Shifting the focus inward: Israeli social workers’ participation in decision‐making and their inclusion of service‐users in intervention‐related decisions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Razon ◽  
Lia Levin
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Participation In Decision Making

Purchasing Power and Self-Determination: Social Worker Perspectives

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Bailey ◽  
Debbie Plath ◽  
Alankaar Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Purchasing Power ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Management Approaches

Abstract The international policy trend towards personalised budgets, which is designed to offer people with disabilities purchasing power to choose services that suit them, is exemplified in the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). This article examines how the ‘purchasing power’ afforded to service users through individualised budgets impacts on social work practice and the choice and self-determination of NDIS service users. Social workers’ views were sought on the alignment between the NDIS principles of choice and control and social work principles of participation and self-determination and how their social work practice has changed in order to facilitate client access to supports through NDIS budgets and meaningful participation in decision-making. A survey was completed by forty-five social workers, and in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with five of these participants. The findings identify how social workers have responded to the shortfalls of the NDIS by the following: interpreting information for clients; assisting service users to navigate complex service provision systems; supporting clients through goal setting, decision-making and implementation of action plans; and adopting case management approaches. The incorporation of social work services into the NDIS service model is proposed in order to facilitate meaningful choice and self-determination associated with purchasing power.

scholarly journals Social workers’ views about children’s and parents’ competence in child protection decision-making

2020 ◽  
pp. 146801732094063 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Korpinen ◽  
Tarja Pösö
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Parents And Children ◽  
Children And Parents ◽  
The Social ◽  
Strength Based ◽  
Professional Ethos ◽  
Controversial Nature

Summary Competence is an essential part of any decision-making process. In child protection, it is challenged by the controversial nature of child removals and the vulnerable situations which children and parents experience therein. This article examines how and on what grounds social workers view parents and children to be competent to give their informed view in care order proceedings and what they do if doubts about competence arise. The analysis is based on 30 interviews with social workers in Finland. Findings The professional ethos and ethics of social work were embedded in the social workers’ descriptions of children’s and parents’ competence. The social workers were confident that the parents and children (of certain age) were competent to give their informed view about whether to consent to the care order proposal and the proposed substitute home. When they spoke about competence ascribed with hesitation, they described the vulnerability of service users, as well as their attitudes and withdrawal from contact. In the cases, social workers emphasized a strength-based view of children and parents and aimed to ‘talk more’ with them and to ‘give them more time’ to support their right to give an informed view. Applications Social vulnerability and competence should be explored reflectively in relation to decision-making in child protection. A better understanding of their interrelation makes social workers more competent to support the service users’ right to be included in decision-making. Critical awareness is needed to recognize when ‘more talk’ is not enough to realize children’s and parents’ rights.

scholarly journals Embodied Social Work Practice Within Risk Society

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 673-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Smeeton ◽  
Patrick O’Connor
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Risk Society ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Extreme Risk

This paper critically discusses the limitations of theorising social work from psychological and sociological perspectives and argues that phenomenology offers more opportunity to understand the embodied experiences of service users and social workers themselves. The paper argues that psychology and sociology have a limited analysis of being-in-the-world, which ought to be social work’s primary consideration. The paper offers an overview of the sociology of risk before embarking on an extensive description and discussion of Heidegger’s and Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology applied to the lived experience of child protection social workers working within risk society. The argument is put that phenomenology is a useful tool for understanding the lived experience of social work practitioners. Findings: The authors conclude that embodied social work practice containing fear and anxiety can be thought of as akin to taking part in extreme risk sports and that this is an unhealthy experience that is likely to skew decision-making and adversely affect the lives of social workers and service users. Applications: The authors argue that phenomenology can enhance understanding of practice and decision-making and offers insights into the lived experience of social workers. Phenomenology is useful for helping social workers negotiate risk-saturated environments, through a focus on meaning.

Service users' experiences of participation in decision making in mental health services

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 688-697 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. DahlqvistJönsson ◽  
U.-K. Schön ◽  
D. Rosenberg ◽  
M. Sandlund ◽  
P. Svedberg
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Participation In Decision Making

scholarly journals Narrative and Argumentation in a Case of Alleged Child Abuse

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Clive Baldwin ◽  
Michelle Greason
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Child Abuse ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Rhetorical Analysis ◽  
The Other ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between argument and narrative has been the subject of much debate, particularly in the area of law, where a number of theorists have argued for the priority of one over the other in the decision-making process, the premise being that argumentation and narrative are two distinct text forms. Through the rhetorical analysis of a series of expert reports in a case of alleged child abuse, we seek to explore the dynamics between argumentation and narrative. In so doing, we argue that while certain actions may undermine the robustness of an argument, it is these very actions that make possible the telling of a persuasive story. We conclude with a plea for the development of rhetorical skills among social workers so as to be better able to discern future directions for the benefit of service users.

Applying Evidence in Practice

2014 ◽  
pp. 65-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Dore
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Thought Processes ◽  
Unconscious Thought ◽  
Analytical Reasoning ◽  
The Way

Judgement and decision-making lie at the heart of practice and are feats that practitioners perform under conditions that are complex and uncertain, the attainment of positive outcomes for service users dependent upon the aptitude of those charged with the task and the scaffolding provided by their employing organisations. Faced with such a challenge, social workers somehow avoid paralysis and take action to support and protect those with whom they work, drawing on experience, skill, information, and intervention evidence. The way they negotiate, orientate, interpret, and apply this knowledge is often through unconscious thought processes that require illumination and balance. This chapter considers how practitioners make sense of the situations that they come into contact with and discusses the intuitive-analytical reasoning continuum integral to this. Attention is given to the role of value as an influence upon perception and subsequent interpretation, together with the role played by cognitive processes.

Claim, blame, shame: how risk undermines authenticity in social work

2020 ◽  
pp. 163-186
Author(s):  
Mark Hardy
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Disciplinary Action ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Risk Averse ◽  
Social Standing ◽  
Continued Employment ◽  
Unrealistic Expectations

Mark Hardy, author of this chapter, argues that the highly charged context in which practice occurs means that because of unrealistic expectations of infallibility social work decision-making has taken on an existential character. He elaborates on why this is so, accounting for how risk, blame and shame intersect both practically and emotionally, as well as the value of existential thinking in enabling practitioners to preserve the authenticity of their practice. Social workers themselves practice in a risk-averse climate, very much aware that ‘poor judgement’ can and does lead to disciplinary action, with all that this entails in terms of professional repute, social standing and continued employment. The author suggests some potential responses to questions regarding how practitioners might cope with the expectations organisations and service users have of them.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document