Keyworking
The late and sadly lamented Scottish Effective Interventions Unit produced a review of the evidence about support beneficial to people who had drugs problems moving into employment. It sees a key element of the role of a key worker as
They then add“a consistent point of contact, which could guide and support the young person in their contact with other agencies and act as an advocate.“
The Models of Care Update says that keyworking is a process undertaken by the keyworker to ensure the delivery and ongoing review of the care plan. This would normally involve regular meetings between the keyworker and the client where progress against the care plan would be discussed and goals revised as appropriate.“‘Keyworking’ is highlighted in a number of project evaluations as one way of tailoring support to an individual. This means that a client is allocated a specific worker to support them for the duration of their stay with the project. Projects for the long-term unemployed and for ex-offenders have utilized keyworkers to provide support tailored to the individual and to help create a strong partnership between the recovering user and the worker.”
So if a service claims to offer keyworking their clients should know
that they have a key worker;
- how to contact them;
- what they can expect from them in terms of support;
- when they can expect to see the keyworker next;
- what is being done and by whom;
- what is expected of them by the worker.
Who is the keyworker?
The person who carries out keyworking tasks with a particular client will normally be the person who has most regular contact with them. This may vary depending on the type of service and the nature of the services being provided.The Models of Care Update builds on the traditional tasks of key work described above:
“As a minimum, the following should be delivered during keywork sessions:
- Developing and agreeing the care plan with the client,
- implementation of the care plan and checking progress against milestones in the care plan
- Information and advice on drug and alcohol misuse
- Harm reduction work and motivational interventions
- Other psychosocial and medical interventions may also be delivered during keywork sessions, depending on the competency of the keyworker.”