Law and Social Policy

Law and Social Policy

Law and Social Policy

Introduction

This paper discusses and explores case study in order to find the powers and duties a social worker acting in a statutory capacity might exercise in these cases, how might they be exercised and how might wider principles of welfare law impact on their decision making? It also analyses the tensions and dilemmas that may exist, referring to specific legislative provisions, and identify how anti-oppressive practice might influence the resolution of these case studies. It also demonstrates an ability to study relevant law in social work practice and have a critical and analytical understanding of the service delivery standards and powers and duties of social workers, demonstrate a working knowledge and understanding of key areas of welfare law that are significant to service users analyses the tensions and dilemmas that arise in the implication of the law in social work practice and be able to demonstrate a commitment to the anti-oppressive practice of social work law.

This paper is focused on Case Study of Matthews and Williams Family. John Matthews have three children, Terri (20), Ali (15) and Peter (14). Ali is accommodated by the local authority and has been placed with foster cares. She has come in and out of foster care for the past four years, as plans to restore her to the care of her parent's founder due to mutual ambivalence. Indeed there is persisting uncertainty about her care and contact (pathway) plan following the recent decision of the foster cares to ask for her to be 'moved on' when she reaches 16 years in three months time. Peter, who still lives at home with his parents, has a profound learning disability and has a social worker in the disability team in children's services.

Duties and Powers to Support Social Work

A family becomes a family when two or more individuals have decided they are a family, that in the intimate, here-and-now environment in which they gather, there is a sharing of emotional needs for closeness, of living space which is deemed “home,” and of those roles and tasks necessary for meeting the biological, social and psychological requirements of the individuals involved.

Promoting Child and Family Well-Being

To aid Matthews and Williams Family in our understanding of what Matthews Family and children need to thrive in our society, we have developed a framework of needs and resources for Matthews family and child well-being. The framework is organized as a triangle depicting the three interrelated aspects of child and family wellbeing:

What Matthew's children need for their optimal Development,

What Matthews and Williams Family need to survive and fulfill their functions successfully, and

The neighborhood, community, and environmental resources that Matthews and Williams Family and their children require.

At the center of the model is the overall goal for family-centered social work practice: safeguarding and promoting the well-being and Welfare Law of children and their families. We will refer to this framework throughout the case study, so as to highlight key points about Matthew's child and ...