improving assessment skills in malaysian context · presentation outline •linking social work...

Improving Assessment Skills in Malaysian Context

Siti Hawa Ali

School of Health Sciences USM

School of Health Sciences, USM 1

Presentation outline

• Linking social work practice to the country’s philosophy of social welfare services – impact on assessment

• Focus of assessment skills – emphasis on financial aid services

• Improving the assessment skills for present and future practice

School of Health Sciences, USM

2

Key values in social work

• Social justice & Human rights

• Human dignity & integrity

• Human worth & human potential

• Equality & equity

• Social inclusion

• Liberating oppressed & vulnerable people

• Alleviating poverty

• Respecting diversity

• Competency (gender, cultural, ethnic, social class)


“… lack of adherence to the values … is an indicator of the low level of commitment to their importance, even though there is a widely held assumption that values are central to the profession” (Bisman, 2004)

3

Feature of Welfare System in Malaysia

• Family based welfare system

• Strong mix of market and state contribution to welfare services

• Civil society’s contribution

• However, we have yet to produce a blue print of social welfare system


Residual welfare system (colonial legacy) without comprehensive social security

Continuation from previous system with additional policies and programmes to resolve social problems

1987/1993 Clear governmental position of not wanting to become a welfare state

Family/ informal sector

Voluntary sector

market

Governmental agencies

2005 Human capital

Welfare reformation examining the concept of social development

State as the main contributor of social services

Competency, access & equity

Welfare is a shared responsibility

Caring society

Vision 20-20

One Malaysia

Evolution of welfare system


5

The Practice of Assessment

• Do we practice assessment

• How do we do the assessment

• What are the outcomes of assessment

• What is the impact on the population


What do we assess

• Clients’ needs

• Clients’ vulnerability; risk and safety

• Clients’ coping capabilities & strategies

• Clients’ connection within ecological framework (individual, relationship, community & society)

• Clients’ participation and contributions to problem solution

• Agency’s commitment


The need to focus on poverty

• Association of poverty and social problems– implication to social work assessment (Mantle & Backwith, 2010; Hawkins & Kim 2012)

• “A study of some of the ‘poorest and most socially excluded people’ in London found that more than half experienced welfare services as ‘unhelpful, unapproachable, complicated to use or even untrustworthy” (ATD Fourth World, 2008,p.4, in Mantle & Backwith, 2010, p.2386)

• “… welfare clients describe social services as bureaucratic, dehumanising and oppressive” (Strier & Binyamin, 2010)

• Applying different tools of assessment: example Social Economic Empowerment Assessment (Hawkins & Kim, 2012)

• Focusing on poverty will lead to solider practice of social justice


10MP (2011): 150 School of Health Sciences, USM

9

Source: Laporan statistik 2011, Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat Malaysia http://www.jkm.gov.my/index.php?option=com_jdownloads&Itemid=314&task=viewcategory&catid=41&lang=ms (Retrieved date: 10 July 2012 )


http://www.jkm.gov.my/index.php?option=com_jdownloads&Itemid=314&task=viewcategory&catid=41&lang=ms

Petunjuk:

1. BKK – Bantuan kanak-kanak 6. GP – Geran pelancaran 2. BOT – Bantuan orang tua 7. BENCANA - Bencana alam 3. BAP – Bantuan anak pelihara 8. AT – Bantuan alat tiruan/sokongan 4. EPC – Elaun pekerja cacat 9. BPT – Bantuan OKU terlantar/pesakit kronik terlantar 5. BA – Bantuan am 10. BTB – Bantuan OKU tidak berupaya bekerja

Source: Laporan statistik 2011, Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat Malaysia http://www.jkm.gov.my/index.php?option=com_jdownloads&Itemid=314&task=viewcategory&catid=41&lang=ms (Retrieved date: 10 July 2012)



Total expenditure on welfare aid 2008-2011




Number of cases and total expenditure according to welfare aid scheme 2011

Source: Laporan statistik 2011, Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat Malaysia http://www.jkm.gov.my/index.php?option=com_jdownloads&Itemid=314&task=viewcategory&catid=41&lang=ms (Retrieved date: 10 July2012 )

Indicator: 1. BKK – Bantuan kanak-kanak 2. BOT – Bantuan orang tua 3. BAP – Bantuan anak pelihara 4. EPC – Elaun pekerja cacat 5. BA – Bantuan am 6. GP – Geran pelancaran 7. BENCANA - Bencana alam 8. AT – Bantuan alat tiruan/sokongan 9. BPT – Bantuan OKU terlantar/pesakit kronik terlantar 10. BTB – Bantuan OKU tidak berupaya bekerja

Scheme No. of cases RM Percentage (%)

BKK 98,848 315,752,198 23.34

BOT 135,217 477,844,100 35.32

BAP 162 544,900 0.04

EPC 53,063 175,696,800 12.98

BA 115,934 242,413,756 17.92

GP 430 1,086,360 0.08

BENCANA 15,796 5,590,246 0.41

AT 910 1,717,757 0.13

BPT 27,882 93,739,500 6.93

LATIHAN APPERANTIS

301 284,700 0.02

SEKOLAH

BTB 25,385 38,068,800 2.81

TOTAL 473,928 1,352,739,117 100





Total number of welfare aid recipients 2008-2011




Number of cases and expenditure on welfare aid according to states

2011

Source: Laporan statistik 2011, Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat Malaysia http://www.jkm.gov.my/index.php?option=com_jdownloads&Itemid=314&task=viewcategory&catid=41&lang=ms (Retrieved date: 10 July2012 )

States No. of cases RM

Johor 45,766 128,262,911

Kedah 43,090 127,113,989

Kelantan 34,243 89,560,135

Melaka 26,074 79,425,617

Negeri Sembilan 24,347 67,894,451

Pahang 24,270 64,225,629

Perak 34,003 95,186,805

Perlis 8,136 17,523,727

Pulau Pinang 23,031 66,575,773

Sabah 77,208 244,693,197

Sarawak 45,445 116,627,349

Selangor 39,028 116,810,893

Terengganu 34,806 96,141,997

Kuala Lumpur 13,532 40,540,425

Labuan 949 2,156,220

TOTAL 473,928 1,352,739,117





Number of recipients for welfare aid, 2011




Refocusing the ‘target’ population • People experiencing poverty, lack of money/income,

financially challenged • People with challenging health conditions • People experiencing violence; self-inflicted,

interpersonal violence; communal • People experiencing disability; physical, mental • People in conflict with the law • People who are oppressed, discriminated against,

marginalised, politically unrepresented, illegal, seeking refuge

• People facing unresolved communal and cultural issues • People experiencing psychosocial problems (lack of

meaning in life, unloved)


Improving assessment skills

• Revisiting social work approaches and orientations

• Referring to and relying on evidences and studies

• Examining the spirit behind assessment framework – to control?, to develop?, to empower?

• Developing supervisory system in practice - improving middle management capabilities, baseline knowledge preparation

• Training in institutions – having clarity in approach , knowledge and skill components

• Applying relevant tools without loosing creativity


Improving assessment skills

Standard skills • Communication

• interviewing

• Listening

• Observation

• Reflective

• Recording

• Organisational/ management

Additional skills

• Critical thinking

• Assertiveness

• Focusing on strength

• Investigative

• Research

• Advocacy

• Negotiating, engaging

• Mediating conflict

• Dialogue


Example: strengths assessment

• Give preeminence to client’s understanding of facts • Believe the client • Discover what the client wants • Move the assessment towards personal and environmental

strengths • Make the assessment of strength multidimensional • Use assessment to discover uniqueness • Use language that client understands • Make assessment a joint activity between worker and client • Reach a mutual agreement on the assessment • Avoid blame and blaming • Avoid cause-and-effect thinking • Assess and do not diagnose (Cowger, 1994)


Emphasising supervision

• Practice focused supervision: – Promoting knowledge and skill development – Reflecting personal and professional functioning – Supervision only by social workers – Differentiating administrative from clinical supervision – Choosing life time or time limited supervision (Hair 2012) – Providing emotional and work related support – Building confidence helps – Providing benefit to services – Reflecting competence (Bradley & Hojer, 2009)

• Training focused supervision: – Faculty supervision – Field practice supervision – Clarity in training objectives – Research in practice components


Social work challenges in Malaysia

• Constructing professionally relevant presence

• Linking training to impact of practices

• Bureaucratic control on forms and delivery of services

• Political interference in services

• Limits to resources

• Advocating social issues under a political banner

• Lack of passion and strength in promoting social work agendas


• Adopting multi-sectoral integrated approaches; possibility of being swallowed up by high impact sectors such as health and education

• Applying and managing information technologies; dealing with multiple sources of information; dealing with transferability of resources, information,

• Changing recipient culture to participatory culture

• Developing integrated multi-sectoral assessment instruments

• Demographic changes in the society • Impact of socio-economic development


23

Conclusion

• There is a need to revisit social work values and to understand the philosophy of the services

• Supervision is a critical structure that must be constructed so as to ensure skills are well guided and applied

• Focus on alleviating poverty may help to reduce other social problems

• There is a need to reexamine existing knowledge base, approaches, perspectives and skills in order to apply assessment skill effectively

• Challenges should be taken as motivation to improve skills

• Commitment towards social justice School of Health Sciences, USM

24


“When I give bread to the poor, they call me a saint; but when I ask why people are poor, they

call me a communist”

(Camara(n.d) in Leonardsen 2006; p.6)

“A Profession without a calling … has no taps of moral and humane rootage to keep human

sensitivities and sensibilities alert … (and cannot) envision the larger ends and purpose of human

good that our individual efforts can serve”

(Gustafson, 1982; 514 in Bisman, 2004; 115)

25

• Bisman, Cynthia, (2004), “Social Work Values: The Moral Core of The Profession”, British Journal of Social Work, 34; 109-123

• Bradley, Greta & Hojer, Steffan, (2009), “Supervision Reviewed: Reflections of Two Different Social Work Models in England and Sweden”, European Journal of Social Work, 12:1; 71-85

• Cowger, Charles D (1994), “Assessing Client Strengths: Clinical Assessment for Client Empowerment”, Social Work; 39; num. 3; 262-268

• Hair, Heather, J (2012), “The Purpose and Duration of supervision, and the Training and Discipline of Supervisors: What Social Workers Say They Need To Provide Effective Services”, British Journal of Social Work;1-27

• Hawkins, Robert. L, & Kim, Erin, J. (2012), “The Socio-Economic Empowerment Assessment: Addressing Poverty and Economic Distress in Clients”, Clinical Social Work Journal, 40; 194-202

• Leonardsen, Dag, (2007), “Empowerment in Social Work: an individual vs. a relational perspective”, International Journal of Social Welfare, 16;3-11

• Malaysia (2011), Tenth Malaysia Plan 2011-2015, Government Printers, Kuala Lumpur

• Mantle, Greg, & Backwith, David (2010), “Poverty and Social Work”, British Journal of Social Work; 40; 2380-2397

• Strier, Roni and Binyamin, Sharon (2010), “Developing Anti-oppressive Services For The Poor: A Theoretical And Organisational Rationale “, British Journal of Social Work, 40: 1908-1926



Thank you Siti Hawa Ali School of Health Sciences, USM Kampus Kesihatan, Kota Bharu, Kelantan [email protected]

27

improving assessment skills in malaysian context · presentation outline •linking social work...

Documents