I’m currently a social worker for adults in the public sector. I’m becoming more and more disillusioned with the role and what I am being asked to do – we are in a care crisis and the affect it is having on service provision is just hideous. There is no short or medium term solution to the issue and we are being asked to take care away from vulnerable people left right and centre. My authority is looking to change how we assess need – packaged as being more responsive to service users and looking at wider social networks to deliver more individualised support but the bottom line is its to save us money; fewer social workers doing more assessments and commissioning less care. In theory I have no issue with using community support IF they hadn’t also been cut to the bone. I don’t think vulnerable people should be relying on volunteer Jeff to administer their medication (I don’t think it is fair to ask the volunteers either).
So that brings me to a career change. But I don’t know what I could do! Yes, I know “job security”, “pension” you all cry. BUT I have 30 more years working and enjoying what I do is simply more important. We can’t afford for me to retrain or take a huge drop in salary (but could manage a drop for a year or 2). I’m manager. I manage a multidisciplinary team of 11 with 2 levels of expertise below me. I don’t do direct work with service users anymore, that is what my team do. I do the compliance stuff, budget management, reflective supervision of staff, delegation, training, ensuring that staff are progressing their cases in a timely manner, looking at where blockages are and liaising with relevant teams/ staff/ individuals to unblock, collating data, managing staff case loads and allocating work – allocations both to progress work in a timely manner but also to develop and stretch staff. Singing staff work off, ensuring it mats specific criteria’s and competencies, budgetary authorisations, loads of meetings etc etc.
Any suggestions?