In the second episode of our new ‘Social work around the world‘ miniseries, we continue the conversation with Yohai Hakak, senior social work lecturer at Brunel University, London, who shares some fascinating insights about his time as a mental health social worker in Israel.

In case you missed it, you can listen to episode one – about Hakak’s research into migration by social workers – here.

In episode two, Hakak, who was born and raised in Israel, discusses the differences between social work in Israel and in England. He talks about his work at a psychiatric hospital in Jerusalem, as well as discussing his PhD, which was focused on Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men.

He describes how certain communities, such as Mizrahi Jews, Palestinians and Ultra-Orthodox Jews, are often marginalised in Israel and how those groups made up most of his patients.

As well as this, Hakak discusses a journal article he wrote about social services’ involvement in interfaith relationships in Israel.

A must listen!

A new podcast miniseries focusing on social workers from around the world launches this week.

The number of overseas social workers in the UK has grown significantly in recent years. According to Social Work England data, the number of international practitioners applying to register to practise in England went up by 175% from 2019-20 to 2021-22.

This new podcast miniseries, part of season three of The Social Work Community Podcast, focuses on the differences in social work between the UK and other countries, as well as the challenges social workers have faced emigrating.

It kicks off with Community Care’s careers editor, Sharmeen Ziauddin, speaking to senior social work lecturer at Brunel University Yohai Hakak, who is conducting a research project looking at the migration of social workers to and from the UK*.

Hakak is also part of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Diaspora Social Workers special interest group.

Watch the teaser on Instagram. 

He explains why he is carrying out this research and gives an insight into a few of the many differences in social work between England and other parts of the world.

Are migrating social workers being perceived as experts who can enrich local practice with new approaches and perspectives? Or are they seen as a necessary compromise, and are mainly judged by the length of time they require to adjust to local practice contexts? (Hakak et al, 2023).

These are some of the questions that the podcast aims to answer.

What else is coming up?

The second episode continues with Hakak talking about his experience of practising as a mental health social worker in Israel.

Hakak describes how the marginalisation of particular communities, such as Mizrahi Jews, Ultra-Orthodox Jews and Palestinians, can influence their mental health.

Both episodes are out this week.

Future episodes will feature social workers from Australia, America, India and many more countries.

*The Brunel University study on social work migration is ongoing; if you want to take part, visit this page.

Sarah Erlacher’s neighbour once called her “a social worker of the world” and she quite literally is. She assists on cases where British adults abroad have become homeless, run out of funds or have been a victim of a crime, and it is her job to advise on cases involving British prisoners in jails abroad.

A large part of her role involves helping people settle back into the UK when their visa has expired or after an incident abroad. This can involve contacting family in the UK or signposting them to services they may need.

“Quite often people decide to come back to the UK thinking they will get access to housing and financial support straight away, but unfortunately that’s not the case, so we have to advise people what [coming back] may look like,” says Erlacher.

She is one of four practitioners that supports the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to assist British nationals overseas.

Erlacher and her colleagues have various specialisms and are employed by Heathrow Travel Care, a charity set up to help people in crisis at Heathrow Airport.

The team of social workers is seconded to the FCDO, which employs 17,000 staff in the UK and its 237 British embassies, consulates and high commissions across the world.

Consular staff are not trained to advise people on issues that would usually require social services involvement. When vulnerable people are involved, staff can seek advice from the specialist social work team.

The four social workers do not hold cases directly but instead provide specialist advice when consular colleagues ask them for help.

British nationals can call the nearest British embassy, high commission or consulate, or the FCDO in UK, at any time. They consider all requests for assistance and have published guidance on how they can help in different circumstances. However the FCDO is not legally obliged to provide assistance to any British citizen under any current law.

The consulates abroad act as a front door for British nationals in distress. Referrals can come through in many ways, from friends, family members, concerned neighbours, healthcare professionals or the police.

Photo: Blanscape/AdobeStock

What does the team do?

Team manager Steve Davenport specialises in cases that involve older adults aged 65 and over.

“We’re giving advice based on our UK experience, knowledge and skills, but we also need to be mindful that doesn’t just automatically translate into the country the British national is in. So we’re relying on the expertise of our colleagues in that country to tell us what it is like on the ground. That will help shape the advice we give to them on how to manage that case.

“We could have two 85-year-olds with dementia, one is in Spain and one in Cambodia, so service provision or what might happen in that country can be really different,” he says.

Davenport explains that because of the different types of provision, or due to lack of services or funds, it is often best for the individual to come back to the UK.

Where the British national has a connection to a particular area, such as a previous home or a relative who lives there, that local authority will be contacted.

“On a daily basis, as a team, [we are] speaking to adult and children’s social care teams dotted around the UK trying to either get information or share information, or give them warning that somebody is coming back,” he says.

Photo: LN/AdobeStock. British Embassy in Moscow

Celebrate those who’ve inspired you

For our 50th anniversary, we’re expanding our My Brilliant Colleague series to include anyone who has inspired you in your career – whether current or former colleagues, managers, students, lecturers, mentors or prominent past or present sector figures whom you have admired from afar.

Photo by Daniel Laflor/peopleimages.com/ AdobeStock

Nominate your colleague or social work inspiration by either:

• Filling in our nominations form with a letter or a few paragraphs (100-250 words) explaining how and why the person has inspired you.
• Or sending a voice note of up to 90 seconds to +447887865218, including your and the nominee’s names and roles.

If you have any questions, email our community journalist, Anastasia Koutsounia, at anastasia.koutsounia@markallengroup.com

Children and families

Child welfare and safeguarding specialist Annika Dann’s cases often involve child abductions, domestic abuse, and general safeguarding concerns.

“We have a clear policy on what consular staff can and can’t do in cases involving children. My role is looking at [the case] and applying the principles of UK safeguarding. At the same time, we have to recognise that in another country’s jurisdiction, their legislation applies,” she says.

Some countries have very different approaches to child protection and safeguarding to the UK’s. Dann is reliant on British embassy colleagues to inform her what provision there is to safeguard children in that specific country.

As consular staff are not social workers, they cannot visit children and families and investigate concerns. Part of Dann’s role is to work out if a concern has reached the threshold to involve authorities in the country in question and what action, if any, can be taken.

“There are a lot of domestic abuse cases where one parent wants to leave the relationship with children in their care, but faces challenges to leave the country or return to the UK without the other parent’s consent,” she says.

Dann and colleagues can signpost to services, such as local refuges, or to legal advice for cases involving child abduction, where one parent takes a child across borders without the other’s consent.

“It’s obviously much more challenging in countries where there [aren’t] equivalent social services or a child safeguarding framework and it can be quite limited in what we can do to support. But it’s a collaborative approach where everybody is drawing on their own expertise and knowledge to try and find the best option for the child.”

When British tourists have been involved in domestic or substance abuse abroad and will be returning to the UK, Dann will decide whether they should be flagged to social services. She can also request information from a local authority to help her decide what to do.

Photo: Dominic Dudley/AdobeStock. Sign by the main entrance of the FCDO London, UK.

Mental health

Where there is an obvious primary mental health need, Chris Heywood, the approved mental health professional (AMHP) in the team, will assist. Mental health problems appear across the entire spectrum of what the team does so often there is overlap with cases and the team must work closely together.

Although there has been a lot of progress in the UK in recent decades on the provision of mental health services, this is not always the case in other countries.

“Mental health is still incredibly under-resourced. In many countries, it’s not spoken about – it’s stigmatised – all of the things that used to be more applicable to the UK. Indeed in a lot of countries, there’s no such thing as mental health, it’s not even recognised in law,” says Heywood.

Family members or social workers may flag up a person abroad who needs intervention due to mental health problems but often there is no legal framework in place for this to be possible.

“It can be incredibly difficult,” says Heywood. “Sometimes it really is going back to basics and doing the investigative work. What’s this person’s background? What has helped them in the past? Are there any strategies we can deploy to help this person, given the lack of resources in whichever country they are in? And are there any resources that we know of that may not be apparent to the individual, to which we can signpost or refer them?”

Often the team can be left frustrated when they are unable to proceed because a country does not have the legal framework or guidance in place.

“People, understandably so, become increasingly frustrated or even angered with us for what they perceive as a failure to act or [us] wilfully neglecting to act.

“But actually it’s not for our lack of trying or wanting to provide the assistance this person might need. But where things fall outside of our remit, or if there’s no legal basis for us to do the things that people would like us to do, it may be that there is nothing we can do or indeed, that we are not permitted to do things that people would like us to do. A good example would be where we cannot share information with family members due to GDPR,” says Heywood.

Training

Delivering training and attending conferences in the UK and abroad is an important part of working for FCDO. This gives the team a chance to learn about different social work cultures, look at what services might be available in different regions and impart their own knowledge.

Davenport says: “It’s a real perk and privilege of the job. […] If time allows we can sometimes spend a bit of time with the consular team in that country and go to visit services, social care teams if they exist, hospitals, be that general or psychiatric, care homes, prisons, immigration detention centres – all the places that British nationals end up.”

By Sharmeen Ziauddin and Ruth Hardy-Mullings

Social workers across the UK have been deeply affected by the Israel-Gaza war, which began in October 2023.

Community Care spoke to three social workers to understand how the conflict has affected them, how they are supporting service users and what more organisations can do to support their staff. We also interviewed a Palestinian social worker working in the West Bank, who told us about the direct impact of the conflict on him and the children he works with.

The toll of the Israel-Gaza war

On 7 October 2023, attacks led by Hamas in Israel caused the deaths of about 1,200 people, with a further 253 taken hostage. In response, Israel launched a war in Gaza, in which over 34,000 people have been killed so far, many of them women and children.

Approximately 1.9 million people –  85% of Gazans – have been forced to flee their homes, while the entire population of the Gaza Strip is facing high levels of acute food insecurity, with famine predicted, due to the war. Infectious diseases are spreading in Gaza but much of its healthcare system is no longer functioning due to attacks by Israeli forces.

Widespread calls from across the world for a ceasefire – from the United Nations Security Council, over 150 states, charities and social work organisations – have so far fallen on deaf ears, and Israel is reportedly poised to enter Rafah, where over a million Palestinians are sheltering.

Meanwhile, in the UK, both antisemitism and Islamophobia have risen sharply since October 2023.

‘As Muslims, we are deeply grieving’

“As a Muslim, I feel we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. We are deeply grieving,” says Alshad (Ash) Dustagheer, children’s social worker and creator of New Generation Social Work, a productivity brand for social workers.

“I watch the news every night and am updated on my phone every day, so it’s niggling in the background on my mind all day. I was reading the news this morning and you just start your day thinking: how many more children are going to die today? It’s a tough time for the Muslim community and for the [social work] profession.”

Dustagheer works with children and foster carers who are personally affected by the conflict.

“I’m working with children who come from Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan and have lost family members. They’re directly affected by it, a lot of their family members are connected to Palestine. As part of my direct work with them, I’ve asked, ‘How do you feel about Palestine?’.

Having difficult conversations

“For me, it’s really key because it’s very difficult for practitioners to have that conversation with children and young people, but I’m raising it with my young people and they’re telling me their feelings around it. And again, they’re really traumatised by what’s happening, they’re confused, they don’t feel safe when they’re out in the community to talk about it.”

Nicole Valens is head of social work at the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR), a charity which supports Holocaust refugees and survivors living in Great Britain.

“One of the main things that has happened since 7 October is the steep rise in antisemitism in this country and around the world,” she says. “A lot of our clients are scared to leave the house or worried about antisemitism, worried that people would find out that they’re Jewish.”

Many of the clients AJR works with have friends and family in Israel and are concerned for their safety. Tragically, one client has been directly impacted, as her grandchildren in Israel were killed in the 7 October attack.

Valens adds that there is ongoing concern for the people of Gaza and the suffering they are experiencing.

‘Believe service users’

Social workers at AJR are offering service users space to talk if they would like to, through one-on-one support as well as outreach events and social groups.

Valens says that it is vital to believe what service users are telling you, and validate their feelings. “If they say they feel scared in London, for example, believe them. Because some people might say, ‘Well, you know, it’s perfectly safe here. I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ But actually, it’s how someone feels.”

Yohai Hakak is a social work lecturer at Brunel University. He is part of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Diaspora special interest group, for practitioners originating from overseas, and is a Jewish Israeli.

He says: “Social workers should be aware that these events are very triggering for people here, definitely people who have relatives or come from these areas and also people who fled from other war-torn areas. Social workers should apply a trauma-informed perspective that I don’t know if we talk about enough in social work but it definitely needs to be talked about.

The importance of reflection

“The other thing is the need to be reflective as a practitioner and be aware of your positioning. Where are you coming from? Why are you seeing the things the way that you’re seeing? And how are you making sure you are separating your own views, which you’re entitled to hold, from how you work with the people you work with, with the focus on their needs?

“Just make sure one thing doesn’t bleed into the other and that you’re not imposing your values, your way of seeing the world on other people that you’re working with.”

Dustagheer works with several Muslim foster carers.

“When I go to their houses for supervision they have the news on, and they’re watching it. We start our supervision and it’s like they’re venting to me because they feel they can, and they feel safe to do that with me as a professional.” He feels this can create tension between his personal and professional boundaries.

“I’m finding myself saying, ‘Well actually I can’t delve too much into it but I understand your position on a personal level’.”

Valens manages a team of social workers, half of whom are Jewish and half who aren’t.

“So the impact is obviously different for different people. But the social workers are also impacted by the rise in antisemitism, all of the fears about friends and family in Israel, the impact just of ongoing, you know, six months of watching a war unfold in such a horrible, devastating way. Obviously, it impacts on people and the longer it goes on the more difficult it is for people.”

Promoting self-care

In October, Valens arranged reflection meetings for staff to come together, talk about how they were feeling and support each other. She also has an open-door policy, so any of her team can come to her and talk about how they are feeling and the difficulties they are going through.

Valens also says that self-care is important, particularly, encouraging social workers not to get fixated on the news.

“Every time you saw another news article, all of emotion, all of that stress and anxiety and distress would become overwhelming. So yes, keep up with it if you need to, but really try and take a break from the news and social media.”

Instead, she suggests practical tips, like donating to charity, so that people feel more empowered.

“It’s a very difficult situation. It’s incredibly complex and multi-layered and we all have to be kind to ourselves and to each other to get through it.”

The need for a safe space to talk about the conflict

Dustagheer would like to see social work leaders being more vocal about the conflict, as well as offering staff a safe space to talk about how they have been affected.

“There isn’t an invitation or a safe space for practitioners to talk about how they’re feeling. There isn’t. For me it’s a lack of leadership, because I think the leadership in the social work profession should be saying, ‘Well actually, let’s talk about this’. That alone is an invitation – it’s a more empathetic and compassionate response.”

He adds: “What I would like to see is more convincing statements [from leaders] in social work, with a balanced view. Statements that show and recognise that this is ongoing, and we are here listening to those who are affected by it.”

BASW and the Social Workers Union’s position

The latest statement from BASW and the Social Workers Union (SWU) on the conflict was released on 20 February.

In it, they state: “This war must not be allowed to continue. We continue to call on the UK and international governments and all political parties to press for an immediate, permanent ceasefire. This means an end to Israeli military action in Gaza and for Hamas and Hezbollah to stop sending rockets into Israel and to move out of civilian areas. We call for the immediate release of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas and an end to Israel’s siege that is restricting delivery of humanitarian and medical aid to Gaza.”

Hakak also thinks that safe spaces for discussions among staff about the conflict would be useful and should happen.

“These spaces should be moderated or guided by someone capable, so that indeed these are safe spaces. So I would encourage that.”

Hakak has talked about the war with his students.

“Students are clearly interested. It’s a good opportunity to learn, think and educate ourselves and our students. We do try and do that despite the sensitivities and the complexities.”

Social workers ‘should be free to express their views’

He also stresses the importance of free speech within the profession, combined with understanding of others’ perspectives.

“I do think that social workers should be able to express their opinions, including their political opinions, freely […] We stress the importance of empathy, of understanding the other side’s point of view and of finding peaceful resolutions.

“I want to think that as professionals, these are the things we teach our students and encourage in the people we work with.”

By Clare Jerrom

Employers have been set standards to tackle the “poor support” received by the UK’s growing band of overseas social workers.

In the wake of a 175.3% rise in the number of overseas applications to register in England from 2019-20 to 2021-22, the British Association of Social Workers’ Diaspora Social Work Special Interest Group has produced the standards to improve recruitment and induction.

This followed feedback that the experiences of overseas social workers had “often been challenging with poor induction and management support”. This included a poll on the Community Care site, which found that 48% of readers believed international practitioners were supported badly, on coming to work in the UK.

Launching the guide at BASW’s annual conference this month, group co-chair Duc Tran said overseas staff faced three key issues in coming to work in the UK.

Lack of support for overseas social workers

Firstly, they lacked support to manage the financial impact of relocation, including travel costs that could exceed £2,000, up-front accommodation costs, potentially topping £3,000 in London, and the need to register before arrival.

Social Work England requires a £495 non-refundable scrutiny fee in addition to the £90 annual registration fee from overseas applicants.

While many local authorities offer a relocation package of up to £8,000, practitioners often could not access the money until after they have moved, while Tran said it could be used up within two months.

Secondly, social workers from overseas often were not given the training and support needed to adjust to working in the UK, said Tran. They also experienced a lack of career progression, with their many skills not always being recognised by managers, he added.

What it’s like for overseas social workers to move to the UK

Pictured: Dr Muzvare Hazviperi Betty Makoni with a group of overseas social workers recruited through Morgan Hunt and trained by Social Care Empowering
Photo credit: Dr Makoni

For World Social Work Day 2023, we examined the experiences of international social workers moving to UK to practise, highlighting the many barriers and challenges they faced along the way, along with the value that they bring to this country’s workforce, in increasing numbers.

Read more in World Social Work Day: the social workers crossing oceans to practise in the UK.

Standards for employers

Under the proposed standards, employers should provide overseas practitioners with a relocation package that at least covers all travel costs, social work registration fees, visa costs and temporary housing.

To help social workers and their families settle in the UK, the guidance says employers should provide access to psychological, medical, educational and cultural support, and offer practitioners a buddy.

Recruiters should allow three years to allow international social workers to adapt to practising in the UK, starting with a well-designed induction programme that should minimise anxieties and set clear expectations.

Overseas social workers should receive review meetings after three, six and 12 months to assess progress, identity training to fill skills gaps and enable them to provide feedback on what is going well and what needs improvement.

Employers should also provide practitioners with a continuing professional development plan, including compulsory training on cultural differences and sensitivities within the UK.

In addition, practitioners should receive coaching and mentoring from senior social workers to help with both their transition and their subsequent career development.

Workforce shortages

The sharp increase in overseas social workers in England has come amid increasing staff shortages, with vacancy rates rising to 20% for local authority children’s services and 11.6% for adults’ services, in the year to September 2022.

Social Work England is anticipating further increases in overseas applications this year, with this being among the reasons that its business plan predicts a £1m increase in registration income this year.

Welsh regulator Social Care Wales, meanwhile, has received 126 applications to register from overseas social workers since October 2022, with 217 people who qualified outside the UK registered as of 9 June 2023.

“International social workers bring with them a wealth of expertise and experience which can be a huge asset to any social work employer,” said Tran and Priya David, his fellow co-chair on the BASW diaspora group, in their foreword to the standards.

“It is our hope that these standards will be used across the UK to ensure international social workers receives the support and training they need to be successful as social workers in the UK and to make a positive difference to their employers and the lives of the people with whom they will work.”

For BASW, chair Julia Ross said: “BASW is delighted to support this publication alongside people with lived experience of migration to the UK, and we look forward to seeing this framework help both social workers, employers and indeed other professionals for many years to come.”

Looked-after children are being denied their right to a family because of councils’ lack of data on potential overseas placements and “stretched” social workers’ difficulties in exploring them, a charity has warned.

Children and Families Across Borders (CFAB) found that UK local authorities explored the possibility of reuniting just 233 children in care with family members in a different country in 2018-20, with an “extremely low”112 being placed. The charity said its “conservative estimate” was that an overseas placement could be an option for 5,500 children in care in England and Wales, 30% of the 18,500 it had calculated as having family members abroad.

Ninety four per cent of the 211 authorities with social services responsibility responded to a freedom of information request from CFAB, with most (52%)not being able to say for how many looked-after children they had explored overseas placements.

The charity said the lack of data and the very low placement rate suggested some children in care were being denied their right to a family – contrary to the ethos of the Children Act 1989 and UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Social workers ‘stretched beyond imagination’

Social workers often did not explore overseas placements because the process was “complicated and drawn out”, and there was “confusion about how to navigate multiple child protection systems and communicate with agencies overseas”, CFAB said.

Carolyn Housman, chief executive of CFAB, told Community Care the biggest reason why children’s services did not explore more overseas placements was because they were “stretched beyond imagination”.

“That doesn’t mean there isn’t good will, good intent, and social workers acting in the best interests of children,” she said.

“But when they’ve got too high caseloads and there’s not enough funding to understand how to navigate these complicated systems, things drop to the bottom of the priority list, unfortunately.”

She said social workers not being trained on how to make overseas placements was “a problem”, but a greater issue was practitioners being unaware of where they could get support.

Housman said it was “incredibly hard” for social workers to be trained on “200 different social service systems around the world in different countries and different languages” but there were authorities set up to assist them.

She said the Hague Convention on Parental Responsibility and Protection of Children 1996, to which 53 countries, including the UK, were signatories, provided a central authority to help social workers get record checks, assessments or other reports on families and placements overseas.

More placements being explored

CFAB welcomed an increase in the number of overseas placements explored in 2018-20 (233) compared with 2015-17 (202), for which it previously collected data, though the proportion of authorities doing so dropped from 49% to 39%.

Fewer looked-after children were placed with family members abroad in 2018-20 (112) than the previous three-year period (121), CFAB estimated, though it said a decrease in 2020 was expected due to Covid-related border closures.

In fact, CFAB said the relatively narrow decline could indicate that “as the impacts of Covid-19 continue to lessen, the numbers of looked-after children being placed abroad may continue to rise”.

It said this was “an encouraging finding which suggests that international kinship placements are being considered more regularly as a viable option for looked-after children”.

Housman added: “I do think the picture will improve. I think it has to, given the nature of the country and the world that we live in. But I think there are some blockages that aren’t being addressed by governments and there’s a cost.”

Directors: overseas assessments ‘time consuming’

The Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) said obtaining assessments for family members overseas that met British legal requirements could be “difficult and time consuming”.

“However, this should not prevent local authorities from exploring prospective carers as an option when this is in the best interests of the child,” said Sara Tough, chair of the ADCS families, communities and young people policy committee.

Tough said it was important to involve children in decisions about their lives, as some “may not want to move away from the places and people they know and love”.

She said the increase in children in care having family abroad explored as potential carers was a positive, as it showed local authorities continued to consider international placements “even in the context of a global health crisis”.