Publications from ODSW Social Insights: Letters by DSW (Vol 1) | Page 22

Refreshed Opportunity for Social Workers

However, as we move towards greater integration of health and social care
with a focus on prevention and well being to reduce demand for more
intensive services, we have a unique opportunity to reposition our leadership
role and contributor role to program design, service delivery and evaluation.
As social work becomes more active in the new environment, it must continue
to play its role in advocating earlier intervention, building resilience, reducing
and delaying dependency and ensuring people have all the information and
enabling support that they need for better self-care.

Support from employers
Social work will flourish with the help of employers. Social workers in the future
will increasingly be located in a range of organisations and contexts. They will
also be found in the nexus of traditional social services and implementation
of policies and program design. There will be opportunities for social workers
to shape the social care market and enable co-production of services with
individuals, groups and communities.
With the setting up of more ground agencies that focus on the needs of
communities, social workers will be able to work collaboratively and
innovatively with local communities to support community capacity,
personal and family resilience, earlier intervention and active citizenship.
The opportunity for developing community work practice has opened up.
Social workers can respond to the goal of working alongside local people to
develop their problem solving capacity, mobilise resources for the good of
the more vulnerable and develop local leadership which is core to community
development.
To play its role with some impact, social workers seek the support of
employers to create the conditions which allow quality social work to flourish.
These include strong operational management of social work practice,
professional leadership at all levels, clarity about roles and priorities f or social
work and opportunities for career advancement and continuing professional
development. Wherever social workers are on the staff, the infrastructure
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