INHERENT Belief in Human Worth

How many social workers does it take to change a lightbulb?

2010-04-15T23:28:00.002+08:00

How many Social Workers does it take to change a lightbulb?

“The light bulb doesn’t need changing, it’s the system that needs to change.”
None. Social workers never change anything.
None. They empower it to change itself!
None. The light bulb is not burnt out, it’s just differently lit.
None. They set up a team to write a paper on coping with darkness.
Two. One to change the bulb and another to put your kids into care.
Five. One to screw it in, three to form the support group, and one to help with placement.

Burnout?

2010-03-17T22:35:00.002+08:00

"Burnout occurs only when you have not found the right way

to deal with yourself and your clients."

Breatheeeee.....

2010-03-17T22:19:00.004+08:00

I took leave the past couple of days, because I felt breathless handling some of my clients and needed a break before I burnout. I had began dreaming weird dreams of them and even thought of them while I was on leave.. tsk tsk.. no good... I pride myself as someone who is able to draw boundaries quite well and manage a work-life balance. But sometimes, it's just hard to let go even for me, especially when we know how much my clients are going through.

I was especially bothered by this client who just found out that he was adopted, and began acting out in school. As usual, there were so many "what ifs" that I thought I could have done with the parents; to let them consider how and when better to break the news than the way they did. I felt I could have certainly done better, much better. And then I recalled that I am human after all. But have I done any harm to the child?

Yesterday during the symposium, it was presented that if we can't do good all the time, at least do no harm to our clients. I thought long and hard about it, and yeah, it made sense to me at that point in time. But now upon reflection, it is not such a simple thing after all. In this case, I dunno if I have done harm to the client=( Well, technically speaking, I did not cause a direct harm to him. Rather, it is precisely what I did not do that resulted in him having to go through the confusion, anger and sadness right now. Urgh.

Interestingly, I am feeling confused, angry and sad right now...

HAPPY WORLD SOCIAL WORK DAY!

2010-03-16T23:50:00.003+08:00

Singapore's social workers had a celebration today with the theme: Redefining PASSION.

I had alot to digest from today's symposium and networking session (and food!). Shall consolidate my thoughts and post them up soon!

PAY HIKE!

2010-03-10T22:23:00.005+08:00

This is the reason I am reviving my blog. HAHAHA! So today's topic will be on our PAY HIKE!

For overseas readers and people who aren't that familiar with how social workers are paid here in Singapore, it goes like this...

The pre-requisite for being a social worker in Singapore is a BA in Social Work or shared major in Social Work + something else which equates to a starting pay of $1800-$2000 for most if not all VWOs (Just for a comparison, a public bus captain here can earn up to $1900 a month). This is standardised by National Council of Social Service (NCSS) which governs all the social service agencies. And NCSS comes under the Ministry of Community Development, Youths and Sports (MCYS). So to cut the story short, funds to VWOs come from MCYS and NCSS. Thereafter, how VWOs distribute $$$ to salaries/programmes/admin etc is different for each on of them.

However, if one chooses to work as a medical social worker (MSW), the guidelines are slightly different. If I am not wrong, they are governed by Ministry of Health (MOH) who hire MSW as "allied health professionals". As such, their starting pay is usually $200-$300 higher than a peer with the exact same qualification. There has been debate amongst social workers on why the vast difference. The pay and benefits are so much better despite the fact that the qualification and designation are the same!

I surely welcome the pay hike to match social workers pay to that of MSWs, which hopefully comes along with more recognition to what we really do. I mean I do not belittle the work that MSWs do. Their caseload can hit up to 100+!!!! FSCs do not have it any better - 60-80 on average, more so if turnover of staff is high and cases get passed on? Caseload at Homes are usually 30-40ish. I am thankful that at my current workplace, my director is firm about quality over quantity and our caseload is capped at 20. I am currently doing 13 cases but with very intensive intervention and supervision, so I am one happy social worker for now.

WHEEEEEE!!! AND Happy Social Workers' Day in advance my fellow social workers!

*Hmmm... if teachers get a day off on Teachers' Day, why not social workers? For the record, I took leave on 16 March to give myself a break and catch up with my social work buddies!

**And finally.. I will be eligible for credit cards! hahaa.

the unknown

2009-11-26T21:23:00.003+08:00

The PSLE results are out today. My mother, who is a home tutor for primary school students and I had a lengthy discussion about my two cousins who just received their report card hours ago. We debated about the most important criteria in choosing a school. My mother thinks schools do not really matter, as long as the child is determined to succeed and works hard. I beg to differ. Having been a youth social worker for the past two and a half years, I have seen how a good school environment (Principal, teachers, peers and culture etc) can be a protective factor for the development of a teenager. The simple fact is, there is a lower probability for the child turn astray if he is in a good school. Period.

Well, that aside, I also took some time to reflect upon my upbringing and the way I handled my first major examination of my life. You see, I was taught to come up with answers to questions posed in class. I was taught to either memorise them (like Chinese characters), or remember them in a certain way (Mathematics - the standard steps to solve standard questions). Practice papers and past year examination papers were a must to do and re-do. There was hardly any room for creativity, except perhaps during Art and PE classes, many of which were always the first to be replaced by examinable subjects should the teacher be rushing for time to finish the syllabus.

I was also not comfortable with not knowing everything about the subject before taking the examination papers. I was simply not comfortable with not knowing.

Then came the 'O' levels; the most angsty period of any one's life. Sure, I was in one of the top schools then, but I found it hard to cope with the sudden increase in curriculum and subjects. I did not fare well in artsy subjects such as literature and history. Too many words; too many intangible stuff. I did not fare well in the Sciences either, all three of them. Too technical, plus I could not link them to why they were important in my life to lose sleep over them. I continued to score straight As in my Mathematics though, heh.

Throughout the four years, I (over)indulged in my CCA instead. I guess during that period, when I was questioning what was life all about, my band conductor did no other teachers in class did, that is to explain the (or rather his) philosophy of life through music. He once commented, "You learn 'A' Math for what? To go market buy fish ah?" With that, it marked a shift in the way I learn. I began to place more attention on intangible yet equally significant things in life, especially feelings and emotions, as well as character development.

Junior College came and went like a breeze. The super crazy and ra-ra two years of my life. I took the time to build relationships and enjoy the company of my schoolmates. I eventually did well enough to enter University and decided to major in social work.

University days deserve a post on its on, so that's for another entry.

It just hit me today when I was chatting with my colleagues, that many a times in counseling, we are threading on uncertainties. Did we build enough rapport? Is our hypothesis and assessment spot-on? How should we intervene? Will it work? What if it doesn't? Will it be detrimental to our clients? What if the intervention seem to work? How sure can we be that is is not due to other factors that caused a shift in the client's life? and I'm sure the list can go on and on....

In as much as they do not know the answer, we x10000000000 do not know the solution given we are not even in their position! Plus, are there even answers in the first place?

The only certainty is that we are on a journey of the unknown with our clients.

How ready and comfortable are we to do that each time we receive a new case?

"To sit without the answer, in a state of unknowing and be comfortable with it, is to embrace that point of infinity in which all things are possible."

"Rebecca"

2009-11-22T18:20:00.002+08:00

DO NOT

work harder than your client.

Job with the highest stress and lowest pay!

2009-11-22T18:15:00.004+08:00

WOW! I am darn proud to be holding a job that has the highest stress and lowest pay!!

Check this out: Jobs With The Highest Stress For The Lowest Pay

WHEEEE!!!!

Crying

2009-11-07T11:46:00.003+08:00

I'm learning to be comfortable with my clients crying.

Maybe I need to be comfortable with myself crying.

Pink Housefly

2009-09-07T18:59:00.006+08:00

It's been a while since I last updated my blog - I was enjoying myself too much doing nothing constructive for one month, which I consider a luxury in this time and age. I almost felt guilty indulging in it for so long, while my peers and friends around me were all doing their part to contribute to the gloomy economy. Almost, hiahiahia!

So yes, if you have not heard about it, I have resigned, gone for more than enough interviews to pick a job I really like and eventually started work on 1 Sept. It's been one week since I rejoined the ranks of being a social worker and I must say I am enjoying every single bit of it! It is just about the closest I have gotten to becoming a social worker. No more an operations supervisor, no more a houseparent and no more taking of temperature and most importantly, no more working under a stupid boss!! I now have proper supervision, physical and emotional boundaries from my clients, professional casefiles and templates, pilot G1 pens to use, staff pass (no keys!) and counseling rooms with nice cosy sofa and orange lighting! Life rocks to the core man!

My senior social worker allocated a BPC case on my first day of work. It came as a surprise really, I was expecting to nua my time away making new friends and surveying the neighbourhood for good eats. Turns out, they do actually have a SOP file for the social work department! I know its a no brainer but my previous workplace did not really have that you see. To date, I have 3 cases under my belt and more to come I reckon. Along the way I have already conducted sessions with them and had my supervision and training. I currently feel I am under good hands, and deservingly so.

Today, while researching for one of my sessions, I chanced upon an art therapy material and it says something about art being a symbolic communication avenue, an expression of people's feelings and emotions and in no way it should be judged. It made me recall one incident in kindergarten when I coloured a housefly pink, thinking it was creative and nice and pretty and cute. In retrospect, maybe I was too impatient to wait for my classmate to finish using the brown/black crayons. To make up for it, I took great pains to colour it and made sure it was coloured within the lines. When I handed in the masterpiece, my teacher scolded me for it!! He said "Have you ever seen a PINK HOUSEFLY?!?!" He made me feel so embarrassed in front of the whole class that I ran into the toilet to cry.

And maybe that one off 'traumatic' incident sparked the onset of my defence mechanism whenever people judge or criticise me. It probably also triggered me to do things swee swee and not be subjected to criticisms as far as possible, which is a good thing to come out of it=)

E18hteen Chefs!

2009-07-23T20:55:00.012+08:00

For the uninitiated, Eighteen Chefs is a cafe sort of cosy little restaurant set up by Benny Se Teo, the restaurant's head chef, who is the only Singaporean to have trained at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen London kitchen. Now, those who are familiar with Fifteen will know that JO takes on delinquents off the streets and train them to become chefs managing his restaurant. I am an avid fan of JO and his 15 TV series, so imagine my excitement when I chanced upon 18Chefs! My boyfriend and I went to the newly opened Yishun10 outlet (just beside Northpoint), thinking it was just another middle range sort of western restaurant - one level below the likes of Swensens and Billy Bombers.

We strongly recommend that you give it a try!!

Here are some pictures we took!

Nice pictures of the chef when he was training in London.

Artistic picture of one of the chefs.

I loved the cement kind of industrial look! Gives it a strong and hardy kind of character, just like youths!

Crispy garlic bread with my half consumed pumpkin soup ( it was too good to hold back any longer!) I love it when they serve garlic bread with soup! They are best buds don't you think so? =)

Root beer battered fish and chips! OMG! This was wayyyyy better than I imagined it to be! The fish was so fresh and moist on the inside, it literally breaks and falls apart once you cut it open. The batter was superrrrr crispy with a tinge of sweetness to it (due to the root beer?). The chips are very potatoey.. so I dun think they are those frozen kind? Not too sure though but I just hate processed food. And the home made tar tar sauce is to die for laaaa! Oh and comes in a generous serving as well! Finished every bit of it! Yummmyyy!

All for only $13.90 - comes with soup, garlic bread and ice cream!!

Spicy tomato minced beef baked cheese rice was my bf's choice as it was their signature dish. The cheese, omg the CHEEEEEESSEEEE!!! It stretches like 15cm longgg? Gosh! I swear its even better than Swensens' baked rice! I'm serious!! My bf was drooling over it even on his way back!

=) $7.50 ONLY! Its wayyyyy too cheap for such a good dish!

Simple classic dessert to top it off! Sweet.

For me, this was more than just a dinner as I always have a soft spot for youths and delinquents. Contrary to popular belief, I feel this bunch of people in the middle of the developmental spectrum are very vulnerable in their own way - on one hand, they are not protected by the ignorance of a child to make mistakes, on the other hand, they lack the maturity of an adult to be making sound and right decisions! They are pretty much in a state of liminality and without proper guidance (often lousy parenting, sad to say), they can really get into all sorts of trouble! Seeing the youths at the restaurant serving us and cooking up a storm really sent a warm fuzzy feeling deep down within me. They remind me that people do make mistakes and people do come good, if the support is there and if they want to. It further reinforced my belief and conviction in what I do in my line of work. Yes, they may be wearing skinnys half revealing their butt, yes, they have interesting hairstyles covering half their faces, yes they may take more smoking breaks than others and yes, they may be covered in tattoos but really, who are we to judge them? At least their service was good and the food great! Will definitely return and even bring more friends there to create awareness about the good cause!

CHEERS to E18HTEEN CHEFS!!!

Find out more about E18hteen Chefs right here:

http://www.eighteenchefs.com

HUH? Social Workers got study University one ah!?!?

2009-07-11T23:19:00.003+08:00

Children and youths I work with often express surprise when I tell them that one has to be a degree holder to be a social worker! Well, I guess there are two ways of seeing this. One, we social workers don't look tooooo smart, at least to them. Or two, social workers are so darn good in building rapport and communicating at their level, that, well, they think we ARE at their level. I would prefer to believe in the latter! haha!

Which brings me to the next point, how are social workers portrayed to the public (at least in Singapore)?

We grew up reading in books and learning in school what teachers, doctors, nurses, and even astronauts do; we often see on TV lawyers, politicians, fire fighters and businessmen doing their thing; I mean, heck, even police officers and the rag and bone man have more 'airtime' than us along the streets and neighbourhood! Question is, how many people actually have actually met, must less worked with a social worker? For the record, last I heard, there are 600+ social workers in Singapore and that's for a 4 million population! Add to the fact clients whom social workers work with are usually of the lower income and education profile, who is gonna help us publicise the work we do to attract more people into the profession and if I may be more ambitious, as least correctly describe the work we do? I even see in newspaper articles the term 'social workers' being used interchangeably with 'volunteers'!

So, to all my dear non-social work friends who are reading this blog, what is your impression of a social worker prior to what I have told you?

My Firsts..

2009-06-05T21:33:00.007+08:00

OK, so I'd been a social worker for almost 2 years already. As I reflect upon my career thus far, I thought it would be quite meaningful to recall my many many firsts... so here goes!

My first ...

>Namecard!

Finally! I'm a social worker! no more social work student/intern/attachment student/observer etc. The day I have been looking forward to since I chose social work as my major=)

>Client, I mean TWO!

After spending one month around the home getting to know the residents (you'll never know which cases you'll be allocated so it pays to be nice to everyone), staff, operations matters, and basically doing nothing, I was allocated 2 cases at one go! I remember reading through the case files scrutinizing every bit of the social report attached to it, drawing genograms and ecomaps diligently and of course planned for my first session with the child! And I am actually quite proud to say that up to this day, although I have been tasked 30-40 over cases, I still feel quite excited when a new case is being allocated to me. I choose to see that as my passion for my cases are still there, which is really good because I've seen too many social workers who just simply lost it. Yeah to me!

>Home Visit

Home visits are a must to assess the family's physical living environment before we are able to release the residents on home leave. This one was not exactly a home visit but it was actually the workplace of one of my clients whom the whole family spends almost the entire day at. I remember I was quite affected after this visit, because I saw for the first time a heart wrecking medical condition of the younger sister of my client. Nothing I have seen before and as I am typing this, the images are still fresh and vivid in my mind. Thankfully things are getting better for the family now. A very very resilient family that I have learnt alot from, really.

>Family Session

I have only facilitated one family session on my own so far and that was a supervision session when I was doing my second placement. I remember that as a nerve wrecking, emotionally draining experience although I spent alot of time speaking to my field placement supervisor and even role played the session. I was glad this one went very well, and my objective was achieved at the end of the session. Parents and child were very cooperative and it made me happy!

>Court report and presentation

This was 10 times more nerve wrecking than a family session! I have never ever spoken to a Magistrate/Judge before and I totally did not know what to expect! I did up my report that was half heartedly vetted by my then senior social worker (who was crap really) and she did not even change a single word! -_- It happened that I had to attend the court hearing because one of my clients reoffended and the police had pressed charges against him so he had to be breached. It was the last case of the day as Ministry's Officers usually present their cases first. By the time I went in, my heart was in my mouth and my hands were numb (partially because of the air con as well). I briefly gave a background of the case and before I could delve deeper, the judge took to our recommendation and we eventually took the child back on a fresh order. I had hardly spoken a few sentences though! But I survived! PHEW! Subsequent cases were much easier, as I know what the judge and the panelists look out for so I'll just go straight to the point!

>Paycheck!

$$$$$ I treated my parents to some restaurant but I cant really recall which one. Its good to have $$$ though.

>Visit to to Singapore Boys' Home

This was such a longggg ride from my workplace! I had to visit one of my cases who was on remand there so that I could formulate the report based on my assessment. The security is much tighter than the institution I work at as it is a closed institution with Cisco Officers taking care of the residents. I had to go through a few security checkpoints and walk past the open area for the boys' physical exercises and drills before I reach the counselling room. And OMG I felt so visually raped! There were whistles and teasing from the boys but I guess the boys were just being friendly and cheeky. These days, some of the residents there were transferred from where I work so they usually take the initiative to say Hi, which is really nice.

>Visit to Changi Prison

This was really an eye opener. In fact I feel privileged to be able to visit the prison and have inmates sharing their stories to our residents to deter them from reoffending. The part that left the greatest impact on me was how small the cells were and the video on the caning!! I swear I had recurring nightmares on the whip and butt that was split!! 10000000 x OUCH!

>Discharge case=)

I actually thought I will be overjoyed? But it wasn't as overwhelming as I thought it might be. Maybe because my first discharge case was co-managed by a ministry worker so technically speaking it was just half of my case. Nevertheless, a discharge is a discharge especially when there are so many residents who cannot curb their temptation for freedom and fun that they eventually end up being breached and transferred to a stricter institution. That said, nowadays, I value alot more on the process of my case management with my clients than whether they eventually discharge or not. I feel that when positive changes, no matter how small are evoked along the way, things will fall into place come discharge. I will have the faith that I have done my best and the residents reintegrated with their families are able to function better than before, and that is fulfilling enough for me=)

2009-05-10T23:33:00.006+08:00

Fallen.

Alone.

Unmotivated.

Damn.

2009-05-10T13:18:00.001+08:00

Where to now?

2009-05-10T13:16:00.000+08:00

Social Work Murder

2009-05-07T16:49:00.005+08:00

For those who have not heard or read about it, Brenda Lee Yeager, a social worker, was tragically killed in the line of duty in August 2008. She was making a home visit to a family she was working with to check on the status of the child. I was struggling to hold back my tears as I read the articles and more so, the public's comments to them. I could so connect with the job she does, having made numerous late night home visits alone myself, and at times even unannounced, to spot check the children or family I work with. There is always chance you'd walk into potential danger like domestic violence, drunk clients or even verbally abusive clients in our context.

Singapore is a fairly safe place I must say, but I've learnt to take my own precautions nevertheless - the last thing I want is for my parents to lose a daughter with money in her bank account barely sufficient to last them for a year! Hah! Jokes aside, I'm thankful that a short stint in University whereby I had to interview ex-drug addicts and ex-prisoners taught me some valuable tactics in terms of protecting myself when conducting home visits. Now before I start a session in the home, I'd usually ask to leave the door unlocked especially in cases whereby its only me and a male client in the home, stating it's my company's policy. I will always talk in the living room and never in their private bedrooms. And I will always request to sit nearer to the door for obvious safety reasons. As I make my way to the home, usually a HDB flat, I will also remember the route back to the lift lobby/staircase (some HDB layout very terok! go in circles one! plus I have a horrible sense of direction!!), just in case things get ugly and I need to run for my life! Another one is that I will not even start the session if I sense the client to be under the influence of alcohol or seemed overly agitated/violent. Luckily most of the families I work with are rather nice and such extreme cases have not happened to me (and I hope they never will!).

Of hand, there are 2 situations I could recall that had me a bit concerned, but I still had them under my control. The first one was a family session in a counselling room at the Home with a set of parents and their child. The child was residing with us so the parents came after work and dinner. Initially I did not really take notice of the Father's bloodshot eyes as I led the parents to the room, until I turned on the lights. Still I thought nothing much of it, until Father's reaction to my questions seemed a bit delayed and uncharacteristically short. It was until the smell of alcohol surfaced that I suspected Father might have had some drinks before the session. However, I carried on with that session because I assessed Father was not in any particularly violent mode (he was probably the quiet, dazed drunkard, as opposed to the high, violent kind) and there were another 2 people in the session with me.

The other one wasnt exactly risky; let's just say it was a very uncomfortable situation. I had to do late night surprise home visits to this particular family after curfew hours to spot check on the status of the child. Think after 11pm. They stay in a messier environment so there was this coffeeshop just downstairs and the time I end the session usually coincides with the time when the uncles come out for their neverending rounds of drinks. And every single time I walk pass them I feel visually raped=( haha ok well, maybe that's just me but stilllllll.......... it's uncomfortable! I wouldnt even go near such places if given a choice can!

And so, I do not recall my workplace sending me for any safety related courses, neither have I been briefed about them. I do not carry with me any safety devices except on rainy days when I have my umbrella! I do not think my male colleagues would want to accompany me late into the night for home visits; as if they don't have theirs to do. And I don't suppose I can visit families in the day when they will most likely be working. I also don't suppose there are/will be any active steps taken by SASW or any of our governing bodies to protect us on that.

So yeah. I will still continue to make my late night home visits alone with my cell and brolly at hand, try to improve my sense of direction and maybe go running a bit more often. And of course rely on my bf and buddies to alert the police when they cant get me after a stipulated time. TIA!

Service Gap

2009-04-21T15:52:00.003+08:00

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.

Social Workers and Football Players

2009-04-16T18:04:00.008+08:00

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!

Scared.

2009-04-15T16:05:00.010+08:00

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.

YOU know you are a social worker if . . .

2009-04-14T23:13:00.007+08:00

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

2009-04-14T20:23:00.001+08:00

SUPPORT!

Maiden Post

2009-04-14T14:06:00.010+08:00

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=)