Highly Specialist Social Worker

Job responsibilities

Ensure an accurate comprehensive, holistic and up to date social history is available for each service user which offers complex formulations and recommendations.

Provide a highly skilled comprehensive assessment and social work service to people who have a Learning Disability and complex needs.

When it is part of an agreed care plan, focused casework with individual service users using a range of interventions.

Work in partnership with service users and carers to assess and identify their needs and achieve service provision which is outcome focused and enhances their quality of life, independence and social integration.

Contribute to planning and development of future services by providing complex analysis and information to assist the multi-disciplinary team.

In conjunction with the responsible Social Services Department or NHS Trusts, assist in the assessment of suitable after care placements working across professional boundaries.

Contribute to multi-disciplinary teams and participate with members to develop care plans in line with specialist risk assessments and needs, taking into account the family and social context, requiring the exchange of highly sensitive information.

Assist in co-ordination of care in the context of different legislation with other professionals within forensic services by sharing expert knowledge and understanding.

To produce complex reports to reflect needs of individual service users and issues of risk, sharing highly sensitive information to support intervention and formulation.

Engage with service users and families to ensure they are aware of legal rights.

Work in partnership with users and carers to meet social care needs within a range of complex needs which arise out of offending behaviour.

Utilise the Electronic Patient Record for inputting assessment data, record social work input to the care plan and transfer summaries which reflect the patients views.

With the service users permission, initiate visits and maintain contact with service users families and/or significant others, offering support, information and, where relevant to the care plan, joint family and service users sessions.

Take a leading role in promoting anti-discriminatory practice in a way that links the service users individual circumstances to the broader social, political, legal and cultural context.

Undertake the role of appropriate adult under PACE 1984;

Attend supervisory and staff meetings

Complete professional training and development after development including that relating to post qualification as appropriate

Ensure that service users have access to independent advice on financial, legal and advocacy matters.

Take a lead role in Advocacy for the specialist support team, providing training, delivery of policies and shaping the service to ensure advocacy is reflected throughout practice.

Take a leading role on child protection policies within the Specialist Support team ensuring effective collaboration with the wider health and social care community. This will involve the sharing of highly sensitive information with agencies, requiring tact and negotiation in agreeing appropriate action required.

Take a lead role in safeguarding children and vulnerable adults ensuring policies and procedures are in place within the SST and that service delivery compliments the wider health and social care community, linking with local safeguarding hubs, communicating highly sensitive information that requires tack and negotiation in agreeing appropriate action as necessary.

Take a lead role on policy, procedure and service delivery in terms of working with MAPPA, Victim Liaison Services, and Domestic Violence and the National Probation Services ensuring effective collaboration and connectivity with the wider health and social care community.

Qualifications

Essential

• Qualified Social Worker with current GSCC/HPC registration and professional relevant qualification recognised for the purposes of GSCC/HPC registration i.e. Dip SW, CSS, CQSW and Degree in Social Work.
• Post registration Masters in relevant area or experience and knowledge that is equivalent

Desirable

• AMHP
• Practice teaching award
• PQ/AASW
• Forensic behavioural science

Knowledge/ Experience

Essential

• Legislative Framework
• Health Act. 1999, National Service Frameworks, Mental Capacity Act (2006), Mental Health Act 2007
• Underpinning Knowledge and Understanding
• Requirements of relevant legislation, Child care legislation and criminal justice system, Care Programme Approach, Social work models in forensic work, Drugs, alcohol and substance misuse, Interaction between learning disabilities and offending behaviour within a family and social context
• National and local policies
• Models of risk assessment and risk factors and management, Financing of community care
• Housing and welfare provision, roles, responsibilities of other agencies, Learning from enquiries' reports, Role of Mental Health Review Tribunals, Victims.
• Theoretical models of forensic social work/forensic psychiatry/forensic psychology
• Significant Post Qualification experience

Desirable

• Putting People First (DH 2006)
• New Horizons (DH 2009)
• Revised NHS Operating Framework 2010/11 (June 2010)
• Transforming Care
• Research methodologies
• Forensic Mental Health
• Approved Social Work
• Multi-Disciplinary Work
• Offence related work
• Group work
• Mental Health Social Work
• (Community Mental Health Team), Continuing Care Team, Hospital Social Work Team, Emergency Duty Team, Child & Adolescent Mental Health Team, Probation Service)
• Appropriate adult experience

Values

Essential

• Continuous Improvement
• Accountability
• Respectfulness
• Enthusiasm
• Support
• High professional standards
• Responsive to service users
• Engaging leadership style
• Strong customer service belief
• Transparency and honesty
• Discreet
• Change oriented

Skills

Essential

• Experience of providing clinical supervision
• A demonstrated understanding of Equality and Human Rights
• Ability to work in a multidisciplinary setting
• Ability to apply social work practice in the framework of a non-medical model
• Complex Risk Assessment & Complex Risk Management skills
• Recording and preparing assessment and Mental Health Review Tribunal reports
• Ability to travel nationally at short notice to complete assessments and visit families

Desirable

• Offence related work
• Victim work Advocacy work

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).