In Social Work Practice class today, we learned about validation and clarification.
Validation involves hearing what someone has to say and you letting them know you heard them.
Ex: John: I feel sad when we run out of my favorite coffee creamer. Jane: I hear you. You are sad when we run out of your favorite coffee creamer.
Clarification involves restating the person's statement in order to validate, gain a better understanding, and open the metaphorical door for the person to continue.
One of my readers communicated to me that she got a little lost in the lingo in the last post. I'm sorry if it was somewhat confusing.
So, I would like to do a little lesson to practice clarification.
Progress notes : notes that are kept in client's files (kind of like status updates but longer) that we write every time we see the client or communicate with someone on their behalf. Social workers use these to refer back to and these notes can sometimes be used in court.
SOC160 : A form required by many counties that has to be completed once a month. It's basically a form that you throw progress notes from your visit on and send it in. It allows the county to get credit for a visit for that month (even though you're the one doing all the work).
Quarterlies : These are reports that are completed every three months. They provide information about the last three months in a client's life as well as make action plans to address any problems or concerns with the clients.
NSP (Needs & Service Plan) : Similar to a quarterly, it is a report that assesses the needs of the client and comes up with action plans to fulfill those needs. These are done every 4-6 months.
Paperwork, etc : This includes all other forms to be completed on the client's behalf like clothing inventory, allowance tracking, physicals, dental visits, and any communication with their school and/or county social worker.
Mileage reimbursement : I am not paid to work at my internship, but when I go out on visits, I am reimbursed for mileage. This is super nice because I have homes that are 60 miles from my home.
Title IV-E program : aka the Child Welfare Training Project. It is a federal grant that supports most foster children/foster agencies, and also supports programs that turns out child welfare workers. I applied to be (and got in to be) part of the Title IV-E stipend program. I receive $37,000 over the two years of my MSW and in return, I have to work for the state for two years in child welfare after I graduate.
I hope I clarified some things for you and don't hesitate to comment if you're ever confused or have further questions. It can definitely be a land of dizzying lingo.
Well...I'm off. I leave tomorrow for the statewide meeting in LA. It will be interesting to be in a room with so many other social workers!
Have a great weekend!
"To listen is an effort, and just to hear is no merit. A duck hears also." -Igor Stravinsky
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
I've been missing for 11 days; Trudging through
So...you may or may not have noticed but I disappeared for eleven days. It wasn't a voluntary disappearance, I assure you. Call it kidnapping if you will; kidnapping by stress, reading, working, and trying to get my laundry done.
It has been a crazy two weeks. I've been a busy bee at work, trying to get all updated on all of my progress notes, SOC 160s, quarterlies, and just all paperwork in general.
Now, I started to write a post about a week ago and kept coming back to it. Here ya go:
"It's amazing what difference a day can make"
Tuesday was a crazy day. It was one of those days that you anticipate and dread at the same time, a day chalk full of emotions, and a day where you feel like you were running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
After worrying, being frustrated, and trying to wrap my head around all things internship related all weekend long, I arrived at my internship.
If you recall from one of my previous blogs "Fine Lines," I was very offended/frustrated when I was sent an email by my internship that said we would not be reimbursed for our mileage until all of our paperwork was completed and up-to-date. Needless to say, I entered my internship trying to remain calm while experiencing a vast amount of emotion under the surface.
I spent the morning before the staff meeting speaking with my fellow interns and just trying to figure out how to wrap my head around what was happening. Staff meeting started, and I could swear that our boss could see the fear/anger/frustration in our eyes. In the meeting she addressed the issue and said that she didn't mean to come off as harsh, but she did at the same time.
All of the interns were looking around at each other like "what?" She went on to explain that we were not responsible for anything that was due before we were allowed to start working with clients...but we are all still responsible for updating client's files.
*Insert collective sigh of relief*
I learned a variety of lessons that day:
In other news, I got an A on my first grad school research paper. Woohoo!! It was titled "Adoption Assistance and Foster Care: The Absence of Foster Parent Adoptions".
I will try to keep this updated this week...especially because I leave on Thursday to attend a meeting for the CALSWEC (CA Social Work Educators Committee) Title IV-E planning meeting in Los Angeles. I'm sure that's going to be an interesting and informative experience all on its own that I'll definitely have to document. For now, back to homework!
It has been a crazy two weeks. I've been a busy bee at work, trying to get all updated on all of my progress notes, SOC 160s, quarterlies, and just all paperwork in general.
Now, I started to write a post about a week ago and kept coming back to it. Here ya go:
"It's amazing what difference a day can make"
Tuesday was a crazy day. It was one of those days that you anticipate and dread at the same time, a day chalk full of emotions, and a day where you feel like you were running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
After worrying, being frustrated, and trying to wrap my head around all things internship related all weekend long, I arrived at my internship.
If you recall from one of my previous blogs "Fine Lines," I was very offended/frustrated when I was sent an email by my internship that said we would not be reimbursed for our mileage until all of our paperwork was completed and up-to-date. Needless to say, I entered my internship trying to remain calm while experiencing a vast amount of emotion under the surface.
I spent the morning before the staff meeting speaking with my fellow interns and just trying to figure out how to wrap my head around what was happening. Staff meeting started, and I could swear that our boss could see the fear/anger/frustration in our eyes. In the meeting she addressed the issue and said that she didn't mean to come off as harsh, but she did at the same time.
All of the interns were looking around at each other like "what?" She went on to explain that we were not responsible for anything that was due before we were allowed to start working with clients...but we are all still responsible for updating client's files.
*Insert collective sigh of relief*
I learned a variety of lessons that day:
- don't spend time freaking out/worrying about something before you know the facts
- don't underestimate/predict your co-workers/boss' actions
- don't panic over your workload before you know its magnitude
- if you just start working, you'll get more done which = less stress
- social work is stressful and you never know what it will throw at you (like life!)
In other news, I got an A on my first grad school research paper. Woohoo!! It was titled "Adoption Assistance and Foster Care: The Absence of Foster Parent Adoptions".
I will try to keep this updated this week...especially because I leave on Thursday to attend a meeting for the CALSWEC (CA Social Work Educators Committee) Title IV-E planning meeting in Los Angeles. I'm sure that's going to be an interesting and informative experience all on its own that I'll definitely have to document. For now, back to homework!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)