Direct work - social work with children and young people in care

Barry Luckock And Michelle Lefevre (eds)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 190566429X ISBN 13: 9781905664290

Publisher: British Association for Adoption and Fostering, 2008

Direct Work is for all social workers with responsibility for children and young people in the care system. It explores the commitment and skill involved in listening to, understanding and being there on a regular basis that, time and again, is demanded by young people of all ages living in care. It tackles the professional skills and techniques needed to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child, the emotional and psychological world of the child in care and the wide range of different settings for direct work with children.

Direct work with children and young people lies at the heart of effective social work. But what counts as direct work? Is it the undertaking of certain tasks with a child, or building a relationship that matters most? Is it more about what is done with a child or about how it is done? Is it a set of planned activities or spontaneous approaches? And what counts as effective communication, given the diversity of both children and practice roles and contexts?

This rich and comprehensive collection is divided into five sections covering direct work with children and young people in care; differing perspectives on the care experience; approaches to communication and engagement; direct work in context; and supporting the practitioner.

Direct Work includes contributions from a diverse range of practitioners, researchers and educators. They present a variety of perspectives on direct work, all illustrated with moving and imaginative examples. It offers invaluable guidance for all those working with children in the care system and will prove to be an essential text for students.

Review:

Direct Work provides the reader with reassurance, inspiration, challenge and new insights. --Renate Ruddock, Children's Guardian and play therapist, Seen and Heard