Whilst there are stark differences between the roles of an Agency Social Worker and that of an Independent Social Worker, there are many commonalities, which can often lead to us being confused for an agency.
In this blog we will look at some of the main difference between Agency Social Workers and Independent Social Workers…
Flexibility
They both enjoy flexibility in terms of their workload, albeit that as an Agency Social Worker, the ability to leave a post with very limited notice can leave Local Authorities in some difficulty and fails to offer consistency for children, only perpetuating a distrust of unreliable adults in their lives. The retention rate of our Independent Social Workers is excellent. They have control over their work and life balance and are not bound by the challenges that Local Authority Social Work can present.
Independent Social Workers who receive instruction from a Local Authority act as representatives for the Local Authority and work closely with the allocated Social Worker to achieve the best outcome for children and their families. We aspire to offer consistency for families and would always seek to re-instruct the same Independent Social Worker to complete any subsequent assessments of the family. This equally offers a clear measure of whether change has been achieved.
We aspire to build close working relationships with Local Authorities to ensure that the work we do is suited to their needs. We help to reduce caseloads and backlogs of work for Local Authority’s who are struggling with retention, and we are not selective in the work that we are able and willing to do.
Cost
Both enjoy enhanced rates of pay to that of employed Social Workers however, with Agency Social Workers, this does not discriminate between a newly qualified Social Worker to someone with 20 years of experience. With the cap on Agency fees being brought in ACCA’s Independent Social Workers offer an invaluable and cost-effective alternative.
It’s not only the Independent Social Workers that benefit financially; Local Authorities can benefit from reduced costs by working with Independent Social Workers like the ones on our panel.
We offer a clear fixed cost model, with no hidden fees. Local Authorities are provided with a clear breakdown of indicative costs at instruction. We also don’t change management fees, reducing costs even further for the instructing party.
Experience
The Independent Social Workers on our panel are required to have a minimum of 5 years’ experience, with many of them having had a long career in Social Work. Indeed, we pride ourselves on our experience and Local Authorities and Courts rely on this to assist them effectively with case planning.
Management
As Advanced CCA is not an agency, our Independent Social Workers benefit from a high level of support from our internal team. They are offered considerable guidance and training to ensure that they can prepare high quality assessments, that stand up to the most rigorous of scrutiny. they are passionate about their role and we provide them opportunities to enhance their skills through regular training.
All reports are quality assured by our internal team which is comprised of highly skilled individuals with many years’ experience within Social Work professions. Our internal team contribute to effective care planning and ensure all assessments are provided as per the requirements of the instructing party. They also provide full management of all Independent Social Workers at no extra cost, removing management fees often associated with Agency workers.
Independence over Agency
If you believe your Local Authority could benefit from the support of our Independent Social Workers, contact our team today.
Simply get in touch via our website, and we will provide you with a full list of CV’s, timescales, and costs of all the Independent Social Workers with the relevant experience and training for your requirements. Once you have chosen your Social Worker, they’ll get to work straight away to ensure your assessment is completed within your strict time scales.
