I am back!

A year ago in May I kicked off my social worker shoes and put on a pair of high heels with a cute pencil skirt and button up blouse.  After having experienced the last stings of burn out, I was done.  No more home visits to client's houses, worrying that I might bring home cockroaches or bed bugs.  No more vacations followed by 50 voicemails.  No more constant filing of the endless barrage of paperwork.

With a sigh of relief I took a job in the professional world of external relations.  This new chapter was exciting with the promise of something new and fun.  I would be working with fundraising, and event planning and capturing the stories of the people I worked with.  I would be able to experience exciting new things and fun events instead of seeing the world's sadness.  I was on cloud nine, feeling like I had escaped the gnawing feelings of secondary traumatic stress from the harsh realities I was introduced to through my clients.

In my first few months as a recovering social worker, I would find myself driving home through the city and would pass a familiar street name or a house of an old client.  I would always wonder- where are they now?  Are they doing okay?  Is their new case manager helping them?  Are they still alive?

As the months wore on I began to notice that my problem solving skills at work was in direct conflict with my current job.  My response to nearly ever "issue" at work was, "Is someone dying? No?  Great!" and "Your emergency is not my emergency," or "What I hear you saying is..."  I began to resent every problem that arose at work because they weren't problems in the grand scheme of things.  Problems were losing your housing, not having enough money for food for the month, having bad side effects with your medication.  The crises that I was dealing with in my new job were not even blips on the radar of what a crisis actually was.

It started to hit me, and it hit me hard:  I missed social work.  It wasn't just the work.  I missed working with social service providers.  Problem solving to make a better world.  Sharing resources and constantly learning new things.

When people asked me about my time as a social worker I would say, "It was a good job, and I was good at it, but it wasn't for me and I just burnt out."  But here is the thing, burning out is not a sign of weakness or a sign that you need a new career.  When you burn out it is because you have put too much of yourself in your job and not taken care of yourself.  The social service arena needs people who care that much.

In a wonderful twist of fate, I got a sign.  God, or the Universe or whatever you call your higher power, put some amazing opportunities in front of me and for the first time in my life I just went with the flow.  I wasn't looking to leave my new career.  I wasn't actively seeking new employment, but there it was:  multiple doors back into the world of social services.  All I had to do was open the door and I would have a new career and an opportunity to help other social workers do their jobs better, fight burn out and continue using their skills to help others.

So I opened the door and found my second calling as a social worker again.

Don't just sit and complain... do something

The other day I found myself on a rant, more of a tirade if you will, regarding the current state of the MN budget and the many cuts that health and human services are taking. Minutes into my angry words about how unallotment will not work and will only hurt the economy more, I was interrupted with a question: "have you said any of this to your representatives or written any letters."

Well, no.

I haven't gone to the capital, I haven't called my legislators, and I haven't put my words into written form eloquently enough to present seriously.

I have always said that you can't complain about things unless you have made an effort of some kind.

The next day I sat down at my office cubicle, and opened my email. There was a legislative update, which on most days, I skip over, but remembering my conversation I poured over it and took it all in. At the end was the address to give Governor Pawlenty budget ideas.

I decided that if I don't take my complaints into my own hands, who will? The answer is: no one.

So I sat down and wrote a thoughtful email, with personal anecdotes from my clients, backed up with research and everything and submitted it to the Governor's office.

Now I can complain about the state of our dwindling resources all I want!

And you should too:
Budget.Ideas@state.mn.us

Happy One-Year Anniversary to Me!

As of tomorrow I will have been working as a case manager for exactly one year. In one year I have learned more through my hands on experiences with clients than a text book could have prepared me for. In the spirit of reflection and commemorating my anniversary, here are ten things I have learned, realized and gleaned from my first year in the field:

1. You can't "fix" everything. As a case manager, your job is to support, advocate and provide services. As long as you are doing everything you possibly can, you have done your job. It is human nature to want to go above and beyond, and most times we find ourselves doing that. Even when we have gone above and beyond, sometimes it never feels like it is enough, and that is okay. It is an emotional job, and accepting that sometimes we can't cure or help everyone is a healthy skill to realize and a hard lesson to learn.
2. Mental illnesses are very complex. Many clients have been coping with mental illness and disabilities for years and lifetimes prior to receiving services. Look at the strengths and skills that they have adopted to cope and use those to help in provide services to them. Services are supposed to make a client's life better, not cause them more stress.
3. Client determination and consumer choice is a strength. Sometimes I see clients making choices that I do not agree with; living in unliveable conditions, not taking medicine, doing drugs, refusing services. But in the end, it is their choice, their lifestyle and their decision. I am there to help support them, and give them the tools, whether they choose to take them or not and to let them know that the services, and myself, are there when they need it.
4. When you become a case manager for a client, you are an integral part of that client's life and support system. You are so much more important than you realize.
5. It is okay to turn off your phone for an hour, or even a day. The world won't end, people won't die and services won't completely fall apart. Obviously if you are in the middle of a crisis or discharge planning you shouldn't just turn off the phone, but when things have calmed to a dull roar, it is okay to take a break and catch up on the other things that have fallen to the wayside.
6. There are not enough services out there for children, or to help cope with autism. The toughest thing for me has been working with families with children with autism and disabilities and telling them that I wish there was more that we could do to help but that there just aren't the resources available to change their lives the way we wish.
7. Taking a day off or a half day and not thinking about work is needed and should be required. Laughing frequently and chatting often with coworkers is a necessity and a good job environment will make the worst day, worst client or worst crisis, manageable.
8. Documentation is so important. Social work involves a lot of paperwork. More than they ever tell you in school. But learn to manage the paperwork pile that is constantly growing and you can learn to manage the world! You never know when your notes will be needed and how they will be needed. Casenoting is tedious and necessary evil, but they are also one of the most important things we do in ensuring our client's rights are protected, their services are montiored, and their health and safety needs are met.
9. Creativity and problem solving are two of the most important and effective tools of case managment. The services clients can receive are cookie-cutter and don't always fit each individual. Finding ways to be creative, try new things and set unique outcomes and goals can be the difference between a service that doesn't fit their needs to one that can transform their life.
10. Dealing with services providers (PCAs, nurses, homemakers, transporation, etc...) is really hard sometimes! You are always the inbetween person and the link between clients and services. It is okay to get mad at a service provider. It is also very important to maintain relationships with service providers at the same time. It is a delicate balance that can either make your job easy or make your job really, really hard.

At the end of the day, when all is said or done, know that you have made a difference. Whether you have heard a "thank you" from a client or not, you have done good in the world. Sometimes when in the position of a case manager you get to be the punching bag for clients when services fall apart or when life isn't going the way clients hoped. Know that you have done your best and you have, and are, making a difference.

Case Management, in a nut shell.

It is about time for some personal reflections on here... I keep wanting to write but then fear breaching confidentiality. I feel, as I near my one-year mark of having my social work license and the three year mark of being in the social service field through internships and work, that I have a collection of learnings that are no longer specific to the individual clients and families I work with and instead, my practice as a whole and the experience I have gained as a social worker.

How better to start detailing the day to day challenges and rewards of my job than to describe what my job as a case manger is, in a nut shell:


My job entails working with disabled individuals of all ages, whether you are five years old or 95 years old, in the Twin Cities area. The disabilities I encounter every day range from severe mental illness to developmental disabilities to mobility to complex health conditions, and sometimes, a mixture of all of the above.

I work as a case manager for their home and community based waiverd services which are paid through Medicaid; setting up PCAs, skilled nurse visits, arranging transportation, authorizing meals on wheels, groups homes, etc... Basically, any disabled individual in MN who is on Medical Assistance is eligible to apply for a waiver to receive services through the county. These waiveres include the Community Alternative for Disabled Individuals (CADI), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Developmental Disabilitis (DD) waiver.

In coordinating these services I work with a variety of other service providers, caregivers and practioners to make sure that their health and safety needs are met so that my clients can stay out of the nursing home and in the community.

In a nut shell: it is a constant barrage of problem solving, support planning and trying to meet the needs of clients. There is nothing better than setting up services that make a difference in client's lives, and there is nothing worse than realizing that the services available are not nearly enough to impact the individual as you would like.



Now that I have my background here, I hope, in the following weeks and months, to post some of my experiences with clients as a whole. I would love to feature other social workers and theri jobs and reflections too, so please contact me if you would like to share your own thoughts.

Food resource in the Twin Cities

My coworker shared this resource with me for families and individuals on tight bugets when it comes to food. Whether a client or individual receives services, food stamps or not, this is a resource that ANYONE can utilize. FareForAll has a lot of sites where a person would order and pick up thier food. There are 3 different packages of food choices. The Fare for All Express also takes EBT (food support) as payment. The phone number is 763-450-3880. Check it out!

FareForAll

Community Organizers Fight Back

Here is a site on community organizing, Community Organizers Fight Back, that was created in response to the Republican's attack on the services of individuals working through grass roots, volunteering and community service. Although this site was created in response to Gov. Sarah Palin, I think the message of what community organizing is about and its importance far reaches political lines. Regardless of whether it is Republicans, ignorance, or apathy that cause others to look poorly on individuals coming together to make a change, community organizing is at the root of all of our communities.

"Organizers knock on doors, attend community meetings, visit churches and synagogues and mosques, and work with unions and civic groups and block associations to help ordinary people build power and counter the influence of self-interested insiders and highly paid lobbyists at all levels of government."
-Community Organizers Fight Back

In the News/Current Events

Social Workers Respond to Gov. Palin's Attack on Community Organizers
from the NASW

The National Association of Social Workers was outraged to hear Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, one of the nation’s vice-presidential candidates, malign in a live international broadcast the work of community organizers.

The social work profession takes great pride in its community organizing roots and lauds the contributions of its members, and other professionals, who commit their careers to helping residents of different communities organize their resources and take social action to improve life for themselves and their families. Small town reformers and urban community organizers have much in common.

The concepts of community organizing, community building and community development undergird the premise of American democracy. As a result of these efforts, institutions and officials often deliver more effective economic growth strategies, as well as mental health, health, and family services for people of all ages.

Community organizing is also the foundation of most successful political campaigns. Meeting fellow Americans in their communities and working with them to find solutions to problems that limit their potential is valuable and necessary work—with significant responsibilities.

The profession of social work was founded on the legacy of outstanding women leaders such as Nobel Laureate Jane Addams, who practiced community organizing in the Settlement Houses she created for the poor and working class immigrants of Chicago. The profession also counts Civil Rights icons such as Dr. Dorothy I. Height among its luminaries. It is fitting that both women are considered two of the most influential people in American history, and are inspirations for many of our country’s finest leaders.

During this election year, NASW encourages both parties to stay focused on issues of substance to the American people. We hope that instead of denigrating the lives and work of huge segments of the population, candidates will demonstrate how their plans for the country will protect and elevate the quality of life for all Americans.