The FAMCare Blog

The things you do as a caseworker can have a great impact on the lives of those in your care. You are both the lead investigator and client advocate. You recommend what social services would best fit their needs. You give support and referrals, then follow up on each client’s progress. It is a demanding, but rewarding job. You're helping people improve their situations and create a better life in the long run.

We are in an unprecedented stretch of strong economic conditions where there are more jobs than job applicants. Yet, there are still many children and families who are suffering and in need of government agency help. So many, in fact, that human services caseworkers often still feel overwhelmed by heavy caseloads and the accompanying paperwork.

Despite low unemployment rates and a fairly strong economy, the number of homeless and food insecure continue to rise. According to the recently released State of the Homeless 2019 report, as of January, in New York City alone, an all-time record number (63,839) of men, women and children slept in shelters each night. And, according to Feeding America, 40-million people struggle with hunger in the U.S., including more than 12-million children.

If you run a shelter or food bank, chances are you have more to do and more to process every day. That’s where having the right social services software can help you focus more on providing food and shelter and less on paperwork and processes.

A new resource guide is available that helps to keep our teens and youth safe.  If you'd like to grab a copy - you can get it here:  https://www.staysafe.org/teens/ 

A resource for finding Federal grants to fund youth programs has been shared with our team.  You can find information on the http://youth.gov website.

In recent years, funders are demanding that social service organizations analyze their program activities and outputs in a more meaningful way. For agencies to just say they are “doing good” is no longer enough. Organizations now need to justify costs by demonstrating program value. They must be able to justify their programs and funding by illustrating the quality of their services and show that their programs are producing meaningful outcomes that are aligned with larger policy priorities.

In recent years, homelessness in New York City has reached the highest levels since the Great Depression of the 1930s. In August 2018, there were 62,166 homeless people, including 15,189 homeless families with 22,511 homeless children, sleeping each night in the New York City municipal shelter system. The number of homeless New Yorkers sleeping each night in municipal shelters is now 79% higher than it was ten years ago, and families make up three-quarters of the homeless shelter population.

A caseworker’s job consists of many facets: assessing client needs, home visits, evaluations, reporting, listening to concerns, problem solving, providing referrals and the list goes on. While wanting to collaborate with coworkers and the community on projects is always the goal, the ability to do so can often be hindered by a caseworker’s workload. Fortunately, with the right case management software in place, increased collaboration can be possible.