Social work appears to be becoming more complex every day. Social workers are gaining new skills, doing more tasks, and interacting with various professionals.
They may be required to provide counselling, therapy, and other assistance as direct services. In indirect services, they must promote legislation or engage the neighbourhood. Additionally, social workers might focus on issues like the welfare of women, at-risk youth, geriatrics, or certain cultures, faiths, or groups.
With so much work, social workers require the best tools to streamline their processes, boost productivity, and better serve their communities:
1. Case Management Software
Many social workers hold dual positions in case administration and direct support. Then what exactly is case management? In brief, case management is an evidence-based practice that, among other things, does the following to tailor a strategy for a client:
- Assessment
- Planning
- Implementation
- Evaluation
Case management practitioners in social work have their job cut out for them. In addition to providing direct client care, they must work with medical professionals, mental health specialists, addiction counsellors, and other experts to design the best solutions for each client’s unique requirements.
Dual-role social workers are aware of the importance of their job, nevertheless. Clients can benefit from case management in conjunction with social work in the following ways:
- Studies demonstrate that teamwork produces superior results. The likelihood of positive changes and goal achievement for clients is higher.
- Communication improves organically due to collaboration between social workers and other experts.
- Efficiency increases when social workers provide both direct and indirect assistance. Customers wait less time to receive what they require.
- When social workers do two jobs, healthcare expenditures are decreased.
When social workers use case management, there are numerous advantages for the patients, the community, and even the healthcare system. However, as was already indicated, these social professionals encounter extra difficulties.
Due to the ease with which Sumac’s case management and social service software enables social worker’s to handle client lifecycles, calls, and referrals quickly, many of them are doing so. Thanks to it, they can keep track of caseworkers, carers, volunteers, mentors, and contributors. They may use the Programme to report on case plans, actions, and results.
Work together easily thanks to the Programme. Social worker’s can use it to keep everyone on track to plan chores or follow up with a client or caseworker. It’s also not too difficult to provide feedback to funders, sponsors, and advocacy groups and personalise client emails using information from the social worker’s database.
2. Word processor
The amount of writing that social worker’s must perform may not warrant purchasing Microsoft Word. They can write documents using free tools like Google Docs. Additionally, Google Docs makes it simple to work with other experts.
3. Presenting Programme
Occasionally, social workers must put together presentations for funders or their managers. Although expensive, Microsoft PowerPoint is a great tool for creating slideshow presentations. Prezi, Canva, and Google Slides are free options that are nearly as effective.
4. Dropbox
Social workers may keep files on Dropbox and instantly share them with others. Dropbox’s free edition provides 2GB of storage, plenty for sharing pictures, documents, and other small items.
5. Signal or Slack
Due to data encryption, Slack enables social worker’s to connect with their team members securely. Social professionals ought to get Signal as well. The texting service is widely used by journalists and activists worldwide and is recognised for its security.
Undoubtedly, social workers have challenging tasks. They may safely increase output and workflow with these five key tools.
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