Report Example on Social Work Practice

Introduction

Social work is a helping profession that ensures clients’ have an improved wellbeing. The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) is England’s professional organization for social work (BASW, n.d). The profession is all about inclusivity and the prevention of oppressive practices that hinder socio-economic change. Social workers have the power to change the condition of their clients. Nevertheless, Moriarty (2015) indicated that social worker roles are different because of country expectations. The key areas of knowledge, values, and skills, which are required to carry an effective social work assessment have been set out by several theories that rely on engagement, excellent interpersonal skills, an informed approach to practice. In its knowledge and skill statement for children and family social work, the United Kingdom’s government has emphatically stated what social workers need to when responding to child-related issues (Department of Education, 2014). For a social worker to effectively respond to clients’ needs and improve their well-being, they need to be equipped with knowledge, values, and skills.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The purpose of the study is to explore the necessary knowledge, skills, and values, required by a social worker to work with Jane, a 13-year old. The essay begins by providing an overview of the social work role, defining concepts such as knowledge, skills, and values in social work, outlining interventions such as children act, equality act, care act legislation that applies to the case study, and discussing the social learning and the psychodynamic behavioral theories that apply to the case study. The paper will also discuss the therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, needed to help Jane. The next section of the paper will discuss a multi-agency analysis of how Jane’s case fits into the multi-agency agenda, and provide a description of the professional and ethical dilemma presented in the case. The essay will conclude by emphasizing the significance of applying knowledge, skills, and values in social work.

Social Work Role

Social work is concerned with establishing solutions to the different problems people face. Social work is a systematic and scientific service that enables individuals to live comfortable lives. The Department of Health (n.d) stated that social work should focus on the interrelatedness between an individual, their health, their wellbeing, and the need for a connection between their families and the wider community. In light of that discussion, it is essential for social workers to understand their role as part of a system that works to ensure the well-being of individuals and families. Social services that handle children ensure that they live in a conducive environment that improves their development. In Jane’s scenario, there is a need for social work involvement to ensure that Jane lives in an environment devoid of abuse and neglect.

Knowledge refers to the theoretical and practical approach to a subject. Some of the knowledge areas for social workers include diversity, populations at risk, and economic justice, social welfare policy, human behavior and the social environment, practice roles, research, and practice settings. The application of theory in practice is contingent to how students define the social work theory, identify the role theory plays in practice, and know the benefits and limitations associated with applying theory in practice (Gentle-Genitty et al., 2014). Additionally, the Department of Health (n.d) indicated that social workers need to apply a wide array of knowledge to understand and build relationships with their clients. These knowledge areas are particularly important when working with Jane to achieve the best outcomes. Also, the social workers working on the case must have a thorough knowledge of the interventions and theories and be able to apply these practices on Jane and her family. Through knowledge, social workers can explain their role in the children’s care services and the knowledge and skills required in the area (Richard, 2016). The phrase knowledge is power applies in social work practice because social workers need to have the power to secure the necessary resources to meet their client’s needs. Most importantly, social workers should be able to maintain that knowledge to work effectively with Jane and her family and connect them with the appropriate resources and support. Using that knowledge, social workers should manage to meet their clients’ needs.

Skills refer to the expertise in a particular area. Some of the essential skills in social work include empathy, communication, advocacy, resilience, time management, leadership, evaluation, planning, assessment, analysis, policy practice, and critical thinking. The Department of Health (n.d) indicated that social workers need to apply their skills when working directly with clients to improve their outcomes. The application of skills by social workers enables them to build reciprocal and purposeful relationships with their clients (Department of Health, n.d). Also, acquiring social work skills enable social workers to operate within the legal frameworks (Department of Health, n.d). More so, skills are essential in social work practice because it enables social workers to develop a plausible professional judgment and know how to push for the appropriate allocation of resources to meet client needs. Having the mentioned skills would help the social worker regulate any oppressive practices and deliver services to their clients inclusively. The skills also allow social workers to acknowledge the propensity of the child welfare systems and build relationships with the families.

Values refer to the standards of behavior. Some of the social work values include integrity, competence, awareness of personal values and ethical dilemmas, dignity of a person, social justice, commitment to professional development among others. The Department of Health (n.d) indicated that social workers model and lead change approaches that would help them work with clients. Having the values mentioned above would help social workers work through the challenges associated with their practice. Also, values in social work would help the social workers to make the distinction between personal and professional values. In Jane’s scenario, there is a need for the social worker attending to the case to have the essential values and skills to advocate for the victim and ensure that she has a better upbringing. More so, having social work values will enable them to apply the suitable codes of ethics in their practice.

Legislation

Some of the interventions that apply to the case study include legislation, such as the Children ‘s Act 2004, Equality Act 2010, and Care Act 2014 legislation. The Children Act 2004 pushes for the proposals of the Green Paper and allows local authorities to have more flexibility in organizing children’s services (Great Britain, 2004). Part 1 of the Act gives a voice to children and young people at a national level (Great Britain, 2004). Part 2 of the act requires the accountability for children’s services by local authorities and social services (Great Britain, 2004). The emphasis of the Children Act 2004 is that the interests of children and young people are mandatory and that safeguarding the rights of the children is the key responsibility. When assessing Jane’s case, the case worker will need to apply the provisions provided in the Children Act 2004. The social worker will need to apply knowledge of the Act’s provisions to determine the level of support that Jane needs. Since Jane is a minor, the social workers working on the case will need to be her voice. She is a minor, and her mother and step-father appear neglectful to care for her needs. The Act strengthens the importance of safeguarding a child’s well-being. The social worker should incorporate knowledge in social welfare policy and practice roles to meet Jane’s needs. Also, critical skills such as empathy and advocacy, and values such as competency apply in the scenario because the child is a minor.

The Equality Act 2004 also has provisions that protect children. Chapter 2 section 13 of the Act on direct discrimination stipulates that since age is a protected characteristic, a person should not discriminate another person based on their age or treat them less favorably than they would treat others (Equality Act 2014, c.15). The Act posits that a person should treat the other person equally as a proportionate means to achieve a legitimate aim (Equality Act 2014, c.15). Undoubtedly, equality is the cornerstone of social work practice. Social workers have a key role to play in embedding the Equality Act 2010 anti-discriminatory in their practice. Referencing the case study, it is essential for the social worker handling the case to treat Jane equally and not discriminate her because of her age. Research by the Children’s Commissioner (2019) found that more teenagers aged 13 and above are entering foster care homes and need more specialist homes. The research also showed that up to 80% of teenagers in England encounter different forms of instability in their homes (Children’s Commissioner, 2019). Also, the research showed that over 45,000 children experienced several changes in their social workers between 2017-2018. In the case study, there is no doubt that Jane experiences familial instability because of her alcoholic mother and abusive step-father. The social worker handling the case should be knowledgeable on the Equality Act 2010 and be willing to work on her case until she finds a stable home and has transitioned into adulthood. For the social worker to appropriately apply the legislation, they will need to incorporate skills such as evaluation, planning, assessment, analysis, and policy practice. The social worker will also need to incorporate values like competence, empathy, social justice, dignity of a human being, and integrity.

The Care Act c.23 offers guidelines for transitions for children to adult care and support. The guidelines suggest the assessment of a child’s needs for care and support, child’s needs evaluation, child’s carer’s assessment, and power to meet child’s carer’s needs for support (Care Act 2014, c.23). Department of Health (n.d) indicated that concerning the Care Act 2014, social workers need to apply a wide array of knowledge and skills to build relationships with their clients. In Jane’s case, the social worker should incorporate planning, assessments, and use the best available evidence to care for her. Also, the social worker will need to understand critical issues such as diversity and poverty associated with Jane’s living situation.

Conclusion

The first theory that applies in the theory is the social learning theory. Burdick (2014) asserted that as per the social learning theory, children learn through interactions with a variety of socializing agents. It is through the interactions that children learn or extinguish behaviors (Burdick, 2014). Also, the social learning theory hypothesizes that through the daily activities experienced by children, they develop their identity and begin to identify with the leaders of those activities (Burdick, 2014). For imitation to happen, there must be a perceived relationship with the role model (Burdick, 2014). The author researched the application of the social learning theory to African-American children exposed to violence.