Sheila Furness

Shifting sands: Developing cultural competence

Over thirty years ago, it was recognised that there was a need for health services to respond more appropriately to the cultural mix of people living in Britain. The development of culturally sensitive services was promoted as the way forward. The terms ‘transcultural’ or ‘cross-cultural’ were coined to accommodate the new proposed approaches to provision, delivery and intervention based on a better understanding and awareness of cultural difference. Little progress has been made and the notion of cultural competence remains an important area of knowledge and skill acquisition for all health and social care workers. This paper promotes its inclusion in the social work curriculum and suggests that it can be used to build on anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive theories and approaches to practice in order to equip students better for work. Some examples of exercises and tasks set for students as part of one teaching module are provided and suggestions are made about how this theme can be further developed throughout a social work programme.

Faith-based Organisations and UK Welfare Services: Exploring Some Ongoing Dilemmas

Faith-based organisations (FBOs) have delivered services to vulnerable people for many years. They are frequently characterised by values also to be found within social work, notably a commitment to social justice. In the context of recent attempts by governments, notably in the USA, United Kingdom and Australia, to ‘roll-back’ the state, to ‘marketise’ and ‘privatise’ welfare services, FBOs are increasingly called-upon to tender for and volunteer to provide public services, including ‘social work’. In the United Kingdom, as elsewhere, religious beliefs are central to how many people conduct themselves, especially in response to personal crises and challenges. The authors’ previous research indicates that religious beliefs and traditions may have a profound impact (for good or ill or for both) on the actions of both individual service users and practitioners, but that social workers and agencies (whether faith-based or not) are often ill equipped to respond appropriately. They acknowledge both the positive contributions to public welfare of many faith-based organisations and the potential dangers inherent in relying on such agencies for services to vulnerable people. The authors argue that evaluations need to consider the effectiveness, appropriateness, ‘costs’ and ‘benefits’ of individual faith-based services in their particular contexts, and that their contribution needs to be analysed in relation to the varied nature and variable impact of such services. Social work has often struggled in its aim of challenging and addressing the structural causes of inequality as its efforts have been channelled towards meeting the needs of the individual. Current policy proposals provide potential opportunities to review and assess the contribution of neo-liberal approaches to welfare and to promote alliances amongst those members of different FBOs and other welfare providers to agree more collective, community-based approaches with an agreed agenda of creating a fairer society.

The Importance of Agency Culture and Support in Recruiting and Retaining Social Workers to Supervise Students on Placement

This paper is based on the findings of a small-scale study of social work placement provision at one University in England during 2002. It provides some useful insights into how agency culture and support and the preparation and matching of students to placements demand greater attention by both social work programme providers and agencies if the Governments objective of increasing and improving the bank of good quality placements and well-trained and competent practice assessors is to be realised.

Religion, Spirituality and Social Work

This chapter will set out key terminology relating to religion and spirituality and review the extent to which religion and spirituality have been recognised within social work education and social work practice in the UK. Case examples taken from research carried out by the author will be used to illustrate how religious and spiritual beliefs shape and influence decision making on the part of professionals as well as those accessing services. Social work needs to recognise that religion and spirituality can be potential sources of support at times of crisis as well as contribute to distress. Some of the challenges for social work in the twenty-first century will be acknowledged along with the pressing need to develop more appropriate plural social welfare policies and culturally sensitive services that reflect the diverse belief systems and traditions of an ever changing population.