The FAMCare Blog

According to The Sentencing Project, over the past four decades, the number of incarcerated women increased by more than 475%, rising from a total of 26,326 in 1980 to 152,854 in 2020. Also, over half (58%) of imprisoned women have a child under the age of 18.

Being effective in social services necessitates excellent time management abilities. Social workers have witnessed tremendous change over the years, including changes in the frequency of work and the nature of the tasks. The number of social workers and clients has increased in recent years, as has the amount of documentation and client coordination.

One aspect that hasn't changed is the amount of time required to complete a large number of tasks. As a result, time management is essential for any social service worker. Continue reading to learn a few tips on managing your time as a social worker.

Most people think social workers are like high school friends that are willing to help in any way they can. They are willing to listen to your problems then try to think up some way to help you out. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Many who pursue social work careers are naturally compassionate with a high degree of empathy and an even higher work ethic. These are attributes that lend themselves well to working with clients and colleagues but make the need for awareness of possible burnout critical. From poverty and homelessness to mental illness and substance abuse, social workers serve our world’s most vulnerable populations but too often forget they’re vulnerable too.

As the COVID-19 pandemic begins to recede after killing 1,000,000 of our fellow citizens in two years, social workers who deal in public policy are asking the question, "How did our society let this deadly disease get so out of control and do so much damage?"

One of the most diverse and rewarding career paths is social work. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, it is also one of the fastest-growing professions. While you are assisting people and society and empowering them, you must also ensure that you are managing everything properly. Case management in social work entails ensuring that all individuals' needs are met.

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.

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.

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.