Social work

While there is increased recognition of the role of family carers in supporting adults with social care needs, some groups of carers are overlooked or hidden from professional view. Carers of people with substance misuse problems may be among this group since they are at risk of feeling guilty and stigmatised; targeting and eligibility criteria may concentrate professionals’ activities on people with high levels of need for practical support and there may be complex family dynamics where the role of carer does not fit traditional models.

The title of the new children's green paper "Every Child Matters" implies inclusiveness, and the paper does indeed highlight a range of client groups with specific needs, suggesting that all children are covered. Asks whether the commitment to inclusiveness is genuine or merely a token gesture. Looks at 5 areas where more could have been done: children entering the country, parents and carers of disabled children, young carers, children with parents in jail, and improving fostering and adoption services. (Quotes from original text)

This resource looks at the benefits that are gained from the relationships that are built within social work. Using the voices of service users, carers and workers you will hear accounts of how the relationships that were created helped them to deal with the difficulties they faced.

Workplaces across the globe have experienced an unprecedented pace of change. The effects of a problem focus, de-personalisation and over regulation in long-term care settings are experienced similarly by carers, residents, their families and nursing homes as a whole. A pathology focus is no longer appropriate, inviting a paradigm shift to explore how accessing the unique strengths and resources of all parties becomes an imperative role in changing organizational culture. This paper draws comparisons between the experiences and tasks of all those involved in care settings.

Thousands of young carers and their families could lose more than £3,500 a year under proposed welfare reforms, according to The Children’s Society.

Website providing a range of resources to help support social work practice with carers. It aims help social workers to develop a better understanding of the issues carers face and provides tools to help put this learning into practice. Resources cover general information about social work with carers, links to resources about social work law and practice, tools and training materials. The site also includes five case studies which illustrate how social work can provide support to carers.

The increasing focus on the involvement of people who use health and social care services and their carers in developing services and in social work education has the potential to bring significant change. This book examines the challenges in enabling people who are `experts by experience' to participate in an agenda which is largely dominated by 'top-down' managerial practices. Several themes run through the book.

In this chapter the author recounts her personal experiences of being a carer for her son and her interaction with social services in Scotland. The author's son is now over 30 years old and is on the autistic spectrum, has obsessive compulsive disorder and a learning disability. She recounts the early difficulties she had in dealing with health and educational professionals as she tried to achieve the best possible care for her son. Many of the professionals she encountered were unable to appreciate the importance of integrating her son into as many normal daily activities as possible.