NUMBER 737• 6 MAY • tHE IMPORTANCE OF COOPERATION
INDEX

	The Importance of Cooperation The notion of people working together as fellow participants in a service has underpinned social work activity for much of its existence. (Sellick, 1996, p. 239) Most professionals want to work together because it eases the stress of the task. However, organisational theory suggests that cooperation is difficult to achieve. Birchall and Hallet (1995) found that while the vast majority of professionals recognised the need for cooperation in child protection, there were many frictions and confusions to be reckoned with. They state: Once the cogs of the machine began to grate, it was common for political factors of power and status and resource dependency to intervene and for there to be territorial disputes. (Birchall & Hallet, 1995, p. 71) Triseliotis, Sellick, and Short (1995) state that the complexity of the relationships and tasks involved in foster care work are often compounded by the ambiguities that surround them. Uncertainties, confusion, rivalries and mixed feelings carried by any one of the parties can easily lead to misperceptions or confusion, or to one of the parties not being included in the plan or in its implementation. Effective Working Relationships A number of evaluative studies of childcare social work have included descriptive accounts of the activities of social workers. Consumers of social work describe what they value from social workers. Two major categories have emerged, which Howe (1997) has outlined. He states that in order to be effective social work must succeed in two areas-personal relationships and the organisation of work. Triseliotis et al. (1995) quote Freeman's (1991) prerequisite qualities for creating the conditions of a working relationship, which they suggest are equally applicable for social workers in their work with foster carers. ... honesty, naturalness, reliability, keeping clients informed, understanding their feelings and the stress of parenthood, offering combined practical and moral support. (Freeman, 1991, p. 64) Jill Wain has been a foster carer for more than 20 years and has gone on to manage a fostering agency in Melbourne. She exhorts the importance of clear, open and honest communication and being clear about roles and respecting the role of each person involved in the life of a child in care. She states that all those involved are members of a team, and without each other we could not function. I think to get the best out of foster care in the year 2000 and beyond ... we need to work with each other in a collaborative way that acknowledges the importance of each other's role. It should recognise the importance of the concept of partnership, be creative and prepared to give new things a go. We cannot work in isolation and we need to respect each other, working to achieve positive outcomes for the children we care for. (Wain, 1999, p. 42)
	john sheldon Sheldon, J. (2004). “We Need To Talk”: A Study of Working Relationships Between Field Social Workers and Fostering Link Social Workers in Northern Ireland. Child Care in Practice, 10,1 pp 21-22

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
References:

Birchall, E., & Hallett, C. (1995). Working together in child protection. In Child Protection:Messages from Research. HMSO, University of Stirling.

Freeman, M. (1991). Children, their families and the law: Working with the Children Act. Basingstoke: Macmillan.

Howe, D. (1997). An introduction to social work theory. Aldershot: Ashgate.

Sellick, C. (1996). The role of social workers in supporting and developing the work of foster carers. In M. Hill (Ed.), Signposts in fostering: Policy, practice and research issues. London: BAAF. (reprinted from Adoption and Fostering, 20(2))

Triseliotis, J., Sellick, C., & Short, R. (1995). Foster care: theory and practice. London: Batsford. NFCA. (1999). UK national standards for foster care. London: NFCA.

Wain, J. (1999). Partnership-The caring team. Children Australia, 24(4).

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