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The origins of professionalization of social work date back to post Civil War era and the emergence of two opposing approaches to dealing with the needs and struggles of society: Charity Organization Societies (COS) and Social Reform. Charity Organization Societies (COS) – later developed into casework – offered a more individual approach, and Social Reform, represented by the Settlement House movement, which focused on addressing the societal causes of poverty. Initially working together for the so much needed social change, both movements eventually separated their actions due to the distinctiveness in their approaches (Axinn & Stern, 2008).

The end of the 19th century was about individual change and voluntary relief action. Herbert Spencer’s application of Social Darwinism with its two key attributes – “struggle for existence” and “survival of the fittest” – to social work has gained forceful influence (Axinn & Stern, 2008). The widespread perception held that poverty was simply a factor of natural selection and aiding poor would make them indolent and unproductive (Hofstadter, 1955). Over time, however, the “scientific charity” approach faced an increased hostility because of its administrative methods that lumped together all the poor in order to save tax money (Axinn & Stern, 2008). Still, the efforts of Mary Richmond and her Social Diagnosis were a crucial development for the social work profession. The book was an answer to Abraham Flexner’s report from 1915 declaring that social work was “not yet” a profession, and turned casework into a major form of social work practice (History of Social Work).

The Settlement House movement was more focused on the malfunctioning of society. Guided by the “three Rs” – Research, Reform, and Residence – the movement provided a variety of services including recreational, educational, legal, and health services. Settlement workers also became involved in social research and social action. As social reformers, they joined forces with labor, women’s organizations, socialists, and others. Many of them, such as Lillian Wald, Florence Kelly and Paul Kellogg, rose to national prominence. Jane Addams became one of the most well known figures in the nation (Axinn & Stern, 2008).

The Great Depression and New Deal steered the newly created profession toward public welfare. As social workers realized the seriousness of the depression and they re-embraced reform and social work organizations began lobbying the national government for action. New type of social work – rural social work – was also created (Axinn & Stern, 2008).

In the early 20th century, social work strove to advance its status, define its purpose, and establish educational standards. With Mary Richmond’s efforts of developing training programs, the social work profession was on its way to becoming recognized as a profession. Settlement leaders continued their commitment to social reform, but after Flexner’s report the practice of social casework was identified as the core of the new profession (History of Social Work).

Modern social work practice emanates from both traditions – individual and social reform. Today, social work is a professional and academic interdisciplinary field that is dedicated to the pursuit of social change and improving the quality of life of individuals, groups and communities (Morris, 2008; Simon, 1994). The profession strives to help “the individual to become the best he can be – the community to become the finest and fullest expression of social life that it can be, with no one left behind” (Morris, 2008).

The History and Role of Field Education

Field practice casework has always been a central aspect to the profession of social work. As education for social work became more formal in the 19th century, the field education – where classroom knowledge is applied in a social environment with real clients – has been regarded as an essential component of social work profession. It is in the field practicum that the student social workers begin to apply knowledge skills, and principles, and grasp the complexities and subtleties of assessment, intervention, and evaluation within diverse social and organizational settings.

From the 19th century origins of social work as an outgrowth of charitable organizations working with the poor, field practice in casework has been central to the profession. As education for social work became more formal, a field practicum in which classroom knowledge is applied in a social environment with real clients has been regarded as an essential component. Through Field Education, social work comes alive and students begin to see the real faces and stories behind the important issues they have read so much about, and they also begin to take responsibility for their chance to affect change.

SINCE 1968, the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) has required schools of social work to achieve cultural diversity in enrollment of students, hiring of faculty, and development of curricula (McMahon & AUen-Meares, 1992).

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has recently published standards in cultural competence that oblige social workers to strive to deliver culturally competent services to increasingly diverse client populations (NASW, 2001). Through its curriculum policy statement, CSWE provides a broad mandate for the infusion of multicultural content into academic courses (Carrillo, Holzhalb, & Thyer, 1993; Julia, 2000). It is, however, in the application of knowledge about cultural differences through a supervised internship or work environment that the training in multicultural competencies is integrated (Van Soest, in press). Although the role of field instructor is considered pivotal to student learning in social work (Bogo, 1993; Kadushin, 1991), little practical information exists to guide field instructors on approaches to infuse cultural diversity issues into the supervision process (Arkin, 1999; Cashwell, Looby, & Housley, 1997; Leong & Wagner, 1994).

The purpose of field instruction is to help you integrate the theory and knowledge base of social work learned in the classroom with the practical experience gained through work in social welfare settings. The purpose of the field education department is to provide students within the MSW program with an opportunity to learn hands-on through an internship work experience. Students that complete the foundation field practicum which focuses on generalist social work practice and arrive in the advanced year with a solid knowledge of theoretical frameworks that guide generalist practice, an understanding and acceptance of social work values and ethics, and well developed skills related to beginning social work practice. Field education in the foundation years provides the student with an opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge of social service systems to access appropriate community resources. In addition, students learn to communicate in urban settings, apply theoretical knowledge to urban problems such as poverty, and to determine how oral, written, and technological information reflecting professional social work skills. To become effective social work practitioners, students need to experience working directly with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities and working collaboratively at every client system level to assess needs and to develop plans for addressing them. The field placement provides opportunities for experiential learning consistent with the more cognitive approaches provided in the classroom. This paper reviews the critical importance of field education in social work and will suggest incremental steps through which state, county and university partners may work together to shape a structural plan that will preserve and enhance the quality of the field component and the program as a whole.

The goal and purpose of field education

The purpose of the field education department is to provide students within the MSW program with an opportunity to learn hands-on through an internship work experience. Students that complete the foundation field practicum which focuses on generalist social work practice and arrive in the advanced year with a solid knowledge of theoretical frameworks that guide generalist practice, an understanding and acceptance of social work values and ethics, and well developed skills related to beginning social work practice. Field education in the foundation years provides the student with an opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge of social service systems to access appropriate community resources. In addition, students learn to communicate in urban settings, apply theoretical knowledge to urban problems such as poverty, and to determine how oral, written, and technological information reflecting professional social work skills.

Purpose

The purpose of the field practicum is to provide students the opportunity to work in a professional setting to develop and demonstrate skills in social work, to integrate the theories and practices learned in and out of the classroom, to develop a sense of commitment to the social work profession and Code of Ethics, to develop an understanding of the diversity of a community population and the role of diversity in social work practice, to develop an understanding of how administrative processes and policies impact delivery of services, to develop professional relationships within the community to better understand local resources to benefit future clients, and to confirm personal interests and abilities in the social service field.

As students undertake learning within the reality of agency life, a vehicle is established whereby use of theory and conceptual frameworks acquired through course work is applied, skills are developed and refined, and attitudes and values are examined. Additionally students are afforded opportunities for analysis of the effects of social welfare policy on programs and services, opportunities for the development of research questions in relation to practice efforts, and opportunities for evaluation of practice interventions. Field practicum courses enable students to personally affirm the validity of content presented in the classroom. The progressive, reciprocal relationship between theory and conceptual frameworks and practice becomes a dynamic in the teaching-learning process of field instruction. Field Instruction enables students to integrate the knowing, feeling and doing aspects of their social work education. It is designed to produce a knowledgeable, skilled, self-evaluating and professionally reflective social worker.

Objectives

Knowledge:

1. Basic understanding of how generalist social work practice is applied in a specific agency setting.

2. Knowledge about the application of theories to client situations in the agency setting.

3. Knowledge regarding the use of culturally sensitive practice methods with diverse and at-risk populations.

4. Knowledge about the social work system and structure in an agency, and how the structure impacts the provision of social work services.

5. Awareness of practice issues, policy issues, and related research information relating to the student’s field setting as well as to the placement settings of other students.

6. Awareness of appropriate methods for social action related to the agency purpose and function and participation in these when appropriate.

7. Awareness of social service resources in the area to enable students to broker services to enhance client functioning and well-being.

Skills:

1. Enhancement of interviewing skills to enable the student to develop working relationships with diverse types of clients and client groups, to formulate initial and on-going assessments at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels, and to modify relationship styles to fit the client situation.

2. Ability to prepare an appropriate intervention/service plan for actual clients based on person-in-environment and strengths assessment and the availability of agency services.

3. Increased self-awareness of the student’s own intrapersonal and interpersonal attributes that enhance or interfere with therapeutic relationships or the social work role.

4. Application of practice and program evaluation skills for purposes of accountability, outcome monitoring, improvement of practice, and program development.

5. Development of the ability to use supervision in an appropriate manner for continued growth and development.

6. Development of the ability to work collaboratively with a variety of helping professionals.

7. Development of appropriate documentation skills within the agency setting which are clear, organized, and meet professional standards for the profession and the particular agency setting.

Values:

1. Respect for an individual’s worth and dignity and their unique characteristics.

2. Importance of advocating for the client with organizations and systems to ensure protection of rights and procurement of needed resources.

3. Appreciation for professional ethics, especially confidentiality, regarding clients, peers, agencies, and recognition of the individual’s right to self-determination and active participation in the helping process.

Council on Social Work Education’s 2008 Education and Policy Standards (promotes classroom and field learning as equally important for student learning) – its effect/impact on SW field education

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is the entity that accredits all social work programs in U.S. universities at the BASW and MSW levels. All California university graduate social work programs have CSWE accreditation. In its recent educational policy statement, the CSWE concluded as follows:

Signature pedagogy represents the central form of instruction and learning in which a profession socializes its students to perform the role of practitioner. Professionals have pedagogical norms with which they connect and integrate theory and practice (Shulman, 2005). In social work, the signature pedagogy is field education [italics added]. The intent of field education is to connect the theoretical and conceptual contribution of the classroom with the practical world of the practice setting. It is a basic precept of social work education that the two interrelated components of curriculum- classroom and field-are of equal importance within the curriculum, and each contributes to the development of the requisite competencies of professional practice. [1]

Several fields have a signature pedagogy, a method by which knowledge is traditionally imparted to students: the case method and moot court in law, student teaching at the primary school and university levels, even minimum flight hours for student pilots.

The importance CSWE attributes to the fieldwork component of any social work program is reflected in the hourly field requirement for each university degree. For a two- year accredited MSW program the requirement is 900 hours of MSW supervised field work. The BASW degree requires the student to complete 400 hours of supervised field. To become an accredited program of social work, a school must, among other stringent requirements, demonstrate how its field program “connects the theoretical and conceptual contribution of the classroom with the practice setting, fostering the implementation of evidence supported practice.” Further requirements include the candidate school’s providing “orientation, field instruction training, and continuing dialog with field education settings and field instructors.”

Structure for Field Practicum – The Anatomy of an Internship

(short review of a few MSW Internship Programs (or maybe just Rutgers’s?)

There are two semesters of field practicum for all social work majors. Students typically enter field their senior year. Students complete both semesters of field concurrently in the same agency unless there are extenuating circumstances which necessitate a change.

SWK 488: Internship Practicum I and SWK 489: Internship Practicum II each require 225 documented hours, for a total of 450 hours of agency work over the course of two semesters. Even if a student completes 250 hours prior to the end of either semester, that student is required to complete 15 weeks of field placement during both the fall and spring semesters. Students may accumulate internship hours between the fall and spring semesters. This arrangement must be made with the field instructor and approved by the NCU Field Coordinator. If this situation should occur, students may count accumulated hours toward the spring semester, but will still be responsible for completing the 15 week internship at a reduced number of hours per week. Students are not required to work during fall or spring holiday breaks or final exam weeks; however, they may choose to schedule hours with the agency during these periods. SWK 488: Internship Practicum I and SWK 489: Internship Practicum II, meet weekly throughout the entire period of the field placement. In addition, there are other required social work courses students take each semester (Fall: Pysch 460 – Research Methods and Spring: Psyc 495 – Senior Project).

The NCU Field Education Coordinator, in conjunction with the student, and the agency field instructor, will make decisions regarding students’ changing agency placements at any point.

Field Practicum Seminar

During a student’s field placement, he/she participates in a weekly Field Instruction Seminar. The seminar serves a very useful function by combining students from a variety of field of practice settings. This enables the student to have a broader perspective in terms of practice settings, client populations, and treatment methodologies than they might not otherwise experience.

Each seminar class is organized around a theme, such as racism within society, the value of practice evaluation and evaluation techniques which can be easily implemented and enrich practice, sexism within the profession, and goal setting and contracting with clients. The student may be assigned readings related to each topic. Discussion is geared toward enhancing students’ experiences in their internship, assisting them in making linkages between the knowledge they have obtained in the classroom and their experiences in the field, and facilitating their ongoing professional development.

A weekly component of each field seminar is a group discussion of the student’s experiences during the week. The discussions enable the student to share the high points and low points of their week, successes and frustrations. The students serve as a support system and provide constructive feedback to each other. This aspect is considered by the students to be an especially valuable component of the class.

In addition to the discussions, there are written components to field instruction seminars. For instance, students are required to submit weekly logs in which they describe and analyze the activities of the week in their field placements. Confidentiality of clients is protected as identifying information is omitted. Each student is required to do a comprehensive analysis of the policies that operate in the agency. All assignments and the grading scale are identified in the course outline.

Individualized Learning Plan

In addition to the goals and learning objectives of the Internship Practicum, it is very important that each student be aware of and verbalize individual goals for field instruction which are pertinent to personal learning needs and the particular field agency. Near the beginning of each semester of placement, the student develops an individualized learning contract that includes learning goals, objectives, activities/tasks, and evaluation measures that address areas of professional knowledge and skills in need of development or improvement. Agency field instructors and the NCU Field Education Coordinator are available to assist students with this process.

Students complete three copies of the Individual Learning Plan. One copy is submitted to the agency field instructor and one to the faculty liaison. The third copy is to be retained by the student. The learning goals can be modified or others added at any time during the placement, and progress toward goals is evaluated at regular intervals.

Recommended Field Learning Experiences

Each field agency offers a unique opportunity for students to experience social work in all its many facets. Populations served will vary as will the make-up of the staff and the types of services provided. Within this broad range of field learning experiences, it is highly recommended that certain types of experiences be made available to students in field instruction settings.

The following is a list of recommended field learning experiences:

Orientation to the agency – includes staff, facility, office procedures, filing system, types of services provided, agency’s place in the social service network, methods of intervention, etc.

Experiences in developing and managing effective relationships – includes opportunities for students to observe a number of staff with their own individual styles of intervention, participation in a variety of helping relationships, and the use of supervision to assist students to determine how they can develop an effective working relationship with a variety of client systems.

Recording experience – includes case summaries, letters to clients and other agencies, process recordings of interviews, and eventually direct entry of students’ recordings into the agency’s records, etc.

Administrative experiences – includes observation/participation in staff meetings, funding hearings, public relations functions, budget planning, grant writing or reading grants already funded, lobbying efforts, board meetings, contracting requirements, etc.

Experience in resource/referral management – includes overall orientation to services available to client population being served by the field agency; telephone contacts with other agencies providing support services to clients; scheduled visits to key agencies with whom linkage for clients is most common; and learning procedures for effective referrals.

Interviewing experiences – includes observing, planning, and conducting interviews for a variety of purposes (intake, with staff, for volunteer programs, assessment, intervention, etc.), with diversified client systems in a variety of places (agency, home, school, hospital, etc.) The use of process recordings, observation, and tape-recorded sessions provides the field instructor with data to aid students in further developing interviewing skills.

Experience with procedures for evaluation of individual practice and agency programs – includes designing a plan for evaluating own practice, client progress, and effectiveness of interventions; data collection and analysis; becoming familiar with procedures for agency program evaluation; and conceptualizing/ developing a system for program evaluation if none exists, such as evaluation of service by clients.

Experience with groups – includes observation and participation in groups such as client groups, staff meetings, client staffing, and groups available in the broader community for the purpose of developing an understanding of group processes and skill in interacting in groups as a member or facilitator.

Experience in community activities – includes observation and/or participation in assignments that facilitate understanding of the community and its social service network, the field agency’s role in the community, as well as assignments that draw attention to unmet community needs and provide opportunity for community planning.

All learning experiences have, as a long range goal, the opportunity for students to develop increased skills, a greater level of independent functioning, and the development of a sense of professional identity with its accompanying values and guidelines under which the profession operates. Enabling the student to learn to utilize the supervisory relationship is central to the student’s growth in this area as well as all the other areas recommended for field learning experiences.

These suggestions can provide the student with sufficient opportunities to experience all facets of the agency as well as to create a structured learning experience. Other experiences of particular interest to a student can be incorporated into the student’s individual learning goals and contract at any time during the placement.

Current delivery of field education

contextual factors affecting field education

the nature of professional social work practice

theories and evidence-based practice related to field education

formats and methods of field instruction

the nature of student learning and effective approaches to student learning and competence in field education

the important relationship of the field instructor and student

Evaluation of student competence and methods of measurement in field education

It is recommended that the field site supervisor and the student review the evaluation tool used in the practicum as one of the first tasks of their supervisory sessions. This will help focus the teaching and learning of both parties. The field practicum is graded on an A – F scale. This grade will be determined by the NCU Field Work Coordinator with input from the field site supervisor.

The NCU Field Work Coordinator will meet with the student and the field site supervisor at least twice during the semester and more frequently, if needed. The regularly scheduled meetings will occur around mid-semester and again at the end of the semester. The student evaluation form should be completed prior to the evaluation meeting.

Student’s final grades will be determined by the overall evaluation from the agency and progress made on their learning plans that are developed early in the semester. (Learning plans can and should be modified throughout the semester with mutual consent from the student, faculty, and NCU Field Work Coordinator.)

If, at the midterm evaluation meeting, the field supervisor and Field Work Coordinator agree that the student is not displaying appropriate social work skill and therefore at risk of failing the Practicum, the student (with input from the field supervisor and Field Work Coordinator) must write a corrective action plan to address deficient areas. This plan must be signed by the student, field supervisor, and the NCU Field Work Coordinator.

Challenges and Potential Solutions

Field education is the primary interface between the school, the agency and the community within which both reside (Glassman, 2008). Field work provides the occasion for the student’s application of knowledge, values, theory, problem-solving skills, and affect to inform his or her practice ( Schon, l987). Stressing the essential character of field education for the future, authors Reisch and Jarman-Rohde observed, “As economic safety nets are dismantled, remaining agencies will have more clients but fewer staff to address their needs . . . field instruction will become an even more significant component of social work education.” (2000). To meet the needs for well-prepared staff members in economically challenged agencies, these authors argue that enhanced university-agency cooperation is needed to make certain students have the skills, values, experience and personal qualities to work effectively in an increasingly stressful work environment (Reisch & Jarman-Rohde, 2000).

In addition to providing students the opportunity to acquire practice skill, field instruction is also the primary domain for informing curriculum and faculty of practice issues and needs, particularly practice effectiveness (Glassman, 2008).

The positive aspects of a high-functioning, agency-university field program reverberate to the benefit of all involved: students, agency staff, faculty, and community. Consequently, greater interface and field program development that involves all partners to the educational process is particularly appropriate and valuable to a program like CalSWEC, in which the future employer has the direct opportunity to participate in preparing the new recruit. Under current economic conditions, CalSWEC agency and university partners will need to rethink how best to structure field programs around the state and more clearly articulate the roles of the individual entities involved.

A high quality field work experience is essential to give the entering child welfare social worker the tools to use both his/her education and the agency and community resources effectively. The NASW has noted that “practitioners and researchers are continually challenged by the difficulties agencies face in recruiting and retaining a competent child welfare workforce. “Part of that challenge is insuring that entering staff are equipped with adequate practice in working with actual clients under realistic agency conditions. Preparation in the form of high quality supervised field work has a beneficial effect on workforce retention, as demonstrated by the excellent CalSWEC retention rate of its MSW graduates, all of whom have experienced field practice as well as classroom preparation ( California Social Work Education Center, 2007).

Conclusion – the importance of integration of theory and practice in social work

CalSWEC’s Title IV-E Program, noted as a national model for agency-university partnerships in social work education, is at a crossroads. National economic forces that threaten the operation and staffing of social services agencies throughout the country now threaten the Program’s capacity to supply its students with the kind of high quality field experience they require to become effective child welfare social workers. In this climate, schools of social work may need to reconfigure the university-agency relationship, develop more field -centered education, and re-assert the community-based origins of the profession (Glassman, 2008). Schools of social work need to consider the possible benefits of creating rotating field sites, developing new agency forms for the purpose of education, and modifying existing agency structures to integrate service, education and research more effectively ( Reisch & Jarman-Rohde, 2000).

Recommendations:

For the large and diverse state of California, a number of different models may need to be devised for conducting field education and building placement capacity to accommodate regional needs and resources. Rather than a reactive, crisis-based response to changing economic conditions the following set of recommendations are proposed to move forward:

Initiate a multiyear CalSWEC initiative to develop a systematic, long-term structural plan for creating and sustaining high quality field placement opportunities statewide. The initiative would encompass the following:

Engage agency directors and university faculty in dialogue to examine regional needs and resources then develop field placement models that meet the regional needs and resources. Models may include rotating field sites, field units and unified content and competency development that will be operated by agency and university partners, at pilot sites designed to address particular regional needs.

Through careful pilot development, test the efficacy of the models.

Leverage the university/county/CDSS partnership

Social work is a profession that focuses on people of all ages. The definition given by the International Federation of Social Workers is,

The above definition states that social work values include solving problems, enhancing well-being, human rights, social justice, empowerment, social change and liberation. The definition of the word ‘values’ differs depending on whether you are talking about personal values or professional values. Personal values are a set of principles that support peoples actions or behaviours. Professional values are guidelines like the Code of Practice set up by the Care Council for Wales that all social care workers must adhere to. As a social worker our personal values must not interfere with our professional values. We must be professional at all times.

The role of a social worker is to shield vulnerable people, develop relationships and where possible help families to stay together while sticking to these guidelines. They also support people to enable them to live a happy life as possible. Social workers work as part of multi-disciplinary teams with other professions such as education, health and probation services. This is to make sure that all aspects of the service users life is taken into consideration when help is being discussed. If this is completed effectively no aspect of the service users life if left without any help if it is needed. Social workers work in various different organisations. Some work for local authorities in children and adult services departments there are also social workers working in hospitals and the voluntary and private sector.

The above value of social justice includes the need for resources to be distributed evenly amongst all members of society, to ensure that basic human needs are met. It is the members of society that are socially excluded that find it difficult to access these resources. Many people that social workers work with are socially excluded and discriminated against for a number of reasons. Social exclusion is defined as,

Social exclusion describes a way of life where opportunities are few, services are difficult to access and people lose hope. It is caused and upheld by a set of linked, and often recurring, problems like low income, lack of work, poor health, low educational attainment, living in a poor physical environment and high levels of crime. As a result of social exclusion it is difficult to reduce poverty and malnutrition due to the people who are socially excluded being more difficult to reach. People with less money are more likely to have poor levels of health and education. This is particularly true when lack of money is paired with lack of basic needs.

Discrimination is also a big part of being socially excluded. Discrimination has been apparent as far back a 1834 with the Poor Law Amendment Act where people where categorised as either deserving or undeserving poor. The deserving poor included widows, the very old and the very ill, the undeserving poor included unmarried mothers. Some members of society still hold these views today. Members of society can be discriminated against for many reasons including age, race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation. Discrimination has negative affects for both the individual and society. It could result in the individual being too scared to leave the house for fear of being called names or in some cases attacked due to their race. This could cause them to become isolated which could cause depression.

It is the responsibility of a social worker to see past the age of a service user or their race and to help them as an individual. The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (2000) cited in Horner (2007, pg 141) talks about social work values and states that,

It is important that at all times social workers practice in an anti – oppressive and anti -discriminatory way. Both terms are often used interchangeably but the meaning of oppressive is different to that of discriminatory.

Anti-discriminatory practice is compulsory by legislation. This started in the Sex Equality Act 1975, the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Children Act 1989.

Equality is a basic principle with regards to the work the Welsh Government are doing. Before devolution there was no logical approach to inequalities in Wales. In Wales: A better country, it states that,

There are differing levels of social exclusion depending on the area in which you live. Access to resources is easier If you live in the centre on Cardiff as you are close to all of the amenities you may need, for example a Doctors surgery if you are felling unwell or a supermarket selling copious amounts of fruit and vegetables to help provide a healthy balanced diet. If you live on the outskirts of the city where there are less houses and more open fields, you have further to travel to see a doctor or access fruit and vegetables, in most cases you need a car to access these and need to have good health in general to be able to make the journey.

In 1998, twelve out of twenty-two Local Authorities in Wales had a higher percentage of unfit housing than the Welsh average of 8.5 percent (Welsh Government, 2006). This means that more than 8.5 percent of housing in over half of Wales wasn’t suitable for people to live in.

The issues social workers in Wales may come across are not only different depending on where in Wales they work but with Wales being a multi-cultural society they may come across a service user whose first language is different to their own. This does not just refer to people speaking Welsh but also people speaking other languages from all over the World, for example, Polish and Indian amongst others. Without prior knowledge of this, it is difficult to accommodate and you may find that your questions are now fully being understood or you are not fully understanding the questions. If you know in advance it may be possible to arrange for an interpreter, this would mean that the conversation is understood and you are more likely to give that service user the help that they need.

Social services in Wales are delivered to the people by the twenty-two local authorities and around 1,800 voluntary and private organisations. The law requires Local authorities to provide Social Services. There are 150,000 people in Wales that are supported by social services. The Welsh Government’s responsibilities for funding, setting the policy, reviewing, inspecting and regulating social services, cover, adult and child care, support and advice, grants and community voluntary care. The foundation of the Welsh Government’s Social Services and Social Care work is the 10 year strategy Fulfilled Lives, Supportive Communities. The strategy is put to local authorities who have a responsibility,

In conclusion, the role of a social worker is very varied and complex. Social workers face many issues while working with service users and their families. They work with people of all ages. There are many values that social workers must work to which can be found in the code of practice, outlined by the Care Council for Wales. Promoting social justice is a very important value that all social workers but work towards with service users. Everyone had personal values that they have developed as they have grown older but it is important that social workers stick to the professional values that they have agreed to uphold at all times and that their personal values do not interfere with these. Social workers work with the most vulnerable members of society and to ensure professionalism they stick to guidelines at all times. To help service users, multi-disciplinary teams are set up. These make sure that all aspect of the service users life is taken into consideration when trying to help them. It is not only Local Authorities that have social workers as part of the teams, there are also social workers working in the voluntary and private sector. The value of social justice includes the need for resources to be distributed evenly to all of society. It is the members of society that are socially excluded that find it hard to access these resources. People who are socially excluded have fewer opportunities and very often lose hope. It can be difficult to address social exclusion as people who are socially excluded are difficult to reach. Discrimination is a big part of social exclusion. People can be discriminated against because of their age, race, ethnic origin, gender and sexual orientation amongst others. There are only negative effects of discrimination which could lead to depression. Levels of social exclusion can be different

depending on

where people live, so no two social workers work with identical service users because they just do not exist.

This paper reviews on how the death of child could affect the parents’ psychological well-beings as well as other factors that could influence their daily lifestyles. It is said that some parents might go through a five-stages of grief cycle during their bereavement period. The five stages of grief cycle include the denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. There are a few short term and long term effects of death of child on child being discussed in this paper. Besides, intervention programmes and their effectiveness were also being mentioned in this paper.

Keywords: death, bereavement, parents

Every parents love their children. Parents would do anything for the sake of their children. However, sometimes, unexpected loss of children could bring a great effect on parents. For example, the death of children. Some parents might go through the grief period for a few years. Death in human is defined as the permanent loss of a person’s life (DeGrazia, 2011). Death is also what people mean by pass away. Death of a child is like losing a part of the parents’ lives. When the parents lose their child, it does not only mean losing a child, but also losing their identity as parents. Every parent would deal with their bereavement period differently. Bereavement is the word being used to describe the condition of grief when a loved one passed away (Christiane, 2005). Some parents would be well prepared to accept the truth while some might just stay in the stage of denial.

According to United States Child Mortality (2007), out of 100000 children in United States, 53287 of the children died in years 2007. A few common causes of death on children are by accidents, cancer, and some developmental disorders that are presented during their birth (Medline Plus, 2007). All these causes are considered as unexpected causes of death. None of the parents would expect their children to pass away at their young age.

It is very common for parents to have mental distress when they have experienced the loss of their loved ones such as their children. It could be a tough period of time for the parents to accept the fact that their children have passed away. Some of them would even stay in stage of denial for a long period of time. The process of grief includes five stages which is also known as the grief cycle. Grief cycle model was introduced by Kubler-Ross in year 1969. This model explains how the individuals go through the process of accepting the fact of death and bereavement as well as how they cope with them.

The first stage in the grief cycle is named as denial. Denial is the condition when a person either consciously or unconsciously refuses to acknowledge the facts or the reality (Kubler-Ross, 1969). Denial is a natural defense mechanism that exists in every individual. An individual could stay at this stage when he or she experiences some traumatic changes that they can ignore. In death, a person might choose to avoid the fact that someone has passed away or going to pass away.

The second stage of grief would be anger. The individuals might get angry once they are informed that someone’s life is going to end (Kubler-Ross, 1969). They might have the thought that why such an incident would happen on themselves or to the person they love. The individuals could express their anger in different ways. Some individuals might get angry at themselves while some may express their anger on others. They might project their anger on others by blaming others’ faults on the unlucky incidents.

The third stage of grief is known as bargaining. This is the stage when the individuals bargain with God and hope that they could get a negotiation to have a longer life span (Kubler-Ross, 1969). When the individuals know the fact that they have limited time to live, they would start to pray or hope that they could have more time to fulfill their dreams or to work on their unfinished business. For example, if the individuals are told that they only have three months left to live, they might negotiate with God by asking for another three months to live so that they could have more time to find the solutions for their problems as well as to spend more time with their friends and family.

The next stage of grief is the state of having depression. It is the stage which the individuals are prepared to have the feeling of grief. At this stage, the individuals are usually emotionally prepared to accept the facts. They might get upset, feel fearful or insecured, and so on. This stage is a sign of the individuals to start accepting the truth (Kubler-Ross, 1969). It is the time for the individuals to adjust their feeling to be emotionally prepared for the worst to come. For example, they could be feeling fearful of losing their loved ones.

The last stage would be the acceptance. This stage indicates that individuals are well prepared for their condition (Kubler-Ross, 1969). The individuals could stay at this stage for a long period of time. They might be readily prepared for loss of one’s life and calmly deal with all the challenges that have in life. Acceptance is a tough stage as the individuals are expected to accept the reality that they are dying or losing someone whom they love.

However, not all individuals would experience all the five stages of grief. It depends on how they interpret the problems and how they deal with them (Kubler-Ross, 1969). Some individuals might skip a few stages and go into acceptance while some may stay in a certain stage for some period of time (Kubler-Ross, 1969). Some individuals might even do not reach the stage of acceptance at the moment they are ending their lives or losing someone. It is possible for the parents to experience either all the five stages of grief or some of them when they are about to lose their child or when they have loss their child.

It is found that parents could develop the mental distress even though their children have passed away for five years. Some parents could even develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the death of their children. However, there is gender difference in the duration of parents to bereave over the death of children. Study shows that women would bereave for a longer period of time as compared to men (Murphy, Johnson, & Lohan, 2002). These mothers are diagnosed to have mental distress such as anxiety and depression. These mothers reported that they have difficulties in making decision and to remember things (Murphy, Johnson, & Lohan, 2002). Mothers are said to score higher scores in PTSD as compared to fathers. Mothers are always those who would have more emotional problems as compared to fathers. This could be due to the fact that females tend to be those who would have higher level of anxiety (Craig, 2005).

Another study stated that parents who have experienced loss of child were found to have higher level of depression, weaker psychological health, and higher level of physical health problems as well as having marital problems as compared to those who did not experience the loss of child (Rogers, Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg, & Hong, 2008). The parents might get too upset by the death of their child and some may even blame themselves on the death. They might blame themselves for not giving proper care to the children and cause them to pass away. The parents could keep having this thought in their mind and lead them to develop the symptoms of depression. In terms of physical health, because of the bereavement period that the parents are experiencing, they might just give up on their lives and do not take good care of themselves (Rogers, Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg, & Hong, 2008). They might not take in healthy food and cause them to have poor health. Besides, some parents might blame their partners for not taking proper care of their child and eventually cause their child to pass away. The worst situation could lead to the divorce of both the parents.

The conditions mentioned in the above are the long-term effects on parents with loss of child. Besides those stated in the above, there are a few short-term effects that could take place as well. For example, death of child could affect the job status of the parents (Rogers, Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg, & Hong, 2008). When the parents experience the loss of child, they would not be able to focus on the job that they’re doing. Most of the time, they would eventually make mistakes and lose attention in their work.

In addition, the social life of the parents would also get affected during the bereavement period (Rogers, Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg, & Hong, 2008). The parents would try to avoid from the public and do not get involved in any of the social activities. They would try to avoid themselves from participating in the events that could lead them to think of their loss child.

In order to help parents to pass through the bereavement period, interventions could be provided to them. According to Rowa-Dewar (2002), interventions could help to reduce the level of depression in mothers. Effective interventions should be developed in order to help parents to reduce their psychological distress level due to the death of their children.

As the parents are going through the period of bereavement, a chaplain could be introduced to them in order to provide emotional support to the parents. A chaplain plays a role in providing advises and counseling to individuals who need them (World Fellowship Church, 2003). A chaplain is usually being introduced by churches and hospitals. Sometimes, if the families have their own religious leaders, they could be introduced to the parents at this stage as well. A chaplain serves as a person to provide emotional support to the parents. The parents could spend time to express their feeling to the chaplains as well as to discuss on the problems that they have with them.

Besides, support groups could be established for parents who are experiencing the bereavement period. The parents could meet up once in a week to share their feelings with each other. The support group acts as a place for the parents to emotionally help each other rather than calling it a therapy group (YMCA Orange Country, 2012). By attending the support group, the parents are able to obtain emotional support from the other parents, to reduce their depression level, to decrease their feeling of loneliness, to make new friends, to share similar experiences, and also to cope better with the grief process (YMCA Orange Country, 2012). It would be easier for the parents to socialize with each other as they could have the similar experience hence can understand each other better. Most of the time parents do not share their feelings with people who do not have the same experience like them. They often have the thought that others could not understand how upset they are.

Murray (1996), whom is a researcher and psychologist from University of Queensland, developed an intervention for parents who have undergone the death of child and to examine the effectiveness of her intervention. Murray (1996) aimed to use the intervention to reduce the mental distress of the parents. Parents who participated in the intervention reported to have reduced in level of depression and decreased in the feeling of separation as well as better satisfaction towards their marital status as compared to those who did not receive any interventions. Murray (2006) mentioned that in the intervention, mothers found to look for emotional support from many other relationships while fathers tend to depend on their marital relationship. This study indicates that effective interventions are suitable to help the parents who have loss child to recover better from the bereavement period.

In conclusion, there are five stages in the grief cycle, which include denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Parents who experienced the loss of child could pass through some of these stages. Studies showed that parents could have high level of depression, fearful, and anxiety after the loss of their child. Long-term effects could last for a long period of time. In terms of short term effects, loss of child could affect the parents’ job performance as well as their social lifestyles. In order to help the parents to overcome the bereavement period, interventions could be provided to them. Counsellors, chaplains, and social support group could help the parents to recover from the grief period. It is important to provide emotional support to the parents as they might be psychologically affected severely due to the incidents experienced by them. Physical health is an issue to be focused on as well. This is because parents could neglect their health after the loss of their child. Hence, parents who experience the loss of child should not feel hesitate to seek help from the professionals.

From the findings of our group presentation, it can be said that quality means doing things right, but the things which the operation needs to do right will vary according to the kind of operation. For example, in the hospital, quality could mean making sure that patents get the most appropriate treatment, that the treatment is carried out in a medically correct manner, it would also include such things as ensuring that the hospital is clean, and that the staff are well informed and friendly towards patients.

It’s not surprising that all operations regard quality as a particularly important object. In some ways quality is the most visible part of what an operation does. Furthermore, it’s some thing that a customer finds relatively easy to judge about the operation. By asking is it right or wrong? Is it the way it’s supposed to be? There is some thing fundamental about quality. Because of this, it’s clearly a major influence on customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

Quality then is simple meeting the customer requirements, and this has been expressed in many ways:‘Fitness for purpose or use’, ‘Conformance to requirements’, and in many other ways.

Clearly, part of the acceptability of a service will depend on its ability to function satisfactorily over a period of time, and it is this aspect of performance that is given the name reliability. It is the ability of the service to continue to meet the customer requirements. It is important to realize that the ‘meeting the customer requirements’ definition of quality is not restrictive to the functional characteristics of services.

A report on your contribution to the group and to the work that was presented

I contributed a great deal in the planning and writing up of the presentation. Our group communicated amongst itself both efficiently and effectively. Although we gathered on only one occasion outside academic hours as a whole group, the meeting was extremely constructive as we were able to discuss and arrange the main sections of the presentation.

My role within the group was to design the slides and research on the topic I was allocated as a member of the group. Firstly, I decided to research on the theory of variation and the Deming cycle, and attempted to link these theories to the results of the care quality commission report on the two care homes of our choice. The other role in the work of the group involved introducing the main points of the presentation and writing up on one of the key points in the conclusion.

A report on how the group worked together

Group work has been defined by various authors, however Kurland and Salmon (2003) states that for some group work is just another way of talking about teamwork, however, working in groups is often presented as a good way of dividing work and increasing productivity. It can also be argued that it allows for the utilization of the different skills, knowledge and experiences that people have, (Cory and Cory, 2002). Kurland and Salmon (2002) describes team work as partnership, therefore he goes to describe partnership working as a variety of arrangements with different purposes, time scales, structures, operating procedures and members between groups and the community as a whole. Lowndes (2002) adding that partnership/group working achieves what would be difficult or impossible for a single person to do on their own therefore collaborative working is also known as partnership working. However, (Wildridge et al, 2004) argues that partnership working is not in and of itself a good thing. Yalom (2005) claims that for a group work to be effective 10 characteristic should be present: Develop goals and plans, Enhance communication among members, Develop and maintain positive relationships among members, Solve problems and make decisions on a timely basis, Successfully manage conflict, Facilitate productive meetings, Clarify roles for team members, Operate in a productive manner, Exhibit effective team leadershipand Provide development opportunities for team members. Our group work lacked the communication skills, hence working in a group proved difficult. Donovan (2005) states that good communication is critical to effective teamwork; it is far more than talking and listening. It is sometimes a complex and puzzling process. However, effective communication is possible with the right approach, techniques and some practice.

Our group could have worked better as a team. The main flaw was our inability to meet up, discuss ideas and become all aware as to which stage of drafting we are. We at times thought different things were occurring and we didn’t all pull in the same direction until towards the end when editing the slides.[1] These are the sessions where we worked well as a group. When editing, we looked at the slides and any idea brought up by one of our group members were considered. This process happened several times and this ensured us that we were all happy with the final copy of our presentation.

Another disappointing thing about our group was the lack of met deadlines. However, this directly came as a consequence as a lack of deadlines set. Although the work was shared between the group, it was much disorganised as to when it should be done. It was very difficult for this reason to know whether we were ahead or behind schedule with the only dates determined was the final deadline for all work (15/04/2010).

My experience in group work has showed that there are many problems that accompany group work that is people don’t pull their weight and one person who don’t turn up leaving other person to complete the task. There are problem’s with time management as some people might not attend time set because of other commitment and lack of commitment towards the task resulting in people not doing what was given to them, this is a big de-motivation factor in group as it pulls the whole group down and effects work.

The day we met for the first time to prepare our presentation, our strategy involved first gathering all information on Deming using research skills like using reputable sources from the Internet, newspaper and articles for the next meeting. On the first of three meeting we covered what points were relevant and how would we structure the presentation and had an agreement on the type of care home we will use for our presentation.

The following week we gathered our research together and highlighted the important and relevant information and set our specific points for each person to cover and what to research, we also began our PowerPoint presentation. My point was to design the slides and prepare a clear explanation of the theory of variation and the Deming cycle.

On the final week we brought in our final version on what each of us would cover and finalised the presentation and practice our presentation and corrected each other if there were any faults and gave inputs to each other on how they improve it even further.

What I learnt in group work with my colleagues while preparing for presentation that people who have good decision making skills will set a vision of what need to be accomplished and setting a structure of how should we aim to achieve it. This part involves being good at making decisions, as it is very crucial part in-group work and a good academic skill to have. This motivates other to decisions rather then leaving it to the end, as it helps’s set a goal to aim for. There are also couple of skills that are crucial they include setting prioritise, communicating between colleague and inter personal skills. For example giving constructive criticism like our group did when we were carrying out presentation to each other.[2] (Rose et al,1989) It could have been wise to adopt Tuckman’s literature on group development, based on a meta-analysis of the complex models which had previously been developed. It has the virtue of being memorable, but the limitation of being rather rigid.[3](Tuckman, 1965)

[1] Davis,B.G.(2009)(2nd ed.) Tools for teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

[2] Brower,A.M.,Rose,S.D.(1989) Advances in Group work research. London: Eurospan/Haworth.

[3] Tuckman,B. (1965) “Developmental Sequence in Small Groups” Psychological Bulletin 63 pp. 384-399

Child abuse was formally recognised between the1940s-60s, it was acknowledged as being a social problem and viewed within a medical framework. ‘Casework’ by social workers developed as a means of ‘treating’ affected families (Parton, 1985 p.48; Scourfield, 2000).What we identify today as child protection social work evolved through the professionalism of the role in the 1970s and supporting legislation and local procedures established to safeguard children (Corby, 1993). Since its inception, child protection has been subject to controversy and continually placed under intense public and media scrutiny adding pressure to teams (Ferguson, 2004). As such systems appear to be in a continual crisis of confidence; when things go wrong teams are criticised for negligence, whilst conversely, social workers are criticised for being too intrusive or failing to manage demand (Mansell, 2011). Given this perpetual balancing act there is a never-ending wave of reform which to date has failed to address the public lack of confidence or media focus on shortcomings.

Child protection aims to keep children safe from ‘harm’ and, while this term is heavily debated (Dolgoff et al, 2012); the Working Together guidance (2010) identifies ‘harm’ as developmental impairment or ill-treatment which should be compared to potential impact on a ‘similar child’ (Children’s Act 1989 S.31). Of abuse reported, neglect accounts for 43.5% of cases in the UK, making the most common form of maltreatment (Swift, 1995; Ferguson and O’Reilly, 2001; Munro, 2011).

While there is no an expectation for families to avert all harm to children, parents do, as Kant writes, have an obligation to do what is necessary to aid development (1996). This is in essence the ‘parental thesis’ (Bluestein, 1982: 104-114) which suggests, rather than ‘rights’, parents have a ‘duty’ to protect their children. Fox-Harding’s (1997) seminal work on child care perspectives identifies four different positions on the relationship between state and the family; ‘laissez-faire and patriarchy’ aligns with this thinking; suggesting that the family is largely self-governing and state intervention ought only occur in cases of serious maltreatment, and in these cases the child should be removed (Goldstein et al.,1979). Below thresholds of serious maltreatment, intervention from the state is considered interfering and undermining (Fox-Harding, 1997). Whilst fair in terms of observing rights, Kirton (2009) argues that this view is somewhat idealistic and perhaps naive, as whilst no system can guarantee freedom from abuse, it has been shown that some of the most severely abused children were known to agencies charged with child protection responsibilities (Johnson and Petrie, 2004). Indeed, in the cases of Victoria Climbie and Peter Connelly the harm suffered was considered entirely preventable (NSPCC, 2001; Laming, 2003; Munro, 2011).

Child protection systems in the UK have largely been punctuated and shaped by deaths of children open to services making these incidents catalysts for reform (Beckett, 2007). The death of Maria Colwell (1973) for example, saw the thresholds for intervention lowered with the aim of ensuring that more children at risk were not missed. The result of this was an inevitable increase in the volume of children and families involved with services. Social workers were accused of being over-involved in service user’s lives, likened to Nazis and McCartyhite persecutors, and accused of involvement in ‘hysterical witch hunts’ (Meyers, 1994; Munro, 1999 p. 119). Enquiries into Kimberley Carlisle (1987), Tyra Henry (1987) and Jasmine Beckford (1985) identified failings of agencies to work together, poor assessment of risk, a need for child-centred practice and failure to intervene, particularly when parents avoided contact (Broadhurst et al, 2009). The Children’s Act followed, re-framing child abuse processes as child protection (Corby, 1993), whilst concurrently introducing the notion of ‘likelihood’ of harm and in doing so contributing to making ours’ an age of inquiry (Stanley and Manthorpe, 2004).

Though some distance from Plato’s collective rearing ideal (1993); Fox-Harding’s ‘State paternalism and child protection’ supports higher levels of intervention, postulating the state has a duty to scrutinise and promote the care of children as well as have the capacity to intervene and ‘provide something better for the child’ (Fox-Harding, 1997 p 41; Dingwall, 1983). Coming from a position of mistrust, this perspective largely ignores difficulties for parents and the potential for families to feel oppressed, as well as overlooking bonds which the child may have and the potential of developmental damage arising from removal (Fox-Harding, 1997; Kitson, 2009). Such processes can cause ‘suspect’ families unnecessary distress through investigation which can affect relationships and generate ethical and legal dilemmas (Munro, 1999b, p 120). Preoccupations with information gathering have also been accused of being beaurocratic, alienating of the natural family, failing to see the child and ultimately getting in the way of ‘real’ social work (Lonne et al, 2008; Munro, 2004, 2011).

Conversely, Dingwall discusses a ‘rule of optimism’ suggesting that in order to keep tensions between state and family to a minimal (and promote responsibility); intervention should reflect the least intrusive measures (1983). While this is the widely adopted stance since the 1980s, it was disregarded by a case in Cleveland when 121 children were removed from their families in an act of ‘over-enthusiasm and zeal’ (1988: 244). The Cleveland ‘scandal’, as it became known, was criticised for breaching the family’s right to a private life (Human Rights Act, Article 8) as, while there were concerns pertaining to some children, it was concluded that there was no substantial evidence to support their actions. This exemplifies the tension between over and under-protection and the need for social work to establish appropriate balance, between family autonomy and state intervention (Parton et al, 1997).

In an attempt to avoid ‘missing’ children or being needlessly intrusive, predictive models emerged during the 1980s (DoH, 1991; Corby, 1993). Professor Cyril Greenland assisted in the development of a checklist for practitioners to identify high-risk situations (Parton, 1991), which along with the recognition of likelihood of harm under the Children’s Act 1989, substantiated the need for authorities to consider risk. Terms such as ‘risk’ and ‘harm’ are now synonymous with social work which now holds a mandate not just to support families, but to assess dangerousness and risk (DH, 1988). Identification and assessment of risk (as well as implementing management plans) involves balancing respect for individuals’ rights alongside public safety requiring collaboration, transparency, sensitivity, openness and a non-judgemental attitude with clients, particularly where there is use of statutory powers (Beckett, 2010; GSCC, 2010).

As such, assessment is a crucial element of social work and fundamental to child protection. The Framework for Assessment of Children in need and their families (DOH, 2000b) targets children at risk with focus on encouraging practitioners to adopt holistic approaches and consider family and environment, as well as the child’s development (Hamilton and Browne, 2002). The framework lends itself to the exchange model of questioning where service users are viewed as the ‘experts’ in their lives (Milner and O’Bryne, 2002). While this is thought to empower and support engagement from the family; Calder (2003) argues that the strict timescales requiring core assessments to be completed in 35 days are too short to build meaningful relationships. Such timescales, which coincided with the introduction of local authority performance cultures (Ferguson, 2005) can result in practitioners having to adopt a questioning model which is not as conducive to engagement and potentially damaging for relationships. Calder also discussed how differing cultures and attitudes must also be considered and how these may require additional time, sensitivity and cultural awareness. Indeed, the enquiry into the death of Tyra Moore found social workers who failed to detect her abuse were inherently trusting and made assumptions about her extended family because they too were black (Batty, 2003).

The recent trial of Lucy Adeniji and inquests into Victoria Climbie and Kyrya Ishaq established similar findings and, despite significant training, there are still concerns that many social workers are not fully equipped to work with families from ethnic minorities and, in particular, are wary of tackling cultural and religious practices and beliefs they do not fully understand (Munro, 2011). While the Children Act 1989 encourages consideration of the family and child’s needs arising from their race, culture and religion, social workers must still prioritise safety and risk in child protection cases. Additionally, the use of interpreters, multi-agency working, information sharing can support defensible decision and professional judgement.

Despite inclusion in both 1989 and 2004 Children’s Acts, failure to ‘see the child’ has been a common feature in serious case reviews (Munro, 2011); as such social workers must acknowledge the needs of the child and also, where possible, meet with children in the absence of their parents (NSPCC, 2011). Fox-Harding’s ‘Children’s rights and child liberation’ perspective asks us to acknowledge the child’s voice; an ethos which is embedded much recent literature including Working Together 2010, Children’s Plan 2007, Article 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and ratified under the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). The child’s best interests should therefore remain the focus of child protection systems (Munro, 2011), and research from the NSPCC suggests children’s views are central to assessment and should be considered in all decisions which affect them (2011). Whilst progressive, the view has also been criticised for sometimes tokenistic inclusion and assumptions made regarding a child’s ability to be autonomous. As such, assessment should adopt a healthy professional cynicism not to over-estimate parental capacity (Forrester et al, 2008); to do so is collusive and, as witnessed in the case of Peter Connelly potentially fatal.

Child protection processes are stressful for families and can generate resent internally and towards services. Social workers must walk a ‘delicate tightrope’ (Dingwall et al, 1983: p19) between liberation and authoritarian positions operating within society’s values, but in accordance within their legal obligations. Families involved in child protection cases frequently have a myriad of issues including single parental responsibility, poverty, substance misuse, mental ill-health and domestic violence (Ferguson, 2004). The three latter mentioned areas are referred to as the ‘toxic trio’, which have been identified as significant risk factors in families where abuse has occurred. Brandon’s 2009 study found domestic violence present in two thirds of the sample families, parental mental ill health present in 57% and parental substance misuse in 55% of cases respectively. Three quarters of the serious case reviews analysed reported that the child lived in a home with one or more of these factors, while a third lived with families where all three were present (Brandon et al, 2009).

Even with risk management tools, predicting abuse is not straightforward and therefore it is crucial that practitioners have confidence, as well as skills and knowledge in the application of theoretical frameworks. Knowledge of attachment and ecological theory (Bronfrenbrenner, 1979) for example support practitioners’ awareness of how factors manifest and help recognise developmental delays which can indicate abuse (Trevithick, 2012). Brandon (2009) writes that thinking systematically and methodically helps avoid the sort of over-reaction which can be caused by the media frenzy surrounding high profile deaths and is best achieved by quality, holistic assessment and inter-agency working.

Thresholds to maltreatment vary significantly across the UK indicating complexity and professional anxiety (Broadhurst et al, 2010). Cases such as Victoria Climbie and Peter Connelly influenced an understandable spike in referrals and Ayre (2001) discusses a climate of fear, blame and mistrust within child protection. The enquiry into Victoria Climbie’s death established 12 possible occasions where she may been rescued (Ferguson, 2004), seeing blame placed on ‘non-existent’ multi-agency working, and as with Peter Connelly, local authority social workers and leaders named in the media (Guardian, 2002). Such outcomes can contribute towards a culture of over-referring which puts additional pressures on already overworked child protection teams (Beckett, 2011).

Recommendations from the Laming report (2003) called for increased emphasis on multidisciplinary teams, (as well as promotion of universal services) reflecting the mantra joined-up solutions to joined-up problems (Buchanan, 2007). Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards were subsequently set up to ensure safeguarding of children by all agencies, awareness promotion, training and a focus on vulnerable groups (DfES 2006). Working Together replaced previous guidance for professionals, providing detailed protection procedures and promoting multi-agency coordination such as strategy discussions, child protection conferences and core groups as part of investigations. Effective child protection is a multi-agency responsibility and working alongside teams and professionals promotes shared responsibility, accountability and most importantly knowledge and skills.

By definition, child protection systems must be able to keep at risk children safe from harm. However increasing reports of vulnerability around ‘looked after children’ suggest failings; Rochdale local authority for example recently acknowledged that they were unable to guarantee the safety of looked after children (BBC, 2012), yet rates of children entering care continue to rise. At the end of 31 March 2011, a total of 65,520 children were looked after by local authorities in England with up to 90,000 passing through in any year. This marks an increase of 9% since 2007 (HCOMS, 2012); the highest in history. Furthermore, while the majority of looked after children (74%) are in foster care placements, children who have been taken into care are more at risk of poorer outcomes and more likely to suffer mental disorders, achieve less well academically, become involved in the criminal justice system, use substances and suffer health inequality (Meltzer et al, 2003; HCOMS, 2012). This raises the argument of whether the protection that the state provides is actually effective, as the outcomes for ‘protected’ children tend to be, on the whole worse.

Human growth arguments state that the child should, as far as possible remain with the family as children are inherently vulnerable and dependent at early states, thus needing dedicated care, protection and nurturing (Bowlby, 1969; Archard, 2003). This is reflected in the Fox-Harding perspective of ‘Modern defence of the birth family’ which is, like laissez-faire, concerned primarily with the rights of the family (1997). Article 33 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU provides expressly that families should have legal, economic and social protection and therefore ‘should’ be inherently private. However, social work exists within a balance of risk and need, thus while familial privacy is, as Archard writes, an ideal; it should not detract from the protection of children who are at risk (2003).

While numbers of cases increase; CAFCASS report that neglect is being detected more promptly and local authorities were not only making more care applications, but also completing them sooner (2012). However, government cut-backs, fewer staff and resources, increasing referrals and external scrutiny continue to place demands on child protection teams and further impinge on the fragility of morale and social worker’s ability to recognise and understand dynamics of abuse (Brandon et al, 2008; Gilbert et al, 2008). Thus, while the death of a child may be more important than the death of a profession, the future safety of many children is linked to the effectiveness of social work as the primary statutory agency for child protection (Ferguson, 2004). Therefore while it may be criticised for overly bureaucratic systems, child protection’s tight procedural frameworks protects staff as well as children as such practitioners must find a way to exist within these systems, requiring understanding colleagues, managers and family to ensure workers continue to be effective and unaffected by disillusionment.

When thinking about my own personal values, I think of the customs and beliefs that I have developed through experience and education. Although these values have changed over time, I believe that they are pretty consistent with the NASW code of ethics and values of the social work profession as a whole. The preamble of code of ethics states that “The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic needs of all people (NASW, 2006-2009, p.401),” and that is exactly what I strive to do.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

While I consider myself currently in a middle class American family, this has not always been the case. Growing up my family instilled in me the importance of working hard to achieve your goals, but despite their hard work my family too faced difficult financial times. I can remember times when my parents couldn’t pay their bills, had to work multiple jobs, and struggled to put food on the table. Having gone through these rough financial times, my family instilled in me the importance of giving to other people in need and to this day I consider my father one of the most generous people I know. He would give everything he had to help someone in need, whether he knew them or not. A common bias is that people in need are lazy or incompetent, but this is far from the truth. I have witnessed several families, including my own work very hard to raise their family, yet still struggle to make it.

One childhood experience that stands out in my mind is going into the grocery store with one of my best friend’s mother who was unemployed after losing her job of 12 years due to the store that she worked for closing. My friend’s mother had told us that she was going to get groceries and that we needed to distract the grocery stores doorman when we were leaving, because she had no money to pay for the groceries. Although I was aware that what she was doing was wrong, I knew she needed to feed her family. My friend’s mom did not steal lavish items as one would expect if you were stealing, she only took the items she needed to feed her family. During the car ride home, my friend’s mother apologized to us and explained that she is just too embarrassed to apply for Welfare or go on unemployment and that all of the savings she had prior to being unemployed is now gone. This has been a memory that I have carried with me since that day. Although I felt that there was little I could do at that time, I believe that it is not only my duty to help people in need, but societies as a whole.

I believe that government and society have an obligation to intervene and help families that are in need. I do not believe that any mother should have to steal food to feed her family. I consider it my duty to “promote national standards and policies for the delivery of benefits and programs that serve as a safety net for all people during times of poverty (NASW, 2006-2009, p. 364).” I agree with the NASW Code of Ethics that all people are entitled to the basic needs to survive. As a social work student, I feel responsibility to advocate for families in need and to develop programs that educate people on the need for welfare reform.

Schneider (1999) spoke of the need to reform welfare and for a shift in policy to focus on establishing universal benefits. I am in agreement with this as well as the need to “reject the perspective that views failure to develop wealth as a personal failure without reference to structural inequalities (NASW, 2006-2009, p.363).” I believe that it is important to promote education and fight the stereotypes associated with people in need. As a social worker I will provide services and counseling to families struggling to survive and I anticipate facing many challenges due to the regulations and policies that are currently in place.

Rights of Legal and Illegal Immigrants

Immigrants in the United States have faced a great deal of discrimination, inequality, and poverty throughout history. It is hard for me to understand how people can be treated so poorly just because they were not born an “American.” When I consider the United States, I believe it is a melting pot nation and that all people deserve the right to have their basic needs met despite their legal status in this country. I agree with the code of ethics that social workers need to be sensitive to cultural and ethnic diversity and strive to end discrimination, oppression, poverty, and other forms of social injustice (NASW, 2006-2009, p. 401).

Whether immigrants are legal or illegal, they are people too and should be treated with dignity and respect. Legal immigrants have to go through a difficult and extensive process to become a citizen, which I believe is one reason why there are several illegal immigrants living in the United States. I think that instead of developing harsher immigration laws, this country needs to assist illegal immigrants in the process of gaining citizenship, an education, and work. I agree with Padilla (2008) in that immigrant legislation must treat people equally, promote social justice consistently, and recognize the significance of human relationships.

NASW (2006-2009) recognizes that policies should promote social justice and avoid racism and discrimination or profiling on the basis of race, religion, country of origin, gender, etc. (p. 227). My views are consistent with NASW and I believe that the recent push for harsher immigration laws is a terrifying setback for this country. It makes me absolutely horrified that the state of Arizona would even try to instill a law that would call for police officers to check for immigration status and require immigrants to provide proof that they are authorized to be in this country. This law directly conflicts with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that “recognizes the right to leave one’s country as a basic human right (NASW, 2006-2009, p.226).

As a social worker I think it is vital to advocate for people who have little or no political voice and who have faced such harsh discrimination throughout history. Being that I am considered a white middle class American, I will need to always be thinking about cultural diversity with my clients. Although I would be obligated to report undocumented citizens, I also feel that it is my ethical responsibility to provide all people with the information and services they need to fulfill their basic survival needs.

Emotional Expression of the Client and the Worker

I entered this profession because of my compassion to help others. For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to help people in need. During high school, my urge to help grew as I witnessed my fellow students being bullied for how they dressed or what type of house they lived in. Although I was considered a “popular” girl, I did not like that some people were considered “unpopular.” I did not think that classifying and judging people to be better then someone else was fair or justified. I was friends with everyone in high school and refused to get involved in the bullying that was happening all around me.

It was during my junior year of High School that I took action. I spoke with my high school guidance department and expressed my concern with the targeting of the underprivileged or “unpopular” students in the school. I told them that I wanted to do something about the problem and begged for their support. I was granted permission to start an Anti-harassment Group, which I successfully did with the assistance of some other recruited students. Together we went out of our way to provide all students with friendships and support. We revised the school’s policy on bullying, created anti-bullying contracts, gave presentations to all classes (high school, middle school, and elementary), and spent time with fellow students who were often targeted by others. We as “popular” students discouraged bullying and worked hard to change the reputation of bullying being “cool.”

I carry this compassion to help others with me in practice and think that it is important for social workers to show emotional expression when working with clients. I feel that it is absolutely appropriate to express ones emotions and show compassion and affection when working in this field. Although I maintain that emotional expression is important, I believe that maintaining therapeutic boundaries with clients is equally important. I also agree with The Code of Ethics that social workers should not engage in any physical contact with clients if there is a possibility that the contact may cause psychological harm (NASW, 2006-2009, p. 407).

As the Assistant Program Manager of an Adolescent Community Residence, I ran into issues surrounding therapeutic boundaries and emotional expression of client and workers on multiple occasions. Adolescents remained in the group home for approximately 1 ?-2 years. Many of the residents in the group home sought out affection from the staff. When a resident was having a rough time, I felt that it was appropriate to give them a hug and reassure them that staff was there to support them and help them get through their difficult times. I felt that by using the emotional expression of myself helped to develop a trusting and therapeutic relationship.

As it is my desire to work with children and adolescents, I imagine that I will have to confront issues of emotional expression of self and therapeutic boundaries in the future. I think that in practice, I will have to be conscious and use my discretion about the amount of emotional support used while working with clients. I also think that it will be important for me to consider a clients race, culture, gender, past experiences, etc. on how comfortable the client may or may not be with emotional expression and physical contact.

Religious Beliefs

Growing up I had very little exposure to religion; however, I was able to recognize the impact religion and spirituality has on other people’s lives. Religion and spirituality became a reality to me when I studied abroad in Thailand. Religion and spirituality was at the center of their culture, and guided their decisions and attitudes on a daily basis. Although I have limited knowledge in this area, enmeshing myself in Thai culture made me recognize the power spirituality and religion can have on people and society as a whole.

I also have witnessed the therapeutic effect religion and spirituality can have people. The NASW Code of Ethics (2006-2009) states that, “Social workers should obtain education about and seek to understand the nature of social diversity and oppression with respect to race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, political belief, religion, and mental or physical disability. Although I do not consider myself a religious person, I think that it is crucial for social workers to understand the religious and spiritual beliefs of their clients. I am in agreement with Dale et al. (2006) that understanding the importance of spirituality, the nature of organized religion, and secular uses of religion is key in understanding the development of human character and social institutions. Without gaining this insight, a social worker may offend or disrespect their client simply because they are not aware of lifestyles and customs based in their spirituality or religion.

As a social worker I will encourage my clients to discuss their spiritual and religious beliefs and how it affects their lives. Based on my limited knowledge about this area, I will have to be extra cautious not to judge or stereotype people because of their religious or spiritual choice. If clients want to discuss religion and spirituality, I will be straight forward with them and let them know that I have limited knowledge in that area but that I am open to listening and learning about their beliefs and experiences with religion and spirituality.

Provision and Utilization of Social Services

I believe that the concept of social services and providing assistance to people in need is very important to the field of social work. I understand that the goal of social services is to help people financially, provide food assistance, disaster relief, medical services, and employment; however, I believe that the process to obtain these services needs to be streamlined. The lengthy and humiliating process that people/families in need have to endure can cause further emotional distress on the individual and family.

Growing up I have witnessed people too embarrassed or humiliated to utilize social services due to the stigma associated with it. I experienced this first hand while helping families at the Community Residence I worked at try to obtain the services they needed. Often times, I would wait in lengthy lines with the families I worked with trying to help them obtain assistance and then be denied do to the paperwork or documentation not being enough for what is needed, or the families to be ineligible for services. I believe that many people/families are being turned down for services based on the many provisions and specific requirements. Although some people/families that are denied services can establish other means to survive, not all can do so. I understand that there needs to be regulations on services; however, I do not believe that anyone should be denied help obtaining the services they need for survival (i.e. food, shelter, medical care, etc.).

The NASW Code of Ethics (2006-2009) maintains that “Social workers should advocate for living conditions conducive to the fulfillment of basic human needs and should promote social, economic, political, and cultural values and institutions that are compatible with the realization of social justice.” As social worker, I believe that it is their ethical responsibility to advocate for people in need and promote a person’s right to self-determination. I think that given a chance and the tools needed; people can make positive changes in their lives. Belcher et al. (2004) examined faith-based interventions and the liberal social welfare state and came to the conclusion that although faith-based interventions could provide some basic supports, the driving force for social change should remain with the state. Although I agree that the state should be taking responsibility, I do respect faith-based interventions trying to step-up the plate and fill some gaps.

As a social worker I believe that I will often find myself advocating for my clients need for social services. I believe that at times this process can become stressful and draining, as the current social service system is not meeting the needs of the people it is designed to serve. For example, if a family is denied for services because they make a couple dollars above the cutoff for services, I think that the system is being too simplistic and not considering the entirety of the situation. It is my belief that the social services system needs to take a more holistic approach instead of having extensive provisions, requirements, and cutoffs for the services.

Pro-life Versus Pro-choice

Ever since I can remember, my family instilled in me the belief that abortions were wrong and even considered them “murder.” As I approached the age of sexual activity, my family was very vocal about practicing safe sex and their views against abortion. My mother informed me that I was not a planned pregnancy and that although she was a teen mother and unprepared for the responsibility; she would have never made the choice to have an abortion. Despite my families strict beliefs regarding abortion, my values are different from my families. I believe that there are situations when abortions should occur or at least be the choice of the mother.

The NASW Code of Ethics maintains that it is the social workers responsibility to “promote the right of the client’s to self-determination (p. 404)” and defines that as being “without government interference, people can make their own decisions about sexuality and reproduction (p. 147).” Although I would not consider an abortion as an option for myself, I understand that to others, it might be the best option for them. Abramovitz (1996) pointed out that throughout history there have been policies and conditions that have forced women to make childbearing decisions based on the conditions of aid or public assistance, and I believe that is an infringement on their constitutional right of reproductive choice.

As a social worker, I believe that it is my ethical responsibility to support and provide information so clients can make informed decisions when considering an abortion. I would find myself conflicted if working with a patient who has had multiple abortions, because despite considering myself pro-choice, I also have great value for life and giving life. I believe that all people should have reproductive choice, but should not abuse the decision to abort or use abortion as a form of birth control.

Rights of Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Transgendered People

Growing up, one of my best friend’s had “two mothers,” as she would say. Throughout elementary school and middle school, I witnessed how my friend and her family were treated and I quickly understood why she did not want people to know about her mother’s sexual orientation. We grew up in a small rural community and were not exposed to people of different sexual orientations or preferences very often. This friend was bullied and ridiculed in school by peers because of her mother’s sexual orientation. I myself did not understand why two women would be together or in love; however, after getting to know my friends family, I came to realize that one could not control their feelings or who they fell in love with.

Seeing the discrimination and prejudice that my friend and her family went through was very frustrating because after getting to know the family and understanding that it is okay to have different sexual orientations or preferences, I didn’t consider them any different from my family or anyone else’s. I had a similar experience in high school with one of my friend’s father being transgender and again witnessed a great deal of discrimination against this family.

I don’t think a person should be denied the right to love someone else based on sexual identity, preference, or orientation. I do not understand how people can be denied the right of marriage, a union between two people, because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. I agree with the NASW Code of Ethics that same gender and transgender individuals should be afforded the same rights and respect as all people (NASW, 2006-2009, p. 247).

I feel that a challenging circumstance that I could face as a social worker will be to address families that have children or other relatives who are LGBT and do not approve of them. As a social worker it would be my ethical responsibility to educate on the right of self-determination and nondiscrimination.

This short study takes up the evaluation and assessment of two social work intervention theories, namely the Task Centred Approach and the Crisis Intervention Method, with special regard to their implications and applications for social work practice.

Social workers, in the course of their practice, are often called upon to help people in coping and dealing with different types of difficulties in their lives. Human beings face situations of crisis at one time or the other during their lives (Roberts, 2000, p 11). The crisis theory postulates that the occurrence of crises is normal to life. Such crisis situations can occur suddenly, like family illnesses or a loss of jobs, or be unpredictable, like entering school or growing older (Roberts, 2000, p 11). Individuals attempt to cope with crises with their available mechanisms, but face problems when such mechanisms do not work or when earlier unresolved crises get reactivated. Social workers are often called upon to intervene with individuals and help them in coping with their crises (Roberts, 2000, p 11).

The task-centred approach is a progressive and goal-orientated method for social work practice. It constitutes a practice-based approach that is built on research and is being used in a diverse settings and circumstances (Nash, et al, 2005, p 33). It represents a social work method wherein clients are assisted in carrying out problem reducing tasks within specific time periods. It is structured, problem focused and time-restricted and is being increasingly used in contemporary social service interventions (Nash, et al, 2005, p 33).

Crisis intervention is often grouped together with the task centred approach. Malcolm Payne (1991, p 4) sees significant common ground between crises intervention and task centred approaches to social work practice. Both methods focus on problem solving, deal with brief interventions and are related to learning theory.

This essay takes up the examination and assessment of these two theories, with especial regard to their communalities, their differences and their relevance for social work practice. Due regard is given to the implications of anti-oppressive practice.

2. Crisis Intervention Theory

The crisis theory states that it is important for people to resolve their crises situations and experiences in order to cope with new developments and crises (Aguilera, 1998, p 47). If individuals are unable to resolve their earlier crises, they become more vulnerable to inability to resolve new crises. Individuals who learn new skills to resolve their crises are on the other hand strengthened in coping with future crisis situations (Aguilera, 1998, p 47). Human beings have considerable capacities for handling or dealing with difficult situations. It is only when such difficulties assume significant proportions and people do not have appropriate resources, personal, emotional, social, spiritual or physical, to deal appropriately with stressful circumstances or events that they become involved in crises. Difficult or stressful events do not by themselves result in crisis situations (Aguilera, 1998, p 47). Crises are actually determined by the responses of individuals to specific stressful circumstances or events and their responses to them. Crises develop only when individuals perceive specific events to be significant and threatening, try to handle such events with their usual coping strategies without success, and are not able to use other alternatives (Aguilera, 1998, p 47).

Behavioural and psychological experts perceive crises to be akin to states of psychological disequilibrium. Individuals experiencing crises are likely to experience a range of emotions like feelings of apprehension, anxiety, fear, guilt and helplessness (Nash, et al, 2005, p 37). Other indicators include alterations in eating and sleeping patterns, activity and energy levels and ability to concentrate. People in crises are also commonly known to suffer from depression and withdraw from social intervention (Nash, et al, 2005, p 37). Social work experts argue that whilst the majority of crises run their course or reach some semblance of stability within one or two months, it is necessary for skilled intervention to take place to strengthen the coping mechanisms of individuals. The failure to do so will result in the existence and continuance of crisis associated behaviours, even as the opportunity for change will be forgone (Nash, et al, 2005, p 37).

People in crisis often have little by way of solutions and are receptive to external help and assistance (Roberts, 2000, p 19). The provisioning of skilled intervention by social work practitioners during the occurrence of the crises can result in opportunities for individuals experiencing crisis to learn new skills, achieve beneficial behavioural change, and regain stability. Individuals who have been able to successfully cope with crises are strengthened by such experiences and can use their skills in future times of difficulty (Roberts, 2000, p 19).

Crisis intervention is essentially a professional response that is limited in terms of time and is used to assist individuals, families, and groups (Hepworth, et al, 2002, p 83). Social workers aim to assess the openness of individuals experiencing crises to learning of new skills and mechanisms for coping. They also help individuals in reducing their feelings of helplessness, isolation, and distress and use social resources to help in restoring individuals to their prior functional levels, as soon as practically possible (Hepworth, et al, 2002, p 83). Such social work intervention is done through “listening, validation, acceptance, normalisation, reassurance, education, advocacy and brokering resources” (Nash, et al, 2005, p 38). Crisis intervention can be specifically segregated into 7 stages, namely (a) establishment of communication and development of feelings with individuals that circumstances can become better, (b) assessment of situation, (c) exploration of available strengths and resources, (d) goal setting with the use of such strengths and resources, (e) implementation of plan, teaching of new skills and mobilisation of other support if required, (f) evaluation and adjustment of the plan and (g) follow up and termination of relationship (Hepworth, et al, 2002, p 83).

It is important for social workers to be skilled in crisis intervention because of the constant demand upon them for helping people in crisis situations (Roberts, 2000, p 19). Social workers are liable to encounter clients with diverse needs, which may in turn require research, strategic planning and the providing of individualised person centred support (Roberts, 2000, p 19). The nature of crisis intervention work also calls for confidentiality and emotional separation in order to deliver services in a professional manner (Roberts, 2000, p 19).

3. Task Centred Approach

The task centred approach emerged in response to the slow and inadequate results that were being achieved through traditional casework methods (Reid, 1997, p 134). Traditional casework methods in social work were felt to be of limited use because of their resource intensive nature, their lack of focus, and their ambiguous outcomes, which were difficult to assess and quantify (Reid, 1997, p 134). Reid and Shyne engaged in extensive study in the late 1960s to explore alternate approaches to casework and developed the task centred approach for social work practice, which called for limited but intensely focused intervention periods. The approach was essentially client oriented and required the social worker to act as a facilitator (Reid, 1997, p 134). With the task centred approach helping clients to improve their difficulties quickly, the process was soon adopted for replication and development in the United Kingdom (Reid, 1997, p 134).

Studies on the task centred approach revealed that unfocused help, as was provided by the psycho-social approach and the case study method, over long periods, resulted in reduction of hope and self confidence on the part of the client (Nash, et al, 2005, p 42). It also resulted in negative dependency and unnecessary attachments to specific organisations or particular social workers (Nash, et al, 2005, p 42). It was also seen that the setting of time limits for achievement of specific outcomes helped in building expectations of the possibility of rapid change and enhanced participant energy and motivation (Nash, et al, 2005, p 42).

Whilst the task centred approach proved to be practically beneficial for clients and also served, reduce and optimise utilisation of limited social work resources, it also facilitated a shift towards the person centred approach, the negation of the assumption of the professional being the only source of expertise, and helped in achievement of greater empowerment and reduction of oppression (Naleppa & Reid, 1998, p 63). The task centred approach calls for attention to be paid to social and external issues that affect individuals rather than on perceiving individuals and their psychological histories to be the main cause of their difficulties (Naleppa & Reid, 1998, p 63).

The task centred approach involves a structured method wherein the social worker firstly assists the service user in articulating the problems in the ways perceived by service users (Hepworth, et al, 2002, p 87). The social workers subsequently helps the service user to detail and breakdown the problems, taking care to redefine them wherever necessary and helping the service user to locate important areas for action (Hepworth, et al, 2002, p 87). The social worker finally motivates the service user to categorise and prioritise his or her individual problem in line with his or her perceptions (Naleppa & Reid, 1998, p 63). The social worker and service user thereafter work in partnership to (a) specify and identify outcomes, (b) agree to contracts and (c) review and assess progress. Social workers who use the task centred approach should be able to positively engage service users and instil trust and confidence (Hepworth, et al, 2002, p 87).

Commonalities in Task Centred and Crisis Intervention Approaches

Task centred approaches and crisis intervention methods appear to merge well in both theory and practice (Watson, et al, 2002, p 96). Social work research indicates that the use of these methods have proved to be effective with a wide range of clients. Both theories emerged in response to the apparently ineffective outcomes of case work approaches that were grounded in psychodynamic theory (Watson, et al, 2002, p 96). Both methods additionally focus on brief and short term interventions. They are connected to learning theory and based upon problem solving ideas (Watson, et al, 2002, p 96).

Both these approaches call upon social workers to engage in participative and joint activity with service users, first to assess and analyse problems and their causes and then take action to deal with such problems (Sandoval, 2002, p 63). The application of these methods thus calls for the use of the person centred theory, the need to place the service user at the centre of the issue and the urgency of viewing the issue from his or her perspective (Sandoval, 2002, p 63). Social workers need to be very good listeners in order to be able to locate the real issues that are troubling service users and thereafter be able to help them with measures to tackle their difficulties (Sandoval, 2002, p 63).

Like other social work methods, the task centred approach does have its limitations. It is in the first instance predicated upon the rationality of service users and their willingness to work with social workers (Nash, et al, 2005, p 53). It is also difficult to apply it without appropriate agency support. Despite such limitations the two approaches continue to be very useful, especially because of their instrumentality in increasing empowerment and their integral anti-oppressive approach (Nash, et al, 2005, p 53). The methods increase the abilities of service users through the inculcation of new skills and allow them to deal, not just with their current situations but with future circumstances of difficulty and oppression (Nash, et al, 2005, p 53).

Conclusions

Social work practice is influenced by many factors that require the taking account of the perspectives of service users, social workers, agencies and society.

The approach of individual workers is bound to be influenced by numerous factors that can leave them confused and looking for guidance in their task of assisting service users in difficulties. The task centred approach and the crisis intervention theory provide useful tools to service users to assess the true conditions of service users, participate with them in structured, time bound and joint resolution of problems and empower them to face and overcome oppression. Social workers do however need to understand the implications of these theories and refrain from labeling their actions in all difficult situations to be task centred or critical intervention in nature. The true understanding of the potential and use of these theories will help them significantly in their practice scenarios.

The goal of social work professionals is for the well-being and empowering of those in society who are impoverished, living in oppression, and vulnerable. Social workers must also focus on the forces in a person’s environment that are involved in making and contributing to problems in living conditions.

Those people who are assisted by social workers are referred to as clients. They can be individuals, groups, families, or communities. Therefore, social workers must be attuned to cultural, racial, and ethnical differences in people. This will help put an end to discrimination, oppression, poverty, and other types of social wrongs.

There are six core values on which the social work profession is based. These are service, social justice, dignity, and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. These core values are the fundamental principles that a social worker should use in dealing with clients and helps guide them in treating the clients with dignity and respect.

The social workers Code of Ethics are at the core of the profession. These ethics are of great importance to all social work students as well. They help in making sound judgments and decisions when dealing with all segments of the population regardless of the clients’ religion, race, or ethnicity.

The six core values of social work have ethical principles which are the ideals to which each social worker should strive to meet. Service happens when a social worker uses his or her knowledge, values, and skills to help those in need. Social justice is when a social worker attempts social change on behalf of those who can’t help themselves. Dignity and worth of the person is showing respect to each client regardless of their social situation. The importance of human relationships is seen by social workers in their efforts to advance, renew, and improve the well-being of families, social groups, and communities. Integrity is behaving at all times in a trusting manner. Competence is basically a social worker knowing his or her job and taking steps to improving their professional expertise.

Pertinent Ethics and Values Dealing with Worth and Dignity

There are several ethics and values that relate to human diversity and the worth and dignity of persons. Employment of these ethics and values are of great importance to the social worker and the client. They are as follows:

1.02 Self-Determination

Social workers respect and promote the right of clients to self-determination and assist clients in their efforts to identify and clarify their goals. Social workers may limit clients’ right to self-determination when, in the social workers’ professional judgment, clients’ actions or potential actions pose a serious, foreseeable, and imminent risk to themselves or others.

1.03 Informed Consent

(b) In instances when clients are not literate or have difficulty understanding the primary language used in the practice setting, social workers should take steps to ensure clients’ comprehension. This may include providing clients with a detailed verbal explanation or arranging for a qualified interpreter or translator whenever possible.

(c) In instances when clients lack the capacity to provide informed consent, social workers should protect clients’ interests by seeking permission form an appropriate third party, informing clients consistent with the clients’ level of understanding. In such instances social workers should seek to ensure that the third party acts in a manner consistent with clients’ wishes and interests. Social workers should take reasonable steps to enhance such clients’ ability to give informed consent.

1.05 Cultural Competence and Social Diversity

(a) Social workers should understand culture and its function in human behavior and society, recognizing the strengths that exist in all cultures.

(b) Social workers should have a knowledge base of their clients’ cultures and be able to demonstrate competence in the provision of services that are sensitive to clients’ cultures and to differences among people and cultural groups.

(c) Social workers should obtain education about and seek to understand the nature of social diversity and oppression with respect to race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, and mental or physical disability.

1.07 Privacy and Confidentiality

(a) Social workers should respect clients’ right to privacy. Social workers should not solicit private information form clients unless it is essential to providing services or conducting social work evaluation or research. Once private information is shared, standards of confidentiality apply.

(d) Social workers should inform clients, to the extent possible, about the disclosure of confidential information and the potential consequences, when feasible, before the disclosure is made. This applies whether social workers disclose confidential information on the basis of a legal requirement or client consent.

(f) When social workers provide counseling services to families, couples, or groups, social workers should seek agreement among the parties involved concerning each individual’s right to confidentiality and obligation to preserve the confidentiality of information shared by others. Social workers should inform participants in family, couples, or group counseling that social workers cannot guarantee that all participants will honor such agreements.

1.11 Sexual Harassment

Social workers should not sexually harass clients. Sexual harassment includes sexual advances, sexual solicitation, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.

1.12 Derogatory Language

Social workers should not use derogatory language in their written or verbal communications to or about clients. Social workers should use accurate and respectful language in all communications to and about clients.

1.14 Clients Who Lack Decision-Making Capacity

When social workers act on behalf of clients who lack the capacity to make informed decisions, social workers should take reasonable steps to safeguard the interests and rights of those clients.

2.01 Respect

(a) Social workers should treat colleagues with respect and should represent accurately and fairly the qualifications, views, and obligations of colleagues.

(b) Social workers should avoid unwarranted negative criticism of colleagues in communications with clients or with other professionals. Unwarranted negative criticism may include demeaning comments that refer to colleagues’ level of competence or to individuals’ attributes such as race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, and mental or physical disability.

(c) Social workers should cooperate with social work colleagues and with colleagues of other professions when such cooperation serves the well-being of clients

4.02 Discrimination

Social workers should not practice, condone, facilitate, or collaborate with any form of discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identify or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, or mental or physical disability.

4.03 Private Conduct

Social workers should not permit their private conduct to interfere with their ability to fulfill their professional responsibilities.

4.04 Dishonesty, Fraud, and Deception

Social workers should not participate in, condone, or be associated with dishonesty, fraud, or deception.

My Views of the Ethics and Values Dealing with Worth and Dignity

Self-determination is a very important value when dealing with a client. This allows the client, with assistance from the social worker, to identify their goals. The client will feel a sense of ownership in reaching said goals.

Privacy and confidentiality also play a huge role in preserving the worth and dignity of someone receiving assistance. Everyone, regardless of their status in society, has a right to privacy. Some clients may not know that they have these rights or may believe that their right to privacy has been forfeited since they are receiving assistance. This, of course, is not true, and the social worker should inform the client of this fact.

The social worker also has to realize that not all of the people receiving services are literate and must therefore explain to those clients the disclosure of confidential information. This also pertains to each individual’s rights to confidentiality when providing counseling to couples or groups.

A social worker should never make advances of a sexual nature to a client. This may lead some clients to believe that the only way that they can receive assistance is to give into those advances. It may also cause others to not seek assistance at all.

Derogatory language, either verbal or written, can be demoralizing to a client. A social worker has to be aware of the culture of the person that they are addressing. What may not be significant to the social worker may, on the other hand, be offensive to the client.

The decision-making process varies from client to client. The social worker must make sure that when he or she is acting of behalf of a client that the client’s interests and rights are safe guarded.

Respect in the Social Work Code of Ethics is under the ethical responsibilities to colleagues, but it should also be under the way clients should be treated. When one shows respect to another person, communication is greatly enhanced, and communication is what social work revolves around.

Discrimination is something that can not and should not be practiced, condoned, or facilitated by a social worker. This means discrimination of any type to include; race, ethnicity, sex, color, marital status, politics, mental disability, immigration status, or sexual orientation. Discrimination has an adverse effect on the client and the social work profession.

When a social worker allows their private life to affect their work, no one wins. A social worker must be professional enough to separate the two. Another issue that deals with a social worker’s professionalism is his or her ability to not take part in any way with deception, dishonesty, or fraud.

My Application of the Ethics

When dealing with ethnicity, I will learn about what is acceptable and unacceptable with each ethnic group. I will ensure that I differentiate between ethnicity and race.

National origin has to be dealt with in a similar way as with ethnicity. Therefore, I will ensure that I am aware of the customs of the client’s homeland.

Social class requires that a social worker not form preconceived notions of the person being served. I will keep my mind open and ensure, as with all cases, to listen to what is being said.

Religion is a very touchy subject that has to be handled. I will make every effort to understand the customs and traditions of various religious groups in order not to offend.

When dealing with a client that has a physical or mental disability, I will ensure that their dignity and worth is not compromised. I will use language that they can easily understand, and I will not talk down to the individual.

Everyone has the right to live their life they way that they choose. I will never judge a client based on their sexual orientation. This and the previous subjects can be handled by simply being a professional. I will strive to be a consummate professional at all times.

This essay will look at how social workers address ethical dilemmas in their work with service users and carers. This will be evidenced in case examples illustrating how the codes of practice and codes of ethics guide social work decisions while making them accountable for their work. When working with ethical dilemmas social workers have to understand the origins of these values and codes. Taking into account their own personal values and being aware of how these could influence their decisions.

Values and ethics are one of the most important characteristic of an individual the fundamentals define who we are and what we believe (Banks, 2001). Whether individuals are consciously aware of them or not, every individual has a core set of values and ethics. Values are socially constructed moral codes that guide and control our actions within the social world (IFSW). Values and ethics start to develop from birth and are mainly developed by major influences in an individual life. Factors of culture, religion and many more affect our beliefs and ethics. According to Banks (2001, p.6) values are “particular types of belief that people hold about what is regarded as worthy or valuable, values “determine what a person thinks he ought to do”.

Social work values are based on the principal of “respect for persons” which comes from the Deontological approach of German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). From these writings Biestek a Catholic priest developed seven principles for effective practice. Kantian principles are individualisation, purposeful expression of feelings, controlled emotional involvement, acceptance, non-judgemental attitude, service user self-determination and confidentiality (Shardlow, 2002).

Although Kantianism is primarily focused on the sense of people’s duty, critics have argued that the perspective gives no allowance for compassion and sympathy to motivate people’s actions. Furthermore, Kantian has a lack of guidelines when dealing with conflicting requirements. Kant’s moral philosophy has been influential in the values and ethics of social work, in particular respect for people and self- determination. These philosophical underpinnings are a major influence in the social care profession.

On the other hand Utilitarianism believes that action is right if it generates, or tends to generate the best possible outcome for the majority of people that are affected by that action. Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism where the rightness of an action is determined by its consequences. There are three main types of utilitarianism act, rule and preference. Act takes into account the individual circumstances, maintaining that the action is good if it generates the best possible outcome in a particular situation. Rule is concerned with the amount of good that a moral action produces, conforming to a rule or law. The rule or law is correct and is determined by the amount of good that is generated when the rule is followed. Preference is one of the more popular forms of utilitarianism it takes into account people’s preferences. The moral action is right if it produces a satisfaction of each person’s individual desires or preference (Banks,2001).

All of these are open to interpretation and will mean different things to different people, which is why social work codes should be referred to. Social work codes set out an expected code of conduct that social workers have to comply with in order to gain the trust of the public so that service users are informed of what they can expect from their social workers. Protect the rights and promote the interests of service users and carers the codes are as follows: Strive to establish and maintain the trust and confidence of service users and carers, Promote the independence of service users while protecting them as far as possible from danger or harm, Respect the rights of service users whilst seeking to ensure that their behaviour does not harm themselves or other people, Uphold public trust and confidence in social care services, Be accountable for the quality of our work and take responsibility for maintaining and improving our knowledge and skills.

The COP form part of the wider package of legislation, practice standards and employers policies that social care workers must meet. When codes are not adhered to there can be serious repercussions involved for all (CCW, 2002).

Social work’s professional values, as described in the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) code of ethics (COE), including respect for all person’s including service users belief’s values, culture, goals, needs and preferences, relationships and affiliations, and a commitment to social justice, including the fair and equitable distribution of resources to meet basic needs.(BASW, 2002, 3.1, 3.2). These are a set of moral principles used to set standards which regulates the social work profession. These offer a general guidance and as yet carry no sanctions if broken (Shardlow, 2002). An ethical code also contributes to the strengthening of professional identity. They add clarity to the tasks and should lead to greater ethical observance within the organisation, but the primary objective of the COE is the protection of the clients (Banks, 2001).

Ethics are generally distinguished in three different ways by philosophy, meta-ethics, normative ethics and descriptive ethics. Meta-ethics seeks to understand the nature of morality, moral judgements and moral terms such as ‘good’, ‘bad’ and ‘duty’. Normative ethics endeavours to answer moral questions, such as what is the right action to take in a particular situation or what is the right direction to take? Descriptive ethics examines how individual’s moral opinions and beliefs reflect their behaviour and attitudes towards it (Bowles, 2006). A good social worker needs to be aware of the societal and professional values underlying his or her work so as to empower individuals, families and communities. Both Anti-oppressive practice and values are embodied in the BASW code of ethics (BASW, 2012).

Parrott (2006) describes Anti-oppressive practice (AOP) as ‘a general value orientation towards countering oppression experienced by service users on such grounds as race, gender and culture.’ AOP are also values of working in partnership and empowerment. It is also a way of linking our lived experience with the categories of the relations of ruling (Parrot, 2006). While Thompson (2001) saw oppression as an inhuman or degrading treatment of individuals or groups; in hardship and in justice brought about by the dominance of one group over another; the negative and demeaning exercise of power. Oppression often involves disregarding the rights of an individual or group and this is a denial of citizenship.

Social work is often seen as the caring profession who work with service users who need help. Every service user is unique and very social worker is an individual who uses their own lived experiences and to be an effective helper needs insight into her own formation with its potentials for strength and weakness (Clark, 2011). At the core of this is what service users expect of social workers a relationship that is built on trust, being open and honest with each other and achieved by communicating in a clear way that service users understand (Care Council for Wales, 2002, 2.1 & 2.2) as well as committed, reliable and punctual. Social workers rely on traditional values of confidentiality, acceptance and user self-determination while being non-judgemental in order to gain the trust of service users. These core values are not unique to social work but shared with other caring professions in medicine, nursing and counselling (Banks, 1995).

Values have a variety of meanings referring to one or all of moral, political or ideological principles, religious, beliefs or attitudes. However the social work context uses values to mean a set of fundamental moral/ethical principles by which social workers show commitment. While moral judgements promote the satisfaction of human needs and happiness and apply to all people in similar circumstances. On the other hand ethics refers to the study and analysis of right or wrong and good or bad in social work practice. Ethical dilemmas leave social workers using careful consideration to choose between two unwelcome alternatives relating to human welfare (Banks, 1995).

Having choices does not make the decision any easier and social workers have to take responsibility and accountability for the outcomes of any decisions they make. Decisions are made by conducting investigations with both the legal and moral rights of all parties involved being taken into account. Societal values and norms are often reflected in laws, although there are some laws which we may regard as immoral the immigration laws being one. How we interpret the law is influenced by our values and ethical principles (Banks, 1995).

Social work involves balancing the complexities between one’s own moral integrity to the user, society and agency. The ability to analyse a situation and make the best decision is a critical skill which involves recognising our beliefs and behaviours and how they influence our ideas and actions. These values are derived from our culture and social norms and can change over time and across cultures. Therefore social workers need to maintain and improve their knowledge and skills in order to protect the learning and development of others (CCW, 2002, 6.8). Codes of practice(COP) guide and protect service users not be telling them what they can or cannot do but by establishing a professional identity for workers who agree to work in a trustworthy, honest, skilled and respectful manner (Bowles, 2006).

However many believe that misuse of codes can be dangerous and cause unethical actions in particular in Western Australia in 1991 emergency foster care was sought for a 4 year-old girl while her mother was in hospital. The worker of a non-government agency placed the girl in an approved foster home which they frequently used. In the home was a 15 year old youth who was a ward of state who held a prior record for sexual offences against young children. The home also had another young foster child and a 4 year-old grandchild of the foster family. The social worker who approved the foster home for the youth and foster carers were unaware of the youth’s sex offending history. Although his history was known by the youth’s previous foster carers and 4 days after the girl was placed she died from being raped by the youth (Bowles, 2006, p.78). This illustrates the issues that arise when prioritising confidentiality over client safety and welfare when applied out of context.

While the foster-carer is not a professional and does not have to abide by the COP she is guided by a moral code of ethics. Therefore confidentiality can be broken when it is considered the information puts either the client or others at harm. The foster-carer is a part of a team and a member of a child care agency so there would be employer’s policies and procedure that would have guided this ethical dilemma. Social workers have a responsibility to maintain the trust and confidence of service users and carers by respecting confidential information and explaining agency policies around confidentiality (CCW, 2002, 2.3).

Postmodernist believe that there is no single truth and that ethics have no relevance in today’s society, as they do not replicate the numerous realities of the same society, and ignore peoples individual perspectives and interpretation. Omitting cultural diversity and reinforcing the oppressive and dominant voices of the most powerful. Furthermore they are rarely used when making ethical decisions so they are considered irrelevant (Bowles, 2006). As in the above example there would have been a number of other professionals involved with the youth such as youth offending team and medical professionals so this is a prime example of lack of information sharing and poor communication as the new foster-carers should have been made aware of the issues on a need to know basis.

Below are further examples of some of the ethical dilemmas that social workers face every day:

An Asian woman with 5 children under the age of 6 years, who has fled a violent husband but still gets harasses by him. Has been locking up her children in the house and going out for help or a break. One of the workers on the Asian Women’s Project she has recently joined to help with her feelings of isolation has discovered this. The worker has spoken with the woman explaining the risks and implications of her actions. However the woman has continued to leave the children unattended. The worker eventually informed social services as she felt the welfare of the children was paramount and she had repeatedly discussed the risks and implications of her behaviour including the British Laws and her responsibilities as a social care worker (CCW,2002, 3.2 & 3.8). The worker felt the dilemma was due to the view that generally social services and other agencies have often been insensitive the holistic wellbeing of the Asian women and fail to take into account their life experiences, religious and cultural background (Banks,2012.p.156). (BASW, 2002, 2.1,4, 2.2,5)

A social worker who has been involved in admitting a woman to hospital for 28 days under the Mental Health Act starts to notice deterioration in her physical health. The woman then dies from pneumonia. The social worker felt that the deterioration in her physical health was due to the medication she received. Although at the time he felt unable to question the consultants and trusted that the hospital was the best place to pick up on any serious physical problems (BASW, 2002, 2.2,4). This is often attached to a hierarchy of power where the social worker felt the consultant was in a higher position and had more medical knowledge so was better equipped to make the decision. However in hindsight the social worker felt that he should have questioned the treatment before renewing the section for six months. While the social worker acted within the law and according to agency rules. Did he have a moral responsibility to question the diagnosis? (Banks, 1995, p.150). Also social workers should maintain clear, impartial and accurate records and provision of evidence to support professional judgements.

A young pregnant woman tells her community health counsellor that she will seek to have her child ‘circumcised’ because a girl cannot be offered for marriage if she is not clean. The woman explains that she was also a subjected to ‘Female genital mutilation’ (FGM) in her country of origin. The woman is aware that the practice is illegal and that she would have to go to a ‘backyard’ operator in her community to have it done. While the counsellor is not a social worker she would still have to abide by the rules of confidentiality and this would have been explained to the woman at the beginning of the counselling sessions (CCW, 2002, 2.3 & BASW,2.3,5). The counsellor should also explain the penalties for breaking the law including the law on child abuse. However it would be more beneficial to engage the young woman with other’s from her community who are endeavouring to break out of traditional roles who can provide her with support. Social workers have a duty to support service users’ rights to control their lives and make informed choices about the services they receive, whilst respecting diversity and their different cultures and values (CCW,2002, 1.3, 1.6).

Furthermore social workers must promote the independence of the service user this is done by identifying and providing information and support enabling her to make informed choices. The social worker also has a responsibility to the unborn child. The social worker can prevent the harm to the mother by making her aware of the law regarding FGM which is illegal in this country, which is why no hospital will perform it. She also has to make her aware of the consequences of her actions that she could have her child removed or face imprisonment. The social worker can help prevent harm to the child by putting her mother into contact with others from the same community who could help support her make the right decision (CCW, 2002, 3). In modern day society social workers have to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team and at the core of this is information sharing so that everyone is responsible for the health and welfare of service users. As with any dilemmas guidance and support should be discussed with the social workers manager.

While dealing with such ethical dilemmas social workers have to be aware of their own personal values and make sure that they do not influence the decisions that they make and while we may not always choose the options given for ourselves it does not mean that they are wrong (Bowles, 2006).

The social work role is about empowering the user by providing the service user with the information, resources and support they need to make an informed choice and be prepared to accept the consequences. Many believe that ethical dilemmas in social work may be related to ideological issues. For example to what degree are the public society responsible for an individual’s situation and how much responsibility should an individual take for their own situation. Social workers are often seen as agents of social control. This can lead to domineering and coercive practices where social workers dealing with marginalised groups or cultures can mistake their emotional reactions for firm moral truths (Bowles, 2006). While showing tolerance and doing nothing brings us back to the central tenents of ethical social work.

As the above examples show the contents of the codes of practice are very general and therefore provide little help to social workers or service users when determining how social workers behave towards client. As in the above examples its does not provide the answer to ‘Is it the social worker’s duty to inform the police if they discover that the service user has committed a crime? (Shardlow, 2002). The codes do however outline how social workers should work and interact with service users. Below is an example of when a social work student crossed these boundaries.

A social work student is allocated to the case of two children siblings who live with their parents. The social worker has access to confidential information about the family which was given to her by the mother who herself is a vulnerable adult. During her placement the social work student meets the children’s father in a night club and starts a relationship with him. She even left the children stay at her home while the mother was in hospital. The social worker did not inform her employers of this relationship. The relationship with the father is compromising her judgement, and the relationship between service users and social workers is about meeting the needs of the client not their own needs. The codes of practice state that as a social worker, you must uphold public trust and confidence in social care services (CCW, 2002, 5). It goes on to state that you should not exploit service users in any way (CCW, 2002, 5.2), abuse their trust or the access you have to personal information (CCW, 2002, 5.3) or behave in a way, outside of work which would call into question your suitability to work in social care services (CCW, 2002, 5.8). In addition social workers must inform their employer or the appropriate authority about any personal difficulties that might affect their ability to do their job competently and safely.

What are evident from the above examples are the complex issues that face social workers in their everyday practice. The core foundations of this work are values and ethics and while these can often conflict due to the variety of sources that social workers are accountable for instance the service user, carer and employer. The social worker must be prepared to explain and justify their actions and be open to scrutiny if they are to work in a professional manner (Clark, 2005). Values and ethics are a combination of thoughts and feelings which are used to weigh up the pros and cons of an argument and help make an ethical decision. However there needs to be distinctions on how to apply social work values and ethics into their professional work, without causing personal conflict. Above all the social worker must remain non-judgemental, and stay focused on the task ahead while upholding public trust in social care services.

Equality of Opportunity is put into place to safeguard everyone. An important aspect of the Equal Opportunity Policy is that it protects vulnerable adults in care. The Equal Opportunity Policy specifies that all clients will be given equal and impartial treatment regardless of their gender, age, disability, ethnic origin and race. It is important that all employees working within the care field comply with the Equal Opportunities Policy so that all clients are free from prejudice and are protected (Care Quality Commission: 2011). When concerned with the care of vulnerable adults, key legislations are put in place. These include laws, policies and strategies. All social care services are governed by legislation and government guidance which must be followed accordingly (www.legislation.gov.uk). Some Acts which are relevant to the case study include the Disability Discrimination Act (1995), the Care Standards Act (2000), the Race Relations Act (2000), the Human Rights Act (1998) and the Community Care Act (2003). The purpose of these Acts is to ensure that there are high standards set which health authorities and local authorities can follow to regulate care (Nazarko: 2002).

The Afan Nedd care study explains that the residential home cares for vulnerable adults. When concerned with those most vulnerable it is important that each service user is treated fairly and equally with their human rights taken into consideration at all times. The Afan Nedd case study shows that these basic requirements are not always met. The article states that the care home is being run by trained nurses and unqualified care assistants. In April 2002, the legislation that all residential homes in the UK must meet in order to stay registered changed. The Registered Homes Act of 1984 was replaced by the Care Standards Act (CSA) (2000). The CSA regulates and inspects all local authorities, establishes a General Social Care Council in England and a Care Council in Wales and it makes provision for the registration, regulation and training of social care workers (Nazarko:2002). The CSA ensures that the regulation of care workers is monitored closely. The Act also states that social care workers must be registered with the English or Welsh Council where each Council is required to ensure high standards of practice and training are being used at all times. It is important that Registered Social Care Workers (RSCWS) must abide by a strict code of conduct; any employees who breach this code of conduct will be called in for a disciplinary hearing which could result in suspension or being removed from the care register. In Wales, the Care Council approve courses and make allowances and grants for training to ensure that care homes care run properly (Nazarko: 2002).

Afan Nedd care home is regulated by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW), they encourage ‘the improvement of social care, early years and social services in Wales’ (www.wales.gov.uk). CSSIW works in conjunction with the Welsh Assembly Government; they inspect local authority social services and regulate and inspect social care environments (www.wales.gov.uk). The CSSIW regulations include registration, inspection, complaints and enforcement in order to protect vulnerable adults. It appears that Afan Nedd care home does not comply with the CSSIW policies as it does not have qualified care assistants. To resolve this issue, a possible solution is that the care home should provide training for all employees to ensure the safeguard of vulnerable adults and to provide the highest standard of practice to service users.

When caring for vulnerable adults it is extremely important that their care is main priority. All care homes are regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which is responsible for monitoring the standards of care services (www.direct.gov.uk). The CQC is in place to ensure good work practice for professionals and to improve the standard of living of the service user. All care homes must follow the ‘Care Value Base;’ in nursing theory this is an ethical code which sets out rules which carers must follow within their social care setting which ensures that the carer is not discriminating the service user and are not violating their rights (Moonie: 2005). These values also include the promotion of equality and diversity and to have the ability to challenge discrimination. In 2002, the General Social Care Council (GSCC) published a code of practice for both employees and employers which explains the promotion of these values along with confidentiality and other rights and responsibilities. (Moonie: 2005).

The case study explains how John Davies, a registered general nurse, has been verbally abusing some of the clients. This should be a major concern for Afan Nedd nursing home as the service user is not receiving the correct care. The case study also explains that John Davies appears to be experienced and is very popular with the matron. This can then cause problems within the care home as issues such as discrimination and prejudice may arise.

It can be said that any type of institutional abuse is completely illegal and unprofessional. Verbal abuse within the care home cannot be tolerated as those who are physically and mentally frail are most at risk (www.direct.gov.uk). The Equality Act 2010 is a key piece of legislation which must be followed within every social care environment. The Act provides a ‘modern and accessible framework of discrimination law which protects individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society’ (www.equalities.gov.uk). Every health care professional must know all key pieces of legislation before they undertake any social care and must implement the rules throughout their health care career. By law each service user has the right to be treated with respect and dignity. The Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) scheme was launched by the Department of Health which provides a list of care workers who have harmed vulnerable adults in their care. It is now a statutory requirement for managers to use when appointing individuals to work with vulnerable adults (www.criminalrecordscheck.co.uk). This could mean that John Davies may have had a history of verbal abuse to service users and this may have not been checked prior to being employed as the case study explains he is an agency worker.

As mentioned earlier, John Davies appears to be popular with the matron which may cause problems if another social care worker wanted to report his verbal abuse to the service users. It could also mean that the service users do not feel confident enough to report the abuse to the matron as they feel that they may be discriminated against or they may not have the mental capacity to report this issue. Since 2006, the social services complaints procedure has changed in Wales. The CCSIW are legally obliged to have their own written complaints procedures. It is important to stress that all complaints must be kept confidential along with following the CCSIW complaints procedure (Department of Constitutional Affairs: 2007). Another issue that may arise from the fact that John Davies is popular with the matron is other employees of the nursing home may not want to be seen as a ‘whistle blower’ if they wanted to repot abuse within the care home. Knights and Willmott (2006) believe that ‘whistle blowers tend to be well respected and conscientious employees. They tend to believe that once they have informed the appropriate managerial authority of these illegal or unethical acts the organisation will take the appropriate measures to change its behaviour.’ However, it appears that many whistle-blowers feel that management do not see ‘whistle blowing’ as an act of good organisational citizenship, instead management see this as trouble making. In many cases, the whistle blower may be victimised or even disciplined, making other employees stay silent in reporting any further discrimination or abuse within the care home. The Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, created a policy where the commissioner is contacted by an employee from another organisation who is worried about unethical acts in their place of work and want to report it (www.powysweb3.ruralwales.net). The Public Interest Disclosure Act, (PIDA) protects employees who ‘blow the whistle’ about wrong doing within the nursing home, providing that they do so in the ways set out by PIDA. Any employee who is victimised by their employees for ‘blowing the whistle’ has the right to take their employer to a tribunal. The Commissioner ‘recognises that employees are often the first to realise that there may be something wrong within their organisation and therefore encourages all individuals to raise genuine concerns about wrongdoing at the earliest possible stage’ (www.powysweb3.ruralwales.net). This policy relates back to the Afan Nedd nursing home as the policy will protect them if they wanted to report the John Davies for abusing the service user. The Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC) believe that it is ‘important to establish a comprehensive vulnerable adult protection and safeguarding service to ensure good leadership and performance management, however, it appears that such arrangements are not consistently found across social services’ (www.nmc-uk.gov).

Albert and Gladys Griffiths have recently arrived at Afan Nedd nursing home, the case study states that Albert is mentally alert however his wife Gladys have early onset Alzheimer’s. The reader learns that Gladys becomes easily confused and disorientated but is usually calmed by Albert’s presence; however they do not have a double room in the nursing home. As the couple does not have a double room this can be seen as discrimination and a violation of their human rights. It can be said that to maximise Albert and Gladys’ quality of life, they have the right to a double room as they have never spent a night apart. Quality of life refers to the total living experience, which results in overall satisfaction with ones quality of life. ‘Quality of life is a multi-faceted concept that recognises at least five factors; lifestyle pursuits, living environment, clinical palliation, human factors and personal choices’ (Singh: 2009). It can be said that quality of life can be improved by bringing in these five factors into the delivery of care.

It appears that the Human Rights Act (1998) has been breached as Gladys and her husband are not able to share a room together. The Act states that ‘these rights not only impact matters of life and death, they also affect the rights you have in your everyday life: what you can say and do, your beliefs, your right to a fair trial and other similar basic entitlements.’ When working in a social care environment, it is the responsibility of the health care professional to respect the rights of the service user. Learning that Gladys has early onset Alzheimer’s, this could mean that she does not have the mental capacity to address her human rights within the nursing home. The Mental Capacity Act (2005), safeguards those with mental illness and it is also a stepping stone for those most vulnerable to receive treatment in a nursing home to improve their quality of life (Department of Health 2005). The Mental Capacity Act (2005) is designed for those who are unable to make decisions for themselves or lack the mental capacity to do so. It can be said that under the Mental Capacity Act, any person is ‘presumed to make their own decisions unless all practical steps to help him or her to make a decision have been taken without success,’ (www.nhs.uk). It is important to remember that a change of routine can affect behavioral problems with someone suffering with Alzheimer’s which can cause them to lash out of feel uneasy. It is said that Alzheimer’s do not do well to change as change causes anxiety and stress, therefore changing Gladys’ normal routine is not in her best interests when settling into a new environment (Gale: 2010). All service users of nursing homes have the right of privacy. The right of privacy is a fundamental basic right that must always be met. Each service user has the right to live in a friendly, homely and caring environment, where the care assistant always delivers the level of care that is appropriate to each individual. ‘Each person has the right to be treated as an individual, with respect and dignity, as well as having a right to privacy and to choice; it is the duty of the management and staff to safeguard these rights and to help the service user exercise them correctly’ (Ford: 2005).

The case study explains how Musad Mohammed is a Pakistani Muslim who is a resident at Afan Nedd nursing home. Musad Mohammed is finding life in the nursing home strange as he has no immediate family living in the UK; the food is an issue for him, having a female carer and the lack of privacy at prayer times. Being a Muslim man, resourcing halal food for Mr Mohammed should not be an issue as it is easily sourced in the UK (Q News: 1999). The Race Relations Act 1976 states that no person should be discriminated against on the grounds of race, colour, nationality, ethnic and national origin in the fields of employment, the provision of goods and services, education and public functions (www.legislation.gov.uk). From the information on the case study, it is clear to see that Mr Mohammed is being discriminated against as his needs are not being met. However, this type of discrimination tends to be indirect discrimination. It can be said that indirect discrimination is when a condition or rule within the workplace disadvantages one group of people more than another (www.direct.gov.uk). This applies to the case study as Mr Mohammed is being cared for by female care assistants which is against a Muslim mans beliefs. This is also a breach of his human rights which could affect Mr Mohammed’s quality of life. It is important to understand that each service user of the nursing home is entitled to privacy and an independent living. It is also important that the ‘right of every individual to select independently from a range of options, incorporating, choice of meal, bed times and taking part in activities/ entertainment’ (Rose and McCarthy: 2010). These basic needs are not being met for Mr Mohammed as he feels he has a lack of privacy at prayer times. For a Muslim man prayers play an important role in his faith and his care values are not being met. Every individual has the right to be treated as unique regardless of their beliefs and should be treated with respect at all times (Rose and McCarthy: 2010). It appears that the employees at Afan Nedd are not educated in a Muslims faith; a possible solution for this is that the staff could take part in discrimination training and multicultural awareness training.

Dilys Watkins enjoys staying up to watch the television at the nursing home, however the staff at the nursing home does not allow her to do this as it is said to interfere with the rota as everyone needs to be in bed before the night shift commences. This can be seen as a breach of her human rights and independence as Dilys says she is able to put herself to bed after her programmes have finished. It is important to avoid stereotyping an elderly person in care, mainly with regard to their own independence. This is because negative images of independence can become self fulfilling. This can cause an elderly person to have low expectations of their abilities and performance (Beaulieu: 2002). However, the case study does not state Mrs Watkins’ mental awareness, and the care assistants may feel that it is not in her best interest to stay up on her own and put herself to bed as she may fall and hurt herself. This is a possible reason as to why the Mental Capacity Act (2005) is put into place at nursing homes as the Act sets out a checklist of things to consider when deciding what is best for the service user. Another possible argument is the idea of empowerment in nursing homes. The idea of empowerment is that those who have little or no influence, such as Dilys Watkins are ‘able to acquire the capacity to have informed opinions, to take initiatives, make independent choices and influence change. It also means that those with influence actively change their attitudes and rules and change the way decisions are made through engaging with excluded people’ (www.equal.ecotec.co.uk). It can be said that the staff at Afan Nedd must show service users such as Dilys Watkins respect and dignity and must always follow the correct codes of practice; Processional Codes of Conduct are put into place to avoid discrimination and to improve the quality of life for residents at the Afan Nedd nursing home (www.npc-uk.org).

It is clear to see that Afan Nedd nursing home is beset by a number of problems where the relevant policies and legislations are not being followed correctly. The Care Council for Wales is the social care workforce regulator in Wales responsible for promoting and securing high standards within nursing homes to protect and safeguard vulnerable adults; these regulations are not being followed by Afan Nedd nursing home. There are many key issues identified in the case study such as discrimination, lack of staff training, verbal abuse, lack of privacy and poor professional practice. It is important to address these issues straight away to improve the quality of life to all service users. All social care workers are expected to meet the code of conduct set by the Care Council and serious failure to do so can result in the closure of the nursing home and suspension and the removal of employees from the Register. Nursing homes care for the highly dependent and vulnerable people. Many of them have many nursing needs that require a high level of professional knowledge and understanding. It is therefore important to ensure that all staff working at nursing homes takes part in any opportunities for improving and updating their skills along with organising educational and training days. Afan Nedd nursing home could promote and support research into the efficiency of diverse approaches to caring for the elder and those with mental disabilities.