The American social service sector employs over 680,000 caseworkers. As the industry expands, record numbers of new caseworkers join the ranks. There will always be a learning curve, but in an industry, that's experiencing large numbers of job burnout and turnover, tips for newcomers can be a lifesaver. Let's share some diehard tips for the newbie case managers and a refresher for our brilliant veterans.  

Fueled by a long-running housing shortage, rising rent prices, and the economic hangover from the pandemic, the overall number of homeless in a federal government report to be released in coming months is expected to be higher than the 580,000 unhoused before the coronavirus outbreak.

Traditional mental health settings assign sole treatment authority to the therapist reducing patients to a classified diagnosis followed by the indicated treatment. Traditionally, after reviewing the case history and a brief initial interview, patients are assigned a diagnosis and “told what is good for them.” The caseworker retains total authority over the patient’s treatment plan usually focused on symptom reduction. Case notes are kept confidential even from the patients themselves. Providers feel pressure to document primarily for billing purposes and must submit notes within 24 hours for Medicaid reimbursement. There is little time allotted for consulting with patients to illicit their input on their treatment plan.

According to surveys, in the first half of 2022, approximately 53 million companies and individuals were victims of successful cyberattacks and data breaches. These figures are concerning, especially when you consider that cybercriminals have targeted all types of businesses, including non-profits, that have a weak cybersecurity structure. Non-profit organizations deal with sensitive data such as clients' family histories, locations, and medical records, which must be protected, emphasizing the importance of non-profit cybersecurity.

This blog discusses how to effectively improve cybersecurity in non-profits.

If you stop to think about it, there has to be a reason why more than 90% of businesses worldwide have switched to the cloud. Gartner estimates that this year's public spending on cloud-based services will total $591 billion.

Consider these figures before asking why more social service organizations are not utilizing cloud computing. The advantages of the cloud for non-profits are so numerous, including the financial ones, that any human services organization that does not use it is losing out on many opportunities.   Let's take a moment to highlight some advantages of using cloud computing for nonprofits.

The demand for enhanced productivity inside teams has emerged as one of the top goals for organizations. Case managers in the human services industry are motivated to increase their caseload capacity, take on more clients, and become more involved in their local communities.

However, it's reasonable to say that given the evolving nature of the human services industry and the unique problems faced by social services, simplifying your caseload may seem like a laborious task. We hope that this article will help you streamline your caseload and save you time and energy. This will put a smile on your face and the faces of your teammates!

Social workers are mission-centric personalities who join the profession to do some good. For the most part they are idealists who gradually get caught up in the minutia of the large bureaucracies they work within, and their vision of a better future gets a little blurry. Every year we like to take a step back to help refocus the collective vision of the ideal future that inspired social workers to join the profession in the first place. We interviewed four caseworkers of varying years’ experience working in diverse specialties and asked them why they became social workers.

According to the most recent estimates, the United States has over 56 million people over the age of 65. This figure is expected to more than double by 2060, when senior citizens will account for more than 19% of the population.

So, if your human service agency is interested in determining a strategy for senior services case management, we believe the time has come. Because, in the near future, your case managers will face a massive workload, numerous new challenges, and a large number of new clients desperate for their assistance.

Are you curious about how you can evolve and improve your senior care agency in the future? Let's explore the way forward.

Employee burnout exists, and according to a recent survey, 23% of full-time workers in the United States experience burnout the majority of the time during the work week. So, if you're a nonprofit leader and you notice that your case workers aren't as enthusiastic as they used to be or are falling behind in their daily tasks, it may be time to look into whether job burnout could be the issue.

While there are numerous traditional methods for motivating caseworkers, we have compiled a list of steps that social service agencies can take on their own. This is to ensure that your case managers are not neglecting themselves or their mental health while serving their communities.

While doing some spring cleaning on the FAMCare Blog, I stumbled across this brief but excellent blog article from one of our team members posted in 2018.    

This TED Talk features, Dr. Anna Scheyett, PhD, and makes a very compelling case for social workers. Dr. Scheyett's research, which she conducts as a professor at The University of Georgia, has focused on the needs of vulnerable populations. In this Ted Talk, she gives a succinct 7-minute summary of why social workers are superhumans. It's reassuring to know that some people recognized social workers as superheroes even before the pandemic that rocked social services to its core.

So Happy Social Worker Month.  Please enjoy this reposted TED Talk!