Doing social work in a statutory setting is a challenge that all social workers will face. Social workers are required to work with people who don’t necessarily want their help and who may be antagonistic or even hostile. In such cases, social workers must use their statutory powers with confidence and work effectively within the constraints of procedure and the law.
This thoughtful and practical book focuses on the universal skills that are needed to do this important kind of social work, and to do it well. Drawing on social work’s diverse knowledge base through extensive examples and case studies, Andrew Hill illustrates key skills in practice, such as responding to threats of violence and aggression, giving evidence in court, report writing, and coping with emotional issues. As well as promoting practical skills, the book underlines the importance of working as a reflective practitioner. It carefully outlines a framework for understanding the place of statutory work and how this may be consistent with empowerment and anti-oppressive practice, and with the straightforward desire to help others that brings people into social work in the first place.
This book is relevant to all social work settings including mental health, community care, youth justice, and child protection. It will be essential reading for social work students and newly qualified social workers who are facing up to the realities of social work in statutory settings for the first time.
Table of Contents:
Analytic Contents viii
List of Summaries of Skills xiii
Acknowledgements xv
Introduction 1
Part I Context 7
Chapter 1 Legal and Organizational Context 9
The Legal Context 9
The Organizational Context 18
Pressures on Organizations with Statutory Functions 22
Further Reading 28
Answers to Exercise 1.1 28
Chapter 2 Aims and Ethics 30
The Aims of Social Work 32
Social Work Values 35
The Goals and Values of Social Work in Statutory Contexts 38
Anti-Oppressive Practice 41
Anti-Oppressive Practice in Statutory Contexts 45
The Influence of Postmodernism 47
Conclusion 50
Further Reading 51
Part II Skills 53
Chapter 3 Skills for Working in Organizations 55
Skills for Making Use of Supervision 55
Skills for Using Procedures 64
Conclusion 67
Further Reading 67
Chapter 4 Skills for Engaging with People 69
Skills for Establishing the Mandate for the Work 69
Respecting Human Rights 77
Building Partnerships 81
Communicating with Children 85
Dealing with Violence, Threats and Intimidation 90
Conclusion 93
Further Reading 94
Chapter 5 Skills for Assessing and Planning 95
Setting Up Assessments 97
Recording Information 105
Making Sense of Information: Using Formal Assessment Tools 108
Working with Other Professionals 113
Conclusion 116
Further Reading 116
Chapter 6 Skills for Court Work 118
Working with Legal Advice 119
Preparing Reports for Court 124
Negotiating with Other Parties to the Proceedings 131
Giving Oral Evidence 134
Managing Relationships with Service Users during and after Proceedings 136
Conclusion 138
Further Reading 138
Chapter 7 Skills for Promoting Change 139
Motivation to Change 141
Negotiating over Interventions 148
Thinking Systemically 154
Conclusion 157
Further Reading 157
Chapter 8 Ending, Evaluating and Reflective Practice 158
Skills for Managing Endings 159
Skills for Evaluation 163
Skills for Reflective Practice 169
Conclusion 178
Further Reading 179
Appendix: National Occupational Standards for Social Work 180
References 183
Index 193
About the Author :
Andrew Hill, Lecturer in Social Work, University of York
Review :
'Students will find this book highly accessible. Hill writes in a clear style and the use of case studies is excellent. I can certainly envisage this book being used widely.'
Geraldine Macdonald, Queen's University, Belfast
'This is an excellent book and should be compulsory reading for social work students. It is clearly written, sensitively related to social work practice, with some first-rate examples; above all, it really 'speaks' to the realities of contemporary statutory professional practice in the twenty-first century. Andrew Hill has written a thorough but readable text for students which they will find useful at any stage in their qualification degree.'
David Shemmings, University of Kent
