Why_Is_the_Law_so_Important_in_Social_Work_

Why is the law so important in social work' When the new degree in social work was being planned, all four countries in the UK outlined an understanding of the law as being a required part of the course. It is now more necessary than ever before that social workers understand the laws which are relevant to their own conduct and to service users. They must also possess the skills to use those laws for the benefit of the service user and society as a whole. In this essay I will explain why the law and social workers having an understanding of it, is such an important part of social work, in both theory and practise. The most important function the law provides is to be a framework that supports and provides boundaries for those people who work within it. Even if a social worker may disagree with some aspects of legislation, they still have the safety of the knowledge that if they abide by the principles and guidelines set out before them in both the law and the General Social Care Council Codes of Practise, they are practising safely and lawfully: If practitioners enter situations and engage with service users without adequate knowledge of how to proceed lawfully, they deny service users access to an empowering resource, and equally open up themselves and their employing agencies to liability for negligence. (Braye and Preston-Shoot et al 2006: 8) Social workers have to account for everything they do (and indeed do not do) to managers, the public, and the government and very often, especially when dealing with children, to courts of law. Therefore it is very important for a social worker to remember that the law is in place as much to protect them themselves as it is to protect the service user. Without the law, power and decision making processes would be left to groups or individuals, which would leave too much room for disagreement, conflicts of values and beliefs and massive margins for error. Many laws and Acts that are put into place exist because certain groups of people are not adequately catered for well enough by older more conventional laws, or because with sociological progress and change, new groups, with new needs are distinguished and acknowledged. Understanding and to an extent, learning the fundamentals of these Acts and laws, is beneficial to both the social worker and the service user. It enables the social worker to use the law to empower the service user, by explaining their legal rights, and allaying fears that may arise from the service user being misinformed, or making uneducated guesses about a situation. Even something as simple as explaining to divorced parents that under the law: More than one person may have parental responsibility for the same child at the same time. (The Children Act 1989, Section 2, Subsection 5) Could inform and comfort them in the knowledge that they are still a parent in their own right. Similarly a quote from the same section of legislation: The fact that a person has parental responsibility for a child shall not entitle him to act in any way which would be incompatible with any order made with respect to the child under this Act. (The Children Act 1989, Section 2, Subsection 8) Could simply and effectively illustrate to a child just one of the ways in which they are protected by the law. Hugh Brayne and Helen Carr state that by understanding the law, social workers can be: …more effective in harnessing the lawyer and the lawyer’s toolkit to achieve better outcomes for the service user (2005:9) It is surprising how relatively recently a lot of the laws that affect social work have been introduced and implemented. It was not until the mid 1960’s for instance that race discrimination laws were introduced, and it was even later in the mid 1970’s that sex discrimination laws were put into place. It was even later than that, in 1989 in fact, when the first clear and substantial child legislation was set out in The Children Act 1989. Neil Thompson suggests that the introduction of newer legislation in Britain coincided with changes in thinking: The influence of sociological thinking had the effect of producing a more critical and politically aware social work with a stronger emphasis on social structure, deprivation and inequality. (2006:5) This idea would suggest that the law and the improvements and progressions that are made within it can be a part of helping social workers see the bigger picture; that it can help with an understanding of different social groups and their needs. It can be all too easy for a social worker to treat a service user simply as the individual that they see in front of them. An understanding of the law can widen the social worker’s perspective and make them more aware of the bigger sociological issues, like discrimination because of race, sex or disability that may be important contributory factors to the service user’s situation. Braye and Preston-Shoot et al suggest that with new emphasis put on social workers learning the law, it isn’t just learning the law in theory that is important, but that: …more needs to be done to maximise the benefit of learning about law in practice (2006:4) They also state that: …the failure to carry law learning into placement represents a major missed opportunity to consolidate, reinforce and extend understanding of this aspect of the curriculum. (2006:11) In conclusion, it is obvious that the role of a social worker could not be performed and fulfilled without the protection and instruction that the law provides. Legislators have an incredibly difficult job to do. Ideals, both political and sociological are changing all the time and the law must try to represent the values of the majority, whilst taking into account the needs of the minority. This of course must then be translated by the social worker and used with the individual. Although a social worker does not need to study the law in detail and does not need to understand all of its many facets, a good appreciation of the law and even in some cases its origins can help a social worker provide a safe, responsible and well rounded level of service. Bibliography Braye, Suzy/ Preston-Shoot, Michael and Thorpe, Amanda (2006) Social Work Law in Practise http://www.swap.ac.uk/docs/reports/Social%20Work%20Law%20Report.pdf Brayne, Hugh and Carr, Helen (2005) Law for Social Workers (Ninth Edition) Oxford University Press New York Thompson, Neil (2006) Anti-Discriminatory Practise (Fourth Edition) Palgrave Macmillan Basingstoke, New York