9. Sophie: The future of social work?
Description
When I spoke to Sophie I thought I was hearing the future of social work. Sophie is a social worker who was part of Neighbourhood Cares St Ives, a social care pilot developed by Cambridgeshire County Council. The pilot finishes in 2019. Inspired by Buurtzorg, she explains the differences in working within a different context, within social care legislation and public funding. The team is made up of social workers and social care practitioners and they deliver relationship centred care. A radical concept - no case is every closed. The team was available to anyone over 18, replacing the long term social care functions, and with a strong focus on prevention, not just at the point of crisis. Sophie describes in detail how their self-managed team works in practice. She talks about autonomy and social support for team members. Could this be the future of wellbeing for social workers as well as people supported?.
Sophie says; "It allowed me to be the social worker that I wanted to be.".
United States
