Social Worker - Dales South

Job responsibilities

Job Context

Social Worker/Social Care Assessors work with adults with care and support needs, young people Transitioning to Adults and their carers in the community and may be part of any of the following teams within Care and Support.

This part of the pathway manages social care interventions and services based within the community, received from Care and Support or Discharge Hubs. Community Social Care teams are generic adult social care teams, working with people with physical disabilities, autism, learning disabilities and other long-term conditions and frailty. The team will also work with young people Transitioning to Adults services.

This part of the service aimed at supporting adults who require ongoing support / intervention following input from the Care and Support Team or the Discharge Hub.

This may require continued support in relation to short term intervention or prevention solutions, as well as completing assessments for long term needs including reablement and other prevention. The values and principles of recovery and maximising independence is embedded in short-, medium- and longer-term support.

The service will provide a care coordination function ensuring care is coordinated around the adult with care and support needs and carers and every opportunity to maximise independence and promote wellbeing are taken advantage of. The service will also identify when specialist assessment / involvement is needed from other teams e.g., OT, Sensory, Supported Employment or Mental Health teams.

Effective support planning and asset and strength-based approaches to assessment and review are essential elements of this service.

This team will complete work under the Care Act, Mental Capacity Act and DoLS, Adult Safeguarding, S117 and CHC and Transitions work. This includes assessment and support of Carers under the Care Act.

The service will operate a 7-day service.

Within each team there will be social workers/SCPs identified as champions with specific knowledge and skills in relation to for example dementia, autism, Learning disability.

All above service areas will be generic adult social care teams and will provide services to adults with care and support needs and carers, these may include people with a learning disability, autism, older people, and people with physical disabilities.

Services in the Discharge Hub and Community Social Care Teams will operate over 7 days, with a range of hours between 8am-8pm. Therefore, you will be required to work on a weekend, on a rota basis, and you may be required to work extended hours. The specific requirements will be determined by service and operational team requirements.

To maintain professionals skills and knowledge it is expected that social workers/assessors will rotate across all 3 services areas.

Postholders are expected to work at all times in line with the Codes of Practice for Social Care Workers.

An enhanced DBS clearance is required. This role involves spoken communications, so a confident use of English language is required.

Registration with Social Work England (SWE) is required. However, those currently employed with NYC and hold registration with another professional health care body, e.g., HCPC is allowed.

The scientific and clinical evidence demonstrates that vaccines provide significant protection against severe disease, hospitalisation, and death from COVID-19. Research also suggests that those who are vaccinated are less likely to develop long COVID. The post-holder will support our North Yorkshire residents who are most at risk of serious illness from COVID-19 and therefore has a professional responsibility to preserve safety and to take all reasonable precautions necessary to avoid any potential health risks to themselves or others. Whilst not a legislative requirement, it is highly desirable for successful candidates to have completed (or be willing to complete) a full course of COVID vaccination.

Job Purpose

To undertake a range of asset and strength-based assessments and interventions to ensure that adults with care and support needs and carers achieve their desired outcomes and wellbeing. To determine eligibility for adult social care service set against the national standard. To work with adults with care and support needs and carers to develop personalised care and support plans that represent best value. To ensure that adults with care and support needs and carers are safe from harm. Where harm or abuse is identified ensuring the safety of the person and undertake the relevant safeguarding enquiries.

Operational Management

Undertaking an asset based approach to assessments of need with adults and carers as allocated by your line manager and where requested.

Following assessments, identifying whether or not the adult and/or carers fall within the national eligibility criteria, and communicating this to the adult or carer.

Where the adult or carer fall within eligibility criteria, working creatively and innovatively with the adult with care and support needs and/or carers to develop an agreed care and support plan to achieve the identified outcomes.

Providing professional support and information, advice, and guidance to adults with care and support needs and carers on how their needs could be partly or wholly met by access to universal and other non-care services.

Explore opportunities to meet desired outcomes through alternative funding streams for example the voluntary sector or Continuing Health Care funding.

You will support in proactively working towards the increased uptake of direct payments and other service development initiatives including (but not limited to) reablement, personalisation, individual budgets, self-assessment, and self-directed care to meet the adult or carers outcomes.

Ensuring value for money and maximise opportunities to generate income for adults with care and support needs and carers.

Undertaking re-assessments and reviews of care pathways as required by your line manager.

Intervening in emergency situations to protect adults with care and support needs or carers and to initiate the appropriate statutory and other actions required, and following the appropriate training and experience to undertake safeguarding adults investigations as Lead Investigator where required by the Team Manager

Maintaining clear, concise, and timely records of cases, care pathways and actions in line with the Directorates policies on file maintenance.

Participating in the duty system as required by the Team Manager.

Assisting in the collection of performance data using the appropriate IT systems.

Representing the Directorate in court proceedings and with other agencies as required.

Directly commission packages of support for adults with care and support needs or carers to achieve identified outcomes.

Resource Management

Provide day-to-day advice and support to less experienced staff.

Be a Practice Educator for students who are placed in or visiting the team as agreed with line Manager.

Partnerships

Participate in training, developmental and project activity including multi-disciplinary and multi-agency activity as agreed with the line manager.

Work with the line manager to contribute to the development of the local community to enable the empowerment of adults with care and support needs and carers. Liaising with local, universal, and other services to promote access to them by adults with care and support needs and carers.

Communications

To maintain clear, concise and timely records of cases, care packages and actions in line with the Directorate's policies on file maintenance, this includes electronic and paper records.

Communicate to the adults with care and support needs and carers in an appropriate manner to enable effective written and oral communication and is in line with Directorate policies and procedures.

Effectively negotiate and manage conversations where there is a disagreement, with the adult with care and support needs and/or their carers and others.

Engage with a range of other agencies to maximise choice and resources.

Communicate effectively and in a manner and timescale appropriate for the level of urgency, to your manager, other colleagues, and professionals.

Systems and Information

Ensure that you utilise the current business processes to support the Adult Social Care function in relation to case recording, financial monitoring, ICT. To assist in the collection of client data and make appropriate use of IT systems.

Contribute to the ongoing improvement and development of Adult Social Care processes and systems in conjunction with your line manager.

As agreed with your line manager the post holder will assist in the timely and accurate collection of performance data using the appropriate IT systems and processes.

Safeguarding

To be committed to safeguarding and promote the welfare of children, young people, and adults, raising concerns as appropriate.

Undertake Safeguarding Adults Investigations, as delegated by the Designated Safeguarding Manager and in line with procedures.

Knowledge

Essential

• Good working knowledge, understanding and application of the Care Act and regulations.
• Knowledge and understand of other relevant legislation for adult social care, for example the Mental Capacity Act.
• Knowledge and understanding of social care policy developments and good practice at a local and national level.
• Knowledge of statutory requirements, including requirements in respect of carers, equality, and anti-discrimination legislation, maintaining a safe working environment, data protection and confidentiality.
• Knowledge and understanding of how Equality and Diversity, Dignity and Respect and Human Rights will apply to this role.

Desirable

• Knowledge of the range of equipment available to support people with a hearing and vision loss.
• Experience of undertaking safeguarding investigations.
• Experience of applying asset and strength-based approaches into practice.

Experience

Essential

• Demonstrable experience of undertaking assessment of health or social care needs in a community setting. (Newly Qualified workers only)
• Demonstrable experience of contributing to the safeguarding of vulnerable adults. (Newly Qualified workers only)
• Experience of undertaking assessment of health or social care needs in a community setting.
• Experience of inter-agency collaboration practice.
• Demonstrable experience of undertaking complex assessment of health or social care needs in a community setting.
• Demonstrable experience of initiating the appropriate statutory and other actions required to undertake adult protection investigations.
• Experience of working positively in a changing environment.
• Relevant community experience for nursing qualified applicants

Qualifications

Essential

• A professional social care qualification e.g., Social Work, DipSW, CQSW with current registration with SWE
• A commitment to undertake ASYE if in first two years of qualifying as a social worker and not completed already.

Desirable

• Practice Educator or a commitment to undertake the Practice Educator post graduate programme

Other Requirements

Essential

• Ability to travel across the County
• Ability to attend meetings outside of normal business hours
• At NYC we value our employees, and as part of this we can provide wider opportunities to progress in your career. Through discussion with your manager identify areas of interest and consider avenues to progress to them, e.g., apprenticeships and work shadowing/coaching.
• As a large council we have a range of roles, across our services, and can provide a wealth of career and development opportunities to help our employees find fulfilling career development opportunities.
• Heath and Adult Services are committed to ensuring Social Workers are supported through a process of ongoing professional development. This consists of a number of requirements that staff must undertake in order to develop and fulfil the full remit of their role. These include:
• Year One
• Successful completion of the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) programme.
• Completion of core NYC and HAS statutory and mandatory training for the role.
• Year Two
• Completion of the further HAS mandatory training for Social Workers, including:
• Safeguarding Enquiry Officer training, plus accompanying competency frameworks.
• Mental Capacity Complex Decision Making Training Parts 1 and 2, plus accompanying competency

Occupational Skills

Essential

• Excellent communication and presentation skills. Ability to use persuasion, influencing and/or negotiation techniques to influence others.
• The ability to converse at ease with customers and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post.
• Resilience skills. Works productively in a pressurised environment and supports others to do so. Ability to act calmly during difficult circumstances and recovers quickly from setbacks.
• Effective time management and planning skills, meets deadlines
• Effective written communication skills communicates effectively in writing to produce documents in a range of formats and styles to suit a range of audiences. Excellent case recording and report writing skills.
• Decision making skills can make decisions within own area of responsibility which may involve considering risks.
• Ability to monitor quality and service standards.
• Good IT skills including use of email, intranet, internet, word, excel and inputting date into the Councils assessment system.
• Flexibility and adaptability.
• Problem solving skills uses creativity and innovation to generate solutions to problems.

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).