Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Service Gap

Ok, I'm kinda motivated to do my internal review reports for my cases because the upcoming review is chaired by someone who is social work trained! WHEE!

FINALLY! Some form of supervision!

I seriously do not see the point if someone who calls the shots at the end of the day is not fully trained, and worse still, makes random/irrational/queer decisions largely based on his emotions. Don't bloody waste everybody's time! I'd rather just discuss the case with my senior social worker or director.

Oh well, I guess that's just one of the many service gaps we have.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Social Workers and Football Players

Many of my friends and people who know of the underpaid situation of social workers tell me "Aiya, you chose this job not because of money right, it's your passion mah" or "The rewards you get are not monetary anyway." 

Right. 

As if job satisfaction and passion can pay my bills and loan. Oh well..

Let's just say there are alot of people who do what they do because they have a passion for it (which we all should!), like football players. Yet, does it mean that the monetary rewards should in anyway be compromised? It's just like in football, players turn professional because they have outgrown random grass patches and using slippers as goal posts. It is not merely their passion but as their skills improve, it has become their professional job and a career. They are paid high wages simply because they deserve it! Over the years, football has evolved into such a stage whereby it is not just a sport but so much more!

Isnt it the same for the social service sector? It has evolved into such a stage where relying solely on the gotong royong spirit is a thing of the past. We've advanced way ahead of impromptu mutual helping on personal basis to social workers having proper qualifications and policies set in place. With all these changes, shouldnt the people up there should do something more than pay social workers a few hundred dollars more than deliverymen/bus drivers to start retaining good workers? Where's the recognition for the profession? I mean EVEN S-league is more recognised now with more money being pumped in to develop talents, hire more qualified coaches and increase publicity. So why not for the social service sector?

Reality set in again yesterday when I received a credit card application form from OCBC in the mail. And yes, you guessed it, I am still not able to meet the minimum annual income criteria to own one, despite being a graduate and having worked for almost 2 years. Guess I shall just stick to my debit cards and the "auntie" NTUC Card=)

Aiya.. ventilate as I may, I still chose to stick to this job because it means so much to me and there is nothing else I'd rather do, seriously. I just have to learn to manage my money better and sell more old clothes online. FAST DEALS PLS! hahaha!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Scared.

For once, I am scared in my social work career. Scared to compromise on my ideals and scared of what is to come.

My caseload is 20 now (I usually have 20-22ish), but one of my female colleagues just left and yet another has tendered resignation. With the budget cut, it is highly unlikely that we hire another full time worker. Last heard, we're only going to have a more experienced part time worker to ease the caseload abit. I dunno. I reckon my caseload will hit 30-ish shortly. Unlike other settings, I take care of both the micro and macro aspects of my cases (I work in a childrens' home rem?) and do mostly remedial work. That means I will have 10 more children/youths with emotional /behavioural issues, 10 more families, 10 more school placements/teachers/FTSC and many more external agencies to work with, all in a 44 hr work week or 176 hrs a month. Oh and did I even mention countless more mandatory reports to write and court sessions to attend.

Assuming I have 30 cases to handle in 164 hr (12hrs used up for 3 monthly meetings) per month, a simple calculation would mean I have 5.5 hrs allocated for each case on average. And to further illustrate how much this is worth, refer to the breakdown as follow:

Average Time needed for:

Advisory Board Report: 2-3hrs
Court Report: 3-4hrs
Internal Review Board Report: 1-2 hrs
Pre-counselling preparation (although we are trained, I dunno anyone who is able to have a fruitful session without proper planning, sth which I am guilty of sometimes, sad to say): 1 hr
Individual counselling session (MCYS standard is for each child to be seen at least once a month): 45min-1 hr
Family counselling sessions (we work systemically remember?): 1-1.5hrs
Post-counselling recording (every single contact made has to be recorded): 30min-1hr
School conference (if any): 1-2hrs
Court session (if any) which includes waiting for your turn): 3-4hrs
Home visit, including travelling time (for all new admissions): 2 hrs
Teleconversations and emailing: Varies

And did I just hear you say supervision? What supervision?

I've always pride myself to do the best for my cases and I am comfortable with about 20. I strictly do not do overtime because I firmly believe in self-care and work-life balance. I think that's a basic human/employee right. Else I wouldn't even still be in this profession I guess. Nevertheless, I feel with this amount of caseload, I am able to build good rapport with the children and families, have time to sit down to analyse and assess the cases and intervene apprioprately. With so many more cases to come, I really am not sure anymore. But at the same time, I'm also beginning to see positive changes with some of the families whom I'm working with for the past 1 year or so and it is unbelievably rewarding. SO THAT'S GOOD=) I am beginning to make sense out of what one of my most respected Professor in NUS had once said: It is the positive changes you see in families that gives you the energy to drive you on!

Right now, I'm just scared to compromise on the efforts I put in for each of my cases. The idealistic part of me will never allow for that to happen but maybe in time to come I have to. It's sad, but its the reality. My 'close friend'/colleague R and I are trying to rally each other on, which is great, really. But ultimately, that day will come, unless out of the blue we have the budget to hire an experienced full time worker? Dream on kiddo.

Yeah, economic recession is bad=less business=more jobless/homeless. Its time people begin to realise that in the social service sector, maybe, juuuust maybe, our workload is inversely proportional to the economic situation. Last informed, we got a wage freeze for 2009.

How's that for a good reality check.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

YOU know you are a social worker if . . .

Chanced upon this on a blog of a social worker and it rings so true! I've made some adaptations to fit the local context=)

YOU know you are a social worker if . . .

1. You think earning $3,000 a month is 'really making it'.

2. You don't know what it's like to work with men.

3. You know all the latest lingo for inhalant abuse, tattoos and gangs.

4. You’ve often start a sentence with 'So what I hear you saying is...' 

5. You’ve had 2 or more jobs at one time just to pay the bills.

6. You tell people what you do and they say 'that's so noble'

7. You have had to explain to people that social workers are not volunteers.

8. You use the words 'validate,' 'assess' and 'intervention' daily.

9. You spend more than half your day documenting and doing paperwork. (To quote from E, you spend 1 hr doing work and 3 hrs proving to the authorities you did it)

10. You think nothing of discussing child abuse or gang fights over dinner.

11. People have said to you 'I don't know how you do what you do'.

12. You’ve never been on a business trip or had an expense account.

13. You know a lot of other social workers who have left the profession for another, mostly in less than 2 years of being in the profession.

14. You’re very familiar with the concept of "conflict resolution", "intake assessment" and "financial assistance".

15. Staying at a job for 2 years is 'a long time'.

16. Your phone number is unlisted for a good reason.

17. Your professional newsletters always have articles about raising salaries...but you still haven't seen it.

18. You’re very VERY familiar with the term 'budget cut'.

19. You can't imagine working at a bank or crunching numbers all day. 

20. You’ve had clients who liked you just a little too much.

21. Having lunch is a luxury on many days.

22. You’ve been cursed at or threatened...and it doesn't bother you. 

23. Your job orientation has included self defense.

24. You have the best stories at any class reunion gathering.

25. Your parents don't know half of the stuff that you've dealt with at your job.

bANDERSONics

SUPPORT!

Maiden Post

If there is one word I'll add to the pebbles above, it would be: THEORIES because that is one of the main differences that separates a social worker from a volunteer. 

Social Workers are often mistaken to be volunteers simply because the people we serve are of similar profile - those perceived as vulnerable by the society, namely people with disabilities, people from the lower income group, people with mental health issues, children with emotional needs not met and youths with unacceptable behaviours etc. Basically where you can find social workers, there will be volunteers, but not necessarily vice versa. But that's another story for another day. 

Other than being professionally qualified with at least a degree in social work and ethically bounded, social workers work towards positive changes by assessing and intervening on a systematic framework and theories, including local and cultural knowledge specific to its context. Social workers work on the assumption that human relationships are not linear and that systems interact in a ecological context and have an influence on each other, which forms the basis for assessment and intervention. 

And oh yes, we do get paid, here in Singapore=)

In posts to come, I'll seek to pen down self-reflections on my journey as a residential social worker and I hope you'll embark on this journey with me=)

 
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