care along with a better value in order to keep up with the other providers.

The strengths of the concept of personalisation as per discussed have found to be outweighed by the limitations that are associated to it. This is also proved to be the case as nearly all users is found to be satisfied with their experiences of using the direct payment as they found it to be more convenient and secure in the research carried out for the Department for Work and Pensions (2004). Out of the total participants, 75% reported to have found no disadvantages when using the direct payment.

CONCLUSION

The concept of personalisation has had a long history on why the government want to put it into practice as a way of reforming the social care particularly in the last few years when the direct payments and personal budgets were introduced. This was proved to be a huge success with majority of the users are extremely satisfied with how it has changed their lives in terms of empowering and giving them better quality of choices. Moreover, it was also found to be cost-effective and thus, able to save large amount of the public fund. However, as this concept was also subjected to few arguments against it, such as it not being able to cater certain types of user, there is also backup plan, support and effort made by the local authorities to minimise this. Moreover, the arguments that it threatens the social workers profession and the market balance are found to be ungrounded. Thus, the benefit of implementing personalisation in social care was found to overshadow the limitations as discussed earlier.

Problem Background

While reading the true story of Reggie Kelsey it appeared that there were many psychological, biological, and social aspects that lead to his final outcome, death by suicide. This paper will focus on the sociological aspect of what led Reggie to decline in society, was simply that Reggie aged out of foster care. Three and a half months after he aged out of foster care Reggie was found dead in Des Moines River. Foster care, though a temporary placement for youths, until they reach eighteen years old was the one conclusive factor that kept Reggie alive. Foster care, a social agency, was involved in providing social services that were to ultimately prepare Reggie for transition into dependency; these transactions should be viewed as a macro systems problem.

Reggie was pushed out into the world without possessing the skills that would have kept him alive because there was a time allotment on how long he could use the services of foster care. Though Reggie had a helping network it was weak, and he lacked several resources that would have kept him from being homeless and from death. Though youths who age out of foster care are seen as regular teens, most of them lack the stability of family, food, and shelter that a normal teenager would have. In stage five of Erikson’s psychosocial development, which involves the transition period from childhood to adolescence where they establish their identity; it is clear that Reggie’s inability to integrate his role into his new environment after aging out, suffered and left him uncertain about his identity. Aging out of foster care when not developmentally ready left Reggie without power, coping skills to adapt, structure, and strict supervision needed for survival, especially for a person with an IQ level that considered him to be mentally delayed.

Literature Review

Imagine one day having a strong, well connected supportive network that kept you living and the next day that system abandons you. According to Atkinson (2008) “approximately 20,000 youth age out of and exit foster care each year,” and the majority of them face challenges because they have been abandoned by the only support system they know (p. 187). Avery and Freundlich (2009) reported that many youth lack social support, economic resources, and independent living skills which cause them to be less inclined to become successful adults. Avery and Freundlich further noted that “foster care support, which provides housing, financial support, and a range of health, education and other needed services, typically ends when youth are developmentally unprepared to assume full adult roles and responsibilities” (p. 248). Youth like Reggie Kelsey who age out foster care because of some type of neglect or abuse are more likely to have problems “forming positive interpersonal relationships, reduced educational attainment, increased delinquent behavior, and engage in high-risk behavior” (Atkinson, 2008, p. 183). They simply find it difficult transitioning from one social environment to another, with significant problems impeding their way to becoming successful adults. When aging out of foster care, youth experience challenges such as homelessness, unemployment, and lack a support system. All the challenges from aging out of foster care generated Reggie’s symptoms that led him to become suicidal.

Atkinson (2008) explained that “maintaining successful housing presents a significant barrier for youths after emancipation from foster care” placing them on an often irreversible path to failure (p. 188). Since Reggie did not have stable housing when he aged out of foster care, he was not under a constant supervision that could have kept him alive. Being homeless is not an ideal situation for any persons, but for adolescents particularly it leads to having identity diffusion, where they suffer from a serious lack of direction and ability to make sound decision. “Chronic stress has been found to negatively impact learning, memory, and executive functioning” (Avery and Freundlich, 2009, p. 251). Homelessness can also viewed as great stressor and coupled with psychological variables are aspects that lead to suicide in adolescence.

Unemployment plagues youths that age out of foster care significantly to where they end up involved in criminal activity, in poverty, or on public assistance. Being unemployed can be a blow to an adolescence ego because they are not able to support themselves they result to criminal activity to take care of themselves, or feel like life is not worth living. Living more independently was the most common living situation for young people who remained in the foster care system after age eighteen years. According to Atkinson (2008) “Close to two-thirds of adults in their twenties receives economic support from their parents” (Atkinson, 2008, p. 193). In the case of Reggie, he had no support financial support from parents, he was on his own, and with little to no employment skills it would shows that the odds were truly stacked against him.

Avery and Freundlich believed “”independent living” is simply not a feasible option for the majority of youth in foster care who lack the social scaffolding of stable family and community networks” (p. 253). Reggie may have had a helping network that worked within the social service system but he lacked the connections that a state based system provides. In the absence of a distinct social network for foster youth aging out of care decisively infer unacceptable subsequent foster care outcomes. Youth that age out of foster care already feel sense of powerlessness, and hopelessness, and as they move towards independence they still need a social environment to fall back on; they can not do it all by themselves especially at eighteen.

Discussion 1- Ethics

Though aging out foster care youths when they are not independently developed violates several NASW codes of ethics, the two that principally led to Reggie’s demise are sections 1.14 and 1.16. In section 1.14 it states “when social workers act on behalf of clients who lack the capacity to make informed decisions, social workers should take reasonable steps to safeguard the interests and rights of those clients”. By aging out Reggie, who was mentally disabled, the foster care system took away his basic right to thrive. The process of aging out foster care youths who are unable to make sound decisions without providing extensive care after is unethical.

In section 1.16 it categorizes when it is acceptable to terminate services for a client. There is one significant factor that correlates to all youth aging out of foster care, and in this factor, b, it states that “social workers should take steps to avoid abandoning services, withdraw only under unusual circumstances, and carefully consider all factors making sure to minimize adverse effects”. With this statement it can be visualized that when deciding to age out a youth there is no consideration taken to counteract any of these factors. The fatal determinant that youth face when aged out is that the youth have to face several adverse factors.

In Reggie’s situation there could be minimal responsibility placed on him resulting in his final outcome, but only if someone was trying to advert attention from their unethical mistakes. In section 1.14 vehemently relates to Reggie and sets aside those minimal mistakes, because as a mentally disabled child he relied heavily on the states decisions to safeguard his life. In the end the state aged Reggie out at eighteen which is not unusual; this is not an age that necessarily attest to the fact that a person is ready for all that accompanies adulthood.

Discussion 2- Practice

A 2007 article in the journal, Child & Adolescent Social Work, examines the practice issues for teenagers aging out of foster care (Scannapieco, Connell-Carrick, & Painter, 2007). The foster youth stated, foster youth and sub-systems involved with foster youth after they age out discussed three very important practice themes that should be addressed. The first theme was to have a youth focused practice; here foster youth thought the change needed was that they wanted to be involved in the decision-making. They expressed how they thought it was disrespectful to them because they were not asked what they thought they were just told; unlike an adult who has the ultimate say in their own lives.

The next theme that youth expressed was a challenge was communication and collaboration. There is a break down in communication when it came to the sub-systems, with missing important information and lack of accurate knowledge about supports and services available. Everyone identified a solution of a need for one individual responsible for facilitating the coordination of planning amongst the sub-systems. The last important theme suggested was the need for more skill building opportunities. The youth focus group felt they were unprepared for independent living and what training they got they were unable to practice them before being aged out. They wanted better understanding of their own health and mental health needs, also advocacy for better educational setting.

Recommendations

There were many different actions the foster care system could have taken to prevent Reggie Kelsey’s outcome. The actions that would have helped Reggie even if they still aged him out would have been intense independent living training, strict follow up meetings with caseworker and a monitor, or buddy-system release could have been incorporated. For an adolescent like Reggie with a mild level of mental disability training is important; there needs to be practice of everyday situations so issues that arise are not uncommon to him. This action helps because if he gets into a situation that he has had training he will know the best option, but depending on the situation he could be overpowered or influenced by another component.

A second action of follow up meetings and a monitor could have helped because the caseworker could have been in tuned to the needs of Reggie. A weekly schedule, then bi-weekly, then monthly, up until he was stable would have been best. Also the monitor anklet, or bracelet would give the caseworker a constant notation of where Reggie was. This the best plan of action for a person like Reggie even though they may feel like they are on probation it keeps them under strict supervision and needs are easily accessed. The last option of a buddy-system where foster youth are age out in pairs is a good option, each person is has a peer to relate and talk with. This would be helpful though the two are in the same boat and neither is a professional, and one may abandon the other.

References
Atkinson, M. (2008). Aging out of foster care: Towards a universal safety net for former foster care youth. Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, 43(1), 183-212. doi: Article.
Avery, R. J., & Freundlich, M. (2009). You’re all grown up now: Termination of foster care support at age 18. Journal of Adolescence, 32(2), 247-257. doi: doi: DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2008.03.009.
Code of Ethics (English and Spanish). (n.d.). . Retrieved November 2, 2009, from http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/code.asp.
Scannapieco, M., Connell-Carrick, K., & Painter, K. (2007). In their own words: challenges facing youth aging out of foster care. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 24(5), 423-435. doi: Article.

Mental health services have previously been heavily dominated by health service attitudes reinforced by medical models of explanation and beliefs, creating a division between the mentally ill and society. The dominance over biochemical approaches to mental health has so far presented little space for the expression of a more holistic alternative, (Tew, 2002).

Literature suggests that mental health services need to move beyond the bio chemical approach, which has created a division between the ‘normal’ and the ‘mentally ill’, by defining their ‘illness’ in terms of their ‘pathology’, (Bainbridge, 1999), into a practice which incorporates social work values underpinned by the social model of mental health.

‘2009 will be a significant year for mental health policy in England.’ (New Vision for Mental Health, 2008)

As the governments 10-year strategy for mental health, the ‘ National Service Framework’, is coming to an end significant policy changes are being made. Amendments which have been made to the Mental Health Act 1983 have radically changed mental health practice with changes in the roles and responsibilities of qualified mental health professionals, including introduction of two new roles: the responsible clinician (RC), formally the registered medical officer, (RMO) and approved mental health professional (AMHP), formally known as the Approved Social Worker (ASW). There has also been increased interest in social models and approaches to mental health, which is being supported through organisations such as, ‘The Social Perspectives Network’ (SPN), a network of people interested in how social factors contribute to people becoming distressed. (SPN, 2009).

With these changes in mind and plans for social care and health services to work together on a more integrated service delivery, the question is- where does this leave the role of social work practice in the future.

This literature review will focus on the changing approaches to mental health practice. Based on the literature provided it will examine why the medical model has dominated mental health practices in the past, and what the social model emphasises, focussing on psycho-social perspectives. It will place a critical perspective on the medical model and aim to show why increased emphasis on the social model may have encouraged a shift in policy and legislation, (amendments to the Mental Health Act 1983). It will also focus on how the social model can influence future social work practice.

‘Social work’s role in relation to psychiatry and the mental health system is particularly uncertain’. (Beresford, 2005).

As interventions within mental health are primarily medical model based, the role of social work within the multi disciplinary led service remains unclear. It has been noted that medical models have been the ‘driving force’, of policy and procedure within mental health. (Carpenter, 2002), and the dominant treatment paradigm in most mental health practices (Beecher, 2009). However in terms of social work, this model is detrimental to services users self worth and consequently conflicts with a number of social work values, (Carpenter, 2002).

The medical model is a perspective that is adopted by doctors and psychiatrists, suggesting that mental illness is rooted in our physiology and is treated as a ‘disease’ or ‘illness’, (Golightly, 2008) and although criticisms exist, it has been favoured by practitioners within the health care system, as a tool for aiding their practice (Boyle et al, 2006). It can be described as

‘The predominant Western approach to illness, the body being a complex mechanism, with illness understood in terms of causation and remediation, in contrast to holistic, and social models’, (Braye, 1992).

It is proposed by psychiatrists that ‘the ‘medical model’ is a process whereby, informed by the best available evidence, doctors advise on, coordinate or deliver interventions for health improvements’. (Shal and Mountain, 2007). This model characteristically seeks to identify the problem by a ‘diagnosis’ then prescribe medication as a form of treatment to ‘eradicate’ or ‘rehabilitate’ the problem, (Kihlstrom, 2002), however critics state that this ‘diagnosis’ results in the service user becoming an illness rather than an individual. (Deegan, 1996).

Supporters of a more holistic approach would argue that the medial model is guilty of being ‘too restricted’ and ‘problem focused’, it also maintains the depersonalisation of the individual with mental ‘illness’, and their families, (McLean, 1990). In addiction it is too simplistic in taking into account the many variables that are in a persons environment (Ashford, et al, 2006), (which may be a cause of their ‘diagnosis’) focusing too often on their symptoms and deficits, not recognising or engaging with the whole environment (Rapp, 1998). It also ignores the individual’s or families experiences, (Barker et al, 2001), which could also have an affect to their behaviour; it is guilty of not seeing the situation holistically. (Beresford, 2005).

Other evidence suggests that social causative factors, such as unemployment, unstable family circumstances, substance misuse and poor education are more likely to explain a persons behaviour rather than any medical diagnosis, (Taylor and Gunn, 1999).

Although it has been noted that the medical model has been the more favourable approach in reinforcing policy and service provision we cannot say that the medical model, on its own, is a sufficient basis to underpin policy and practice in mental health, (Carpenter, 2002). As also argued by Tew, (2002), research which has been based on longitudinal surveys shows that advances in medical treatments have resulted in inconsistent recovery rates-so we cannot say that the medical model is a sufficient tool to base practices on.

This raises the subject of the social model, how does this model differ, what does the model emphasise? The following literature will aim to identify the key principles in answer to these questions.

It has been established that the medical model sees the service user as an individual with a problem, rather than an individual within an environment, which holds causable factors. Literature suggests however that the social model takes a more ecological approach, (Littlejohn, 2004). So what is different about the social model and how can it change perceptions in psychiatry?

According to Ramon (2001) the social model fits well within the holistic approach of social work and is the underlying rationale for mental health social work. Tyrer and Steinberg (2003) express that,

All social models in psychiatry have the same fundamental premise. They regard the wider influence of social forces as more important than other influences as causes or precipitants of mental illness (Tyrer and Steinberg, 2003. p87).

The social model embraces the impact that social causative factors and psychological factors can have on a person’s life. (Duggan, 2002) especially the impact it can have on their health. It considers that individuals suffering from socio-economic disadvantages (such as social exclusion and poverty) can impact their health both physically and mentally, and are more likely to suffer as a result of this.

Duggan (2002) supports the social model and identifies clear key characteristics, which the social model emphasizes. The impact of social factors on individuals who are vulnerable and the importance of maintaining social networks and support systems. Unlike the medical model, the social model considers the inner and the outer worlds of individuals, emphasising empowerment and capacity building at individual and community level and places equal value on the expertise of service users, carers and the general public, (Tew, 2002). Duggan goes further and explains the model in more depth,

‘The model allows practitioners the chance to see mental distress as a reaction to a range of social circumstances (past and present) that may be experienced. In this sense, it may often link with issues of powerlessness and loss’, (Duggan, 2002).

Smith explains his view on the social model as apposed to the medical model and argues,

Behaviours defined as symptoms and disorders are best understood as creative responses to difficult personal and social histories, rooted in a person’s experience of oppression. (Smith, 1999. p.31).

The social model emphasises key characteristics, which can be identified in social work values, those of service user empowerment, self-determination and environment role in personal experience (Carpenter, 2002).

The general orientation of social work values are helpful in attaining a more holistic approach, in that they promote a more user-centred social work practice and combine a commitment to work with individuals and the environment which surrounds them, (Tew, 2002). Therefore the values that are at the heart of social work practice sit more comfortably with what the social model emphasises.

Both the medical and social models have been discussed, highlighting what each model emphasises, the literature has aimed to underline why a shift in policy and legislation may have taken place. The following literature will now look at the implications for social work.

Farone (2006) also argues that social work with its ecological perspective is well suited to address the complexities in mental health practice. So how can social work effectively intervene within mental health services?

In a study published by Rethink, (Martyn, 2002) involving 48 people with a schizophrenic diagnosis (a common mental disorder), they identified themes in support areas which service users perceived as being effective in their situations – access to paid and voluntary work, support with relationships with family and friends, counselling and psychotherapy and education on health living, a similar research also concluded these were important, see Macdonald and Sheldon, (1997).

These support areas embrace solutions beyond those recommended by medical diagnosis alone.

Employment plays a key role in tackling social exclusion (a common social cause of onset mental disorder) it also provides the service user in helping building self-esteem as well as increasing social capital and standard of living. (New Vision for Mental Health, 2008). Loss of employment can consequently have adverse effects potentially creating strain on mental health.

Literature suggests that the family is an important source of support for services users with mental illness, and social work should seek to maximize and sustain this support (Reinaires and Vieta, 2004). The social model does acknowledge that this imperative to any service users mental health as it is a central aspect of social inclusion and plays a critical part in recovery. Social work can in turn help seek and sustain employment (Beresford, 2005).

However as acknowledged by a leading mental health organisation,

‘Employment is an area where people with mental health problems experience extensive discrimination and disadvantage and be a source of damaging stress that causes mental ill health. (Mind, 2009).

This is an important factor which social work can effectively intervene with, to tackle discrimination and support service users through sustaining work placements, to remain included. Social inclusion remains a large factor in maintaining mental health as research suggests the social model can contribute to social workers challenging social exclusion (Tew, 2002). Huxley et al (2003) identified the difficulties services users face in sustaining and preserving social contacts and social networks, especially when suffering from mental disorders.

In addition Corry et al (2004) also found that people with mental health problems who live in more isolated rural areas with limited access to services are likely to find it more difficult to develop and preserve supportive social contacts and networks. Social work role then is support service users in accessing and day centres, and promote relationships between people who use services, encouraging group work, which can lead to challenging marginalisation and discrimination, and in turn educate the user.

A psychological factor underpinned by the social model that is overlooked by the medical model is the importance of family support, without this service the user could be at risk of mental health deterioration. (Huxley et al, 2005). Research suggests that maintaining network relationships between family and services can have significant impact on mental health. It is suggested that a social work role here would be to support the network relationships, (Germain and Gitterman, 1996). However as acknowledged by Jack (2000), relationships can be both supportive and stressful and therefore necessary to examine the nature of the relationships to understand whether they were liable to assist or weaken functioning.

Direct payments, personal budgets and individual budgets are at the centre of the government’s aim of personalising adult social care services around the needs of users. They involve direct cash payments given to service users to purchase care services, which they have been assessed as needing, and are intended to give users greater choice in their care. Direct payments allow the user to employ people or commission services for themselves and take on all the responsibilities of an employer. (Community Care, 2009)

However research conducted by the Health Care Commission (2007) reported that direct payments for people with mental health problems are under-used. Social work role here would be to advocate on behalf of the service user, working in partnership and facilitating empowerment to increase access to direct payments as suggested by Spandler and Vick, (2005) who conducted a study into the usage of Direct Payments.

The subject of social work with a mental health practice is a wide area of discussion. Unfortunately, the coverage of research studies evaluating social work contributions to mental health practice is erratic and many areas of practice remain under-researched.

There remains a gap in the research capturing the perceptions of service users from marginalized groups, in particular views of women with severe mental disorders or those from linguistic minorities. It is important that social work develops a greater understanding within these fields to understand their situations holistically and in turn result in better access to services, which fundamentally underpins the social model of practice. With the growing interest of the social model within mental health to actively ensure the best service delivery these issues of equality and diversity need to be analysed.

There also remained a gap in research of service users with dual diagnosis, with the majority of the research having been undertaken in the United States. It should be stressed that due to medical research overshadowing social research in dual diagnosis and with a growing amount of service users falling within this area, more research is needed from a social care perspective.

There is also the growing concern as the integration of health and social care services evolves in the mental health; social workers role will become even more vague. Social work practitioners feel that their values, based on a social model, will be controlled by health professions values, which in turn will adopt a more medical model perspective. This concern has become more apparent with the replacement of the ASW by the AMHP.

Due to this replacement, and the loss of a professional group, which had a clear identity, the replacement, AMHPs will need support to remain independent and develop a common approach, which underpins the social model of practice. As the AMHP’s could potentially be from a health care background, it is the social workers role to ensure this overlap with other professions, continues to focus on the service user as an ‘individual’, based on the social model of mental disorder, as appose to a ‘anti social’ medical based model.

INTRODUCTION

Social work practice enables disadvantaged people to develop their full potential and enrich their lives. It is complex and challenging profession. Social workers deal with a variety of clients from different ethnicity, age, gender, disability and social inequalities. Use of theories in social work practice gives it a strong knowledge base. They provide a way of thinking and knowing.

In this essay I will discuss the inter-relationship between theory and social work practice and theoretical paradigms in social work. It will then explain how theories shape social work practice and vice versa.

INTER-RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEORY AND PRACTICE

Theories always help to improve the social functioning of individuals by helping social worker and clients to understand conflicting thoughts and feelings. They also help social worker to maintain a focus on interplay between the person and their environment. There are many theories from psychology, biology, sociology and economics that provide strong knowledge base to the social work practice. These theories are related to human development, personality, family system, socialization and organizational functioning. Depending upon specific issue social workers can apply relevant theories to practice.

Theory and practice work alongside each other in social work practice. Theories explain certain behaviours and guides through ways of changing troublesome behaviour. There are many theories that can be used by a social worker in practice. The theory used by social worker in relevant situation should provide social worker with a framework to understand and explain client’s behaviour, generalize client’s problematic areas, identify knowledge gaps and intervene. Theories help social workers to understand individuals and make sense of the situation by having a set of guidelines.

It is important to choose relevant theory as it directly influences on social workers approach to clinical practice. Theories work as lenses for social workers to describe and understand client and their world and facilitate insight to bring positive change (Walsh, 2010).

Clinical social work practice is defined as social work theory and method to resolve and prevent families, individuals, groups focusing on psychosocial challenges. Practice is based on human development theories and focused on inequalities faced by vulnerable clients (Walsh, 2010).

A social worker with a strong theoretical background is able to practice in a distress, relaxed, confident and competent manner. There are many theories that give a variety of interesting.

THEORETICAL PARADIGM

Theoretical paradigm is an image of society based on fundamental assumptions and guides sociological thinking and research. A social worker is a helper or a change agent employed to bring changes for betterment of an individual, families group or communities. They are expected to be knowledgeable and skilled in doing so (Zastrow, 2010). To make any decisions or to take any actions the social worker requires professional knowledge. Social work is practised in relevance to theories and perspective model. Social workers own experiences, personal and professional, values and believes contribute to identifying situations, analysing them using relevant theory and making decisions in practice.

Decision making in social work practice is based on social workers perspective model or theory .Perspective is a broad way of viewing human behaviour in relevance to its interaction with environment, strengths, weakness, values and believes .It is a holistic view of individual’s behaviour . In order to be able to make any decisions they need to identify cause, analyse them to find solutions to the situations and decide.

The Ecosystem perspective has been in practice since 1970s in social work. It recognises the relationship between environment and individual. In social work practice it helps acknowledge the influence of environmental and situational on disadvantage individual families or groups. The strength based practice emphasis on individual’s self-determination. Regardless of individual’s environment they have certain strengths, wisdom and knowledge. This approach is client focused and for a social worker to become aware of them, they need to show client that they are genuinely interested in helping and bringing a change. Social workers belief in clients and their strengths can explore solutions and resources (Poulin, 2009)

Social work practice is identified by two broad theories, Explanatory theory and Interventive theory. Explanatory theory explains factors that shape human behaviours and Interventive theory facilitates changes in human behaviours .Theories provide a generalised idea to understand human behaviours in different circumstance and facilitate change (Lehmann and Coady, 2001).

There are many theories available for social workers to refer to in practice. In certain situations some theories are more applicable and appropriate then others.

Psychodynamic theory views root cause of most problems faced by individual as unpleasant, frightening and painful experience as a child .The goal of this theory is to acknowledge unconscious mind and make it conscious. It helps client’s to interpret and develop an insight to their past influencing their present .Whereas the cognitive behavioural theories views maladaptive behaviours to be learned .Problematic behaviours and thoughts are learned in past and can be changed through positive reinforcement and behavioural-cognitive therapies. Humanistic theory views problematic behaviours as a result of losing their touch with aspects of their experiences. Social worker needs to get these clients to awake themselves to their painful realities and bring new meaning to their life (Lehman and Coady, 2001).

Perspectives, models and theories guide social workers to practice efficiently and bring changes .Theories give direction and purpose to the social work practice.

HOW THEORY SHAPES PRACTICE, AND PRACTICE SHAPES THEORY

Social work aims to improve societal conditions and functioning .They work in a dynamic work environment which is constantly changing and challenging. They need to acquire a framework to understand a context, its complexities and be able to provide solutions (Greene and Greene, 2008).Theories provides objectives to social worker in enabling people to make their social circumstances better. Theory informs day to day practice and help social workers see familiar patterns and regularities in practice. There are many theories that explains human behaviours and factors influencing it differently (Howe,2009). Some theories such as psychodynamic theory views human behaviours as product of unconscious minds experiences in childhood whereas on the other hand behavioural theory disregards notions of unconscious mind and views human behaviour as a collection of actions that brought favourable consequences and were repeated.

A social work theory explains human behaviours objectively but human beings are self-defining as well as socially defined. Theories in social work practice are just like maps suggesting routes to destination but which route is most appropriate and how to get to the destination comes down to social worker and his/her practice skills.

Social workers have ethical and professional responsibility to assist disadvantaged individuals, groups or families in the best way possible. They observe asses, interact and intervene with individuals and their environment. Social worker’s practice wisdom plays an important role in practice along with theoretical knowledge (Teater, 2010).

The wellness model given by Mason Durie views four dimensions that should be considered while working with Maori clients- the spiritual, emotional, physical and extended family dimension. When working with Maori client’s social workers approach should be in relevance to the four dimensions and appropriate theoretical framework is applied (Working with Maori, nd).

Social workers asses evaluate and reflect on their own practice and the use of theories to determine appropriateness and effectiveness of various theories (Teater, 2010). Critical reflection in social work practice helps workers develop self-awareness and evaluate their own practice professional and personally, it facilitates high standard of practice yielding favourable outcomes (Maidment and Egan, 2009).

Social work is practice is based on systematic and evidence based knowledge from researches and by reflecting on one’s own practice.

Different theories inform practice and are developed further and changed depending on practice outcome. Practitioners use a variety of theoretical perspective relevant to clients or practice by blending several theoretical approaches (Maidment and Egan, 2009). Relation between theory and practice is considered to be reflexive .Theories play a significant role in social work practice but at the same time social work practice is not a slave to theory (Maidment and Egan, 2009).Theories shape practise and practice shapes theory.

CONCLUSION:

Social work is a profession that works for betterment of society. It promotes wellbeing by empowering clients, families or groups. They recognise the complexity of interaction and influence on human beings and their environment. It is practiced on knowledge base provided by various psychology theories on human behaviour. Theories provide explanation on certain behaviours and guides on intervention to resolve problematic behaviour. Social workers deal with clients, families or groups from a diverse backgrounds and social inequalities. Their practice is based on generalised framework of understanding human behaviour given by various theories and social work practice models. Social work practice and theories work alongside each other and are inseparable and neither does one dominant other.

REFRENCE LIST

Greene, R., & Greene, R.R. (2008). Human behaviour theory and social work practice (3rd ed.). New Jersey, USA: Transaction publishers

Howe, D. (2009). A brief introduction to social work theory. England, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

Lehmann, P., & Coady, N. (2001.). Theoretical Perspective for direct social work practice. New York, USA: Springer publishing

Maidment, J., & Egan, R. (2009). Practice skills in social work and welfare (2nd ed.). Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin

Poulin, J. (2009.). Strengths based Generalist practice a collaborative approach (3rd ed.). Belmont, USA: Marcus Boggs.

Teater, B. (2010). An introduction to applying social work theories and methods. New York, USA: McGraw Hill

Walsh, J. (2010). Direct social work practice (2nd ed.). Virginia, USA: Marcus Boggs

Working with Maori. (nd). Child youth and family. Retrieved from: http://www.practicecentre.cyf.govt.nz/knowledge-base-practice-frameworks/care-and-protection/resources/working-with-maori.html

Zastrow, C. (2010). The practice of social work a comprehensive worktext (9th ed.). Belmont, USA: Brooks/ Cole.

The aim of this essay is to discuss the role of the social worker addressing social exclusion and discrimination along with the impact it has on individuals, groups and communities. I will also discuss my understanding of anti-oppressive practice and ethical issues within the Welsh context, and the issues social workers will face daily throughout their profession.

To allow a social worker to carry out their roles and responsibilities they will need to understand the meaning of social work itself,

‘Social work is the purposeful and ethical application of personal skills in interpersonal relationships directed towards enhancing the personal and social functioning of an individual, family, group or neighbourhood, which necessarily involves using evidence obtained from practice to help create a social environment conducive to the wellbeing of all’ (Pierson 2010 p494/495).

A social worker needs to have knowledge and multiple skills to carry out their complex roles within society. One of those areas social workers will face within their professional role is social exclusion and discrimination. Social exclusion happens to a minority of people in society and those who suffer from social exclusion have different life experience and opportunities from other people.

‘Pierson (2002,p18) defines social exclusion as a process that deprives individuals and families, groups and neighbourhoods of the resources required for participation in the social, economic and political activity of society as a whole’.

There are many contributing factors that can cause someone to face social exclusion or discrimination, social workers will need have an understanding of people’s life experiences, using a holistic approach, be able to listen, communicate with all service users in an appropriate manner and work in partnership with service users so they do not discriminate. Social workers also need to be mindful that Wales is now a multi-ethnic society and will be challenged with ethical issues and their dilemmas, such as languages, religion and other areas. According to the Welsh statistics 2009 Wales have a population of 2,875,700 of which 29.800 are mixed race, 52,700 are Asian or Asian British, 18.600 are Black or Black British and 22,600 are of other ethnic groups (http://www.statswales.wales.gov.uk/TableViewer/tableView.aspx accessed 26th October 2012).

Those that are most at risk of social exclusion are children, older people, disabled, and unemployed, but the most significant factors are poverty and low income.

‘Those living in poverty are vulnerable in a number of different ways. We know that they are more at risk of poor health and poor educational attainment, have lower skills and aspirations, and are more likely to be low paid, unemployed and welfare-dependent’ (Huw Lewis AM 2010 p2).

Poverty is seen in different approaches, absolute, relative and consensual.

Thornes, P (2007 p77) defines absolute poverty as not having the very basic means to live adequately. Relative poverty as a measurement of poverty based on working out the income needed to attain the accepted standard of living in a society and consensual poverty as whether or not people can afford a series of items which most people, when questioned regards as necessities’.

‘Between 2005-2008 an average of 32% of children in Wales was living in relatively low-income households. There has been a general downward trend, but the two most recent figures show an increase on the previous years’.

Social workers will need to have an understanding of the impacts that social exclusion and discrimination can have upon a service user and their families. For this to happen social workers will need to be able to identify areas that cause social exclusion, be able to investigate and what actions will need to be taken to address it. The Welsh Government have put in place a number of policies, strategies and initiatives to fight against poverty and social exclusion which have impacted on those that live in Wales. These include Child Poverty Strategy for Wales, Flying start, Child tax credits, Winter fuel allowances, plus many more.

‘Over the past ten years in Wales, overall poverty has fallen by three percentage points, compared with two percentage points for the UK as a whole. However, the extent of poverty for all groups in Wales (apart from older people) is slightly higher than for the UK as a whole.’ (Huw Lewis AM, 2010).

Since social exclusion is a process we must be mindful that there could be hidden barriers involved which in turn will affect others areas of their lives, it will be like a domino effect. So in order for social workers to address social exclusion they need to have a holistic view of the service users, and consider any hidden barriers this will enable them to have an overall view of how the service user has lived up to date, what potentially triggered social exclusion and how to redress the situation. To enable good practice the social worker should be working in partnership with the service user where a trusting relationship can be built. Both sides will need to listen and engage with each other so needs can be identified and addressed, whist doing so social workers needs to be empowering the service user and practise in an anti-discriminatory way. Once the needs have been identified the social worker needs to understand how the impacts can affect the service users, their families and their lives. ‘Social welfare practitioners have a key role to play in terms of working directly with children, young people and families to help them improve their circumstances and mitigate the worst excesses of poverty and social exclusion.’ (Williams 2011).

People can become socially excluded and discriminated against through poverty, isolation, lack of life opportunities, lack of education, availability of resources such as health and public transport, employment, living environment, demography, social participation and economic resources. The effects upon a service user and their families can be devastating, it can lead to service users losing their dignity which can then lead to low self-esteem and lack of confidence. People can then feel powerless, and that their voice is not being heard and become disempowered. People who are in poverty are in a cycle of deprivation and once in this cycle find it very hard to get out of because of the domino effect. They may be in poverty due to low income or unemployment. Unemployment is a major risk factor for low income in Wales, that risk rising from 5% for a full-working family to over 60% for a workless one. Even when another adult in the family remains in work, the family’s risk of low income still rises to 25%. (www.jrf.org.uk/publications/monitoring-poverty-wales-2009 accessed 27th October 2012). Children who live within these household will also suffer the impacts of social exclusion and discrimination which have become a great concern for Governments.

‘Research confirms the negative outcomes for children associated with poverty, including poor health, low self-esteem, poor educational achievement and homelessness. Outcomes associated with child poverty are mortality, accidents mental illness, suicide, child abuse, teenage pregnancy, homelessness, low educational attainment, smoking and morbidity’ (Bradshore and Mayhem, 2005).

People who are unemployed also face the stigma of society, being classed as lazy and scroungers, so in turn are being discriminated against. We should be mindful that there are people who are claiming benefits due to ill health, being a lone parent with no social network available, been made redundant or the fact is there simply isn’t any jobs available. Although the Government have implemented initiatives such as Free swimming, free Breakfast Clubs Schemes Free School Lunch (eligibility criteria must be met) in a number of schools, Genesis Wales and Child Poverty Expert Groups. There are people also being excluded due to the area in which they live, especially if in rural areas where the transport is less scarce, health provision is harder to access and resources are less available.

‘Poor public transport networks in rural areas results in higher levels of car ownership. Consequently, poorer households are likely to spend a higher proportion of their income on transport than urban counterparts, and access to private transport remain a problem for many people’. (Williams, 2011).

Older people can become excluded due to isolation which could have a knock on effect to loneliness or health issues such as depression, they may not have family around or been moved into a residential home. Activities such as day centres or community activities may be hard to access or lack of transportation maybe an issue. Low income is rising in older people, despite initiatives such as Winter Fuel Allowances, concessions on TV Licences and public transport and Pension Credit ‘according to figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), 26 per cent of people of pensionable ages in Wales were on low income households in 1996/97 compared to 18 per cent in 2008/09’ (Francis, 2010 p59). Poor housing also causes social exclusion for people in society as its impact can have an impact on someone’s life. ‘living in poor quality housing impacts significantly on quality of life, e.g. by contributing to poor physical and mental health, increasing spent on keeping warm ect’.(Stirling, 2010). Overcrowding, inadequate heating, dampness within the home can also cause health issues for service users. Debt/credit also plays a big part in social exclusion, anyone who is in poverty will be faced with financial problems and again like a domino effect people borrow from one to pay another. And those who borrow are likely to borrow off high interest rate lenders because they have not got a good credit score, which in turn gets them deeper into debt and more difficult to get out of. Those who have a disability also face exclusion and high risk of poverty, they are discriminated against through lack of employment, shops, building, schools and transport still have restricted access,

Part of a social workers role is use an anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory approach when working with service users, this means considering their experiences, who the service users are as a person, such as their gender, if they have a disability, their race, and values. The way we communicate with service users is vital, engaging and working in partnership. We must focus on people’s strengths as well as weaknesses and empower service users to have choices, knowledge and encourage decision making whenever appropriate.

‘The more people become involved in determining their own destiny, the higher will be their self-esteem. They grow in confidence. And when group members learn that knowledge is power, they demand to know, to be kept informed, to be given information’ (Howe, 2009 p149).

To work in an anti-oppressive way we must work in an ethical way, we must respect and value service users whilst ensuring we protect the vulnerable. As social workers we should be treating each service user as an individual with individual personal and social needs working in an empowering way so they can develop their own potentials. Social workers must be open and honest with service users to gain trust and relationships, this will enable both parties to work in partnership. Social workers will come across barriers they must be competent in overcoming, for example, language, we must allow any service user to use their preferred language, and this could be Welsh or any other language. If you cannot speak the language yourself then find an alternative way to communicate such as through a translator. Other barriers may include demography, available resources, religion…………..

From all the above information we can see social exclusion, discrimination and poverty can play a part in many lives of people living in Wales. Even though Welsh Government has implemented policies and initiatives to eradicate these issues, people in Wales are still suffering the effects and impacts

. ‘Despite both the UK and Welsh governments’ commitments to the eradication of child poverty and support for this aim across all political parties and a range of policies and programmes to achieve this goal, statistically, child poverty in Wales remains stubbornly high. In order to meet the Welsh Government’s target or eradicating child poverty by 2020, the rate of child poverty in Wales would have to fall four times as fast over the next 10 years as it has over the last 10 (New Policy Institute, 2011).(Williams, 2010).

Overall I personally don’t think we can eliminate social exclusion and discrimination because whatever Governments gives, they always take back in other areas. Here is just one example, ‘LOW income families in Wales face losing an average ?74 a year in support to pay their council tax bills, a study warned yesterday. Cuts of 10% will be passed on to claimants when the UK Government transfers responsibility for council tax benefit to the Welsh Government from 2013. The support is more widely claimed than any other means-tested benefit with 328,000 recipients in Wales. The move will slash the benefit by more than ?24m across Wales’. (www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2012/06/22/low-income-families-in-wales-face-74-council-tax-benefit-cut-says-report-55578-31235972/ acessed 27th October 2012). I also feel society can play a big part to exclusion, many are still ignorant to diversity and can, directly and indirectly, discriminate certain groups of society.

References

Howe, D. (2009) A Brief Introduction to Social Work Theory, Basingstoke: Palgrave

Lewis, H, (2010) Poverty and Social Exclusion in Wales, Blaenau Gwent, Bevenfoundation

Pierson, J and Thomas, M. (2010) Dictionary of Social Work, Berkshire: Open University Press McGraw-Hill

Walker, H. (2008) Studying for Your Social Degree, Exeter: Learning Matters

Williams, C. (2011) Social Policy for Social Welfare Practice in a Devolved Wales (2e). Birmingham: BASW British Association of Social Workers LTD

(www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2012/06/22/low-income-families-in-wales-face-74-council-tax-benefit-cut-says-report-55578-31235972/ accessed 27th October 2012).

(www.jrf.org.uk/publications/monitoring-poverty-wales-2009 accessed 27th October 2012).

(www.statswales.wales.gov.uk/TableViewer/document.aspx?ReportId=14038#_5._Income_Poverty