Legal Issues in Social Care and Social Work - Coursework Example

Legal Issues in Social Care and Social Work Introduction The profession of social work is meant to promote social change, solve problems in human relationships, liberate and empower people. Social work offers an intervention where there is an interaction between people and their environment (Bailey, 2005). The theories of social systems and human behavior are utilized to achieve this ends. Similarly, the principles of social justice and human rights are elemental to social work. The profession of social work is rooted on social reform, much of the effort having been directed on issues to do with children in society after industrialization. Public officials and concerned citizens have for many years indulged in setting up government services and voluntary agencies for children (Morrison, Voohis, and Hostetter, 2006). For a long period of time social work was primarily concerned with service delivery. However, at the current society social work has become more outcome-based, and social workers are expected to adhere to not only high professional standards but legal demands as well. The latter has been proved to be of great help to workers in ensuring that they stick to professional standards. Principles and legal rules are flexible and of great help to social workers. It allows them a framework for making decisions and sets out boundaries for actions that are permissible. To all these social workers are expected to be accountable. There is also need to tame power among social workers. The decisions made must be reasonable, transparent and follow a fair process within the dictates of the law. Social Workers and the Law Despite the fact that social work contains few right answers, practitioners need to understand their legal standing. This will enable them give the required support and advice to service users. The effectiveness of their work will also be increased if they are aware of the various options and legal requirements. Further, it will be important as they pursue the various options that consequences are well understood are well able to be addressed (Braye and Preston-Shoot, 2009). For instance there are a number of legislations whereby the social worker is given direct responsibility whereas in some areas the responsibility is narrowed down to advice and advocacy. Once in a while the social workers have to seek professional legal assistance. This is especially so when they require to guide their actions and at the same time offer advice to service users. The quality and nature of legal knowledge for social workers has been a topic of controversy for many years. It is important for social workers to understand the legal aspect of their work. They need to take a step further to understand the abstractions in law (Johns, 2009). The urgent necessity for these requirements comes with the inquiry on child abuse scandals. Social workers are criticized for having either insufficient knowledge of the available statutory powers or a heavy-handed approach whereby statutory powers are given an upper hand as opposed to a number of social work considerations. It is not a guarantee that the dilemmas encountered during practice will be automatically be solved by the law. On the contrary the law legally empowers social workers to take action that is professionally appropriate (Williams, 2008). A guide to practice that is consistent, clear and comprehensive cannot be provided solely by the law. There must be commitment to ethical or good practice. In order for a social work approach to be ethical it must take into account the values and skills in social work. Despite the presence of the legal framework, discretion and professional judgment must be exercised by the social worker. Social work practice is essential to provide skills, values and knowledge base for judgment. Accountability The legal framework contains various forms of accountability which include contractual obligation existing between employer and employee, abide by statutory codes, ability to establish complaints procedures or conduct inquiries. Accountability can only be guaranteed in social work if action is guided by principles and rules. Social workers need not only to abide by values and legal rules but be considerate of professional values. Confidence and public trust in social work must be upheld at all times. Accountability is also expected by the social workers more so regarding quality of work. Social workers are also accountable to users of their services in the public, who are much interested in performance of their roles. It is probably as a result of this association of accountability with the law that some practitioners view the law negatively. However, there is the risk of placing much pressure on social work through mechanistic and intrusive accountability. This will lead to undermining of values and professional autonomy (Morrison, Voohis, and Hostetter, 2006). Similarly, a blame culture will be born as social work will be perceived as a risky venture. Further, an attempt to enhance inspection and regulation will not only waste a lot of time but likely to add strain on existing scarce resources. There are recommendations that social workers be given greater autonomy such that they act on individual cases. This can only be made possible once accountability frameworks are clear and a good understanding of roles, limits to actions by the professionals (Long and Roche, 2010). In order to be able to accomplish this mission social workers must be able to learn from mistakes, and share best practice. It is not legal accountability alone that can guarantee quality service. However, the standards in social work can be facilitated by the necessary promotion of legal accountability. Empowerment by Social workers Young people seek to be empowered and need assistance to realize their goals. It is therefore important for social workers to be furnished with appropriate skills and knowledge. This will ensure that they provide support and training which will see to development of independent life skills among the youth. There are a number of ways to achieve this end including ensuring that the youth secure a place at agency boards, allowed to participate in a number of activities without discrimination. Self-empowerment should also be encouraged through the youth participation in decision making on services and programs meant for them. There are a number of ways in which the youth can be incorporated in decision making. These include leadership programs whereby adolescents’ leaders will provide peer support to their fellow adolescents, providing the necessary training for the youth and working with their families in close adherence to plan. Young people got needs and require a number of resources which social workers through different agencies have to meet (Morrison, Voohis, and Hostetter, 2006). In order for social workers to work effectively and appropriately with adolescents they need to have been oriented in the behaviors and emotional phases of adolescence. The workers must be aware that the behavior of the adolescents is likely to negative feelings. For this reason they will not only be well prepared and ready to face the challenges but be willing to offer guidance. The multidimensional lives of young people must be kept into consideration by social workers. This is despite the primary focus in service delivery. There are a various influences in the life of adolescents including extended family, peer group, siblings, religious affiliation, extended family, physical and mental health; exposure to violence and discrimination experiences. It is important invest enough effort to ensure a continued education for professionals, families of the young people and providers. This knowledge and training is important to enhance decision-making skills and ensure empowerment capabilities are strengthened. Non Discriminatory Practice Non discriminatory practice contains various features which include valuing all people and diversity, questioning assumptions, practical applications, reviewing own practice and understanding rights. There is need for social workers to have knowledge and skills on how to handle various cultural backgrounds, ethnicity and race communities that there are carrying their activity. In execution of their duties social workers must exhibit understanding, sincerity and warmth. Stereotyping and generalization should be avoided at all cost. One should endeavor to get familiarized with individuals; personal details, culture and language. The deleterious effects of sexism, ageism, anti-Semitism, classism, homophobia, and ethnocentrism in the lives of young people should be known to social workers. The workers must be willing to stand against such injustices and help the youth understand themselves. Adoptive parents and foster care must be in line with various Acts. For instance there is the Multiethnic Placement Act, Protection Act, Indian Child Welfare Act etc (Johns, 2009). Tribes too must be included in decision making more so in decisions regarding placements. African American children who are the majority in the child welfare system must be placed with parents of the same race. Alternatively, parents on a different race need to receive diverse training appropriate to bring up the children. Standards for Professional Practice It is important for social workers in child welfare to keep abreast with new regulations and laws that are likely to affected delivery of service to the children. In addition the current practices must be upheld. A social worker can accomplish these goals by pursuing educational programs, access to Federal and State recourses and professional journals (Bailey, 2005). Organizations need to share new requirements and information of new laws with their staff. The social worker must be aware of federal, state and local laws that affect the practice young people and children. These legal and legislative changes should be communicated effectively to the service users. In some cases social workers may be required to seek counsel or advice in case it is necessary for the welfare of service users. Consultation is essential more so when colleagues, who are superior, experienced and experts in specific fields are to be contacted. These consultations may arise when a social worker needs to determine age or whether a child is mature enough to make specific decisions. During these consultations social workers are advised to disclose minimal information regarding the child or youth for that matter. The information to be disclosed should be sufficient enough to achieve the main aim of the consultation. Confidentiality The relationship of social workers with the youth must meet standards of confidentiality and privacy. It is important to respect an individual, his or her right to privacy. The youth, family or both parties need to be informed and signed consent acquired before personal information is shared. This is with an exception of state, federal or local legal requirements. Confidentiality is ideal for development of the youth, adherence to plan and enhancement of relationship. Personal information must be protected by social workers at all times. In confirming to federal and state regulations this information must be kept safely. Any information obtained from the client is viewed with confidentiality. This can be different only if the client offers permission for the information to be shared with another party. Professional ethics and the law sometimes do provide exceptions to confidentiality (Bailey, 2005). Exceptions to confidentiality might come in a number of circumstances including possibility of harm to the client once a case of abuse has been reported or simply a danger that the victim is likely to fall into once such a case has been reported. Before initiation of the services, clients must be informed earlier enough of the confidentiality requirements. Collaboration The social workers must also find a way to collaborate with partners who are concerned with the protection of youth and children (Thompson, 2008). It is important for social workers to understand different players in the field, their goals and roles and work towards partnership. There are various professionals such as community leaders, paraprofessional whom social workers can seek collaboration and understanding. In this way social workers will have ensured community members are made aware of available services. At the same time it is vital since problems emerging from delivery of services are easily detected and the necessary remedy done. Again, effects of overall welfare program and its implementation are made possible by collaborations. The participation of both child and family is essential and need to be sort for by social workers. Their feedback and input is vital to see to a mutual understanding. In addition there are a number of other collaborators in the community whose input should not be ignored. The assessment and proper understanding of family needs requires much dedication and intervention of a number of community collaborators. As a whole the service plan has to incorporate the following: an assessment of the family addressing family resources, strengths and needs, responsibilities for family members and social workers, evaluation process, resources of the community and its utility, rights of access to legal resources by the family. Child Protection In order to avoid the necessity to use protective service, social workers try to ensure that the family continues to function. This is can be achieved through preventive and supportive services. The growth potential of individuals and families is noted by social workers and ways to improve growth are initiated (Braye and Preston-Shoot, 2009). This is done with the goal of helping communities in general and families in particular to nurture its children. The responsibility of social workers include being able to tackle factors that increase stress in the family and at the same time identify growth opportunities. Families will be encouraged to use community services, engage in community programs and preventive services. It is also required of the social workers to be able to come up with a service plan. This is specifically to ensure that the needs of the child are met throughout its development stages. The changing circumstances of the family must be put into consideration (Thompson, 2008). Also the plan needs to be flexible and able to adapt to changing family circumstances, welfare system and the community as a whole. The casework process needs to be facilitated by technology. The safety of the child is vital hence any threat to the security of the child need to be reported to protective authorities. It is important to social workers that if their role involves protection of the child then the legal process must be used and proper documentation of the evidence. The reasons behind actions by social workers need to be explained to the family (Long and Roche, 2010). On the other hand the family has the role to facilitate legal representation. It requires professional, humane and respectful treatment by social workers. In some cases in order to protect the child the social worker will need to terminate parental rights. This comes with proper knowledge indicating the inability for the parent to care for the child in future. It is important also in taking such decisions, social worker are aware of the legal requirements. Conclusion Social work can be a challenging experience for both social workers and clients. There are many demands and expectations to be met yet resources are not always available, morale is sometimes lacking and only a few people are accountable. There are many principles that social workers are expected to follow. The workers make decisions and assessments that directly affect children and young peoples live. They are therefore called into account for exercising this judgment. The role of social work is defined in law, a reason for social workers to be well versed with social rules. Professional values and skills are essential for the practice of social work; application of this knowledge must be within a legal framework. References Bailey, G. (2005). Standards for Social Work Practice in Child Welfare. National Association of Social Workers Washington, DC. Braye, S & Preston-Shoot, M. (2009). Practicing Social Work Law (3rd Ed). Houndmills: Macmillan Press Brayne, H & Carr, H. (2005). Law for Social Workers. (9th Ed) Oxford: Oxford University Press. Johns, R. (2009). Using the Law in Social Work. Oxford: Oxford University Press Long L. A. & Roche, J (2010). The Law and Social Work. Contemporary Issues for Practice. Hampshire, England. Palgrave Macmillan Morrison, R., Voohis, V. & Hostetter, C. (2006). The Impact of MSW Education on Social Worker Empowerment and Commitment to Client Empowerment through Social Justice and Advocacy. Journal of Social Work Education. Thompson N. (2008). Building the Future: Social Work with Children, Young People and their Families. Russell House Publishing. Williams J. (2008). Child Law for Social Work. London: Sage. Read More