I'm always interested in learning how caseworkers manage their days both when at work and when they leave work. Social work is not easy, not by far, but it can be so rewarding when you have the ability to impact the life of someone in a positive way.  When I come across interesting information or a good article, I always look to share it with our community.

In a database, security is key but is should be kept simple.  

Have you ever had one of those days where you think, "I have no idea what I am doing"?

Having spent years working with troubled youth, I have learned one tool that is both the most useful and the most difficult thing to learn when helping kids: “Shut up and Listen”. Bill Engvall has a stand-up comedy act where his catch phase is “I should have just shut up”.

Since rolling out the Pathways module a few years ago – the tool has proven to help agencies take on some of their own form, reporting and workflow development.  During that time, I have been intimately involved in training hundreds of users on Pathways and discussions with focus groups on how to improve the software.  We've had a lot of very positive feedback on Pathways.  Great stories of triumph have been shared by those who have used the tool to basically build their entire set of specific case management data collection forms and workflow.

Many mornings we drive to work with the motivation and ambition to meet deadlines, but inevitably something crops up. There may be a staff absence and extra cases to cover, or too many urgent duty visits required (thereby saturating an already over- stretched team), or something unforeseen has happened on one of your own cases.

If you are going to ask your staff to build a Case Management System, you need to give them the Hammer, Nails, and Wood to build It!!!

A Few Questions to Ponder...

Nonprofit Networking Tips...

Have you ever thought of networking? Yes/No

No matter what the answer is just remember this:

Social and Business Networking takes you to a higher level.

Networking is perfect for professionals who want to increase their brand awareness and meet potential clients, partners or bosses. However, there are lots of groups to choose from – ladies-only business networking, Chamber of Commerce meetings etc.

When most people say the words, “We are going to change some things around here”, panic starts to run throughout the crowd for no reason.  Why is it that everyone is afraid of the concept of change?  Without change, how do we learn, grow and become better at serving others who need our help?  Regardless if you are in IT, Social Work, Education or Health Care change is going to happen.  Instead of causing problems by resisting it, why don’t we figure how to make the process better?