Unit 3: The Process of Social Work with Children and Families

UNIT OBJECTIVES

After completing this unit you will be able to:

• explain the process of social work in terms of assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation
• relate these processes to social work with children and families
• demonstrate the links between process and good practice.

Session One
The Process of  Social Work with Children and Families

SESSION OBJECTIVES

After completing this session you will be able to:

• explain the meaning of process in the context of social work practice
• outline the process of social work with children and families
• explain the impact of values on this process.

Introduction

In this session we will be exploring how far social work with children and families needs to be a considered and orderly activity, and in what ways working to a set process is central to good social work practice.

Process

Process is an important aspect of our lives, but it is not something we are always conscious of. What may seem an ordinary daily activity, such as making a cup of tea, or changing an electric plug, involves progressing through a series of actions or stages, usually in a set order. There is, therefore, a process of making tea, or changing an electric plug.

If you were helping someone with a severe learning disability to make a cup of tea, you might need to break down the process into a series of individual tasks, which the person can learn.
 

Activity 1

Chart each task necessary for making a cup of tea, in the order in which they should be carried out, so that you can give clear instructions to the person you are assisting.

Comment

You could have charted anything from about five to twenty individual tasks, from filling the kettle with water from the cold tap, to stirring the prepared cup of tea. Although there are some cultural and individual differences in the way tea is made, you will find that most people perform these tasks in roughly the same order, every time they make a cup of tea.

If you think about your day-to-day existence, you will find that process is a key aspect of your daily life and activities. It is also an important aspect of working with people.

The process of social work

When social workers are helping children and families, they do not normally work in a random way. Their work usually follows certain recognisable stages, that is, a set process which progresses the work from the initial contact with their clients through to the end of the particular work.
 

Activity 2

Imagine yourself in a duty room at an area social work office, meeting a family who have come into the office for the first time. Decide:

• which of the following actions you might carry out

• which order you would carry them out in.

Then compare your ideas with ours in the comment that follows.

1. Discuss any needs and difficulties with the family, or provide other specific help, and, if necessary, make arrangements to see the family again.
    

2. Think about how you are going to respond to any needs and difficulties the family may have.
    

3. Review what you and the family have achieved so far.
    

4. Find out about any needs and difficulties with which the family are seeking.

Comment

Your experience might tell you that you would normally carry out all the activities in the following order.

(d); (b); (a); (c).

This is a very simple example of the process of social work, which takes your work from beginning to end, and which involves four basic stages. These stages are represented in the following diagram.

Each of these stages has a process of its own. For instance, social workers frequently speak in terms of the assessment process, or the evaluation process. In this unit you will be exploring the process of social work in some depth, focusing on the four stages of the process, and how they can each be seen in this way: as processes within a process.

Working to process

In their work with children and families, most social workers follow the process of assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation to some extent, but not always with a great deal of thought and care. In some situations, greater attention to the process of their work with families would mean a better service to the people they are assisting.
 

Activity 3

Read the following situation study and decide what level of attention the social worker gives to the four stages of the process:

• assessment

• planning

• implementation

• evaluation.

Do this by giving each stage of the process a mark, (0) to (10), and making brief notes to back up your marking. Use a (0) to mean no attention and a (10) to mean full attention.

Ben, a social worker in a children and families team was under pressure on duty on a busy Wednesday afternoon. At 4.30 pm Mrs X came in with her two young children, saying that she had no money until she could get the child benefit the next day. Ben recognised that she needed something for food to tide her over the evening. He sympathised with her, but did not ask her whether there was anything else she needed, or whether there were any other difficulties. He provided her with £10 under Section 17.6 of the Children Act 1989, the most he was allowed to draw without senior authorisation.

At the end of the day, he was bemoaning the fact that the duty session was too busy to achieve much good social work. ‘But at least I was able to give a family a hot meal!’, he sighed.

Comment

Our impression is that the social work process was present in part, more by default than by clear, process-led practice on the part of Ben. A rapid response of this sort gives very little attention to process. We gave the following ratings.

Assessment: (2). Minimal attention was given to finding out what the needs and problems were, and what they might mean. Under pressure, Ben quickly recognised the short-term need.

Planning: (0). It is difficult to see any attention to planning.

Implementation: (2). Again, there is minimal attention to the process. Ben simply carried through the logical outcome of his brief assessment.

Evaluation: (2). Ben was aware of the general inadequacy of the social work response under pressure, but he made a rather desperate and inadequate evaluation of his response in this particular situation.

If you gave fairly low ratings to Ben’s work, you are probably aware of the importance of process in social work. If you felt that the stages of the process were given proper attention by Ben, you may find it useful to review your response after completing this unit, or you might discuss your response with a colleague.

Process and values

Social work is not simply a technical job, which just requires working to a set process – like a machine operator, for instance. Nor is it neutral, objective or impartial. The process of social work is underpinned by the values and principles of social work practice. For example, social workers do not just evaluate their work in order to be efficient, but because they believe it is important to ensure anti-oppressive practice.
 

Activity 4

In Unit 2 you looked at some key principles of social work with children and families.

Think critically about the situation study in Activity 3 in relation to these principles. Then briefly note your main criticisms. We have noted some brief criticisms of the first principle to start you off.

The potential and limits of social work with children and families

This piece of practice was certainly affected by the limits of social work with children and families. The organisation limited the time needed to work through the process systematically and carefully. However, even if Ben had the time to make a more thorough assessment of need, the options he would have had available would have been very limited because of political and social policy priorities.

Now follow the same process with the other principles:

• anti-oppressive practice

• partnership with family members

• focusing on people’s abilities and resources

• listening to children

• partnership with other agencies

• addressing tensions between care and control

Comment

The following additional criticisms could be made of this piece of practice.

Anti-oppressive practice

A rapid-response approach to social work can be seen as oppressive in itself. It involves subordinating people, particularly women and children, and doing nothing effective about the heavy burden of poverty people carry. Little time was given to evaluating what was being done by the state, the agency and the worker. There are dangers that social work can just be about helping people manage their poverty.

Partnership with family members

There is no sign of partnership in this piece of work. Limited responses are likely to make people more and more dependent. Lack of user involvement in the process begs the question: ‘Whose needs are being met – the family’s or the social worker’s?’ This is a very good illustration of how the process of social work cannot be divorced from the values held by the social worker and the agency. The process is not neutral.

Focusing on people’s abilities and resources

Ben’s approach was the opposite to this, focusing only on Mrs X as a client with a problem. It did not involve looking at what she could offer or how she could maintain control over her life.

Listening to children

No attention at all was given to what the children think or feel. Social workers should start from the basis that the views of the children are always relevant, and should have good reasons if they decide not to involve them in the discussion. The rapid-response approach ignores children and can miss important opportunities to listen to and support them.

Partnership with other agencies

Working jointly with other agencies is often not easy. Working with large, powerful systems, which have little room for manoeuvre, such as the benefits system, is particularly difficult and unproductive. However, if we do not work in partnership with such agencies and point out the inadequacies of the system, the policies they operate will go unchallenged. A fuller assessment (When?) may have shown that we needed to work with other agencies, alongside the family.

Addressing tensions between care and control

Providing Mrs X with a limited Section 17.6 payment may be seen as caring, but it is important to remember that social workers are part of the system of social control which supports poverty. A rapid, limited response does nothing to challenge this.

This brief critical analysis of this situation study has shown that values do impact on the process of social work, and that lack of proper attention to process can militate against key principles of social work practice.

Review activity

Think back to the situation study in Activity 3, and in the light of your more critical understanding of the process of social work practice and its links with values, complete the following chart by noting down what you think should have happened. I have completed the assessment stage as an example.

ASSESSMENT (Ben saw the presenting problem only.)

What should have happened?

• Further questions about the needs: How serious was the situation? How were the children feeling?

• Ensure that their is agreement about the needs and problems.

PLANNING (Ben decided quickly on one response)

What should have happened?

IMPLEMENTATION (Ben processed the Section 17.6 payment.)

What should have happened?

EVALUATION (Ben felt better.)

What should have happened?

Comment

There is no set response to this activity, but it would be useful if you could discuss your particular response with a colleague or your supervisor. Alternatively, you could use the following questions to help you assess your response.

• Have I given realistic and practical alternatives to how Ben responded?

• Have I recognised the value issues involved?

• Have I kept the family involved in the whole process?

Summary

In this session you have looked at the importance of process in work with children and families. You have also seen that the process is not neutral or unconnected to the values of practice. When we are under pressure as social workers, we have to be particularly clear about working to process. It is not just important. It is crucial if we are going to work in an enabling and effective way. In the next session we start to look in detail at assessment, the first stage of this process.

Session Two
Assessment: Information Gathering

Session objectives

After completing this session you should be able to:

• outline the process of assessment
• describe ways by which social workers gather information in the assessment of children and families
• indicate the kind of information needed and why it is needed
• explain how the social worker’s values affect the way information is gathered.

Introduction

In the next three sessions of this unit you will explore in depth the process of assessment, the first stage in the overall process of social work. In this session, you will first of all briefly review the process of assessment itself, and then move on to consider one particular aspect of assessment, gathering information.

Stages in the process of assessment

In the last session you saw that a process is a series of actions or stages, usually in a set order. Assessment is both a stage in the process of social work and a process in itself with stages.

Assessment is an ongoing process, in which the client participates, whose purpose is to understand people in relation to their environment; it is a basis for planning what needs to be done to maintain, improve or bring about change in the person, the environment or both.

(Veronica Coulshed, 1991, Social Work Practice, Second Edition, Macmillan, London, p 24)

Activity 5

Name the main stages you would need to work through to make an assessment of a family’s needs given their social context. This will involve breaking down into stages something you may do as a matter of course.
 

Comment

We would suggest that to make a full assessment of a family’s needs you should carry out the following steps.

1. Gather basic information about the family and their social context.

2. Clarify what their needs are.

3. Identify which needs require attention.

4. Find out what resources there are to meet these needs.
    

The information and understanding you gain will then form the basis on which to formulate a plan of action with the family.

Steps 3 and 4 can be considered as two parts of the same step. The process of assessment therefore has three main stages:

• information gathering

• identifying and prioritising needs

• identifying resources to meet needs.

How information is gathered about people

We often feel the need to find out about people, perhaps when we meet someone for the first time, perhaps when someone moves next door, or perhaps when a particular occasion at work demands it. How do we learn about people in everyday life?
 

Imagine that a well-liked colleague is leaving after a number of years, and you have been asked, as a newcomer to the office, to do some research for a ‘This is Your Life’ surprise for her. The team feels you will bring a fresh approach to the task because you do not really know the person.

1. List the sources of information you might use.

2. List any ethical issues involved in doing this sort of research.

Comment

You may have come up with some of the following points.

1. Different sources of information:

• the person herself

• colleagues or friends

• her family

• other agencies with which she has had contact

• observation of the sorts of personal belongings she has on display around her desk.

2. Some ethical questions:

• How would the person feel about information being gathered on her? Would she want to know why you want the information? How would you handle not telling her?
   

• How tempted would you be to let the person know what is happening?
   

• Would you get a different picture from different people?
   

• Would you share everything you find out about her, or would you be selective in what you passed on to others? How would you decide what is or is not relevant?
   

• How would your information-gathering be affected by issues of race, gender, class, age, sexual preference or health?
   

• How comfortable would you feel gathering this information? For example, would you feel you were being intrusive?

Gathering information as part of the assessment process

The last activity emphasised that there are tensions involved in gathering information about people. These tensions are likely to be particularly acute in social work. As a social worker you need to decide whether you need to know absolutely everything about a person. You also need to consider how far your main aim is simply to assist them, or whether you might be becoming involved in surveillance as part of social control. Finally, you may have felt some tension because of a wish to be open and let the person know what was going on.

One way of dealing with these tensions within social work is to be clear about what information is relevant, and involve the children and the family as fully as possible in your assessment.
 

Activity 7

The Gibson Family

You are on duty as a social worker in a social services area office. A woman and a man, both White, come in with two children, a girl aged six and a boy aged four. They say they are having problems with their 12-year-old son. The man says to you, ‘We want him taken into care!’

Briefly note:

1. what further information you need

2. why you need this information

3. what your sources of information would be.

Comment

Information needed

You might need to know:

• what the father actually wants to happen

• whether the mother agrees

• the views of the boy himself

• the feelings of all involved

• the make-up of the family

• details about the boy’s behaviour and any reasons for the behaviour

• other family needs and difficulties

• whether the family is known to the department

• whether any of the children are on the Child Protection Register

• whether the family is known to other agencies.

You may have felt it would be inappropriate to act on the sparse information you have so far. Further information is needed to help you, the child and the family understand what is happening. Even if the presenting problem is clarified, there may be a number of other problems that need to be addressed. For example, you must find out whether there is any departmental involvement, particularly in relation to child protection. It may eventually be important to find out whether other agencies, such as probation, are involved.

Sources of information

Your starting point may be talking to the parents, the boy himself, and the other children. You could also talk to other family members, the school and other agencies.

You might also observe the family together – a useful way of finding out about power relationships, etc. in the family. We’ll be considering the skills of observation, particularly in relation to children, in Unit 4, Session Five.

Departmental records

It is important to keep in mind the important principles of empowerment and partnership when gathering information about a family. You might feel it is important to encourage the participation of the boy and his family in the process, to keep them informed of what you are doing, and to check out with them, if possible, the authenticity of the information gathered.

Value issues in gathering information

In the last activity you may have become aware that information gathering is not a value-free activity. Key principles of partnership and empowerment need to be taken into account. Also, we need to recognise that our perceptions can be selective, and that when we are processing information, we are interpreting it at the same time.
 

Activity 8

In talking further with the Gibson family, you find out that Mr Gibson is the father of the two younger children. However, Joe, the12-year-old boy, is his stepson. Joe is of mixed parentage. His African father is involved to some extent in Joe’s care. His mother is happy with this arrangement, but there are tensions in it for Joe’s stepfather.

Briefly note your answers to the following questions.

1. What are the implications of this new information for the assessment process?

2. How might your own values and experience affect your perception of the needs of Joe and his family?

3. What points might you need to address as you gather more information?

Comment

1. This new information underlines the importance of:

• being open to any further information that helps you understand the situation
   

• checking whether any of the assumptions you have made need revising, or whether any information needs re-evaluating
   

• avoiding making too many assumptions at an early stage in the assessment process.

2. Your own values and experience might affect your perception in the following ways.

• You might not see the need to ask particular questions.

• You might see everything in relation to your own experience.

• You might hear but not listen to what is being said.

• You might not believe what you hear.

• You might miss important clues indicating needs and problems.

3. Some of the points you may now need to address include:

• the increased importance of talking to Joe himself

• the need to talk with Joe’s birth father

• paying attention to Joe’s cultural and identity needs

• the need to listen as well as hear

• finding out how Joe and his family understand the needs and problems

• focusing on resources in the whole family

• paying attention to concerns of the stepfather

• being aware of potential discrimination in the service offered.

Review activity

Now that you have completed this session, note down your responses to the following questions. This will enable you to check that you have met the performance criteria for the four elements we listed at the start. Suppose you have been asked to carry out an assessment of a family who have recently arrived in your area.

1. Describe briefly the three key stages you would follow.
    

2. List four key people or places you would consult to find the information you need.
    

3. Note down four key questions you would ask when carrying out your assessment. Next to each question note down briefly:

• why you are asking it

• an example of the sort of response you would hope to elicit.

4. On which two social work values would your assessment be based? Use one word to describe each; then suggest what the consequences might be in this case if you failed to observe those values.

Comment

You may wish to discuss your response with a colleague or your supervisor. However, if this is not possible, you can assess your response by referring back to the relevant pages of this session, as follows:

1: 4

2: 5

3: 6

4: 7

Summary

In this session you have briefly explored the process of assessment itself. You then moved on to examine one particular aspect of assessment, the gathering of information, and saw how this needs to take account of ethical as well as practical considerations.

The next session explores further the process of assessment. It emphasises the importance of looking at needs as well as problems, and suggests how social workers can prioritise needs. Finally, it reviews ways in which assessment can be carried out in line with the principles of non-oppressive practice.

Session Three
Identifying and Prioritising Needs

Session objectives

After completing this session you will be able to:

• explain why social workers should focus on needs as well as problems in their assessment of children and families
• describe some ways of identifying and prioritising needs
• give examples of ways in which you can address anti-oppressive practice when identifying and prioritising needs.

Introduction

In this session you will be exploring an approach to assessment based on needs and strengths rather than problems. This is not the only view of assessment, as will become clear as the session progresses.

Needs and strengths rather than problems

Chambers’s Twentieth Century Dictionary defines need as ‘want of something which one cannot well do without: necessity: a state that requires relief: want of the means of living’. Before exploring what a needs-focused approach to assessment might entail, it is important to become clear about what ‘need’ means in the context of social work.
 

Activity 9

Think about the notion of need in social work. Briefly note the sorts of needs you think social workers address in the assessment of children and families. Two or three examples will be sufficient.

Comment

The dictionary definition is quite useful as a starting point, but it is not the whole story. Social workers look at the following sorts of needs.

• basic needs for food, shelter and warmth

• spiritual needs for belonging, acceptance, identity, achievement, independence, etc.

• needs for support and guidance at times of difficulty.

You will be looking at needs in more depth in relation to children in Unit 4. However, the three types of need we have just identified should serve as a working definition for now.

Needs and strengths as a basis for assessment

Children and families often come to the notice of social workers because of problems they are experiencing or problems they are seen to be causing. When a full assessment is made, however, it usually becomes clear that they also have:

• a number of needs which have to be addressed

• strengths and resources which can be called on.

This means that when making assessments it is important to decide whether to focus primarily on the problems or on the needs and strengths of the children and families you are working with.
 

Activity 10

1. Note down any advantages you see in focusing on needs and strengths.

2. Note down any difficulties you see with a problem-focused approach.

3. Briefly suggest how you might still address problems in an assessment based on needs and strengths.

Comment

You could have noted that focusing on needs and strengths in assessment (1) can:

• empower both children and families
   

• lessen dependence of the family on the social worker
   

• be consistent with a partnership approach
   

• help social workers recognise the wider context in which people live, for example, in relation to poverty, and harassment.

On the other hand, focusing on problems (2) can:

• lead to negative labelling of children and families, for example, by the terms ‘delinquents’ or ‘inadequate parents’
   

• undermine people and create dependence
   

• lead social workers to see children and families themselves as the problem, for example, as ‘an aggressive personality’, or ‘a multi-problem family’.

When focusing on needs and strengths, problems (3):

• do not have to be ignored, though they need not be the prime focus of the assessment
   

• can also be seen in terms of need. For example, people may have a need to resolve or reduce a problem or to have it resolved or reduced. In some situations they may have a need to accept and cope with problems, and a need for guidance, assistance and support in dealing with problems.

Identifying and prioritising needs

Sometimes agency priorities or limited resources may tempt you to take short cuts and to oversimplify the complex process of assessment. You should try to resist this. In over-pressured duty work, for instance, you need to ensure that the assessment of a family’s needs is not carried out too quickly or too superficially. The next activity will enable you to explore this issue in relation to the Gibson family, whom we met in Session Two.
 

1. From the information you have so far, make brief lists of the needs of Joe, his mother and his stepfather.
    

2. Then write brief two or three line summaries for the record, suggesting the priority needs of each of these three family members.
    

3. Finally, write down a few notes, which you might use for a discussion with your supervisor, about how and why you came to that particular assessment of priorities.

Comment

1. The needs of family members may or may not overlap. In this case there are likely to be tensions between the needs of Joe, his mother and his stepfather, and this can result in conflict. This suggests the following lists:

2. The priority needs which affect each member of the family are for help and understanding and, hopefully, resolution of the relationship problem between Joe and his stepfather, and for everybody to feel secure about their position in the family. To achieve this:

• Joe needs to feel supported by his mother and accepted by his stepfather. The importance of contact with his birth-father needs to be recognised and accepted. He needs to feel positive about his identity as a young Black person.
   

• Mrs Gibson needs to feel that her love for her son and her husband is recognised and accepted by both. She needs the support of her husband and recognition of her position and authority in the home.
   

• Mr Gibson needs to feel able to accept Joe and also to be accepted by him. He needs Joe to accept his parental responsibilities and authority. He needs to feel supported by his wife in this.

3. You could have noted the following points for discussion in supervision.
   
   After I was able to listen to each of them talk about what they saw as the problem, these priorities were agreed between Joe, his mother and stepfather, and myself. It was useful that we were able to prioritise a need that affected all family members.

• was conscious of the potential conflict between the needs of different family members, and tensions between different needs of the same person.
   

• was also aware that other family members, including Joe’s birth-father, might have needs that could not be met by the resolution of these problems.

Agency priorities may conflict with the needs of the family. On the one hand, the agency may not see assisting the family as one of their priorities. On the other hand, child protection priorities in the agency might become a focus and may get in the way of helping resolve the difficulties identified by the family.

Anti-oppressive practice in identifying and prioritising needs

From time to time, we need to step back and consider whether we have been true to the principles we hold in our work. In particular we need to avoid racist and sexist practice in identifying and prioritising needs.
 

Activity 12

In the light of the key principle of anti-oppressive practice with children and families:

1. list three or four points you need to be aware of in identifying and prioritising needs of Black children and families
    

2. write one or two paragraphs on how these points might relate to the assessment of Joe and his family.

Comment

We have already indicated that assessment can focus too much on negatives. In her Checklist of Assessment of Needs of Black Clients Bandana Ahmad puts forward a number of questions for social workers to ask about the way they assess Black families. The questions include:

• Have you acknowledged the fact that all assessments of Black clients require recognition of racism and its effects, whether covert or overt?
   

• How do you ensure that your assessment is not based on negative stereotypes of Black families?
   

• Do you usually define the needs of Black clients or ensure your assessment is based on their experience and reality?
   

• Do you assess strengths of Black clients, their families and communities as well as their weaknesses, problems and needs?
   

• What have you done to ensure your assessment responds to different and specific needs of Black clients, not just ‘special needs’?

(Bandana Ahmad, 1990, Black Perspectives in Social Work, Venture Press, pp 26, 27)

All these points are key to the Gibson family. It is particularly important to explore the specific needs of Joe as a child of mixed parentage, for example, in relation to his identity as a Black young person. You also need to challenge assumptions and stereotypes, for example, that if Black fathers are not in the household they are therefore indifferent to the family.

By becoming aware of the resources of this family, including the birth-father, you can counteract the stereotypes and identify needs more effectively.

The situation you have just reviewed also highlights the differences between the position of men and women, and their different needs. Joe’s mother is central, and seems to be getting the flak from the problem relationship between her son and her husband. Although she is seen as the key to the resolution of the problem and needs to assert her authority in her own home, the responsibility for sorting out their relationship problems must also lie with the men in the family, that is, Joe, his stepfather and his birth-father. She should not be expected to meet all the needs of all the family members. The social worker must consider not only supporting Mrs Gibson, but also challenging the men in the family.
 

Think about a particular child or child and family you have been working with recently. You may or may not have made a formal assessment but you should at least have made an informal one and begun to consider your role and tasks. In the light of your learning from this session, critically review:

1. whether your approach was focused on problems or based on needs and strengths

2. how you might improve your assessment practice in the future.

Comment

It would be useful to discuss your response with a colleague or with your supervisor. However, if this is not possible, the following questions may help you to assess your response.

• Do I recognise any difference between assessing from an approach based on problems and assessing from an approach based on needs and strengths?
   

• Would the approach I take to assessment affect the way I work with the child and family?
   

• What specific anti-oppressive issues have I considered in relation to my future practice?

Summary

In this session you have been able to explore some of the main factors which affect different approaches to assessing needs in work with children and families. In the next session we shall examine the task of identifying suitable resources to meet these needs.

Session Four
Identifying Resources to Meet Needs

Session objectives

After completing this session you will be able to:

• survey relevant resources in a neighbourhood
• identify resources as part of your assessment process
• assess resources in relation to anti-oppressive practice.

Introduction

In this session we will be exploring the third stage of the assessment process: finding resources to meet identified needs.

The session includes an activity which asks you to think about resources in a local neighbourhood and an observation visit to one identified resource.

Resources in the community

As a social worker you need to know what resources are available to meet the needs of the people you are working with. It is worth reviewing how much you know at present about the resources in the community in which you live or work. The next activity helps you to do this.
 

Activity 13

Think carefully about the neighbourhood in which you live or work, and list up to ten resources which might be available to meet some of the needs of children and families. Next to each resource, indicate how a child or a family might gain access to it.

Comment

The resources you list will be very particular to the community you surveyed, but you may have found different types of resources, for example:

• the family, the extended family, friends, other members of the community (these personal resources may be available with varying degrees of willingness)
   

• statutory and voluntary resources available to all children and families, for example, schools, community centres, shops, libraries, clinics, health centres, nursery schools, advice centres (participation by child and family would be by choice but would in effect be automatic)
   

• community and religious groups, for example, centres for specific groups such as Asian women, African-Caribbean young people, temples, churches, self-help groups, support groups (for some such groups children and families would need some support or invitation to join in)
   

• membership-based resources, for example, some sports clubs, some playgroups (likely to need an invitation or support to join)
   

• specialised statutory and voluntary resources, for example, child and family guidance, support groups, family centres, children homes to which clients are likely to need to be referred.

It is important to recognise that your own position and experience as a Black person, or White person, male or female, whether or not you are disabled, will influence the range of resources you know about.

identifying resources as part of the assessment process

The Children Act 1989 stresses partnership with other statutory and voluntary agencies (Section 17(5)(a), (b)). Social workers need to avoid working in isolation. They need to know of agencies and resources in their area and in the communities in which their clients live.
 

Activity 14

In the last session, we identified and prioritised the needs of Joe and his parents. Make a list of the range of resources which might be called upon to meet the identified needs of the family as a whole or of individual family members. Try to be as imaginative as possible about types of resource.

Comment

Firstly it is important to recognise the resources available in the family itself, and in other relatives. The family is uniquely able to meet needs for security and acceptance. Joe’s birth-father may also be very important in supporting his son, particularly with any positive identity work.

Other resources include:

• those of the social worker as a helper and adviser;

• those of the social work agency (for example, support groups, counselling, family centres)

However, the needs may be complex, and the response may need to cross professional boundaries, (see Unit 2, Session Six).

Other possibilities for support might be:

• a female social worker for Mrs Gibson to consult

• a nursery for the four-year old

• help with financial issues – charities, DSS, Welfare Rights Advice Services, Children Act 1989 Section 17(6)

• identity work for Joe, with a Black worker.

The relevance and accessibility of resources

From your learning so far in this session you can, we hope, appreciate that not all resources are suitable for all the people you might assist. One of the key considerations in identifying appropriate resources is access. This involves not only physical access to a resource but also its staffing, services and general atmosphere. For instance, in working with Joe, you would not want to put him in touch with a resource that is going to undermine his confidence as a Black young person. So let’s look at how you can check out whether resources are relevant and accessible to different groups of clients. We’ll focus particularly on access for people with disabilities.

Physical access

• Are all the areas in and around the building accessible to people with limited mobility – including entrances, doors and lobbies, stairs and steps, toilets?
   

• Are car parking facilities adequate in terms of closeness to buildings and width of parking spaces?
   

• Are there any lifts?
   

• Is the building and its surroundings well lit?
   

• How easy would it be for a blind person to find their way around the building. Are there Braille signs? Are there obstructions in the corridors, for example, radiators and fire extinguishers which are not recessed?
   

• Are there any induction loops for people who have hearing difficulties?

Staffing

• Are services planned in the expectation that users will be independently mobile, seeing and hearing?
   

• What specific provision is made for disabled people, for example, signers.
   

• Does the resource invite disabled people to participate? Does it say what facilities are available, and what the limitations are? Is it distributed through the relevant media outlets?
   

• Is there an equal opportunities policy which addresses disability?
   

• Are records kept of participation by disabled people?
   

• How are services monitored in relation to their relevance to disabled people?

General atmosphere

• Does the resource welcome disabled visitors?

• What sort of images of disabled people are projected?

Activity 15

1. Arrange a visit to one of the resources that you identified in Activity 12.
    

2. Then use the above checklist to assess its relevance and accessibility for:

• children

• young people

• adults with physical and/ or sensory disabilities.

If possible, ask disabled people with whom you are in contact to help you in your assessment. The checklist is not intended to be comprehensive, and you may well find some important omissions – particularly if you have a specific disability yourself.

3. Following your visit, prepare your own version of the checklist, making any amendments and additions that you now feel are necessary.

Comment

I hope you found your visit interesting and informative, and the checklist useful. The activity was intended to emphasise how important it is for all social workers to be aware of the different, and sometimes very particular, needs of disabled people. The issues raised are relevant to access for all groups. Improving access for a particular group usually means that access is improved for all. Similarly, good equal opportunities policies and practice are positive for all.

Review activity

You are working with a refugee family from an Eastern European country, and you are trying to help the parents find an appropriate playgroup for their four-year-old daughter. What questions would you address when assessing the suitability of a particular playgroup?

Comment

You might find it helpful discussing your response with a colleague or your supervisor. Alternatively, the following questions might help you assess your response.

• What assumptions did I make about the child’s needs, for instance in relation to her religion?

• Did I consider adapting the checklist provided in this session?

• How did I think of involving the child and her family in the process?

Summary

In this session you have looked at the importance of obtaining information about resources in the community. As you consider the relevance of these resources for different groups, remember that issues of access are key.

Session Five
Planning: Identifying Options and Agreeing Roles, Tasks and Priorities

Session objectives

After completing this session you will be able to:

• explain the process of planning in relation to work with children and families
• identify different options and any risks that these entail
• demonstrate the importance of agreeing roles, tasks and priorities with children and families.

Introduction

So far in this unit we have looked very carefully at the notion of assessment. We have seen that it is essential to assess clients’ needs before taking any action. In this session we will looking at the next stage in the process: planning.

The Planning process in work with children and families

In Session One you looked at the way in which the social worker, Ben, failed to give any consideration to planning and how this limited his effectiveness.
 

Activity 16

Note down what you now think are the key aspects of the process of planning in social work. It may help to refer back to the Review activity of Section One, which asked you to note down what you thought Ben should have done in terms of planning. Aim to identify three or four planning stages.

Comment

Here are some aspects of planning that you may have considered.

The social worker should:

• start from the basis of what the assessment has found and what resources are relevant and available

• assess what options are available

• look at what risks may be attached to any of these options

• agree roles, tasks and priorities with the child and the family.

From this it should be clear that if assessment is about the ‘what’, planning is about the ‘how’. Planning is also in some ways a check on the validity of an assessment.

Let’s now move on to explore the key stages of the planning process in more depth, using the Gibson family as an example.

Identifying options and their risks

You will recall that Mr and Mrs Gibson came into the office with their two youngest children to ask for their 12-year-old son, Joe, to be taken into care. We identified that Joe was of mixed parentage and was well supported by his birth-father.

Through further contact with the family you have identified that Mr Gibson has recently been made redundant. He is spending more time at home and is becoming quite depressed. There is considerable tension in the home. Mr Gibson is now saying he has nothing against Joe, but feels that he has a big chip on his shoulder about his background. Mrs Gibson is saying that her husband does not help out enough with the children, and she would like to get out more. She is particularly worried about money pressures.

Joe says there is nothing for kids to do in the area and he is not allowed down town. He says he cannot bring his friends home. He would like to see more of his dad. Joe feels a little rejected in his own home, because he thinks that his stepfather favours the two young ones. He is not going to school as often as he should, and he says that he gets called names by some of the kids and one of the teachers.

His brother and sister are seen as being no problem. The four-year-old boy tends to stay at home with his mother and father, because they have been unable to find him a nursery place at this stage.

The latest assessment of Joe and his family could be listed in terms of the wishes and feelings, the agreed needs and the resources needed to meet those needs, as in the following chart:
 

 

Activity 17

1. Here are some of the options that might be available to you in progressing your work with the family. For each option see if you can make brief notes on:

• its possible rationale

• the risks that might be associated with it.

• Have no further involvement

2. Respond to the parent’s request to take Joe into care, by promising to look into the possibilities
    

3. Provide information and contact with other resources, such as youth facilities, money and employment advice and nursery provision
    

4. Agree a more comprehensive approach based on the agreed needs.

Allow yourself up to half an hour for this activity.

Comment

Here are some possible options with their associated risks.

1. Have no further involvement

You could perhaps justify this on the grounds of agency priorities. You may also argue that if the family gets unnecessarily involved with social work agencies, they may become too dependent. You may believe that these kinds of family problems have their own way of being resolved. You may think that there is little that social workers can do to change social conditions, so expectations should not be raised.

There are many risks associated with this option.

• How do you explain this option to the family under stress and get their agreement to your doing nothing?
   

• Without further support and assistance there is potential for an escalation of stress, which in turn may result in worsening relationships in the family and Joe’s increased alienation.
   

• Wider issues such as poverty and racism remain unchallenged.

2. Respond to the parent’s request to take Joe into care, by promising to look into the possibilities

You may feel you need to respond to what the family is asking for. You may consider that Joe is at risk of potential harm because of the tension between him and his stepfather. His feelings of alienation, his deteriorating school attendance and possible offending may also be matters of concern.

There are major risks with this option.

• It is focused on problems. By making Joe the problem it reinforces the difficulties rather than builds on any strengths in the family.
   

• It is in direct conflict with the principles of the Children Act 1989, and is unlikely to be countenanced within the legal framework of the act.
   

• Even if your intervention did result in Joe being accommodated by the local authority, it is very likely to cause him to be further alienated from his family and his community. It is unlikely to do anything about his identity, and will embroil him unnecessarily in a care system which could do him and his family more harm than good.
   

• You would be in danger of colluding with racist responses to Black young people.

3. Provide information and contact with other resources, such as youth facilities, money and employment advice and nursery provision

You may be able to agree this option with Joe and his family as a positive approach, which is supportive to them. It avoids unnecessary intervention in their lives. As far as your agency is concerned it is appropriately time-limited – i.e. you are not making an open-ended commitment of agency time.

The risks directly associated with this option may be few, particularly if it is an agreed response. However, there may be the following associated risks.

• You might underestimate the complexities of the family’s needs and difficulties.
   

• The Gibsons may in fact require social work support and its absence may increase their difficulties.
   

• Other needs and difficulties will not be addressed, for instance Joe’s identity, and the racism he experiences at school.

4. Agree a more comprehensive approach based on the agreed needs

This option would address the range of concerns raised by the assessment by, for example:

• offering support and advice to the family as a group and individually

• linking the family with money advice services

• exploring the possibility of identity work with Joe

• assisting Joe and the family with the school problems.

If fully discussed and agreed with Joe and his family, this is probably the option with the least risks, but there may be some.

• You might raise expectations which cannot be fulfilled because of time constraints and agency pressures.
   

• You might make the family dependent on you, especially if you did not fully apply the principles of empowerment and partnership.

Agreeing roles, tasks and priorities

It is important to look at any options you identify with the child and the family. If they do not understand the implications of an option, or accept it as valid and relevant, it is unlikely to be successful. We now need to consider the next step in the process of planning: securing with the family an agreement on the way forward.
 

Activity 18

The chart on the next page outlines some of the roles, tasks and priorities on which you will need to reach agreement with the Gibsons. See if you can complete it. Then compare your results with ours.

Comment

Here are our suggestions:

Skills for facilitating agreements with family members

Securing an agreement with children and their families is not necessarily an easy task, but we have seen that without such an agreement the work with the family may meet with limited success. What skills do social workers need to carry through this important task?
 

Outline the skills you need in order to reach an agreement with the family. You might find it helpful to use the last option in Activity 17 to prompt your thoughts. One skill needed, for example, is to enable all members of the family to express their points of view.

Spend up to half an hour on this activity.

Comment

Skills needed for agreeing plans with the family might include the ability to:

• break down what tasks into manageable parts. (For example, things to do with school, money issues and individual support.)
   

• facilitate decisions on who is going to do what. (For example, Joe, Mr and Mrs Gibson, the social worker.)
   

• secure agreement on when tasks will be carried out (now? soon? later?)
   

• check that you all really agree on the needs and the preferred options. (For example, is everybody fully behind Joe’s getting special attention?)
   

• encourage everyone’s participation, and help people understand why that is important. (For example, you may have to convince Mr Gibson that he has a part to play.)
   

• listen to what they are saying about their own capacities and confidence to take on particular tasks. (For example, Mrs Gibson may have fears about getting involved with the school.)
   

• summarise what has been agreed without imposing your own interpretation and agenda. (For example, because of your own views you may overemphasise the importance of involving Joe’s birth-father.)
   

• communicate an agreed plan in such a way that everybody knows what has to be done and who has to do it (for example, with a written contract, or perhaps using a chart of roles, tasks and priorities).

Review activity

You are working with a thirteen-year-old girl who is being accommodated by the local authority in a residential home after a serious breakdown of relationships in her family. She is unable to return home for the foreseeable future. Following a full assessment of her needs, there are only two realistic options available for her future care: remaining in the residential home, or going to a foster home.

Spend up to half an hour considering and then noting down what steps you would you need to take in planning for her next few years.

Comment

It would be useful if you can discuss your response with a colleague or your supervisor. If this is not possible, the following questions might be useful in helping you assess your response yourself.

• Would I explore the two options carefully for any associated risks?

• How far would I involve the girl and her family in any decisions?

• Would I consider some sort of contract with her, and others involved in her care?

Summary

Planning is a key stage in the social work process, but it is a stage that might be given little attention in the life of a busy social worker. It is vital to look carefully at the options available and reach an agreement with the family on the way forward. This helps avoid inappropriate responses, and is a practical expression of the principle of partnership.

In the next session we will be looking at moving forward from planning to action.

Session Six
The Process of Implementation

Session objectives

After completing this session you will be able to:

• explain the process of implementation in relation to work with children and families
• identify specific skills needed to implement plans
• explain the importance of informed practice in relation to implementation.

Introduction

In your work so far in this unit you have looked at two key stages in the social work process: assessment and planning. We are now going to address the third stage in the process, implementation. In the course of the session you will be analysing what implementation means, and identifying the skills, knowledge and values it involves.

We will be focusing again on the Gibson family to provide a practical focus for your learning.

Implementing SOCIAL WORK plans

In Activity 17 in the last session, we considered planning a comprehensive approach based on agreed needs. This meant:

• offering support and advice to the family as a group and to individual members of the family

• linking the family to money advice services

• exploring the possibility of identity work with Joe

• assisting Joe and the family in relation to the school problems.

We then looked at prioritising a set of tasks and agreeing who was responsible. You should note the value of making a written agreement with the family on the work to be done, specifying the goals, how they are to be achieved and over what period and by what means the work is to be carried out. We gave a few examples of the social worker’s roles and responsibilities, and you are likely to have suggested others. Our suggestions included contacting the school, arranging identity work, setting up family sessions, and reviewing progress.
 

Activity 20

You are now moving forward with the family to implement these plans. Note down:

• a brief definition of ‘implementation’ as it is being used in this case

• up to six examples of what implementation might involve in this case.

Comment

At its most basic implementation simply means carrying out the plans with the family. Specific examples might include:

• doing what you have agreed to do and supporting family members in following through what they have agreed to do
   

• providing access to the necessary resources, for example, a phone to make a phone call
   

• discussing with your supervisor what is happening
   

• doing only what you have agreed to do
   

• seeking help and assistance if necessary to further the plans, for instance with the identity work
   

• keeping track of what is going on, for example, by recording
   

• making sure everybody involved knows what is happening, what progress is being made, and what the obstacles are
   

• rethinking with the family if things do not go according to plan or if new needs are recognised.

Skills for implementation

In order to carry through plans you need a variety of skills. There are a number of metaphors used in this context, for example, toolkit, armoury, repertoire. The term we favour is a ‘constellation’ of skills, that is, an interdependent group of skills which link closely together.
 

Complete the following chart, indicating the key skills you think that you would need in order to implement the plan agreed with the Gibson family.

Here are our suggested key skills. You need to bear in mind that there is no single right answer to this activity.

Implementation skills in practice

Now let’s look at some of the practical ways in which you might use specific skills. First let’s take advocacy, one of the key points in the social work plan. You might need to act as an advocate for Joe with regard to identity work. Or you might act as an advocate in enabling Joe to gain access to resources from the agency. In the second case you might be looking to provide time for a Black worker to carry out the work (this may be the social worker involved already, if he or she is Black), or payment for an external worker. Your task would be to:

• present a clear, concise and effective case, verbally or in writing, outlining:

– Joe’s needs for the resource

– what is hoped to be achieved in the context of the wider social work plan for the family

– the amount of resource needed

– where the resource will be acquired

• gain the support of the agency for this approach, perhaps through:

– gathering the necessary information on the issue

– convincing the manager(s)

– getting the social work team involved in arguing the case

– obtaining the support of a specialist on identity work

– feeding back to the agency on the success of the work with Joe to support future applications for resources.

Activity 22

Now consider the following two skills in relation to the situation study.

• dealing with obstacles

• keeping all concerned informed.

1. Briefly outline why you might need these skills in developing identity work with Joe.

2. List some of the specific ways in which you might apply them.

Spend up to 20 minutes on this activity before comparing notes with the comment that follows.
 

Comment

Dealing with obstacles

You might find that Mr Gibson is undermining the identity work, for instance by arranging other activities for Joe when he should be seeing the worker, or continuously saying it is a waste of time. You would first need to be able to recognise what is happening, and then, possibly:

• talk to Mr Gibson about his attitude in a non-confrontational way

• confirm with Mr and Mrs Gibson how important identity work is for Joe

• help Joe and his mother talk with Mr Gibson about why it is important

• address Mr Gibson’s feelings and fears

• talk to Mr Gibson about what he could gain from the situation

• confront Mr Gibson about his getting in the way of Joe’s progress.

Keeping all concerned informed

This may also help deal with the obstacles put up by Mr Gibson, but it is a necessary part of good practice anyway, and might involve:

• explaining simply and clearly what identity work entails, the sort of things done, and what it is trying to achieve

• getting agreement that Joe does not have to share everything that is said in his sessions

• always following up verbal arrangements about sessions with letters

• sharing records and reports.

Implementation and informed practice

Working skilfully to implement social work plans depends upon being informed and knowledgeable about what needs to be done, and the context in which the needs arise.
 

Activity 23

Make a list of:

• the values you need to apply

• the things you need to know.

in order to ensure that your practice is informed. You might consider the values referred to in Unit 2. You may also think about principles of good practice raised in the Children Act 1989.

Comment

Informed practice requires us to apply values such as those outlined in Unit 2:

• anti-oppressive practice

• an emphasis on people’s resources rather than their deficits

• listening to children

• partnership with other agencies

• addressing tensions between care and control.

These fit in with the principles outlined or indicated in the Children Act 1989, that is:

• partnership

• inter-agency cooperation

• appropriate services

• parental responsibility

• respect for the child

• the requirement to take account of a child’s race, religion, culture and language

• least intervention

• avoidance of delay and drift

• the need to show that intervention would improve the situation.

Complementing these principles are specific areas of knowledge, for example:

• the law

• politics and social policy

• psychology and sociology

• social work perspectives, methods and approaches

• the organisation of social work services.

Review activity

Critically consider the following brief comments about implementation in social work. Note down how you would improve or expand these comments to fit with your own particular perspective.

‘Children and their families have many different needs, and the options for addressing these needs are also various. Therefore, it would be wrong to suggest that there is only one approach to implementing social work plans.

Social workers need to avoid seeing the needs and problems of the child and family simply as their fault, or resulting from family dysfunction, in other words, in terms of individual or family pathology. However, social workers would be wise not to ignore the difficulties that people might have caused for themselves. Empowerment includes assisting people to take responsibility for their own actions.

As we have indicated throughout this module, social workers with a wider perspective would tend to see the needs and problems of the child and family more in their social and community situation, in the context of the effects of organisational and social policy pressures on them. Social work is, therefore, concerned with responding effectively to private troubles in the context of public issues of inequality, oppression and social change.

A social worker with such a perspective would recognise that children and families have particular needs including the need for social work support, but would also acknowledge that the social work role is to enable people to take control of their lives. Implementing social work plans within this perspective is concerned with people’s abilities, their links with different supports and resource providers, and the challenge of change to organisations and social policy. It is essentially about partnership and empowerment.’

Comment

You may find it useful to discuss your response to this activity with a colleague or your supervisor. If this is not possible, you could assess your response in relation to the following questions.

• How far does this statement fit with my own beliefs about implementing social work plans?

• How far does my practice fit with my beliefs about what it should be?

• What does it lead me to consider in terms of my future practice?

Summary

In this session you have considered what is involved in carrying out your planned work. At the same time, you have probably realised now, if not before, how difficult it is to predict how plans will work out in practice. The important thing to bear in mind is that your approach could not in any case guarantee that all the family’s problems will be resolved. But the anti-oppressive way in which you work will have every chance of being effective and is less likely to be damaging.

Session Seven
Implementation in Practice

Session objectives

After completing this session you will be able to:

• explain how you can implement social work plans in partnership with the family and other agencies
• suggest ways of implementing plans when difficulties arise in a partnership
• explain how the processes of social work are applied in a crisis.

Introduction

So far in our discussion of implementation we have focused very much on the interactions between the social worker and the family, although we have indicated that other people are involved. In this unit you will explore how to implement plans involving other agencies, using the example of Joe’s difficulties at school. As will become clear, the arrangements you need to make here are often of a more complex nature.

A practical example of implementation

In the developing story of the Gibson family, we found out that Joe was not going to school as often as he should. He says he hates school and that he gets called names there by some of the kids and one of the teachers. It is agreed that these problems are a priority for all involved: Joe, the family and the social worker.

As the social worker involved, you decide you should contact the school immediately. The parents are to visit the school soon, and you will support Joe in meeting with the year tutor.
 

Activity 24

Think through a logical approach by which you could ensure that you are working in partnership with Joe, his family and the school in implementing the social work plan. List five or six steps you think you might take alongside Joe and his family.

Comment

Joe’s difficulties with the school are quite complex. They involve working in a number of directions, and could be addressed positively in partnership with Joe, his family and the school.

You might suggest the following approach (I would not expect your list to cover all of these points).

• ensure that any arrangements are based on a proper understanding of Joe’s and the parents’ views
   

• contact the school to let them know that you will be working with the family
   

• inform the school that the parents will be visiting, and specifically ask the year tutor for a sympathetic approach when he meets Joe
   

• offer Joe and the school the option of your being present at that meeting to support a resolution of the difficulties
   

• follow through the agreement with Joe that he will attend school regularly – if he is supported by parents in this, that you will take up with the school the issues of racism and any other difficulties, and that you will give him some individual support
   

• follow through the agreement with the parents that they will visit the school to talk over the problems and difficulties with the school, and support Joe in regular attendance at school
   

• meet the school head to take up the issues of racism and other concerns
   

• offer extra support to Joe, and consider with him other resources that might support him
   

• arrange to review progress after four weeks with all involved.

Taking a task-centred approach

The approach you have just considered builds on the agreement on roles, tasks and priorities, which you looked at in Session Five. It could be seen as very much a task-centred approach to the situation, an approach which can be about partnership and empowerment. A task-centred approach has the following components, all present in implementing this plan.

• It emphasises partnership.

• It involves a joint assessment of needs, difficulties and options.

• There are agreed roles and tasks (i.e. it is based on a contract).

• It needs to be informed by values and the wider context.

• There is an agreed time-span.

You could read more about this approach in Bandana Ahmad’s Black Perspectives in Social Work, Venture Press, 1990, pp 50–54, and Veronica Coulshed’s Social Work Practice, Macmillan, 1991, Chapter 4.

Working with difficulties in partnership

We now need to look in more detail at the ‘how’ of implementation, by focusing on the following difficult developments in the situation.

When you make contact with the year tutor she agrees to be fair with Joe, but for the sake of proper discipline in the school, and so as not to give other students any excuse for truancy, she is not prepared to let his unauthorised absence go unpunished. He will have to be on report for the remainder of the term, which means he will have to get a signature from the teacher at every lesson to monitor his attendance. She suggests that being on report could be supportive for Joe. You feel this is putting all the blame of the situation on Joe, and is unreasonable. You are also worried that Joe may react negatively to this punishment and that it will undermine the progress made by Joe in agreeing to work on school attendance.
 

Activity 25

How would you now move forward? List some of the steps you would take, while still trying to maintain a partnership with both the school and Joe.

Comment

You may feel that there is little you can do with regard to the school policy at this stage. However there may be a way forward. You could:

• clearly and concisely outline your concerns with the year tutor, say that you understand the reasons for the school working to this policy, and tell her that you would want to prepare Joe for the meeting
   

• talk to Joe openly and honestly, explaining what is likely to happen when he meets the year tutor. Help him to understand why the school will respond in this way, and suggest that accepting being on report is the only way to move forward. It is quite likely that Joe expects the school to respond in this sort of way, and will reluctantly accept the punishment.
   

• promise Joe that you will support him while he remains on report
   

• go back to the year tutor and try again to find an alternative way forward, and go back to Joe to explain again if there is no change.
   

• keep the parents informed of the difficulty, and elicit their help in persuading Joe to keep his head down
   

• take up the issue when you talk to the headteacher about the racism in the school and other concerns.

Implementing plans in a crisis

The difficulties social workers have to contend with are not necessarily a result of complex partnerships. Sometimes they arise from a sudden crisis which upsets the planned approach. Such a crisis must be dealt with without delay. It demands adaptations of normal practice to the particular issues involved.
 

Activity 26

Summarise what you think are the main points you should keep in mind when dealing with a crisis. If you can, read Chapter 3, Crisis Intervention, in Veronica Coulshed’s Social Work Practice as an indication of some possible issues.

Comment

In dealing with a crisis, you should:

• recognise that the crisis is immediate and concentrate on the presenting problem

• recognise that the work on the crisis is short-term

• aim to restore the client’s previous levels of coping as quickly as possible

• focus on solutions that can bring immediate relief

• be clear about who does what

• be prepared to be more directive than you would normally be in the short-term

• work on the basis that people’s motivation may be higher in a crisis.

A crisis in the Gibson family
 

Activity 27

After a month in which you work together with Joe and his family according to agreed plans, a crisis suddenly occurs. Mrs Gibson rings to say that they have been threatened with disconnection because of arrears with the gas bills. It is an exceptionally cold spell, and gas provides their only source of heating and cooking. Mrs Gibson sounded distraught and tells you she has no money in the house at all.

Drawing on your understanding of how to work in a crisis, how would you now respond?

Comment

The crisis facing the Gibsons presents a clear need for the use of crisis-intervention skills. You could respond by:

• asking Mrs Gibson to come into the office urgently, bringing all the necessary bills and letters with her

• exploring with Mrs Gibson what can be done and agreeing a plan of action.

You might then:

• ring the gas board to negotiate staged payments and a halt to the disconnection
   

• negotiate with your senior social worker for a Section 17.6 payment to be granted as an immediate part-payment to the gas board, to cover emergency provisions
   

• ask Mrs Gibson to come to the office on the following Monday with her husband, to review the situation and to see how they can be helped to avoid the situation in the future
   

• arrange a review of the original agreed plan to see if there need to be any changes in responsibilities and priorities.

This seems to be an appropriate approach in this situation, but do be aware of when and why you are working in this way and be prepared to be critical of your own practice. Too often social workers can justify re-active practice because of pressures of work or concern for children’s safety. Yet such an approach has limitations. It can negate the child or family’s more authentic understanding of a problem, and it can overemphasize an individual’s responsibility for the crisis, ignoring its wider context. You should always keep in mind the key principles of partnership and empowerment.
 

Review activity

Spend up to one hour critically reviewing your own practice by asking yourself:

• How far do I implement plans in partnership with other agencies and the children and families?

• How do I address difficulties in partnership?

• How would I implement plans in a crisis?

Your answers to these questions can be in the form of notes for your own reference.

Comment

This is a demanding activity, and you may find it useful to discuss your response with a colleague or your supervisor. If this is not possible the following questions might help you to assess your response:

• Do I have a clear view of partnership in my contact with other agencies?

• Do I see difficulties in implementing plans in partnership as challenges?

• What exceptional approaches in practice do I recognise in crisis work?

Summary

In this session you have explored how to implement plans involving other agencies. These plans typically entail working in partnership in a number of directions, and can be realised most effectively by taking a task-centred approach. However, you will also need to be ready to implement plans in a less structured way in response to a crisis.

Session Eight
Monitoring, Review and Evaluation

Session objectives

After completing this session you will be able to:

• explain the purposes and various forms of monitoring, review and evaluation
• identify how monitoring, review and evaluation link with good practice.

Introduction

Your work so far in this unit has covered much of the process of social work, including assessment, planning and implementation. However, your work will not be complete until you have looked at the final stage of the process, specifically:

• the purpose and practice of evaluation

• the two related aspects, monitoring and review.

Defining monitoring, review and evaluation

The terms monitoring, review and evaluation are terms which are frequently used in social work. Sometimes they are used loosely in such a way that they become almost interchangeable. However, although they are strongly linked, each word has its own specific meaning.
 

Activity 28

1. Note down quickly on separate sheets of paper all those things that come to mind when you think of the terms ‘monitoring’, ‘review’ and ‘evaluation’.
    

2. From these rough lists prepare a two- or three-sentence explanation of each term as it relates to social work.

Comment

1. You may have suggested some of the following ideas.

Monitoring:
progress chasing
checking out whether objectives are being met
ongoing evaluation
improving service
producing action
equal opportunities monitoring
involving consumers

Review:
case review
foster care review
intermediate evaluation
involving users
re-assessment
accountability
new options

Evaluation:
improving service
monitoring and review
service evaluation
service appraisal
achievement of objectives
accountability
involving consumers.

This suggests that monitoring and review are closely related to evaluation, and could be seen as forms of evaluation.

2. The terms could be explained in relation to social work in the following ways.

Monitoring is an ongoing check that things are going according to plan or are satisfactory. It is often undertaken for a particular purpose, for example, the safety of a child. It is also often undertaken by a team or by an agency as a whole, for instance to see how far equal opportunities policies are being carried out.

Review is a regular, and sometimes formal process of looking with all involved at the progress of work being undertaken, so as to guide future intervention. Reviewing can take place at set times, for example, every six months for a foster care review.

Evaluation is a process of looking with all involved at the achievements or otherwise of the social work intervention. Completed at the conclusion of work, it guides the future work of the social worker and the agency.

Through monitoring, review and evaluation, a system of quality assurance can be developed by which, for example, the quality of services can be judged. Each process involves judgements as to whether particular pieces of work, particular policies, or services in general, are successful or unsuccessful, effective or ineffective, appropriate or inappropriate, high quality or low quality.

Good practice in monitoring, review and evaluation

All through this unit I have been stressing that it is good practice to follow through the social work process. Therefore, failing to monitor, review or evaluate your work appropriately should be seen as poor practice.
 

Activity 27

In the light of the main principles of empowerment and partnership, answer the following questions in relation to the Gibson family. You need only make brief notes in response to each.

1. How would you monitor your work with the family?

2. At what stages would you review your work with the family?

3. How would you go about your review?

4. How would you evaluate your work?

5. What uses could this evaluation be put to?

Comment

1. Monitoring the work with the Gibson family should be ongoing and regular, particularly as the situation is volatile with new information coming forward and fresh developments. Your work with the Gibson family might also include your own self-monitoring.
    

2. You might review progress following work on the debt crisis, where a re-assessment and new goals may be needed. You had already agreed to formally review progress as the work progressed, and you would need to plan this with the family.
   
   You could carry out an informal, ongoing review at the end of each contact with the family, by simply checking what has been achieved and what is happening next.
    

3. Your review should take place through your case recordings and in your regular supervision sessions, where you need to look at what you are attempting to achieve, progress being made or otherwise, and where you are going next. It is important that this is linked to the review discussions you have with the Gibsons.

If you opt for a formal review, you will need to:

• think carefully about who should be involved

• arrange the review at an appropriate time and place, and send formal invitations

• consult those not directly involved, who may have relevant information

• help prepare Joe and the family to participate fully in the review

• prepare for possible outcomes of the review by, for example, checking out additional resources

• ensure that everybody is clear about any decisions made.

4. Your evaluation should of course take place at the conclusion of your work with the Gibson family. You will need to look back at:

• the assessment of needs

• the plans coming from this assessment

• the progress of the work

• any review decisions

• what has been achieved

• what has not been achieved

• any guidance for the future.

It is important to enable Joe and the family to recognise and own their part in the work and decisions about the future.

Evaluation covering the same areas should also be carried out through a case summary and through supervision. Again, both should be linked to the evaluation completed with the family. Most social workers would see it as good practice to agree and share the final case recordings with the family.

This evaluation could be used in the context of supervision, as an aid to your professional development. If anything of particular value was learned through the work, it could also be used in team discussion to aid understanding and develop the service.

Good practice guidelines

To conclude this session, it would be useful to set down a list of issues that we should always take into account, to guide our future practice in monitoring, review and evaluation.
 

Reflect on your work in this session by writing down a set of rules you would wish to keep in monitoring, reviewing and evaluating your work with children and families.

Comment

Have you considered ensuring that you always:

• monitor your work regularly?
   

• make clear and thought-through arrangements for a formal review?
   

• think carefully about who should be involved in formal reviews?
   

• evaluate your work when concluding involvement?
   

• involve children and their families in the process, or state clearly why this is not appropriate?
   

• remember that evaluation is not about what you intend, but what is achieved, and that this includes the views of those receiving the service?
   

• use supervision to review and evaluate your work?
   

• use open recordings of review and evaluation?

Throughout this module you are continuously monitoring and reviewing what we have learnt. If this is good practice in education and training, perhaps it is not difficult to recognise it as good practice in our work with children and families.

Further study

Here are some suggestions for reading which will help you to follow up the main areas covered in this unit.

Ahmad, Bandana, 1990, Black Perspectives in Social Work, Venture Press.

Coulshed, Veronica, 1991, Social Work Practice: an Introduction, Second Edition, Macmillan.