Evidence Based Practice in Wales

The Children & Families (Wales) Measure 2010 "requires each local authority in Wales to appoint a family social work standards officer, to champion evidence-based social work practice."


The legislation states:

A local authority must designate an officer of the authority (to be known as the “family social work standards officer”) as having responsibility for the following matters in relation to social work conducted by or on behalf of the authority in connection with children and persons who care for children—

(a) raising standards in social work practice;
(b) raising awareness of relevant research evidence amongst persons engaged in social work;
(c) promoting adaptation of social work practice in the light of relevant research evidence


That seems like a definite step in the right direction.  It's nice to see legislation specifying that social workers need to change their practice "in the light of relevant research evidence".  However, with funding cuts and the already stretched workload of social workers, will there be any time or money for local authorities to do anything but pay lip-service to this role?


http://www.ccinform.co.uk/blogs/whats-new-on-inform/2010/05/legislation-update-8.html


http://www.legislation.gov.uk/mwa/2010/1/part/4/crossheading/family-social-work-standards-officers

The blog begins...

So, this is the blog that is supposed to help me get through my social work degree.  Active-learning is best, apparently, so the plan is to blog my way into understanding and remembering as much social work theory as is blogger-ly possible.

The other aim of the blog is to keep me focussed on evidence-based practice.  Social Work may not be an exact science, but using research to show what it is that works and gives the best outcomes seems to be a bit lacking from the general atmosphere of social work from what I've seen so far.  I don't want to be carried along in a river of social wishy-washy-ness and forget the need for critical thinking (in a true, scientific method sense).