SWTP624 - Social Work with Children, Youth and Family

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Teaching organisation

This subject comprises 150 hours of focused learning

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.  

In this unit, students will be provided 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.

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. It will be delivered in an online mode using an active learning approach. Students will have access to self-paced learning modules, contemporary literature, multi-media resources and collaborative discussion forums. Real-world examples of practice with children, young people and families will be provided by a range of practitioners. Online discussion forums will facilitate learning by sharing critical reflections with a focus on case-based learning relating to social work with children and families. This flexible and inclusive learning approach will allow students to meet the aim, learning outcomes and graduate attributes of the unit, as well as professional practice standards.

Assessment strategy and rationale

This unit takes an authentic assessment approach enabling students to engage with relevant practice scenarios. The assessments are designed to give students the opportunity to develop their knowledge of social work theories, skills in critical reflection of self and holistic assessment and intervention with children, young people and their families.

Ungraded Hurdle Task (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.

Assessment Task 1 is a quiz. After viewing a recording of a social work session, students will be quizzed on their ability to identify practice theory approaches.

Assessment Task 2 is a written report based on a Practice Analysis.

In Assessment 3, students are to prepare a 20 minute E Presentation in case discussion style. Students will be required to assess client needs and respond with appropriate strategies and case planning. 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. 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.  

In order to pass this unit students must demonstrate achievement of every unit learning outcome, pass hurdle tasks, and obtain a minimum mark of 50% in graded units. 

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. (2020). Understanding Human Development: A multidimensional approach (3rd 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. (2020). Collaborative Family Work, Sydney: Allen & Unwin.