Social Workers
The title social worker is currently used to describe a variety of people employed in the public, private and voluntary sectors. There are great differences in the level of professional training and the type of work undertaken.
The biggest employers of professionally qualified social workers are local authority Social Services Departments. The social workers may be based in fieldwork offices or in hospital. Some specialise in areas of work such as learning disabilities, mental health, physical disabilities, childcare and hearing and sight impairment.
Social workers carry out assessments on disabled people to determine the level of care needed at home or the requirement for day care or residential services. These assessments will include information about the client’s ability to do day-to-day tasks and to perform personal care. The social workers may work closely with occupational therapists that are employed on the social work team by the same local authority.
Residential social workers and day care workers are employed in residential settings and day care centres. A care co-ordinator may have specific responsibility for a particular client. Many are very experienced in their field of care but are not professionally qualified. They usually have detailed first hand knowledge of a client’s disability and day-to-day functioning.
Reports from Social Workers
In those clients with disabilities who have undergone a formal assessment to determine the level of help which they need in their own homes or other residential settings the social worker can provide useful knowledge in determining benefit entitlement.
Some of the information will relate to activities such as the ability to shop or clean the home, which are not relevant to entitlement. In those with more severe disabilities evidence pertaining to personal care may be available.
Residential social workers will be able to give detailed information about care, including at night, similar to that provided by other relatives or carers living in the home.
