Social Care in Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services Special Interest Group
About The Group
The Social Care in CAMHS Special Interest Group SIG is a group of Social Care Workers/Leaders who work in the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). The group came together in 2013 when it became clear that with the addition of many Social Care posts to CAMHS teams nationwide came many new challenges and indeed opportunities. The group’s initial aim was to provide an important communication link and support network for the Social Care Workers/Leaders in CAMHS. A number of local peer support groups were established nationwide and the goal is that each of these groups has at least one representative who is linked to the SIG. This ensures that the group can stay abreast of current issues and developments for Social Care in CAMHS and successfully advocate on behalf of our profession in this sector. An executive committee is elected annually to progress key tasks agreed by the SIG. This committee generally consists of 10-12 members including the roles of Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer and Public Relations Officer.
Terms of Reference
Aims of the Group
- To encourage, promote, and support the professionalisation and advancement of Social Care in CAMHS.
- To continuously promote the identity of Social Care in CAMHS, to promote best practice and also to provide and a voice for practitioners in this sector.
- To recognise current and emerging issues and trends of relevance to Social Care Workers in CAMHS, discuss the impact of those issues and trends and lobby for change where necessary.
- To be proactive and take responsibility for information gathering, and to seek to participate in policy development and service planning specific to Social Care in CAMHS. This involves nominated representatives from the committee attending and engaging with relevant advisory groups and committees responsible for the development of mental health services in Ireland.
- To support Social Care Workers/Leaders in CAMHS, in respect of participating in Continued Professional Development, by having input in the provision of relevant training and development. The SIG coordinated it’s first annual CPD conference in 2015 and this occurs annually in November. (Details can be found on the events section of the Social Care Ireland website)
- The establishment and development of an educational sub group to promote and participate in the educational development of Social Care students and to promote and engage in ongoing research in the sector.
The group aims to meet four times a year with the committee meeting in the morning. The afternoon is open to any Social Care Worker with a special interest in CAMHS who would like to attend to discuss relevant practice issues or engage in the information sharing and the CPD component of the meetings. You can find updates throughout the year on the work of the SIG along with dates and venues for future meetings should you wish to attend in the afternoon.
If you have a question for the SIG or would like to link with your local peer support group you can email socialcarecamhs@gmail.com