Last week, I discussed the importance of counsellors in setting up alternative care and in transforming care. Now, I want to discuss the part of caseworkers. They too play an essential role in the process.
Caseworkers are usually qualified social workers. Their job has many facets, but it boils down to assessing, monitoring and supervising the cases of specific children.
When the decision is made to move from institutional to family-based alternative care, caseworkers play a big role. Together with counsellors, they help do the individual assessment of all the children and are part of the team meetings where decisions are made on whether a child is eligible to be reunited with their parents, or with their extended family, or whether a child might be free for adoption, or eligible for foster care, supported living or a group home placement.
To determine this, a caseworker does not only assess the child, but will also go to visit the child’s family to inform and assess them, to see whether child might be able to go back and if so, what kind of support will be needed to make sure the reunion is likely to be successful. In this process, a caseworker (one separate from the caseworker who is there to discuss the child’s case) may also provide guidance and support to a child who decides to attend meetings where her case is discussed, to help the child to voice her opinion.
Once the child has been placed -whether it is with her own family, with a foster family or in supported living or in a group home – the caseworker’s job is not finished. A caseworker will continue to monitor the child, with regular visits to the child and the family or caregivers she lives with, to make sure that the child is doing well, to provide the support needed to make the placement successful and to assess whether changes need to be made to the support provided or to the placement.
When it is not a case of a child coming from an institution, but rather a child who has to be taken from her family for her protection, or a child who has lost both parents and has no other relatives to look after her, a caseworker is also involved. Again, a caseworker will be part of the team assessing the child, making decisions on what kind of placement is in the child’s best interest and once the child has been placed, a caseworker will continue to monitor and support the child.
Children are normally – and preferably – appointed a specific caseworker, so that they know who they can turn to if there are any problems. This works much better than seeing a different person each time, all of whom are simply working from the notes in the file. When a child and a caseworker are allowed to have a continuing relationship, they will get to know and trust each other more and more. This will lead to a far better quality of care. In some cases, one caseworker will be responsible for monitoring and supporting the child, while another caseworker is responsible for monitoring and supporting the family with whom the child is placed.
Caseworkers are vital cogs in the alternative care system. Their work is essential to making sure children are cared for properly and do not get forgotten about. In the next blog I will address some things to take into account to make sure that caseworkers are able to do their job effectively.
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