Social Worker Interview Reflection                         Clint A. Wilson, Huntington University Introduction to Social Work (SWX171-(EX16)-X1, SP-2017-UNDG) Social Worker Interview Reflection   Jess, a practicing case manager for White’s Residential, currently has a caseload of 18 students spanning over two different cottages. One cottage (4) houses only females, whereas the other cottage (3) houses male. Cottage Four was initially set to help transition older youth to independence but has since become the cottage where all the students have no family and no aftercare plan. Cottage three is younger juvenile males who have behavior problems. Her typical case load is supposed to be around 15, but with a shortage of case managers, she has to pick up extras. Her primary clients are placed by the Department of Children’s Services (DCS). DCS placements have their obstacles compared to those students that are court ordered. White’s Residential is a Christ-centered organization that works within both a residential treatment program and a family services program. White’s has several offices and two residential treatment centers, provides home-based casework services, and licenses foster homes statewide. Jess’ primary job duties within Whites, is managing the cases of the students in the two cottages, which includes many forms of documentation, treatment planning, court reporting, parental & count contacts and all planning for any need of the child from education to medical to financial. When looking at the primary population that is served by Jess and White’s Residential, we see adolescents from all walks of life, some have structured home, whereas others have no home. “Many live in poor families and unhealthy environments and have no access to health care. Many are abused or neglected” (National Association of Social Workers, 1984). Many of these children are the ones who develop deviant behaviors that get them placed at institutions such as White’s. “It is important that social workers see the positive aspects of every situation, and avoid concentrating only on the negative aspects of the adolescent’s case” (Lipschitz-Elhawi, 2009). Looking at the positive must be so difficult as I ponder and think that some of the youth Jess has on her caseload have been placed here for extended stays. These extended stays are mostly due to no foster home to place them in. Some of the girls have deviant behavior, but the majority are just without any family. I cannot imagine not having any family; no one can understand what these students feel unless we have been there. Jess’ educational background as well as her training and certifications are vast and include numerous types of training. Jess has a bachelor’s of science in Criminal Justice with a focus on Forensic Psychology and has partially completed her master’s degree in clinical forensic psychology. To do her job properly, some of the key areas of training include first aid, CPR, forensic interviewing, moral reconation therapy facilitation, as well as multiple forms of physical restraints. The greatest challenge she finds in this field is due to limiting funding, too much need, and overworked employments. When asked what she felt was the best part of this area of employment, she joked and said certainly not the pay. Part of me wonders if the lack of remuneration is due to the limited funding or is this position not seen as an important place in society as a whole? That statement gives me more hope, in knowing that many people such as Jess are in this field for genuine reasons. She continued in stating that she likes the possibility of helping kids, by showing them someone cares and believes in them and that they have an inherent value in Christ. “The issue of low pay is a persistent one in social services workplaces” (Charlesworth, Baines, & Cunningham, 2015). This statement along with the interview with Jess leads me to the conclusion that the only people who get into social services are those with a genuine passion for helping others. Without this passion or zeal to help others, then the social worker would not do the very best for their clients. I guess this is one silver lining to low pay in the social services; it only attracts those with desire and passion. The limited funding as well as being overworked can lead to the possibility of unrealistic goals being set, to move adolescents through the system quicker. “Workers should also abandon unrealistic goals, such as rapid integration into society and its institutions, full rehabilitation, a change in the parents’ behaviour patterns or hopes for the family to undergo a process similar to Hope among Social Workers Working with Adolescents that of their teenage child, and to replace them with feasible goals” (Lipschitz-Elhawi, 2009). Goals, something that needs established and reviewed with each of Jess’ clients, maintaining realistic goals is imperative to doing the job properly. Before holding this position, Jess had worked with other organizations such as Opportunities for Positive Growth where she was a caregiver for adults with special needs children. She also has worked with the Bowen Center, and state ran organizations such as the Indiana Department of Corrections and Indiana Department of Child Services. Since beginning her employment at White’s Residential two years ago, Jess’ has no interactions in a social work capacity with any other organizations not affiliated with White’s Residential. Jess believes that it is important for all new hires to have a genuine passion for this type of work as the primary necessity. Because this career is underpaid and overworked, without this kind of passion will not last very long at a job like this. Overall with the various social work positions that Jess has been involved she has noticed that due to the lack of funding, that most social workers do not receive the care and compensation that they should. There also is not enough time to care for the staff and more importantly the clients. When asked about specific policies, that impacts the delivery of services and why the policy is effective and/or beneficial she stated that HIPPA, and the standards that are set forth cause the most issues. Due to HIPPA standards, it sometimes is complicated for clear and quick communication as needed, but do recognize that HIPPA is very necessary. Accreditation standards albeit good are, generally speaking, do force agencies to provide safe care for their clients. However, the people who make these standards do not always have experience in real client care. More often than not the people making the policies usually have little to no experience in actual client care. So, while it is important to have good standards of care, the standards set are often a barrier that needs to be adjusted or worked out before implementation--which sometimes results in an addition of several new problems.  (Example-a student commits suicide while in her room with the door closed. Now, all doors must stay open. Open doors allow for additional contraband exchanges, ease of sexual misconduct, ease of non-consensual sexual misconduct, lack of privacy, and an overall inability of students to de-escalate themselves from situations.) In thinking about policies, I realize that many policies in other areas than just social work are typically made, from those who have no direct experience. I saw the same type of behavior in my old career. The difference is in a social work setting, and more importantly in a residential care facility that the implementation of policies and/or rules based on one incident may not be a viable solution overall. Often the decision makers seem to jump the gun before weighing all the options on an issue. Even with all the advocacy for LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual) rights in the US, we still see a lot of heterosexism in our organization. This type of social injustice can significantly hinder a student’s program and may lead to self-harm or give up on the program and themselves. Another social injustice Jess witnesses on a regular basis and which may tie into the first one is access to a good education. “The issue of low pay is a persistent one in social services workplaces” (Charlesworth et al., 2015). This statement along with the interview with Jess leads me to the conclusion that the only people who get into social services are those with a genuine passion for helping others. Without this passion or zeal to help others, then the social worker would not do the very best for their clients. I guess this is one silver lining to mediocre pay in the social services; it only attracts those with desire and passion. In one study I found it states “Social workers treating children and adolescents will report a high sense of burnout” (Hamama, 2010). With having high burnout rate is no wonder when you look at the population served, and how helpless one must feel for these students. Then when you look at the pay, being overworked, and the constant bureaucratic battles, it is no wonder that burnout happens. It is unfortunate that skilled and talented professionals become burned out because, in the end, the child is the one that suffers. When looking at the continuum of care chart found on page 133 of our textbook. I realize that kids placed here for behavior issues are the ones who was already in the judicial system. Many of the students are what is known as a department of corrections step down. These are adolescents that were already locked up, but either their probation officer or a judge saw fit to give them another chance and send them to White’s for rehabilitation. “Some children are placed for a year or more at a type of institution known as a residential treatment center” (Suppes & Wells, 2012, p. 139). The exception to this within Whites is cottage four which Jess manages, the majority of these girls do not come directly from the judicial system, but through family services and are awaiting a foster placement. Finding a foster placement for a teenage girl is difficult, so many of these girls are here for a very long time. The boy’s cottage that Jess manages, the students are placed anywhere from six months to a year, depending on their behavior while in the program.       References Charlesworth, S., Baines, D., & Cunningham, I. (2015). “If I Had a Family, There Is No Way That I Could Afford to Work Here”: Juggling Paid and Unpaid Care Work in Social Services. Gender, Work and Organization, 22(6), 596–613. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12111 Hamama, L. (2010). Burnout in Social Workers Treating Children as Related to Demographic Characteristics, Work Environment, and Social Suppor. Social Work, 40(1984), 1985–1987. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/40.5.638 Lipschitz-Elhawi, R. (2009). Ways of enhancing hope among social workers working with adolescents in residential treatment centers. British Journal of Social Work, 39(3), 451–466. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcm159 National Association of Social Workers. (1984). NASW Standards for the Practice of Clinical Social Work. Suppes, M. A., & Wells, C. C. (2012). The Social Work Experience. The Social Work Experience (Sixth). Pearson.