social work and social workers

Report of the case management inquiry

This report outlines the findings of a case management inquiry into the way in which a young man was placed by the Adult Placement Service in a family where he then seriously abused two children. The inquiry considers events in the areas of: response to the need for an emergency placement; care planning; and the Social Services Directorate's policy and procedures. Failure of the Leaving Care Team to carry out a risk assessment or pass on information about previous incidents to the Adult Placement Service are highlighted. Recommendations are included.

Preventing offending by young people: a framework for action

Scottish Government publication aimed at preventing offending by young people. It outlines a shared ambition of what the government and its partners want to do to as national and local agencies to prevent, divert, manage and change offending behaviour by children and young people - and how they want to do it.

The framework is broad in its scope, spanning prevention, diversion, intervention and risk management, with reference to the individual, the family and the wider community. It reaches from pre-birth and early years to the transition to adult services.

SCIE Research briefing 31: Co-production: an emerging evidence base for adult social care transformation

The term ‘co-production’ is increasingly being applied to new types of public service delivery in the UK, including new approaches to adult social care. This briefing explains how staff should be encouraged to access co-productive initiatives, recognising and supporting diversity among the people who use services. And the importance of creating new structures, regulatory and commissioning practices and financial streams is necessary to embed co-production as a long-term rather than ad hoc solution.

Guide to strategic commissioning: taking a closer look at strategic commissioning in social work services

Guide intended to assist councils, working with key strategic partners, to evaluate their performance on the strategic commissioning of care and wider supports for adults, children and young people.

It should also assist councils to evaluate joint commissioning with partner agencies. Its use is not mandatory.

The guide is designed for use in all sectors of social work. It is not prescriptive, and it is for councils to decide how to use the material. However, it contains key questions to ask when evaluating performance on strategic commissioning.

Joint publication: Dementia - Supporting people with dementia and their carers in health and social care

Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE) feature on dementia, exploring the effective implementation of the SCIE / NICE Dementia guidelines. SCIE’s film aims to highlight the importance of social and health care working together to help people with dementia better manage their condition.

SCIE knowledge review 07: improving the use of research in social care practice

Evidence-based policy and practice increasingly demands the use of research as a key tool to improve practice. However, little research can be directly applied to practice, many practitioners aren't equipped to digest research and appropriate support systems are lacking. What is needed is a better understanding of the relationship between social care research and the work of social care practitioners, including what organisational structures are needed to enable the use of research.

SCIE Knowledge review 03: Types and quality of knowledge in social care

SCIE, in the formation of its good practice guidance for the social care sector seeks to include all relevant kinds of knowledge and strongly believes that it is only through looking at the sector from a whole perspective - including the views of service users and practitioners - that we can truly advise social care workers on what works best.