Why do people establish non-profit organizations? Some people are deeply committed to a particular cause and want to make a difference. They aspire to bring about positive social change.

However, it is important to remember that many non-profits fail within their first year, and data shows that approximately 30% of non-profits fail after the 10-year mark.

While there are numerous reasons for a nonprofit to fail, the most common are poor leadership and insufficient strategic planning.

A recent article in Social Work Today highlights a true triumph of empathy. In Innovations: New Foster Care Initiative Spotlights Parent Advocates, Debra McCall describes the parents’ pain when social workers have to remove children from their families.

“It is never easy. We enter parents’ lives at the worst possible moment—when the children they love have been removed from their homes. At that point, parents are experiencing shame, anger, and confusion. They are frightened and frustrated by the “intrusion” of the child welfare system into their lives. And they fear losing their children permanently, perhaps because that’s what happened to a neighbor or a friend.” (Social Work Today, Vol. 21 No. 1 P.3)

Social work is filled with disconcerting moral challenges.  In child protective services, practitioners are called on to investigate reports of abuse or neglect of children. Once they have investigated the allegations and considered all relevant facts, these social workers have to make daunting decisions about whether to remove the alleged victim from their homes and find alternative housing arrangements. These decisions affect the parents, the children, and the family at large. Rest assured, social workers are aware that, even as they are trying to prevent the child from suffering abuse or neglect, someone is about to suffer. The cases these professionals are called upon to handle are rarely black and white.

Pandemic related labor shortages are threatening the nonprofit sector's recovery. Many smaller nonprofits, virtually shut down during the worst of COVID-19, have begun to revitalize but find progress hampered by a shortage of qualified personnel. Large corporations have raided the nonprofit personnel ranks with lucrative pay increases, flexible work hours, and work from home options that smaller nonprofits find it difficult to match.

Social work is a rewarding profession. Every day, you have the opportunity to make a positive difference in the community by taking the initiative and improving someone's life by giving them hope, if nothing else. However, while social work is rewarding, it is also extremely difficult.

With all of the documentation, extensive paperwork, legalities, and meetings, it's easy to lose sight of what really matters, which is the client you're serving. You end up spending very little time with the client while going through the plethora of administrative tasks associated with a case.

So, to assist you, we've compiled a list of simple tips that can help you with better case management in the future.

Nonprofits in the twenty-first century must embrace innovative technological solutions. In fact, many nonprofits that fail to adapt to the changing technology landscape fail completely in the long run. Even before the pandemic, one of the reasons many nonprofits had to close their doors was a failure to embrace technology.

So, in order to maximize your nonprofit's existing resources, you must invest in the right technological solutions. You can ensure that your nonprofit meets all of its short- and long-term objectives by using the right software solutions.

However, investing in the wrong software can be detrimental to the organization, so ask these simple questions when selecting nonprofit software.

Turnover in child welfare case workers has reached troubling proportions. In any profession, an annual turnover rate around 10% is considered healthy. In child welfare social work, the most recent annual turnover rate was reported at exceeding 22% in some states. When we asked child welfare case workers that we communicate with on a regular basis what they think the problem is, the consensus was clear.

In the United States, there are around 328,120 child welfare employees. However, given the rising number of cases of child abuse and neglect, as well as the demanding nature of the job, it's reasonable to state that there is a severe shortage of child and family social workers in the United States.

Bridging the gap between available employees and children in need of help can take years and need significant adjustments to the current system. But, in the meanwhile, here's how child welfare agencies might better manage greater caseloads.

It is no secret that the pandemic has affected the entire world in one way or another. This includes not just individuals, but entire countries, economies, industries and systems.

The virus has helped put things in perspective for many of us, it has also managed to completely wreck the lives of others. While many people were laid off, others spent months working from home, but for social workers, the pandemic brought huge, unprecedented challenges that went beyond just the struggles associated with remote work.

The focus of social work has shifted from providing immediate support as a safety net to the vulnerable to striving for a better long-term outcome for each client. In child and family services, the mission no longer ends at removing an endangered child from a dysfunctional household but now extends to how a Child Welfare Agency might help the child grow into a productive member of society. In other words, what will be the ultimate outcome for the child?