The Stages of Assessment - Assignment Example

Social Work Introduction Humans are created as the most intelligent beings in this world. By birth, human have been given equal rights and every individual is expected to protect these rights. But alas, equality is not all that common, as George Orwell says in his book Animal Farm "all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others". This quote, when referring to humans, clearly shows the underpinning ideology in our societies. All humans have equal rights however due to their status in the society, they enjoy more liberties than those with lower status. Although these rights may not be discriminatory, inborn prejudices cause some humans to discriminate during their day to day work. (John & MacArthur, 1998) Inborn Human Prejudices The most common type of prejudice people hold is sex discrimination. This type in extremely prevalent in third world and conservative countries where women are subject to house work while men enjoy every kind of activities in-home and away from home. Racial and age discrimination is often found in organizations where they hesitate to employ an older person or a person from another race. Also an employer may favour a person who the employer knows or has some relations with. Our attitudes towards people from a lesser social class are also nothing to be proud of. Poor people are always looked with a suspecting and downcast eye. This prejudice is not only held against the poor. People belonging to a lesser class also criticize the richer class for being aloof towards their needs and only enjoying their lives. While a person belonging to a poor family is subject to taunts from his/her colleagues, having a disability makes the matter even worse. A very common prejudice we hold against the disabled is that they are helpless and require sympathy, however this is false in most of the cases. (Lounsbury) These kinds of prejudices are harmful for the society as it de-motivates those who are treated unfairly and may even promote discriminatory practices among other social groups. (Winant, 2005) Anti-Discriminatory Practise One should be objective in one's approach towards others. And this can only happen if an anti-discriminatory practise is adopted. According to David (2004) it is a "practise that allocates personal problems with wider reference to oppression and discrimination based on race, gender, social class, disability, religion, sexual orientation and age". To successfully practise an anti-discriminatory policy, some of these principles must be followed. 1. Equality Everyone must realize that all humans are equal. People coming from different races, creed or classes are undeniably humans and therefore are equal. Men and women may be very different physically and mentally, however, essentially we all should have equal opportunities and risks in the natural environment. The important thing here is to make others realise that culture and traditions may contradict with this ideology, but one must be steadfast in their commitment to equal treatment to everybody. (Dickins, 2002) 2. Equity Another basic principle to follow in practising anti-discrimination is equity. A person must be treated according to his/her own merit. No preferential treatment must be tolerated and strict policies must be in place for such actions. Equity does not mean equality. In the context of employment, an employee must only receive that much which is deserved and what that employee has worked for. Giving lesser compensation than the work was done, would be unfair for this employee. Giving more compensation than that was worked for may be considered unfair for other employees unless such a policy is mentioned and applicable for everybody. 3. Confidentiality As we know, "people are social animals". However this does not mean that they can share information about others. Confidentiality is the key to success for every person. Information about others must be kept with oneself especially if it is confidential. Especially if a person has some negative news about a certain person, then that person should not broadcast that news to everybody and only convey it to the right person. Secrets of others must be protected with life as these secrets create a special bonding and trust which is essential for all people. 4. Awareness of Own Value and Prejudices Living in the surroundings of a society, we take in the aspects of that society. We become a part of that society and we adopt that society's culture. One disadvantage of this is that we begin to understand and see other people in a different light; a light that the society holds. Since the society has its own values and norms, we also adopt those values. Our attitudes and beliefs towards an object changes and eventually we start to hold prejudices against those objects or people. There is no running away from these prejudices as they are a part of our identity. We can only ignore these prejudices by becoming aware of these. By observing and noting our behaviour towards others, we can identify our prejudices and can potentially avoid those in normal time of events. 5. Awareness of Labelling and Stereotyping Stereotypes and labelling are other fallacies of the society. Just like prejudices, the society tags some labels to certain people. Stereotypes are widely shared assumptions about a person's personality, attitudes and behaviour based on a certain group. Some sects of another society may be called with names, or just attaching a certain belief about a certain group. Stereotypes and labels can be either positive or negative. It affects a person's judgments and may lead to discrimination. This can be damaging to self image which is an obstructive factor when relating to identity. Therefore it is necessary for a person to realise how their society labels and stereotypes so that the person can avoid them in the future. (AF, 2007) 6. Being Non-Judgemental It is often said that the 'first impression is the last impression'. The first impression that a person gives to another creates a mental picture of that person. These mental images are hard to break once they are created. Due to these lasting impressions, a person usually judges and has some expectations about the other person. Discrimination and prejudices created by these judgements affect the actions that a person takes against the other. It is, therefore, best not to judge a person by the first impression just like the saying goes "Don't judge the book by its cover". 7. Developing Reflective Skills It is almost impossible for a person to become totally anti-discriminatory in a short time by implementing the principles described above. It is imperative therefore to act on some of these principles at a point in time. By doing this, people can get a chance to reflect back on the implemented principles and learn from them. 8. Training and Support It is very difficult for a person to adopt anti-discriminatory principles by oneself. Unless there is enough motivation, a person would usually lag and would not commit to the process completely. Therefore training and support facilities are provided to individuals (especially in organisations striving for anti-discriminatory practices). Training and support helps a person break one's cultural norms to adopt anti-discrimination principles. Concepts of Need Need, in a psychological setting, is condition that requires relief. Each and every person has needs. According to WordNET, it is "anything that is necessary but lacking". The basic needs of a person are a secure source of income, a suitable place to live, meaningful daily activity and social interaction. If any of these needs are missing form a person's life then the quality of life of that person falls below the minimum level. In an objective setting, a need goes beyond the above definition to include those needs that allow a person to function 'properly' in a society. Properly here, defines the added expenditure and costs to become acceptable in the society. A person whose needs are not fulfilled will not be able to function in the society and will be subject to social exclusion. How Well Social Care Organizations Meet These Needs Social care organisations are responsible to take care of the people who are considered to be needy. A social care organization should administer the proper care of a needy person and bring the person's life up to at least a minimum level. However the minimum level is not good enough for the people. Other needs of a person must also be met to make a person independent of the social care agency. Too many health and social care services these days fail to recognise the interconnectivity of people's needs. This is especially true for people who experience multiple forms of disadvantages either physically or mentally. Multiple and complex problems usually span both health and social issues. The social care agencies only focus on the direst need and ignore the rest. For example a lame person addicted to drugs may also be living in poor housing facility with no friends or family. This person certainly has a complex set of problems which cannot be ignored. But the social care institutions usually administer the biggest problem (which in this case would be drugs addiction) and ignore the rest without realising that this problem is caused by the other problem (in this case drug addiction may be caused by social exclusion). (Rankin & Regan, 2004) "Assessment for all adults with complex needs should take account of physical, cognitive, behavioural and social participation needs" (LAC 2004/24). The users of social care have a variety of needs like loving and caring, secure place to live and monetary security as well as friends and interaction. The social care providers are able to provide food and shelter as well as safeguarding and care. However social care lacks at the provision of love and friendship. Things are generally systematic and social care providers want to rid of the users as quickly as possible. (LCC, 2007) A person's need has two aspects attached to it. A need has a certain depth which means the 'severity of need' and/or the need can have a breadth too which is the 'range of need'. Social care agencies emphasise more on the depth. If a person has a very serious need, only then they are recognised. A person having many but not severe needs may not even be registered for social care as each individual component part of the problem doesn't score very highly on an individual register of need. (LCC, 2007) However it is not all that easy to identify all the needs of a person. A person may not even himself/herself identify all his/her needs. This creates additional responsibility on the social care providers. Furthermore social care providers are over loaded with so many people that they cannot assess everybody's need in detail, thus only the most prominent needs are resolved. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs According to Abraham Maslow, 'needs' can be classified in a hierarchal format where the needs are ranked according to their importance. The basic needs have to be fulfilled before a higher need takes priority. The first level is basic existence needs which are physiological, such as food, water, shelter and clothing. Once an individual gets these, the person requires social security needs. As a person moves upwards to the next level, lower level needs are no longer prioritized. However if lower set of needs is no longer being met, the individual will temporarily re-prioritize those needs by focusing attention on the unfulfilled needs. Next, come the need for love and belonging with friends, families, colleagues, communities and the society. When they are satisfied, a person requires esteem needs with self-respect. When these four levels are met, a person reaches the self-actualisation level where a person needs to realize one's own potential. Self-perfection is required to fulfil this need which may never come. (Srensen, 2006) When the needs of a social care user are matched against Maslow's need theory, the two lowest levels of need seem to be supported by the social care providers. Food, shelter, security and clothing are provided by the social care company satisfying the basic two levels of Maslow's hierarchy. It is at this second level where most users of the social care find themselves after being through with the social care. However, love and belonging is not at all the manifesto of social care providers hence a person is stuck at this level as a lower need has to be largely satisfied before the next can come into play. Esteem and self-actualisation needs may never be reached by the users of social care service and is impossible until they stop depending on the service and stand on their own feet. Where the social care providers are providing the basic two needs, they should also focus on creating such a strong base for their users that the users can progress from there on their own and not fall back to attain a lower need. (Srensen, 2006) Social Care Service Assessment Under section 47 of HNSCCA the local authority can carry out assessment of a person's need for social care services where it appears to that a person looks needy and after the assessment the local authority can decide whether the person really deserves such services or not. The basic purpose is to decide about the provision of services and the extent of services to be provided. Also the aim is to arrive at decision on what services should be provided and in what form. According to Coulshed and Orme (1998), assessment is a process that involves individuals to "Describe, explain, predict, evaluate and prescribe" certain actions depending on the situation. The main problem for social care agencies is to correctly assess who requires the services and who doesn't. The white paper, "Community care in next decade and beyond 1989" provides some of these principles given below to guide the completion of assessments. These principles help decide which people deserve the treatment and what areas the treatment should focus. The white paper principles that must underpin any assessment are: Respond Flexibly And Sensibly To The Needs Of Individuals And Their Carers The users of social care must be providing the most effective and easily disbursed services from the users and the carer's point of view Allow A Range Of Option For Consumers Convenience should be the key for the users. if the nature or extent of the need allows, the service can be residential too rather than at the care clinic Intervene No More Than Is Necessary To Foster Independence Service should be kept at the level where the people get what they need while it should not give so much that the people become dependent on the social service provider. Concentrate On Those With Greatest Needs The social service provider will meet a lot of people who have some sort of need. But the key is to serve only those people whose needs are the greatest. This is a subjective opinion of the carers however complete assessment will help identify such people. It is often seen that the local authority assesses the need of the people but is not able to provide for those needs. This may be due to lack of resources or lack of private or public Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to provide the service for the people. The assessment, as mentioned before, is a very subjective process. The white paper principles act as a guiding light to the carers however practically, applying these principles is difficult. The attitudes of the carers deeply affect the assessment process. Usually the carers have seen all types of needy people, that they become indifferent to the users and might do incorrect assessments. Also there is so much fraud and deception involved, that the carers might wrongly disapprove the care of a rightful needy person. It is important to keep the morale of the carers up at all times so that they can take care of the people correctly and be able to assess the truly needy people. Stages of Assessment A public care service provider in UK called 'Carers UK' (2007) follow a seven step assessment methodology. These stages can be explained with the help of taking the example of a person with Alzheimer's diseases (Dementia). (DH, 2007) Stage 1 Publishing Information First stage is informing the people that there exists a service for the people. Information regarding the company, certain diseases and their effects are published along side to guide the people in need of some help. Stage 2 Determining the Level of Assessment The second step to determine the level of assessment. If the need from a glace looks real then a low level assessment is done that includes regular interviews and some family history. If the need of a person looks either too great or a fraudulent, then a complex assessment is done that includes in depth interviews, checking family history, monitoring in some cases and then verification and validation about the users need. Stage 3 Assessment Need The assessment need stage finds out about the level of care required for the person. In the case of a person with loss of memory as in Demetia, the person would require utmost attention and care at all times as the situation is very serious. Stage 4 Care Planning Care planning involves the physical allocation of the resources to the user. It specifies the place where the person will be staying, who will be monitoring that person, what medicines will be dispensed and how frequently that person would require checkup. Stage 5 Implementing the Care Plan This is the stage where the actual plan would be set in motion. All the allocations done in the last stage will be implemented. The setup will be done exactly according to plan and the administration department will be informed about the beginning of the care plan. Stage 6 Monitoring the Care Plan Monitoring is a continuous phase that goes on till the person is cured. Nurses and care staff occasionally visit the user of social care and oversee how the care is being provided. They conduct a checking like procedure just like an audit to see that the guidelines are being followed and the treatment is going according to plan. Stage 7 Reviewing and Reassessing Needs The stage is often combined with the monitoring stage. The results from the monitoring stage are gathered here and analysed to check whether everything is in-line. Needs are re-assessed and in case some new need is found, then the whole plan is revised so that the new need can be provided to the user as well. For the person with Dementia, having a memory loss, is put in a home where two medical aides are always present to give the person company and administer the proper medicines. If during a monitoring stage it is found that the person's situation has worsened and is acting violently, then the care plan will be revised and an additional person (a psychologist) will be added to the support team to help the person calm down. This process is in an ever changing process therefore this stage never ends. Conclusion The seven stages as described above are really helpful in giving proper care to the needy. However, social care cannot be provided to 'all' needy people. Since there are so many people in need of at least a few services, that the company uses its guiding principles to focus only on those who have the greatest needs. This may be drawback for some deserving people however, the company have cognitive limits and resources and it looks to utilise them in the most effective and efficient way possible. Nonetheless it is important to realise who we are and where our roots are from. Even if we do not belong to any social care service agency, it is our duty as humans to care for others. We must respect others disregarding any disability, difference in social class, or any other kind of diversity and help them in times of their needs. Works Cited 1. Carers UK (2007), "The stages of assessment", Accessed on December 25, 2007 from http://www.carersuk.org/Information/Helpwithcaring/Carersassessmentguide 2. DH (July 2007), "Who cares," Department of Health, Accessed on December 25, 2007 from http://www.dh.gov.uk/dr_consum_dh/idcplgIdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&siteId=en&ssTargetNodeId=566&ssDocName=DH_078093 3. Dickins, Mary (3 January 2002), "All about Anti Discriminatory Practice", National Early Years Network, Nursery World, pp. 15-22, Accessed on December 24, 2007 from www.surestart.gov.uk/_doc/0-DA574D.pdf 4. John, D. and MacArthur, Catherine T. (October 1998), "Discrimination", Research Network on Socioeconomic Status and Health, Accessed on December 24, 2007 from http://www.macses.ucsf.edu/Research/Psychosocial/notebook/discrimination.html 5. Laming, Herbert, "The Personal Social Services", Accessed on December 24, 2007 from www.psi.org.uk/publications/archivepdfs/New%20dire/ND15.pdf 6. LCC (2007), "List of all services for social care", Leicestershire County Council, Accessed on December 24, 2007 from http://www.leics.gov.uk/service_list_allservices.htmtheme=T7 7. Lounsbury, Larry M., "Difference between prejudice and discrimination", Authors Den, Accessed on December 24, 2007 from http://www.authorsden.com/categories/article_top.aspcatid=22&id=29242 8. Rankin, Jennifer and Regan, Sue (11 October 2004), "Meeting complex needs in social care", Institute of Public Policy Research, Accessed on December 24, 2007 from http://www.ippr.org/articles/index.aspid=469 9. "Stereotypes and Labelling", Angelfire, Accessed on December 24, 2007 from http://www.angelfire.com/magic/k2/whoareyou.html 10. Srensen, Kenneth (May 2006), "Maslow's hierarchy of needs and subpersonality work", Psychosynthesis, Accessed on December 24, 2007 from http://two.not2.org/psychosynthesis/articles/maslow.htm 11. Winant, Howard (October 2005), "Discrimination", New Dictionary of History of Ideas, Accessed on December 24, 2007 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_km4452/is_200510/ai_n16262613 12. WordNet, "Need", Definition, Accessed on December 24, 2007 from www.wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn Read More