I've just got a social worker - who are they?Social workers are going to be your main contact with social services over the time that you're in care. A social worker is trained to help young people and their families and provide help and guidance through your time in care. You should get to know your social worker quite well over the time that they are with you.
When you start to be looked after your social worker must come and meet you within the first seven days. They should then come and see you regularly and check that everything is going okay. Your social worker will also be in touch with your family to make sure that they are all right and that everyone understands and is clear why you are in care.
Your social worker is responsible for making sure that you are looked after properly and that there are clear plans put in place for you. They (along with other workers) should be able to help you sort out any difficulties that you are having. Your social worker will write a plan of what is going to happen in your life whilst you are in care and this is called 'A Care Plan' (imaginative huh?) The Care Plan is a very important document and includes all sorts of information. Some of the things in the care plan include:
There will be other things on there too and you should always have a copy of your care plan and you should have a chance to say whether you agree with your care plan or not. Once the plan has been agreed it is your social worker's job to make sure that you get all the things that are agreed on your care plan. There will be a review of the care plan every 3 - 6 months (depending on your situation) and this is a chance to change the care plan.
No, social workers are the face of your 'corporate parents' and their job is to be your first port of call if there is anything wrong. Your social worker should talk to you about why you are in care, and help you understand any decisions that are made. They can also help you make plans for the future. Here is a short list of some of the things a social worker does.
As long as it is in your best interests. You might find that you disagree with your social worker about what is in your best interests and you might argue with your social or feel that your social worker is unfair. Your social worker has a job that means that they have to think about what is in your best interests regardless of whether you want it or not. If you disagree with your social worker and you think that they are definitely wrong then you should think about getting an advocate. An advocate will always agree with you - a social worker won't.
I'm afraid you can't. Many social workers deal with lots of children and they are very busy people. Your social worker should see you if you want them to and they must by law see you once every three months once you have been in care for more than one year. During your first year in care, your social worker must see you more often. Most young people will see their social worker once every six weeks if they are new in care, but if they are settled then will be once every three months.
Then hopefully you will be able to see your social worker straight away; but social workers are human beings too with their own lives and families and it may not be possible to get hold of them immediately. Social workers work in teams and every day there is one member of the team who covers for any social workers that are away. This person is called the Duty Social Worker and they should be able to help you until your social worker is next in the office.
The duty worker will help you with any urgent matters and make sure messages are passed to your social worker when they get back. You can contact the duty worker on
A lot of young people say this - but don't actually mean it. What they mean is, I hate social services and the disruption in my life. The social worker (who you see most often) is the person who takes the main force of your anger. Many young people start off really hating their social worker and then begin to feel better about them the longer they are in care, and the relationship takes a long time to grow. Bristol will always try and keep you with the same social worker whenever possible so that you always know who to go to and so you have a chance to create a good working relationship.
Your relationship with a social worker is very important; they are the person you will have the most contact with whilst you're in care, so it is an absolutely vital relationship for you. If you think that there is absolutely no way that you could work with your social worker on anything, then you can contact an advocate here and ask them to help you sort out a new social worker - but this may take some time.
"Devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. You notice, there is nothing in there about a salary"
- Tuesdays with Morrie
