An Analysis of ‘Ethical Stress’ in Criminal Justice Social Work in Scotland: The Place of Values

Fenton, Jane

doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcu032

Cited by 35 publications

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“…The findings under discussion in this paper are taken from a wider study of criminal justice social workers (CJSW) in Scotland (Fenton, 2015). Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Dundee's research ethics committee and permission was obtained from the four participating local authorities.…”

Section: The Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They felt positively at times, but were also aware that lengthy bureaucratic tasks take time away from working with service users. (Fenton, 2015 Very few comments were made in regard to knowledge, with the above comment referring to 'pre-packaged' knowledge which is distilled into the form of a risk assessment 'tool.' Such a tool is wholly dependent on a body of research which is not easily accessible for critical appraisal or utility as it is predetermined for use.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Organisational professionalism and moral courage: contradictory concepts in social work?

Fenton

2016

Critical and Radical Social Work

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Citation for published version (APA): Fenton, J. (2016). Organisational professionalism and moral courage: contradictory concepts in social work? Critical and Radical Social Work, 4(2), 199-215. DOI: 10.1332 /204986016X14651166264156General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in Discovery Research Portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.• Users may download and print one copy of any publication from Discovery Research Portal for the purpose of private study or research.• You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain.• You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal. Take down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. BackgroundProfessionalism is a contested concept in social work. For example, Evers, (in Munday, 2003, p13) states:Summing up one can say that professionalism has two sides: one side may be the often-complained arrogance of power while the other side is the burden of responsibility taken. The latter side can be a good point of reference for those who strive for a better user involvement. To the degree that professionalism puts clients' interests first it can be a strong antidote against old and new ways of putting the interests of authorities, business and providers ahead of the concerns of users and citizens.The point being made here is that professional social workers, notwithstanding that they may also have the power to be authoritarian or paternalistic, can embrace responsibility for decision making and autonomy and can do so on behalf of, and with, the service user. Although the concept of 'professionalism' in social work has also been debated in relation to many associated issues including the place of care, gender influences and semi-professional status (for example, Meagher and Parton (2004), Phillips and Cree (2014), Etzioni (1969)), this paper takes, as its focus, the idea that an essential element of professionalism is the stepping up to decision making, autonomy and advocacy or, in other words, Evers' 'burden of responsibility.' Evetts (2003, p407) illuminates this analysis in her discussion of what professionalism has come to mean in a context of neoliberal managerialism. She states that the original appeal of the professions was the 'power to define the nature 2 of problems in that area as well as the control of access to potential solutions.' Given the shift in social work to purchaser/provider in community care, tightening of resources in every social work sphere and the plethora of diagnostic and risk assessment tools, procedures and rules it is easy to see that the 'appealing' definition of professionalism is decreasingly appropriate in relation to social work pract...

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Section: The Studymentioning

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Organisational professionalism and moral courage: contradictory concepts in social work?

Fenton

2016

Critical and Radical Social Work

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“…This paper is drawn from the findings of a wider research project conducted across four criminal justice departments in four separate local authority areas in Scotland (Fenton, 2014a). The four local authorities were conveniently sampled from a possible thirty-two to provide a contrast between rural and urban areas and to provide enough participants for the study, whilst not creating untenable demands on the researcher's available time and resources.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Risk is King and Needs to take a Backseat!’ Can social workers’ experiences of moral injury strengthen practice?

Fenton

Kelly

2017

Journal of Social Work Practice

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• Users may download and print one copy of any publication from Discovery Research Portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain. • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 17. Sep. 2020 { PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT } 'Risk is King and Needs to take a Backseat!' Can social workers' experiences of moral injury strengthen practice? This paper considers the idea that moral injury may result from social workers being exposed to sustained ethical stress-the stress experienced when workers cannot base their practice on their values. It is suggested that a particularly salient feature of agency working which might contribute to the experience of ethical stress is risk aversion. This paper is based on a study of one hundred criminal justice social workers in Scotland, who were questioned on their experiences of ethical stress and risk aversion. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analysed using standard multiple regression and inductive thematic analysis respectively. Findings demonstrated that how risk averse an agency was contributed in a unique and significant way to the worker's experience of ethical stress. Qualitative comments illustrated why this relationship might exist, but also demonstrated that a variety of views were held by social workers and that ethical stress was not experienced by all. The findings are discussed in terms of moral injury and its links with risk aversion, bureaucracy, neoliberal hegemony, notions of 'underclass,' personal moral codes and professional integrity. Explicitly exploring these related concepts in social work education might impact on the new generation of social workers and strengthen the profession.

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“…Mixed economies of service provision have seen increasing numbers of service users funnelled into services provided by the voluntary sector rather than statutory sectors. Voluntary organisations (and volunteers within statutory services) comprise a large and rising proportion of the social service workforce and ‘deliver important services’ (Teicher and Liang , p.217) for many people with complex needs (Fenton ). In countries around the world, the voluntary sector provides services to meet human needs including: housing and homelessness; community violence; domestic violence; substance misuse; and criminalisation (Cameron et al .…”

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Introduction: The Criminal Justice Voluntary Sector: In Comparative Perspective

Tomczak

2019

Howard J Crime Justice

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This special issue contributes to scholarly, practical and policymaking efforts to understand the (potential) activities of voluntary (non-State, non-profit) organisations and volunteers across criminal justice institutions, in jurisdictions around the world. It is hard to understand why the activities of voluntary organisations and voluntary organisations (within and beyond criminal justice) have not received more attention, given their size and the range of activities. The voluntary sector is, however, both a core regulator of the State and social services actor.Regarding regulation, in response to rising prison suicides in England and Wales, the voluntary sector (in conjunction with civil society) has been the only overseer to escalate sanctions beyond persuasion and discretionary implementation. Effective regulation demands a pyramid of escalating sanctions. HMP Woodhill, a men's prison near Milton Keynes, had an unprecendented spate of 18 suicides from May 2013 to December 2016. This spate ended only when a voluntary organisation (INQUEST) and bereaved families brought a judicial review. Shortly after the judicial review was granted, Woodhill had its first suicide-free year for seven years. It is harrowing that the 'tipping point' for action was already-bereaved families and INQUEST bringing a judicial review (Tomczak 2018). Nevertheless, their unique role in escalating prison regulation deserves recognition. Yet, for prisons and across social services, 'little is known about the active role that voluntary organisations play in shaping and mobilising' the State (Baker and McGuirk 2019, p.1). This is problematic.Mixed economies of service provision have seen increasing numbers of service users funnelled into services provided by the voluntary sector rather than statutory sectors. Voluntary organisations (and volunteers within statutory services) comprise a large and rising proportion of the social service workforce and 'deliver important services' (Teicher and Liang

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An Analysis of ‘Ethical Stress’ in Criminal Justice Social Work in Scotland: The Place of Values

Cited by 35 publications

References 25 publications

Organisational professionalism and moral courage: contradictory concepts in social work?

Organisational professionalism and moral courage: contradictory concepts in social work?

‘Risk is King and Needs to take a Backseat!’ Can social workers’ experiences of moral injury strengthen practice?

Introduction: The Criminal Justice Voluntary Sector: In Comparative Perspective

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