social services

A summary of legiation.

Report that sets out a summary of progress at the mid-point in the implementation of seven Social Work Practice (SWP) pilots with adults. The programme was sponsored by the Department of Health (DH), managed through the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), and has been actively supported through a Project Support Group by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), the College of Social Work, the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), Skills for Care and the Local Government Association (LGA).

The strategy describes how a collaboration between Scottish Government, the NHS Education for Scotland, the Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services, the Imporovement Service for Local Government, the Scottish Social Services Council and the Association of Directors of Social Work will improve outcomes through putting new knowledge into practice.

Key points from the report include: * the high level of workforce growth which was seen in the sector between the mid-90s and 2005/6 has slowed for the second year running with the social services workforce growing by around 1,000 people, representing 0.5% growth * the private sector employed an extra 2,000 staff increasing its overall share and making it the largest employer in the sector with 40% of the workforce * the public sector employs 34% of the total social care workforce * 69.5% of the private workforce is employed in care homes for adults.

Community Care guide to the social work profession, examining what social workers do, how someone becomes a social worker, regulation of practice, the social care register and how social work services are organised. It also contains some common questions about social workers and contacts for key social work agencies.

This report aims to explore the contribution that occupational therapy makes to social work services and the profession’s potential contribution to the government’s vision for Scotland. It identifies best practice and opportunities to improve the provision and quality of occupational therapy within social work services.

Assessment primarily developed using Scottish data compiled by Skills for Care and Development, using a range of key data sources, including the Labour Force Survey (LFS), the Scottish Employers Skills Survey and the Care Commission‟s annual returns. A series of focus groups and strategic interviews was held during 2009/10 to ascertain the views of stakeholders on the current and future skills needs of the sector in Scotland.

Wendy Harrington, Professional Development Manager with the Association of Directors of Social Work, speaks about personalisation and community capacity building in Scotland. This talk was delivered at Personalisation and Community Capacity, a joint seminar and workshop by the Perth and Kinross Council and University of Stirling Partnership. It was held at the University of Stirling on 4 December 2009.

This report presents the findings from the evaluation of the Targeted Youth Support Pathfinders (TYSPs). The policy was developed by the Department for Children, Schools and Families to ensure that young people in need of support receive a genuinely personalised package of support, at the earliest possible opportunity. The evaluation was designed to capture the impact of the service reforms at the level of infrastructure, professional working practices, individual young people and overall outcomes.