National Care Service - social work: contextual paper

2. Background – Description of social work

“Social work is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversities are central to social work. Underpinned by theories of social work, social sciences, humanities and indigenous knowledges, social work engages people and structures to address life challenges and enhance wellbeing. The above definition may be amplified at national and/or regional levels.”^[1]

Social workers impact and influence the lives of people, families and carers; from pre-birth to end of life, across the entire age spectrum. The profession is regulated and the ‘social worker’ title is protected by law. The profession, underpinned by sound professional judgement, draws on a theoretical knowledge base derived from social and psychological sciences. Social workers have a role in advocating for the rights of those in our communities who are experiencing the greatest needs, risks and vulnerabilities in their lives. Social work is a unique profession that takes a holistic view of the person and, through relationship-based practice, has a role to play in reducing health inequalities, ensuring public protection, promoting justice, upholding human rights and in challenging discrimination. Social workers contribute to and take a lead role in interdisciplinary working to help people realise their full potential. Social work works best when practitioners are embedded in communities and are able to influence change through both the formal and informal networks that exist.

The Changing Lives: Report of the 21st Century Social Work Review (Scottish Executive, 2006)^[2] defined the social worker’s task as one of working alongside people to help build resilience, maintain hope and optimism and develop their strengths and abilities. Through their relationships, social workers help people analyse where they are, work out where they want or need to be, and can be the catalyst for change. Social workers also influence policy makers to contribute to social and economic justice. In short, social workers aim to promote positive individual and societal change.

In Scotland the social work workforce plays a key role in the public protection agenda with the express aim of preventing harm to vulnerable groups within society, covering adult support and protection, child protection, domestic abuse and violence against women, offender management and drug and alcohol use. Public protection requires effective joint working between statutory and non-statutory agencies, with social workers frequently at the centre of this activity. The knowledge, skills and values of the profession ensure social workers are effective in collaborative arrangements. By extension, social work should be seen as a valued, equal partner within integrated settings. Social workers have a key role in protecting human rights, however, the statutory responsibility placed on social workers can create the circumstances where an individual’s liberty may be restricted. Social workers are duty bound to challenge practice and structures which are not consistent with equity, equality, and human rights.

Social workers have a lead role in the identification, assessment, and protection of people at risk of abuse or neglect, or who become vulnerable for other reasons. Careful and complex decisions as to when and how there may be intervention in the lives of individuals and families are required. It is therefore important for the assurance of all involved that accountability for these decisions, and any subsequent exercise of statutory functions, lies with a registered social worker.

2.1 What social workers do and where

There are a diverse range of organisations that employ social workers, and the job descriptions for social workers vary greatly depending on where they work. Social workers can be found within a wide variety of employment settings. Specialisations often determine where and how they work. Some spend time in an office, although visiting individuals off-site is common. Social workers work in teams alongside paraprofessionals and support staff creating a skill mix that ensures that individuals receive support from practitioners with the right skills and experience. Some examples of places in which social workers may be based include:

• Local authorities and other government agencies, including national government.
• Schools (all levels, including higher education).
• Hospitals and healthcare settings.
• Community-based, voluntary sector organisations.
• Legal settings (courts, prisons, etc.).

The Role of the Registered Social Worker in Statutory Interventions: Guidance for local authorities (Scottish Government, 2010)^[3] focuses on the role of the registered social worker in formal settings. It does not explicitly constrain creative use of social work skills or joint working with other disciplines and agencies in early intervention and prevention. However, due to demand for services outweighing available resource and the use of eligibility criteria, early intervention and prevention may be seen as the first element to disappear from social workers’ remits. The ambition of the National Care Service, to focus on preventative and anticipatory approaches, is an opportunity to ensure that social workers do not only work in crises, but in prevention alongside others in communities, in schools, in GP practices, in hospitals etc.

The identification and management of risk is a pivotal aspect of the social work role. The balance between the rights of the individual and the risk of harm play into all areas of social work practice. All of the legislative frameworks which apply to social workers are borne out of policies which seek to identify both individual and wider societal risk and put in place measures which reduce likelihood of harm.

There is a legal dimension to all of the work undertaken by social workers employed by the local authority. Social workers are obliged to perform some functions and permitted to perform others by laws passed by Parliament (either UK or the Scottish Parliament). The scope and interpretation of these powers and duties is further elaborated by decisions in court cases, which can also generate further duties^[4]. To undertake such functions social workers require to build and sustain trusting relationships with the people they support, holding their rights, wishes, and preferences at the centre of considerations regarding interventions through the guiding legislative framework.

In third sector organisations, social workers can be involved in a wide range of relationship-based practice with people and families. Social workers in this sector play a crucial role in early intervention and prevention work which can reduce escalation and the need for statutory intervention. Third sector social workers also support statutory social work services through participation in inter-agency case conferences and meetings.

Society benefits from the contributions of social workers, in particular, where there is need for compulsory legal measures. The justice system, the Children’s Hearing system, and Mental Health tribunals, all require comprehensive reports provided by social workers to ensure the balance of risk and human rights are taken into account when decisions (by these legal tribunals) are made. Beyond the confines of the legal system, social workers, including specially trained social workers called Mental Health Officers (MHOs), are at the centre of many processes that may lead to legal interventions. This includes work under a wide range of legislation relevant to people of all ages (including pre-birth). Social workers are also an essential component of other court proceedings, including activity under the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 and the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007. The contributions from social work services demand not only social workers’ knowledge of the individual’s circumstances but careful assessment and analysis following precise and distinctive legal criteria under which the respective jurisdictions operate. Social work services thereby enable decision makers, such as Judges, Sheriffs, Parole Boards and panel members to perform their judicial functions of reaching well-informed decisions on the whole circumstances of the case in a fair, efficient and expeditious manner.

Another important contribution made by social work services is the role they play in explaining rights to people, advocating directly for them or referring them to advocacy services or other independent sources of advice. Social workers hold a legal duty under several pieces of legislation to ensure independent advocacy is offered to the people they support. The promotion of advocacy supports the pursuit of meaningful participation within systems of welfare and justice ensuring the wishes and views of people (often misunderstood or holding marginalised places in society and otherwise at risk of being unheard) are taken into consideration. This promotes meaningful inclusion in decision-making.