![\"Catherine](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/2011-summer-ssw110216b011_f.jpg\")
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What do you see as some of the major challenges for social workers today?<\/strong><\/h3>\n![\"D.C.](\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\")
<\/a>Robin McHaelen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nMcHaelen:<\/strong> One of the most significant challenges is this concept about doing more with less. The range of responsibilities for social workers continues to grow exponentially, but the number of employees doesn\u2019t grow. Each social worker has to be both a micro and a macro person.<\/p>\nRivera:<\/strong> As the needs of our environments pull at us and really stretch our resources, it\u2019s more and more difficult for social workers to find good mentors. I was fortunate in that I had certain mentors, but nowadays you\u2019re just thrust into the environment without much support.<\/p>\nMcIntosh:<\/strong> There\u2019s been a national decline in caseloads, but I think people confuse caseload with workload. It\u2019s not a one-to-one metric. Whether it\u2019s your state legislature, or even Congress, they want to build a budget according to caseload decline. The struggle of social workers is to put into words the work that needs to be done on cases. People want to assign a dollar amount to the caseloads so that the [budget] dollar declines as the caseload declines. It\u2019s important to have a conversation about workload versus caseload.<\/p>\nBisson:<\/strong> We\u2019re all involved in health care to an extent, and I think it relates very strongly to the national debate right now regarding health care reform and how you manage some of the issues that are coming down the pike. Where does social work fit into helping manage populations and helping to create accountable care organizations? There are some real national challenges when you\u2019re trying to deal with diminished resources.<\/p>\n<\/a>Patricia Wilcox.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWilcox:<\/strong> The work that social workers do is hard work because you interact with so much pain. Whatever realm the social worker is in, they end up connecting with a lot of difficult experiences. In order to keep people fresh and vibrant in this work, they need time to take care of themselves; they need time to talk to others about what they\u2019re experiencing.<\/p>\nRivera:<\/strong> Our degree is a multifaceted degree. When you get an M.S.W., people always ask, \u2018What exactly are you going to be doing?\u2019 You\u2019re expected to do a little bit of everything. I think that the schools, the academic institutions, are being challenged more and more. They need to be up to the challenge to adequately prepare the students for an ever-changing environment because there\u2019re all types of demands being placed on social workers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
What are some other issues that you think are particular challenges across all your various experiences?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/a>Heidi McIntosh.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nMcIntosh:<\/strong> Everything is data-driven now, and I think it\u2019s \u00a0probably something all of us could relate to. It impacts social workers, but it impacts all of our entities as well. We know that data drives the budget. It drives billions of dollars. But for social workers, trying to translate it [into helping clients] is what we struggle with the most. That\u2019s a significant challenge.<\/p>\nWilcox:<\/strong> What we have a really hard time with, and it affects social workers, is that some of the people in the world are very badly hurt and can\u2019t be fixed in six-week programs or 12-week programs. We really need a concerted approach over years, and yet that\u2019s pretty hard to come by in our system today.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
What role can social workers play in \u00a0current societal \u00a0issues such as social justice, health care reform, education,\u00a0and others?<\/strong><\/h3>\nMcHaelen:<\/strong> Social workers can help frame the questions appropriately. We can, at the policy level, help people look at the issues from a human perspective and, in using the construct of social work, help inform the questions that they\u2019re asking. I worked with gay, lesbian, bi- and transsexual youth, and for a long time they were viewed as a monolithic group. We began to discover that not all gay kids are at risk; that a subset of gay kids are the ones that are at risk, and this is where the resources should go. [You] look for ways for the social workers at the higher levels to be able to say, \u2018Here\u2019s what the question should be, and here\u2019s how you should be looking at the issue.\u2019<\/p>\nMcIntosh:<\/strong> It\u2019s important for our voice to be at the national level [and] at the state level, because it\u2019s important to say that we see it from the ground level, and we need to blend our resources together. Social workers are nimble and flexible where others aren\u2019t, and we have the ability to bring people to the table to really talk about resources, where there are policy gaps, and reframe issues.<\/p>\n<\/a>Carlos Rivera.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWilcox:<\/strong> I\u2019ve always been proud that social work is one profession that looks at both the internal and the external of a person, looks at their psychological experiences in health, the systems surrounding them, and their social issues, because they\u2019re not separate. [Being] a social worker is very good preparation for being able to see the way the needs link, and work to put [together] the resources in a linked way.<\/p>\nRivera:<\/strong> Having grown up in Hartford in a family that benefitted from social service programs, you [can] often [be] disconnected from the rest of the world. One of the core responsibilities of a social worker, or it should be, is to help give voice and help folks find their voice. It\u2019s very important for folks in our communities to understand that they have rights too, and that voice needs to be heard. We need to help them find that voice. That\u2019s a critical role.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
How do you think your social work education at UConn influenced you?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/a>McHaelen:<\/strong> One of the most significant challenges is this concept about doing more with less. The range of responsibilities for social workers continues to grow exponentially, but the number of employees doesn\u2019t grow. Each social worker has to be both a micro and a macro person.<\/p>\n Rivera:<\/strong> As the needs of our environments pull at us and really stretch our resources, it\u2019s more and more difficult for social workers to find good mentors. I was fortunate in that I had certain mentors, but nowadays you\u2019re just thrust into the environment without much support.<\/p>\n McIntosh:<\/strong> There\u2019s been a national decline in caseloads, but I think people confuse caseload with workload. It\u2019s not a one-to-one metric. Whether it\u2019s your state legislature, or even Congress, they want to build a budget according to caseload decline. The struggle of social workers is to put into words the work that needs to be done on cases. People want to assign a dollar amount to the caseloads so that the [budget] dollar declines as the caseload declines. It\u2019s important to have a conversation about workload versus caseload.<\/p>\n Bisson:<\/strong> We\u2019re all involved in health care to an extent, and I think it relates very strongly to the national debate right now regarding health care reform and how you manage some of the issues that are coming down the pike. Where does social work fit into helping manage populations and helping to create accountable care organizations? There are some real national challenges when you\u2019re trying to deal with diminished resources.<\/p>\n Wilcox:<\/strong> The work that social workers do is hard work because you interact with so much pain. Whatever realm the social worker is in, they end up connecting with a lot of difficult experiences. In order to keep people fresh and vibrant in this work, they need time to take care of themselves; they need time to talk to others about what they\u2019re experiencing.<\/p>\n Rivera:<\/strong> Our degree is a multifaceted degree. When you get an M.S.W., people always ask, \u2018What exactly are you going to be doing?\u2019 You\u2019re expected to do a little bit of everything. I think that the schools, the academic institutions, are being challenged more and more. They need to be up to the challenge to adequately prepare the students for an ever-changing environment because there\u2019re all types of demands being placed on social workers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n McIntosh:<\/strong> Everything is data-driven now, and I think it\u2019s \u00a0probably something all of us could relate to. It impacts social workers, but it impacts all of our entities as well. We know that data drives the budget. It drives billions of dollars. But for social workers, trying to translate it [into helping clients] is what we struggle with the most. That\u2019s a significant challenge.<\/p>\n Wilcox:<\/strong> What we have a really hard time with, and it affects social workers, is that some of the people in the world are very badly hurt and can\u2019t be fixed in six-week programs or 12-week programs. We really need a concerted approach over years, and yet that\u2019s pretty hard to come by in our system today.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n McHaelen:<\/strong> Social workers can help frame the questions appropriately. We can, at the policy level, help people look at the issues from a human perspective and, in using the construct of social work, help inform the questions that they\u2019re asking. I worked with gay, lesbian, bi- and transsexual youth, and for a long time they were viewed as a monolithic group. We began to discover that not all gay kids are at risk; that a subset of gay kids are the ones that are at risk, and this is where the resources should go. [You] look for ways for the social workers at the higher levels to be able to say, \u2018Here\u2019s what the question should be, and here\u2019s how you should be looking at the issue.\u2019<\/p>\n McIntosh:<\/strong> It\u2019s important for our voice to be at the national level [and] at the state level, because it\u2019s important to say that we see it from the ground level, and we need to blend our resources together. Social workers are nimble and flexible where others aren\u2019t, and we have the ability to bring people to the table to really talk about resources, where there are policy gaps, and reframe issues.<\/p>\n Wilcox:<\/strong> I\u2019ve always been proud that social work is one profession that looks at both the internal and the external of a person, looks at their psychological experiences in health, the systems surrounding them, and their social issues, because they\u2019re not separate. [Being] a social worker is very good preparation for being able to see the way the needs link, and work to put [together] the resources in a linked way.<\/p>\n Rivera:<\/strong> Having grown up in Hartford in a family that benefitted from social service programs, you [can] often [be] disconnected from the rest of the world. One of the core responsibilities of a social worker, or it should be, is to help give voice and help folks find their voice. It\u2019s very important for folks in our communities to understand that they have rights too, and that voice needs to be heard. We need to help them find that voice. That\u2019s a critical role.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/a>What are some other issues that you think are particular challenges across all your various experiences?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/a>What role can social workers play in \u00a0current societal \u00a0issues such as social justice, health care reform, education,\u00a0and others?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/a>How do you think your social work education at UConn influenced you?<\/strong><\/h3>\n