Social workers in international organisations, NGOs, refugee programmes and services abroad read and write assessments, case notes and reports in English, and most research and training material in the field is published in English. This glossary gathers the words a social worker or social work student needs first, from casework, child protection and safeguarding to welfare benefits, community work, ethics and recording, with Turkish equivalents and realistic examples from home visits, case conferences and supervision. It also points out UK and US differences and the traps for Turkish speakers, such as client, advocate, abuse and contact.
100 terms
10 topics
52 core terms
200 example sentences
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Casework and Assessment
social worker
noun
Meaning
A trained professional who helps individuals, families and communities cope with problems such as poverty, abuse, illness or disability, and connects them with support and services.
Where you use it
The standard job title in English. People often add the setting: a child protection social worker, a hospital social worker, a school social worker. In many countries it is a protected title, so only registered or licensed practitioners may use it.
Examples
The hospital social worker is arranging support at home before Mr Demir is discharged.
Each family is allocated a named social worker who visits at least once a month.
Usage note
Do not translate 'sosyal hizmet uzmanı' as 'social service expert'; in English the job title is simply social worker.
Common phrases
qualified social worker · allocated social worker · registered social worker · child protection social worker · hospital social worker
A person, family or group that receives help or services from a social worker or an agency.
Where you use it
Very common in the US and in many international NGOs. In the UK, 'service user' or 'people who use services' is often preferred, and in hospitals the same person is a patient. You work with, support and meet clients; agencies refer clients to each other.
Examples
My client has asked for an interpreter at the next meeting.
We always explain to clients what information we keep and who can see it.
Usage note
Client does not mean a shop customer here: the relationship is professional help, not a sale.
Common phrases
work with clients · client's needs · client group · client record · vulnerable clients
The number of cases or clients that one social worker or team is responsible for at a given time.
Where you use it
Used in supervision, staffing discussions and workforce reports. A caseload can be high, heavy, manageable or protected (kept low, for example for newly qualified staff). People carry, hold or manage a caseload.
Examples
With a caseload of thirty families, she has very little time for direct work.
Newly qualified workers have a protected caseload in their first year.
Usage note
Usually written as one word: caseload.
Common phrases
heavy caseload · manageable caseload · carry a caseload · protected caseload · caseload size
A way of working in which one worker assesses a person's needs, plans and coordinates the services they receive, and reviews progress over time.
Where you use it
Common in NGOs, refugee programmes, health and mental health services. The cycle is usually described as intake, assessment, planning, implementation, monitoring and closure. A case manager coordinates services rather than providing every one personally.
Examples
The project offers case management to refugee families with complex needs.
Good case management means nobody has to tell their story five times.
Common phrases
case management system · case manager · provide case management · case management process
The process of gathering and analysing information about a person's situation, needs, strengths and risks in order to decide what help is needed.
Where you use it
The basis of almost every piece of social work. You carry out, complete or update an assessment, and the written result is also called an assessment. There are many types: initial, comprehensive, needs, risk and parenting assessments.
Examples
I'll complete the assessment after I've spoken to the school and the family doctor.
The assessment found that the family needs help with housing and childcare.
Usage note
In schools assessment usually means testing pupils; in social work it means understanding a situation, not grading anyone.
Common phrases
carry out an assessment · initial assessment · comprehensive assessment · assessment report · update the assessment
A written plan setting out a person's needs, the goals to work towards, the services to be provided, who is responsible and when progress will be reviewed.
Where you use it
Used across children's and adult services. A care plan is drawn up after an assessment, ideally together with the person, and is reviewed regularly. Similar documents may be called a support plan, service plan or intervention plan.
Examples
We drew up the care plan together with Ayşe and her daughter.
The care plan will be reviewed in three months.
Common phrases
draw up a care plan · review the care plan · care plan review · agree a care plan
A visit by a social worker to a person's home to meet the family, see their living conditions and talk in a familiar setting.
Where you use it
A key part of assessment and follow-up work. Visits can be planned or unannounced, and workers often go in pairs when there are safety concerns. You carry out, arrange or record a home visit.
Examples
I've arranged a home visit for Thursday afternoon, when both parents are at home.
During the home visit the children proudly showed me their bedroom.
Common phrases
carry out a home visit · unannounced home visit · joint home visit · home visit record
A structured look at what harm might happen, how likely and how serious it is, and what can be done to reduce it.
Where you use it
Used in child protection, adult safeguarding, mental health and lone working. Social workers weigh risk factors against protective factors and record their reasoning. A risk assessment is reviewed whenever circumstances change.
Examples
Before the joint visit we did a risk assessment because of the father's history of violence.
The risk assessment identified the grandmother as a strong protective factor.
Common phrases
carry out a risk assessment · risk and protective factors · update the risk assessment · risk assessment tool
An assessment that identifies what support a person, family or community needs, and which of those needs are not being met.
Where you use it
Used at individual level, for example a carer's needs assessment, and at community level before planning services. In adult services it often decides whether a person meets the eligibility criteria.
Examples
The council carried out a needs assessment before opening the new day centre.
Her son asked for a needs assessment because she can no longer manage the stairs.
Common phrases
carry out a needs assessment · community needs assessment · carer's needs assessment · unmet needs
To check what has happened after an earlier action, or to take further action on something such as a concern, a referral or a missed appointment.
Where you use it
Used constantly in meetings and case notes: follow up a referral, follow up with the school, follow up on a concern. The noun and adjective take a hyphen: a follow-up visit, a follow-up call.
Examples
I'll follow up with the school nurse and let you know by Friday.
Nobody followed up the missed appointments, so the concern was lost.
Usage note
Verb: follow up (two words). Noun and adjective: follow-up.
Common phrases
follow up a referral · follow up with · follow up on a concern · follow-up visit
To take part in and cooperate with a service or professional, for example by keeping appointments and working on the agreed plan.
Where you use it
Very common in case notes and reports: 'Mr Ali has engaged well with services', 'the family did not engage'. Good practice asks why someone is not engaging, such as fear, past experiences or practical barriers, rather than simply blaming them.
Examples
Since the change of worker, the mother has engaged with the plan much better.
Young people are more likely to engage with services that are flexible and friendly.
Usage note
Engaged can also mean 'about to marry' or 'busy' (a phone line); in social work it means taking part.
Common phrases
engage with services · engage well with · fail to engage · difficult to engage · engagement with services
The planned end of a social worker's or agency's involvement with a person or family, usually when goals are met or help is no longer needed.
Where you use it
Workers close a case after a final review and write a closing summary. Good closure is discussed with the family in advance and includes information on how to get help again. A closed case may later be reopened.
Examples
We discussed case closure with the family a month before the last visit.
The manager approved case closure after the review showed the children were safe and settled.
Common phrases
case closure summary · plan for case closure · approve case closure · close a case
The first stage of contact with a service, when basic information is collected and a decision is made about what should happen next.
Where you use it
Used for a team (the intake team), a meeting (an intake interview) and a form. Some UK services call the same stage the front door, the duty team or first response. Intake staff screen referrals and check how urgent they are.
Examples
The intake team decides within 24 hours whether a referral needs a visit.
At the intake interview we ask about income, housing and health.
Usage note
In nutrition, intake means the amount you eat or drink, so check the context.
Common phrases
intake team · intake interview · intake form · intake assessment
A diagram of a family over at least three generations, showing its members, their relationships and important events such as births, deaths, separations and illness.
Where you use it
A standard assessment tool in family social work and family therapy, using symbols such as squares for males and circles for females. Workers often draw a genogram together with the family, which also helps build the relationship.
Examples
Drawing a genogram showed that women in three generations of the family had cared for disabled relatives.
Please attach the genogram to the assessment.
Common phrases
draw a genogram · family genogram · three-generation genogram · genogram symbols
A diagram with a person or family in the centre, showing their links with the people, services and organisations around them and how strong or stressful each link is.
Where you use it
Developed by Ann Hartman in the 1970s and often used with the genogram in assessment. Different lines show strong, weak or conflictual relationships. It helps show where support exists and where it is missing.
Examples
The ecomap showed that the family had almost no contact with neighbours or services.
We completed an ecomap together during the second visit.
Common phrases
draw an ecomap · complete an ecomap · ecomap and genogram · map the support network
Any planned action taken by a social worker or service to improve a person's or family's situation, from counselling to practical support.
Where you use it
A neutral professional word in English that does not suggest force. You plan, deliver, evaluate or step up an intervention. Phrases such as early intervention and crisis intervention are very common.
Examples
The intervention focused on routines, school attendance and support for the mother.
Short, practical interventions often work better than long programmes for this group.
Usage note
Turkish 'müdahale' can sound forceful; English intervention usually just means planned help.
Common phrases
crisis intervention · plan an intervention · evidence-based intervention · family intervention
The process of helping people gain more control over their own lives, decisions and resources, and the confidence to act for themselves.
Where you use it
A central value in social work theory and community work. Practice that empowers people involves them in decisions instead of doing things for them. The verb is empower and the adjective empowering.
Examples
The group is about empowerment: the women run the meetings themselves.
Real empowerment means young people speak for themselves at their own reviews.
Speaking up for people, or helping them speak up for themselves, so that their views are heard and their rights are respected.
Where you use it
Used both for individual cases, such as supporting a client at a meeting or appeal, and for wider campaigning to change policy. An advocate may be a social worker, a volunteer or an independent professional; self-advocacy means people speaking for themselves.
Examples
The charity provides independent advocacy for people living with dementia.
Advocacy at the benefits appeal made a real difference to the outcome.
Usage note
An advocate here is not a lawyer; it is anyone who speaks up for someone. The noun advocate ends in /ət/, the verb in /eɪt/.
Common phrases
independent advocacy · self-advocacy · advocacy service · policy advocacy · advocacy on behalf of
A way of working that starts from what people can do, their skills, relationships and resources, rather than only from their problems.
Where you use it
Widely promoted in adult and children's services and in community work. Assessments ask what is working well as well as what worries people. Related terms are the strengths perspective and asset-based approaches.
Examples
Using a strengths-based approach, we built the plan around her love of cooking and her close friends.
A strengths-based approach does not mean ignoring risk.
Common phrases
take a strengths-based approach · strengths-based practice · strengths-based assessment · strengths perspective
Organised around the individual's own wishes, needs, values and goals, with the person involved in every decision about their care.
Where you use it
Used in adult social care, disability and health services: person-centred care, person-centred planning, a person-centred approach. It grew out of Carl Rogers' client-centred therapy. The US spelling is person-centered.
Examples
Person-centred planning starts by asking what matters to him.
The inspection praised the home for its person-centred care.
Common phrases
person-centred care · person-centred planning · person-centred approach · person-centred practice
Regular protected meetings in which a social worker discusses cases, decisions, workload, learning and wellbeing with a more experienced manager or colleague.
Where you use it
Seen as essential for safe practice. Supervision usually combines case management, professional development and emotional support, and key decisions are recorded on the case file. People have, receive or provide supervision.
Examples
I'll bring the case to supervision on Friday before we make a decision.
Regular supervision helped her cope with a very difficult caseload.
Usage note
Supervision here means support and professional guidance, not just being watched or checked.
Common phrases
have supervision · reflective supervision · supervision notes · group supervision
Thinking carefully about your own work, feelings, assumptions and decisions in order to learn from them and improve future practice.
Where you use it
Central to social work education: students write reflective logs and essays, often using models such as Kolb's or Gibbs' cycle. Qualified workers reflect in supervision and team discussions. The adjective reflective is common: a reflective account.
Examples
Reflective practice helped me notice that I was avoiding the father.
Students must show evidence of reflective practice in their placement portfolio.
Common phrases
engage in reflective practice · reflective log · reflective account · critical reflection
An approach that recognises how power, discrimination and inequality affect people's lives and works to challenge them, both in the system and in the worker's own practice.
Where you use it
A key value in UK social work education, often shortened to AOP. It asks workers to think about race, gender, class, disability, age, sexuality and other identities, and about the power they hold as professionals. Anti-discriminatory practice is a related term.
Examples
Anti-oppressive practice means asking why so many families from one area are referred.
Her essay discusses anti-oppressive practice in work with disabled parents.
Common phrases
anti-oppressive approach · anti-discriminatory practice · AOP · challenge oppression
Based on an understanding of how traumatic experiences can affect people's behaviour, trust and health, and organised to avoid causing further harm.
Where you use it
Used with approach, practice, care and organisation. Trauma-informed services focus on safety, choice, trust, collaboration and empowerment, and ask 'what happened to you?' rather than 'what is wrong with you?'.
Examples
A trauma-informed approach helped staff understand why the boy reacted so strongly to raised voices.
All staff at the women's shelter receive trauma-informed training.
Common phrases
trauma-informed approach · trauma-informed practice · trauma-informed care · trauma-informed organisation
The ability to cope with difficulties and recover from them, supported both by personal qualities and by the relationships and resources around a person.
Where you use it
Used about children, families, communities and staff. Social workers look for factors that build resilience, such as a trusted adult, success at school or a hobby. Critics warn that talk of resilience should not hide the need to change difficult conditions.
Examples
Her close bond with her grandmother was a major source of resilience.
The programme aims to build resilience in young people leaving care.
A state of physical and emotional exhaustion caused by long-term work stress, often with feelings of detachment and reduced effectiveness.
Where you use it
A widely studied risk in social work because of high caseloads and emotionally demanding work. Related terms are compassion fatigue, secondary trauma and vicarious trauma. Supervision, peer support and manageable caseloads are discussed as protective factors.
Examples
High staff turnover in the team is partly due to burnout.
She reduced her hours before burnout set in.
Usage note
The noun is one word (burnout); the verb is two (staff burn out quickly).
Common phrases
suffer from burnout · risk of burnout · prevent burnout · staff burnout · compassion fatigue
All the measures taken to protect children and adults at risk from harm, abuse and neglect, and to promote their wellbeing.
Where you use it
A key UK term in schools, hospitals, charities and councils. Organisations have a safeguarding policy and a safeguarding lead, and staff raise a safeguarding concern when they are worried. It is broader than child protection.
Examples
If you are worried about a child, speak to the safeguarding lead the same day.
All volunteers complete safeguarding training before they start.
Usage note
Safeguarding is mainly British; US texts usually speak of child welfare or child protection.
Common phrases
safeguarding concern · safeguarding policy · safeguarding lead · safeguarding training · adult safeguarding
The work of identifying children who are suffering, or are likely to suffer, abuse or neglect and taking action to keep them safe.
Where you use it
Used for a team, a procedure and a whole field of practice: a child protection team, a child protection plan, child protection procedures. In the UK it is the part of safeguarding that responds when a child is at risk of significant harm.
Examples
She has worked in child protection for twelve years.
The case was passed to the child protection team the same afternoon.
Common phrases
child protection plan · child protection team · child protection procedures · child protection conference
The ongoing failure to meet a child's or dependent adult's basic needs, such as food, safety, hygiene, health care, supervision or emotional warmth.
Where you use it
One of the main categories of child maltreatment, also used for adults; self-neglect is when people do not look after themselves. Neglect is usually seen as a pattern over time, so chronologies and repeated observations matter. It is also a verb: neglect a child.
Examples
The referral raised concerns about neglect: the children were often hungry at school.
Signs of self-neglect included an empty fridge and unpaid bills.
Common phrases
signs of neglect · chronic neglect · self-neglect · emotional neglect · concerns about neglect
Treatment that causes someone physical, emotional, sexual or financial harm, usually by a person they know, trust or depend on.
Where you use it
Usually used with a type: physical, emotional, sexual or financial abuse. Professionals suspect, report or investigate abuse, and a person may disclose it. For alcohol and drugs, the more neutral 'misuse' is now preferred to 'substance abuse'.
Examples
Financial abuse of older people often stays hidden for a long time.
Any suspicion of abuse must be reported to the safeguarding lead.
Usage note
The noun ends in an /s/ sound (an abuse), the verb in a /z/ sound (to abuse).
In a situation where harm, abuse, neglect or another serious problem is likely to happen unless someone takes action.
Where you use it
Used after a noun or verb: children at risk, a young person at risk of exclusion, be at risk of homelessness. With a hyphen it comes before a noun: at-risk youth, at-risk families.
Examples
The family is at risk of losing their flat because of rent arrears.
The programme works with at-risk young people aged 14 to 18.
Common phrases
at risk of harm · children at risk · adults at risk · at-risk youth · at risk of homelessness
The moment when a person, often a child, tells someone that they have been harmed or abused; also the release of information to another person or agency.
Where you use it
In child protection training, staff learn how to respond to a disclosure: listen calmly, avoid leading questions, never promise to keep it secret and report it the same day. The verb is disclose.
Examples
The girl made a disclosure to her teacher at the end of the school day.
Never promise a child that you will keep a disclosure secret.
Common phrases
make a disclosure · respond to a disclosure · disclosure of abuse · disclosure of information
A legal duty for certain professionals, such as teachers, doctors and social workers, to report suspected abuse or neglect to the authorities.
Where you use it
The rules differ by country and state: who must report, what must be reported and to whom. In the US the professionals covered are called mandated reporters. Failing to report can lead to disciplinary or legal consequences.
Examples
All school staff receive training on mandatory reporting at the start of the year.
Mandatory reporting laws vary from state to state across the US.
In UK law, a child who needs extra services to reach or keep a reasonable standard of health or development; every disabled child is included.
Where you use it
Defined in section 17 of the Children Act 1989 and often shortened to CIN. A child in need plan is voluntary and works with the family's agreement; it reflects a lower level of concern than a child protection plan.
Examples
After the assessment, Emre was supported as a child in need.
The child in need plan includes speech therapy and help for his mother.
Usage note
It is not the same as the Turkish legal term 'korunma ihtiyacı olan çocuk', which is closer to a child in need of protection.
Common phrases
child in need plan · child in need meeting · section 17 · child in need review
A practical plan, made with the person or family, listing the steps to take and the people to contact to stay safe from a specific risk.
Where you use it
Used in child protection, with survivors of domestic abuse and in suicide prevention. A good safety plan uses the person's own network, is written in plain language and is reviewed when the situation changes.
Examples
We agreed a safety plan: the children will go to their aunt's house if their father comes home drunk.
Her safety plan includes a list of people she can call at any time.
Common phrases
agree a safety plan · review the safety plan · safety planning · written safety plan
In UK child protection law, the level of harm, or likely harm, that justifies statutory action such as a formal investigation or care proceedings.
Where you use it
A threshold concept from the Children Act 1989. Social workers ask whether a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm. There is no fixed checklist: it depends on the effect on the child's health and development.
Examples
The strategy meeting agreed that the threshold for significant harm was met.
Living with domestic abuse can cause significant harm to children.
Common phrases
suffering significant harm · likely to suffer significant harm · threshold of significant harm · risk of significant harm
A form of care in which a child who cannot live with their own parents lives, for a short or long time, with another approved family.
Where you use it
The adults are foster carers (UK) or foster parents (US), and they foster a child. A child is placed in foster care or with a foster family. Foster care is different from adoption: legal parental responsibility does not pass to the foster family in the same way.
Examples
The two brothers were placed in foster care together.
We are looking for more foster carers who can take teenagers.
Usage note
Fostering is not adoption; a foster child usually keeps legal ties with their birth family.
Common phrases
place in foster care · foster carer · foster family · short-term foster care · long-term foster care
A child who is cared for by a local authority, for example in foster care or a children's home, either under a court order or with the parents' agreement.
Where you use it
An official UK term, often shortened to LAC, although many young people dislike that label and services increasingly say 'children in care' or 'care-experienced'. US texts usually say 'children in foster care' or 'children in out-of-home care'.
Examples
Every looked-after child has a care plan that is reviewed regularly.
The school has a designated teacher for looked-after children.
Common phrases
looked-after children · looked-after child review · designated teacher for looked-after children · children in care
Care of a child by grandparents, aunts, uncles, older siblings or close family friends when the parents cannot look after them.
Where you use it
It can be informal, arranged within the family, or formal, with the relatives approved as kinship foster carers. Many services look at kinship options first because the child keeps family and cultural ties; 'family and friends care' is a UK synonym.
Examples
After the assessment, the baby went to live with her grandmother under a kinship care arrangement.
Kinship carers often need financial help as well as emotional support.
Common phrases
kinship care arrangement · kinship carer · formal kinship care · informal kinship care
The legal process by which a child permanently becomes a full member of a new family and parental rights pass to the adoptive parents.
Where you use it
Social workers assess and approve prospective adopters, match children with families and offer post-adoption support. People adopt a child, and the child is adopted; birth parents and adoptive parents are the usual terms.
Examples
The adoption was finalised in court last month.
Adoption support services help families when children start asking about their past.
Usage note
Adopt also means 'start using' (adopt a policy), so check the context.
Common phrases
place a child for adoption · adoption panel · adoptive parents · post-adoption support · adoption order
A parent's ability to meet a child's needs and keep them safe, including basic care, emotional warmth, guidance, boundaries and stability.
Where you use it
Assessed in child protection and court work, often alongside the child's developmental needs and family and environmental factors. Mental health problems, substance misuse or domestic abuse may affect parenting capacity, which can also improve with support.
Examples
The court asked for a full assessment of the mother's parenting capacity.
With regular support, the father's parenting capacity improved a great deal.
Services that help families cope with difficulties and bring up their children well, such as parenting groups, practical help and family support workers.
Where you use it
Usually voluntary and offered early, before problems become serious. A family support worker often visits the home to help with routines, budgeting or school attendance, working alongside the social worker.
Examples
The parents accepted family support after the second referral from school.
A family support worker visits twice a week to help with bedtime routines.
Common phrases
family support worker · family support services · offer family support · early family support
Giving support as soon as problems appear, often in early childhood, so that they do not grow into more serious difficulties later.
Where you use it
A key idea in children's services, mental health and youth work; 'early help' is a common UK synonym. Supporters argue that early intervention improves outcomes and reduces later costs.
Examples
Early intervention with young parents can prevent a crisis later.
The council moved more staff into early intervention teams.
Common phrases
early intervention services · early intervention team · early help · invest in early intervention
Time that a child in care, or a child of separated parents, spends with parents, brothers and sisters or other relatives they do not live with.
Where you use it
A UK term; US English usually says visitation or family time. Contact can be supervised, with a worker present, or unsupervised, and face to face, by phone or online. Social workers arrange and supervise contact and write contact notes.
Examples
The children have supervised contact with their mother every Saturday.
Contact with his older sister is very important to him.
Usage note
In everyday English a contact is also a person you know or a phone number; here it means family time.
Common phrases
supervised contact · contact arrangements · contact centre · contact notes · family contact
A young person who has spent time in care, for example in foster or residential care, and has moved on to adult life, usually between the ages of 16 and 18.
Where you use it
In England care leavers have a right to a personal adviser and a pathway plan, in some cases up to age 25. 'Care-experienced' is increasingly used as a broader, less labelling term. Leaving care is a time of high risk for homelessness and isolation.
Examples
Every care leaver has a personal adviser until at least the age of 21.
The university offers a bursary for care leavers.
Common phrases
support care leavers · care leavers' service · pathway plan · personal adviser
Care in which people live in a staffed setting, such as a children's home or a care home for older or disabled adults, rather than in a family home.
Where you use it
Used both for children (children's homes) and adults (care homes, nursing homes). For children, most countries now prefer family-based care and keep residential care for specific needs. Staff are called residential workers or care staff.
Examples
After two foster placements broke down, he moved into residential care.
Residential care fees for older people have risen sharply.
Common phrases
residential care home · residential care worker · move into residential care · residential childcare
The home or setting where a child in care or an adult needing care is placed to live; also a period of supervised practice for social work students.
Where you use it
In care work you find, make, review or end a placement; a placement breaks down when it ends in an unplanned way, and placement stability is a key goal. In education students do a placement (US: field placement or practicum).
Examples
We are looking for a placement where the three siblings can stay together.
My final-year placement was in a hospital social work team.
More likely than others to be harmed, exploited or left without support because of age, illness, disability, poverty or other circumstances.
Where you use it
Very frequent in policy and practice: vulnerable adults, vulnerable children, vulnerable groups. Many practitioners now prefer to describe the situation rather than the person, for example 'adults at risk' or 'people in vulnerable situations'.
Examples
The scheme supports vulnerable older people who live alone.
Women without legal status are especially vulnerable to exploitation.
Common phrases
vulnerable adults · vulnerable groups · vulnerable families · particularly vulnerable · vulnerable to exploitation
Controlling, threatening or violent behaviour between partners, ex-partners or family members, including emotional, financial and physical abuse.
Where you use it
The current UK legal term; 'domestic violence' and 'intimate partner violence' are also widely used. Workers talk about victims or survivors, perpetrators, coercive control and safety planning, and refer people to specialist services.
Examples
She was referred to a specialist domestic abuse service for advice and safety planning.
Domestic abuse is not only physical; controlling someone's money is also abuse.
Usage note
In the US, domestic violence (DV) is the more common term.
Common phrases
domestic abuse service · survivor of domestic abuse · experience domestic abuse · domestic abuse refuge · perpetrator of domestic abuse
Not having a safe, secure and suitable place to live, from sleeping on the street to staying in temporary or overcrowded accommodation.
Where you use it
Broader than sleeping outside: UK services call that rough sleeping, and speak of hidden homelessness for people staying on friends' sofas. Councils assess homelessness applications and may provide temporary accommodation.
Examples
Leaving care without support is a major cause of youth homelessness.
We work to prevent homelessness by stepping in before an eviction.
Usage note
Many services now say 'people experiencing homelessness' rather than 'the homeless'.
Common phrases
prevent homelessness · youth homelessness · hidden homelessness · homelessness service · at risk of homelessness
A long-term physical, sensory, intellectual or mental health condition that, combined with barriers in society, limits a person's daily activities.
Where you use it
The social model of disability, widely taught in social work, says people are disabled mainly by barriers such as inaccessible buildings and attitudes. UK English often says 'disabled people'; US and international texts prefer 'people with disabilities'.
Examples
The centre helps young adults with a learning disability to live independently.
Disability benefits are assessed on how the condition affects daily life.
Usage note
In UK English, learning disability means an intellectual disability; dyslexia is called a learning difficulty.
Common phrases
people with disabilities · learning disability · physical disability · social model of disability · disability rights
Practical and personal support for adults who need help because of age, illness or disability, such as home care, day centres and care homes.
Where you use it
A UK term for both the council department and the whole sector; adult social workers assess needs and arrange care packages. In other countries the same services may be called long-term care, aged care or disability services.
Examples
Adult social care arranged two home care visits a day after her fall.
Funding for adult social care is under pressure as the population ages.
Common phrases
adult social care services · adult social care team · adult social care funding · care package
A person's ability to understand, remember and weigh up information about a particular decision and to communicate their choice.
Where you use it
In England and Wales the Mental Capacity Act 2005 says capacity must be assumed unless shown otherwise and is decision-specific: someone may manage daily shopping but not a complex financial decision. Workers carry out and record capacity assessments.
Examples
We need to assess whether she has the mental capacity to decide where to live.
A diagnosis of dementia does not automatically mean a person lacks mental capacity.
What is best for a person, taking into account their wishes, feelings, beliefs and circumstances, when a decision has to be made for them.
Where you use it
For children, 'the best interests of the child' comes from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. For adults who lack capacity, professionals make a best interests decision after consulting the person and those close to them.
Examples
The judge decided that the move was in the child's best interests.
A best interests meeting was held because he could no longer decide about his own care.
Usage note
UK texts say best interests (plural); US legal texts often say best interest.
Common phrases
in the child's best interests · best interests decision · best interests meeting · act in someone's best interests
A person, often a family member or friend, who looks after someone who is ill, disabled, older or otherwise in need of support, usually without pay.
Where you use it
British English; American English usually says caregiver. Young carers are children who look after a parent or sibling. In official texts paid staff are normally called care workers or support workers rather than carers.
Examples
As his main carer, his wife has a right to an assessment of her own needs.
The school identified three young carers in Year 7.
Usage note
In UK foster care, carer is also short for foster carer.
Common phrases
unpaid carer · young carer · main carer · carer's assessment · carer's allowance
Short-term care for a disabled, ill or older person that gives their usual carer a break, lasting from a few hours to a few weeks.
Where you use it
It can be provided at home, in a day centre or through a short stay in a care home or with a short-break foster family. It is often written into a carer's support plan. 'Short breaks' is a common UK synonym, especially in children's services.
Examples
Respite care every other weekend helps the parents keep going.
He spends a week in respite care each summer so his daughter can have a break.
Common phrases
arrange respite care · respite break · overnight respite · short breaks
Use of alcohol or drugs in a way that harms a person's health, relationships, work or ability to look after themselves or others.
Where you use it
Common in UK services: substance misuse team, substance misuse worker. US clinical language prefers substance use disorder, and many practitioners use person-first terms such as 'a person who uses drugs' instead of labels like 'addict'.
Examples
Parental substance misuse was a factor in more than half of the cases.
He agreed to a referral to the local substance misuse service.
Common phrases
substance misuse service · parental substance misuse · substance misuse worker · alcohol and substance misuse
A person who has fled their country because of war, violence or a well-founded fear of persecution and cannot safely return.
Where you use it
In law, a refugee has been recognised under the 1951 Refugee Convention, while an asylum seeker is still waiting for a decision. Social workers support refugees with housing, benefits, school places, trauma and family reunion.
Examples
The refugee family arrived with no documents and very little English.
Unaccompanied refugee children are supported by a specialist team.
Usage note
Refugee is not the same as migrant: a migrant may move for work or study and can usually return home safely.
Common phrases
refugee status · refugee family · unaccompanied refugee children · refugee support · refugee resettlement
A court order that protects a person from abuse or threats, for example by banning the abuser from contacting them or coming near their home.
Where you use it
Names differ by country: restraining order in the US, non-molestation order and occupation order in England and Wales. Breaking the order is usually a criminal offence. Social workers help survivors understand the options and link them with legal advice.
Examples
She was granted a protection order that bans her ex-partner from her street.
The police were called when he broke the protection order.
Common phrases
apply for a protection order · grant a protection order · breach a protection order · restraining order
A person's health, safety and wellbeing; also the system of public support, such as payments and services, for people in need.
Where you use it
Two common uses: child welfare or the welfare of the child (wellbeing), and the welfare system or welfare state (public support). In US English 'on welfare' means receiving state payments and can sound negative; British English usually says 'on benefits'.
Examples
The child's welfare must come first in every decision we make.
Cuts to the welfare budget hit low-income families hardest.
Usage note
Welfare is about wellbeing and support, not about wealth.
Common phrases
child welfare · welfare state · welfare system · welfare reform · the welfare of the child
Money or other support paid by the state to people who are unemployed, ill, disabled, caring for someone or on a low income.
Where you use it
Usually plural in this sense, especially in British English: claim benefits, be on benefits, apply for benefits. Social workers often help clients check which benefits they are entitled to and fill in claim forms.
Examples
She has been on benefits since she lost her job last year.
We helped the family apply for the disability benefits they were entitled to.
Usage note
In everyday English a benefit is an advantage; in welfare contexts it means a payment from the state.
Common phrases
claim benefits · be on benefits · benefit claim · means-tested benefits · disability benefits
Meeting the conditions, such as age, income, need or residence, that are required to receive a service or payment.
Where you use it
Services set eligibility criteria, and workers check or assess eligibility. The adjective is common: be eligible for a benefit, eligible to apply. The opposite is ineligible or not eligible.
Examples
Eligibility for the grant depends on household income.
She didn't meet the eligibility criteria, so we signposted her to a local charity.
A check of a person's or household's income and savings to decide whether they can receive financial help, and how much.
Where you use it
The adjective means-tested is very common: means-tested benefits are paid only to people below an income limit, while universal benefits go to everyone in a group. Means always ends in -s in this sense.
Examples
Help with care costs is subject to a means test.
The means test looks at savings as well as monthly income.
Usage note
Means here refers to money and resources, not to meaning or method.
Common phrases
means-tested benefits · pass the means test · subject to a means test · means-testing
Cash or in-kind support funded from taxes and given to people on low incomes, without any need for previous contributions.
Where you use it
The standard term in international and policy texts from the World Bank, the ILO and the EU. It is distinguished from social insurance, which depends on contributions, such as pensions and unemployment insurance. Together they form social protection.
Examples
Social assistance in kind includes food parcels, fuel and school supplies.
The report compares social assistance schemes in twelve countries.
Usage note
Do not confuse it with social insurance, which people pay into while they work.
Common phrases
social assistance programme · social assistance scheme · receive social assistance · social assistance recipients
Not having enough money or resources to meet basic needs such as food, housing and heating, or to take part in normal life in society.
Where you use it
Common types are absolute poverty, relative poverty, child poverty, in-work poverty and fuel poverty. People live in poverty or below the poverty line. Many practitioners avoid labels like 'the poor' and speak of people living on low incomes.
Examples
Child poverty affects health, school results and later employment.
Many families we work with are in work but still living in poverty.
Common phrases
live in poverty · child poverty · poverty line · in-work poverty · tackle poverty
Something, such as a payment or service, that a person has a legal right to receive if they meet the conditions.
Where you use it
Workers often do an entitlement check, or benefits check, to make sure clients receive everything they are due. The adjective is entitled: be entitled to a benefit. In everyday speech a 'sense of entitlement' is negative, meaning someone expects special treatment.
Examples
An entitlement check showed she was missing out on two benefits.
Free school meals are an entitlement for children in families on certain benefits.
Common phrases
entitlement check · benefit entitlement · statutory entitlement · be entitled to
A regular sum of money paid by the state or an organisation for a particular purpose, such as caring, disability or education.
Where you use it
Often part of a benefit's name: Carer's Allowance, Attendance Allowance, an education maintenance allowance. Foster carers also receive a fostering allowance to cover the child's costs.
Examples
She gave up work to look after her son and now receives Carer's Allowance.
The fostering allowance covers food, clothes and school trips.
Usage note
In American English, a child's allowance is also pocket money.
Homes owned by local authorities or non-profit housing associations and rented at lower, affordable rents to people in housing need.
Where you use it
British English; US English says public housing or affordable housing. People apply to join the housing register or waiting list, and social workers may support a housing application on medical or social grounds.
Examples
The family has been on the waiting list for social housing for three years.
I wrote a letter supporting her application for social housing on medical grounds.
Usage note
Council housing or a council flat is the informal UK name for social housing owned by the local council.
Common phrases
social housing waiting list · apply for social housing · social housing tenant · shortage of social housing
A social assistance payment given to low-income families on condition that they meet certain requirements, such as sending children to school or attending health checks.
Where you use it
A term from international development and social policy, often shortened to CCT. Brazil's Bolsa Família is a well-known example. Researchers compare conditional and unconditional cash transfers for their effects on poverty, education and health.
Examples
Under the conditional cash transfer, payments stop if the child stops attending school.
The study found that conditional cash transfers increased school enrolment among girls.
Common phrases
conditional cash transfer programme · unconditional cash transfer · cash transfer scheme · CCT
A person who applies for or receives a state benefit; in law, also a person who brings a claim against someone in court.
Where you use it
Common in British benefit and employment services: a benefit claimant, the claimant's household, the claimant must attend an interview. Some people find the word impersonal, so practitioners often say 'people claiming benefits'.
Examples
Claimants must report any change in their income.
The claimant was supported by a welfare rights adviser at the appeal.
Usage note
Do not confuse claimant with complainant, a person who makes a complaint.
Common phrases
benefit claimant · joint claimants · claimant's household · the claimant must
Work with local people to identify shared problems and strengths and to take collective action that improves life in their community.
Where you use it
Part of community work, one of the classic methods of social work alongside casework and group work. Community development workers bring people together, support local groups and help them reach funding and decision-makers.
Examples
The community development team helped residents set up a food bank.
Community development takes time, because trust has to be built first.
Common phrases
community development worker · community development project · asset-based community development · community development approach
Taking services out to people where they are, such as on the street or in the neighbourhood, instead of waiting for them to come to an office.
Where you use it
Common in work with rough sleepers, young people, migrants and people who use drugs. Outreach workers build trust first and then link people with services. It is used as a noun and before other nouns: outreach team, outreach work.
Examples
The outreach team visits the park every night to talk to rough sleepers.
Most of the women we now support first met us through outreach.
Common phrases
outreach team · outreach worker · street outreach · community outreach · outreach work
Being shut out, fully or partly, from the economic, social and cultural life of society, for example from work, services, housing or community activities.
Where you use it
A broader idea than poverty, as it also includes isolation, discrimination and lack of access. Policy documents talk about tackling or reducing social exclusion and promoting social inclusion, its opposite.
Examples
Long-term unemployment can lead to social exclusion and isolation.
The project tackles social exclusion among older migrants.
Common phrases
tackle social exclusion · risk of social exclusion · social inclusion · poverty and social exclusion
Involving local people and groups in identifying needs, planning services and making the decisions that affect them.
Where you use it
Used by councils, NGOs and health services. Methods include public meetings, surveys, focus groups and working through community leaders. Good engagement is ongoing, not a single consultation at the end of a project.
Examples
Community engagement showed that parents wanted evening sessions, not morning ones.
The new centre was designed through months of community engagement.
Common phrases
community engagement work · community engagement officer · meaningful community engagement · community engagement strategy
A person who gives their time to help an organisation or community without being paid; as a verb, to offer to do this.
Where you use it
Many social care and community services depend on volunteers, for example befrienders, mentors and food bank helpers. Volunteers are usually trained, supervised and checked for safety before working with vulnerable people.
Examples
A volunteer visits Mrs Kaya every Tuesday for a chat and a walk.
She volunteered at a refugee centre before training as a social worker.
Common phrases
volunteer coordinator · recruit volunteers · trained volunteer · volunteer at a charity · volunteer work
A group of people with a shared experience, such as caring, bereavement or addiction, who meet regularly to share feelings, information and practical tips.
Where you use it
Some groups are run by professionals; others are peer-led or self-help groups. Social workers set up, facilitate or refer people to support groups, and online support groups have become common.
Examples
She found the carers' support group a lifeline after her husband's stroke.
I co-facilitate a support group for parents of autistic children.
Common phrases
join a support group · run a support group · peer support group · online support group · carers' support group
Strengthening the skills, knowledge, resources and organisation of people, groups or institutions so that they can act more effectively on their own.
Where you use it
Very common in NGO, donor and international development language, covering training, mentoring and support for local organisations. In community work it means helping groups run themselves rather than doing the work for them.
Examples
The grant includes capacity building for small women's organisations.
Capacity building took two years, but the tenants' association now runs itself.
Common phrases
capacity building programme · institutional capacity building · capacity building for NGOs · community capacity building
The duty to keep information about clients private and to share it only with their consent or when there is a clear professional or legal reason.
Where you use it
A core ethical principle. You keep, respect or breach confidentiality. Social workers explain its limits at the start: confidentiality is not absolute and may be overridden when someone is at risk of serious harm.
Examples
I explained the limits of confidentiality before we started talking.
Discussing a case in the lift is a breach of confidentiality.
Usage note
Confidentiality is about not passing information on; privacy is a person's wider right to a private life.
Common phrases
breach of confidentiality · limits of confidentiality · maintain confidentiality · confidentiality agreement
Permission given by a person who understands what they are agreeing to, including the purpose, risks, alternatives and their right to say no.
Where you use it
Needed before sharing information, making a referral, recording an interview or taking part in research. You seek, obtain, give or withdraw consent. Consent must be voluntary and can be withdrawn later.
Examples
We need her informed consent before we share the assessment with the housing office.
Participants gave informed consent and could leave the study at any time.
Common phrases
obtain informed consent · give informed consent · withdraw consent · written consent · consent form
The legal and ethical responsibility to act in a way that keeps people in your care safe and does not cause them avoidable harm.
Where you use it
Heard in training, supervision and legal discussions. A worker or organisation has, owes or breaches a duty of care. It often has to be balanced against a person's right to make their own choices, even risky ones.
Examples
We have a duty of care to act if we learn that a young person is in danger.
Respecting his choice did not mean ignoring our duty of care.
Common phrases
owe a duty of care · breach of duty of care · duty of care to clients · have a duty of care
The limits that keep the relationship between a worker and a client professional, for example around gifts, personal contact, social media and sharing personal information.
Where you use it
A frequent topic in supervision and codes of conduct. Workers keep, maintain or cross boundaries, and a boundary violation is a serious breach. Small kindnesses are fine, but the relationship exists for the client's benefit.
Examples
Accepting a friend request from a client would cross professional boundaries.
We talked about professional boundaries in supervision after the family invited me to a wedding.
Common phrases
maintain professional boundaries · cross professional boundaries · boundary violation · clear boundaries
A written set of values and principles that guides how members of a profession should behave and make decisions.
Where you use it
Social work codes usually stress human dignity, social justice, integrity and competence. Well-known examples are the IFSW global statement of ethical principles and the NASW Code of Ethics in the US. Workers follow, breach or refer to the code.
Examples
Under our code of ethics, we must challenge discrimination when we see it.
The code of ethics doesn't give easy answers, but it helps us think a dilemma through.
Common phrases
follow the code of ethics · breach the code of ethics · professional code of ethics · ethical dilemma
The idea that everyone should have fair access to rights, resources and opportunities, and that unfair structures in society should be changed.
Where you use it
Named in the international definition of social work as a core principle, alongside human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversity. It appears in codes of ethics, policy statements and essays rather than in daily case notes.
Examples
For many students, social justice is the reason they chose social work.
The project links individual casework with a wider commitment to social justice.
Common phrases
promote social justice · commitment to social justice · social justice and human rights · social justice issues
A person's right to make their own choices and decisions about their life, even when others might disagree with them.
Where you use it
A classic social work value. It is limited when a person lacks capacity for a decision or when their choice would seriously harm others. In politics the same word refers to a people's right to choose its own government, so context matters.
Examples
We respected his self-determination, even though we were worried about the decision.
Client self-determination has to be balanced against the duty to protect.
Common phrases
client self-determination · right to self-determination · respect self-determination · promote self-determination
A situation in which a worker's personal interests or relationships could affect, or seem to affect, their professional judgement.
Where you use it
Examples include being asked to assess a neighbour or relative, or having a financial link to a care provider. Workers declare a conflict of interest to their manager, and the case is usually reallocated to someone else.
Examples
I declared a conflict of interest because I know the family from my children's school.
To avoid a conflict of interest, the case was given to another team.
Common phrases
declare a conflict of interest · potential conflict of interest · avoid a conflict of interest · conflict of interest policy
A rule for sharing information only with the people who need it to do their job, and only as much as they need.
Where you use it
Usually in the phrase 'on a need-to-know basis'. It guides how much detail goes into a referral, an email or a meeting: a school may need to know that a child is on a plan, but not the full family history.
Examples
Details of the allegation are shared on a need-to-know basis only.
On a need-to-know basis, the teacher was told only that the family was receiving support.
Common phrases
on a need-to-know basis · strictly need-to-know · share on a need-to-know basis
Written records of contacts, conversations, observations and actions in a case, made by the worker as the work happens.
Where you use it
Usually typed into an electronic case recording system. Good case notes are dated, factual, clear and written soon after the contact. People write up, update or add to case notes, remembering that the person may read them later.
Examples
I'll write up my case notes as soon as I'm back in the office.
According to the case notes, the family missed three appointments in May.
Common phrases
write up case notes · update the case notes · contemporaneous case notes · case note entry
The practice of creating, organising, storing and updating accurate records about the people you work with and the actions you take.
Where you use it
Treated as a professional duty, not just admin: poor record keeping is a common finding in case reviews and complaints. Agencies have record keeping standards covering timescales, language, storage and how long records are kept.
Examples
Good record keeping protects both the client and the worker.
The audit found gaps in record keeping, especially after home visits.
Common phrases
good record keeping · record keeping standards · poor record keeping · record keeping policy
A list of the significant events in a person's or family's life and in the case, in date order, used to spot patterns over time.
Where you use it
Especially important in neglect and child protection work, where single incidents may look minor but the pattern is serious. Workers compile, update and analyse a chronology, and courts often ask for one.
Examples
The chronology showed eleven missed health appointments in two years.
Please update the chronology before the court hearing.
Common phrases
compile a chronology · update the chronology · multi-agency chronology · chronology of significant events
The laws and practices that control how personal information is collected, stored, used, shared and deleted.
Where you use it
In the EU and the UK the main framework is the GDPR; in Turkey it is the Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK). Social care records contain sensitive data, so workers follow strict rules on access, sharing, retention and subject access requests.
Examples
Under data protection law, clients can ask to see the records we hold about them.
Sending case notes to a personal email account is a data protection breach.
Common phrases
data protection law · data protection breach · data protection officer · data protection training
Passing relevant information about a person between professionals or agencies so that the person can be protected and receive the right help.
Where you use it
It must be lawful, necessary and proportionate, and is usually done with consent unless asking would put someone at risk. Agencies sign information sharing agreements. Case reviews often find that poor information sharing played a part when things went wrong.
Examples
Information sharing between the school and the family doctor was too slow.
We follow the information sharing agreement signed by all partner agencies.
Common phrases
information sharing agreement · lawful information sharing · information sharing between agencies · share information
Based on facts and observations rather than on personal feelings, opinions or assumptions.
Where you use it
A key quality of case recording. Workers are told to keep notes objective: record what was seen and said, quote the person's own words, and label professional opinions clearly as analysis.
Examples
'The house was dirty' is vague; an objective note describes exactly what you saw.
Try to keep your case notes objective and free of labels.
Usage note
As a noun, objective means a goal: 'the objectives of the care plan'.
Common phrases
objective record · remain objective · objective evidence · objective and factual
The complete record held about a person or family, including referrals, assessments, plans, case notes, letters and reports.
Where you use it
Today usually electronic. Managers audit case files, inspectors read samples of them, and people can request access to their own file. Information is added to, uploaded to or kept on the case file.
Examples
A copy of the letter has been uploaded to the case file.
When she turned eighteen, she asked to read her case file from childhood.
Common phrases
case file audit · on the case file · access to the case file · electronic case file
A formal request passing a person or a concern to another service or professional so that they can assess the situation or provide help.
Where you use it
You make, send, receive or accept a referral, and a service may decide that a referral does not meet its threshold. Schools, doctors, police and relatives are common sources of referrals. The verb is refer someone to a service.
Examples
The school made a referral to children's services after the boy stopped attending.
We received the referral on Monday and visited the family on Wednesday.
Usage note
The stress is on the second syllable, as in refer: re-FER-ral.
Common phrases
make a referral · receive a referral · referral form · self-referral · refer someone to
Different organisations, such as social services, schools, health, police and charities, working together on the same case or problem.
Where you use it
A key idea in safeguarding: case reviews often find that agencies did not share information or work together. Common phrases are multi-agency meeting, multi-agency team and multi-agency approach; 'inter-agency' and 'partnership working' are close synonyms.
Examples
Good multi-agency working meant the school, the family doctor and the housing officer all knew the plan.
The review called for better multi-agency working and clearer information sharing.
Usage note
Multi-agency means several organisations; multidisciplinary means several professions, which may work in one organisation.
A formal meeting where the professionals involved in a case, and usually the family, share information, assess risk and agree a plan.
Where you use it
In UK child protection the main type is the child protection conference, which decides whether a child needs a child protection plan. Someone chairs the conference, professionals submit reports and minutes are circulated afterwards.
Examples
The case conference agreed that the children would stay at home with daily support.
Parents are invited to the case conference and can bring a supporter.
Common phrases
attend a case conference · chair a case conference · child protection conference · case conference report · case conference minutes
To give someone information about another service that could help them, so that they can contact it themselves.
Where you use it
Common in British services. Signposting is lighter than a referral: the worker gives contact details or a leaflet but does not formally pass the case on. It is often used when someone does not meet the threshold for a service.
Examples
We signposted him to the local debt advice service.
If a caller doesn't need social care, signpost them to the right agency.
Usage note
As a noun, a signpost is a road sign; the verb in this sense is mainly British.
Common phrases
signpost to a service · signposting information · advice and signposting · signpost families to support
The main professional who coordinates a person's or family's support and is their first point of contact.
Where you use it
Used in hostels, residential homes, mental health and family services. The key worker meets the person regularly, keeps the plan on track and liaises with other agencies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, UK news also used key worker to mean an essential worker.
Examples
Your key worker will meet you every week to review your plan.
As key worker, I attend all the multi-agency meetings for this family.
Common phrases
named key worker · key worker session · allocate a key worker · key worker role
Required, set up or controlled by law, for example a service that a public body must legally provide.
Where you use it
Statutory services, duties and agencies, such as councils, health services and police, are contrasted with the voluntary sector. Statutory social work means work carried out under legal powers and duties, such as child protection or mental health assessments.
Examples
The council has a statutory duty to assess the needs of carers.
She moved from a charity to statutory social work in a local authority team.
Usage note
Statutory comes from statute (a written law), not from statue or status.
Common phrases
statutory duty · statutory services · statutory guidance · statutory agencies · statutory social work
Short for non-governmental organisation: an independent, non-profit organisation that works on social, humanitarian or environmental issues.
Where you use it
Common in international and humanitarian work. In the UK people more often say charity, voluntary organisation or the third sector; in the US, nonprofit. Many social workers in Turkey work for NGOs in refugee, women's and children's programmes.
Examples
She works as a case manager for an NGO supporting refugee families.
The NGO runs a helpline and two shelters for women.
Common phrases
international NGO · local NGO · NGO staff · work for an NGO · partner NGOs
Ten questions from this glossary. Pick the right meaning for each term and see your score.
How to learn social work vocabulary
Learn each term with the verbs that go with it: make a referral, carry out an assessment, raise a concern, close a case, agree a plan. These partnerships are what make your notes and reports sound professional.
Read real texts from the field every week, such as practice guidance, anonymised case studies, research summaries and NGO annual reports, and collect phrases like 'engaged well with services' or 'no concerns were noted'.
Keep a list of UK and US differences, for example carer and caregiver, benefits and welfare, contact and visitation, looked-after child and child in foster care, and check which one your employer or course uses.
Practise writing short case notes in English that separate facts from professional opinion, and use respectful, person-first language such as 'a person experiencing homelessness'.
Practise speaking: present a case in three minutes as if you were at a case conference or in supervision, covering the situation, risks, strengths and your recommendation.
Frequently asked questions
How can I learn social work vocabulary in English effectively?
Study by topic rather than alphabetically, and learn every term inside a phrase you can reuse, such as 'make a referral to' or 'at risk of homelessness'. Read real texts from the field regularly, including practice guidance, journal abstracts and published case studies, and try rewriting one of your own case notes in English each week. Short daily practice works better than long sessions before an exam or interview.
How do I say 'sosyal hizmet uzmanı' in English?
Simply social worker. 'Social service expert' is a word-for-word translation that native speakers do not use. In many countries social worker is a protected title: in England you must be registered with Social Work England, and in the US social workers are licensed by each state, for example as an LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker). The field itself is called social work, and the public departments are often called social services.
Should I say client, service user or patient?
It depends on the country and the setting. Client is common in the US and in international NGOs; service user, or 'people who use services', is common in UK social care; patient is used in hospitals and health settings. Many services now also speak of 'people with lived experience'. Follow the language of your organisation, and when in doubt use the person's name. The traditional Turkish term in social work is müracaatçı.
What is the difference between safeguarding and child protection?
Safeguarding is the broader idea: everything done to prevent harm and promote the welfare of children and adults at risk, from safe recruitment to early help. Child protection is one part of safeguarding: the specific procedures used when a child is suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm. Safeguarding is mainly a British term; American texts more often speak of child welfare and child protective services.
What language should I use in English case notes?
Clear, factual and respectful. Record the date, who was present and what was seen and said, put the person's own words in quotation marks, and label your professional view clearly as analysis. Avoid jargon, vague words like 'inappropriate' without explanation, and labels such as 'difficult family'. Write as if the person will read the notes one day, because in many countries they have the right to ask for them.
