|
"I don't want to live with my dad, please help find an old folk's home for him."
"I'm only willing to give him $50 a month."
"Why haven't you found a suitable place?"
Government schemes:
$3 million from the increase in annual funding for voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) will go to family service centres (FSCs), which will get $16 million in all this year.
The increased funds will allow FSCs to hire three more social workers and two social worker associates, on top of the current establishment of 12 staff, said MCYS in its press release.
There are 36 FSCs in Singapore.
Scholarships
At the moment, NCSS and other organisations have established four scholarship schemes for students keen to pursue relevant studies. More than 120 students are currently benefiting from the scholarships.
Accreditation
Social workers can now apply for accreditation from April 1. This will help to maintain the standards in the industry, and also to recognise the work of social workers. |
These are just some requests and complaints that Mr Cai Zai Fa, a social worker, has to deal with frequently. Sometimes, he sees up to four similar cases a week.
His work drained him so much that he had thought of quitting.
Mr Cai, who has worked at the TRANS Centre for almost 6 years, spoke to reporters from my paper: He said: "Sometimes it feels like i have four more sets of parents to look after."
He felt depressed for awhile, dealing with the family problems of others and yet not being shown any appreciation for his effort.
It was his supervisors' encouraging words, that what matters is "to be there for a person when he needs our help the most," that gave him the motivation to continue in his job.
Lack of social workers in Singapore
However, not all social workers are like Mr Cai.
According to the article in my paper, a social worker handles about 40 different cases on the average.
The staggering work load, low wages, and expected hard work without due recognition has led many social workers to quit their jobs, while scaring off potential recruits.
There is a lack of social workers in the industry, and the government had recently announced a $3 million package to help family service centres (FSCs) recruit more social workers.
According to statistics released by the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), Singapore would need to hire about 100 social workers every year for the next five years, in order to deal with the increasing number of cases.
Also read:
» Misconceptions about social work
 |
Is this article useful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 
