Chief Social Work Officers and Secure Care

This research was a qualitative study of Chief Social Work Officer (CSWO) perceptions; and of CSWO and local authority approaches to the use of secure care in Scotland. The central focus of the study was an examination of how the role and responsibilities of CSWOs in relation to secure care, as defined in legislation and related guidance and policy, are translated in practice, within the context of their local authority’s approach to children and young people who are extremely vulnerable and who pose a very high risk to themselves and/or to other people. The project sought to understand how the personal and professional value base of individual CSWOs, and their role within each local authority context, impacts on perceptions of; approaches to; and usage of; secure care and complementary or alternative services.