Practicing Clarification

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