Preparedness of social workers in field services for working with parents with intellectual disabilities
Abstract
Support provided by social workers is essential for parents with intellectual disabilities as it can, along with other factors, influence successful or unsuccessful parenting. The quality of support is influenced by a number of factors, and thus analysis of these factors was the aim of this study.
The authors focused on analyzing social workers' knowledge, professional preparation, work experiences, attitudes and educational needs. The findings showed that while social workers commonly work with parents with intellectual disabilities, they are lacking knowledge and quality of professional preparation.
This makes it difficult for them to provide these families with adequate support. The social workers acknowledged that they would like to develop their knowledge and skills.
However, their attitudes towards parents with intellectual disabilities are currently reflected in their work experiences, which is also projected their professional performance. This causes considerable concerns that children brought up by parents with this disability would be threatened by neglectful care.
The authors also examined types of support provided by social workers to parents with intellectual disabilities. One of the neglected areas is parents' rights advocacy, which is critical for parents with intellectual disabilities, as about 50 % of these parents have their children removed from their care (Emerson et al., 2005; Tarleton et al., 2006).