Social Work Social Policy And Social Welfare Social Work Essay

With mention to alterations in Government policy and political orientations of public assistance, debate the significance of the displacement from Victorian Pauper to 21st century service user and its impact on societal work pattern and values.

This assignment has used a historical timeline of Governmental alterations to policies and Torahs as a background to debate the displacement from Victorian Pauper to 21st century service user. The divide between the rich and hapless has ever been an issue that different authoritiess have faced, covering with it otherwise, for illustration Clement Attlee ‘s labour Government in 1945 introduced the public assistance province to give every British citizen screen, irrespective of income or deficiency of it.

Those who lacked occupations and places would be helped.

The definition of a Pauper harmonizing to the Collins lexicon is person who is comparatively hapless, in comparing to the general population or historically eligible for public charity.

The definition of a service user is person who at some point uses or receives wellness or societal attention services.

( General Social Care Council )

The term service user is criticised, as critics Adams et Al ( 2009 ) believe it focuses on one component of the person, connoting dependence, without taking into history other facets and argue that the term places the service user in a disempowered place in their relationship with a professional, with power shacking with this professional. The National Network of Service Users: Determining our lives nevertheless sees the term service user as positive, it ‘s an person who uses the services, they confer power making a stronger voice and holding a greater ability to determine services.

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( Levin 2004 )

Modern British societal policy has its foundation in the Poor Laws, dating from 1598 to 1948.

The Poor Law ( 1601 ) provided a mandatory hapless rate and helped put the hapless to work. However as the Parish was the basic country of disposal, and Torahs were enforced otherwise from parish to parish with no set criterions of attention doing incompatibilities between countries. The Poor Law amendment act ( 1834 ) modified the bing system. Poor Law Unions were introduced, parishes were grouped together, and those Unions would be the duty of a Board of Guardians. The Guardians were responsible for the disposal of hapless alleviation for their vicinity, instead than go forthing the duty of disposal in the custodies of single parishes and townships. Workhouses were introduced and encouraged, one workhouse in each brotherhood to give hapless alleviation. This Act stated that no able bodied individual was to have any other aid other than in the workhouse. The intent of the workhouse was to allow persons come in and go forth as they liked and they would have free nutrient and adjustment, nevertheless as clip passed concern grew with respect to the seeming ‘overuse ‘ of the workhouse. As a consequence the eligibility standards for entry to the workhouse was so altered. Life in the workhouse was to be made every bit barbarous as it was outdoors. The deplorable being offered, and the stigma attached to being an ‘inmate ‘ , ensured that merely the genuinely deprived used them. A ‘jail manner ‘ system of segregation for work forces and adult females meant that even households had to be separated, wholly different from twenty-first Century societal work values which espouse a stronger committedness to maintaining households together, with kid protection services and kid public assistance bureaus supplying support to guarantee household saving. ( Payne, 2005 )

It was in 1869 that The Charity Organisation Society ( COS ) was formed to unite the many smaller beginnings of alleviation and do proviso more efficient and effectual. The COS perceived that charitable aid was needed and believed that their purpose was to make all households, but were diffident how the money had antecedently been spent. COS set out a strategy of fiscal aid, presenting local commissions, who so raised financess and distributed these to households in demand. Similar to many charities today, there are still many households who do n’t inquire for aid because of faith, linguistic communication, pride or because they are non cognizant that aid may be available. ( Family Action ) The purpose of COS was to carry charities to meet their resources, which might so be distributed more consistently. However the persons helped had to be deemed capable of going ego back uping. Worthiness was considered before any charitable aid was given. Those who were n’t considered worthy were left to destitution, the Society efficaciously make up one’s minding that as they deemed there to be no hope for their salvation, that to assist them would be a waste of limited resources which would be better spent elsewhere with persons or households who could later raise themselves out of poorness and dependance. ( Campling, 1996 ) The COS theoretical account was open uping in taking into history the effects if they helped every person, as they thought this would take to dependency and exaggeration in order to have money.

COS was besides formed with the aim of accomplishing a lessening in the charitable outgo as a consequence of greater efficiency and the economic system of graduated table, and in this sense the COS reflected the wider political orientation of the industrial revolution. Current Social Work objectives likewise seek to accomplish ‘value for money ‘ , with the Audit committee specifying value for money as the best possible balance of economic system, efficiency and effectivity. Whilst the twenty-first century societal worker enterprises to cover reasonably with the demands of everyone, however, the distribution of demands is uneven and alterations invariably. To guarantee quality is consistent attention program reappraisals are monitored and service users may be involved in quality circles, prosecuting them in make up one’s minding what ‘s best. Direct payment strategies are besides offered to a minority group of service users to allow them make up one’s mind on and custom-make their ain societal attention. The chief job Social Services face is the possible impact of the dynamic and variable economic and political environment in which they must work. Whilst seeking to supply individualized attention bundles they have to guarantee that it ‘s effectual in regard to cost. Besides there is turning acknowledgment that a figure of minority groups may be excluded from accessing services such as Social Work services and, besides those services which have antecedently non been provided in culturally appropriate ways. ( Making ends meet, 2010 ) Appropriate stairss will hence necessitate to be taken to implement anti prejudiced pattern and anti oppressive pattern, when sing how to supply aid in accessing services for minority groups.

The COS rapidly found that more than fiscal assistance was needed to assist paupers. Emotional and other practical aid was besides required, for illustration aid with finding employment. COS voluntaries were trained to offer such extra aid and, hence, the formal preparation offered by COS can be seen as the precursor of modern societal work preparation and makings. They adopted an attack which attempted to analyze the job. Working with the person and household to assist them accomplish a permanent solution so all could be kept in their familiar environments. This attack was really clip consuming, and the attack the worker took to look into the person was really obnoxious.

This attack is the footing of the current Social Work casework attack which is now extremely criticised. Holman ( 1993 ) suggests that the casework attack merely masks societal and political duties in person ‘s lives, hence assisting to keep their state of affairs. There are now other attacks that focus on cut downing inequality. Which investigate the societal and political grounds every bit good as the person ‘s as to why they are in poorness. A new pronunciamento for Social Work now highlights the demand to utilize a aggregation of attacks as the demand to battle poorness and favoritism is greater than of all time.

Many who tried to utilize the COS principles found it hard to ignore persons who needed aid. Other attacks were recently introduced to assist more persons. The Settlement House Movement ( 1884 ) was one of these. Its rules focused on university voluntaries working with the hapless in their trim clip, offering instruction. Its purpose was to accomplish common regard between the categories. This attack focused on authorising the hapless, assisting them to assist themselves. Society besides benefitted from this theoretical account. It focused on a more structured analysis of poorness and its impact on human behavior by rehearsing intercessions at a community degree. This is needed now to assist little communities and the persons within it. The nature of societal work pattern so changed and focused on persons. A important component was hearing client ‘s voices and the uncomparable cognition of the professionals working with them to assist whichever manner they could. ( Adams et al, 2009 )

Using these theoretical accounts the Government laid the footing of the hereafter societal services. The major concern being that all countries should be given the same services. These new services were provided off from The Poor Law to hedge the association. Current Social Work still has its incompatibilities, nevertheless the White Paper Tackling Health Inequalities Programme of Action ( Department of Health, 2003 ) , focuses on a figure of ways to equalize entree to healthcare, for illustration working with people who face overlapping wellness jobs for case older people who have ill wellness and are in poorness. Social Workers are concentrating on secondary bar, as this type of bar can impact more persons.

A major study produced sing the public assistance of persons was the Beveridge Report ( Department of Health, 1942 ) . This study focused on how Britain could be rebuilt after the war. In 1945 labor was elected and promised to present a public assistance province. The public assistance province involved presenting new services. These included the National Health Services and Housing Acts. The public assistance province was produced to promote the proviso of services for the populace. ( Laybourn, 1995 )

Glasby ( 2005 ) looked at old reforms and how the hereafter would be in big societal attention. It evaluated all of import studies to see how societal work could be improved. One study that wedged policy and pattern during the 1960 ‘s was the Seebohm study ( 1968 ) . This study highlighted the jobs of poorness and was tasked to reexamine the administration and duties of the Local Authority Social Services in England every bit good as to see what alterations were desirable to procure an effectual household service. ( Seebohm, 1968, pg11. ) Prior to this study Social Work was spread across assorted Local Authorities and different Government subdivisions. This caused insufficiencies in the quality of proviso. Access was really hard. For illustration, scope and quality of proviso of services were inconsistent besides the Seebohm Report highlighted a hapless coordination of information between these services. The study recommended “ a new Local Authority section supplying a community based and household orientated service, which would be available for all ” . When this recommendation was brought into action new Social Services Departments were formed. The Seebohm Report did highlight potency jobs. It stated that holding separate sections for kids and grownups might later do it hard to handle the household ‘s demands as a whole.

The Barclay Report ( 1982 ) looked into the function of a societal worker. In its gap line it stated that excessively much was expected of societal workers. It found that it was a profession that was confused about its function and because of intense media examination was fighting with work burden. It found that there was an on-going demand for societal workers to carry through many maps including advancing community webs, working with other services and moving as an advocator for clients. The study did knock societal work sections for “ taking a reactive stance towards societal jobs, covering with those demands which are forced upon their attending but neglecting to develop overall programs which link the voluntary, statutory and private services in an country into a coherent program ” which is still a job today. ( Department of Health, 1982, pg.38 ) Social Services Departments find it hard to assist every demand as they do n’t hold illimitable resources. They need to utilize other services and work with them closely, the aid of Interprofessional instruction will guarantee that other professionals have an apprehension of societal workers ‘ functions. The Barclay Report produced really similar recommendations to that of the Seebohm Report ( 1968 ) . Although it highlighted that the community attack may hold more success now, as there is a greater capacity for persons to be more independent and do their ain determinations. The community attack focuses on the local community and societal workers would detect persons in the context of their community. This attack uses local Centres and pools resources, making less impact on the Social Work services so their resources can be spread further.

Reports such as these have highlighted how of import good societal work is, and how much it is needed. There are many jobs involved in the profession. There is still stigma attached to the term service user merely as there was to the term pauper. Whilst researching the different Acts of the Apostless and public assistance political orientations that have been introduced throughout the timeline I have used ( see paragraph one, page one ) I have found that persons still have jobs accessing aid. There are households who still may be disinclined to inquire for aid because of the stigma of making so. New attacks have introduced service user engagement by inquiring them what help they want and specifying the quality of aid they receive. A recent study by Beresford, Shamash, Forrest and Turner ( 2007 ) researched service users ‘ future vision for grownup services. They found that the procedure of accessing societal attention was often negative for service users furthermore the appraisals were really dependent on the quality of the staff transporting it out. All societal workers should work to one high criterion. It should n’t be a lottery of if you get a good one or non. A cosmopolitan tool could be implemented so that all service users were asked the same inquiries and could foreground their specific jobs and demands whilst utilizing the tool. Service users besides highlighted the fact that entree to their societal worker was low and many of the service users questioned had spreads in their services doing them experience insecure.

Reports researched for this assignment have all found that service users know what they want and can easy foreground the jobs they face or have had antecedently. One study found that while public assistance bureaucratism has been condemned by authoritiess for a long piece, service users still place jobs ( Determining Our Lifes, 2007 ) . There is still societal exclusion. Social Services Departments may lend to it as they help persons merely plenty, happening the quickest manner to assist them non needfully the best manner in the long tally because of finite resources. Using different attacks, for illustration the community attack would assist at different degrees so less accent is on Social Services Departments resources. Huge betterments are still needed. For illustration kid poorness is acquiring worst. The Report Monitoring poorness and societal exclusion ( 2009 ) found that kids who live in low-income families, where at least one grownup plants, is at the highest it has of all time been. This addition has affected the Governments kid poorness marks. The recession affected making the marks greatly. It is critical now to retrieve from the recession but besides to retrieve from underlying jobs that were at that place antecedently before the economic downswing began.

Reports like Determining Our Lifes ( 2007 ) found that service users feel more responsible and confident about the aid they are having when they have been more involved in the determination processes. A study by Beresford et Al, ( 2007 ) found that service users would wish a watchdog with a board of service users and professionals so they could be involved in judging the quality of attention they receive.

The Race Equality Act ( 2006 ) sets the context for anti- discriminatory pattern within which societal workers operate. However, whilst it could be critiqued that some advancement has been made as a consequence with regard to those of different civilization and faith, go oning inequalities would propose much more advancement remains to be made.

To reason societal work has changed significantly and come on to assist all persons demands to go on. However as a profession it needs a larger voice to speak about the jobs they face hence acquiring excess aid to guarantee that service users and paupers have even fewer similarities. There has been a great displacement from pauper to service user. Service users have much more freedom and rights now. Albeit there are still similarities which need to be focused on to better the services available. Social Service Departments besides need to decline to allow policies be imposed when they do n’t better on what is already implemented. Rights are now profiting service users but we need to guarantee this continues.