Social workers 'thrive' using devolved budgets to support vulnerable families

A report into the findings of a pilot project involving three local authorities revealed while money was used to provide some high-cost goods and services, social workers mainly spent small sums of money on activities, meals out and home improvements.

This allowed them to build meaningful relationships with children and young people and in turn empowered social workers to develop creative ways to quickly address challenges, the report said.

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The project, run by What Works for Children's Social Care and Cardiff University, saw social workers in Hillingdon, Darlington and Wigan given the autonomy to administer their own budgets.

Despite some initial reticence, the study found social workers “thrived” when given the opportunity to make purchases that would help the children and families involved and have a sustainable impact.

The research showed spending fell into three main categories covering practical, material and financial areas, therapeutic services and relationship building.

In terms of practical support, some social workers used money to buy items such as bedding and clothing or to help with rent arrears.

Others used their budget to provide therapeutic services that would not otherwise be available or would have entailed lengthy waiting times such as psychological assessments or counselling for children or parents.

However, some used money to fund trips to cafes and restaurants or activities such as go-karting to help build connections with children and young people or to allow families to spend quality time together.

The report recommends local authorities should allow social workers to make similar spending decisions regardless of whether or not they intended to introduce devolved budgets.

It also calls for further research into how using money in different ways could help and support children and families facing risks and challenges.

Our pilot study with @CASCADEresearch finds that providing social workers with discretionary budgets resulted in creative solutions to help children, young people and families. Read more >>>https://t.co/NOBSbj8YWS

— What Works CSC (@whatworksCSC) April 2, 2020

“In this project, many of the most creative uses of budgets were where the level of concern was less serious and children were not at risk of entering care imminently, the report said.

Michael Sanders, executive director of What Works for Children’s Social Care, said the findings from the three pilot areas gave a “strong indication” of the benefits to social work practice in supporting vulnerable young people and families.

David Westlake, a research fellow at Cardiff University’s research centre Cascade, said: “It was a privilege to see how creative social workers can be when given the resources and autonomy to help children and families. I hope the findings contribute to a wider debate about what social workers need to make a difference.”