A Career at Worcestershire
What does a Social Worker do?
You form partnerships with people, helping them to assess and
interpret the problems they face and supporting them in finding
solutions.
Sometimes you provide the service itself - you are advocate,
guide, hand-holder, or critical friend. Other cases are complex and
require carefully organised and communicated 'packages of care'
that can include doctors, nurses, lawyers, police, court officials,
probation workers among others. Whatever the situation, you need to
know how the law works, what services are available and how to put
them to best advantage on behalf of your client.
You have certain legal powers and duties, which are in place to
protect people who cannot protect themselves, for example, someone
with a mental illness who is a danger to themselves or to others,
or a child who is at risk of abuse.
This is a job carrying significant responsibility. It requires
initiative and commitment, as well as professional knowledge. Being
interested in people is important, but it's not enough. You have to
be quick thinking, thorough, persuasive, non-discriminatory,
non-judgemental - above all, committed to seeing things
through.
It sounds demanding and it can be but you do not work in
isolation. Mostly, you work in a team and have close support.
During your social work career you are likely to work with
different client groups.
Work with Children's and Young People
Social workers are involved in some way with supporting
children, families and young people. You may make regular visits to
families, or set up a support group for parents. Or you might be
working in children's homes, or managing the processes of foster
care or adoption.
You could be working with a slightly older age group, with young
people who need support as they leave care, or are at risk or in
trouble with the law. You may be associated with education and
health, looking after the interests of children who have problems
at school or who face difficulties brought on by illness in the
family.
It will come as no surprise that acting on behalf of children
and young people requires high levels of skill and judgement. You
need detailed knowledge of the statutory duties of child protection
and of childcare law, representing society at large. The foundation
of this knowledge and skill are learnt during your initial degree
studies, and you will continue to develop these as your career
unfolds. But you can never be complacent about your ability to
judge a situation; sometimes it's helpful to take advice as well as
to give it.
Work with Adults
As with children and young people, working with adults involves
a variety of approaches and environments. You may have to support
someone through a temporary difficulty or it may be longer term.
Either case might involve complex problems requiring co-ordination
with other services.
This is known as care management and would involve a formal
assessment and written care plan agreed by all people and all
services that come into play. Or these cases could just require
your direct support - in effect you are the service. Some jobs
involve both approaches.
There are many specialist areas. For example, residential care
work enables people with mental health problems or learning
difficulties to live more independent lives in homes and hostels
within the community. You will help residents with their personal
and social skills, and provide practical guidance on budgeting and
benefits. You might also be looking at service provision, ensuring
that what is offered to people from different ethnic backgrounds
reflects their cultural or religious needs.
Another field is work with offenders, supervising them in the
community, helping them to find jobs, and addressing problems to
prevent reoffending. You manage a caseload on an individual basis:
making assessments, devising care plans, reviewing progress in
partnership with each individual.
You could work with older people living at home, enabling them
to make key decisions for themselves. Here you become involved with
their families and others who provide care. The care management
part of this role might include tackling social isolation, or
helping older people to sort out problems with their housing or
benefits.
With specialised training, you might work with people who have
more acute mental health problems. Or you may be a key member of a
multidisciplinary healthcare team, working alongside nurses and
doctors in hospitals or in the community. You could otherwise be
part of a specialist team working with adults with disabilities,
co-ordinating with their families and other carers to help
individuals to live as independently as possible.
These are the broad areas at Worcestershire: