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Social Work vocabulary · Services and Multi-Agency Work

Statutory

Meaning in social work, with examples

/ˈstætʃətri/adjectiveCommon term

In social work, statutory means: Required, set up or controlled by law, for example a service that a public body must legally provide.

In Turkish: yasal, kanuni, yasayla belirlenmiş

How it is used

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.

Example sentences

  1. The council has a statutory duty to assess the needs of carers.

  2. She moved from a charity to statutory social work in a local authority team.

Common collocations

  • statutory duty
  • statutory services
  • statutory guidance
  • statutory agencies
  • statutory social work
  • NGOShort for non-governmental organisation: an independent, non-profit organisation that works on social, humanitarian or environmental issues.
  • child protectionThe work of identifying children who are suffering, or are likely to suffer, abuse or neglect and taking action to keep them safe.
  • safeguardingAll the measures taken to protect children and adults at risk from harm, abuse and neglect, and to promote their wellbeing.
  • significant harmIn UK child protection law, the level of harm, or likely harm, that justifies statutory action such as a formal investigation or care proceedings.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Services and Multi-Agency Work

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