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Service user involvement and participation has become a standard principle in guiding social care planning in order to improve in the developing and delivery of service to meet diverse and complex needs in a more effective way. Key pieces of legislation states plainly that service users through a partnership approach should be enabled to have voice on how the services they are using should be delivered (Letchfield, 2009). The Scottish Executive (2006a:32) helpfully state ‘Increasing personalisation of services is both an unavoidable and desirable direction of travel for social work services. Unavoidable in the sense that both the population and policy expect it; desirable in the extent to which it builds upon the capacity of individuals to find their own solutions and to self-care, rather than creating dependence on services’ This essay response will focus on justifying why service user involvement / participation is important in the development of services for adults. To understand this, I will first look into the ideological principles that have shifted social work practice towards user participation before looking at the different ways these concepts have played out, with a particular focus on service users with disabilities. Service user ‘involvement’ and ‘participation’ in social work practice is underpinned by the fundamental values that services should be ‘user-centred’, ‘user led’ and ‘needs led’ (Warren, 2008). I have chosen to focus on adults with disabilities because there has been much recent development and policies put into place for this group of people. However, they are still considered one of the most vulnerable groups in society (Kemshall and Littlechild, 2000. The meaning of disability is a contested concep... ... middle of paper ... ..., 37(3): 387-403 Radley, M. (2009). Understanding the social exclusion and stalled welfare of citizens with learning disabilities. Disability and Society, 23(4): 489-501. Leadbetter, D. and Lownsbrough, H. (2005) Personalisation and Participation: The Future of Social Care in Scotland, London, Demos. Galpin, D. and Bates, N. 2009. Social work practice with adults. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd. Shakespeare, T. (1993) Disabled people's self-organisation: a new social movement?, Disability, Handicap & Society, 8, pp. 249-264 . Waine, B. (2000). Managing peformanve through pay. In J, Clarke, S. Gewitz and E. karban, 2001) MH Citizen involvement: A practical guide for change. Basingstoke, England: Macmillan. Beresford, P., 8! Harding, T. (Eds.). (1993). Beresford, P and Harding, T. (1993). A Challenge to Change: Practical Experiences of Building User-led Services.
...e service users, for instance from a supportive role to a safeguarding role. Paul Burstow, Minister of State for Care Services is trying to introduce the idea of the state as an enabling partner rather than a paternalistic authoritarian symbol of power. This is an important aspect of the personalisation, it should not entail only financial freedom from the state in the context of independent care budgets, and it should become apparent within the attitude towards service users. Leadbeater’s understanding of personalisation is astounding, he proposes subtly the application of the Nordic Model which will be discussed later on. “. . . putting users at the heart of services, enabling them to become participants in the design and delivery, services will be more effective by mobilising millions of people as co-producers of the public goods they value.” Leadbeater (2004)
The Open University (2010) K101 An introduction to health and social care, Unit 3, ‘Social Care In The Community’, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Thompson, N (2005) Understanding Social Work: Preparing for Practice, Palgrave, MacMillan (Second Edition) Hampshire (Supplementary Course Reader)
Social care and healthcare are both included in the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill. In England, there are two bodies that handle matters relating to social welfare. The National Care Standards is tasked with registering bodies that provide social care. The performance and progress of the organizations are monitored by the Social Services Inspectorate. The analysis of the social aspects of care involves collecting data that is analyzed so as to identify the differences that cause variation in the health of different people. The data collected may not be simple to understand. As a result, it requires a deeper analysis so as to establish the social factors affecting health (Larkin, 2011).
...igning practitioner training programmes that include direct service user input. Current practices within services were discussed and highlighted a power imbalance between the service user and practitioner where the practitioner often holds all of the power and the views of the service user are often not considered. Possible resistance to a working partnership was discussed followed by suggestions to address these barriers to change. This highlighted that there are already policies in place that encourage a working partnership but Tait and Lester (2005) suggest there is no real evidence that these policies are being used regularly in practice. This essay has shown that a working partnership where the service user is involved in every aspect of their care is possible but policies and strategies need to be implemented and attitudes need to change for it to be achieved.
The social model defines disability as a social construct that creates unwanted barriers for individuals, and a public concern, (Smart & Smart, 2006). Examples of these barriers include “inaccessible education systems, working environments, inadequate disability benefits, discriminatory health and social support services, inaccessible transport, houses and public buildings and amenities, and the devaluing of disabled people through negative images in the media, (Thomas, 2007, p. 13). Swain, et al (1993), states that “disability is not a condition of the individual. The experiences of disabled people are of social restrictions in the world around them, not being a person with a ‘disabling condition,’” (as cited by Lutz & Bowers, 2003).
Stephen has helped to shape society by connecting with able bodied people in an attempt to remove ‘stereotypical’ (Havard, 2014, p.76) values concerning wheelchair users. Stephen Sweetman’s experience provided firm examples of some of the ways in which connections and disconnections ‘produce differences and inequalities’ (Havard, 2014, p.79).
It will also consider how breakdowns in ‘effective communication’ (K101, Unit 8, P134) occur as a result of barriers arising, including ‘Physical Environment, Disability and Impairment, Attitudes, Cultural Differences and Emotions and Feelings (K101, Unit 8, P136). This can ‘dis-empower’ services users leading to an identity being imposed on them which may generate feelings of insecurity and worthlessness and deny them the right to a voice. Similarly, evidence will be provided to show care workers applying skills to develop strategies which aid in the process of overcoming these barriers. The evidence produced in this essay will be taken from case studies based on oral history and life story work. Both strategies grant service users the ability to talk about their past experiences, discover who they are and develop a sense of identity, thus providing them with feelings of confidence, security and self-esteem.
This class, Social Work Theory & Practice was made to be able to introduce me to social work theories, ideas, and skills needed to work in the social work profession. This class main tool used was a book called A Brief Introduction of Social Work Theory by David Howe which discusses social work theories in a compressive and explainable way. This class is important to my higher learning because it break down the theories that I will need to use during my practice and a...
Thanks to Ed Roberts, Mary Switzer and Gini Laurie the 3 major players in the Independent Living and Civil Rights movement, people with disabilities now have access to public schools with an Individualized program, access to buildings, facilities, buses for transportation and are protected by law from discrimination. “Approximately 50 million people today lead independent, self-affirming lives who define themselves according to their personhood their ideas, beliefs, hopes and dreams above and beyond their disability” (A Brief History,
Time to Change (2008) Stigma Shout: Service user and carer experiences of stigma and discrimination. London: Time to Change
Parker, J. and Bradley, G. (2003). Social Work Practice: Assessment, Planning, Intervention and Review. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd.
Wilson, K. et. al., 2011. Social Work ' Introduction to Contemporary Practice'. 2nd ed. Essex, England.: Pearson Education Ltd .
Watson, D & West, J 2006, Social work process and practice: approaches, knowledge, and skills, Palgrave Macmillan, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York.
Social work has existed in many different variations since the beginning of society. Initially, in the preindustrial society, minus a few exceptions, those who couldn’t cope on their own were the sole responsibility of family members. Upon the development of the industrial revolution in the Nineteenth Century, formal social work services emerged to enable society to cope with the major changes in the social system, due to modernity, urbanization, and industrialization. These services grew significantly and were reformed repeatedly throughout the rest of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries until the United Kingdom became a Welfare State, in which the state took on the responsibility to “protect the health and well-being of its citizens” (Oxford Dictionary, n.d.). Moreover, social work exists to serve the vulnerable people in the community including, the elderly, the youth, the mentally ill, the homeless, and the poor, along with many others. Although all vulnerable peoples are of equal importance in social works