Why do we want social workers

[Janet1]

The role of social workers is likely to change, as many disabled and older people are now receiving cash via individual budgets or direct payments to pay for their support needs, instead of having services provided by Social Services.

In future social workers may become Support Brokers to help people spend the cash by choosing the services that best meet their assessed needs. For example, a Support Broker could give information about the range and type of services that are available for people to purchase.

Do you think this is what social workers should do?

We are conducting research into people’s views about the future role of social workers and would really like to hear from older people. All responses will be treated as confidential.
Professor David Leece, Manchester Metropolitan University
Dr. Janet Leece, Honorary Research Fellow, Staffordshire University

[Papaumau]

As far as I am aware the roles that social workers have to fill are many and varied. They almost all are concerned with dealing directly with people and like with all "people-jobs" they are put into stressful and difficult situations that only time and experience teach them how to deal with.

I have no worries that they will all become - what was it you called them ? - "support brokers" as I am sure that they will always be needed to actually make the contacts with people's needs and to actually deliver those requirements as and when they are called to.

There may be a new tier being added that would do this job but I cannot see the already snowed-under social workers doing both jobs.

Because they are so thin on the ground at the moment social workers are in many cases not able to do what they would like to do and because of these situations we find that nowadays, too often, many deserving cases slip under the wire and are missed. ( The baby Peter case immediately springs to mind ).

I am thinking in particular here about family services where the social workers often never get a chance to study a family well enough to decide if children or elderly people need special care.

I say lets sort out the problems we already have before thinking about introducing another tier of expense !

[Hells Granny]

This is repeated verbatim in Health and Care.

I think it is SPAM.

Cheers, HG

[Janet1]

Hi this isn't SPAM I added it to both sections to try and get a wider response. It is a genuine research project and we would welcome your comments.

Janet

[Janet1]

Many thanks to everybody who participated in this discussion, and contributed to our knowledge. You have given us much to think about. We are in the process of writing the paper based on this research and hope to have a draft copy available in the next two to three weeks.

If you would like a copy of the draft paper then just send us your e-mail address to DLeece@aol.com, comments on this paper will be welcome. Again many thanks for your help. We are most grateful.

Dr Janet Leece and Professor David Leece

[John]

Social Work is a cover all name for what appears in most areas to be a shambles or in shambles.

Some qualities to be a Social Worker are:

Must be prepared to take at least 5 weeks off a year on the sick
(that sickness must be at the drop of a hat to avoid pressing matters)

Must be prepared to make multiple mistakes

Must be prepared to take no responsibility for those mistakes

Must be prepared to just talk and take little action or make any real difference

(Opinion reached from news reports and dealings with them that would
make Gordon Brown proud of the dithering and buck passing.)

[Papaumau]

Like when dealing with any other demographic this one can not be stereotyped !

I agree that many social work departments are badly run and many social workers are snowed under by so many cases each that they can never do all of them justice, but I do not think it is fair to tar all of them with the same brush.

I always support what I call "people-jobs" as workers who work with PEOPLE in a day-to-day job always find that because of the complexities in the human condition this kind of a job is always a very difficult and stressful one at any level.

I know, as I WAS that soldier in my past employment. ( Not specifically a social worker but certainly a "people-job" person ).

[Wrinkles]

Fear not people the Government has it in hand according to latest reports.
The social workers Union, college or association or whatever it is is going to be given a "royal" prefix this along with the plans to licence social workers is bound to rectify all the problems.  Proven Labour tactics, if it's broken don't bother with the trouble and expense of mending it, just give it a new title and new status and it will instantly be OK. 

[Papaumau]

"Re-badging" or  "renaming" established entities is not just a "Labour" habit !

In fact many privatised industries do this regularly. ( "Norwich Union" to "AVIVA" is a recent one ).

With the bad press that certain social work departments have been getting recently...( the baby Peter case springs to mind )....there is a risk that ALL social work departments are going to be "tarred with that brush" and actually nothing could be further from the truth. Most social work departments do an excellent job in extremely difficult circumstances and these specific circumstances can only be known about if you - or anybody else - are at the pointed end and have experience of trying to do that job against the odds.

[John]

Aviva was hardly a re-brand - This was global labelling, pulling together
some 40 Corporations.

This is no excuse for public sectors that should be spending ever increasing Taxes
wisely.

Labour are masters at wasting public money. They have proved this without doubt,
under their direction, bringing the Country to its financial knees.

Never has so much been owed by so many.

[Papaumau]

Aviva was hardly a re-brand - This was global labelling, pulling together
some 40 Corporations.

AVIVA was a "rebranding" as Norwich Union thought that it needed a more dynamic and easily-remembered name for the group. Norwich Union has been the owners of Commercial Union, General Acccident and CGU for some time and has been aquiring these and other companies since 1998 and before.

There is no other way to see this rebranding as anything other than a "face-change" and that was the point that I was making. Anything else is simply splitting hairs and arguing for argument-sake.

NOW...back to "why do we want social workers" please.

[John]

AVIVA was a "rebranding" as Norwich Union thought that it needed a more dynamic and easily-remembered name for the group


This is nonsense - Norwich Union at this time was an Aviva Company operating in the United Kingdom.

I note your other comments that attempt to suppress discussion.

As for Social Workers - this is a label that is applied to far too many people.

Perhaps the real ones need a re-brand...

[Papaumau]

Name-changing is something that many companies try to do to improve their image. This is a well known phenomenon.

If you remember, not so long ago, they tried to change the name of the Royal Mail to "Insignia" for precisely this reason but people-pressure stopped them from carrying out this expensive and un-required idea.

"Re-branding" is a tool that the marketeers use regularly so that they might look as if they are fresh and new and they hope that their punters will be re-invigorated to spend more money with them because of this reason.

If you are unable to see that then you may find yourself becoming just another one of the victims of the said "marketeers".

I DO NOT "attempt to supress" discussion I merely try to steer it to stay on track !

"Social workers" are people who work in a "social" setting and who's task it is to try to make the lives better for the people who need their specialist help. It is only the callous and care-nought people who do not value the marvellous job that they do in often very difficult circumstances.

[John]

"It is only the callous and care-nought people who do not value the marvellous job that they do in often very difficult circumstances"



That will be a good percentage of the people they deal with then?

[Papaumau]

That may be your opinion...and you are welcome to it...but I would much rather see the people that need help in social circumstances as victims even if many of them will be their own worst enemies by not knowing how to play the game.

The ones that I really feel for are the kids as they are ALWAYS the victims in situations like these. If adults that are driven into poverty and a life of crime and drug-taking are not able to care for their kids someone HAS TO.

The social work departments try their best under often extreme circumstances and sometimes they even fail but that does not mean that they do not try or that they do not see their job as a vocation that should be valued by all of us.