Digital capabilities for social workers

It provides a framework to:

• assist social workers with practice judgements and decision-making
• support social workers to meet the needs of adults, children or families who use or could benefit from digital technology
• support trainers and educators to consider how to strengthen social workers’ understanding of the role of digital technology in social work.

It supports social workers to meet and adhere to the regulatory standards - The Professional Standards – developed by Social Work England, and sector-wide agreed levels of ethics, knowledge and performance in the Professional Capabilities Framework and the Knowledge and Skills Statements for children and adult social work.

The statement has been developed by the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), with the support of a sector-wide advisory group, in consultation with key stakeholders, and funding from the Building the Digitally Ready Workforce Programme managed by Health Education England and supported by NHS Digital.

The Digital Capabilities Statement for Social Work is a framework to guide practice . It identifies the knowledge, skills and values social workers need to develop their use of digital technology in practice. It uses a wide definition of ‘digital’, providing an overarching resource for social workers and those managing and employing social workers. It brings together and complements existing work in this area for social workers and provides a framework for planning continuing professional development (CPD). The Digital Capabilities Statement will enable social workers to develop and improve their skills and knowledge in using digital technology and support their critical reflection on related ethical issues.

The Digital Capabilities Statement was commissioned by NHS Digital and Health Education England and has been supported and endorsed by a wide range of leading bodies in social work. It supports social workers to:

• Meet the regulatory requirements of The Professional Standards (Social Work England, 2019)
• Develop digital capability throughout career levels in line with the Professional Capability Framework (British Association of Social Work (BASW), 2018)
• Meet ethical expectations for social workers contained in the UK Code of Ethics (BASW, 2014 (update forthcoming 2020)
• Fulfil relevant elements of the Knowledge and Skills Statement for adults and children Department for Education, 2018; Department of Health, 2015)
• Have a wide-ranging, tailored reference document for digital parallel to that available to health colleagues (National Health Service, 2018)
• Provide a framework for and stimulate interest in further research and resources for social workers in particular areas of digital practice (e.g. the work being developed by the Principal Social Workers for Children and Families (forthcoming, 2020)

The Digital Capabilities Statement is one of several related resources produced as part of this project:

• A summary of the Digital Capabilities Statement
• Presentations, videos and webinars
• Digital capabilities and ethical considerations for social workers
• Digital Capabilities for Social Workers: Stakeholder Report
• Practice examples
• Digital social work champions: a summary of local models (coming soon)

The Digital Capabilities Statement is based on findings from online surveys of social workers, focus groups and practice workshops with social workers.  The work is also underpinned by a literature review of existing research and evaluations and draws on learning from relevant work done with health and care professionals.

The project has been overseen by a cross-sector Advisory Group of people with lived experience of social work services, social work practitioners, social work academics, educators, employers, policymakers, regulators, and digital technology experts.

The definition of digital technologies adopted in this project is derived from a survey of social workers, a literature review and consultation with sector leaders.

• Electronic systems (software) to facilitate day-to-day work of and by social workers (e.g. email, electronic case management systems, business software such as email, calendar and collaborative technologies such as SharePoint and instant messaging)
• Online resources for professionals and people using social work services (e.g. apps and websites)
• Assistive technologies for people using services (e.g. communication aids and robotics; cognitive assistant robots, physically assistive robots).
• Social media and social networking interfaces (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Skype, WhatsApp) used by social workers and other professionals, and used by people of all ages accessing social work services
• Informatics – how information, including large data sets, is used and analysed through computation, and how data is used strategically to determine aggregate need and to monitor and improve services (e.g. performance management software used by social work managers)
• Data protection, privacy and the use of personal,  identifiable data – e.g. how social workers access, store and use  information about people who contact services, to improve their direct care or share information with professionals about them
• Information management (e.g. search, retrieval, data security and access issues)
• Hardware (e.g. smart phones, mobile devices and web enabled laptops)
• Online learning (e.g. professional e-learning, online courses, webinars, online communities of practice)
• Artificial Intelligence and machine learning - for processing large amounts of data about the population to predict their needs

This summary outlines the key elements of the digital capabilities statement. For further information, including the background and context of the statement, please see the full digital capabilities statement, ethical considerations report and the accompanying learning resource.

Digital technologies in social work refer to:

• Electronic systems (software) to facilitate day-to-day work of social workers
• Online resources for professionals and people using social work services
• Assistive technologies for people using services
• Social media and social networking interfaces  
• Informatics – how information, including large data sets, is used and analysed through computation, and how data is used strategically to determine aggregate need and to monitor and improve services (e.g. performance management software used by social work managers)
• Personal identifiable data – accessing and identifying data about people who contact services
• Information management (e.g. search, retrieval, data security and access)
• Hardware (e.g. smart phones, mobile devices and web enabled laptops)
• Online learning (e.g. professional e-learning, online courses, webinars, online communities of practice)
• Artificial Intelligence and machine learning - for processing large amounts of data about the population to predict their needs

This practice framework can be used by:

• Social workers in all sectors and settings to provide guidance in everyday practice, to aid continuous professional development (CPD) planning and supervision.
• People with lived experience, their carers and their networks of support to enable them to understand expected standards of social work practice.
• Managers and supervisors to inform supervision and support managers to understand the systems required for effective practice.
• Practice educators, and Higher Education Institutes to show how the  ‘use of technology and numerical skills’ in the  Subject Benchmark Statement (Social Work) can be met.
• Employers, services providers and training providers to support social workers’ CPD planning, training and developmental opportunities in relation to digital literacy.
• National organisations – to improve understanding of what digital capability means for social workers

The Digital Capabilities Statement is based on the Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF).  The developmental and ethical principles of the PCF are reflected in the Digital Capabilities Statement. It also adopts the ‘levels’ in Health Education England’s A Health and Care Digital Capabilities Framework to show the standards of expertise that social workers should aspire to.

Why should social workers develop their digital capabilities?

Social workers should develop their digital capabilities in order to:

• Meet professional standards: Digital capabilities are reflected in several of Social Work England’s Professional Standards for social work.
• Promote user and carer involvement: Digital technology can enable social workers to enhance the involvement and participation of adults and children in decisions about their care.
• Fulfil social work values and ethics: Access to advice, benefits and services is increasingly online. Big data can introduce biases. Social workers need to be aware of the risks and benefits, and ethical issues associated with digital technology.
• Enable relationship-based practice: Social workers can use digital technologies to enhance face-to-face contact. They can help to build and maintain professional relationships, if used appropriately and securely.
• Connect people to online groups for support: Social workers can direct people to safe online services and networks can reduce loneliness, provide therapeutic interventions and enhance peoples’ community networks.

What are the knowledge and skills that social workers need in order to develop their digital capabilities?

Social workers should develop their knowledge and skills in relation to:

• Understand the online uses and technology needs of people who use services: Social workers should understand how different groups of people with distinct needs, use different online services and technology to support their wellbeing.
• Deliver services through: People use the internet to access many statutory services. A range of interventions, such as counselling, are also available online.
• Ethical decision-making: There are additional ethical issues to consider, such as an increased ethical duty to maintain data security given the large amount of personal information social workers have access to, and the risk of ‘boundary issues’ as private lives become more public on social media.
• Online safeguarding: Social workers need to be able to identify and balance the benefits and the risks of digital technology – and how to mitigate against those risks. Risks include online sexual exploitation, grooming, fraud and financial abuse.
• Understand legislation and regulations: Social workers must understand and comply with applicable legislation and regulations. They should keep up with developing policies and approaches.

How can social workers use digital technology to make a positive impact on systems, services and organisations?

Social workers should aspire to make a positive difference through their use of digital technology by:

• Developing and maintaining digital professionalism: Digital capabilities are integral to social work practice and professionals, including understanding how social workers online behaviour can affect professional identity.
• professional leadership and advocacy. Digital technology offers social workers opportunities to develop new roles in social work, such as designing and coproducing technology, apps and systems with tech developers and people with lived experience.

Social workers can use the Digital Capabilities Statement for:

• Everyday practice: as guidance on what to use digital tools for and how, for critical reflection on practice including ethics, or on new areas that require  social work attention because of the impact of digital technology (e.g. on-line gambling and the impact on vulnerable individuals)
• (Self) assessment: to conduct a ‘skills audit’ about their levels of proficiency in using digital technologies
• Professional development: to plan and log their CPD, identify their training needs and find learning resources online. This can include self-directed learning, trainer-supported learning and group supervision and reflection
• New roles: to identify and propose new professional roles as social workers developing and working with technology
• Supervision: the Digital Capabilities Statement can inform formal supervision and group-supervision and peer-to-peer learning in social work

People who use social work services and their carers, can use the Digital Capabilities Statement to:

• understand the level of digital capability expected of social workers and ask for this from services and professionals
• empower themselves to ask social workers to use digital platforms to communicate with them, deliver services, or help them learn or locate useful digital technology – e.g. assistive technology

Managers and supervisors of social workers can use the Digital Capabilities Statement to:

• inform supervision and evaluation of social workers’ digital capabilities
• ensure digital systems within their organisations are fit for social work practice
•  take responsibility for specifying requirements of technology including, assessing that they meet social work practice needs, implementing and testing, monitoring and commissioning of digital systems
• support recruitment and retention of staff  by explaining the skills and knowledge required for good practice
•  inspire and support effective practice and leadership
• ensure timely data entry and data quality to underpin good decision making and safe practice

Educators and trainers can use the Digital Capabilities Statement to:

• embed digital capabilities within all areas of the curriculum and to provide specific means of assessing these capabilities alongside other curriculum development and forms of assessment
•  meet the standards ‘Use of technology and numerical skills’ in The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education Subject Benchmark Statement (Social Work)
• identify practice learning opportunities for students
• to benchmark students’ readiness for practice before placement
• support and assess students on placement
• evaluate whether students have the digital capabilities for their Newly Qualified Social Worker roles

Employers and social work service providers in all settings – including adults, children’s and families’ services in local authorities, the NHS, the courts, voluntary or private sector settings – can use the Digital Capabilities Statement to:

• support social workers in ensuring good information management practice and handling of person identifiable data
• support social workers to fulfil the requirements of data protection law
• identify the organisational structures and culture that will facilitate social workers’ digital literacy
• support CPD planning, training and developmental opportunities on digital literacy
• ensure the procurement, implementation, use and ongoing development of digital technology directly supports social work practice

Structure of the Capabilities Statement

The Capabilities Statement is structured around the PCF ‘super domains’

• The Purpose section describes the values, ethics and approach to rights that social workers need to demonstrate
• The Practice section describes the knowledge and skills and the areas of practice that they need to focus on when using digital technology
• The Impact section describes digital capabilities related to professionalism, leadership and advocacy skills that social workers require to make positive impact on the social care system     

In England, public services are increasingly provided under the government’s 'digital by default' (e-government) strategy. This policy has made digital technology an indispensable interface between people and public services. Yet access to digital and technology resources, and ability to use them well, is unequally distributed within the population. Social workers have a professional obligation to understand e-government and its implications for equal access to services and resources.

In both adult and children’s social care, there is a policy drive to increase the role of technology in delivering services and peoples’ use of them (Local Government Association, 2016). The internet is an important medium for people to claim and exercise their legal and human rights and get the services they need to maintain their wellbeing.

Social workers need to continuously improve their digital capabilities to:

• support peoples’ human rights through digital inclusion and access to e-government services (BASW, 2018)
• improve service quality
• fulfil young people and adults’ expectations of social workers’ digital and technology capabilities and confidence
• safeguard children and adults from online and digitally-related abuse and risk
• fulfil professional and legal requirements (Taylor, 2017)

Digital technology is already used in all areas of social work and all groups of people who use services and is only set to develop further.

Digital technology is changing the nature of social work practice and leading to the development of new roles for social workers. This has been called ‘e-social work’:

 Social work that uses ICTs [Information and Communication Technology] within this techno-social sphere… e-social work could be understood as a social work field where individuals, communities and groups have needs and it is possible to develop intervention programmes, conduct research projects and design public policies to address them. Today, several public administrations manage social services using ICTs and non-profit organizations provide assistance using the Internet. E-social work comprises online research, therapy (individual, group and community dynamics), the teaching and training of social workers and the monitoring of social service programmes. In this regard, e-social work has become the new social work frontier. (López Peláez and Marcuello-Servós, 2018; p. 801; emphasis added).

Digital technology can speed up social work processes, integrate information from different sources thus enhancing the reliability and accuracy of social workers’ decision-making and provide tools for people using services to manage their own needs and care.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning systems have great potential to enhance how services understand the needs of groups of people with similar characteristics. Through this, these technologies can improve planning and service delivery. However there are ethical concerns about their use in social work (Leslie et al, 2020). Where deployed, there should be transparency and their use should be underpinned by social work values. Thus from social workers’ perspective, digital practice must always meet and promote social work ethics and values. To ensure this, practitioners must understand and be able to ethically evaluate and influence how digital environments and technology are being deployed and developed. They need not only to be able to use them well but also to influence the context and purposes of technology use.

At the same time, it is recognised that digital technology can support and enable values-based social work if used appropriately. For instance, digital technology can underpin supported decision-making with people with impaired mental capacity. Social workers can share information faster (where consent is required and obtained), empowering people who use services to express their wishes and only where this is not possible are mental capacity assessments conducted (Richardson, 2012). This approach also secures other human rights such as self-determination, right to privacy and right to liberty (BASW, 2018). Therefore, as well as technical competence, social workers need critical reflection and decision-making to adequately navigate the ethical issues, in their professional and social lives (Spante et al, 2018; Young et al, 2018).

The pace of technological change, alongside digitalisation of everyday life, poses new challenges for social workers because their impact can be multi-faceted. Technology that can monitor people with dementia in their homes for their safety and to personalise their care, can also be seen as intruding into their privacy. Children can access age-inappropriate online material, or they can be groomed online, and the internet can be used in sexual exploitation. However, the internet can also be used to safeguard children through education and online security settings (Koubel and Johnston, 2016). Therefore the same technology can have contradictory impacts and, with the fast-pace of change, social workers need a practice framework to update their skills.

The Digital Capabilities Statement addresses these issues by joining up current practice standards, codes and research into an integrated practice framework for social workers.

The Digital Capabilities Statement can support social workers to meet the regulatory standards, The Professional Standards (Social Work England, 2019) and other measures of best practice in social work.

In addition to The Professional Standards, social workers are required to practice according to sector-wide agreed levels of ethics, knowledge and performance. These are reflected in the Professional Capabilities Framework, the PCF, (BASW, 2018) and the Knowledge and Skills Statements (KSS) for children and adult social work developed by the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care. These frameworks are used interdependently in practice. Social worker can draw on the Digital Capabilities Statement to fulfil their requirements.

The Digital Capabilities Statement is also based around The Professional Capabilities Framework and Health Education England’s  Health and Care Digital Capabilities Framework.

The Professional Standards are the threshold standards that social workers must meet to lawfully practice. The Digital Capabilities Statement can support social workers to meet The Professional Standards because it explains the benefits of using technology and the skills and CPD required to demonstrate these standards.

The Professional Standards listed below state explicitly that social workers require digital capabilities to practice and they are also implicit in the other.

1. Standard 3: 10 – ‘Establish and maintain skills in information and communication technology and adapt my practice to new ways of working, as appropriate.’ (SWE, 2019; p.8)
2. Standard 4 – This requires social workers to use research and evidence which include digital capabilities (e.g. skills in information-searching, retrieval, analysis and storage). This Standard also requires social workers to record their continuing professional development (CPD) activities online, and reflect on their values, which will include the ethics of digital technologies.
3. Standard 5.2 – ‘Behave in a way that would bring into question my suitability to work as a social worker while at work, or outside of work.’ (SWE, 2019; p. 12). This refers to the inappropriate use of social media and digital technologies, among other behaviours.
4. Standard 5.6 – ‘Use technology, social media or other forms of electronic communication unlawfully, unethically, or in a way that brings the profession into disrepute.’ (SWE, 2019; p. 12).

The Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF) is a developmental tool that shows the expected and desired levels of social work expertise in all fields of practice. It is accepted that social workers should attain and demonstrate all the PCF capabilities irrespective of their practice settings or the needs of the people with whom they work.

There are three overarching ‘super domains’ within the PCF: Purpose, Practice and Impact. The domains of the PCF are recognised as underpinning good social work practice in England. Being able to understand and use digital technology and reflect on its impact is integral to attaining them.

The Health and Care Capabilities Framework is specifically about digital capabilities in health and care settings. Therefore it ‘support[s] the improvement of the digital capabilities of everyone working in health and care. It is intended as a developmental and supportive tool that can empower and enable all staff.’ (National Health Service (NHS), 2018; p.2; emphasis added). This includes the provision of a framework for professionals to conduct self-assessment of their digital capabilities on four levels:

Level 1: Knowing and understanding – for example, the different digital tools and technologies, accompanying resources, different methods of digital communication and software

Level 2: Being able to use different digital technologies for a variety of functions

Level 3: Being a confident and capable user of digital technologies in practice

Level 4: Being a confident and expert user of digital technologies and understanding requisite roles and responsibilities

This section of the Digital Capabilities Statement explains why social workers should develop their digital capabilities. It is based on the Purpose ‘super domain’ of the PCF, which is about ‘Why we do what we do as social workers, our values and ethics, and how we approach our work.’ (BASW, 2018; p. 4).

The Digital Capabilities Statement can support social workers in:

• Meeting professional standards
• Promoting carer and user involvement
• Enhancing access to services
• Enabling relationship-based practice
• Connecting people to online groups for support
• Meeting professional standards

Under Social Work England’s regulatory standards, social workers are required to:

1. ‘Maintain the trust of people’, which includes maintaining the safety and security of information collected in their work
2. ‘Work within legal and ethical frameworks’ including understanding their legal obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018
3. demonstrate regular learning and training to maintain their eligibility to practice

Social workers can use technology to learn and develop, for example through Virtual Communities of Practice (Adodeyin, 2016), a form of online group reflection. CPD can also include e-learning, which is internet-based self-directed and trainer-led programmes delivered in real-time or deposited online for professionals to access at their convenience. Together, these can speed up access to information to improve social workers’ skills and evidence-informed practice (Phelan, 2015).

Social workers should:

• Understand and appreciate their regulatory responsibilities to have digital skills
• Develop ‘the ability to use digital technologies and tools for personal learning and development…to support the teaching of learning of self and others’ (NHS, 2018; p. 11)
• Reflect on their skills, identify gaps and create plans for training and development to address them.

Social workers can use technology to secure the involvement and participation of people who use services in decisions about their care and extend their rights. These include technologies that:

•  enable people with specific needs - for instance communication and cognitive impairments – to express their needs and state their preferences.
• enable social workers to share information with people who use services, seek their views, feedback and consent
• enable people to control their care packages through self-management tools and aids.

Together, these types of digital technologies can empower people who use services and enable social workers fulfil other professional values such as acting with consent, transparency and professional integrity (BASW, 2014).

• Social workers completing and inputting information with the direct involvement of people using services and sharing it with them for feedback and accuracy
• People who use services being able to record in advance how they should be cared for should they lose capacity to make or communicate decisions
• Encouraging people with lived experience to document their needs and share them with social workers through digital communications and/or electronic record portals
• Enabling co-production of care plans
• Using GDPR-compliant video-conferencing to facilitate the participation of people using services or carers in meetings about care without the need for their physical presence
• Using apps or video conferencing for children looked after to state their preferences ahead of placement moves or for them to participate in reviews
• Helping people get equipment, internet connection and training to increase their access to online information, sources of support and rights advice

Social workers should:

• Learn about technologies and digital functionalities (e.g. social networking platforms and interactive applications) that they can use to promote involvement and participation
• Ensure that they understand how to use digital technology to share information with people using services and obtain their feedback
• Understand national and local data protection and information governance policy and guidance

Through digital capabilities, social workers can enable anti-oppressive practice. They can support people to access their rights and/or by understanding how technology systems can contribute to inequalities, they can challenge them.

A range of services and welfare benefits – e.g. Universal Credit - are delivered through digital technologies. To access these benefits and claim their legal rights to welfare support, people are required to use online platforms to register their claim, their eligibility is accessed by automated processes, and they have to manage their claims online. Online information portals are increasingly replacing the provision of face-to-face benefits advice.

Therefore as well as access to the internet, people need the skills to use online services to meet their needs. However ‘Users of the internet can still be digitally excluded because they lack the skills to be able to confidently and safely navigate the digital world.’ (Office for National Statistic, 2019).

Social workers need to understand how digitalisation of services can lead to social exclusion. To support digital inclusion, social workers also need to know about community services through which people can get online (for examples see the Good Things Foundation).

Because people are required to use digital technologies in their interactions with services, and alongside the increase in technological capability, public bodies amass data about people. Increasingly, using automated processes - machine learning and algorithms - public bodies seek to harness this data to understand people at the population level or to predict what people with discrete characteristics will do or what they will need (Dencik et al, 2018). Using this data appropriately and correctly can provide an evidence base for different social work interventions and a business case for investment. For example, if machine analysis of large datasets across social care and health shows that the optimum level of enablement support for people discharged from hospital following a fall is 3 months, this is a powerful tool for the profession and local government to argue for additional investment in this area.

 However, there are concerns that ‘the algorithmic systems we use also have the potential to amplify, accentuate and systemise our biases on an unprecedented scale, all the while presenting the appearance of objective, neutral arbiters.’ (Rovatsos et al, 2019; p. 2 emphasis added). Computers draw on already existing information to predict the needs of a group of people or outcomes for them and if the primary data or analysis is incorrect, this increases the likelihood of an incorrect prediction.

For people who uses services who are also some of the marginalised groups in society, incorrect algorithmic predictions can have profoundly negative consequences. It can reinforce existing discriminatory practices, or that automated decision-making process about allocation of services might be biased against them. This can result in exclusion from services that they are legally entitled and, which are critical to their wellbeing. Finally, where automated processes incorrectly calculate that a person might be a risk to others or that they may be ‘vulnerable’, the intervention could lead to control and coercion and denial of their human rights. (This topic is discussed by  Babuta and Oswald (2019) in their examination of biases in policing but their arguments also apply to social work).

Given the above, social workers have an ethical duty to identify any potential unfairness from these systems. Aligned to this is that most people who use services do not always have a choice about whether to consent to the use of their personal (or their family’s) data (although see p. 21 of the ‘Guide to the General Data Protection Regulation’ (Information Commissioner’s Office, 2018)).

To be provided a service, a person must answer questions about their needs. In safeguarding work, agencies are obliged to share any information about people at risk of harm ‘in the public interest’ (SCIE, 2015). The concern about algorithms here is about people giving their data for services or safeguarding which is then ‘analysed’ for a different purpose, without their explicit consent. A third concern is that people who use services, often being marginalised and/or more reliant on public services are more likely to come into contact with services than those who are wealthier. This disparity means that the state may have more knowledge and information about certain groups of people than others. However the Data Protection Act 2018 provides safeguards for improper use of information and social workers should know about this.

Social workers should:

• Understand the impact on people of increasing dominance of digital access to services and entitlements and how to support and advocate for them in this changing service landscape
• Ensure accuracy of information on systems and know the processes for changing errors on peoples’ electronic records
• Advise people who use services about their rights under data protection law and regulations

People who use services expect to connect to their social workers through the different electronic means that they use routinely – for instance emails, Social Networking Sites (SNS) such as WhatsApp, group text messages and other online platforms.

Social workers can use these digital technologies in relationship-building with people who use services when they start working with them by using secure email to introduce themselves or even sending pictures of themselves at the start of their engagement. Social workers’ proficiency in using these applications are pre-requisites for maintaining ongoing professional relationships with people using services. For example, social workers can use technology to respond quickly to questions and to signpost people to online sites with relevant information to make informed choices.

However, because this communication will be within a work context, social workers should also consider the need to respect appropriate boundaries and professional codes and ethics (Health and Care Professions Council, 2018). Furthermore, the starting position should be how technology can assist and enhance the personal relationships with people who use services instead of replacing regular face-to-face contact.

Social workers should:

• Be knowledgeable and capable in using secure digital technology for communicating and interacting with people using services and their carers
• Offer choice to people using services about their preferred technology for communicating. This requires social workers to have awareness and clarity of the security requirements that relate to the means of sharing information
• Reflect on how they can draw on technology to enable them to be time-efficient to gain richer and meaningful understanding of people’s life situations - to know and understand them

Social workers can facilitate the use of digital technology to connect people using services to new online groups for socialising and/or support for their needs.

Online groups can reduce the feeling of loneliness and strengthen social bonds because ‘The same layers of relationships that are found in offline social networks are usually present in online platforms, and are defined by the same frequencies of interaction’ (Castillo De Mesa et al, 2019; p. 202).

Social Networking Sites (SNS) can be useful sources of support for people with specific needs. In a review of the literature, Somerville and Brady (2019) found that young people can experience improvements in their mental health – for example reductions in self-harming, suicide and psychosis – by using SNS to connect to support groups. This suggests that social workers can even use online groups for interventions because people can seek support from people with similar lived experiences. However, social workers should note that online groups should complement and not substitute offline support. They should also be proposed with the full consent of the person using the service, following employer guidelines and drawing on the social worker’s professional judgement. Where possible social workers should also ensure that all recommended online services or apps have been quality assured.

Social workers should:

• Know about the range of networks and apps used by self-advocacy groups and understand how to use them
• Be able to evaluate how people using services can draw on support from online groups and the benefits and potential drawbacks of these
• Discuss appropriate online support groups with people using services and assist them to engage with them, if required

This part of the Digital Capabilities Statement looks at the knowledge and skills that social workers require to demonstrate their digital capabilities. It is based on the Practice ‘super -domain’ of the PCF and is drawn from all the domains of A Health and Care Digital Capabilities Framework.

The contents of this section are:

• Understanding the online and technology needs of people using services
• Delivering services through digital technology
• Ethical decision-making: knowledge and skills
• Online safeguarding: knowledge and skills
• Understanding applicable legislation and regulations

Social workers should know and understand how distinct groups of people who use services engage with digital technology to meet their needs. For instance, some autistic people prefer online social interactions over face-to-face relationships because of their sensory needs (Bertilsdotter  et al, 2013). People with physical and mental impairments also use assistive technology ‘to maintain or improve functioning to live healthy, productive, independent and dignified lives, participating in education, the labour market and social life.’ (World Health Organisation, 2016; p.1).

Social workers need to understand the range of technologies for meeting these health and social care needs. They can attain this knowledge through online searching, interpretation, verification and analysis and evaluation skills (National Association of Social Workers (NASW), 2017). They can also learn from service users themselves who may use particular apps or digital tools to manage their needs.

Social workers should:

• Become familiar with the range of assistive technologies, communication tools and online systems that people with similar needs use
• Enable people to feel empowered to explain the technologies that they use in their everyday lives to meet their needs. This can be achieved through professional curiosity to ask the appropriate questions
• Explain in their assessment and care planning how the human rights of people who use services can be maximised through technology

Increasingly social work interventions that are delivered online. Examples of online social work as highlighted by Shevellar (2015, p. 160) include ‘online counselling, online self-help support groups, cybertherapy and avatar therapy, video counselling, telephone counselling, self-guided web-based interactions’.

Technology can speed up access to these interventions, increasing personalisation and choice because people can access them at their convenience from their homes.

For people with long-term health conditions, digital technologies can be used to streamline and combine their appointments, which enhances their sense of control and enables them to adhere to their care plans. People can use apps to order their prescriptions and support their compliance with medications.

Social workers should always assume that people who use services utilise technology in some form to address their needs and explore what technology is used and why people use it. In assessment and care planning, social workers should explain how access to these technologies can be maintained for people who use services, because they may be indispensable to their needs. Social workers should also offer people the choice about how they want their services delivered. For instance in respect of counselling, an online option might be quicker and more convenient.

Social workers should:

• Ensure that they regularly discuss with people who use services any technology that they use and analyse how this addresses their needs in their assessments
• Understand the technologies that are available to assist people to manage their care
• Research the range of online interventions available and communicate these to people who use services

The proliferation of digital technologies poses similar ethical issues that social workers encounter in their offline work such as: maintaining confidentiality, seeking consent before recording or sharing personal information and respecting privacy. However widespread use of digital technology extends these ethical requirements into new areas.

Social workers now process large quantities of personal data and therefore they have an ethical duty to maintain data security (NASW, 2017).

Another new ethical dilemma caused by the widespread use of social media is respecting privacy. The digitalisation of everyday life has increased the chances of social workers inadvertently accessing inappropriate personal information of people who use services. For most part this may be in the public domain, however it can have an adverse impact on the professional relationship because people may feel that boundaries have been crossed.

Similarly, social workers’ social media profiles can be accessed by people who use services who may then invite them to connect with them. Reamer (2019) calls the latter ‘boundary issues’ because social workers’ private information is readily available to people they work with in their professional roles.

In earlier work Reamer (2013; p.170; emphasis added), noted that in using digital technology, social workers can encounter:

• Ethical decisions – ‘social workers sometimes face circumstances that require deliberate ethical decisions.’ In using digital technology social workers have to frequently reflect on the ethical implications of their actions
• Ethical mistakes – ‘which are often unintentional’ and occur because of ‘omission or commission’. The social worker takes (or doesn’t) take an action arising out of their use of digital technology, which has ethical implications
• Ethical misconducts – ‘Potential pitfalls include misrepresenting one's credentials and expertise online, engaging in inappropriate dual relationships with clients electronically’ (for example, on Facebook or via e-mail)

The use of digital technology in social work has distinct ethical implications - the framework below is useful for ethical decision-making. 

Digital technology in social work: model for ethical decision-making

1. Recognise that there are ethical issues in the use of digital technology
   Know about the ethical issues and accept that the same offline ethical dilemmas apply online but new issues arise; understand the distinct ethical issues that arise within your organisational and local contexts and your professional responsibility towards people using servicesUnderstand the facts that apply
2. What is required of me, the social worker? What are the expressed wishes of the person (or people) using services? What are the laws and regulations that apply? Is this within or beyond the scope of my role? Should I refer to senior managers and seek their direction and if so when? Which professionals should I consult?
3. Evaluate your decision using ethical principles
   Be explicit about the ethical principles shaping your decisions. Is it to maximise human rights and if so, what are they? Are you prioritising promotion of the greatest benefits to the person using service – e.g. safeguarding – over their other rights, such as autonomy, privacy and confidentiality, and if so why? Consult the Codes of Ethics (BASW, 2014), The Professional Standards (SWE, 2019) and other guidance in your decision-making
4. Take action to achieve desired results
   At this stage implement actions agreed with managers, people who use services and/or professionals
5.  Review decisions and reflect on outcomes
   Re-evaluate decisions and actions at the earliest opportunity. What was the outcome and was it desirable? What have you learnt from this and what are your strengths and the gaps in your digital capabilities?

Adapted from Markkula Centre for Applied Ethics (undated)

Social workers should:

• Understand and apply regulatory standards – i.e. Professional Standards (SWE, 2019) – and professional Codes of Practice – e.g. Code of Ethics (BASW, 2020) and Digital Ethics Charter and other guidance
• Reflect on the ethical issues that emanate from their use and interactions with digital technology in their professional and private lives. This reflection can occur in formal supervision with their manager or informal group supervision with their colleagues
• Understand and apply the BASW Social Media Policy (BASW, 2018) and relevant guidance

Digital technology brings benefits, and risks – especially to children and adults who may be vulnerable. Social workers need to be able to identify and balance the benefits and the risks and manage them.

Online safeguarding issues

Children

According to the NSPCC online risks to children include:

• ‘Sexting and sending sexually explicit photos’
• Children being sent, sharing, or accessing age-inappropriate information
• Cyber-bullying and trolling

Adults sending sexual information to children or engaging in sexual exploitation of children through online contact with them

‘Disproportionate’ use of social media may lead to children missing out on physical activities. This can impact on their health and wellbeing

Children can be manipulated through ‘fake news’ and ‘deep fake’ software

Adults

• Adults with impaired capacity can be subject to unwanted sexual advances and online grooming
• Sexual exploitation
• Adults can be approached through social media for ‘cuckooing’
• Adults with impaired decision-making can access online resources which may be detrimental to their needs. For instance, they may order goods and services they don’t need; apply for loans and ‘gift’ money to ‘strangers’.
• Risk of financial abuse through unwanted solicitation
• Risks of information breach through unauthorised access of data or granting consent to people to access their data
• Hacking of online social media and financial accounts
• Cyber-bullying of adults at risk
• Susceptibility to manipulation through ‘fake news’ and ‘deep fake’ software

Social workers should consider the above in assessments, care planning and safeguarding processes.

Assessments – Drawing on professional curiosity, social workers should ask and discuss what online services and digital tools people use and the online groups they participate in. Where there is prevailing evidence that some groups of people using services are at particular online risks, this should be explored. For instance, for some adults with learning disability, explore the likelihood of unwanted advances and risks of sexual or financial exploitation. Social workers should balance these risks against identified protective factors and the benefits that people derive from their online interactions.

Care planning – Where risks are identified, social workers should ensure that care plans include appropriate safeguards. For instance, an autistic adult may spend inordinate amount of time on the internet because of the inaccessibility of community groups. Similarly, an adult recovering from mental distress can use the internet relatively more than others to address their social isolation. Appropriate care plans can ensure that services can be arranged to meet how people prefer to interact – i.e. whether online or in the community.

Using digital technology to safeguard people – Social workers need to understand how they can use digital technology to protect people from harm. Some digital technology can be used to contact people or groups who may be at risk – for instance when someone is missing from home - or enable social workers to share information with professionals, or allow people at risk to contact emergency services or the police quickly – for example, people at risk of domestic abuse.  

Owning to the need for careful balance between the benefits and risks of online interactions for people who use services, social workers need to have critical analysis skills. These include asking about peoples’ online uses, analysing risks and benefits and making evidence-informed intervention plans (Wilkins and Boahen, 2013).

Social workers should:

• Appreciate that there are risks with using digital technology – they should explore them while not making assumptions that some people are inherently ‘vulnerable’
• Balance risks with the benefits of using digital technology
• Understand how digital technology can be used in safeguarding people who have been judged to be at risk

The legislation and regulations that apply include those that govern social workers’ and their employers’ responsibilities, for instance for data security and information sharing, and people’ rights to the data that organisations hold about them.

Social workers are central to this distinction because being employees, they are effectively representatives of organisations that employ them. In their everyday professional activities, social workers also process data about people who use services and therefore have legal responsibilities. Social work is a value-based profession and social workers may be called to advocate and support people whose human rights have been violated through digital technology. Consequently, social workers need to understand human rights laws pertaining to digital technology (see Smith et al, 2019; p. 44-47 for an overview).

• The Data Protection Act 2018, incorporating the General Data Protection Regulation 2018
• Guide to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)  
• UK Information Commissioner website
• Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (2000)
• The Mental Capacity Act 2005 – this is the statutory framework for determining peoples’ cognitive capacity to consent, for instance to their personal data being shared or collected,  in England and Wales.

This section of the Digital Capabilities Statement explains how social workers can use their proficiency in digital technology to make a positive impact on organisations that provide social care and advance practice and outcomes. It is based on the Impact ‘super domain’ of the PCF - ‘How we make a difference and how we know we make a difference. Our ability to bring about change through our practice, through our leadership, through our understanding, our context, and through our overall professionalism.’ (BASW, 2018; p.4).

This section covers:

• Professional leadership and advocacy
• Developing and maintaining digital professionalism

Rapidly changing digital technology in social work is creating new career opportunities and scope for new forms of leadership for social workers.

Social workers can lead in the development of apps and digital tools, as exemplified in this collaboration between children and IT services in East Sussex County Council.

At the strategic level, social workers can play a leadership role in the design, commissioning and procurement of new technologies by their employers (see Turner et al, (2019) for a discussion of some of the practicalities involved in a collaboration to develop an app for social work education).

This will help address the issue of fragmentation of systems and in this way, social workers can provide leadership in the development of digital technology to enhance integration of services.

The research findings that informed this project’s Digital Capabilities for Social Workers: Stakeholder Report also identified new advocacy roles for social workers. These include championing the technology needs of people who use services within their teams and locally. Social workers should also advocate for people who use services to be involved and influence local commissioning arrangements for technologies required to meet their needs. Social workers can also work alongside people who use services, opening up channels for them to be involved and shape the development and procurement of technology.

Digital capabilities are integral to social work practice (Taylor, 2017) and professionalism (Boahen and Wiles, 2018; Ellaway et al, 2015). At the systems-wide level, social workers can draw on digital technology to influence organisational context. This can include using data to improve how teams and services collaborate with each other and, adopting technology that enable them to obtain feedback from people who use services to improve practice.

Social workers can also reflect on how their online activities, if unmanaged, can directly impact the outcome of their own work and the professional standing of social work.

Social workers should:

• Should reflect on how professionalism apples to their online interactions with people using services and how their private uses of digital technology (such as social media) can affect their professional identity and reputation
• Implement domain 6 (p. 27 – 30) of Health Education England’s Health and Care Digital Capabilities Framework in their professional and private use of digital technologies
• Regularly reflect on the implications of the use of social media and other digital technologies on their professional identities referencing all the domains of the PCF (BASW, 2018), The Professional Standards (SWE, 2019), and the BASW Social Media Policy (BASW, 2018)

This Ethical Considerations section is designed to support good practice in the implementation of the Digital Capabilities Statement for Social Workers. It is derived particularly from the Professional Standards (Social Work England, 2019) which are regulatory requirements, and the Code of Ethics (British Association of Social Workers, 2020) which applies to social workers across the UK.

Social Work England summarises ethical expectations on social workers in this way:

“Ethics in the context of social work is about the professional responsibilities and values social workers have and how they conduct themselves inside and outside the workplace. Social workers respect the distinct beliefs and lifestyles of people, their families, communities and networks. They consider their own personal values, views and preferences and take measures to prevent them from impacting on their work with people. Many social workers follow ethical values or principles to guide their work. The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and the International Federation of Social Work (IFSW) both have codes of ethics that social workers in England follow.”

(Social Work England, 2019; p.7).

The BASW Code of Ethics summarises the ethical responsibilities of social workers as:

“Ethical awareness is fundamental to the professional practice of social workers. Their ability and commitment to act ethically is an essential aspect of the quality of the service offered to people who engage with social workers. Respect for human rights and a commitment to promoting social justice are at the core of social work practice throughout the world.”

(BASW, 2020)

The ethical expectations on social workers as defined by Social Work England and BASW apply to digital contexts as much as to any other, inside and outside the workplace. This should be the starting point for the use and engagement of digital technology by social workers.

There is a wide range of digital technology used in social work and social care and they are all not covered here as the intention is not to provide an overall coverage. The focus is on how social workers can recognise and operationalise the ethical implications of the Digital Capabilities Statement for Social Workers.

Social workers often work in multi-agency and multi-professional contexts. Therefore an awareness of the professional and ethical principles of allied professions is also important to work through ethically complex issues with diverse colleagues in practice.

Social workers recognise that social relationships have an intrinsic ethical and therapeutic value. The use of digital technology can sometimes be seen as antithetical or a hindrance to relationship-based practice which is most often defined as face to face/in person. Digital capabilities promote the idea that used properly and ethically, social workers can draw on digital technology to initiate, maintain and enhance relationship-based practice. More broadly, digital technology can be used to sustain peoples’ social networks and the quality of social relations without the limitation of time or people being physically present together. It is also a vital source of information, including for people who are physically isolated, and is part of democratising access to information, rights and power. 

For this to be a reality, people using services and social workers need to have access to useful technologies and the training to use them, and this is increasingly an ethical responsibility upon commissioners and employers. The ethical principles outlined below are for social workers and health and care organisations. Organisations have ethical duties in the development, procurement, use and management of digital technologies for their staff, including social workers, and the people who use services.

However, digital technologies – like all technologies – can be misused for harm in ways that are well recognised and understood (such as the complex and highly significant safeguarding risks online for children and adults) and also throw up novel ethical and moral dilemmas in the fast-paced development of platforms and functionalities. 

It is an ethical responsibility of social workers to be increasingly familiar with this broad landscape as the digital landscape increasingly shapes practice and people’s day to day experiences and expectations.

The considerations for social workers are based on existing professional standards and codes. Standards 3 and 5, The Professional Standards (Social Work England, 2019) state the ethical conduct that is expected of social workers in record keeping and technology use (including social media).

The Social Work England Professional Standards are statutory regulations, therefore social workers must adhere to them to maintain their registration to practice.

Alongside them, the Social Media Policy of the British Association of Social Workers states ‘the professional responsibilities of social workers and social work students, in relation to the increasing use of social media.’ (BASW, 2018; p.1).  The recent version of the BASW Code of Ethics (2020, forthcoming, based on new Global Ethical Principles) also makes new reference to responsibilities in digital practice.

Social workers should note that their ethical considerations and reflections on how digital technology is used in any given situation significantly relates to questions of power:

• How, and by whom, has the technology been developed and how is it controlled?
• Who determines how and when it is used and how inclusive or exclusive is the process?
• How are its benefits determined and shared?
• In whose interest is this particular digital technology and its functionalities being deployed?
• Is there an abuse of power and risk to wellbeing behind how a particular digital technology is being used – whether by social workers or the people they work with? 

Power is central to the answers to these questions.

In their use of digital technology in practice, social workers need to have at the forefront their responsibility to enhance wellbeing, human rights, social justice and equality, and must maintain professional integrity through critical reflection and ethical conduct.

1. Uphold dignity and best interests: When using digital technology, social workers should uphold and promote human dignity and the best interests of individuals and groups in society and avoid harm.
2. Respect the right to self-determination:  Social workers should respect, promote and support peoples’ dignity and right to make choices about their use of technology in services. This also means seeking consent to collect personal data, and where allowed by law, informing people before sharing their personal data.
3. Promote involvement: Social workers should use digital technology to promote the involvement and participation of people using services in ways that enable them to be empowered in decisions and actions affecting their lives. This can include using technology for feedback, to enable people to participate in professional meetings, plan their care, or connect people to online self-care groups.
4. Promote strengths-based approaches: When determining the technology that people need to meet their needs, social workers should focus on the strengths of individuals, groups and/or communities and support their empowerment. Social workers’ role should be about maximising the capacities of people to maintain their wellbeing and safety.

1. Challenge discrimination:  Social workers should challenge all discrimination, including those caused or reinforced by digital technology, of people who have the 'protected characteristics' of the Equality Act 2010: age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation.
2. Recognise diversity: Social workers should recognise and respect the diversity of the societies in which they practise, including online communities and, the different views expressed through social media.
3. Challenge unjust policies and practices:  Social workers have a duty to advocate for people who are unjustly excluded from being involved in shaping the technologies that are used to deliver the services that they need.

1. Uphold values and ethical principles: In their use of social media and digital technology, social workers should always act  in accordance with the values and principles of the profession and ensure that their online behaviour does not bring social work into disrepute.
2. Be trustworthy: Social workers should use digital technologies with people who use services in a way that is honest, reliable and open. If people are required to use certain technologies to access services, social workers should clearly explain why this is the case and offer choices, where possible. People should not be forced to use technology against their will, nor should they be excluded or made ineligible for services because they are not using technology.
3. Maintain professional boundaries: Social workers should establish and maintain appropriate boundaries in their use of social media and social networking sites. They should critically reflect on how the information they share online can impact on their professional relationships with people who use services. They should also proactively seek to enhance their professional practice through technology – for instance for continuing professional development, reflection and engagement.
4. Ethical challenge: Social workers have a responsibility, individually and collectively, to challenge the purpose and principles behind and use of digital technology found to discriminate or negatively impact people. This can be done collectively, with support, through the professional body, or anonymously through whistleblowing. The starting point for any challenge should be the ethical considerations, alongside evidence of impact of harm

Organisations involved in health and social care as providers, employers, trainers, educators, researchers and/or user-led organisations have an ethical duty to provide an organisational context that enables  social workers to develop their digital capabilities. The  capabilities, as outlined in the Digital Capabilities Statement include maintaining privacy and confidentiality; eliminating biases in systems and processes; and promoting the involvement of people who use services in systems design and management.

It is recognised that for social workers to fulfil their ethical principles these organisations have corresponding ethical duties. There are existing codes and guidance for statutory health and social care organisations and the third sector, including:

• The Ethics Charter;
• The Charity Digital Code of Practice;
• Local Digital Declaration - Initiated by the UK Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), these are principles for local authorities;
• UK Government Digital Service Standards;
• Principles for Digital Development – for the NGO sector;
• Data Ethics Framework – published by the UK Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport;
• Data management and use: Governance in the 21st century – a joint report by the British Academy and the Royal Society;
• Digital Social Care guidance – published by organisations supporting NHS Digital to improve digital systems of social care providers;

Organisations should:

1. Provide and maintain an organisational culture that enables social workers to develop and enhance their digital capabilities. This can be achieved through provision of training opportunities, continuing professional development (both self-directed and trainer-led) and supervision. These will enable social workers to gain the requisite skills and knowledge and critically reflect on required social work values.
2. Have policies for decision-making on when the social networking sites of people who use services have to be accessed without their consent. In some cases the online accounts of people who use services and their dependents need to be accessed to safeguard them. Organisations should have policies stating the circumstances in which this is permissible, the period of access and the person who authorises access. The responsibility to authorise should be commensurate with the person’s role and level of seniority.
3. Underpin business processes with a transparent moral framework about what is ‘right’ and ‘good’ in their use of digital technology to discharge their functions. Over and above what is legally permissible, organisations need to pay attention to what will benefit social workers and people who use (or need) services.
4. Seek to eliminate biases in their systems that have caused (or can cause) discrimination of people who have the 'protected characteristics' of the Equality Act 2010: age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation.
5. Ensure that they are adhering to the relevant statutory responsibilities in data and technology. Organisations have an ethical duty to provide the systems, policies and technologies that enable social workers to discharge their legal duties and supports them to meet professional codes of practice.
6. Should be proactive in seeking social work views on the digital systems they provide in the workplace and should have case management systems that are effective, user-friendly, responsive and adaptable.
7. Respect the professional responsibilities of social workers to challenge the efficacy of new technology that has been procured. Organisations should have clear policies and procedures for seeking feedback from social workers and people who use services.
8. Should ensure that they make reasonable adjustments for staff to develop their digital capabilities to use available technology.

• Social Work England 2019, Professional Standards.
• British Association of Social Workers 2018, Social Media.
• British Association of Social Workers, 2020, The Code of Ethics for Social Work.