Webinar: Social Work not Paperwork - Cutting Bureaucracy in Childcare Social Work
This is the first of our webinars, by Carolyn Ewart, Manager, NIASW discussing the results of the survey, Social Work not Paperwork - Cutting Bureaucracy in Childcare Social Work.
The report is divided into six sections: Social workers go the extra mile; social workers want to make a difference; social workers tell it like it is; social workers value team work; social workers value people; and what NIASW will does next. The report also includes a case study of how a team worked together successfully to identify a problem which affected service users and their staff, and resulted in 100% reduction of unallocated referrals.
The results also include nine recommendations:
1. Further research is required by NIASW to examine which areas of childcare practice require social workers to work regular additional hours each week.
2. Employers should ensure they utilise the caseload weighting system which is used throughout children's services and ensure that it is audited regularly.
3. The DHSSPSNI, as part of the 10 Year Strategy for Social Work, should lead on a review of the recording requirements and practices in childcare with a view to significantly reducing unnecessary bureaucracy for social workers.
4. Employers should examine the availability and role of administrative support for social workers.
5. The Health and Social Care Board should commission a review of child contact arrangements and specifically the use of professionally qualified social workers time to organise, transport and supervise lower risk cases.
6. DHSSPSNI, as part of their 10 Year Social Work Strategy, should explore practical ways to reduce bureaucracy and administration in childcare without sacrificing quality of assessments and case work undertaken by social workers.
7. DHSSPSNI, as part of the 10 Year Social Work Strategy, should examine the use of information technology across the geographical locations and sectors to identify ways in which information technology could be used to reduce the administration requirements experienced by social workers.
8. The Health and Social Care Board should examine ways to reduce duplication in recording, including duplicate form filling and ways to streamline information sharing across professionals and agencies by using a central information system.
9. DHSSPSNI and Employers should identify good practice in time management and planning and ensure this is shared regionally.
Social Work Not Paperwork - Cutting Bureaucracy in Childcare Social Work