Current Issues in Social Work Essay Example

Current Issues in Social Work Essay Example Current Issues in Social Work Essay Current Issues in Social Work Essay Web). They were bviously dismissed due to the failings of the care of a toddler. The two social workers never appeared at the Employment Appeal Tribunal in central London, therefore the Judge Mr. Justice Wilkie declared that their appeal was dismissed. Christou and Ward were both sacked as soon as it was discovered that there was a period of time in mid-2007 that they didnt know the whereabouts of young Peter. Ward also failed to see Peter once every fourteen days. Both social workers were suspended by a General Social Care Council disciplinary committee in 2010. Ward got a two month suspension while Christou got a four month suspension. These women also admitted to failing to ensure the safety of young Peter. They also admitted that they didnt visit him enough, they said they didnt keep accurate records and they lost track of him for some time. Not only did the two social workers receive disciplinary action, but Peters mother Tracey Connelly, her boyfriend Steven Barker, and his brother Jason Owen were Jailed in May 2009 for causing or allowing the boys death (The Huffington Post 13K, Web). Tracey Connelly was sentenced toa minimum of five years for the death of her son. She was first eligible for parole in August of 2012. The board didnt release her. Connelly did confess that she caused and allowed the death of Peter. She admitted this soon after being charged and served several hundred days in prison. The board relooked her case for a second time and came to the conclusion that Connelly will now remain on parole for the rest of her life and if she breaches any of the conditions, she will probably be recalled to custody. There have been reports saying that Connelly will be given a new name and hairstyle so she can live namelessly amongst the public world. She will not have a full new identity (The Independent, Web). Tracey Connellys ex-lover, Steven Barker, was also Jailed for he death of Peter. He was the one that beat him to his death. Barker was sentenced to life in prison. He was sentenced to a minimum often years for the rape of a two year old girl. He was given a minimum of twelve years for the death of Peter. The term will run concurrently (The Independent, Web). Working as a social worker there is a 100% certainty that there will be many case overloads that will have to be dealt with. It will be a lot of work, but thats the Job that is being taken on. Overload can cause stress and overly long hours. These long hours can make the Job much harder. Visiting a case gets complicated. The mind gets stress and does not pay much attention to detail. When this happens a case can be ignored. Something can happen like in the Case of Baby P. When something happens like this then the social worker can get Jail time, fired, or sued. A social worker can get sued for many reasons. They can get sued for incorrect treatment, sexual impropriety, breach of confidence and privacy, failure of diagnosis, incorrect diagnosis, suicide of patient, improper referral, loss of evaluation, violation of civil rights, etc Just one mistake can lead to a law suit. Getting sued is not a good thing. It can take a lot of time and money. This can also make someone lose their Jobs. Any social worker can get sued if they dont keep a close eye on things. Along with case over loads and getting sued a social worker can get emotional effects. There is so much pressure in the field of social work. The pressure affecting the emotional wellbeing. According to a survey by BASW The College of Social Work last year, two-thirds of social workers said the Job caused them emotional or mental instability and Just under half said they had taken time off due to stress( News and Features Ltd,Web). The work caused stress as was discussed earlier this causes emotional problems. Being in situations where someone dies in a case you are working on can also cause some emotional instability. Imagine being the person in charge of someone that has died and living with it. There are many things in the field of social work that can cause an emotional breakdown. Joe Lepper was dealing with a tough abuse case, his problems started soon after. He stumbled upon hard times with this case because he started to get death threats from the childs father. Joe had a painful childhood, and these threats he received made him think of those memories of childhood. Joe soon became infatuated with the childs dilemma. Because of his obsession with this one case all of his other cases became unimportant. His casework began to slip. He started to feel resentment among his fellow childrens social work colleagues. His obsession also made it so that the promotion he had been working towards slipped away from him. This is the promotion he had wanted for so long and he Just let it slip through his fingers. As a result Joe started drinking to help him handle his grief. His drinking soon caused his marriage to fall apart. He got to the point where he was unable to so his Job suitably. He had become discouraged. He became emotionally unstable, and he was signed off on a long-term sick leave. Joe had suffered from a stress related burnout. It tweaked with his emotions ( News and Features Ltd,Web). Another issue a social worker may have is social lives interrupting work lives. An example of this is a clients child and the social workers child could attend the same school. Both the client and the social worker must attend the same meetings held at the school. As a professional the social worker isnt comfortable with being at the meetings when the client is there. The social worker may not be able to vocalize ideas due to fear of losing the client ecause of different viewpoints. There are boundary issues with the relationship, and as a professional the social worker must protect those boundaries. Social workers should not engage in dual or multiple relationships with clients or former clients in which there are risks of exploitation or potential harm to the client. In instances when dual or multiple relationships are unavoidable, social workers should take steps to protect clients and are responsible for setting clear, appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries (Dual Relationships and Boundary Management in Social Work Practice, Web). This means it would not be appropriate for the social worker to partake in the meetings with the client in presence. , The social worker would need to bring forth the boundary to guarantee that they understand why the social worker needs to separate his personal life and professional work. Social workers of all types have many issues. They take on a hard Job. Long hours, case overloads, emotions, and boundary management are all part of the Job. A social worker will need to be patient to get the Job done. They must be willing to work hard to excel in this field. A social worker must have a back bone.