To ask what people think a social worker's job role is?

[filee777]

I am intrigued. I know this is in AIBU and its not really that sort of question but I want diverse and interesting opinions.

So what do you think a social worker does? What do you think a social work should do?

'They work short days, take long lunches, nearly always miss reporting deadlines, turn up at meetings ill informed and unprepared and having never completed their actions from previous meetings, they seem to do the bare minimum, and apart from 1 or 2 (out of a group of about 14) are a total waste of taxpayers money.'

How is this allowed (whether it's because they're underfunded or they're incompetent is irrelevant) at the same time as someone saying this...

'You will have to work late every night and weekend. If its not for one of your cases it is to help your colleauges. You will be so emotionally drained youwill not want to speak or see anyone.'

Because of the different areas needs? Or down to individual 'managers' (if that's who they are)?

It's inevitable that quality of care differs, but the things you hear in the media are extreme.

Why aren't more SW's prosecuted? (not saying I want them to be, but they are shielded to a certain extent)

Is it not necessary to be good at paperwork though, especially as a social worker, given that much of what you do goes to court and liasing with other professionals, not to mention the 'he said, she said' you must get from your clientele (for want of a better word).

It is absolutely necessary to be good at paperwork, this is coming up more and more at the moment (from what we went through last week anyway)

I think a social worker's role is to try to put in place strategies so that someone who cannot look after themselves properly, and who does not have adequate care available from someone else, is looked after and kept safe.

eg

children with parents whose parenting is poor or who put them at risk
people with mental health problems
the elderly who are living alone a long way from family

My mum is a Learning Disabilities SW. She does an awful lot of driving. To hearings, meetings, training days etc. She gets a 36 minute lunch break. She has 32 cases at the moment and that's not the most she's had by far. We live in a very true blue (tory) area and she basically acts as a buffer between the council-and-their-cuts and the poor families who have to be told their isn't enough money for their relatives care. Some of it is good and she stays because she wants to help people but it's made her ill at times, especially since the cuts (and she's a very very strong woman).

I think the relatives who she deals with often just hear 'sorry, we couldn't get the funding' and take that as her not doing her job properlly but there just isn't any money any more. The targets are insane.

What they don't see is her fighting for clients at hearings and in front of the application pannel who allocate the funding and appealing.

And people wonder why they can come across as scatty and not that organised...

op if you think you'll enjot it then don't worry. There are bits she loves, and some families who appreciate ther work she does. It's just a very tough time and people can be very very very very ignorant

Thank you filee77 and good luck in your studies.

and her job is basically applying for funding to get these very vulnerable people the care they need. What is^ shocking is that instead of seeing that this government doesn't give a shit about vulnerable people or their care people just see these SWs who aren't 'doin' their job'. It's sad really.

I think that's really it orchard social workers are confined by the society they work for (effectively) and I think a lot of people cast personal blame rather than policy blame.

I know a lot of social workers and they work bloody hard, very overworked, huge caseloads, care very much about their jobs, work long hours.

I'm sure like in any profession there are bad eggs but you could say that about anything.

But they all love it..

To answer the op question a sw role is to help vulnerable members of society. Whether thats the elderly, children, those with a disability, etc.

I assess people to become parents and match them with children. It is an enormous responsibility (although not harrowing like child protection work) and my work load is so high that i struggle to give my clients the time that they need from me.

And in answer to whoever said that homecare assistants have similar worries for half the money i would like to challenge that. Homecare assistants do.not get paid enough, no one in the caring profession does. Just because social workers get double what homecare assistants doesnt mean that either of their salaries are at an acceptable level.

I am a Social Worker and I really take umbridge with the comments that we are well paid..... we have to co ordinate child protection plans which includes making sure that other professionals are fulfilling their roles, we face daily dangerous situations, quite often out of hours and undergo harrowing court cases. Yet when attending the monthly meetings with the other professionals (teachers, health visitors, paediatricians etc), we are largely the lowest paid around the table.

You dont go into this for the money - as somebody else has said, its a way of life.

Good luck with your studies - the profession is crying out for bright people who are not afraid to question.

The starting salary for a social worker should be around 24/26k it certainly is round here

After a year or two in frontline child protection work that would seem like chicken feed. Sitting up until midnight finishing off court reports, ever increasing case loads, abuse......?

However, to answer your question, the role of a good social worker is to:

provide effective interventions which protect the most vulnerable members of society from harm whilst exercising a commitment and adherence to individual human rights.

To actually fully grasp that ^^ and exercise it in practice requires a lot of training and a value base which often makes Social Work a vocation rather than a career option.

Social workers don't get enough respect. Some of them don't help, the heavy bureaucratic environment doesn't help.

Good luck with the course OP. I have met a lot of terribly naive student social workers who have spent some time sitting at home watching jeremy kyle and think they could do a better job.

The generally DONT get jobs.

I have also met some fantastic student social workers.

The tip i will give you is be VERY clear about your professional boundaries. Get a good understanding of anti discriminatory practice, (alot of people don't) and start developing your own practice portfolio. All social workers will have approaches that suit them and approaches that don't. You will need to 'collect' the approaches and theories that work for you and develop them. Be very honest about what you find difficult and when you feel things don't go well, talk to your supervisors. Be reflective and analytical and be honest when things go badly. Social Workers CAN inadvertently cause harm by saying or doing the wrong thing. Always admit to your service users when you have made a mistake,, YOU WILL!! Say sorry when you need to and keep people informed. Your first and foremost responsibility is to your service user. It is VERY difficult to keep that in mind when managers are on your case and dictating other priorities. Good Luck! Don't be naive. It's a fcuking hard job, it's shit, people will hate you. Keep your values clear and usee support networks.

That's arguable firefly but the fact is, to retrain in the same area, the choices are social worker or nurse and social workers get paid far far better.

It might be well paid if social workers actually stuck to the 36/37 hours a week they are paid for... Instead of the 50/60 hour week I know most CP social workers work!

There are a few on the course now who I can't see wualify

• qualifying, they have a very immature and 'jovial' approach to social work and I do find myself biting my tongue a lot.

Just to add, it's the theories and models which you learn to apply which can go towards protecting you from errors and burn out. Wing it at your peril.

Developing your practice this way is largely your own personal responsibility.

I could easily work 70 hours a week as a hca and not get close to 26k.

Lots of people work for not a lot of money at the moment, it's not just restricted to social workers.

Agree a lot of people work a lot of hours for crap money. But we arent talking about those professions. I have had pay freezes for three years including my car user allowance being taken away so my money has gone down.

Eskimo - We are always the lowest paid at the table. The ones building relationships and dealing with the children for 51 weeks a year. You honestly are on an amazing wage in comparison.

they have a very immature and 'jovial' approach to social work and I do find myself biting my tongue a lot

I'd reserve judgement if i were you op. You might be very surprised at who qualifies and who doesn't!

It's hard not to make a judgment when rather than continuing with the important and serious conversation in class we are constantly interrupted by the same people who love the sound of their own voice and have no filter on the crap they come out with!

I don't feel bad for judging, I think it's perfectly normal given the circumstances.

Yes, there are always a few enthusiastic know it alls aren’t there! If it's a good University/Course by the end of the year they'll have learned to zip - it. There is no point in getting ranty just view it as an exercise in learning to deal with different personalities in teams.

Have you just started your course?

I am a foster carer and work with child protection and adoption SWs on a daily basis. I find they fall into 2 groups - those who are child centred, passionate and creative, who ate generally rubbish at paperwork and deadlines. , and the others, who see children as case numbers and are good at box ticking. Both types can be frustrating to work with, and sadly, the outcomes for children are often totally unrelated to social worker action - there are so few resources now, it is difficult to do much intervention work. However, while I am often critical of the SWs I work with ( generally on an institutional rather than individual basis), I admire them deeply for having to make the decisions I really wouldn't want to, and for having to take responsibility for those decisions.