Learning from research for contemporary social work practice – Disabled Foster Carers - Where are they?

Social work research seminar – ‘Learning from research for contemporary social work practice’ – Disabled Foster Carers- Where are they?

Would you like to enhance your social work knowledge base and evidence-based practice experience?

Do you want to learn more about research taking place in the region and how it can inform your social work practice?

We know that evidence-based practice is crucial to good social work. It helps keep us professionally curious. However, in the busy world of front line social work, we know that it can be challenging to keep up to date with the latest research, to make sense of it and understand how it applies to the day to day issues that social workers deal with. The West Midlands Social Work Teaching Partnership is committed to developing links between research and practice in social work. We want to support practitioners to engage with research that can help them with the real-world issues they work with daily.

We are therefore hosting a series of quarterly Learning from Research Seminars which will feature a researcher who will present a piece of research with key findings and messages for contemporary social work practice. Time is also allowed for questions and reflections for learning and moving forwards. These sessions will provide learning for both adults and children’s practitioners, with opportunity to feedback some messages from practice to help inform future research.

Our next seminar will be held on 8th of December 2022 14:00-15:30pm. This will be led by Dr Peter Unwin from the University of Worcester and Alison Byrne, a disabled foster carer for Liverpool Council, who will present findings of research titled ‘Disabled Foster Carers- Where are they?’ Despite many disabled people being successful parents, very few disabled people are recruited as foster carers. Reasons for this are largely to do with prejudicial attitudes within the social work profession and a ‘risk-averse’ culture that views disabled people in a reductionist way.

Many websites state that one has to be ‘fit and healthy’ to foster, which can be most off-putting to disabled people. Systems such as medicals/ first-aid interpretations and benefits regulations all present their challenges and there are hardly any ‘role models’ of disabled people on fostering websites.  The research project carried in 2019/20 by the University of Worcester/Shaping Our Lives User Network found positive exam examples of disabled people fostering around the UK. CoramBAAF published a resultant Practice Note - Practice Note 73. Disabled Foster Carers | CoramBAAF - to encourage the recruitment of disabled people into foster care, but to date little has changed. The session will deliver key messages for social workers to help apply the learning to contemporary practice.

This session is only available to members of the West Midlands Social Work Teaching Partnership, and people with lived experience who are linked to one of our partner organisations.