Key points
Having made an action plan, the social worker should now identify what services are available and make the necessary referrals. They should also plan how they will help the family and what they expect the family to do for themselves.
A plan must be completed in all cases where services are being provided. It should determine (in partnership with the family and other agencies) which services best meet the needs of the family and who is best placed to provide these services. A plan should be agreed with the family rather than imposed on them, and should be drawn up only after an assessment has been completed.
How to do it
The action plan should list
- objectives
- what will be done
- who will do it
- how frequently
- over what timescale, and
- indicators for success.
Where children are to remain at home, any service provision must be designed to build on the parents own capacity to meet their needs. The services offered must meet the needs of the child and family, based on an understanding of any issues of race, religion, culture, gender or disability.
Lessons from research
South Asian families feel that family stress and breakdown, linked to factors such as unemployment, poverty, poor housing and poor daycare, are more common than many professionals realise. But most families would first seek help from their families, because asking for help from social services is seen as embarrassing and stigmatising, or they may be unaware of what help is on offer. Those who do ask for help often feel let down. Sometimes reception staff are unhelpful or unwelcoming, or there may be language barriers, or it may be difficult to get a social worker. However, when social workers make an effort this is appreciated.
Home-based support programmes, which include child and parent activities and focus on parenting skills, are most valued by black and minority-ethnic families. Workers from the same background may be viewed with ambivalence, especially when they are involved in significant harm enquiries.
Chand A and Thoburn J: Research Review: Child and family support services with minority ethnic families: what can be learned from research? in Child and Family Social Work, Vol 10, 2 (2005)
July 2009
