HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE - ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

Health and social care - Alternative Medicine

Health and social care - Alternative Medicine

Introduction

Foster carers are in a difficult position. On one hand they are expected to welcome and love a child as their own, yet they often do not feel the same authority to engage with foster children as they do with their birth children. They are the front-line workers, sometimes the most consistent person in a child's life, yet, frequently, decisions by foster carers are questioned and scrutinized by social workers. This mixed message can cause frustration and a sense of helplessness in dealing with vulnerable and challenging children. A practice model whereby foster carers' strengths and skills are not only acknowledged but also assumed could be a way to support carers better, improve relationships between carers and the agencies they work for, and create more job satisfaction, thus improving retention for local authorities (Thomson & McArthur, 2009). In turn, this preserves a resource in the form of current carers and creates opportunities for the development of other resources, addressing the seemingly constant need in public social services to do more with less. The difference between traditional approaches to social work and strengths based practice might be seen as the difference between the red-topped tabloids and the papers that take a more considered approach to the news. The tabloids strike a certain nerve and we are sometimes attracted to their headlines. Perhaps there is some element of comfort in knowing that the hardships of others, luridly displayed, are not our own. We should not make the same mistake in social work practice. We must acknowledge the complexity and resilience of people and of life, and thus encourage more of the same.

This paper will seek to analyse the current literature and Governmental guidance to identify and clarify the rationale for foster carers needing to complete the Children's Workforce Development Council workbook in a specified timescale. In addition, the paper will also evaluate current practice in relation to the completion of the Children's Workforce Development Council's impact on children while providing recommendations for change and reflect on how this project has impacted on personal and professional development.

Discussion & Analyses

The fact that the carers' first language was not English may have contributed to the scepticism of the social work team. Discussions about the level of emotion and expression of emotion during the introductions process may have contained shades of meaning that were misinterpreted on both sides. One limitation of the strengths approach is that it does not directly address the issue of cross-cultural communication. However, rather than doubt the abilities of foster carers who speak English as a second (or third or fourth) language, perhaps the issue can be seen in context as a communication problem rather than a deficit in practice. In local authorities with diverse populations, ways to communicate with a diverse population of foster carers will have to be improved (Ogilvie, Kirton & Beecham, 2006). The strengths approach may be seen as ...