Social Work with Interpreters: Using Practitioner Knowledge to Improve Practice

Abstract

Interpreters are crucial to enabling individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) to navigate the social welfare system, as they facilitate the development of relationships between this population and social workers. This article utilises primary data to analyse the interactive relationship between interpreters, social workers and service users with LEP with a view to better management of these three-way interactions and improved engagement with the LEP population, thus improving health and social care outcomes for this group. A social work education and workforce development review alongside online focus groups with professionals provided data to develop three broad categories: knowledge, values and skills. These categories house seven sub-themes, comprising trust/confidentiality, relationships, role knowledge, cultural knowledge, briefing and debriefing, values and attitude, and practical knowledge. Findings suggest that social workers saw interpreters as a barrier to their relationship with families rather than as a facilitator to communication. Enhancing practitioner knowledge, values and skills is essential to changing this narrative and improving relationships between professionals and in turn with the LEP population. By framing communication as a Human Rights issue, and prioritising language in social work education and workforce development, this is possible within existing legal and regulatory frameworks.