Good practice in social care for refugees and asylum seekers
Pointers for good practice: High quality culturally sensitive service provision
To provide services to the highest standards for social care, commissioners and providers will need to:
- Ensure the service provided is culturally competent and enables asylums seekers and refugees to include culturally specific forms of support, including faith-based approaches
- Ensure that services promote independence and well-being through greater consideration of direct payments and personal budgets for those in the asylum system and refugees
- Protect, address abuse and neglect and take action against those who cause harm. Help people to recognise and cope with their vulnerability
- Ensure access to counselling and culturally appropriate mental health interventions.
In addition a commitment to secure a solution, the capacity to be innovative, flexibility, a desire to ensure parity with the UK population and an understanding of the system were identified as important characteristics of a positive response to individual needs by the knowledge review.
Community and refugee organisations are well placed to deliver social care interventions that are culturally appropriate and trusted by asylum seekers and refugees.
Link: Perry, J. and El-Hassan, A. (2008) More responsive public services? A guide to commissioning migrant and refugee community organisations (PDF file), York, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
