What is Social Care?
Some definitions
Social care is "a profession committed to the planning and delivery of quality care and other support services for individuals and groups with identified needs" (Irish Association of Social Care Educators).
"Social care is the professional provision of care, protection, support, welfare and advocacy for vulnerable or dependent clients, individually or in groups. This is achieved through the planning and evaluation of individualised and group programmes of care, which are based on needs, identified in consultation with the client and delivered through day-to-day shared life experiences" (Joint Committee of Social Care Professionals, 2002).
Residential child care work is "an intense, dynamic and humanistic endeavour in which practitioners need to build close but appropriately boundaried relationships with young people and to purposefully use these to enhance growth and development. It requires a sophisticated understanding of self to deal with a range of sensitive and potentially volatile situations as they arise in the moment" Mark Smith, University of Strathclyde, 2003.
The issue of defining social care is considered at length in Chapter one of Share, P. & Lalor, K. (Eds.) (2009). Applied Social Care. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan.
We can synthsise the definitions from various sources and propose the following description of social care work:
"Social care workers plan and provide professional individual or group care to clients with personal and social needs. Client groups are varied and include children and adolescents in residential care; young people in detention schools; people with intellectual or physical disabilities; people who are homeless; people with alcohol/drug dependency; families in the community; or older people. Social care workers strive to support, protect, guide and advocate on behalf of clients. Social care work is based on interpersonal relationships which require empathy, strong communication skills, self awareness and an ability to use critical reflection. Teamwork and interdisciplinary work are also important in social care practice.
The core principles underpinning social care work are similar to those of other helping professions, and they include respect for the dignity of clients; social justice; and empowerment of clients to achieve their full potential.
Social care practice differs from social work practice in that it uses shared life-space opportunities to meet the physical, social and emotional needs of clients. Social care work uses strengths-based, needs-led approaches to mediate clients’ presenting problems.
Social care workers are trained, inter alia, in life span development, parenting, attachment & loss, interpersonal communication and behaviour management. Their training equips them to optimise the personal and social development of those with whom they work. In Ireland, the recognised qualification is a 3-year Level 7 degree. In Europe, social care work is usually referred to as social pedagogy and social care workers as social pedagogues."
What do social care workers do?
Social care is a profession characterised by working with marginalised or disadvantaged people in a caring, compassionate way. Graduates may work with children and adolescents in residential child care, people with learning disabilities, the homeless, people with alcohol/drug dependency, families in the community, the aged, asylum seekers/refugees and so on.
How do I become a social care worker?
A social care practitioner has academic qualities consisting of a broad knowledge base in their field, research skills and a problem-solving approach to their work. However, in addition to academic qualifications, certain personal characteristics are desirable due to the interpersonal nature of social care work. For example,
reliability and trustworthiness
altruism (a desire to work with, and help, other people)
compassion (an understanding and sensitivity to what motivates peoples' behaviour, particularly in difficult circumstances)
maturity (students should have the potential to become responsible, calm professionals, comfortable as role-models for their client).
The professional qualification is a 3 year BA (Ord.) (formerly, Diploma). Many qualified practitioners go on to complete an Honours Degree in the field, and some may progress to postgraduate qualifications. As undergraduates, students study a wide range of subjects, including
psychology
sociology and social policy
legal studies
principles of professional practice
creative skills (art, drama, music)
A key element of studying to be a professional social care worker is involvement in a number of supervised work placements, in a variety of social care settings throughout their time in college.
Employment opportunities?
Employment opportunities for qualified social care graduates are very good. Social care graduates may be employed in either the state (statutory) sector - usually the Department of Health and Children or the Department of Education - or the voluntary sector.
Salary scales (in 2011) for qualified social care workers are €33,325-€44,306 plus allowances. Salary scales for social care leaders are €44,063-€51,650 plus allowances. Salary scales for social care managers are €53,464-€61,321.
What's the difference between a social care worker and a social worker?
A social care practitioner will typically work in a direct person-to-person capacity with clients. He or she will seek to provide a caring, stable environment in which various social, educational and relationship interventions can take place in the day-to-day living space of the client. The social worker's role, on the other hand, is to manage the 'case', for example by arranging the residential child care placement in which a child is placed, co-ordinating case review meetings, negotiating the termination of a placement and responding to child protection concerns in a given area.
