Social workers have described the severe shortage in their field as “a crisis” and lamented that they work in a “flawed system”.
During a recent discussion on the Children’s Amendment Bill, the Department of Social Development revealed that the country currently has 17 500 employed social workers – which is 52 500 short of the 70 000 required to deal with current demand and case loads.
“This is a national crisis as in 2003 the government developed a scarce skills policy, then already, deeming social work a scarce skill,” said social worker Candice Warner, who lectures at the South African college of applied psychology (SACAP) and founder and director of the Centre for Care and Contact.
“Then came the retention and retainment strategy and we’re now 19 years in, since that policy was implemented, identifying the same challenges and we are worse off than before. South Africa as a country writes the most progressive policies but it’s in the implementation that we fail.
“We therefore know that it’s not about the scarcity of skills but the lack of successful implementation,” she said.
South Africa’s need to recruit and retain social workers can therefore not be overemphasised, she said.
“Government needs to be at the forefront of this, as they’re responsible for ensuring that the socio-economic needs of their people are progressively realised. It’ll require the contributions of various bodies and stakeholders; it’s not the work of the government alone,” she said.
Spokesperson for the Department of Social Development, Esther Lewis confirmed the shortage of social workers, which, she said, had been exacerbated by the rapid population growth in relation to social workers, resulting in very high case loads in some areas. This places pressure on not only the social workers, but also their supervisors who must oversee all of these case files, said Ms Lewis.
The fiscal environment has also had an impact on the department’s ability to employ and fund more staff, as the demand for services increased.
“In the previous financial year the department saw a budget cut of around R40 million and this year of over R80 million from the annual allocations that it was due to receive as set out in the pre-Covid-19 2020 Medium Term Expenditure Committee, mainly due to economic contraction and reduced national tax revenue associated with the national disaster,” said Ms Lewis.
“In spite of the difficult conditions, and the challenges faced, our social workers strive to do their best,” said Ms Lewis.
Social worker Chrislynn Moonieyan, said while ensuring all communities have access to social workers was a formidable challenge, many graduate social workers remained unemployed.
“The lack of resources, the heavy workload, and emotionally taxing work are some of the challenges we face,” she told Plainsman.
“We work within a system that is flawed with little to no support. We’re underpaid despite having a four-year degree. We need to invest in social workers and recognise the vital role they play in society,” said Ms Moonieyan.
High crime rates, injustice, lack of opportunities, and extreme poverty, among others, necessitate the need for social workers, she said. “If we don’t have the manpower of social workers, political investment and resources to affect change, the impact of a crumbling system will only get worse. This does not just affect our current reality but the future of our children.”
Anthea Roman, a social worker at St Anne’s Home in Woodstock said the shortage of social workers was causing burnout due to high case loads.
“In my experience, the shortage of social workers is huge. Many of us are given the opportunity to study social work as it is deemed a scarce skill. Once they graduate they cannot find jobs due to the government’s lack of funds,” she said.
The solution to this problem should be a collective effort that should be worked on enough for this industry to be prosperous.