Examine the legal context of practice in Mental Health/Disability as a social worker including relevant legislation and how the legal context shapes and influences social work practice.

Examine the legal context of practice in Mental Health/Disability as a social worker including relevant legislation and how the legal context shapes and influences social work practice.
Order Description
The Legal Context of Social Work Practice
Examine the legal context of practice in Mental Health/Disability as a social worker including relevant legislation and how the legal context shapes and influences social work practice.
Your essay needs to demonstrate:
Knowledge of the specific legal context and legislation relevant to the area of social work practice.
Identification of key drivers of change in the relevant legal context/legislation and likely future reforms.
Capacity to identify and understand the impact of the legal context/legislation on the area of social work practice (ie. The impact on social workers and the people they work with)
Choosing an area of practice
You can choose to focus on a broad area of practice (eg. mental health) or given the word limits it is recommended that you choose a more specific area (eg. CTOs within the mental health system). The main issue to consider in choosing how you will focus your assignment is that there is some connection to social work practice (ie. Social workers need to work within the legal context of the area you are examining and/or typical clients/service users of social workers/human services are impacted by the legal context).
Basic structure for the assignment
Introduction- in which you should clearly indicate the practice area you will be examining and any particular focus you will be making within that area.
The main areas you should aim to cover in the body of the paper include (in no particular order):
-Key principles elements & content of the legislation in the area you are examining (note: you do not need to reproduce large slabs of the legislation although small quotes if they demonstrate a point would be useful- ie. You should be summarising and demonstrating your knowledge and understanding of the legislation/area of law you are examining- not just what is contained in an Act)
-An analysis of current issues concerning the legislation/area of law. eg. Are there calls for reforms of the law? In what areas? Who is calling for the changes? What are the broader community views?
-An analysis of the impact of the legislation/ area of law on social work practice and/or users of social work/ human services. (This might be a separate section or incorporated throughout your paper).
Conclusion.
Note: You do not need to limit your paper to the above areas and may include other content. The number of words you write for each section will depend on the legislation or area of law you are examining.
An example If my assignment is focussing on the area of guardianship the areas I might focus on in my assignment include:
The key principles and mechanisms in the Guardianship and Administration Act 1986 as well as connections to other relevant legislation.
Likely future developments of the legislation and why are reforms being called for (and maybe who is calling for them) eg. the new Guardianship and Administration Act etc. and key new directions eg. Supported decision making
What this means for social workers working in areas where Guardianship is important and/or their clients/consumers.
Critical Reflection
Your paper should demonstrate critical reflection on the issues surrounding the legislation and/or broader legal context of the area you have examined and not be just a description of the legislation or area of law.
References
Your assignment should include references to the legislation you are examining and to other relevant readings resources materials. When referring to specific sections of legislation it is permissible to refer to the Act and the particular section in the text of your assignment (eg. Section 10 of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cmth) refers to..). With references to legislation please note whether it is Commonwealth legislation or name the state (eg. (Vic) after a reference to Victorian legislation)
Readings & Resources for references:
Essential Readings:
Rice S. & Day A. (eds.) (2014) Social Work in the Shadow of the Law 4th ed. Annandale: The Federation Press. Chapter 15 (Brophy L. & Healy B.) Mental health law and its implications for social work practice.
Rice S. & Day A. (eds.) (2014) Social Work in the Shadow of the Law 4th ed. Annandale: The Federation Press. Chapter 17: (Bigby) People with a disability.
Fitzroy Legal Service (2014) The Law Handbook Chapter 16 Section 4: Psychiatric Disability (Note: legislation in this chapter refers to the old mental health Act). Click here to go to the Law Handbook
Fitzroy Legal Service (2014) The Law Handbook Chapter 16: Disability Sections Disability Overview & Intellecutal Disability Click here to go to the Law Handbook Chapter 16. & Chapter 3: Arrest Bail and Court Section Disability and Criminal Justice Click here to go to the Law Handbook Chapter 3
Other Readings & Resources:
McSherry B. & Freckelton I. (eds.) (2013) Coercive Care: Rights Law and Policy Routledge. See especially chapter 1. Click here to access e-book at Melb Uni library
Brophy L. & McDermott F. (2013) Using Social Work Theory and Values to Investigate the Implementation of Community Treatment Orders in Australian Social Work 66:1; 72-85. Click here to link to the article in Melb Uni library
Owens N. & Brophy L. (2013) Revocation of Community Treatment Orders in a mental health service network in Australasian Psychiatry 21:1; 46-50. Owen & Brophy 2013 CTO.pdf
Brophy L. & McDermott F. (2003) Whats driving involuntary treatment in the community? The social policy legal and ethical context. Australasian Psychiatry (11) S84-S88. Click here to access the article from the library
Campbell J. Brophy L. Healy b. & OBrien A. (2006). International perspectives on the use of community treatment orders: Implications for mental health social workers British Journal of Social Work 36 1101- 1118. Click here to access the article from the library
Mental Health Legal Centre. Click here to go to the MHLC website
Relevant Legislation:
Mental Health Act 2014 (Vic). Click here to go to the Act
Disability Act 2006 (Vic). Click here to go to the Act
Resources site on the new Mental Health Act 2014. Click here to go to the site
Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) Click here to access the Act
Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Comm) Click here to access the Act


 

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