AbstractsSocial Work

A workload review project : the perpetual journey : managing workloads in child welfare

by Richard De La Ronde




Institution: University of Manitoba
Department:
Year: 2014
Keywords: social work; workload; child welfare; children in care
Record ID: 2050395
Full text PDF: http://hdl.handle.net/1993/24098


Abstract

For decades, the subject of workload has been at the forefront of issues on the minds of child protection workers, politicians and policy makers across North America. Many public inquiries, inquests and numerous task forces, such as the Ontario Child Mortality Task Force, have produced reports that have identified unmanageable workloads as a contributing factor in the reduction of quality service to children and families (National Union¡ 1998). In many instances this reduction in quality of service has had tragic consequences for children in care. This practicum report describes and identifies, through a literature review, a series of focus groups and interjurisdictional surveys, workload methodologies used within various jurisdictions and disciplines. This report also recommends a workload reduction strategy that may allow for the reasonable allocation of caseloads that in turn, lends itself to a level of service delivery that is reflective of the needs of the children and families involved, as well as reflective of the needs of frontline workers in terms of manageable workloads.