toptermpaper.com

In his statement to the House of Commons when presenting Lord Laming’s Inquiry Report into the death of Victoria Climbie, on 28 January 2003, the Secretary of State for Health, Alan Milburn, said:

“It is an all too familiar cry. In the past few decades there have been dozens of inquiries into awful cases of child abuse and neglect. Each has called on us to learn the lesson of what went wrong. Indeed, there is a remarkable consistency in both what went wrong and what is advocated to put it right. Lord Laming’s Report goes further. It recognises that the search for a simple solution or a quick fix will not do. It is not just national standards, or proper training, or adequate resources, or local leadership, or new structures that are needed.”

I will give an overview of the inquiry. I will also give an overview of the themes, lack of accountability right through the organizations to the most senior level and staff not adequately trained in child protection. I will analyse and critique these themes in relation to agency policy, legal requirements, research, practitioner knowledge and the voice of the service user. Previous inquiries and there link to this inquiry will be discussed along with have we learned any lessons from this. The failure to implement a legal, ethical and political framework to inform current best practice will be utilized. I will reflect on the implications of evidence informed practice and how this will inform future social work practice.

This paragraph will provide a summary of the events leading to the death of Victoria Climbie, and establish why there was a need for the inquiry. From the report (Lord Laming, 2003) we know that Victoria Climbie came to England with her great-aunt, Marie-Therese Kouao in April 1999. Within a year, she was dead. On 25th February 2000, Victoria died of hyperthermia at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington. She was just eight years old and had 128 separate injuries to her body. On 12th January 2001, her great-aunt Kouao and her boyfriend, Carl Manning, were convicted of murder. The level of cruelty experienced by Victoria was truly horrific, with daily beatings using several different implements. Her final days were spent living and sleeping in an unheated bathroom in the middle of winter, where she was bound hand and foot, lying in her own urine and faeces in a bin bag in the bath. The secretary of State set up the independent statutory inquiry into her death, under the Chairmanship of Lord Laming, in April 2001, to establish under section 81 of the Children Act 89 the concerns with the functions of the local authority social services committees and the way they relate to children. The inquiry wanted to examine the way in which local authorities in respect of their social services functions and identify the services sought or required by, or in respect of Victoria, Marie-Therese and Carl.

This section will now aim to analyse and critique the key theme I have identified that emerged from the inquiry report which is lack of accountability right through the organizations to the most senior level and staff not adequately trained in child protection. Lord Laming (2003) points out ‘There were at least 12 key occasions when the relevant services had opportunities to successfully intervene to help Victoria, but had failed to do so.’ Within the Report Lord laming (2003) states ‘That not one of these interventions would have required great skill or made heavy demands on staff, sometimes it needed nothing more than a manager doing their job by asking pertinent questions or taking the trouble to look in a case file.’ He continues to states Lord Laming (2003) ‘There can be no excuse for such sloppy and unprofessional performance.’ As Lord Laming (2003) commented ‘Not one of the agencies empowered by Parliament to protect children in positions such as Victoria’s emerged from the Inquiry with much credit, what happened to Victoria, and her ultimate death, resulted from an inexcusable “gross failure of the system.’ Lord Laming’s (2003) expressed ‘His amazement that nobody in the agencies had the presence of mind to follow what are relatively straightforward procedures on how to respond to a child about whom there is concern of deliberate harm.’

The Inquiry Report (Lord Laming, 2003) highlighted “widespread lack of accountability through the organisations” as the principal reason for the lack of protection afforded to Victoria. Who should be held responsible for these failures? As Webb (2002) states: ‘Lord Laming was clear that it is not the hapless and sometimes inexperienced front-line staff to whom he directs most criticism, but to those in positions of management, including hospital consultants, I think that the performance of people in leadership positions should be judged on how well services are delivered at the front door’. Professor Nigel Parton (2003) points out that ‘Too often in the Inquiry people justify their positions around bureaucratic activities rather than around outcomes for children. Frankly, I would be the very last person to say that good administration is not essential to good practice. Professor Nigel Parton (2003) continues to state that ‘Good administration-and we did not see a lot of it, I have to say-is a means to an end. I cannot imagine in any other walk of life if a senior manager was in charge of an organisation and that organisation was going down the pan-to put it crudely-in terms of sales and performance that someone would say ‘My role is entirely strategic, do not hold me to account for what happens in the organisation’. People who occupy senior positions have to stand or fall by what service is delivered at the front door. The Inquiry Report Lord Laming (2003) highlighted the apparent failure of those in senior positions to understand, or accept, that they were responsible for the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of local services. As Rustin (2010) states Lord Laming pointed to the ‘yawning gap’ in the differing perceptions of the organisation held by front line staff and senior managers. Lord Laming was unequivocal that the failure was the fault of managers whose job it should have been to understand what was happening at their ‘front door.’ As the Report Lord Laming (2003) pointed out, some of those in the most senior positions used the defence “no one ever told me” to distance themselves from responsibility, and to argue that there was nothing they could have done. Rustin (2004) states this was not a view shared by Lord Laming. Rustin (2004) also continues to state that Lord Laming went even further in evidence to us, telling us forcefully that, in his view, accountability of managers was paramount, and that the front line staff were generally doing their utmost. In addition to the fundamental problems of a lack of accountability and managerial control, it was also apparent in the course of the Inquiry Lord Laming (2003) that other failings existed in all aspects of practice. This section will evaluate previous inquiries and how they link to this inquiry and have any lessons been learned from them. As Rustin (2004) states: ‘As with many previous inquiries into child protection failures, Maria Colwell (1973), Jasmine Beckford (1984), Tyra Henry (1984) and Kimberley Carlile (1986) it was clear that the quality of information exchange was often poor, systems were crude and information failed to be passed between hospitals in close proximity to each other. As the Report commented Lord Laming (2003) ‘Information systems that depend on the random passing of slips of paper have no place in modern services’.

The evidence from another report, Maria Colwell, who had died in January of 1973 pointed to similar weaknesses, which were found in Victoria’s report these weaknesses were, lack of accountability and staff not adequately trained (Corby et al, 2001).

Inquiry reports are sources of evidence to inform social work practice and even though they have many weaknesses within them as illustrated. Professor Nigel Parton (2004) points out that ‘In many respects public inquiries have proved to be the key vehicle through which changes in policy and practice have been brought about over the last thirty years in relation to child protection policy and practice in this country.’ Professor Nigel Parton (2004) continues to point out that ‘Rather than public inquiries being ignored, they have been fundamental to the way child protection operates. In this respect, they are as much a part of the problem as they are the solution.’

Have lessons been learned from the many public inquiries over the previous thirty years. It was as if states Professor Nigel Parton (2004) ‘The frontline professionals, and the key organisations and agencies who have responsibility for children and families were quite incapable of learning the lessons and, crucially, putting these into practice in such a way that such horrendous tragedies could be avoided. It is hoped by many, therefore, that the report by Lord Laming, and the changes brought about as a result, will mean that this will be the last report of its type.’

This section will address the other theme I have highlighted adequate training. The question of adequate training and supervision for staff working in all the relevant agencies were also an issue identified in the Inquiry. Professor Nigel Parton (2004) points out that In Haringey, for example, it was observed that the provision of supervision may have looked good on paper but in practice it was woefully inadequate for many of the front line staff. Professor Nigel Barton (2004) also points out that nowhere was this more evident than in the fact that in the final weeks of Victoria’s life a social worker called several times at the flat where she had been living. There was no reply to her knocks and the social worker assumed, quite wrongly, that Victoria and Kouao had moved away, and took no further action. As the Laming Report (Lord Laming, 2003) commented, ‘It was entirely possible that at the time Victoria was in fact lying just a few yards away, in the prison of the bath, desperately hoping someone might find her and come to her rescue before her life ebbed away’.

This section will now look at the failure to implement the legal and political framework within the inquiry report. Lord Laming within the report (Lord Laming 2003) told us that he continued to believe that the Children Act 1989 was “basically sound legislation”. His recommendations do not argue for a major new legislative framework. However, Lord Laming (2003) states he did not believe that the Act was being implemented in the way that had been envisaged for it, and, in his view, there was “a yawning gap at the present time between the aspirations and expectations of Parliament and the certainty of what is delivered at the front door”. Rustin (2004) states ‘In the absence of adequate managerial accountability, front line workers were obliged to make crucial strategic decisions, for example about the use of the Children Act, and between using sections 17 and 47 (relating respectively to a child in need, and a child in need of protection)’. The sections of the Act had been developed with the intention of as pointed out by Rustin (2004) ‘Of recognising the different needs of children’. How the sections were being applied on the ground however as stated by Lord Laming (2003) is ‘Quite different, far from employing the section of the Act that would best meet the needs of the particular child and their circumstances, what they were actually doing was using these sections to restrict access to services and to limit the availability of services to people’. The Children Act, Lord Laming (2003) argued to us ‘Should be about promoting the well-being of children, not about putting labels around people’s neck’. Lord Laming (2003) went on to suggest that ‘Front line workers were being forced into making decisions that should properly have rested with management and policy decisions’. This raised major questions about the role of public services and the basic principles that should underpin them, as (Lord Laming 2003) stated ‘We need to stand back and say that we need to discover the basic principle that the public services are there to serve the public, not just some of the public and not just some people who can get through eligibility criteria, or who are sufficiently persistent’. Therefore services must be more accessible and they must be more in tune with their local communities. If, as Lord Laming believes Kirton (2009, p.17) states ‘The Victoria Climbie case was not unique, but highlighted widespread and major deficiencies in the implementation of the Children Act, this raises issues that Government should address.’ I believe that the Children Act 1989 remains essentially sound legislation. However, there is concern as pointed out by Professor Nigel Parton (2004) ‘That the provisions of the Act which sought to ensure an appropriate response to the differing needs of children are being applied inappropriately, used as a means of rationing access to services, and have led to section 17 cases being regarded as having low priority.’ The Laming Inquiry (Lord Laming 2003) recommended that consideration should be given to unifying the Working Together guidance and the National Assessment Framework guidance into a single document, setting out clearly how the sections of the Act should be applied, and giving clear direction on action to be taken under sections 17 and 47.

Within this section I will discuss the ethical framework. It is important to include the issues of social class and gender, which were not evident in the Victoria Climbie inquiry. However, it is issues around ethnicity and race that are more evident. However, the diversity referred to is incredibly complex. This is illustrated at various points states Webb (2002) For example: ‘At the time Victoria’s case was handled in Brent, all the duty social workers had received their training abroad and were on temporary contracts. (In Brent) at least 50 per cent of social workers time was spent working on cases of unaccompanied minors.’ As Webb (2002) states ‘There was evidence that Haringey has one of the most diverse populations in the country, with 160 different languages spoken locally, a long tradition of travellers settling in the borough and a high proportion of asylum-seeking families (9 percent of the total population).’

Within the report Lord Laming (2003) points out that ‘In relation to all the London boroughs involved there were high levels of poverty and deprivation, diverse ethnic, cultural, linguistic backgrounds, as well as the diverse backgrounds of the workers themselves.’ In many respects, it seems Victoria’s situation was not unique in these respective boroughs. Webb (2002) indicated ‘The impact of increased global mobility, more specifically the rapid increase in asylum-seeking families, together with the diverse backgrounds of the workers themselves increasingly seems to characterise work in many metropolitan areas.’ This has a particular impact states Webb (2002) ‘On the nature, stability and cohesion of local communities.’ It is worth noting that, compared to the Maria Colwell case, no referrals are noted in the Victoria Climbie case from neighbours or other members of the community apart from the ‘child minder’ Mrs Cameron. We are not simply talking about diversity here but incredible complexity. Kirton (2009) argues that ‘Not only does it pose major linguistic challenges but also it poses major challenges for statutory departments in relation to the familial and cultural identities of those with whom they work and to whom they have responsibility.’ Issues around racism are clearly important here, however they cannot be reduced to a simple black and white community and cultural divide.

This section will reflect on the implications of evidence-informed practice (EIP) and the usefulness of the inquiry to inform the development of future social work practice. Often, in hindsight, those who put people at risk are blamed for the misfortune and harm they cause. (Kirton, 2009) This is arguably the most signi¬?cant professional context in which EIP has emerged. According to Munro (1998) ‘Social workers rely on vague assessments and predictions, rather than considering what is more or less probable. In everyday life decisions have to be made on a limited evidence base and professional decisions are also at best problematic’. There are numerous unexpected and complex outcomes in social work, many of which rest on having to make judgments under conditions of uncertainty. (Kirton, 2009) The main problems associated with making effective decisions in social work as stated by Kirton (2009) include: risk and uncertainty, intangibles, long-term implications, interdisciplinary input and the politics of different vested interests pooled decision making and value judgments. Decision analysis has developed as a statistical technique to help overcome these kinds of problems. Decision analysis is closely related to risk assessment and actuarial practices. Evidence-informed practice and policy are self-explanatory. They involve the adoption of evidence-based protocols and use local standards for conducting social work practice and developing organizationally speci¬?c policies. (Webb, 2002) It has been suggested that evidence-informed protocols feed directly into the practitioner context to provide guidelines for carrying out EIP. Essentially evidence-informed practice and policy in social work will entail the explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the social care of service users. This de¬?nition is widely used and derived from Sackett et al.’s ‘Evidence-based Medicine’ (1996). A pragmatic approach as stated by Sackett (1996) ‘Has been adopted here, which regards the practice of evidence as integrating practitioner expertise with the best available external evidence from systematic but multiple research methods.’ The implementation model outlined is the idea that the practice-based process begins with the evidence rather than the individual or groups of clients.

Clearly the application of evidence-informed practice and policies will be governed by the economic scope of social work agencies in terms of resources and the development of an evidence-informed infrastructure. (Kirton, 2009) Sackett (1996) points out that ‘At a local level it will also be dependent on incremental learning and accumulative professional development which are likely to be facilitated by the practice research networks and evidence-based brie¬?ngs discussed above.’

In this essay I have analysed and critiqued two key themes from the inquiry, lack of accountability right through the organizations to the most senior level and staff not, adequately trained in child protection. I have also analysed and critique these themes in relation to agency policy, legal requirements, research, practitioner knowledge and the voice of the service user. I have linked previous inquiries and discussed have we learned any lessons from these inquiries. I identified the failure to implement a legal, ethical and political framework to inform current best practice will. I also reflected on the implications of evidence informed practice and how this will inform future social work practice.

A closing quote to finish from the Secretary of State, Alan Milburn (2003)

“It has felt as if Victoria has attended every step of this inquiry, and it has been my good fortune to have had the assistance of colleagues whose abilities have been matched by their commitment to the task of doing justice to Victoria’s memory and her enduring spirit, and to creating something positive from her suffering and ultimate death.”

Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Services (MCYS, 2005) states that, “Child abuse is defined as any act of omission or commission by a parent or guardian which would endanger or impair the child’s physical or emotional well-being, or that is judged by a mixture of community values and professionals to in inappropriate.”

Different types of abuse

MCYS (2005) recognised four different types of abuse, namely physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse as well as neglect. In addition, neglect can be broken down into 4 segments; physical, medical, education and emotional (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2006)

Therefore, what actually comprises in each of the different types of abuse?

Physical Abuse

In accordance to Child Welfare Information Gateway (2005), physical abuse is physical injury caused by punching, beating, kicking, stabbing, burning or using a foreign object to hit the other party. The severity of injury may vary from minor bruises to fractures or death. Furthermore, physical abuse does not take into consideration if perpetrators accidentally or intentionally harm the child.

Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse is known as inappropriate activities performed by the perpetrators. The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) further defined sexual abuse as “the employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion of any child to engage in, or assist any other person to engage in, any sexually explicit conduct or simulation of such conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct; or the rape, and in cases or caretaking or inter-familial relationships, statutory rape, molestation, prostitution, or other form of sexual exploitation of children, or incest with children.” (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2006)

Emotional Abuse

Child Welfare Information Gateway (2006) states, child can be emotional abused if perpetrators conduct behaviours that affects child’s emotional development or sense of self-worth. However, MCYS (2005) added, emotional abuse not only affects child’s emotionally development, it also weakens child’s social and intellectually development. Additionally, such abuse exists with adult’s continual hostility, ignoring, blaming, threats, discrimination or blatant rejection of the child (MCYS, 2005).

Moreover, based on research, both sources agreed that other types of abuse are also present if emotional abuse is being identified.

Neglect

In relation to Chan, Chow & Elliot (2000), neglect was redefined as either omission or commission of any act that impairs the child’s physical, psychological, intellectual or social development.

As mentioned above, neglect can be categorised into 4 different segments. First, physical neglect may be the inability of providing food and shelter as well as the lack of supervision (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2006). Second, adult may failed in the provision of essential medical care or mental health treatment which is known as medical neglect (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2006). Next, adults may commit to education neglect if they are not capable of giving child an education as well as the lack of attention to special education needs (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2006). Last but not least, if adults do not attend to child’s emotional needs, failure to give child adequate love and care and allowing child to have easy access to alcohol and drugs, adults are at high risk in executing emotional neglect (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2006).

However, it is important for further investigations to be done if any of the neglect is present. There might be other contributing factors such as poverty or different culture practices that might surface parents are being negligent.

Why is Child Abuse a topic of interest

As an advocator, it is important to know that children are safe, being respected and are treated appropriately. With the raising numbers of cases of child abuse in Singapore, it shows that any children may be at risk of being a victim.

According to the statistics on child abuse investigations from Year 2009 to Year 2010 (MCYS, 2011), apart from physical neglect, the rest of the types of abuse cases had increased. The numbers shown were the cases with evidence of cases. For example, the number of physical abuse cases had a jump from 82 to 133, which is about 38%. As for sexual abuse, it raised from 28 to 46 numbers of cases, which is equivalent to 39%. Emotional abuse cases had increased by 2, summing up to 6 cases in Year 2010. Although there was a drop of 4 cases for physical neglect, it may show that people may be more aware of such wrong behaviours. However, these numbers stated above only showed the reported cases with evidence. What about the other cases that had been reported but inadequate evidence were gathered?

In addition, children from the United States (U.S) were victims of abuse and neglect as well. Statistics for Year 2006 shows that 54% are victims of child maltreatment of age up to 7 years. To add on, statistics reported an estimated number of 1,530 children died due to abuse or neglect. Out of 1,530 children, 78% were children under the age of 4 (Shaw & Goode, 2006). This shows that children of the preschool years are very vulnerable to abuse.

Maine State Dept. of Behavioral and Developmental Services (2001) mentioned that childhood abuse may lead to adult experience of shame, repeated flashbacks and nightmares may be traumatic for the victim. In addition, it may cause victim to be severely anxious over matters, depression as well as developing feelings of humiliation and unworthiness.

Therefore, it is also important to educate parents about the raising numbers of child abuse cases. In addition, to create awareness that no one should deprive a child to have a healthy childhood experience.

Hence, in this present paper, it will further elaborate on who may be the victims of child abuse and its impact on children, how child abuse affected parents and what happened to survivors of child abuse as they grow up.

Victims of child abuse and its impact

According Chan, Chow & Elliot (2000), evidence from research stated that adolescents are also at high risk on physical maltreatment. On top of that, more commonly reported cases of physical child abuse cases involve the adolescents as well.

Therefore, what makes a certain child be at a higher risk of child abuse? Statistics consistently showed that families that are socially and economically disadvantaged have more reports on physical abuse. Based on the research, families that falls under the low income family or annual income are below poverty level, it is more likely for the child to receive more fatal or serious injuries (Chan, Chow & Elliot, 2000).

Being financially unstable may cause a child to be a victim of child abuse, however this is not the main reason to place such child at risk. Pre-matured infants, intellectually disabled and any child who are developmentally disabled can be vulnerable to being abused too (Chan, Chow & Elliot, 2000). The reasons behind it are such child is viewed as a source of stress and burden to the family and family might find it difficult to handle.

For instance, a child was being physically abused, how did the experience affects the child negatively? In accordance to Chan, Chow & Elliot (2000), it may cause impairment in child’s behaviours, varied severity of physical injuries on child, child faces difficulties at school and child may have poor interpersonal skills.

However, one of the limitations of this study is that research was carried out long ago and results are still limited and scarce in Singapore. Next, this study did not exactly mention the precise source where they gathered the statistics or how did they go about gathering and compiling the results. Lastly, this study focuses on two age groups which are the infants and toddlers and the adolescents. What about children from the older age group? How high is the risk for older children pertaining to child abuse?

Impact on parents

The term “impact on parents” refers to parents who were once victims of abuse or parents who had child who was being abused. Hence, how did once victimised parents got over the bad experience and started a new family? In addition, how did parents feel when their child was being abused by others?

Being a parent, survivor of child abuse, and yet having a child who was assaulted, it may be very distressing especially for parents who disclose their childhood abuse experience for the first time (Grant, 2006). Furthermore, these parents may start to develop a sense of guilt as they were not incapable to protect their child despite experiencing it. Parents may also have flashbacks of those painful memories after disclosing the abuse (Grant, 2006).

In addition, Grant (2006) mentioned that parents who had child being abused may begin to face many challenges. Having a child being abused, it may be hard for certain parents to accept the fact. Certain parents may be too overwhelmed and can be emotionally unstable. Parents may be in the state of confusion which in turn may impede their ability to support and provide help for their child and family throughout the investigation process (Grant, 2006).

Taking for example if parents entrust their child with a caretaker and it turn out to be the caretaker who is the perpetrator, parents may be devastated and hard to believe. In addition, parents may be in great shock and developed a sense of betrayal. Therefore, after encountering such incident, how easy or possible can the parent cooperate and trust other unknown professionals? (Grant, 2006) Additionally, parents may also put the blame on themselves for allowing their child to be abused. For instance, they may question themselves, “Why had not I (parents) see this situation?”, “Why did not I protect my child?” or ‘What type of a parent am I?” (Grant, 2006)

Upon accepting reality, it can be really hard on parents to handle the upcoming problems faced at home if they have more than one child. Parents may understand that they had to spend more time with the victim, trying to help the child to get over the bad encounter. On the other hand, parents have to ensure that they are capable to maintain a healthy relationship with other children at home. If the situation is not handled appropriately, other children may start to develop a sense of jealousy and resentment towards the victimised sibling as well as the parent (Grant, 2006).

However, one of the limitations in this study is that there was not any statistics given. Next, this study did not mention the age of the parents. Older parents may be able to handle the situation better than younger parents. Lastly, this study did not give detailed information on the parent’s family background and the relationship within the family. With a supportive family, parents as well as child may be able to recover faster from the bad encounter.

Survivors of child abuse when they grow up

As researched by Maine State Dept. of Behavioral and Developmental Services (2001), some abused children may experience lifelong emotional harm as they grow up. For instance, some abused children may experience serious mental health problems. Research estimated that abused children are 2 to 3 times more likely to develop a serious mental illness. In addition, up to 70% of women who were treated in psychiatric setting have histories of childhood abuse (Maine State Dept. of Behavioral and Developmental Services, 2001).

On top of that, some may suffer lifelong physical harm due to childhood abuse. Ranging from 3% to 6%, research shows that abused children may develop a permanent disability (Maine State Dept. of Behavioral and Developmental Services, 2001). Brain damage is an example of permanent disability and 20% to 50% of abused children suffered from brain damage but of different severity. It is further hypothesized that abused children are of higher risk of getting heart disease, cancer or even other chronic medical conditions (Maine State Dept. of Behavioral and Developmental Services, 2001). However, there is not concrete evidence to prove this hypothesis.

Another negative impact on abused children is that they cause self inflict harm. Some abused children may get into a depression and others may choose to attempt suicides (Maine State Dept. of Behavioral and Developmental Services, 2001). Some abused children may even abuse the use of drugs, alcohol or nicotine in order to minimise or hide their pain. It was also reported by Maine State Dept. of Behavioral and Developmental Services (2001) that sexually abused children may be more exposed to further sexual abuse or to contract sexually-transmitted disease (STD).

However, one limitation of this study is that the statistics are not up to date. Therefore, results given in this study may not be accurate enough. Findings may vary if research is done based on recent years.

Apart from the depressing impacts that happened on survivors of childhood abuse, some survivors chose to seek help from professionals such as social workers, counsellors or therapists.

This research was done by questionnaires and interviews were conducted based on respondent’s willingness. Out of 500 questionnaires mailed out, there were 384 completed questionnaires. Fifty interviews were also conducted to further supplement the data.

Out of the 15 themes that were emerges based on how helpful the services were, seven common themes were mentioned in the study. Respondents felt that professional helpers were patient and they listened. In addition, professional helpers seem to be empathetic (Palmer, Brown, Rae-Grant & Loughlin, 2001). Next, respondents felt that professional helpers were able to help them deal with their raging feelings and they no longer have to avoid those feelings. To add on, having nonjudgmental and understanding professional helpers benefitted survivors as they were encouraging too. Next, survivors felt empowered as the professional helpers believed in them. Professional helpers were also able to provide connections for the survivors with other survivors, letting them know that they are not alone. On top of that, professional helpers helped survivors to build their self-esteem and develop a value of self worth. Lastly, professional helpers were able to validate survivor’s experience giving survivors assurance (Palmer, Brown, Rae-Grant & Loughlin, 2001).

However, one of the limitations of the study is to generalise survivor’s experience across different types of abuse. In addition, the study only produced one side of the data. Findings may be different if these components are further addressed.

Conclusion

To conclude, it is important to create the awareness to parents about the raising numbers of child abuse cases in Singapore. By doing so, parents may be more aware of their own actions and not commit to any form of abuse be it accidentally or intentionally. In addition, parents are encouraged to develop an early, secure and consistent relationship with the children (Shaw & Goode, 2008). On top of that, according to Shaw & Goode (2008), parents need to provide the same level of attention to child’s emotional and social needs, not only their cognitive skills.

For future research, it would be good to research more on how one can further help victims and survivors who are really resistant to get over the bad experience. In addition, another research can be done to help children to work on their social and emotional skills after the bad encounter.

Social workers are faced with making decisions about risks whilst managing the pressures of limited resources such as a lack of social workers and society’s view of social work (11). This can cause a social worker to be risk averse and become more concerned with avoiding risk to protect themselves instead of taking action that may be right for the service user. 88% of social workers have expressed a concern that cuts in services can put people’s lives at risk and 77% stated that they were unable to manage their caseloads (1). Wales has the second highest vacancy rate of social workers in the UK at 9% with England at 11% (Lombard, 2010).

There are 3 different types of risk (Adams, Dominelli & Payne). These are the risk to service users from others, the risk to service users from themselves and the risk to others from service users.

In the statutory sector risk assessment is a mandatory part of casework as it is within law and agency policy to assess risk to an individual (Healy,2012). S17 and S47 of the Children Act 1989 places a duty on a social worker to investigate when it is believed that a child is at risk of harm. The difference between S17 and s47 is the urgency and seriousness of risks (Beckett, 2010). Risk to the child includes some form of harm and the probability of that harm occurring.

2. Factors of Risk

There are certain factors in a child’s life that may be linked to poor outcomes (Parton, ????) These include low family income, homelessness, parenting capacity, post natal depression in the mother, low birth weight, substance misuse and community factors such as residing in a disadvantaged neighbourhood. Protective factors may include a strong relationship with parents and other significant adults, parental interest and involvement in the child’s education and positive role models. There are also other protective factors if the child is outgoing, has self motivation, has intelligence and plays an active role in family and community life. The more risk factors present the more likely it is that they would experience abuse or poor outcomes (5). Early intervention to identify risks can help to reduce problems.

Identifying the risk and protective factors can give a prognosis on the child’s future development (8). Assessing their needs and risks will help to identify the services that should be in place to prevent further impairment to their health and development (BASW, 2012, 3.2).

In assessment we must recognise the factors that could have harmful consequences and the severity and the likelihood of harm (Beckett, ???). The difficulty in assessing risks is that we may see a high risk factor that may be unlikely to materialise but dismiss low risk factors which may cause more harm long term. There is the potential to reinforce social inequalities as many factors are strongly associated with socioeconomic disadvantage such as single parents, low income and previous institutional care (CCW, 2002, 1.5).

3. Assessment

In social work the assessment of children involves analysing the child’s development needs, parenting capacity and family and environment factors (Welsh Government, 2001). Using the assessment triangle gives a holistic view of the child and the influences upon them. Once all the information is gathered it can be easier to identify the areas in which a child is most at risk and how those risks maybe addressed (BASW, 2012, 3.2).

Risk is an aspect of all assessments (Whittington, 2007). The aim of a risk assessment is to consider the situation, decide on the likelihood of the risk happening and aim to reduce the identified risk having a negative impact.

There are different types of risk assessment (Coulshed & Orme, ???). These are preventative, investigative and continuation. Preventative is undertaken before intervention to decide on whether or not to intervene. It involves looking at the situation and assessing the risk factors along with balancing the rights of service users and the responsibilities of the social worker. Investigative is carried out during an initial assessment to identify the current and potential risks. Continuation assessment is balancing the risks of intervention against no intervention. A social worker should evaluate the original situation then acknowledge changes and what effect these changes will have if any at all.

In social work the actuarial and clinical methods of risk assessing are used (Cree & Myers, ?????). The actuarial method uses statistical calculations of probability and how an individual’s behaviour is judged on the basis of behaviours in other people in a similar situation. The clinical method uses personality factors and situational factors relevant to risky behaviour and the interaction between the two.

Adhering to legislation, policy and procedures and the rights of the service user should ensure good practice in relation to assessment and managing risk and protection (Adams, Dominelli and Payne, ????). Legislation and policy shapes and determines the actions, duties and powers of a social worker (CCW, 2002, 6.1). Failure to follow set policies and procedures can result in things going wrong.

4. Skills and Judgements in Assessment

Management of risk is often judged by the outcome and not the process of the assessment (7). When examining a case that has had negative outcomes it is easy to see the presence of heightened risk. This can reinforce the view that the outcome could have been avoided had the risks been realised. Conducting an initial assessment requires interview skills to get the information and reasoning skills to analyse the information and identify risks (CCW, 2002, 4.2).

Assessment is an essential skill in itself (9). It requires effective communication skills to gather the necessary information and critical analytical skills to interpret that information. A social worker will need the appropriate skills to be able to negotiate with a service user or an agency in order to provide appropriate services (BASW, 2012, 2.2.3).

Serious case reviews often highlight the importance of assessment and analysis (Good practice in assessment book). An effective assessment looks at the overall situation to explain what has happened to a child and provides a framework for analysing the needs of the child and the dangers that individuals pose to children. Particular care must be taken so that the assessment does not become over optimistic and minimise the risk to the child. The focus should be on gathering evidence to make professional judgements about whether a child is safe from harm, neglect, and abuse.

Other skills in assessing risk is the ability to predict what may happen in the future in areas of uncertainty (Trevithick, ????). If the information gathered is accurate and up to date and the social worker has a sound knowledge and skill base there is less chance of over or underestimating the risks involved. In order to gain accurate information a social worker should use effective communication and listening skills to pick up on the risks presented.

Communication between professionals and agencies may be difficult as there may be issues of power, different priorities and professional values (10). For example a doctor will be more concerned with discharging a service user once their medical issue has been addressed. A social worker will be concerned that services are put in place to ensure that the service user is safe to return home. Skills and knowledge are frequently criticised in serious case reviews into child protection services and can adversely affect risk management.

5. Risk Management

In a review of child protection services it was identified that mistakes in assessment of risk have been either over or under estimating the risk posed to the child (2). Risk management cannot completely eliminate risks only reduce them. An assessment may decide that the risk of harm to a child will be low but low risk events can still happen. A social worker should use their professional judgement when deciding on actions to take as all options will involve a certain amount of risk (CCW, 2002, 4.1). For example when a child is removed from their family and placed in local authority care they may face other risks such as being unable to settle with a new family. The principles of working in child protection are to maintain the safety, security and well being of individuals. A social worker should use their judgement to balance the possible benefits of a decision against the likelihood of possible harm. They should work with other professionals to make decisions on risk involved so that errors can potentially be reduced (BASW, 2012, 3.1). Lessons can be learnt to improve decision making from the successes as well as the failures. Positive risk taking relies on quality information. Agencies should share appropriate information on those individuals who pose a risk to others or those that are at risk from harm.

A serious case review identified several failings in the protection of Baby P (6). Two of the children in the family were already subject to child protection plans which may be seen as a risk factor. The adults involved had refused to explain P’s injuries. It would have been reasonable to believe that Baby P was at risk if the adults were not willing to provide an explanation if they had nothing to hide. It was recommended that interagency working and communication must improve to ensure that children have a greater level of protection from different professionals. Professionals should recognise and respect each other roles and be trained appropriately together (BASW, 2012, 3.14). Supervision for the social worker in the case of Baby P was inconsistent and often cancelled. When carrying out S47 enquiries a social worker should be supported by their manager and have periods of supervision to review their caseload. This provides the opportunity to view the actions of the social worker from another perspective so that other options can be explored. A criticism of social workers in child protection is over familiarity with a family (10). The social worker may have long term involvement with the family and are unable to take an unbiased view of the situation. Therefore it is important that supervision takes place to gain another perspective (BASW, 2012, 3.13).

Child protection conferences should involve the parents (AWCCP). Professionals should determine how information about the case will be shared with them to ensure that a child is not put at further risk. Unless the criteria for exclusion are met parents should always be encouraged and supported to attend the conference. By attending the conference parents will be clear on what the concerns are, understand the risk to their children and the reason for the involvement of the different agencies. This will ensure that they are aware of the changes that need to be made to protect their children from harm. During the conference professionals involved must consider the risks of harm if the child were to remain at home and how those risks can be managed. A plan will be created which will detail the arrangements for managing the risks identified and how it will be monitored. The child protection plan must consider the wishes of the child and the parents (CCW, 2002, 1.2).

A solution focussed approach can be utilised by the social worker to plan the necessary services required to manage the risk (Creer and Myers). This approach is used when finding solutions to the current situation. A social worker may consider services such as family counselling to explore and understand the issues the family have.

6 Values and Ethics etc

There are times when taking a risk is a positive move (Beckett, ???). It provides an opportunity to learn to manage risk. If a child is over protected they cannot be expected to understand how and when to take risks. If risks are unavoidable then the positives and negatives of the outcome should be analysed. In child protection the dilemma may arise when deciding on whether to remove a child and place them in foster care or remain with the family. As previously identified there are risks in placing a child in foster care. If they are unable to settle they may experience multiple moves. When there are risks of harm to children there will be pressure on the social worker to act quickly but this may be difficult as exploring the risks and benefits effectively may take time.

There are also risks to social workers from aggressive parents when working in child protection (Lindon, ???). The social worker should acknowledge the parents feelings and refrain from arguing back. As the social worker has a responsibility towards the children they should attempt to diffuse the situation to prevent upsetting the children (CCW, 2002, 5.7). The anger from the parents could present a risk to the children and should be acknowledged as such.

A child has the right under Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to protection from abuse and neglect (WAG, 2008). The parents could also argue that they have the right to a private family life under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 but if they are subjecting their child to abuse or neglect then this right is over ridden.

There are many uncertainties regarding risk in child protection (Adams, Dominelli and Payne). There may be no right or wrong decisions if it is approached correctly. However, there is always the possibility of a negative outcome which can be difficult for all involved and have serious implications for a child. It is difficult to make decisions where there is incomplete knowledge and uncertainty of a situation. The social worker must use their professional judgement to ensure they have taken as much care as possible to address risks with the information available (BASW, 2012, 2.3.4)

In conclusion risk can be difficult to manage as it contains many areas of uncertainty. The negative factors should be identified early to prevent further risks occurring. The assessment must take into account all areas in a child’s life to ensure a complete picture is gained and all risks are acknowledged. If the social worker has good communication skills then the quality of the information gained should be high and will enable them to make a more informed assessment. If the relevant information is not gathered then appropriate decisions may not be made. Several recommendations were made in the serious case review of Baby P. Supervision is important as it can ensure the quality of a social worker’s practice, provide other perspectives on relevant cases and potentially can improve outcomes for service users. Multi agency working is a requirement in social work. It must be utilised to gain a holistic view of the child and identify various services that can be put in place to manage risks. A service user still may not experience a positive outcome even though the most appropriate services are utilised to reduce and manage risks. If the social worker has carried out their duties correctly in accordance with legislation and policies, identified the risks and worked with others to manage those risks then they can be satisfied that they have done all they can and accept that not all outcomes will be positive.

Social workers are put into difficult situations on a regular basis. The Health and care professions council (HCPC) set guidelines to aid the challenges social workers face. To remain registered, a social worker needs to abide by the HCPC code of ethics to ensure delivery of the best possible service for users. Working within the guidelines set can be challenging as it may cause conflict with the service users values or potentially the social workers own values. For the purpose of this essay, ethics will be defined as “professional obligations and rules of conduct” (Meacham, 2007). Social work values will be defined as “a range of beliefs about what is regarded as worthy or valuable in a social work context” (BASW, 2012 p17). This essay focuses on two areas of the personalisation agenda that can cause challenges for social workers; accommodation and personal budgets. The target service user group for the purposes of this essay is people with disabilities. Using the definition stated in the Equality Act, (2010) “A person is considered disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on their ability to do normal daily activities”. Legislation and requirements to support adults with disabilities is increasing for the “over eleven million people with a limiting long term illness, impairment or disability in Great Britain” (office for disability issues, 2012). However, disabled people report mixed feelings and reactions to the legislations and rules put in place regarding their care and allowances (Dalley, 1991). The social philosophical approaches to social work will be used to deal with the challenges and conflicts social workers face. This essay touches upon Kant’s deontology; Bentham’s and Mills utilitarianism and Biestek’s 7 principles approach.

Immanuel Kant (1785) developed the theory of deontology. This means that social workers need to be promoting good actions and the correct motive, however the consequence is not important and the idea of an acceptable motive is subject to judgement (Adapted by Hartsell, 2006; Banks, 2001; Reiman, 2009; Meacham, 2008). Subsequently, Kant introduced the idea of a categorical imperative (CI). A CI maintains a person’s motives for their actions and they therefore should be acceptable as a universal law. Thus people should act on motives that can be used by everyone in a moral society and lead to respect for people (Darwell, 2002 cited in Reiman, 2009). From this it is seen that people should be treated as an end, for example a choice or desire, rather than a means (object) to our own ends. He believed that everyone should be treated with respect regardless of their characteristics or behaviour (Banks, 2001).

Kant talks about respect for the individual person and promoting self – determination. Biestek (1961) produced 7 principles that over time have become highly influential to social workers looking at values and ethics within their practice. 5 main principles have been used:

Individualisation; Recognition that each service user has unique qualities, good and bad.

Purposeful expression of feeling; Recognition that service users need to express their feelings (especially negative ones) freely.

Acceptance; The social worker should be able to work with a service user without passing judgement and accepting Individuals for who they are, including their strengths and their weaknesses.

Non – judgemental attitude; Social workers should be able to not pass judgement or assign guilt to the service user. It is about judging the service users behaviour

User self – determination; the social worker should be able to guide the service user, depending on their on their capacity, to have freedom in making their own decisions and choices (Adapted by Banks, 2001).

Utilitarianism focuses on a consequentialist approach as it focuses on the consequences of the action, rather than the actions themselves. (Scheffler, 1994 cited in Reiman, 2009). Decisions should be made on the results and consequences it could have on society rather than on a personal and individual basis, and to promote maximum good within society. The right action produces the greatest balance of good over evil – the principle of utility. (Banks, 2001). Utilitarianism is based on a theory developed by Bentham and Mills who looked into two branches of utilitarianism; hedonistic and ideal utilitarianism. Bentham explored hedonistic utilitarianism, where good was matched with happiness. Mills explored the idea of ideal utilitarianism. This focused on good being about virtues, truth and knowledge, not just happiness. (Banks, 2001). The theory promotes the greatest good for the greatest number of people. When making a decision it is imperative that the consequence is considered. Therefore as a social worker, it would be beneficial to look at the consequences of the forthcoming action and evaluate what would be most beneficial and least harmful to the service user.

In the late 1980’s, the Government recognised that an improvement in access to community services was required. The Government were committed to providing more support for people with long term needs by assisting and supporting individuals to manage their conditions and providing services they require in the community rather than in long-stay hospitals.(Oliver, 1996) Morris (1993) conducted a study that looked into disabled individuals who needed day to day services. He found that disabled individuals were starting to feel a sense of hopelessness and helplessness when trying to access statutory services. Historically, social workers assessed and told service users what services they needed. Through the personalisation agenda, and the introduction of direct payments, service users told the social worker their needs. For the first time, the social worker had to accept the service user’s self-assessment and then use the assessment to see if the highlighted issues were eligible under Fair Access to Care (2003) legislation. Direct payments were introduced in 1997 and social workers had to translate service user needs into a monetary value to enable them to purchase their own service. The aim was to give individuals control over their care and their lives. Direct payments evolved into personalised budgets and have further evolved into a more individualised budget / service plan. The need for change and equality of service provision has been recognised as more views are being voiced by people with disabilities. In line with Beistek’s theory, service users are using purposeful expression of feeling and self-determination to enable the social workers to know their wants and needs. This has resulted in changes which could reduce the potential for conflict in the future.

A further challenge is budgetary control. Service users often want services that are financially unavailable to them. Although ethics state that service users should be encouraged to have self- determination, be treated as a whole and the social worker should promote and provide information regarding their care (BASW, 2012), the service users choice cannot always be guaranteed. Utilitarianism would suggest that this is because if service users always received the services they wanted, the social worker would not be promoting the greatest good for the greatest number, instead would be taking a more Kantian approach of promoting moral good. These two philosophical approaches cause conflict within themselves.

The Mental Capacity Act (2005) says “a person lacks capacity in relation to a matter if at the material time he is unable to make a decision for himself in relation to the matter because of an impairment of, or a disturbance in the functioning of, the mind or brain”. (s2). This leads to challenges and conflicts for social workers. If the service user had capacity, there could be conflict over the way they spend their budget which could lead to the social worker treating that individual without respect. Following the BASW code of ethics (2012), it states that social workers should respect the right to self-determination. Kant would support this view as, by the social worker supporting the individual to meet their own self-defined needs, the social worker is promoting good actions that will in turn produce good outcomes for the individual. The social worker needs to recognise that the individual has human rights and freedom to voice their views. Burton (1996) showed that there was a failure to recognise the unequal power relations between the social worker in control of provision of services and the service user who relies on the services. This therefore would undermine Beistek’s principles of self-determination as, although the service user is voicing their opinion, the social worker is not listening and this could be seen as jeopardising the principles of personalisation and the code of ethics that are imperative. The implementation of The Mental Capacity Act needs to be reviewed to ensure workers are following legislation and ethics. It should not be assumed someone lacks capacity because they have a disability.

On the other hand, if the service user didn’t have capacity, it could cause conflict between the social worker and the paid carer and/or unpaid carers. If the service user lacks capacity, how would the social worker or the carers be able to assess what was best for the individual? A social worker would have to uphold and promote human dignity and well-being as well as empowering the individual. (BASW, 2012). These ethics and values are supported by Beistek’s theory. Workers need to treat the service user with respect, be non -judgemental and accept the situation the service user may be in. The social worker therefore would only be able to act upon their assessment which should include the carer’s views on what is best for the service user. Utilitarianism, an alternative argument, would argue what’s the greatest good for the greatest number? What would benefit the service user more? The social workers views or the carer’s views? The outcomes need to ensure that the maximum people are happy. The social worker could reach the maximum happiness and reduce conflict by using empowerment. The social worker would respect the needs and preferences of the service user, via the carers and family members as well as recognising their own prejudices to ensure the correct services are offered. The Community Care Act (1990) promotes care in the community and people staying within their own home, allowing the individual to use their personal budget and have carers to promote independence. There is evidence to suggest for example, individuals who have fractured a limb, fare better when they recuperate in their own homes. (Pignolo, Keenan and Hebela, 2011).

Accommodation is a major concern for many service users (Davis and Wainwright, 1996). One aspect that could cause conflict is the practice of placing young people in young disability units, properties that are specifically designed for people with learning disabilities. Although this could be seen as a solution for people to interact and have support, there is a potential conflict as the individual cannot choose where they want to live and may live a distance from family/friends. If placed in a purpose built establishment, the individuals are classed as being housed by the local authority and therefore do not get to choose alternative locations (Oliver, 1996). The dilemma for the social worker is the need to take the individuals views into account whilst balancing their needs and wants, particularly if the service user lacks the capacity to make the decision.

It is unlawful for anyone to sign a tenancy agreement on behalf of an individual who lacks capacity. A capacity assessment needs to be undertaken to ensure the service user understands how to maintain that tenancy. In order to proceed, an application needs to be made to The Court of Protection. This could lead to conflict as the social worker and housing department need to uphold the law, however many families feel they have the right to sign a tenancy for their disabled family member and find it difficult to accept that this is not the case. According to BASW (2012), the social worker needs to develop professional relationships with the service user and the family, uphold the reputation and values of the profession as well as recognising diversity and treating the individual as a whole. Utilitarianism would recommend looking at what benefits the whole family, rather than just the service user. Challenges arise when the service user lacks capacity. Using the utilitarian approach, it could be said that the service user shouldn’t be given a tenancy as it doesn’t promote the greatest good for the greatest number. This view is in conflict with BASW codes of ethics. It could be seen as unethical practice and lead to further conflict. Beistek would support the view of BASW in using the specific value base that service users should be allowed to freely express their feelings, both positive and negative, and the social worker should listen and make a decision in an accepting and non-judgemental way. However, Kant would say that although the consequence of not getting a choice in where the service user lives is a negative outcome, the intention of placing them in a home, with other people to socialise is a good moral judgement that is solely benefitting the individual.

Another potential conflict could be older disabled individuals being forced into care. The Sutherland Report (1999) claimed that older disabled people were being forced into institutional care too early due to the lack of alternative care at home. Sixsmith and Sixsmith (2008) provided evidence that by 2008 there had been a shift in care provision and that the Personalisation Agenda meant that people were remaining in their home for longer and receiving appropriate services. However there is a further potential for conflict when accommodating people, with disabilities, to stay in their homes. Individuals may want to grow old at home but is this possible for people with significantly reduced mobility? Many homes are inaccessible to wheelchair users and those with significant mobility impairments (Burns, 2004). There is a Government scheme whereby disabled people can apply for a disabled facility grant to have their homes adapted, and certain individuals have to re-pay the Government, therefore the Government is not financing expensive care packages. The role of the social worker would be to negotiate, support and empower the service user to have their needs met in the most appropriate, desired way. According to Kant’s theory, having a loan is the moral good as people will be able to remain at home for longer, promoting happiness and community care. This would be supported by the values of BASW which states social workers need to treat the service user as a whole and respect their right to self-determination. In contrast to Kant’s theory, Utilitarianism would consider weighing up the consequences of removing the service user from their house and into an adapted and safe environment. I.e. a care home could be seen as an easier option for disabled people to receive care. This view could cause conflict because the social worker is going against the wishes and desires of the service user. Utilitarianism looks at the best outcome for society rather than on an individual level. Therefore, by moving individuals out of the house into the care home may provide maximum happiness for society, although it disregards the individual’s views and opinions. This is a criticism of the model as many service users could potentially not have their needs met in a manner that is acceptable to them due to the focus being on the benefit to society. This could be particularly true e.g. for people with English as a second language or who follow a religious faith. However, Beistek would agree with Kant in promoting self-determination.

A key theme running throughout this essay is respect for the individual person as a self – determining being. Both Kant and Beistek promote this and therefore appear to be the social philosophical models best tailored towards social work values and ethics. There are clear conflicts between traditional social work and the personalisation agenda for people with disabilities. These conflicts have been reduced with the introduction of HCPC ethics. If the social worker consistently uses these theories whilst working with conflict and challenging service users then the BASW ethics will be maintained and the service users will receive the best appropriate service available within Fair access to care criteria.

Discuss the use of communication skills and values in social work

This assignment sets out to explore the use of communication skills and value in social work according to three interconnected dimensions. The first section discusses the importance of communication in the practice of social work – including building a rapport with service users and carers, and the importance of empowerment. The second section identifies and explains the centrality of effective communication skills such as negotiation, interviewing and self-awareness. After this, part three considers the impact of personal and professional values on communication. This includes traditional and radical values in social work practice and the effects of communication in ethical dilemmas. The code of practice (CCW, 2002) in the Welsh context is considered throughout.

This first section discusses the importance of communication and empowerment in social work practice with service users, carers and other professionals. Communication is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary (2013) as ‘the imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or using some other medium’. It cannot be described in such narrow terms within social work because of the different techniques involved in working with different service users in a multitude of situations. This involves social workers making judgements and getting to know the service user in order to communicate efficiently to the service users preferred method of communication (Wilson et al, 2008). Communication in social work practice is central to all inter-agency working and to building relationships with service users and carers. Good communication as a social worker requires the expertise to be both sensitive and understanding of their situation in order to build rapport with the individual (Trevethick, 2000). Rapport is how the social worker contacts and engages with the service user and carers. Developing a rapport starts with an introduction which forms the basis of the relationship, particularly as it is important to gain an understanding of the service user. This involves discussing their background, values, culture and needs, which will help develop the rapport (Knapp, 2009).

The fundamentals of communication in social work are voice and speech, body language, hearing, observing, encouraging and remembering. These skills can be used in introductions with service users and their families/ carers. Introductions can be uncomfortable and worrying for the service user if they are unsure what a social worker is there for and it depends on their previous experiences, if any. To ease this process an introduction exercise can be implemented – for example a genogram can be drawn by asking the family to collectively describe each family member in the house and those they would describe as their support and closest to them. Put simply, a genogram is a very detailed family tree using symbols to represent relationships (Parker and Bradley, 2010). This will help build a relationship with the service user as well as gain information and observe their reactions (body language) when working together and when talking about family and friends. This will show some key skills on the social workers behalf such as, listening, speech, remembering and encouraging.

Active listening uses a combination of talking and listening skills to make the service user feel you understand their situation, and encourages them to place trust in the social worker (Cournoyer, 2011). It involves positive body language and speech to invite/enable the service user to express themselves. More specifically, body language is expression through movement and facial expressions which convey emotion. Social workers should use body language to make service users feel more comfortable but also pay attention to whether the service user is showing signs of aggression, trying to hide something, or seems happy in the situation.

Empowerment is a process promoted by skills and should involve the service user. It aims to emphasise the rights and needs of people who may be oppressed by society (Leadbetter, 2002). Empowerment can be delivered in many forms, for example, personal, organisational, community based, family, group or team empowerment. Personal empowerment helps service users to gain control over their situations and overall empower themselves and others to enable change. Organisational empowerment supports staff in an organisation, promoting morale and motivation in workers so they are happy to take on more responsibilities and go to work. Community based empowerment supports the community to challenge inequalities and exclusion so everyone who lives in a certain society can feel a part of the community and take control of their environment. Family, group or team empowerment focuses on allowing each person in the group to help each other and themselves collectively. They can call on each other for support and help if they need to fight oppressive behaviour (Adams, 1996).

The second section discusses effective communication skills and how they support anti-oppressive practice. Skills are ‘the ability to carry out a particular activity effectively and consistently over a period of time’ (Thompson, 2005:81). Skills that shape the way social workers communicate are interviewing, negotiation and partnership and self-awareness (Thompson, 2005). An interview is a conversation with meaning and the beginning of change (Trevethick, 2000). Social workers use interviews to collect data and to build a face to face rapport with service users. An interview should be natural and the service user should not feel like they are being treated according to a checklist just going through the process, as this could be seen as oppressive if service users are not treated as individuals. The service user should have an understanding of why the social worker is there and has the right to know the process that has taken place to get to the interview. A key skill of interviewing is directing, this means although there should be a steady flow the social worker needs to keep the conversation on the subject that they are there for in a subtle way. This can be done by using phatic conversation as glue to keep it social and help keep a relationship going but redirecting to the main issue so it is a healthy balance for both taking part. It is better to use questions that will not give the service user the answer, especially children because this could create a story that is not exact. For example use, where did you get that bruise? Instead of did your mum give you that bruise? Open ended questions allow service users to expand on answers and give information that the social worker may not have thought to ask about (Hepworth et al, 2010).

Negotiation and partnership is an essential part of interagency working. Working in partnership with other professionals requires a level of negotiation when both services have different/alternative ideas of what is best for the service user. Professionals who work together quite commonly are social workers and health care professionals. Everyone involved in interagency team should have a clear role and have an understanding of each other’s place/responsibilities in the team and their point of view. Negotiation may take place in deciding the best solution for a service user. However, there may be a hierarchy between the professionals causing tensions in decision-making. This would need to be resolved in order to work in partnership. This can be achieved by building relationships and achieving trust and mutual respect through communication (Atkinson et al, 2007). The code of practice (6.5) states social workers should always treat colleagues with respect and work openly and co-operatively with them (CCW, 2002). Negotiation also takes place with service users’ in the decision of the best solution for their situation. Keeping the service user involved with all decisions helps maintain the service users’ trust and confidence in social services. This is anti-oppressive practice, which involves social workers empowering the service user to take control of their lives and help contact people in their society in similar situations. This is to help them feel part of society no matter their culture, language or lifestyle. It is seen as part of the social workers job to get rid of oppression in society (Dominelli, 2002). For example, by using a language interpreter this will make the service user more at ease and allow them to get their point across better.

Social workers need a level of self-awareness to convey attitudes, the correct emotions and self-control. Without self-control personal issues and emotional attachment to a situation could be expressed which could cloud professional judgement. The situation should always be focused on the service user and the social workers thoughts of their personal perfect solution may not coincide with the service user (Cournoyer, 2011). The code of practice (2.6) states social workers must declare issues that may create conflict of interests and making sure they do not influence their judgement or practice (CCW, 2002). The skill of self-awareness grows overtime with experience in practice, it teaches social workers to think on their feet during communication and difficult situations, deal with stress and tackle all obstacles as completely different when dealing with different people (Cournoyer, 2011).

This third, and final, section considers the impact of personal and professional values upon communication within social work practice, including how ethical issues arise in communication. Personal values need to be taken into account because they will frame many decisions; it’s the social workers instincts about safety and danger that decides, for instance, whether it is safe for a child to stay with their parents. However, personal values need to coincide with professional values because social workers cannot let personal judgements shadow their professional obligations to help all service users and abide by the code of practice (CCW, 2002). For example a social worker cannot express their personal opinions to a service user through verbal or non-verbal communication. They have to treat them with professional courtesy despite their personal feelings towards them. Social work values are underpinned by traditional and radical values. Traditional values focuses on being non-judgemental, protecting confidentiality and treating the service user with dignity and respect (Biestek, 1961). This follows the anti-oppressive practice of treating everyone as individuals and to not compare two different cases. These values underpin the core principles of the code of practice (CCW, 2002). Radical values are more modern views of social work practice which involves the service users taking more action to solve their problems themselves. For example, empowering the service user to have more confidence to build a partnership with their social worker and give input into their own plans for the future (Thompson, 2000).

According to BASW code of ethics (2012) ‘professional ethics concerns matters of right and wrong conduct, good and bad qualities of character and the professional responsibilities attached to relationships in a work context.’ Ethical issues can arise because social workers promote the welfare and rights of service users but the end result may not coincide with what the service user thinks is the right decision for them. This could cause communication barriers/issues because social workers support service users to be a part of deciding their own life changes then in some circumstances this power can be taken away from them. For example, an elderly woman wants to be able to live at home but she does not have the support and her dementia and mobility is deteriorating. The decision is made that she needs to go into supported accommodation, this effects the social workers relationship with the woman and the service users whole demeanour changes towards the social worker including body language, attitude and facial expression.

In conclusion, communication verbal and non-verbal resides at the core of social work. It is utilized in all areas of social work as an essential part of the job. Communication is used in services for elderly, children, people with disabilities, drug and alcohol abuse and mental health. It is used to build relationships, create solutions and to negotiate plans for service users. It is important that social workers work to always improve these skills and complete training so they can learn from other professionals’ experiences of how different service users, carers and professionals like to work in partnership. This includes how to communicate with people who may not want to co-operate to begin with but can use negotiation skills to improve the relationship.

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

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

Clinical governance

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

Change Management

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

Monitoring

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

Care Standards

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

Professional Qualities

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

Issues related to quality

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

Policies

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

Conclusion:

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

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

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

Children or Juveniles

People who are older

People who are Physically challenged or Mentally retarded

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

Definition of Needs:

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

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

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

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

Abram Maslow’s hierarchy of needs chart.

Needs and Wants

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

Challenges for Health and Social Care

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

Needs of Children

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

Roles of Care Assistants and Social Care Workers for children

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

Instruction

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

Supervision

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

Cleaning

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

Nurturing

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

Discussions

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

Old Age people

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

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

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

Physically challenge people

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

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

Concerning about health

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

Managing under definite standards

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

Preparing, managing and reporting

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

Performing various duties

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

Caring in various aspects

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

Instruction and advisory

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

Participating and consulting

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

Transporting

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

Conclusion:

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

PART 1Introduction

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

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

Types of Conflict

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

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

Functional Ambiguity and role specifications in organizations could create problems.

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

Conflict Management

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

Personal experience

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

Conclusion

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

PART 2
Introduction

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

Why the need for Building Trust, Relationships & Communication?

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

Personal Reflection

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

Conclusion

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2.1 The Synopsis of Work Life Balance

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

2.2 The Benefits of Work-Life Integration:

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

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

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

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

2.3 Organizational Behaviour towards Work-Life Balance:

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

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

2.4 Gender and Work Life Balance

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

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

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

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

2.5 Policies behind work-life balance:

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

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

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

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

2.5.1 The Characteristics of Work-Life Balance:

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

Parental Leave

Maternity Leave

Flexible Time

Time off for dependants

2.5.2 Flexible Working:

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

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

2.6 Best Practices promoting Work-Life Balance:

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

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

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

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

Summary

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

References

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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