Dr Marian Foley

Contemporary Social Work practice

 National Health Service and Community Care Act
1990
 Major transfer of funding from central to local
government
 Introduced concept of enabling local authority
 Shift from institutional care to community care
 Care management approach
 Mixed economy of care
Mental Health Services
 1961 Enoch Powell Speech – closing asylums
 From that point the number of people in hospitals
dropped
 1980s onwards community care took hold
 Long stay patients moved into community provision
 Mental health SW now based in multi-disciplinary
CMHT
 Shift from approved SW to AMHP role
The Children Act 1989
 One of the most extensive reforms to child care law
 Preceding by concerns that greater resources should go
into keeping children with their families.
 ‘Messages from research’
 1980s, growing recognition of child maltreatment
particularly sexual abuse
 A number of child deaths
 1987 (Cleveland) over intrusive intervention
Children
 Victoria Climbié
 Born on 2 November 1991
and died on 25 February
2000
 128 separate injuries
 Inquiry Report 2003
 ECM
 Children Act 2004
Baby P
 Peter Connolly
 Born 1 March 2006
 Died 3 August 2007
 SW task force
established
 Munro review of child
protection
Current context
 Substantial increase in care proceedings initiated by
Local authorities
 Increased number of children coming into care
 Increased number of children subject to child
protection plans
 Pressure on SW, residential care providers and foster
care provision
Social Work Reform
 Social work becomes a protected title

 Greater regulation of the profession

 Registration of SW

 Generic Qualification (different qualifying routes)

Current situation
 Munro recommendations not implemented
 David Croisdale-Appleby review, supportive of SW
 Generic qualification followed by specialism in
practice
 Narey report – critical of quality of SW training
In conclusion
 The contemporary picture is influenced by:
 Outsourcing of services to the private and voluntary
sector
 Increased pressure on children’s Services
 Attempts to privatise child protection
 Impact of austerity measures
 Continued debate over the role and training of SW