Community Resettlement Following Residential Care

Promporn Dokphutsa

Task 1

Explanation of Te Tiriti O Waitangi and its application in the social services

Te Triti O Waitangi was signed on 6th February 1840 at Waitangi. It significant to maintain the benefits of Maori people who living in New Zealand. It is concluded 4 important principles which are partnership, protection, participation and permission. These 4 principles are the basic necessary needs for Maori in term of living and culture. Therefore, while Maori people get engage into any social services, it is responsible for social workers to be aware and make sure that Maori clients have been treated with appropriate services.

Firstly, partnership refers to working together for agreed outcomes. A a social service organisations must ensure providing policies that the needs of Maori are taken into description when cooperating with Maori client and their family/ whanau. By building trust and rapport with Maori clients and their family/ whanau is the first thing to consider introducing yourself and getting to know more detail of clients by making friendship. As well as involve clients in every processes of care plan such as let them sign the contract to ensure health & safety support and fully inform need to be used.

Secondly, protection focuses on client’s privacy and safety. The social workers may following the Code of Rights and Code of Conducts to maintain client’s confidentiality while attending social service. As well as respect the right of Maori to enjoy their taonga in social service settings. To be able to make important decisions those are in their best interests.

Thirdly, participation is focused on service accessibility for Maori to make sure that their needs are met by asking or allowing them to participate in their care plan until discharge from residential care. Also family/ whanau engagement at all levels of service is another way to practice participation principle.

Lastly, permission is important for social workers to be considered while engaging to social service. Maori clients must be free to speak Te Reo Maori and participate in any Maori spiritual or culture practices.

To sum up, 4 principles of Te Tiriti O Waitangi are using to maintain and promote Maori’s physical and mental well-being and safety. Therefore, social workers have to provide as much as possible resources for Maori clients to make sure they needs are met and bi-cultural perspective by following Te Tiriti.

Task 2

Manage the intake process of a person discharged from residential care.

Context setting

Residential support to Adult(18-65yrs) with an intellectual disability

Individual

Group

Summary of reason residential care was required

SH

Adult (23)

A Maori lady is being discharged from a residential care after she has completed to 6 months stay. SH had diagnosed with Perthes Syndrome (Childhood disease of hip joint) since she was born. But when she is growing up she started showing challenging behaviour included physical and verbal aggression such as throwing, hitting, kicking, spitting, swearing and pinching. Therefore, her family/ whanau suggested transferring her to stay in the residential care facility to develop social skills and to be independent in her environment.

Contribution to managing intake process

Date

Notes/ key of information provided to the person

01/03/14

Receiving and collecting information of SH.

Receiving and recording referrals for a meeting.

Contacted SH family/ whanau and other key people and gave them access to the information for the meeting.

02/03/14

Service co-ordinator, house leader, CSW, Mother, GP, caregiver and healthcare professional have a meeting regarding to the improvement of SH.

03/03/14

All parties were agreeable that SH is ready to go back to the community.

Summary of information provided to the person regarding the role, function, services and legal responsibilities of the social worker and social service provider.

The intake process helps to identify and assess a client’s current situation, issues and needs as well as to determine the most appropriate and effective means of helping the client. Social workers and social service provider have to concern about client’s safety and wellbeing first before making any decisions during the process of discharged. Therefore, gathering data (qualitative e.g. interview/ quantitative e.g. number) to get personal information of client is necessary. It could come from the client, family’ whanau, friends, health care professional or other keys people who relevant to the care plan. Also physical and mental wellness of client is important to make sure the client is ready to go back to the community independently. Intake and Assessment is a reverential, organized process of gathering personal information of either clients or clients’ caregivers in order to facilitate service providers as well as clients to make informed decisions about the provision of the programme and/ or services. Social service organisation should make sure that they have progress their own timeline for intake and assessment that suits their programmes which lead in safe environment and suitable for the client/client’s caregiver.

Notes/ key points of how you completed intake procedures according to the discharge plan, legislation, ethical practice and in accordance with your workplace standards/ requirements.
Roles and responsibilities
As a social worker will need to create suitable and focused on working together with clients, taking into account individual differences and the cultural and social context of the client’s situation such as understands the concepts of culture, class, race, ethnicity, spirituality, sex, age and disability.
Allow client to participate in the processes by motivates and encourages participation.
Assists clients to gain their self-determination over their own environments. Provides choices for the client, gives accurate information by which the client can best decide.
In working with clients, the social worker uses her/his personal characteristics appropriately. May attends supervision to develop best practice.
Written policy and procedure
Admission criteria.
Intake and Assessment procedures.
Documents to be completed and retained.
Procedures to follow when a client cannot be assisted /referring on.
Information to be provided to clients.
Legislation relevant to the organisation.
Others notes/ reflections on the intake process.

Client’s safety and wellbeing must be the first consideration of the social service provider before completed intake procedures according to the discharge plan.

Task 3

Contributions to assisting the person to manage the transition from residence to the community

Date

Notes/ key points of any meeting or other communication details of actions related to assisting the person.

05/03/14

SH’s family/ whanau was consulted about the discharge from residential care facility.

06/03/14

Discuss with SH about her interests and goals.

08/03/14

Support SH in term of decision-making in her interests and being independence.

How did the assistance you provided encourage self-determination and discourage dependency on the social service worker or social service provider?

Respect the right of clients to self-determination and assist clients in their efforts to identify and clarify their goals. As well as giving an opportunity for clients to request and ask for their interests or needs, but always have to be considered about safety and wellbeing of client and people around. Social workers should use clear and fully inform clients of the purpose of the services, risks, limits to services, relevant costs, reasonable alternatives, clients’ right to refuse or withdraw consent, and the time frame covered by the agreement. Then, social service worker or social service provider has to be responsible to follow and review of client’s self-improvement after discharge from the residential care.

What people did liaise with in the community and how did this assist parties to the plan to contribute to the person’s resettlement?

Disability service agency is responsible to provide resources that suitable to the clients by following client’s needs and requests. Also assisting connects the client with plans and resources in order to help them cope. However, relevant factors may include client’s abilities, her resources, her needs, client’s goals, and identify what is important to the client, also any risk factors.

What resources did you manage, and what arrangements needed to be made for the transition from residence to community?

-Safety is the most important and first consideration for the social service provider to be aware and ensure client’s physical and mental is safe.

-As a social service provider has to be aware of “client’s cultural needs” to practice as a Maori. As well as promoting spiritual practice to maintain client’s customs and beliefs. Additional, cultural assistance should be provided to avoid of cultural conflicts.

-Disability needs of client is another factor to be considered. To ensure client is living in safety and friendly environment with her disability. And maintain physical comfort in her daily routine.

-Health needs for client may assist by regular visited of health care professionals and assist her with medication needs.

-Language and communication should be clear and understandable to client and her family/ whanau. Additional, interpreter may provide if needed.

Other notes/ reflections on the transition to community

As a social service provider makes sure the client is living in safe environment and surrounding with positive people and activities. Therefore, it may help client to improve her social skills and being independence in community.

Task 4

Assist the person to resettle in the community following residential care

Date

Notes/ key points of any meetings or other communication details of actions related to the person

09/03/14

Provide choices and opportunities for SH in term of her interests.

10/03/14

Allow SH to make her decisions by ensure respectful and confidentiality.

11/03/14

Fully inform to SH family/ whanau regarding to her decisions. Then discuss how to provide service and make her needs to be met.

How did you encourage self-determination and discourage dependency on the social service worker or social service provider?

Encouraging self-determination:

-Outlined agency’s objectives and appropriate legislations, backing up agency orders/kaupapa.

Provided information and fully informed SH of the limitations and possibility of the meeting, and allowed her to define the best options and which issues I could help her with.

Discouraging dependency on social services:

-Allow SH to express her possible solutions and choose her own best options.

-Where possible the agency would step away, so that SH could step up.

-Allowed SH to figure out so called “emergencies”.

How did you assist the person to identify requirements for life in the community, i.e. set aims and objectives?

Organised first meeting to provide intake assessment and referral accepted.

Then second meeting had set up to interview with SH to discuss her particular needs at this point in time. Ensure effective communication is being used and document her needs and prioritise what need to be done first into an action plan.

Lastly, arrange the key persons who would be responsible to action each of the itemised needs.

How did you assist the person to evaluate their participation in the community against their aims and objectives?

Identify progress against plan and review. Then asked scaling questions as to where SH felt she was in agreement to her hopes and her interests.

How did you assist the person to establish a community lifestyle that focused on both their safety and the safety of others?

-We established community supports before her transition such as 24/7 emergencies call if need any help.

-Educate basic skills to her family/whanau how to deal with her aggressive behaviour while she is living in the community.

-We discussed goals that will motivate her to gain her social skills and make more friends.

What progress against the discharge plan was achieved?

Her mental health status was unstable, according to the Epilepsy. Therefore, her seizures are managed by medications and need to be observed by health care professionals at all time if possible.

What further options (if any) were identified?

It is important to note that staffs have to be familiar and consistent with client when giving her social services to avoid of challenging behaviour and accident that may happen.

Other notes/ reflections on the re-setting of the person

Avoid confrontations with client and do not say “NO” to her. Do not say “Don’t do that” try to say “First you do… (Something she may not like to do), Then you can do… (Something she like to do)”.

Task 5

Application of social service theory

Maori Model of Practice

-Maori model of practice within utilised social work practise research and validated to provide best practise.

-Maori models of practise have holistic approach

-Wellness of whakapapa focus opposed to individual focus.

For example -Te whare Tapa Wha (four cornerstones of Maori health) including:

i.)Taha tinana (physical health): healthy eating, sleep, physical activities, safety awareness and proper hygine.

ii.)Taha wairua (spiritual health): beliefs, culture religion.

iii.)Taha hinengaro (mental health): positive thinking, positive behaviour and healthy lifestyle.

iv.)Taha whanau (family health): emotional support, financial and responsibilities.

Social work knowledge, skills and values (Te Kaiawhina Ahumahi 2000) was a useful resource for the social workers to be used as a guideline to work in appropriate way and proper practice while giving services to the clients.
Social policy theory involves the study of the social relations necessary to promote human wellbeing and things that affect the kinds of life. It can be love and safety, a job and money.

References:

http://www.polity.co.uk/shortintroductions/samples/dean-sample.pdf
http://workplacewellbeing.org.nz/mana-mahi-resource/workplace-wellbeing-guide-6-working-with-te-tiriti-o-waitangi/
http://www.hdc.org.nz/education/presentations/the-health-and-disability-commissioner-act-and-the-code-of-rights-and-methadone-treatment

Community Needs And Services Social Work Essay

Early motherhood has been an issue in the U.K. for a while now and data from the Social Exclusion Unit (1999a) explained by Chase et al.(2009) shows that the UK has one of the highest numbers of young mums in Europe.

A group of students including myself carried out a research to find out whether the needs of young mothers in one of the boroughs in London are being met and whether their needs fit into the different approaches surrounding the concept of need.

In this essay I will be describing the rationale and the nature of the research carried out by our group. I will evaluate the strengths and limitations of our research including methodological and ethical issues.

I will be discussing different approaches in literature to defining the concept of need and then relating our findings to the concept. Finally I will consider the implications of our research for social work policy or practice then I will conclude.

The rationale behind the decision to explore this question was that the issue of young parenthood is relevant to the field of social work. This is because the young mums sometimes encounter difficulties which make them fall back on the social services for support. According to Chase et al(2009) the young mothers seem to have the notion that instead of receiving the necessary support that they require, the Social Services rather intrude upon, regulate and scrutinise their lives.

We therefore wanted to find out what the professionals in the field and the young mums identified as their needs, what kind of support was available to them and if there were any gaps in the services provided for young mothers. We also wanted to know what enables or prevents them from getting the kind of support they need.

Furthermore tackling teenage pregnancy has also been on the government’s agenda for a long time and we wanted to know whether the strategies put in place to tackle it were working.

We wanted to broaden our awareness and knowledge base because most of us had limited personal and professional knowledge in this area.

We wanted to explore issues surrounding social exclusion, discrimination and oppression issues and see if we could come up with any recommendations for practice.

We chose the southeastern area because it made it easy to for us to access resources like the service provider, service user group and previous research material.

Our group brainstormed and came up with young mothers as a topic. We developed this into a question as to whether their needs were being met then we worked out a plan with various deadlines to accomplish different tasks.

We asked for ethical approval from the Goldsmiths ethics committee, in which with reference to the ESRC Research Ethics Framework and the NASW code of ethics we stated our independence and impartiality.

We addressed non malevolence by assuring them of their safety and asking them to bring someone along with them if they felt they needed support. We also addressed how we were going to tackle issues regarding voluntary participation, informed consent and the integrity and quality of the research. We also addressed ethical data management and confidentiality of research participants. We also wrote out a consent form which addressed our objectives and consequences of participation.

We chose a qualitative approach explained by Whittaker (2009) as a method which seeks to explore ways in which individuals understand their worlds. This was because we needed a deeper understanding of the issues affecting the young mothers and the reasons behind why and how they felt disadvantaged.

We also used a quantitative approach when comparing previous statistics on young mothers. This is what Whittaker (2009) explains as a method which tends to emphasise quantification and measurement to establish relationship between variables.

Our research was a Participatory action research which Alston and Bowles (1998) explain in Whittaker (2009) as a form of research that is committed to the involvement of those affected most. We also undertook a literature review where we looked at journals, books, official and legal publications which were relevant to young mothers.

To recruit the professionals, we used purposeful sampling which Whittaker (2009) explains as a method where one chooses participants who are likely to yield useful information based on their knowledge, experience or role.

To select our young mums we used snowball sampling which Whittaker (2009) explains as a situation where a small number of participants (which in our case were the professionals) are asked to recommend other suitable people who would be willing to participate.

We used semi structured interviews where we had an interview schedule with flexibility during the interview. The main components of the interview with the professionals were job roles, services offered to young mothers, views about funding due to change in government, needs of young mums, hindrances and gaps in service.

The main components of the interview with the young mothers were access to services, education and employment, community and service user involvement.

In analysing our data we used thematic analysis which Whittaker (2009) explains as a method for identifying, analysing and reporting patterns (themes) within a set of data.

In all we interviewed 14 women who became young mothers at ages ranging from 14 to 21 years and 4 professionals.

The strength of our Participatory action research method as Whittaker (2009) explains, shows that the method challenged the traditional power imbalance which would have made us look like experts and the young mothers passive subjects. This method was helpful because it was highly compatible with anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice.

Due to the limited time that we had, this method was the most suitable way of gaining a lot of information in a short period of time as compared to observational methods.

The qualitative approach also allowed us to bring our backgrounds and our identities into our research. This is explained by Maxwell (1996) in Whittaker (2009) through the concept of reflexivity, which acknowledges that we bring our thoughts, values and beliefs to our research. This was helpful because being a mother myself I could identify with what some of the young mothers were saying.

The interviews were helpful because as Whitaker (2009) explains, interviews are good at examining complex issues and enable participants to discuss sensitive issues in the open without committing themselves in writing. This brought out complex and rich data which drew upon the feelings of the teenage mums.

We recorded the interviews and this helped us to give the young mothers our full attention rather than dividing it between writing and listening.

We had some limitations in the form of the transcripts of the interviews which were time consuming and the data very complex to analyse. Due to the number of young mums we interviewed the findings could not be generalised.

The presence of some of the professionals during our interview was a limitation because the young mums could not really express their honest opinions.

Our sample was chosen for us therefore we could only speak to participants thought to be suitable by the service provider. Opinions from the focus group could also be limited to those with the strongest opinions or the loudest voices. Our research also lacked the opinions of young mothers who did not use the service providers we used.

To fit the answers we got from our findings in to the concept of need is complex because one cannot come up with universal definitions that would fit different notions on need.

A number of key theorists have come up with different approaches on the concept of need. Abraham Maslow pointed out in Hartley (2010) a hierarchy of needs with the ultimate goal being the need for self actualisation. According to Maslow the first stage was to satisfy what he called physiological needs which included food, shelter, clothing and sleep.

The next stage was to satisfy safety needs which included security, stability, dependency, protection, freedom from fear, anger and chaos.

Maslow identified the next stage which is to satisfy belonging needs. These include giving and receiving affection and love, contact, intimacy and belongingness. After this stage comes esteem needs which include a stable and high evaluation of self which can be achieved through strength, achievement, mastery, competence, confidence, independence and freedom. Under esteem needs Maslow still put prestige (esteem from others), status, fame, attention, recognition, importance and appreciation.

The final stage on his hierarchy is what Maslow called the self actualisation stage where. Maslow emphasises the essential goodness, wholeness and potentials of humans.

Sheppard (2006) criticises Maslow by pointing out that his theories do not consider that people can consciously take decisions without following the hierarchy.

Midgely (1984) in Sheppard (2006) also criticises Maslow’s theory by saying that the theory hardly covers situations where choice is unavoidable. The pursuit of one goal leads to the abandonment of another. For instance a single mum would love to nurture her baby but has to work and pay bills instead. She fulfils esteem needs which include independence and freedom but forgoes the previous stage of satisfying belonging needs which include giving and receiving affection.

Another approach from Doyal and Gough (1991) also explain that all human beings have needs which are objective and universal. These needs can be said to be goals which humans need to achieve to avoid serious harm. Serious harm is being fundamentally handicapped in the pursuit of one’s vision of the good.

Doyal and Gough (1991) grouped these needs into basic needs and intermediate needs where basic needs are a necessity for successful social participation in a society in which a person lives.

Under basic needs they emphasised physical health and autonomy because physical health is central to the capacity for people to direct their lives and carry out decisions.

Doyal and Gough (1991) explain that autonomy is necessary in order for people to be self directing because one aspect of autonomy is freedom from hindrance or constraints. Therefore one is unable to act under ones own direction if there are constraints. Hence autonomy is not possible when mental health, cognitive skills and opportunities to engage in social participation are missing.

Having explained basic needs, Doyal and Gough (1991) went on to explain that intermediate needs defined how the basic needs can be fulfilled. These included adequate nutritional food and water, adequate protective housing, a safe environment for working, a safe physical environment and appropriate health care. Further included were the need for security in childhood, significant primary relationship with others, physical and economic security, safe birth control and child bearing, appropriate basic and cross cultural education. Therefore to be able to satisfy basic needs one needs a range of satisfiers (intermediate needs) which will be culturally specific.

Robinson and Elkan (1996) explain that the theory underpins theories which emphasise the importance of citizenship and ability to participate within the community.

In the limitations, Doyal and Gough point out in Robinson and Elkan (1996) that the theory does not account for what standard of need satisfaction should be set in order to be able to calculate shortfalls in the actual level of need achieved.

According to them a solution to this, is to set a basic minimum standards such as a poverty line of need, below which people are prevented from participating within the society.

Another limitation which Robinson and Elkan (1996) point out is the problem of who to decide whether or not a given policy is meeting basic or intermediate need.

Another approach from Bradshaw in Hardy (1981) identified four separate definitions. There is normative need which is explained by Hartley (2010) as needs which are determined by expert judgement of policy makers or professionals. The limitation to this approach, as explained by Hothersall and Maas-Lowit (2010) is that there may be different conflicting standards which could contradict how need is identified.

Bradshaw also identified felt need which Hartley (2010) explained as need which is subjectively experienced by an individual or inter subjectively experienced by a group; it is what people feel they want.

Hothersall and Maas-Lowit (2010) point out that there is a danger that peoples’ answers are influenced by what they already know about a service.

Bradshaw went on further to identify expressed need which Hartley (2010) explained as felt need turned into action for instance demanding a service. Hothersall and Maas-Lowit (2010) explains that the theory does not take into account the fact that people may be ignorant or unwilling to ask for a service.

Bradshaw identified comparative need in which people compare what they have to what other people have which is measured by studying the characteristics of those receiving the service or service evaluation.

Hothersall and Maas-Lowit (2010) point out that the theory fails to take account of the variety of ways in which needs might be different, since it makes no attempt to compare different areas.

From the perspectives of the young mothers we interviewed, they identified housing as a need because some of them had been granted temporary accommodation because they were unemployed. Comparatively it was better for them to stay unemployed since wages from unskilled labour was not enough to cover their rent so they are stuck.

Maslow identified housing as a need which needed to be satisfied before other needs can follow. Housing and economic security are also explained by Doyal and Gough (1991) as intermediate needs which have to be fulfilled for basic needs to be met. This is also hindering them from attaining their goals. Doyal and Gough may call this serious harm.

Going by Bradshaw’s concept, the normative judgment of the professionals we interviewed explained that housing was a need but they could only account for housing needs which have been expressed. Many of these young mums lack life skills to be able to express this need to the appropriate agency.

Lack of appropriate childcare was another expressed need according to the young mothers because most of the child minders were not willing to make the hours more flexible. This was preventing them from going back to college or seeking employment.

This according to Doyal and Gough produces serious harm because they are fundamentally disabled in the pursuit of their goals.

There was one service user’s perspective I found intriguing. She got employment which fits into the esteem needs on Maslow’s hierarchy (independence from welfare and freedom from poverty). According to the normative judgment of the professionals because she is working now, she has no need for benefits. She has rent arrears for six weeks, her wages are way below minimum wage and child care hours are not flexible preventing her from working more to fill the gap. She wants to quit because from her perspective she used to earn more on benefits therefore she is better off unemployed. Then again economic security is an intermediate need which Doyal and Gough explain as necessary to be able to satisfy basic needs. Further more she is fundamentally disabled in achieving her goal. This according to Doyal and Gough would produce serious harm.

I do not think that all the recent policies and programmes provide simple and straightforward solutions to all the circumstances which the young mothers face.

In 1999 The National Teenage Pregnancy Strategy was launched in England. The strategy aimed to improve the health of the nation, increase education, employment opportunities and to tackle social exclusion by preventing unwanted pregnancies. It also aimed at assisting and supporting young parents back into education employment or training.

Chase et. al (2009) explains that this goal was to be achieved through a national campaign with clear and improved messages about sex and pregnancy. There was to be greater assistance for young parents through the provision of support services like housing, child care supervision and housing.

Furthermore some of the key elements of Every Child Matters agenda included young people to enjoy make a positive contribution and enjoy economic well being.

The strategy does not seem to be achieving its full potential because most of the young mothers and professionals I interviewed have expressed accommodation, housing and childcare as a need which is preventing them to make a positive contribution and enjoy economic well being.

Therefore policy recommendations will be related to those family friendly policies that are specific to the individual housing and childcare needs of teenagers, in order to enable them to maximise their full potential and parent successfully.

In pointing out issues surrounding stigma, some service users recounted how they are looked down upon and treated unfairly because they are young mums.

As to whether young motherhood should be viewed negatively, depends on the comparison between the life of a young mother prior to childbirth and whether her opportunities in life became limited after that. For some it helped them to settle down and become more focused than was possible owing to their previously chaotic lifestyle.

There is provision in Government strategies like Youth Matters, Young people and maternity services, which addresses sex and relationship education, access to contraceptives and guidance on benefits.

This addresses part of the issue but does not address issues like experiences of abuse and neglect, feeling unloved and rejected and a sense of belonging to a family which make the prospects of being a young mum more inviting.

My recommendations would be for policies that would tackle emotional difficulties of teenagers on an individual basis and encourage acceptance of teenage mums in the community.

With recommendations to practice, Parton 1994a and Walker 2001 point out in Sherpard( 2006) that there has been a shift from an emphasis in response to need to a response to risk. Therefore for social workers to be able to identify need they must be able to recognise it and use their statutory powers creatively.

In my experience with service users I realise that I have overlooked some needs based on assumptions or simply because I did not get the message.

Therefore Walker (2007) urges social workers to listen actively, engage appropriately and understand accurately the view points of service users. We must also overcome personal prejudices to be able to respond appropriately to a range of complex personal and interpersonal situations.

In my opinion if inter agency work is encouraged, there are new opportunities for professionals to listen and learn from the young mothers. This will steer working with the mothers into a direction which is likely to keep them engaged and able to benefit from available services. Social workers can in this way build on their own strengths and develop further the good work currently going on.

At the end of this essay, I have written about at the rationale to explore the needs of young mothers as a topic due to its relevance to Social work. I have also written about what motivated us and our reasons for our choices.

I have also written of our ethical considerations and our methodology. I have explained why the qualitative research method was suitable for our research.

I have evaluated the strengths explaining that the Participatory action method was highly compatible with anti-discriminatory and anti oppressive practice. Furthermore the concept of reflexivity which is a component of qualitative research made it possible for us to locate ourselves in our research.

I have looked at the limitations of our research which included inability to express honest views due to the presence of professionals during the interview and our inability to generalize findings.

I have looked at different approaches from Maslow, Bradshaw, Doyal and Gough in defining the concept of need and their limitations.

I have also looked at the service users need for housing, child care, finance and other needs and related it to the different concepts of need.

I have also written about some recommendations for policy and practice which if properly resourced would emphasize the good work currently going on.

Community Empowerment Can Genuinely Benefit The Community Social Work Essay

In society, some groups are more vulnerable than others – the poor, the disabled, battered women, etc. NGOs working at the grassroots levels are best suited to deal with the vulnerable groups. However, NGOs and the Government can join hands to find the most suitable strategies to use, to empower those who are potentially weak in the social structure. The Government of Mauritius has put in place an NGO Trust fund to help these people to lead a decent life.

Community empowerment can genuinely benefit the community. However, along the way community organisations encounter several obstacles which hamper the empowerment process. This called for a review of the community empowerment strategies.

Most of the limitations of empowerment strategies occurred due to the lack of training in leadership development and lack of capacity building skills. On the other hand, NGOs were found to be limited in their actions due to the lack of resources and dependence on the Government. Moreover, the Government sometimes attributes more importance to the needs of stakeholders, rather than the needs of the community – thus failing the whole purpose of community empowerment.

So, to increase community involvement, organisations have altered their way of doing things. Some examples are : strengthening relationships with the community by developing a deep understanding of community issues, undergoing training, implementing creative strategies to encourage participation, among others.

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What is community empowerment?

‘Community empowerment is the local government’s core business’ (cdz & changes, 2008).

Community empowerment enables people to play an active role in the decisions that affect their environment (cdx & changes, 2008). According to Rappaport (1987), empowerment is meant to enhance the possibilities for people to control their own lives. Cochran (1986) believes that people understand their own needs far better than anyone else and as a result should have the power both to define and act upon them (John at al, 1993).

Community empowerment refers to the process of aiding communities to gain control over their lives. Communities consist of groups of people sharing common interests, concerns or identities. Through empowerment, people are able to control the factors and decisions that define their lives. By increasing their assets and building their capacities, they can therefore broaden their networks. People cannot be empowered by others as such, but by themselves (WHO, 2012)

Community empowerment encompasses involvement, participation and commitment to the society. It is only possible when people feel a sense of belonging to the community and it aims mostly at social and political changes. In another words, community empowerment is a way of re-negotiating power to achieve more self-control (WHO, 2012).

Community empowerment covers the social, cultural, political and economic aspects of society. With the advent of globalisation, actions at the local level heavily impacts actions at the global level. This is why partnerships are required to finding collective solutions (WHO, 2012).

Communication is the key to successful community empowerment. It helps to raise awareness and increase knowledge of the people to encourage discussions and debates, so that people gain insight on the controlling forces acting upon their lives and initiate their own decision making process (WHO, 2012).

Empowering communities also includes empowering the individual. Empowerment at the individual level starts with defined needs and aspirations and focuses on available resources.

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It is the process of taking control, which eventually leads to fulfilling one’s potential. It comprises of certain factors; self-reliance, participation in decision making, dignity and respect, belonging and contributing to the community. The empowerment of communities involves a higher degree of individual empowerment, a strong sense of belonging to the community, participation in political activities, leadership in decision making and access to resources (WHO, 2010).

The community empowerment process is very complex and requires understanding and commitment from the part of all stakeholders. Community empowerment progresses gradually. Therefore it requires constant learning and consistent building of a community’s capacity (Donnelley, 2009)

2.1 How to empower a community?

In order to empower a community, that is to involve groups of people in engagement activities, it may be necessary to develop a campaign. However, we should bear in mind that a campaign based on other motivational grounds besides community welfare, fails the whole purpose of community empowerment. Community engagement involves the active participation of individuals and community representatives in all aspects of the campaign. It is very important for the community to be active participants, instead of passive ones (Kirklees Partnership Involving Communities Framework, n.d).

Empowering people is not an easy task. Individuals often do not have the time, energy, resources, expertise to develop and implement such campaigns. Community engagement demands certain criteria, namely resources to enable empowerment – such as political and legal rights, funding and the social capacity to create mobilisation networks, opportunities – such as those provided by institutional arrangements and finally motivations for people to exert their rights (Paul, 2010).

Social workers, both voluntary and professional, are assets to the success of these campaigns. Since human nature is complex, the staff leading the campaigns should let go of aspects that

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may threaten the purpose of the campaign. Instead volunteers, community organisations and partner agencies should participate in the design and implementation process. Here empowering social workers might be another important aspect of community empowerment (Kirklees Partnership Involving Communities Framework, n.d).

The Government should include the community at all stages of development projects to increase community engagement and community participation. Capacity building – strengthening skills, potential and abilities of people in developing societies so that they can step out of their misery, and community participation – actively engaged in designing, implementing and evaluating strategies to address a particular problem are essential to community empowerment (Debra, 2002).

Both NGOs and the Government understand the need for community empowerment in Mauritius. Here are some examples of how the community is empowered:

The Government has proposed to introduce a Community Empowerment Programme (CEP) with the objective of facilitating the community to make use of ICT to fully participate in the socio-economic development of the country.

The CEP in line with the Government encourages the development of local content and creativity.

The purpose of this initiative is to democratize access to information, provide comprehensive information about the country, namely its economic and social structure and stimulate the development and production of local content on the internet.

This will enable Mauritians to use the internet more effectively and find solutions to the challenges in the community. It will provide a common platform for sharing local knowledge, a marketplace for project proposals, and discussion forums. People will also formulate and implement their own development projects by collaborating with other stakeholders (NCB, n.d).

Another example would be the Work done by the Bel Ombre Foundation for Empowerment, which was founded in 2008. Their vision is to create an enabling

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environment where each individual can realize his potential. This organisation aims at empowering the inhabitants of Bel Ombre to catch the development pace by investing in training, entrepreneurship and social integration. Ongoing projects include adult literacy programmes, supporting the local artisans and the fight against poverty (Bel Ombre Foundation for Empowerment, n.d).

People should feel free to act upon their own ideas for the benefit of the community, so that they can be more creative and productive in their endeavours. For instance educating people

is one initiative of community empowerment, which can be understood as aiding the individual to better understand his/her needs as well as society’s needs, and find proactive measures to the challenges that society faces, without controlling the latter. At the same time, they feel a sense of belonging to the community.

2.2 Whom to empower?

It is true that we are all part of society, and that we have needs, but there are other people who are in precarious situations and need a boost. However, it does not mean that they deserve better treatment than the common man. They should just be given a hand. For example; poor people, battered women, minority groups, the disabled and so on.

Empowerment is also about sensitizing people who are in vulnerable positions or who are potentially weak in the social structure. As mentioned earlier, community empowerment sometimes necessitates campaigns to reach the target audience. However, there are sensitive issues that touch a large group of people and are not often discussed openly. E.g. Battered women.

Hence, both the Government and NGOs focus on preventive measures. Due to the division of labour and stereotypes, women often occupy an inferior position in society and are victims of injustices by man. So, one initiative of the Government was to empower women.

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Empower women

According to reports from all over the world, women constitute a majority among activists in the community and a minority in leadership in the community (Sadan, 1997).

The Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare insists on the reinforcement of capacity building of women, which can be achieved through education and training. The Government also provides the necessary support for women to launch businesses (Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare, 2010).

The Ministry has organised workshops for women under the National Women Entrepreneur Council to enable them to develop their managerial skills and provide support to potential women entrepreneurs wishing to launch their own enterprise (Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare, 2010).

The Women Entrepreneurship Development Programme has been launched in several regions of Mauritius, namely in Quartier Militaire, Triolet, Le Morne, Terre Rouge, Camp Thorel, Lallmatie, Ernest Florent and Pont Lardier and some 1800 women have benefitted from the programme (Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare, 2010).

Empower the poor

Since NGOs work at the grassroots level with the poor, they have been able to establish reciprocity, mutual understanding and build trust. The Government of Mauritius works in hand with NGOs to combat poverty. All stakeholders have come to realize that actions at the local level can be a first step to a national solution (Hurbungs, n.d).

One of the first conditions for getting people out of the poverty trap is to make them take full responsibility for their lives. They should also be included in all stages of community projects, so that they feel valued and gain confidence. Another initiative adopted by the Government of Mauritius is developing actions based on the aspirations of the poor. For instance the poor prefer receiving aid to send their children to school with all the necessities

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instead of receiving financial support to feed their hungry stomachs (Hurbungs, n.d).

NGOs should help the poor become aware of their current realities and empower them to make their own choices about the future, initiate actions for their development and adopt a healthy lifestyle (Hurbungs, n.d).

2.3 Benefits of empowering a community

When a community is empowered, people feel free to act within the society and at the same time associate a sense of belonging to it. Through community participation and capacity-building, they rediscover their own potential and gain confidence. They also feel worthy of the community, for the help they are providing – to make a change.

Community empowerment can initiate actions at individual level, which can reach community or even national levels. For example, someone victim of an accident, can gather a group of people – it can be close friends, family, or even strangers who have joined for a good cause – and help to sensitise others on road safety measures (Dr. Glenn, 2009).

Development of small groups can initiate collective actions. It is also a means for practitioners to gain community service skills, leadership skills for some, management skills, develop empathy, broaden networks, form partnerships and bring about social cohesion (Dr Glenn, 2009).

Community organisations offer the means to resolve societal problems. They include young groups, faith groups, community councils and associations. They have the power to mobilise resources. They development of community organisations requires some form of leadership and those who serve the community have better chances of developing community capacity – and can become future leaders (Dr Glenn, 2009).

Empowered individuals are able to influence the direction and implementation of a programme through their participation. They progress from a personal action to the point that

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they are collectively involved. This can lead to gaining the power to influence economic, political and social action. They can therefore help others to empower themselves and gear them towards capacity building (Dr Glenn, 2009).

2.4 The role of the Government and NGOs in community empowerment

The Government of Mauritius has the responsibility of catering for the people and has formulated laws to protect them and safeguard their rights. The Government acts as an authority figure. The political and administrative environment of a community directly affects the empowerment process (Phil, 2007)

The environment includes a series of factors such as the laws, rules and regulations and practices of the civil society. The environment also covers the policies and practices of relevant Non-Governmental Organisations (Phil, 2007)

In this regard, their task is to encourage community activities that enable the community to develop itself – to be empowered. They should also help the community to initiate actions towards self-reliance, community empowerment and eradication of poverty (Phil, 2007).

The Government should be able to modify Ministry regulations, modify legislative policies, support legislative committees responsible for legislative reform, provide guidelines and empower NGOs active in the related sectors, raise awareness through conferences, workshops, competitions and so on and pass relevant information through public media – posters, radio, local TV, newspapers, and advertisements (Phil, 2007).

NGOs are increasingly involved in capacity development. They lean towards developing skills and tools to strengthen the society. NGOs can have a significant impact on community development. However not all NGOs are in good terms with the Government and very often they lack resources and face many obstacles and unless they become partners with the Government, capacity building initiatives will continue to fail (Inger, 2009).

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The Government should also offer training to practitioners so that they are well equipped at all phases of the process. More importantly the Government should provide support to NGOs which can lead to consistency and integration with each other. Support could be of financial and technical assistance for meetings, working committees and campaigns.

According to the Mrs Sheila Bappoo ( Minister of Social Security, National Solidarity and Senior Citizens Welfare & Reform Institutions), the Mauritian Government fully acknowledges the role of NGOs in community development. The Government has put in place an NGO Trust Fund which has the objective of helping vulnerable groups of the society so that they can lead a decent life.

The Government provides support to numerous organisations who are actively involved in community empowerment. One such example is the the Youth Empowerment Programme which was implemented by a group of students from the University of Mauritius and the Force Vive des Quartier Reunies.

The project had the objectives of developing leadership skills among children and at the same time encouraging community service by University students (MEF, 2011).

The Government is actively involved in many such initiatives, and as we can see community empowerment begins with the common man. All we need is an idea and the will to bring about change.

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3.0 Community empowerment strategies

Community empowerment strategies include community development, community engagement, community participation and capacity building (Peter, 1996).

Community development helps people to recognise and develop their abilities and potential and organise themselves to respond to problems and needs which they commonly share. It supports communities that control and use assets to promote social justice and help to improve the quality of community life (SCDC, n.d).

In Maritius, the Community Development and Poverty Alleviation Project has been implemented by the Government and its budget extends to approximately 4 million Rupees. Community development requires the knowledge of people, their values and culture. People should be empowered to generate their own knowledge and use it to improve the quality of life. Therefore participation is necessary for community empowerment. Community development walks in hand with management. Community Services Management is a relatively new approach and it aims at empowering community workers and stakeholders to better assess and implement community based projects efficiently and cost effectively. Community Development also requires General Organisational Skills – including financial skills. The emergence of professional management in such organisations denotes power. Community practitioners should be aware of the structure of the organisation to develop the required skills to effectively achieve its objectives. Finally, we cannot ignore the concept of Sustainable Development when speaking about development in Mauritius. The Government, NGOs, and the private sector recognise recognize that the environment, the economy and equity are irrevocably linked (Community Development and Poverty Alleviation Project, 2005).

Community engagement is the process of involving people in decisions that affect them. This can mean involving communities in the planning, development and management of services. Moreover it consists of empowering the community to make decisions and to implement and manage change (DSE, 2011).

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The Government envisioned the creation of a sustainable society with the implementation of the project Maurice Ile Durable (MID). In this regard, the Government encourages community members to initiate partnerships with multiple stakeholders and facilitates community engagement that supports people to express their vision for the community and initiate shared responsibility (Anneleos at al, n.d).

Community participation refers to active engagement in designing, implementing and evaluating strategies to address a particular problem (Debra, 2002).

The Government stresses upon the integration and participation of the youth in many aspects of the society. The Government also provides the opportunity for youngsters to engage in voluntary activities. One such programme is the National Youth Award which was launched in Mauritius in 1996. It is a sort of training programme which encourages personal delivery and growth, self-reliance, perseverance, responsibility to themselves and the community (Ministry of youth and sports, 2012).

This programme under the Ministry of youth and sports supervised numerous activities which involved the participation of many national projects, namely ”Jeux de L’avenir”, Jeux de L’espoir”, Environmental Projects, Community Services and special vacances (Ministry of youth and sports, 2012).

Capacity building involves strengthening the skills, potential and abilities of people in developing societies so that they can get out of their misery.

Capacity-building programmes were established in Mauritius in view of poverty reduction. Since 2000, the IFAD (Funded Rural Diversification Programme) has been reaching out to more the 15 000 poor people. The programme has helped the poor to diversify their incomes and improve their standard of living. Under the Community Development and Poverty Alleviation Project, the Government adopts an approach to help the poor to get out of their own misery, by providing them with opportunities to generate their own income – by empowering them (Community Development and Poverty Alleviation Project, 2005).

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3.1 Limitations of community empowerment strategies

Community empowerment strategies encompass several areas and require the participation, involvement, and commitment of various stakeholders. Implementing empowerment strategies also demands much time and effort. However they are good initiatives to empower the community, as explained previously. Community empowerment strategies have brought about numerous improvements in sectors such as poverty, health, environment, and society in general.

The major obstacle to successful community empowerment is the lack of training in leadership development and organisational capacity building (Peter, 1996).

NGOs

NGOs have the possibilities to pass on information either by directly providing them to the public or helping the community to acquire access to information sources. NGOs can improve organisational assets by establishing new community organisations or improve on existing ones. They can also help people to get financial aid and material assets based on their needs and rights. Moreover, they do a great job in sensitizing and gathering people through health and education activities – community engagement. Finally, since NGOs work at the grassroots level, they are more experienced and have genuine knowledge of the difficulties people find themselves in (Selibu, 2006).

However, very often many obstacles hamper the empowerment process. Limitations to empowerment activities of NGOs arise from many sources. To start with, NGOs are constrained by the fact that they have little access to resources and less influence on policies and the law. Another factor would be that most NGOs are dependent on the developments made by the Government. NGOs are in most cases not in good terms with the Government, and this directly impacts their actions. Moreover, NGOs are limited by local factors such as inefficient institutional frameworks, weak relationships with the community and organisational problems within themselves. Consequently, in trying to respond to donors, the Government often lose sight of genuine empowerment needs of the community and cater for other demands from stakeholders (Selibu, 2006).

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Risks factors

When implementing empowerment strategies, risk factors should be anticipated and well-managed. The risk factors include time and planning limitations, possible lack of cooperation from stakeholders, incompatibility among methods used, diminished interest from community leaders, lack of additional funding and possible lack of resources for community leaders to impart their knowledge and skills (Community Development and Poverty Alleviation Project, 2005).

Community organizations face enormous obstacles to repairing the social fabric of their communities, especially if society faces serious issues (e.g. high crime rate). This limitation is due in part to organizations’ inability to develop strategies and due to lack of resources (Peter, 1996).

Moreover it is quite difficult to foster community participation and engagement, because people are not always free to participate in activities even if they can benefit from them. The community is also reluctant to form partnerships with stakeholders due to lack of trust. The community sometimes expects too much from the Government, and therefore is left with only aspirations and dreams. People have responsibilities and other concerns and they view community engagement and participation as an added burden. It can also be that information and whereabouts of campaigns and workshops are not evenly spread, considering low-budget organisations. Sometimes community leaders themselves are not committed to the project. Very often community activities are merged with politics, and are a means to monetary gain and enhanced image. As a matter of fact, community empowerment strategies fail their very own purpose due to lack of community involvement/participation/engagement.

3.2 Alternatives to increase community engagement and participation

If an organisation wants to be truly accountable, it needs a strong system of organisational governance. Without a clear focus, it is impossible for community organisations to achieve significant impact. Hence, community organisations should be able to develop the element

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of trust with the community (ICD, 2005).

They should implement creative strategies so that the community is motivated to work with them. Both NGOs and Government organisations should address the different strategies including – capacity building, physical projects, research and information and networking (ICD, 2005). Organisations should also display reliability, leadership and transparency. Empowerment programmes are not always easy to achieve. This is why organisations should review their own strategies.

Participation and continuity

It is necessary to work with the community in bringing awareness of the proposed activities and their benefits. It is also of significant importance to maximise community participation in planning, design, and implementation stages so that people develop sustained interest and ensure continuity of the particular project (Community Development and Poverty Alleviation Project, 2005).

Management, supervision and monitoring

The success of the projects will depend on proper management, supervision and monitoring. Practitioners should be given appropriate training in the field of project management. Progress should be monitored, to ensure that objectives are being fully achieved (Community Development and Poverty Alleviation Project, 2005).

Engagement

Community engagement is achieved if projects bear better outcomes. It is also very important to strengthen the relationship with the community. Community organisations should project the reputation of the organisation through their actions. Moreover they should develop increased understanding of community issues to form partnerships and broaden their networks (DSE, 2011).

Leadership training

Social workers and staff should possess the right skills to be able to reach the audience. Some practitioners often feel a lack of motivation and discontinue their service. Dealing with

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people can be exhausting and frustrating. Therefore the Government should provide access to training sessions, information and networks. More than 20 training centres have been successful in teaching community organizations the skills needed to develop leaders and build strong community organizations in the US (Peter, 1996).

Target vulnerable groups

The Government should display involvement in the community. It should tackle issues that are of concern to the community – education, emancipation of women, poverty, etc, and provide support by empowering them. E.g. Implementing poverty alleviation strategies. The Community organisations should also work with those who are potentially weak in the social structure. For example by educating the illiterates, providing economic support to vulnerable women, reduce vulnerability to HIV/AIDs and other health issues, and by collaborating with other organisations (SEM, 2012).

Community organisations should themselves be empowered to adopt the best suitable approach to deal with people. The Government should promote community access to technology and information and also allocate a budget for community organisations to implement community empowerment programmes, for sensitization campaigns, workshops and working committees. Moreover, since media plays an important role in conveying information, media coverage of community initiatives should be improved. The common man should also be empowered to initiate action on a small basis and eventually be monitored for potential innovative ideas. It is also primordial to promote laws and regulations that give communities a voice (Peter, 1996).

The Government of Mauritius has implemented the National Empowerment Foundation in this regard and has extended support and empowered numerous people. Some examples include; The Integrated Social Development programme setting up housing units at La Valette Bambous accounting to a total cost of Rs. 205 million and benefitted 200 families ;

around Rs 1.1 billion allocated for programmes which include facilities for unemployed women, Integrated Social Development, circular migration, technical assistance to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) (NEF, 2009).

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4.0 Critical Analysis

Community empowerment strategies are effective measures to empower a community. Through community engagement, community participation, community development and capacity building, people are able to identify their potential and discover their abilities, participate in group discussion and activities, engage in implementation of important projects and can empower themselves so that they can overcome difficult social situations.

As mentioned in the previous sections, community empowerment can benefit the community on a small basis as well as nationally. Community empowerment enables people to initiate actions based on their day-to-day experiences. It also creates a chain where the empowered individual in turn helps others to empower themselves by sharing experiences and forming partnerships. Community empowerment is a means for the community to broaden their networks and meet new and influential people. An empowered community can influence the social and economic aspects of a country to seek their rights. Moreover, when working with others for a collective cause, individuals acquire a sense of worthiness. Those actively involved in community work and community service can eventually become tomorrow’s leaders.

Since community empowerment strategies deal with people, unforeseen events may arise. It is true that community empowerment is beneficial to the individual and the community, however people are not always free to engage in community activities. Moreover people are reluctant to indulge in community activities due to lack of trust, because very often activities are based on selfish grounds. For example; political parties showing interest in social activities for the sole purpose of enhancing the image of the Government. Other limitations of empowerment strategies include lack of cooperation from stakeholders, lack of funding and diminished interest from community leaders themselves. Finally, NGOs are limited in their actions due to lack of resources and dependence on the Gover

Community Development for Race and Diversity

Design or evaluate any practice within the field of Community Development aimed at managing race and diversity.

Introduction: According to the International Federation of Social workers, the definition of social work is given as follows:

“The social work profession promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being. Utilizing theories of human behaviour and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environments. Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work” (from IFSW General meeting, Canada, 2000 in ifsw.org).

Social work can be theoretically represented as an interrelated system of values that uses a mix of theory and practice to address the communication and transaction of people with their society and environment. Social work and social policies aim to fulfill people’s goals and wishes by helping them to develop their full potential and to either overcome or prevent any kind of dysfunction. Ethics are important as social workers promote equality and work for the oppressed to facilitate their social inclusion (Mullender, 2003). Social work research and practice have provided knowledge and means of evaluation of social work practices, which are specific to situations. Individuals are affected by multiple bio-psycho-social factors in the society, family and environment (Donald et al, 1992). Theories of human development and behaviour help in the analysis of the influences of social and cultural changes on behavior highlighting the injustice and inequality in society. Social workers thus help in affecting changes in societies, families and in people’s lives. Social work and policy is based on the universal humanitarian and democratic ideals promoting Human rights and Social justice. Social workers also respond to crises and emergency situations and also provide counseling and advise to help people overcome their personal, social and long term problems. Thus a social worker is expected to be skilled and should focus on the holistic development of the individual or society. Social work and policies can affect individual psychological processes or can involve planning and development for society at large. Some of the common activities that social worker engage in are counseling, group social work, clinical work, family therapy and treatment, education and advise, and emergency relief work. Social workers are also involved in administration and policy making along with political involvement for economic and social development of the community. Although promoting human rights, justice and equality are universal aims of all social policies, the way social workers engage in community development tend to vary from one place to another depending on cultural, historical and social factors (Arredondo, 1996).

In this essay we will discuss community development considering the perspective of racial diversity and focus on the cooperation between mainstream groups and minority ethnic groups that should be necessary aspect of social work. We discuss inter-racial interaction and community participation as important in social development and promoting more interracial interaction seems to be a crucial practice in social work that can help change attitudes of people towards other ethnic groups.

Race and Community Development

White (2002) challenges the intentional ‘colour-blind’ attitude towards community development, which he says is impractical and masks and at the same time highlights the centrality of race in any community development agenda. White identifies three dimensions of development namely, the material outcomes, the techniques of transformation and the modes of knowing. He emphasizes on an analysis of racial diversity and fluidity between racial groups and citing Omi and Winant’s work suggests that development comprises of racial formation which is made up of a vast range of diverse and contradictory racial projects linking the meaning of ethnic, racial and national identities.

Akdere (2005) suggests that the meaning of race, social class, culture and ethnicity have changed considerably in the last few years and continues to evolve considering the rapid changes in social structure. There has been tremendous growth of diverse populations in neighborhoods and administrative policy changes have forced community leaders to approach organizational engagement with great diversity. Akdere used appreciative inquiry method to achieve a satisfactory participation level among community people to encourage dialogue between participants and promote systematic thinking and practice. The paper supports the use of Appreciative Inquiry method as an appropriate method of systematic practice.

Problems associated with the current empirical measurement of ethnic diversity within economic development have been examined by Okediji (2005). Ethnic diversity variables include race, religion, and the measures on these aspects are compared with other variables on ethnicity. The study cites related results to suggest that disparities and differences in ethnic diversity among countries are not as great as assumed generally. Okediji suggests that a comprehensive and accurate measure of ethnic diversity is not just related only to a linguistic measurement that defines ethnicity butt there are other factors as well.

Diversity and race differences are closely related as a proper understanding of racial variations sometimes serve as the basis of both racial classifications and also ethnic diversity. Barbujani (2005) suggests that all humans belong to a few biological types or races and evolved in isolation although modern genetics have not been able to find any significant differences in the genetic structures of humans belonging to different racial types. Thus racial labels have not been associated with clear genetic structures. Most scientists however still insist that racial classifications have a genetic and scientific basis and this fact may be even indispensable in epidemiology. However all classifications of race based on the smallest genetic evidence have been useless or controversial and there is still no proper consensus on the number or definitions of different human races. The author highlights that there is a geographic structure in human genome diversity and it is also possible to infer the continent of origin of a particular race from an individual’s genotype although any clear genetic boundaries necessary to recognize relatively isolated mating units or races have not yet been identified. Barbujani points out that allele frequencies and synthetic descriptors of genetic variation are distributed over different gradients across the planets suggesting a sort of gene flow rather than isolation of different mating groups. Interracial mixing seems to shape human genome diversity although the paper clearly states that a better understanding of the patterns of human diversity can be understood by examining the evolutionary processes that is absolutely important for the development of diagnostic and therapeutic tools of individual genotypes rather than race specific genotypes which is not yet clearly defined or identified.

Shaw and Barrett-Power (2005) emphasize that diversity is a crucial factor in organizational life as all organizations, whether professional or social are becoming increasingly diversified in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, age, nationality, origin and personality patterns of members of the group. There have been very few studies giving the exact impact of diversity on group or organizational culture or on small group processes or performances. Some influences of diversity on organizational culture are definitely positive although effects may be negative while in certain situations, there may be no effects at all. The developments and influences of diversity in a group may be explained by using the group-development model that helps in examining the impact of diversity on group processes and performance. This model is based on concepts of Jackson et al (1995) and Milliken and Martin (1996) (in Shaw et al, 2005), and shows that diversity does have considerable influence on group development and performance. The aspects and concepts considered in the model are personal attributes of group members which are detectable and underlying as well as cognitive paradigm dissimilarities, costs and rewards, diversity management skills, cognitive performance resources and integration of group behaviour. The components of the model are discussed and the specific hypothesis is that social group performance may be positively or negatively affected by diversity.

Several research studies have tried to understand the exact equation between racial characteristics, neighbourhood contexts and development. Marschall and Stolle (2004) argue that socioeconomic and racial characteristics of an individual’s environment not only influences group consciousness and solidarity but also views of the society towards minority and majority ethnic groups. The paper points out that context, social interaction and inter-racial experiences combine to shape general psychological orientations. The authors conduct a neighbourhood level analysis examining race, racial attitudes, social interactions and residential patterns to study the attitudes towards ethnicity and race issues. Marschall and Stolle emphasize that the neighbourhood context plays an important role in shaping civic orientations although diversity and interracial interaction and settings o promote such interaction seems to be crucial to develop a generalised inter-racial trust for the development of the community.

Increased sensitivity towards diversity and interracial interaction is important to promote social and community development. This is also true in college campuses and in a study by Chang et al (2004) national longitudinal data from a set of college students was used to examine the educational relevance of cross racial interaction and the way the campuses can best utilise such opportunities. The results of most similar studies suggest that cross racial interaction has positive effects on students intellectual, social psychological and civic development. Chang and colleagues suggested that a large proportion of students of colour should be enrolled in institutions and students should be offered more opportunities to live and work on campus. The paper suggests that white students definitely gain in psychological and social experiences when they interact with students from the ethnic minority although cross racial interaction may not be completely advantageous for students of colour. However, despite these differences, cross racial interaction remains an important component for development of attitudes of tolerance and this is an essential aspect of social development of the community in general.

More on the relationship of adult learning, especially in universities with ethnic and cultural diversity has been studied by Osler and Starkey (2000). This study focused on distance learning students of French language and culture highlighting the political importance of language learning within the European context. All foreign language learning policies are meant to have an impact on the development of democratic participation and citizenship rights. Few students are asked to give opinions on questions of identity and treatment of racism or different races suggesting the links between racism and discourses on modernity and identity. Language learning has been considered as a reflexive process and through learning, students gain their own perspectives on their own culture as well as other foreign cultures. Students are encouraged to present their own views and actively participate in understanding foreign cultures to promote diversity in study situations. However the authors argue that ‘positive representations of multiculturalism within language learning courses are likely to prove inadequate in enabling students to identify the barriers to democratic participation’. The different themes that are considered here are immigration, integration and identity although the structural barriers of participation are also identified. The paper stressed on the need to encourage students to deepen their understanding of race, modernity and identities in their own society.

In another relevant and similar study, Shields (2000) argue how curriculum development in school is closely related to the portrayal of the school as communities. Shields suggests that in the modern complex and heterogeneous public schools, where all types of students with different ethnic and racial backgrounds interact, the notion of schools as complete homogeneous communities with shared beliefs, norms and values seem inadequate. Ethnic and racial differences must be used as a resource, according to the author and ideas of feminism, multiculturalism and inclusive education have to be used to develop the concept of school communities. The advantages of multicultural and racial diversity are highlighted here and the major advantages are that increased interaction between racial groups whereas the disadvantage is that there are possibilities of increased fragmentation and polarisation as well. However on a positive note as pointed out in the paper the differences can be used as basis or foundation for community development so that marginalisation of others can lead to barriers. Shields points out that, ‘Explicitly embracing the need to identify and respect difference, being open to new ideas without taking an exclusionary position, and committing to ongoing participation in dialogical processes may help schools to develop as more authentic communities of difference’(Shields, 2000, p.275). Thus communities of difference can still be communities that can live and work together learning from and respecting each other and this co-existing culture should be promoted in climates of turbulent educational culture and new reforms based on tolerance and co-existence can help restructure schools to ensure that all students regardless of race have the same opportunities and quality of instruction.

Some of the proposals of improving interaction in student community and improving the status of schools as communities involve modifying leadership in the community and government structures, as well as overcoming existing power bases, developing mechanisms of accountability, enhancing professionalism and coordinating for adequate distribution of community resources. Citing Barth 1990, Fuller 1993, Shields suggest that the focus on schools as organizations should change to recognize schools as communities by themselves, given the diversity of students enrolled. However as argued there is very little understanding of the concept of community and what it looks and how the concept of community can be implemented in a school setting and what has to be done about it. Theories of schools as communities have been drawn from Tonnies’ concept of gemeinschaft which however is based more on a romanticised view of the past than on improving education in modern dynamic, complex and heterogeneous schools which can be seen as communities (Shields cites Beck and Kratzer, 1994). Several other writers cited by Shields are Fine (1997) and Furman (1998) and they have also advanced notions of communities, of racial coexistence as well a cultures of differences of otherness among different ethnic groups. Many authors have suggested that rather than considering schools as communities because of its affiliation to established norms, values or traditions, schools should be considered as communities by virtue of its racial and ethnic diversity. A school community in which differences are highlighted can add to community development and mutual sharing of values and ideals only when there is a common core principle established to negotiate and iron out differences and disparities in beliefs and values as participants would learn to respect and listen to each other. Bonds and boundaries among school students of different racial backgrounds are constructed, not forcefully but via respect and open communication.

Shields, as other many researchers have worked with many schools to address the needs of diverse student bodies and have become increasingly aware of the limitations of the concept of community which is described with an emphasis on shared values, norms, beliefs and highlight a question by Barth (1990): ‘How can we make conscious, deliberate use of differences in social class, gender, age, ability, race, and interest as resources for learning?’ (p. 514). Shields points out that gender, race and ability are the three elements of differences that can define or help understand an educational community. As the author points out , both theory and practice should be used to suggest how the implications of reflections on theory and practice can help to reconceptualise and improve social policy making, community development and social work practice. Shields paper aims to give an analysis of schools as communities of difference as well as communities of diversity. Differences and diversity are both dealt with from the perspective of changes in society although there may be many problems inherent in such inter-racial coexistence. The use of diversity as a means of thinking about or defining community makes differences an essential part of an interactive society and social workers seem to have an important role in promoting unity and interaction in diversity and difference.

Evidence of Racial Diversity

Racial diversity and cultural differences are issues not just in schools and smaller communities but also in many workplaces, hospitals and clinical settings. Racial diversity is part of women’s social issues, in technical work groups, in developing leadership qualities and management programs. Several practices to manage racial diversity within the community aims at improving intercultural relations, along with promoting improved communication and interaction among different ethnic groups (Rutherford, 1990). This in turn improves leadership and management skills of people and serves the greater goal of community development.

Feminist theories and perspectives are in focus when we discuss workplace differences and many scholars realize that to increase potentialities and opportunities for women in the workplace gender awareness has to be replaced by multicultural awareness. Betters-Reed and Moore (1995) emphasize the need to explain the current management development paradigm that does not recognize diversity among women. They suggest a new all-inclusive paradigm for establishing a successful multicultural organization where opinions of all women as well as members of ethnic communities could be brought to light. The initial stages of individual and organizational awareness of understanding yet reconciling with differences is followed by the recognition that women also need to be treated equally in the field of management. There is a growing need to shift new approaches, attitudes and paradigms that recognizes women’s roles to replace older values in existing management development practices.

Case Study: For our case study we conducted interviews on 150 social members, all British citizens from the northern part of Yorkshire in the UK. Among the 150 community members 50, were from the Muslim faith of Arabic origin, 50 from Christian community within Europe, and the remaining 50 from Asian Hindu faith. The attitudes of all community towards members of other communities were studied using a questionnaire and a five-point scale. The questionnaire consisted of 100 questions and the answers ranged from strongly agree to agree, to neutral to disagree and strongly disagree. The questions were targeted to find out about the attitudes, whether positive or negative towards other different racial, ethnic or religious groups. All the responses were taken on a five-point scale and scores were then put through statistical analysis to get the results. Questions ranged from ‘you feel comfortable in the presence of members of other religious groups’ to ‘you are completely against inter-racial or inter-religious marriage or relationships of any kind’. Following statistical analysis of the results we aim to promote inter-racial interaction by designing community programs that would necessitate or encourage participation of all ethnic, racial and religious groups.

Our inter-cultural and inter-racial interaction program is thus aimed at promoting social harmony and friendship and positive relations among different ethnic and religious groups within the particular region of northern Yorkshire in Britain. As we have seen from all the research evidence discussed, greater and more central role of women, developing leadership and management perspectives as well as an open racial policy in schools and hospitals can actually help in leading a community towards improved community development and evolved inter-racial relations. Our social work practice community program was based on the following features:

Promoting inter-racial group activities
Promoting and encouraging inter-racial and inter-cultural programs
Encouraging women to take initiative in community development
Developing active leadership programs
Inter-racial culture and interactive associations to be promoted ion community centers, clubs, hospitals, libraries, workplaces, schools and religious institutions.

Considering these features and results from our initial study which suggested that there are huge cultural differences in how other communities are perceived by ethnic or racial groups, we suggest that promotion of a ‘dialogue culture’ and greater interaction among community members in all walks of life is essential for promotion of diversity and cultural unity.

Conclusion

In this essay we highlighted several studies that have emphasized on the need for promoting an interracial culture to encourage diversity in all aspects of life. A case study discussed here shows the differences in opinions of different cultural and racial groups in their perception of other ethnic groups. Following the initial study, we mentioned the importance of women’s role, leadership, management goals, and focus on group discussion and interracial participation in cultural and social programs as important in promoting diversity and racial sensitivity. We stressed on the need for ‘interaction’ and suggested that a practice of group discussions, organized community work, and regular meetings of different community members promoted by social workers can go a long way in changing a society of differences and diversity, into a society of unity, sharing and intercultural dialogue.

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Community Development Plan: Hung Hom

A Project Intervention Plan Hung Hom
Li Ka Tik

The following paper is going to suggest an intervention plan on the Hung Hom community of Hong Kong’s Kowloon District. It briefly introduces the situation of Hung Hom and identifies the issues about inequality between rich and poor residents. Also, an intervention strategies and empowerment plans are propose based on the social action approach. The roles of CD worker in those plan and the foreseen challenges are mentioned in the last part.

About Hung Hom

Hung Hom is belonged to Kowloon City Districtand bordered by Hung Hom Bay in the east, No. 12 Hill, Hok Yuen and the valley Lo Lung Hang in the north, King’s Park in the west,Victoria Harbour in the south. It is a well-resourced community with over 17 social service agencies (Social Welfare Department), 28 educational facilities, 52 health clinics (www.lifein.hk), communal facilities, recreational facilities and business activities. The location of the community is near the cross harbor tunnel and is well connected by minibuses, buses and MTR, including the link from Shatin to Central which will be constructed soon.

Identifying Key Social Problems in Hung Hom

The problem of inequality between upper/middle class and grassroots is one of obvious social problem in Hung Hom. According to Rawls (1971), social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity. Moreover, for the second principle of justice, all social goods including opportunity, income, wealth and the bases of self-respect should be distributed equally unless an unequal distribution of any or all of thesegoods is to the advantages of the lease favored. Marshall (1963) indicated that equality not only mean the equality of income, but it also is a general enrichment of the concrete substance of civilized life, a general reduction of insecurity and risk as well as an equalization between the more and less fortunate at all levels so the equality of status is more important.

Hung Hom includes both of public estates and wealthier neighborhoods, which imply there is a large poverty gap. The 2011 Population Census Statistics for Hung Hom indicated the level of income inequality or socioeconomic gap between the upper class and the middle and lower classes which was probably a potential source of inequality.Despite its wide range of resources in Hung Hom, the resources are unevenly distributed in various parts of estates. Therefore, there is a potential inequality between those without and with access to the enough resources and the most obvious examples arethe health clinics and the kindergartens which concentrated in the wealthier neighborhoods such as Whampoa estate. Moreover, the majority of them is privately operated and targets the middle and upper class residents. Eventually, lower income residents in KaWai and Hung Hom estate need to seek the affordable services in other nearby districts because those services charge very high fees which are beyond the means of them. The equality of opportunity is also referring to ‘social mobility’. If there is an oppression of the education resources from the higher income residents, it is hard for the children from a grassroots family to elevate to a higher social status.

Therefore, an intervention planshould be created for victims of inequality in Hung Hom, the residents with lower income, to fight for reasonable resources distribution.

Rationales and objectives of using social action

According to Rothman (1984), there are there models of community practice and social action is one of the intervention approaches. It is the practice of taking action and usually as part of an organized group or community. The objective is to shift the power relationships and resources, in order to create positive change and generally in the direction of greater equity of economic and social justice.Social action relies on forcing the government to change aiming at benefiting the poor, such as the lower income residents in Hung Hom, and disadvantaged the oppressed.Social action gets people moving and makes them feel strong that they less submit meekly those who oppressed them. It gives them responsibility for their own lives and actions as well as their leadership potential so it leads a long-term positive social change.

Specific intervention strategies and empowerment plans

In order to have an effective and impactful intervention, a confrontational organizing approach is used that a campaign is going to be organized for the social action().

The vision of the campaign is that everyone in Hung Hom can enjoy an equality community, and the goal is creating an appropriate distribution of resources, especially on the educational and medical resources. The objective is to empower the grassroots in Hung Hom to fight for resources for themselves; to make a dramatic statement that will focus public attention on the situation of them; to request the government taking action on the issue of inequality in Hung Hom. Moreover, a slogan of the campaign is “Growing in Hung Hom, studying in Hung Hom!! Living in Hung Hom, Medical consultation in Hung Hom”.

Empowerment helps the populations that have traditionally been powerless or haven’t understood their potential to exercise their power. For example, grassroots residents in Hung Hom did not aware that they are oppressed to accept the limited medical and education resources and just thought that they are not rich enough to enjoy services so they should go to other nearby districts. In fact, they have the right to request the government to provide an enough public resources for them. Thus, the community education is very important, especially the Liberating education which is the most suitable method for social action, including a process of conscientization, a development of a critical thinking and an awareness of the hidden assumption of the policy. Moreover, empowerment motivates people to take other kinds of positive action, such as voicing out their collective opinions on other unequal resources allocation in their community.

Therefore, at the beginning of the campaign, the focus is to gather grassroots residents in Hung Hom and promote the right which they originally have and aware them they have the choices. For instance, they and their children can enjoy affordable public medical and educational services in their own community. The second step is to encourage them to attend, as a group, a public meeting at which an issue of interest to their community is being discussed, in order to let them understand the policy related to their needs more, so that they can think more and propose the idea to the policy marker. A well communication channel and platform is very important to express the needs and requests. Thus, once they have built in the concept, communications, such as letters, phone calls, email, etc, with policy makers and others in authority (such as the Chief Executive, Secretary of Education) are organized. It is not enough to affect the policy marker if the voice is limited in the grassroots residents in Hung Hom. Therefore, encouraging media reporting is the next step, which helps to find a support from the public for this social action, by persuading the media to cover events or to publish stories that highlight particular issues or embarrass politicians and others in power who refuse accept the reasonable suggestion advised by the grassroots residents in Hung Hom. In order to make a larger impact on public’s mind for the issues, a street theater will be held at the last part of the campaign, which is meant to ridicule the opposition and to convey profound message in a way that is easily understood and entertaining. Finally, if the social action gains an initial success, there will be aevaluation section including the effective of the empowerment, the assessment of the modified resources allocation and the situation of inequality in Hung Hom as well as the coming planning on the prospect of equality community in Hung Hom.

Roles of CD worker in those intervention strategies

As a CD worker, there are four roles including enhancing the social interactions and functions of individual and their groups and communities; educating public on economic and social injustice that may hinder community functioning; initiating an advocacy for policy changes in response to needs identified by the community and the society and help them to articulate their common concerns and needs to the public, the government; and formulating and implement social policies, services, and programs that support the development of human capacities.

Foreseen challenges and difficulties

The redistribution of resources in Hung Hom is obviously beneficial to the grassroots residents. On the contrary, the interest of residents with higher income is affected, so they will oppose the policy proposed by grassroot. Moreover, Hong Kong is a free-market society with a lower tax system that government is unwilling to spend too much money on education and medical services in Hung Hom avoiding the affecting of free-market system.

In conclusion, there are lot of difficulties, created by upper class and government, on reaching an equality community. Therefore, based on confrontational organizing approach, the campaign with social action is the most suitable method and it help to empower the grassroots resident in Hung Hom and make an advocacy to ask for resources for them.

References

Census and Statistics Department Hong Kong. 2011 Population Census – Fact Sheet for Kowloon City District Council Hung Hom (G14-G20). Accessed online from http://www.census2011.gov.hk/en/district-profiles/ca/kowloon-city/g19.html on 24 Feb 2014.

Chui E., Ho L., Law C.K., Lee K.M., Lee V. & Wong Y.C.. (2010) Report of The Study of The Future Directions of Providing Social Work Services within the New Urban Renewal Strategy to be Formulated

Cox, F. M., Erlich, J. L., Rothman, J., & Tropman, J. E. (Eds). (1987). Strategies of community organisation. (4th ed). ITASCA, IL: PEACOCK Publishing, Inc.

Marshall, T. H. (1963) ‘Citizenship and social class’, in T. H. Marshall (ed.), Sociology at the Crossroads (London: Heinemann), pp. 67–127.

Rawls, J. (1971). A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Websites

http://www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/

www.lifein.hk

Community development and public health

It is widely documented that Indigenous Australians have poorer health outcomes than non-Indigenous Australians (Dempsey & Zhao 2006; Germov 2002; Zhao, Guthridge, Magnus & Vos 2004). According to the Australian Indigenous Health InfoNet website (2009), Indigenous Australians have the poorest health status of all populations living in Australia with contributing factors, including but not limited to, education, employment status and socio economic status. There are also a number of social determinants which contribute to poor health outcomes such as dispossession, social supports and gender (Germov 2002). Community development and public health play significant roles in the promotion of health and in the reduction in the health disparities which exist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Community development, has been found to be a successful method to improve public health and health outcomes in places of poverty where populations have extreme health disparity (Baum 2008). Conversely, there have been many examples where community development has been aversive to improving public health (Ife & Tesoriero 2006 p 234). In answering the question: ‘what is the meaning of community development and public health?’, this essay will explain the various existing definitions of community development and related terms such as community building, capacity building and social capital; provide examples of how community development approaches to public health have been implemented in Indigenous communities; and how Government and non-Government Organisations utilise these methods in practice.

As evidenced in this essay, community development as an approach to improving public health is an effective method where it is implemented accurately. One must question how often community development approaches to public health are effectively implemented due to the disheartening life expectancy of Indigenous Australians, which is up to 20 years lower than that of non-Indigenous Australians (Oxfam Australia 2007). We need to stop and listen to the Traditional Owners of this land; this country we call Australia. They will guide us, show us and teach us the way to improve their health and wellbeing.

Defining Community Development and Public Health

Community development within public health seeks to empower individuals and groups within communities to take control over and improve health outcomes through working with community members from the ground up, referred to as a “grassroots approach” (Ife & Tesoriero 2006, p. 121; Ife 1995, p. 96-97). It is a contemporary practice used by practitioners to promote wellbeing and enhance lifestyle and has been shown to play an important role in developing public health across Indigenous populations of Australia (Campbell, Pyett & McCarthy 2007).

Community development is a strategy which can be used in public health to improve health outcomes through the implementation of programs and projects within communities. Baum (2008) views community development as the ability to improve health among populations by working directly with communities to empower them to take control over circumstances that play a role in effecting health outcomes. Successful community development involves identifying needs then working with members of the community to promote empowerment to make long term sustainable development changes. In support of this statement, Campbell, Pyett & McCarthy (2007) promote the idea that developing healthier Indigenous communities involves enhancing existing community capacity through empowerment. Laverack (2006) reinforces this notion through his use of the ‘domains’ approach, with one domain focussing on encouraging local leadership through enhancing existing community capacity. Ife (2005) supports this idea with the application of a number of principles which must be applied in practice including empowerment, sustainability, ownership and participation. Community changes must take place from the very local level and can therefore be a very long and intricate process.

In defining community development, social capital is a term often used in a positive sense to enhance community development practice. It is believed to bring about change by bringing community members together, creating engagement and social support which can promote public health and enhance community development (Baum 2008). In promoting community development it can therefore be said that the utility of social capital can improve health status among communities. Carson et al (eds. 2007 p. 110) discusses the potential of social capital to provide insight into improving health standards of indigenous populations despite varying contentions surrounding the notion. Creating positive social engagement of community members assists in the development of relationships between people and the ability to work together to achieve a common goal, an important aspect of defining community development.

In following from this, Bryson & Mowbray (2005) associate social capital with the term community capacity building, another concept related to community development in public health. The term is used by individuals as a strategy to improve community development and or as a similar alternative to community development initiatives and interventions. The Australian International Health Institute promotes community capacity as increasing health by ‘strengthening the ability of a community through increasing social cohesion and building social capital’ (Arole, Fuller & Deutschman n.d) Community capacity building enhances the capacity of community members to take control in bringing about change. The use of these strategies and its approach can pave the way for health improvements in Indigenous communities.

Community Development and Public Health in Indigenous communities

Community building is used by individuals and organisations to enhance the process of community development. Ife & Tesoreiro (2006) explain that community building is an important factor in influencing successful community development which involves bringing community members together through small projects. The idea that community members are joining together to work towards a common goal contributes to ‘group process, inclusiveness, building trust and developing a common sense of purpose…critically important in community building’ (Ife & Tesoreiro 2006, p. 185). Community building is often used to promote public health within Indigenous communities through bringing individuals together to identify a problems or needs. Community members therefore share a common goal and work together to address the issue.

Senior & Chenall (2007) demonstrate the way community building can enhance community development in ‘Stopping Sniffing is Our Responsibility’. The Aboriginal community members identified petrol sniffing as a health and social problem so a common goal was identified and the people developed a program to help combat the problem, contributing to development of the community. Although success of the intervention was not long lived, due numerous factors, including lack of resources it demonstrated to the community members that they were able to work together to make positive changes. Community development in relation to Indigenous communities requires specific, intricate approaches. Approaches must be conducted in a culturally sensitive manner which ‘enables indigenous people to have genuine control over their own community and their own destiny’ (Ife & Tesoreiro 2006, p. 2350). If community development approaches in indigenous communities must therefore incorporate cultural understanding.

The definitions and approaches evident in Many Ways Forwards: report of enquiry into capacity building and service delivery in Indigenous Communities, House of Representatives standing committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, June 2004

The government report Many Ways Forward, the Report of the Inquiry into Capacity Building and Service Delivery in Indigenous Communities (2004) provides a political view of community development in relation to Indigenous health. The report looks at the effectiveness of and ways to enhance and increase in the participation of services delivered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders within their communities through building community capacities.

Throughout the report a number of organisations express their own views on the meaning of community capacity. The Department of Family and Community Services (FaCS) define community capacity as incorporating four elements including commitment, resources, knowledge and skills. Whilst Aboriginal Affairs Victoria define community capacity as ‘strategies/programs/initiatives which seek to empower, motivate and enable individuals, families and communities…to pursue their own development goals’ (House of Representatives Standing Committee On Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, 2004 pg 15). This is just a small example of a number of definitions, which emphasises that the practice of community development can mean different things to individuals.

The utilisation of community development in practice by Governments & non-Government Organisations (NGOs)

The political report ‘Many Ways Forward Report of the Inquiry into Capacity Building and Service Delivery in Indigenous Communities’ identifies a number of government approaches to community development and the need to enhance government capacities including the ‘COAG Trial,’ Indigenous Whole of Government Initiative. The program is aimed at improving the delivery of programmes and services to Indigenous communities, based on a concept of ‘shared responsibility’ where ‘condition and wellbeing of Indigenous communities is one shared by the community, its families and individuals with Governments’ (Department of Education, Employment and Work Place Relations website, 2010). The commencement of this trial took place in 2002. Another whole of government approach is The Waterloo/Redfern Partnership Program which has a number of smaller programs including community strengthening activities designed to develop communities of Redfern and Waterloo (NSW) which advocate the implementation of social capital (Redfern-Waterloo Community Safety Plan, 2004). Along with these programs there are a number of state and territory government programs including ***

Along with the small example of government programs, The Northern Territory Government’s Emergency Response (NTER) has had a big impact on Indigenous public health within communities and should not go without mention. The NTER was established in 2007 by the Howard government which has implemented a number of measures with a target of five years to improve future prospects of Indigenous Australians living in the NT and promote community safety and the protection of children (Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs website, 2009). As part of the program the government implemented eleven measures in order to reach goals with the addition of another measure involving the NT only, abolition of the community development employment program (CDEP) (Altman, 2007). Whilst the intervention has been put in place to develop Indigenous communities many individuals and organisations have either supported or strongly criticised this approach.

Oxfam Australia is one of the organisations which made a critical response to the intervention, in particular relation to proposed amendments to the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. Oxfam Australia argues the effectiveness of implementing two of the measures, (measures 5 and 10) reporting that they will hinder development in the form of empowerment among communities (Altman, 2007). Oxfam Australia is a non government organisation which promotes development through implementation of programs providing community members with knowledge and the resources to assist community members to identify problems and encourage them to find their own solutions through sustainable development (Oxfam Australia website, 2009). Oxfam have a number of community development projects focused on developing the capacities of Indigenous communities within Australia. An example of this is through working alongside Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations and supporting Aboriginal Health Workers with a focus on promoting community ownership of health issues (Oxfam Australia website, 2009).

World Vision Australia adopts similar approaches to community development in practice. The organisation is focused on improving living conditions of people living third world circumstances. The organisation advocates core principles of community development including working with communities to promote self-sufficient, sustainable development. World vision conducts work in Australia to assist in community development in Indigenous communities with a primary focus on developing long-term community development programs and enhancing future prospects of young Indigenous Australians through training and education programs (How World Vision works, 2007).

Problems associated with the various definitions, such as difficulties concerning feasibility or inconsistencies between the terms of the definitions and actual practice

As can be seen there a various definitions to concepts surrounding community development in public health. A number of authors illustrate the problems which can exist in the theoretical idea of community development and putting the process into practice. The term ‘community’ alone proves to offer differing meanings to individuals and organisations, often conflicting (Baum 2008; Bryson & Mowbray 1981; Ife & Tesoreiro 2006). Makuwira (n.d) discusses how the term community capacity building can have many discourses and often contradiction in meaning and practice and how this can negatively impact on capacity development of Indigenous communities. The Community development Resource Association (Makuwira n.d, p. 3) poses the question that perhaps a lack of written meaning on the term community capacity building contributes to the poor ability to effectively implement the processes. The House of Representatives Many Ways forward report emphasises that a number of different definitions of community building and community capacity building exists and is recognised to have cause implications in moving forward with community development within Australia.

It should also be noted that difficulties concerning the feasibility of implementing the principles of community development can be observed through the way organisations, both Government and non-Government, work in the NT. It can be noted anecdotally that attempts at community development occur through a centralised support system. Most organisations operate from central locations, such as Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine, Gove and Darwin, with staff ‘visiting’ communities to provide support. Yes, this system can work effectively, but it is not implementing principles of community development in their raw intentions. These intentions are to work alongside people to enable them to take control over their lives and to and promote sustainable changes. The support is often temporary providing a bandaid approach which is inconsistent and therefore limits the effectiveness of long term sustainable changes occurring.

Conclusion

Community development is a term which possesses a variety of different definitions with associated concepts and practices. The discourse highlights the conflict which results from the confusion associated with a variety of definitions and practices. Too often, community development practitioners become too engaged in the rhetoric and lose sight of the meaning behind the principles and way of working. As evidenced in this essay, there is a lot of theory on community development practice, however limited evidence of success in developing Indigenous communities. Community development practice needs to focus on consistent methods that do work and how these can be implemented across the board if we are to see improvements in public health and the health outcomes of Indigenous Australians. Ultimately, where community people (who are involved in the community development process) are starting to take control over factors affecting their health, community development in practice is working.

Community Care for Substance Misuse | Evaluation

From a service users perspective, critically evaluate people with substance misuse who live in supported housing.
Introduction

This paper discusses some salient aspects of community care of people with substance misuse who live in supported housing in the UK. Some of the issues that would be discussed include community care provisions with reference to legislative enactments; policy and practice initiatives in service sectors; a short review of the developments of community care policy and practice; an evaluation of the experiences of community care in a district and on different service users and carers– all these keeping in mind the requirement of anti-oppressive practice in working with service users and carers in community care.

To keep the arguments within the ambit of the meaning and implications of the topic of discussion, and to impart clarity and precision to them, it is thought prudent to define at the outset the terms and concepts used in the course of discussion. A contextual definition of ‘service users’ adopted from the one given by Hanley et al in their 2003 INVOLVE report is that ‘service users’ are ‘patients; unpaid carers; parents/guardians; users of health services; disabled people; members of the public who are the potential recipients of health promotion/public health programmes; groups asking for research because they believe they have been exposed to potentially harmful circumstances, products or services; groups asking for research because they believe they have been denied products or services from which they believe they could have benefited; organisations that represent service users and carers” (Hanley, B et al, 2003, p.13). The words or the phrase “substance misuse” means the use of illegal drugs, or the improper use of alcohol, or prescribed medication, or over-the-counter medicines, or volatile substances such as aerosols and glue. ‘Substance misuse’ has become as much a serious problem among older adults as among the young; causing physical and mental health problems for them. Substance misuse has also the wider impact of affecting not only the lives of those directly involved but also those of their families and the communities in which they live. Gavin defines supported housing as “accommodation wherereceipt of housing supportservices is a condition of residence” (Gavin, n. d.) He continues to say that such “accommodationcan be grouped individual self-contained flats, or may be shared housing, with or without shared communal facilities. Support staff may be based on-site or be visiting staff. This type of housing is usually provided for groups of people with similar needs, e.g. older people, homeless people, people with mental health problems or those recovering from alcohol problems. People can live in supported housing for varying lengths of time, dependent on their individual needs and the type of service” (Gavin, n.d).

Government Policy in respect of service and care

In one of its published documents (DH 2002), the Department of Health has given detailed guidance about the regulation on ‘Supported Housing and Care Homes’. The document begins by saying that “Government policy for community care aims to promote independence, while protecting service users’ safety” (DH 2002). Contextually, here ‘independence’ would obviously imply the freedom for individuals to choose on their own the housing, the care and support, including the embedded choices in respect of risk and protection. One objective of the Care Standards Act, 2000 has been to ensure high standards of care and to protect vulnerable people. The Act, however, has not changed the definition of a care home and matters implicit in that definition. “In respect of “personal care” the specified types of care include assistance in physical activities such as feeding, bathing, toileting, and dressing; in non-physical tasks such as encouragement, advice and supervision relating to physical activities; and emotional and psychological support in social functioning, behaviour management, and assistance with cognitive functions” (DH 2002).

Anti-oppressive stance in service users and carers in community care

In a multi-racial and multicultural society such as that of the UK, it is imperative that service users and carers should rise above common prejudices and discriminatory practices to be true to the requirements of their profession. To assist voluntary adherence to such practices, the UK has enacted legislation mandating anti-discriminatory practices in the provision of ‘social services’ and care facilities. This requirement is incorporated in the Sex Equality Act 1975, the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Children Act 1989; and reinforced by other legislations such as the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 and the Human Rights Act 1998. Anti-oppressive practice demands knowledge of the legislation and an understanding of the personal values of service users. An Open University document says that some of the ways in which anti-oppressive practice enter into practice include “‘colour-blindness’ (or blindness to other aspects of identity): ‘multi-culturalism’: thinking that it is enough to learn about other people’s culture and to celebrate diversity without examining our own attitudes; concentration on one aspect of identity to the exclusion of others; failing to ask service users how they like to be thought of, in other words asking them to define their own identity; cultural relativism: excusing abusive or criminal behaviour on the grounds of culture or other aspects of identity; failing to act for fear of being thought racist (or sexist, ageist or disablist). Social workers need to examine and question the sources and nature of their own power and the ways in which this is exercised in their relations with children and families and service users” (OUL, p. 107). It is also necessary to encourage the use and implementation of the GSCC’s Codes of Practice to social care workers, service users and carers (GSCC, 2002).

Service users relation with anti-oppression practices (AOP) need a little further elaboration, as it is a much debated issue and an equally ‘sore’ one in the repertory of the social workers’ kitty. It can be said that in recent years public conscience has been outraged at an all-pervasive emergence of AOP in the work of service users and a simultaneous emergence of the ‘philosophy of ‘anti-oppressive practice’ in social work challenging discrimination in all forms and along all lines of disparity, including race or ethnicity, culture, sexuality, gender, disability and age. It is to the credit of ‘social work providers’ to have pioneered this development and to come in for the brunt of much criticism (Wilson and Beresford, 2000). We find that in 1970 an influential document, The Client Speaks did not include in its sample service users people not born in the UK “since the reaction of ‘non-natives’ to social work are likely to be complicated by cultural

differences, language problems and so forth” (Meyer and Timms, 1970). However, despite social work’s ‘commitment’ to AOP policies and practices, equal access to services and support, and the provision of “culturally appropriate services and support have continued to be qualified” (Watson and Riddell, 2003). Inadequate access, or repeated denial of it, to important social work and social care services were reported by minority ethnic service users, who also said to have been ‘pushed’ as it were to the use of less valued areas of intervention in care services (Beresford and others, 1987; Vernon, 1996). Morris (1996) says that there is a wide prevalence of ‘inappropriate assumptions about BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) service users’; “for example, the levels of informal support available to them, continue to be reported (Morris, 1996). Some issues relating to refugees and asylum seekers, “where social work may be expected to be part of the policing and control processes introduced where citizen rights have not been granted or have been refused” were also said to worrying issues. (Shah, 1995). Other issues pointed out by service users in which they experience problems relate to their social work practice on the basis of gender, disability and age (Morris, 1991).

Another issue concerning community care, although not directly related to AOP, has been the ‘inordinate pressure’ for people to be placed in residential care. Large number of people is estimated to be living in such provisions and they include older people and disabled people of younger age, who according to service users could be supported to live in their own homes n accordance with the objectives of the community care paradigm. Along with the increase in the number of people in supported housing, another development has been that the service users have been able to impact on policy (Thompson, 1991). This has been evident from the introduction of direct payments schemes with new legislation in 1997 (Glendinning and others, 2000). People receiving direct payments have steadily increased in number along with the expansion of the range of service users receiving direct payments. (example, Newbigging with Lowe, 2005). It may be recalled that direct payments were pioneer by the disabled people’s movement. The aim was to put the individuals who received support to be in charge of the cash that the support would cost; and for them to decide on what support they wanted; from where to have that support (from disabled people’s organizations, for instance); to initiate and run such schemes; and for the support to be sufficient to make it possible for them to have ‘independent living’; that is to say for people to live their lives as far as possible on equal terms to non-disabled people or non-service users (Barnes, 1993). Direct payments scheme, however, met with serious problems and obstacles which undermined it. Local Authorities officials opposed it because they in the scheme a steep erosion of their control over their own services. In many instances the prescribed budgetary limits have meant that direct payments have often not been sufficient to ensure independent living. Further,

“frequently there has not been equity between service users; the process of assessment has continued to be dominated by traditional professional values, direct payments appear often to have been understood officially in consumerist terms (as if people were just buying services), rather than as a means of empowerment, requiring infrastructural support; and contracts have increasingly been placed away from disabled people’s organisations to commercial organisations which have undercut them and offered an inferior service. The cumulative effect has been to subvert direct payments as a truly different approach to personal and social support (Beresford and others, 2005). The government has reiterated its policy of individualised approaches to support a central plank in social care policy by bringing together different funding agencies to provide support for service users (Duffy, 2004, 2006).

Care-service in Bradford

To examine a representative district-centred programme to tackle the ‘evil’ of alcohol misuse, a brief account of the Bradford district’s ‘alcohol harm reduction strategy’ is considered here. According to a ‘Draft Status Report’ on the subject, “Bradford is in the highest (worst) quartile for all three types of alcohol-related crime (all crimes; violent offences; sexual offences) included in the 2006 Local Alcohol Profiles for England (NWPHO). The number of all crimes in Bradford attributable to alcohol in both 2004-5 and 2005-6 was just over 12 per 1000, down from nearly 15 per 1000 in 2003-4; alcohol related violent offences for all three years was fairly stable at between 8 and 9 per 1000 population. Alcohol-related sexual offences increased significantly in 2005-6 to a three-year high of around 0.16 per 1,000 (NWPHO, 2006 – this data is based on the Government Strategy Unit’s formula for alcohol attributable fractions for each crime, which was developed from survey data on arrestees who tested positive for alcohol). 20% of Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs) issued by WY Police in 2004 to 16 and 17-year olds, and 24% of those to adults, were for alcohol-related disorders” (Smith, 2006). To tackle this problem of alcohol misuse Bradford District has put in place ‘the Bradford District Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy’ based on the 2004 National strategy for the purpose. The Bradford Strategy has the objective of “continually reducing alcohol misuse and the personal and social harms it causes, so enabling ever-increasing numbers of Bradford residents and visitors to live healthy and fulfilling lives, free from crime, disorder, intimidation, anti-social behaviour and avoidable health problems” (Smith 2006). Specifically the strategy aims to “reduce the number of people who drink alcohol above recommended limits; to reduce alcohol-related crime, disorder, nuisance and anti-social Behaviour; to reduce the harm caused by alcohol misuse within families; to reduce the prevalence of harmful drinking by children and young people aged under-18; to reduce alcohol-related accidents and fires; and to ensure that Bradford City Centre and outer town and village centres are areas that the local population and visitors can enjoy without fear of alcohol-related violence and victimization” (Smith 2006).

The Bradford Metropolitan District Council APA Impact Analysis 2007, says that “134 young people in substance misuse treatment (April – Feb 07) shows 54 YP currently Receiving substance misuse treatment from Specialist CAMHS [Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Service]; 100% of young offenders are screened for substance misuse in 2006/07, and 92.9% of those testing positive were referred for specialist assessment, an improvement of 16.4% on the previous year. The figure for entry to treatment also increased by 9.6%. In 06/07 there have been 4 substance related admissions to hospital in young people aged under19 years mirroring figures for 2005/06” {Bradford Metropolitan District Council APA Impact Analysis, 2007).

Development of community care policy

The UK community care policy is based on three planks of ‘autonomy’, ‘empowerment’ and ‘choice’ (Levick 1992). There have been disputes going on since the introduction of the NHS and Community Care Act (1990). On the one hand, the Act and its policy guidance have been seen as a significant development in the care reform for older people.

Three factors have contributed to the enactment of the legislation: first ‘the marketisation’ of the public sector from 1979 onwards (Means and Smith 1997); second, in theory, joint planning between health and social services promoted integrated and multidisciplinary community services; in practice, such arrangements failed to realise such services and were criticised as pedestrian and ‘patchy’; and third, the government policy of privatisation encouraged people to enter private residential homes through a system of social security financing different from that of local and health authorities. (Mooney 1997). This policy essentially channelled public sector funds into the private institutional sector while leaving the domiciliary sector chronically under-resourced. It is the older people who were adversely affected in a serious manner by the policies of the 1980s in respect of community care. The Audit Commission (1986) pointed out the principal fallacy of the ‘perverse financial incentive’ which supported the development of private institutional care at the expense of community care, through the income support system. In 1989 government accepted the findings of the Griffiths Report of 1988 and came out with a three-pronged policy: user choice, non-institutional services promotion, and targeting. In 1990, the Community Care Act was put on the statute book.

Conclusion

In concluding this essay it may be recalled that this paper has been an exercise in delineating some important aspects and issues relating to people with substance misuse who live in supported housing in UK. In the course of discussion issues relating to the various concepts and concerns of the subject matter of the discourse have been explored and analysed. It was seen that service users want to see social work which will be non-discriminatory and which will intervene on their behalf, offer support to secure their rights and needs. It has also been seen argued that “social work could be more effective in safeguarding service users (both adults and children) from the risks that they currently encounter in the social care system, including serious risks of neglect, abuse, denial of rights, bullying, racism, etc” (Beresford and others, 2005; Branfield and others, 2005).

References

Audit Commission (1996) Balancing the Care Equation: Progress with Community Care, HMSO, London.

Barnes, C. (1993), Making Our Own Choices: Independent living, personal assistance and disabled people, Derby, British Council of Organisations of Disabled People.

Beresford, P. Shamash, 0. Forrest, V. Turner, M. and Branfield, F. (2005), Developing Social Care: Service users’ vision for adult support (Report of a consultation on the future of adult social care), Adult Services Report 07, London, Social Care Institute for

Excellence in association with Shaping Our Lives.

Bradford Metropolitan District Council APA Impact Analysis, (2007): at www.bradford.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/7697DD51-729F-45D6-BF6E…/0/BradfordMDCImpactAnalysis2007FinalVersion.pdf – [accessed Oct. 26. 2008]

Branfield, F. Beresford, P. Danagher, N. and Webb, R. (2005), Independence, Wellbeing And Choice: A response to the Green Paper on Adult Social Care: Report of a consultation with service users, London, National Centre for Independent Living and Shaping Our Lives.

DH (2002); Department of Health: “Supported Housing and Care Homes Guidance on Regulation”; File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat; at www.cat.csip.org.uk/_library/docs/Housing/supportedhsgandcarehomes.pdf/ [accessed Oct. 26, 2008]

Duffy, S. (2004) In Control, Journal of Integrated Care Vol 12, No 6, December 2004, pp 19-23.

Duffy, S. (2006) The implications of individual budgets, Journal of Integrated Care Vol 14, No 2, April 2006, pp 7-13

Galvin, John: “Supported Housing: Definition”; at www.thehousekey.org/jargon-supported-housing.aspx/ [accessed Oct.25, 2008]

Glendinning, C. Halliwell, S. Jacobs, S. Rummery, K. and Tyrer, J. (2000), Buying Independence: Using direct payments to integrate health and social services, Bristol, Policy Press

Griffiths, Sir R (1988) Community Care: Agenda for Action, HMSO, London.

GSCC (200) General Social Care Council: Codes of Practice for Employers of Social Care Workers, London, GSC

Hanley, B et al (2003): “Involving the public in NHS, public health, and social care research: Briefing notes for researchers” (second edition), INVOLVE at www.invo.org.uk/pdfs/Briefing Note Final.dat.pdf [accessed Oct.25, 2008]

Levick, P (1992) ‘The Janus face of community care legislation: An opportunity for Radical Opportunities’ in Critical Social Policy, Issue 34, Summer 1992, pp.76-81.

Mayer, J.E. and Timms, N. (1970): The Client Speaks: Working class impressions of casework: London, Routledge and Kegan Paul

Mooney, KM (1997): “Preoperative Management of paediatric patient”; Plastic Surgical Nursing Journal, 17(2) 69-71.

Morris, J. (1991), Pride Against Prejudice, London, Women’s Press.

Morris, J. (editor), (1996), Encounters With Strangers: Feminism and disability, London, Women’s Press.

Newbigging, K. with Lowe, J. (2005), Direct Payments And Mental Health: New Directions, York, Joseph Rowntree Foundation in association with Pavilion Publishing and Research into Practice.

OUL: Open University Learning: “Anti-oppressive practice”: File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat – http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/file.php/3499/K113_1_PracticeCards_p105-112.pdf / [accessed Oct.26, 2008]

Powell. Jason L (1990): “The NHS and Community Care Act (1990) in the United Kingdom: A Critical Review” Centre for Social Science, Liverpool John Moores University, UK

Shah, R. (1995), The Silent Minority: Children with disabilities in Asian families, London, National Children’s Bureau.

Smith, Nina (2006), Senior Policy Officer, Bradford District Council: “Status Draft for Consultation; Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy For Bradford District”; at www.bradford.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/2EDEB823-302B-4352…/0/AlcoholHarmReductionStrategyconsultationDraft070 [accessed Oct. 25, 2008]

Thompson, C. (editor), (1991), Changing The Balance: Power and people who use services, Community Care Project, London, National Council for Voluntary Organisations

Vernon, A. (1996), A Stranger In Many Camps: The experience of disabled black and ethnic women, in Morris, J. (editor), Encounter With Strangers: Feminism and disability, London, Women’s Press.

Watson, N. and Riddell, S. (editors), (2003), Disability, Culture And Identity, Harlow, Pearson Education.

Wilson, A. and Beresford, P. (2000), ‘Anti-Oppressive Practice’: Emancipation or appropriation?, British Journal of Social Work, No. 30, pp553-573.

Community analysis: Mocksville, North Carolina

COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT

Introduction

The community of Mocksville, North Carolina comprises a vibrant neighborhood with over 5,000 residents (Town, 2015). Mocksville’s town center has a well-established organization for economic opportunities, and is enclosed by four large oak trees, which anchor the center of town, and offer a beautiful sight as their branches extend over Main Street. Mocksville also offers education opportunities with state of the art technology. The system runs from pre-school through high school and early college. Civic clubs, recreational activities, performing arts and a strong respect for values are also aspects that make Mocksville, North Carolina a great place to call home or to visit (Town, 2015). Through collecting community data about the citizens, and conducting a windshield assessment and an interview, a need was discovered within Mocksville, and a plan to address that need was formulated.

Community Data

According to census data (2010), the population of Mocksville, North Carolina was 5,051. When it comes to gender, 2,770 (54.8%) people out of the total population were female, and 2,281 (45.2%) were male (Census, 2010). The primary race in Mocksville was Caucasian, with 3,734 people identifying as white. African American’s comprised 14.6 percent of the population, with 736 people identifying as such. 12 percent of the population identified as Hispanic and Latino, which is 607 people (Census, 2010).

The age ranges in Mocksville are not even. The bulk of the population, 56.8 percent, is between the ages of 18 and 64. 18.3 percent are 65 years of age or older, and 24.9 percent are under the age of 18 (Mocksville, 2015). According to economic information in the census (2010), the median household income was $40,553, and 18.7 percent of the population are below the poverty level.

When it comes to geographic parameters, Mocksville is 7.54 square miles (Mocksville, 2015). Mocksville’s history is rooted in tobacco and farming. Back in that time, Mocksville was home to a few famous residents, such as Daniel Boone, who lived near Mocksville from 1750 to 1759, Thomas Ferebee, who was a Hiroshima bombardier, J. D. Gibbs, son of Joe Gibbs, Hinton Rowan Helper, and Roy L. Williams (Mocksville, 2015).

Next, the average family size in Mocksville is 3.02. There are 884 husband-wife family households, 200 single males, and 401 single females. Education is an important part of Mocksville’s structure. In the census (2010), 78.9 percent of the population were said to be a high school graduate or higher, and 23.4 percent were said to have a Bachelor’s degree or higher. Despite the levels of education possessed by the citizens of Mocksville, the unemployment rate is 5.8 percent, and only 2,270 people above the age of 16 are employed (Mocksville, 2015).

Government data shows that the political systems in place are primarily republican, however there is also democratic, and libertarian sway in Mocksville (Census, 2010). The city has a political structure and representation. The state senate and house both have a member from Mocksville representing Davie County as a whole. They are Andrew Brock and Julia Howard (Elected, 2015). The next level on the government tier are the Davie County Commissioners, then comes the Clerk of Superior Court and the register of Deeds. The Sheriff and District Court Judges come next followed by the Mayor of Mocksville, and Mocksville Commissioners (Board, 2015). When it comes to Mocksville’s relationship to law enforcement, there are 21 full time law enforcement employees who live in the city (Mocksville, 2015). The Mocksville Police Department is located on Main Street close to the town center. Mocksville has plenty of government services that are provided. There are 42 full time government employees, who live in Mocksville (Mocksville, 2015). The city provides parks and recreation, streets and highways, police protection, firefighters, financial administration, water supply, and sewerage.

Windshield Assessment

Mocksville has a lot of character when it comes to its physical features. The houses are well-kept and not dilapidated or boarded up. The streets are paved, with very few pot holes, and there are streetlights and sidewalks all the way down Main Street. The communities condition is old but well maintained. With it being a small town rooted in farming, there are a lot of old Plantation, and Victorian style homes. The community is visibly bifurcated, which means it is stratified into higher and lower income areas. The old, large, plantation homes are on one end of Main Street, and smaller dwellings, and brick homes are on the other end of Main Street.

There are many small businesses along Main Street in Mocksville, and very few big businesses. Some smaller businesses include a music instrument store, ice cream parlor, local bars, florists, a book store, and an antique store. Three of the bigger businesses on Main Street are the Davie County Enterprise, Boost Mobile, and NAPA Auto Parts.

There are three different houses of worship on Main Street. These include a Methodist, and Presbyterian Church, as well as a Life Christian Church. Along with places to worship, Mocksville has public facilities such as parks, recreation centers, schools, and human service agencies. Rich Park is located right off Main Street, and the Brock Center for the Arts is a recreation center located close to the Methodist Church near the town center. Mocksville is home to four schools, which are South Davie Middle School, Davie High School, Davie County Early College High School, and the Davie County Community College. The human service agencies in Mocksville are the Department of Social Services, Davie County Hospital, Davie County Health Department, and the Davie County Senior Center.

While driving down Main Street, doing the windshield assessment, the people in Mocksville were seen walking, and talking on cell phones, driving older vehicles, looking in store windows, going into the town hall building and the license plate building, and a few landscapers were seen mowing and trimming yards. Essentially, Mocksville is a busy town during the week.

Interview

An interview was conducted with an older member of the community of Mocksville, on March 11th, 2015, to discuss the resources in the town. Her name is Angela Cope, and she was born in 1955, making her 60 years old (personal communication, March 11, 2015). She stated that she has lived in Mocksville her whole life and has watched it grow from a rural farm town into, the city it is today. The first question asked was “what are the community’s resources within the community?” Mrs. Cope stated “well there’s a lot of things like that. The police and fire stations are nearby and the hospital is right down the road here. I have neighbors that are a big resource for me and my husband, in case of things like emergencies” (personal communication, March 11, 2015). The next question asked was “what resources are used by the community outside the community, and how are they accessed?” Mrs. Cope stated “The only thing I can think of are the hospitals in Winston. My husband had a stroke a few years ago and had to be taken there by ambulance. My doctors are over in Winston to, and i drive myself to my appointments” (personal communication, March 11, 2015). The next question was “are there any informal human services available in Mocksville?” Mrs. Cope asked for that to be clarified, so a few examples were given such as neighbors, and charities. Mrs. Cope stated that “oh yes, my neighbors have been a big help to me and my husband. The people around here are really nice.” When asked who the leaders were in Mocksville, Mrs. Cope stated “You know, I’m not sure. I know Andy Stokes is the Sherriff, but I don’t know anyone on the town board. We have a mayor though” (personal communication, March 11, 2015).

The next question asked was “do you know about Mocksville’s communication patterns?” She stated, “The only thing like that I know about is 911. I think the building is over by the hospital. I hear the fire stations sirens going off sometimes, and we have a weather scanner in the kitchen. I hear about Davie County being under weather alerts sometimes like during thunderstorms” (personal communication, March 11, 2015). When asked what the general feel is of Mocksville to its residents, Mrs. Cope stated that “Oh, Mocksville is a great place to live. Everything I need is close by and the people are nice.” Next asked was “how do you think Mocksville is perceived by outsiders?” She stated, “Well I hope they think it’s nice. It’s got this historic look to it that people like” (personal communication, March 11, 2015). The next question was, “Does Mocksville have any traditions?” Mrs. Cope said, “Yeah, we have a Christmas parade every year. There’s the bed races, and the lights they put on the big oak trees at Christmas time. It’s really pretty.” The next question asked was, “What are the strengths of the community?” She stated, “I think the people are a strength, and the resources we have” (personal communication, March 11, 2015). The last questions asked was, “what are the human service needs of the community?” In response, Mrs. Cope stated that “The only need I can think about are things for seniors. We have the senior resource center, but when I was taking care of my mom before she passed, I would have liked some more help. It was hard on me and my husband” (personal communication, March 11, 2015).

Plan

After the interview, the next step for this community assessment is planning an intervention that a social worker could do with the community, which meets a need identified by the community. Based upon this assessment, a need discovered was more senior services, particularly helping caregivers who are caring for their parent or loved one. To form an intervention based on this need, Asset Based Community Development, or ABCD, was used. It is a strategy for sustainable community driven development. ABCD builds on the assets that are already found in the community and mobilizes individuals, associations, and institutions to come together to build on their assets– not concentrate on their needs.

An asset Mocksville already has, when it comes to the older adult population, is the Davie County Senior Resource Center. The center already has many activities and programs for seniors; however, the center could house and do more for this population. An intervention to propose is an elder daycare center. The senior center is located in the heart of Davie County and could offer a great location for such a program. An elder daycare center would simply be adding on to the services already offered at the senior center, and would help give caregivers a reprieve for a few hours during the day to relax or run errands. Simply, the elderly population is growing not only in small towns like Mocksville, but all over the United States. As these numbers increase, the resources for this population will need to increase as well.

Conclusion

In conclusion, through collecting community data about the citizens, and conducting a windshield assessment and an interview, a need was discovered within Mocksville, North Carolina, and a plan to address that need was formulated. With a population of over 5,000 and almost 20% being older adults, the need of a resource for caregivers in Mocksville became apparent, and even more so after an interview with a citizen of the town. By using an ABCD approach, the strengths of the community were assessed, and the possible intervention of an elder daycare center was formed. To end, community resources are vital for all populations to thrive. Mocksville has met that need, but will need to continue to grow its assets to meet the needs of a growing elderly population.

References

Davie County, NC Appointed Board Members. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.daviecountync.gov/index.aspx?NID=483

Davie County, NC Elected Officials. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.daviecountync.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/25

Mocksville Town, North Carolina QuickLinks. (2010). US Census Bureau. Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/37/3743720lk.html

Mocksville, North Carolina Profile. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.city-data.com/city/Mocksville-North-Carolina.htm

Town of Mocksville, NC. (2015). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http://mocksvillenc.org/

Communication Skills in Social Work | Essay

In the context of Social Work practice learning (Children’s Services Assessment Team) and the social work role discuss a particular piece of practice, giving consideration to the skills and models of communication and empowerment that were used.

Introduction

Organized under the United Kingdom’s Department of Health, Children’s Services represents a division of Social Care which is administered in each region under the auspices of the Children’s Commissioner (Children Act 2004). Children’s Services is committed to the safeguarding and rights of children through high quality services over a broad array of provisions. The Children’s Assessment Team under the Department of Health has the responsibility for the handling of children and their families who have benne either referred and or have contacted their respective Child Care agency (London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, 2006). The preceding includes the offering of advice and help while ensuring that the correct decisions are rendered with regard to the urgency dictated by the circumstances along with the proper response level.

The preceding represents an ‘assessment’ as carried out in each individual circumstance, which requires skills, communication and the powers to carried the aforementioned out. This examination shall look into a particular area of practice concerning Social Work in the Children’s Services Assessment Team, giving consideration to the skills, models of communication and empowerment involved.

The Referral and Assessment aspect of Children’s Services represents one of the most important areas of the many services offered by this Department in that it is responsible for acting upon referrals concerning children and their families that are in need of assessment (Southwark Council, 2006). The Referral and Assessment Team provides intervention as well as support and is responsible for the initial intake process covering the assessment of need and urgency, prioritizing said cases on an individual basis (Barnett London Borough, 2006). One of the most important areas, which includes child protection, legal proceedings and that children in need are looked after, is the initial process which identifies a child in need as opposed to child protection (Wrexham County Borough, 2001). The manner in which the referral was initiated has a bearing upon the type of skill, communication and application of techniques involved. In this instance, this examination shall utilize the example of an abused child that has been brought to the attention of Child Services through calls made by a concerned citizen, or other means. The data and information gathered in the initial contact, regarding the allegation, requires immediate follow up to assess the truthfulness of the allegation and thus whether further action is warranted (Barnett London Borough, 2006). Said referral can come from a number of sources, such as neighbors, teachers, school nurse, and other sources (Barnett London Borough, 2006). Once the process has been initiated the most important aspect entails the skills, and communication techniques employed.

The core mission of all social work is the promotion of social justice through its practice (Healy, 1998, pp. 897-914). Within this framework, social workers are in a system that promotes collaborative approaches representing analysis and prioritization (Healy and Mulholland, 1998, pp. 3-27). Once the decision has been made to see the child in question, as a result of either the suspicion or proof regarding action being warranted, the skills in communication as well as observation come into play. Thompson (2003, pp. 10) advises that the importance of communication is that it permits us to transmit information from one person to another and it represents “… a complex, multilevel event”. In communicating with children as well as adults, social workers need to be well versed in interaction that accompanies communication and contact, and the complexities entailed, as well as the messages on a verbal and non verbal plane (Thompson, 2003. pp. 10-12, 33 – 34, 182-183).

In those instances where there is an absence of external physical evidence or medical examination, the social worker has to be able to ascertain from conversations and observations with the child as well as the adults involved regarding tone of voice, eye movements, reactions, and other behavior whether truthful replies are being given. The preceding represents areas that encompass theory as well as practice. Adams et al (1998, pp. 253-272) state that the context of social work has changed over the past twenty years as a result of new public management systems that have decreased the value of theory along with the value driven aspects involved in human social work.

In the context of children’s services the Referral and Assessment Team intercede on behalf of the child through policy decisions and active support when the initial interview uncovers need, depending upon the circumstances. This aspect represents item number six under Article Two, General Function, of the Children Act 2004 (Children Act 2004). The Department of Health (2006) provides for advocacy safeguards for children to protect them from abuse as well as poor practice. This aspect provides for children themselves to be a part of the process, having and active voice that can be and is heard to participate in reaching determinations (Department of Health, 2006). Under provisions as set forth, the standards and core principles that children can expect are identified as (Department of Health, 2006):

The role of children in advocacy,
policy context,
equal opportunities,
confidentiality,
publicity,
accessibility,
independence,
complaints,
procedures, and
the management and governance of services

The preceding along with empowerment provides the child with a real voice as well as organization that is committed to ensure their well being as found under the Children’s Services Regulations 2005 of the Children Act 2004 (Children’s Services Inspection Regulations, 2005). Through a formalized inspection, review and analysis process involving “… two or more inspectorates and commissions, the process is ensured of impartiality as well as adequate oversight. Articles 2.3 under this provision sets forth “… that relevant assessments, inspections, reviews, investigations and studies … are conducted on cases. These measures are a part of the framework of checks and balances incorporated into the process for the safeguarding of the child who comes to the attention of Children’s Services. Empowerment also provides for the offering of assistance, counseling and advice to parents in need of help in order to safeguard a child’s well being. The formalized process sets forth specific guidelines in all of the indicated areas, as well as a broader scope for a matter of such national importance.

Conclusion

Owing to the sensitive nature of services involving children, specific case studies or references to such are not available, for the obvious reasons. Under the context of the Referral and Assessment Team of social work, a hypothetical example was used as the broad framework for the examination of practice learning and the social work role with consideration given to the skills and models of communication and empowerment. The Children Act 2004 and the Children’s Services Inspection Regulations, 2005 set forth specific procedures, guidelines and framework for the handling of child cases providing oversight safeguards through redundancy features.

Each regional Council works in partnership with the departments of Education and Health, as well as other social work teams to “… ensure the co-ordination of assessment of needs …” leading to the “… formulation of individual care plans and support packages” (Beacon Council, 2006). The process of referral and assessment is conducted under procedures that are of course subject to the individual expertise levels of the interviewers and case workers. However the safeguards of a multi-level internal review and follow up process catches any potential instances whereby a child might slip through the system due to any number of reasons. As is the case with any process involving humans and organizations, there are those occasions when the system or the person fails, however, given the multi level review and follow up process, such mistakes do not last too long.

Bibliography

Adams, R., Dominelli, L., Payne, M. (1998) Social Work: Themes, Issues and Critical Debates. Houndsmills Macmillan

Barnett London Borough (2006) Supporting Families Division. Retrieved on 10 December 2006 from http://www.barnet.gov.uk/index/health-social-care/children-and-family-care/supporting-families-division.htm

Beacon Council (2006) Children and Families. Retrieved on 12 December 2006 from http://www.bexley.gov.uk/service/social/childrenandfamilies/disabilities.html

Children Act (2004) Children Act 2004. Retrieved on 10 December 2006 from http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2004/40031–b.htm#1

Children’s Services Inspection Regulations (2005) Children’s Services Inspection Regulations. Retrieved on 12 December 2006 from http://66.218.69.11/search/cache?p=uk+children%27s+services+assessment+team&fr=yfp-t-501&toggle=1&ei=UTF-8&u=www.dfes.gov.uk/consultations/downloadableDocs/Children’s%20Services%20Inspection%20Regulations%20Consultation%20Document%20-%20PDF.pdf&w=uk+children’s+services+assessment+team&d=IY3kv5IFNg0E&icp=1&.intl=us

Department of Health (2006) Department of Health: Children’s Advocacy. Retrieved on 11 December 2006 from http://www.dh.gov.uk/Consultations/ResponsesToConsultations/ResponsesToConsultationsDocumentSummary/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4017049&chk=vFWybl

Healy, K. (1998) Participation and Child Protection: The Importance of Context. Vol. 28. British Journal of Social Work

Healy, K., Mulholland, J. 81998) Discourse analysis and activist social work: Investigating practice processes. Vol. 25, Number 3. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare

London Borough of Barking & Dagenham (2006) Children’s Services Children’s Assessment Team. Retrieved on 10 December 2006 from London Borough of Barking & Dagenham

Southwark Council (2006) Children’s Services. Retrieved on 10 December 2006 from http://www.southwark.gov.uk/Uploads/FILE_10982.pdf

Thompson, N. (2003) Communication and Language: A Handbook of Theory and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan

Wrexham County Borough (2001) Assessment Framework for Children in Need and their families. September 2001. Wrexham Social Services Department, Directorate of Personal Services, Wrexham, United Kingdom

Communication In Health And Social Care Management

According to Schneider et. all 2001 and Rogers Maslow , humanistic theory every human being has exceptional and inborn identities and natural potentials. These are the goals that direct them to achieve their full potentials. Maslow defines that individuals have specific requirements and needs which must be met in a hierarchical style and it happens from bottom to top. Another author Rogers has noted that every individual has a particular frame of reference according to their self concept or self regard. These are one’s own perception or faith about themselves. It is a theory that highlights on individual’s capacity for self track, understanding, basic needs, achievement needs, self-actualization, safety needs etc. According to Maslow, individual should achieve Hierarchy needs in order which are shown below:

Lattal and Chase (2003) has noted that behaviorist theory means the way of conditioning through interaction with the environment with no consideration to the mental state. According to them it is a theory related to psychology and it is based on the proposition that behavior can be researched with evidence with no recourse. Behaviorism is mainly relevant to skill development and the substrate of learning. Usually phobias and neurosis treatment can improve individuals’ behavior significantly.

According to Fritscher 2003, it is a theory that attempts to explain human behaviour by understanding the thought processes. In 21st century Greene brothers (2008) have noted that this theory explains social environment in learning. They showed that environment and self have a reciprocal relation. In addition, this theory fix which environmental factors should be observed, when should be observed, what should be conferred on them or whether they have any long lasting effects or is there any emotional or motivating power etc. Another important thing is, usually human beings make the decisions by thought processes. A diagram of cognitive is given below:

In 1998, a famous author Nasio states that psycholanalytical theory defines that human mind is compared to an iceberg: we only see a little bit of it (the conscious) peeking out above the vast depths of the unconscious. According to this theory, there are many inner forces outside of people’s awareness those direct their behavior. For example, (assume) Dominika has built up a relationship with a boy recently. Suddenly she started calling him by her ex-boy friend’s name. the reason of this may be Dominika misspoke her ex-boy friend because of misgiving about new relationship. another author Friedlander (2003) has noted that it is a theory which defines the dynamics of personality, psychoanalytic, psychodynamic and psychotherapy development. This theory helps to treat people with psychological problem in different ages especially who live in multi-cultural societies.

Review the application of a range of communication techniques for different purposes used in health and social care work.

At this age, proper communication techniques in health and social care are becoming more and more important as service users from different cultures are being added continuously (Moss, 2007). Also effective communication is essential to have good productivity. Windsor and Moonie (2000) define that, communication techniques can be verbal, nonverbal, written, facial/ body language or listening.

Verbal: it is way of communication where people communicate face to face. Sounds, words, speaking, and language are the key elements of verbal communication. For social care work verbal communication style is very important as it influences the service users. Social workers should speak slowly, clearly and politely. They should have softness in speaking.

Non-verbal: non-verbal communication can be used in Health and social care workplace as well. It is a communication process through sending and receiving wordless messages. Gestures, facial expression, body language, using meaningful symbols, sign languages, touching, vocal nuance etc. are also included in non-verbal communication. It is important because it repeats verbal messages, regulate interactions, become complement to verbal messages etc.

Written: written communication is also important like non-verbal and verbal communication. Preservation of our memories can be influenced significantly by written communication. Many researchers think written communication is the most effective and most useful way to communicate in Health and social care workplaces with verbal language as it prevents misunderstanding, helps to remember all important details or, helps to keep important data, helps to educate others, helps to deal with negative feelings, and helps to share knowledge with others and many more.

Listening: It is also important. If the social workers do not listen to the service users properly, misunderstandings can happen. Social workers should listen with full concentration of the service users as it is included in codes of practice.

Discuss the ways in which communication influences how individuals feel about themselves.

Moss (2007) has stated that different types of communication can influence individual’s feelings differently. Impersonal and interpersonal communications are two of them. Impersonal communication means the way to treat people as objects or respond to their roles rather than to who they are as unique people which is normally impersonal and superficial. Usually people communicate by impersonal way. It can make a rational choice to protect people willingly but it doesn’t get them too close. People do not feel very good by this communication method.

Conversely, according to Greene and Burleson (2003), interpersonal communication is a special form of unmediated human communication that occurs when we interact simultaneously with another person and attempt to mutually influence each other, usually for the purpose of managing relationships. It usually occurs simultaneously while people are talking and listening. For example, it can be observed by their- eye contact, clothing, body posture, and facial expressions. People usually feel happy with this communication method and it is very useful to apply in health and social care workplaces.

Describe ways of dealing with inappropriate interpersonal communication between individuals.

According to Stacks and Salwen (2008), inappropriate interpersonal communications between individuals’ begin usually from incorrect use of vocabulary or use of passive vocabulary. It also arises from cultural insensitivity or misinterpretation of body language which can lead to communication gap. There are a few ways to deal with inappropriate interpersonal communication and those can be:

Rephrasing or using the simplier words while speaking or communicating.

Repeating the words with meaningful gestures.

Analyzing the communication gap that has been occurred, spotting and fixing the cultural faux pas and remedying that without delay.

Staying Focused and listen carefully.

Trying to see their point of view

Responding to Criticism with Empathy

Using “I” Messages: Rather than “We”.

Look for Compromise Instead of trying to ‘win’ the argument, look for solutions that meet everybody’s needs.

Analyse the use of techniques and strategies for supporting communication between people with specific communication needs.

In the UK there are many people like deaf, blind who need specific communication needs and these can be lip-reading, speech to text, electronic notes, sign languages, Braille etc. Anon (n.d.) states that around 242,000 people are deaf-blind and two million people are suffering from hearing loss in the United Kingdom. Research has shown that almost 1.4 million people are using hearing aids regularly. Around 50,000 people use sign language as their preferred language. Many British are using interpreters as well but the ratio of interpreters and service users are significantly low in the UK. Pomegranate mobile phone and these technologies can be used to support these persons.

Evaluate workplace strategies, policies and procedures for good practice in communication.

According to Best et all (2003), in health and social care workplaces, there must have good practice for workplace strategies, policies and procedures for communication. Good procedures in communication means to follow the privacy policies, not to spread personal information to unauthorized persons, Keeping confidentiality, consent, disciplinary procedures, protecting hharassment, maintaining equal opportunities, having paternity and maternity leave, playing by rules, following data protection acts, not to reveal any data without taking permission etc. Good communication policies and strategies include adoption policy, complaints policy, whistle blowing policy, grievance policy etc. These policies, procedures and strategies help to build up a smooth and friendly workplace.

Question 2

Describe physical, cultural and legal influences on communication in health and social care by:

2.1 Analyse how methods of communication are influenced by individual values, culture and ability.

Littlejohn Foss (2005) and Samovar et al (2009) have stated that individual values, culture and ability can influence the communication methods significantly in health and social care. Value means the principles, standards, or quality which guides human actions. It also defines the acceptable standards which govern the behaviour of individuals within the organization. Without having such values, individuals will pursue behaviours that are in line with their own individual value systems, which may lead to behaviours that the organization doesn’t wish to encourage. Another thing is organizational values which are the beliefs and ideas about what kinds of goals members of an organization should pursue and ideas about the appropriate kinds or standards of behaviour organizational members should use to achieve these goals. It influence communication as it develops organizational norms, makes sense about things are good or bad, which things are more or less important. It also promotes anti discriminatory practice and diversity, protects people from abuse, keeps confidentiality, gives peoples rights to dignity, autonomy, independence and safety, understanding other peoples beliefs and identities.

According to them, culture can influence communication method as well. Culture means the values, traditions, worldview, and social and political relationships that are created, shared, and transformed by a group of people bound together by a common history, geographic location, language, social class, and/or religion. It is a dynamic, constantly changing process that is shaped by political, social and economic conditions. It manipulates communication by guiding people in their thinking, feelings, and acting etc.

Describe legislation and charters governing the rights of individuals to communicate.

There are specific law, legislations and charters governing the rights to communicate and these can be NHS and community care act 1990, sex discrimination act, Disability discrimination act (DDA) etc. Research from Mandelstam (2008) has shown that NHS and community care act 1990 ensures the full independence of the individuals among these legislations and charters,. According to this act, every service user should be shown respect. No one can be discriminated at any way whatever their race, sex, origin, religion, age etc. In addition, everyone including patients with mental health, learning disability, children should be treated as an individual while communicating. everyone should have their communications needs valued and respected, whether they are verbal or non-verbal. The charter sets out the rights for disable people in terms of their disability which includes information, Support and training, Time to communicate, Access to services, Inclusion in social networks, Services from Employers etc.

In addition, according to him and Disability act 2006, every person with a communication disability has a right to receive information in a way that they can receive and respond. A wide range of recognized and meaningful symbols, materials, signs, alternative communication methods should be available everywhere for disabled people. employers must provide training for customer-facing staff to offer alternative communication at help desks and service points, e.g. a map, pencil and paper, pictures.

Also we know that Every person with a communication disability has a responsibility to identify how they can communicate to exchange information. To do this, they can carry carry a card explaining what the difficulty is, in plain English or explaining what they need to help them at the outset. They should be given enough time to understand as well. In the same time, they should be given positive support from their family, friends and care workers.

Discuss the implications in health and social care contexts of legislation and codes of practice relating to records and communication of information about people.

According to Dziegielewski (2003) and Trainor (n.d.), keeping record of information in health and social care is very important and sensitive. There are specific law, legislations and codes of practice relating to records keeping and communication of information about people. They can follow European, national or UN law, charters and codes of practice while keeping records. But service providers should keep information by following data protection act 1998. According to this act Personal information must be stored on the case files or in the recording books and it should only be available to those who are directly involved with the care of the Person and to those responsible for the maintenance of good practice and standards. Both Manual and computer records should be stored against unauthorised access. Also, it is not allowed to copy of any documents (including medical records, personal records, political views etc.) for any purpose other than for the purpose of the well-being of the service users. For example, a social worker may need to send a client’s details to a doctor. So, he/she may need to do some copy of his/her client’s documents. So, it is allowed by the contexts of legislation.

Analyse the effectiveness of organisational systems policies in relation to good practice in communication.

Usually organizational systems, policies and procedures are very effective for the good practice in communication. Keyton (2005) noted that every organization has different communication policies in relation to good practice. It builds confidentiality and good relationship among the stakeholders, employees and service users. In addition, communications Policy ensures to use the organizational communications facilities, including internet, email, fax, phone, sms etc. It also guides to use fast and reliable way of communication which has significant advantages for health and social care workplaces. In the same time, it warns to it’s employees about the dangers and misuse of communication. It also inform to it’s employees that none can be discriminated during communicating. For example, some people may have difficulty to understand some communication methods. So, good organizational policies will provide a framework or a way to overcome these problems. Values, personal moral qualities, respecting service user’s dignity and autonomy are also included to good practice in communication and these are usually mentioned in organizational policies.

Suggest and justify ways of improving communication systems in a health or care setting.

Effective and constructive communication is vital as it helps to support, achievement and well being of our society. The ways to improve communicating systems in health and social care are given below:

Having enough employees to accomplish their jobs smoothly. If there is shortage of employee, people may not do their jobs in time. In addition, additional work load may put stress on the staff. As a result, they may not communicate with service users and staff properly.

Effective and constructive communication method must be built up among the GP practices, dentists, pharmacists, NHS, emergency services, care trusts.

Using both electronic (e-mail, text message, fax, phone etc.) and paper messages (letters, newsletters, leaflets etc) for day to day communication. In addition, having common software to share information or a database system among the partnership organizations can also help to improve communication system.

Health and social care officials as well as normal staff should arrange regular meeting among themselves to share their views regarding their progress, future plan etc.

Proper implementation of data protection act can also help to improve communication.

Demonstrate ability to communicate appropriately using range of techniques.

According to Marincek (2001) and Jones Cregan (1986), there are many people in the United Kingdom who need to communicate by special communicating techniques. Especially, children, elderly people, hearing disabled people use these techniques which are given below:

Text messaging, using sign language, lip reading, converting speech to text can be used to communicate with deaf people. Probably sign language is the most effective way to communicate with deaf people as it has it’s own right. It also covers the whole system of communication. On the other hand, text messaging is the easiest way to communicate as almost everyone can read it. But people may not be able to express their emotions by this way.

Blind people prefer to use voice recorder, speaking or listening to communicate. Technology can give lots of benefit to blind people. For example, if there is a blind employee in an organization and she/he has to gather data from internet then she/he can be benefited by using voice or audio system. Further, if anyone wants to leave some information to someone who is blind then he can convert his message to voice so that blind receiver can receive it.

Basically, I have to be very careful while communicating with communication disabled people. For example, my body position, speaking style, listening style have to be well-developed and I have to be patient so that they can understand me without any difficulty.

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Explore the use of information technology in communications in health and social care by:

Demonstrate ability to access and use standard IT software, used routinely, to support work in health and social care.

Harlow and Webb (2003) stated that every health and social care worker should have good knowledge regarding IT software to support their daily activity. To support my work, I use Microsoft office, Microsoft power point, Microsoft excel, Microsoft access, Microsoft word, spreadsheet, Microsoft outlook, internet, notepad etc.

According to Shaffer et al (2007), Microsoft office is very useful to manage day to day activities. I can preserve almost all the documents, work history by using Microsoft office word. Notepad is also useful to take and save the short notes.

I use Microsoft office access to create normal database solution, tables, forms, reports, queries, graphs etc. I have to use spreadsheet to support my work as well. It is software by which I can access multiple cells. I can find out any individual’s details within a click. For example, I can access to service users’ details if they just provide me their surnames or dates of birth.

Microsoft outlook and internet are one of the most useful software that I use. I use outlook to send and receive any electronic mail. I can save my mails as well if there is no internet connection. I can send those when I get internet connection. I use internet to collect data.

Analyse how the use of IT in health and social care benefits service users.

Leathard (2003) and Cnaan Parsloe (1989) have shown that information technology benefits both the service users and service providers in various ways in health and social care. Disable people, mental health patients, blind people, deaf people, speechless people and even sometimes healthy people are being benefitted by use of information technology. The ways are described below:

Disabled people: According to Hawkridge et al (1985) and Anogianakis Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe (1997), information technology has added new scope to disabled people’s life. Now, those who are deaf can use hearing aid to overcome their listening barriers. Blind people are being benefitted by using audio system. Now, they can conduct their day to day activities by this method. Even, now language converter is being used for those people who are not efficient in a common language like English. So, service users can describe their problem elaborately without facing any hassle.

Developed service: Now-a-days, all the health care specialists who are authorised can access to patient details. So, they can exchange their views and knowledge regarding their service and patient’s treatment. As a result, better and improved services are provided to the clients. In addition, patient can get various services from one person.

Treatment and medicine: Slee et al (2001) have stated that, now patients can gather data regarding their disease and can get information about the potential medicine. So, patient can discuss with his doctor if there is any mistake in the prescribed medicine. As a result, patient can get escape from a great problem. In addition, e-medicine can boost the knowledge of doctors. All the health care specialists including social workers and service users can gather lots of information by using website as well as internet conferences.

Critically evaluate how the IT supports and enhances the activities of care workers and care organisations/agencies.

According to Cnaan Parsloe (1989), the activities of a care worker or a care agency’s activities can be significantly enhanced by information technology. For example, a care worker can preserve any medical data digitally which is quick and cost effective. Next time, another care worker does not need to waste his or her time to look for client’s medical report or medication history. She/he can get it easily and quickly if she/he is efficient in IT. It also reduces work load and care workers or care organizations can concentrate on other tasks quickly.

Another important thing is, doctors can be benefited from IT significantly. For example, the GPs can use a software where all medical and drug information will be pre-saved. So, all information regarding to that drug will be shown automatically while prescribing that to a patient. It can save lots of time because doctors or care workers then will not need to look for the information regarding any medicine. To implement this, a very good network and communication between pharmacists and doctors is essential.

Analyse health and safety legal considerations in the use of IT.

The health and safety legal considerations should come to light in the use of information technology because inappropriate use of IT can damage employees’ health. Even it has a long term effect on physical condition. According to Koreneff (2005), employees’ health and safety matters must be considered in the workplace. Those who usually work in front of computer screen or anything like that may suffer from eye strain, headache, back pain, fatigue etc. Employee’s should take regular break or change the activity for 10 minutes after doing one hour works to prevent this. They should keep their body in a right posture to prevent back pain. Right posture includes keeping back side supported, head up, hands relaxed, knees are leveled with hip, feet are flat with floor, screen is directly in front and not in angle etc. Hands and wrists are usually most comfortable when forearm is nearly at a right angle to upper arm and wrist is in a straight line with hand and forearm. Complain should be made against an organization if that fails to provide these types of workplace. Employers must provide a workplace for the employees which will meet all the requirements of health and safety to use IT.