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| November/December 2005 October, 2005 |
Focus Group on Social Work in NYC's Voluntary Child Welfare Agencies: Getting Underneath the Most Difficult Problems Children Face Almost on a daily basis an eight year old boy was punching his classmates, stealing money, and generally being very aggressive. He was close to being suspended, but before going that route, the school referred the child and his mother to the family and children’s service agency in the community. One of the social workers participating in a focus group convened by the National Association of Social Workers New York City Chapter on June 13, 2005 talked about receiving this case. The social worker said that this child was also aggressive at home, acting in a domineering way with his mother. She said that it was apparent that as this child reached his teenage years, he was headed for a great deal of trouble, for himself and for the family. The focus group consisted of nine social workers employed in family and children’s service agencies located throughout New York City. NASW-NYC brought these social workers together to better understand how they are making a difference to the life and safety of children in the care of the City’s voluntary child welfare agencies. These agencies complement the work of the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), and it was NASW-NYC’s goal to clarify the contribution of professional social workers in this system. Saving A Life - But No Quick Fix The social worker, in talking further about the situation described above, indicated that there has been no quick fix in this situation, but change is coming about slowly, beginning with seeing the child and mother together and the mother on an individual basis. She said that one key to developing a successful process in this case was through a working relationship with the mother, supporting her in her raising her son, and giving her an opportunity to talk about her own situation.
At the same time, the social worker encouraged the child to begin to express how he was feeling, something that he refused to do when he first started to see the social worker. While he would at times “explode”, he was increasingly able to express that he was very angry at his mother for not being the type of mother he thought she should be, that she was not reliable, and that he needed more “structure”, something the social worker said was incredible for a child to be able to put into words. Once the relationship developed to a certain point, the social worker encouraged the father, who was now living in another borough with a new wife, to come in for joint sessions. While the father at an earlier point had been harsh with his son and critical of his former wife, he became a productive participant in the sessions, which pleased the child. According to the social worker, the family is now discussing the possibility that the father take responsibility for raising the boy, especially now that he is getting older. The mother feels that, as she tries to strengthen her own situation, this will be helpful. At the same time, the boy is getting the support that he felt he needed, but originally could not express, except through aggressive behavior with others, at home and at school. The social worker shared with the other members of the focus group that the key to working with children and their families, for her, is in developing a partnership between herself as the social worker and the family members. She said that she completely avoids labeling a child as being “the problem” and also avoids labeling any of the parents; that family members often come in feeling “shut down”, oppressed, and frustrated; and that she strives to draw out what is problematic with certain behaviors while focusing on the strengths of each person.
Another social worker in the focus group also told of receiving a referral that originated from the public school in her community. A nine year old boy told his teacher that his father was beating him. The social worker described a situation in which the child was living with his father, with his father’s new wife, and with her two children from a previous marriage. The boy’s mother was now living in another part of the State; until recently the child had been living with her. According to the social worker, the father, along with the other members of his new family, was basically ignoring the child and saw him as a problem and constantly telling lies. The social worker told of holding counseling sessions with the father as well as with the entire family. Initially, the father’s stance was that the child should be placed outside of his home, reflecting his own desire to have a successful family life without any complicating factors from his prior marriage. A primary focus was to help the father see that the child’s lying might change if the father spoke to his son more and showed an interest in how he was doing, asking him about how his life was with his mother, and letting him know that he was interested in understanding his experiences. The social worker also learned about the father’s life while he was growing up and saw that there were certain similarities between his own life and that of his son’s. For example, the father’s mother had died of AIDS, and he had gotten into trouble when he was young. She encouraged the father to share his own experiences with his son, and show that it is possible to make positive changes. The father agreed to try a different approach; previously, he would yell when he thought his son wasn’t telling the truth. As for the son, he, eventually, was able to express that he did not feel anyone cared about how he was doing or whether or not he was telling the truth. With his father coming around and with the ability to open up with the social worker, the boy came to feel that his telling the truth was valued and encouraged, and that he, himself, was a more valued member of the family. Moving Toward Independence One of the greatest challenges for the child welfare system involves the fate of the children in its care as they approach the age when they move toward independence. Whether the child will be able to become self-sustaining and develop a career has been a big question. One social worker told of a 17 year old girl that she started to work with who seemed, to her, to be quite bright and to have a great deal of potential but was so angry about her experiences growing up in foster care that she was not able to take advantage of what opportunities might exist for her. The social worker told of meeting with the girl and allowing her the opportunity to express her anger while at the same time helping her understand that she needed to face her responsibilities regardless of what her past had been like and the frustrations that she continued to encounter. The social worker guided the girl through obtaining a job in a real estate office and, eventually, through getting accepted into college. The social worker shared with the group that she recently received a phone call from the girl saying that she had just graduated from a four year college in the City University. The social worker summed up by saying that she had spent countless hours, often on the phone, with her client listening to her frustrations, providing support, and identifying options and solutions to the problems that she faced. Helping her get past her anger and frustration was a major obstacle. Valuing Educational Achievement Another social worker told of her concern about the number of children in the group home where she worked who were failing in school. To address this, she brought together the staff in the agency and came up with the idea of creating an awards program to recognize the children’s accomplishments at the end of each semester. This led to the group home obtaining a modest grant to develop a small library which was inaugurated with a ribbon cutting ceremony with invited guests. In addition, an awards ceremony was held at the end of the semester which required the children to dress in formal attire, and awards were presented. The social worker said that this all helped create a shift in thinking about the value of reading and education. She said that a number of group home residents eventually went on to do quite well, getting college scholarships. Overall, the home maintained the program even after the social worker left. Addressing Complex Issues The children and families that social workers see frequently have multiple, complex problems that require skill, dedication and perspective in order to make a difference. It also requires cultural competence. One of the social workers in the focus group told of working with an immigrant family. This came about as a result of their 13 year old son being referred to the agency because of smoking marijuana, carrying a weapon, and associating with members of a gang. The social worker said that the mother was distrustful of accepting any type of counseling and contemplated sending her son to live with family members in her home country. The social worker was able to win the trust of the mother and to provide her an opportunity to talk about her husband’s alcoholism and abusive behavior, which came to light. At the same time the social worker gave the son an opportunity to discuss his experience of losing his childhood due to his father’s violent behavior. The child’s problems eventually eased significantly with a more supportive involvement in his life from both his mother and father. Challenges Following the discussion on how social workers make a difference in the lives of the children and the families that they see, they were asked about the challenges that they face in being effective in their work. The following challenges were identified. One major recurring theme that came up in different ways was the amount of time needed to appropriately work with a family. For example, a social worker needs to make connections with many family members in order to assess a situation; yet, there is frequently too little time to do all that is needed. Heavy demands for paperwork pull the worker away from direct client contact, and the lack of funding exacerbated by budget cuts results in fewer workers handling more cases. As caseloads increase, there is less time for any one case. Too little time with each case in turn leads to there being a higher risk of a child fatality. One social worker in the focus group said that the expectation that you might wind up in the news because a child in your care died “takes the heart out of the work”. She said that many social workers practice in a state of underlying fear. The demands of the job also require the social worker to be a “multi-tasker”. As one participant said, you have to do assessments, data entry, client advocacy, while supervisors, judges and family members are pulling on you from different directions. She said that this can be emotionally draining, even for the seasoned practitioner. Related to this is the need to connect with related service systems to obtain information about a child, such as the school or the court. Too often the staff in these places will not share the information that they have, and this can work to undermine an effective assessment. Concern was also expressed about needing to work under the authority of the Administration for Children’s Services, whose staff too often lack a social work degree. The social workers in the focus group expressed frustration when they feel that ACS staff do not appreciate what they are recommending. There was a sense that the MSW is not adequately respected, that information that ACS staff have is not adequately shared, and decisions by ACS about a child are often not timely. Perhaps of greatest concern was that families are coming in with more severe problems than in the past. There was a sense that the level of services that many families require are not available.
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