ABSTRACT
Advice-giving in social work is a complex and delicate issue. It is defined by Kadushin and Kadushin (1997: 208) as ‘a non-coercive recommendation for some decision or course of action based on professional knowledge’. The social worker is considered to possess knowledge, evidence or judgement that enables the client to access interventions, understand their situation or make choices about their future. A distinction can be made between advice and information: the former involves a ‘prescription of a particular course of action for the advice recipient to follow, whereas providing information leaves the decision about what to do to the client’ (Kadushin and Kadushin 1997: 208). In the extract below the social worker (SW) responds to the mother’s (M) question about support for the cost of a child minder (a provider of day care in their own home while the carer(s) are at work/college) by providing advice.
