SWTP624 - Social Work with Children, Youth and Family

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

All social workers can expect to work with children, young people and families, whether they practice directly with clients, or are in advocacy, policy, community development, or research roles.  

This unit provides students with the knowledge and skills to practice competently and ethically as social workers with children, young people and families from diverse backgrounds, in different contexts. The unit revises knowledge of developmental stages and analyses the progress of social work practice with families and children through consideration of a number of theories and models. The unit includes development of advanced knowledge and skills in working directly with children, young people and families including working with families at various points in family and life stages. Emphasis is given to the principles of collaborative practice, strengths based practice, child and family centred practice, and child safety and protection. 

This unit will provide students with an essential area of competency, as outlined by the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), in working with children, young people and families. The aim of this unit is to provide an evidence informed theoretical foundation as well as the development of ethical skills for future social work practice in the area of child and adolescent wellbeing and protection, and for working collaboratively with families. 

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1- Describe issues experienced by children, young people and families from diverse backgrounds in a range of contexts (GA4, GA5)

LO2 - Gain knowledge of social work ethics in practice with children, youth and families from diverse backgrounds (GA3, GA4, GA5, GA8)

LO3 - Assess and respond effectively to  complexities of social work practice with children, young people and families, including issues of child protection and family and domestic violence (GA3, GA4, GA5, GA9)

LO4 - Apply understanding of the use of self and use of theory and research to social work practice with children, young people and families from diverse backgrounds (GA1, GA4, GA5, GA8)

LO5 - Apply a wide range of advanced assessment and intervention skills in social work practice with children, young people and families, demonstrating use of effective oral and advanced written communication skills (GA1, GA2, GA4, GA5, GA8, GA9)

Graduate attributes

GA1 - Demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity 

GA2 - Recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society 

GA3 - Apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making

GA4 - Think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - Demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA8 - Locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

GA9 - Demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media 

AASW Practice Standards

This Unit has been mapped to the ACU Graduate Attributes and the ASWEAS Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes. The following table sets out the broad relationship between the Learning Outcomes, Graduate Attributes and the ASWEAS Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes provided in the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards: https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/13565  

ASWEAS Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes

Content

Topics will include: 

Specialised knowledge 

• Theories of childhood, development, adolescence and family 
• Systems  
• Child protection/safety, including knowledge of state based legislation and relevant mandatory reporting requirements 
• Family and domestic violence 
• Practice theories and approaches 
• Solution focused approaches 
• Child centred practice 
• Family centred practice 
• Collaborative practice and pro social modelling 
• Psychodynamic theory 
• Attachment 
• Crisis Intervention 
• Post-structural approaches (Narrative, Strengths) 
• Practice frameworks which are informed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural knowledge and perspectives 

Contemporary contexts of practice with children, young people and families 

• Culturally diverse context of families 
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, children and young people 

Ethics 

• Social work ethics, social justice and human rights framework in work with families, children and young people 

Skill development 

• Effective communication skills in conducting assessment and intervention 
• Critically reflective use of self 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit involves 150 hours of learning using a blended approach to delivery with a combination of intensive workshops, and online content and activities. 

The unit begins with intensive workshops, incorporating small group reflective and skills exercises to allow students to link social work theory and knowledge with their emerging practice. Case-based learning is utilised allowing students to acquire knowledge and beginning skills in assessment frameworks and intervention strategies. Assessments 1 and 2 are incorporated into the intensive workshop activities.   

Online material provided detailed content on knowledge that informs practice with children, young people and families. Recordings from guest practitioners will also be incorporated into online content, to provide students real-world examples of practice with children, young people or families.  

Assessment strategy and rationale

The assessments in this unit are an important part of learning. They provide students with the opportunity to critically reflect on self, present their knowledge on social work theory, and apply their knowledge to the tasks of analyzing and planning for assessment and intervention. 

This unit takes an authentic assessment approach enabling students to demonstrate their learning and competency to currently relevant practice scenarios. The assessments are designed to give students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of social work theories that inform this area of practice as well as demonstrate their developing skills in critical reflection of self, and holistic assessment and intervention planning for families, children and young people. The first assignment (discussion forum post) requires students to engage with a key reading from the unit regarding social work practice with families and present this information in a coherent and professional manner to their colleagues (LO1, 2, 3).. In Assessment 2, students must undertake a role play and write a critical reflection based on this role play (LO2, 3, 4). Students are also required to critically reflect on their practice skills of engaging with a young person. In Assessment 3, students are required to demonstrate and apply knowledge of relevant theory to assessing needs and developing an intervention plan for a complex family scenario with children (LO4,5). They are also required to reflect on ethical issues, as well as professional and personal values when responding to the case study, ensuring a thoughtful approach to practice that can manage bias, consider alternative perspectives, and assess and respond to risk.  

The same case scenarios will be utilised across Assessments 2 and 3, to enable students to develop skills around engagement and relationship-building (Assessment 2) and, later, to develop skills around case analysis and case planning (Assessment 3). 

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Arney, F. & Scott, D. (Eds) (2013). Working with Vulnerable Families: a partnership approach (2nd ed), Melbourne: Cambridge University Press.  

Australian Association of Social Workers (2020). Code of ethics. Canberra: AASW. 

Briskman, L. (2014). Social Work with Indigenous Communities (2nd ed), Sydney: Federation Press. 

Collins, D.,Jordan, C. & Coleman, H. (2013). An introduction to Family Social Work (4th ed). California: Brooks/Cole 

Featherstone, B., White, S. & Morris, K. (2014). Re-imagining Child Protection: Towards humane social work with families. Bristol UK: Policy Press.  

Geldard, K., & Geldard, D (2016). Counselling adolescents: The proactive approach for young people. London: Sage 

Harms, L. (2010). Understanding Human Development: A multidimensional approach (2nd ed.). Melbourne: Oxford University Press. 

Lindsey, J. & Dempsey, D. (2014). Families, Relationships and Intimate Life (2nd ed), Melbourne: Oxford University Press.  

Mainstone, F. (2014). Mastering whole family assessment in social work: Balancing the needs of children, adults and their families. London. Jessica Kingsley. 

Trotter, C. (2013). Collaborative Family Work, Sydney: Allen & Unwin.