The relevance of documentation in the field of social work has evolved over time and the social workers are increasingly becoming aware of its application. During the old days in social work, documentation was seen only as a mechanism to facilitate theory building and research. It was later followed by the detailed and complex documentation standards for clinical therapy and other settings. Currently, the social workers adopt documentation for risk management purposes to protect themselves and the clients in case ethics complaint arise.
At times, documentation might be overwhelming for the social worker due to time limits and burnouts, but no matter the situation, documentation is as essential as the profession itself. The documentation skills are very crucial for the social worker because they help him or her to decide what needs to be documented so that provision of safe and effective services can be enhanced. …show more content…
When the social worker is not sure of what to document, he/she should consult with the agency supervisor or the available trusted professionals. The social worker should not put anything on record that he/she should not want the client to see. In all activities of social work setting, clients have the right to access their records. Also, it's the role of the social worker to determine how to establish what is important and in an open and clear way.
Conclusion
Proper documentation is essential in social work to ensure that all activities are recorded and in case of occurrence of a risk event, the evidence is readily available to proof or disproof the case. It is also significance for the social workers to keep the records of the client to determine the rate of recovery. To eliminate the tedious process of recording to save on time and enhance efficiency, the social worker can adopt the modern technology to save clients records.