May 12

Bad social worker… what to do?

6  comments

We all want productive social workers. But when you have a bad social worker, what do you do? Some of us might have had the unpleasant experience of working with a social worker who doesn’t seem up to the task. No social worker is perfect. All of us have strengths and weaknesses.

During my placement, I remember that a client was extremely upset with me. She did not understand why things were taking so long.

Even though I had explained to her that the administrative aspect of things was not something that I could control, she demanded to speak to my manager.

Eventually, my manager changed another social worker for her.

Today, I wanted to look at what you can do when you encounter a bad social worker.

What do you do with a bad social worker?

Be honest with your social worker

It helps to be honest with your social worker. One quality of good social workers is to be thick-skinned, and to take on your feedback.

But, your social worker will not know what’s wrong unless you tell them. Sometimes, things are out of their control. What you must realise is that social workers are just a small cog in the whole machine of social services.

Whilst I am not excusing bad social work, what might be an unacceptable waiting time for you might sometimes be something that social workers have grown to accept.

They might not know that though.

bad social worker what to do
You might want to retrench your social worker. But hold on. Try this.

Therefore, be honest with them.

https://www.ted.com/talks/tamekia_mizladi_smith_how_to_train_employees_to_have_difficult_conversations
A brilliant talk on how to have difficult conversations.

Take 3 deep breaths.

Before you shout or scold your social worker, take a deep breath. This calms you down, and ensures that you are clear about what you want to say. Often, we end up becoming so angry that we say things that we do not mean.

Arrange a time to chat with your social worker.

bad social worker what to do
You might be trying to figure out what your social worker is trying to do

For a serious conversation about your feelings, and your expectations, it helps to choose a good time, a good place, and a good agenda. It makes the conversation conducive.

If you have a serious conversation whilst your baby is running around, it makes it hard for you to focus on what you want to say to your social worker.

It helps to call your social worker and arrange a face to face meeting. Then, during the meeting, state your agenda. For example,

Hi Greta, thanks for coming down. I wanted to talk about the difficulties in working with you today.

Speak to their supervisor.

Depending on the outcomes of your conversation with your social worker, you can tell him/her clearly that you would like to speak to their manager.

Ask for the direct extension to the manager.

Normally, a social worker would not refuse this.

Based on my experience working in the UK and Singapore, they also cannot deny you this.

Sometimes, the social worker may be facing difficulties getting support from overworked supervisors.

Make a direct call to their organisation.

If your social worker drags out the conversation by hemming and hawing about giving you their manager’s number, state that you would call their organisation. You can say,

I don’t think this is working out. (Rather than saying ‘I think you’re bad’, which may put the social worker on the defensive.)

I would like to speak to your supervisor who might be better able to help me. I am also trying to help you. I know this is not an easy thing to do, and I would like to help you get more support from your supervisor too.

Continue to find social support.

In the midst of changing your social worker, dealing with your problems can be stressful. Enlist a trusted friend to talk to. Ideally, your friend should be someone who simply listens, rather than someone who tries advising you on what you should do. Get your frustrations off your chest. Don’t keep it within.

Write.

If you cannot find someone to help you, write it out. Writing is cathartic because it allows your emotions to flow through your pen. It’s a form of emotional first-aid. It releases your complex emotions, giving form and structure to it. Rather than it becoming a mess in your head, it becomes clearer when you write. Try using these two prompts, as suggested by The Troop in Chimp Management:

  1. Firstly, what’s the problem?
  2. Secondly, what’s the factual information?
  3. Lastly, what’s my plan?

I hope the above tips do help in knowing what to do when you face a bad social worker.

I might not understand how difficult it is for you to deal with your problems, and a social worker that might be part of the problem.

But I hope you do know that wherever you are, there are people who you can reach out to.


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  • I have been given a green social worker. All she does is lie to us. I’m furious. I want legal papers written on her. Now I can’t see my grandson because he don’t want to visit
    It’s insane .
    I have typed text from her lying
    to me.. some body lead me in the right direction please

  • I have a caseworker that won’t listen I have done all of these and she doesnt care I don’t know what else to do ,she doesn’t want to get her supervisor involved . she put my kids in a foster home thats 2 hours away from and I can’t do that plus my transmission makes odd noises and I explained that I can’t go that far. She wants me to change work shifts which I can’t do . she’s being unethical I don’t know what to do.

    • Hi Desiree,
      thanks for sharing your challenge. Sometimes rightly or wrongly, they are just worried. Perhaps it might help for you to ask, “What will help you to feel confident of my ability to parent? How can I help you to feel more assured of my parenting abilities?” Hope this helps!

  • My name is Laquita Jackson my worker Mrs Hurst cut my snap benefits off she ask me to send her some documents and I sent her everything she ask for and she told me that she had received it and she still cut my snap benefits off for nothing she don’t know what she is doing my working day is tomorrow and I can’t get my benefits because she messed up everything

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