Social Work Supervision PDF

SUPERVISION – is a dynamic enabling process By which individual workers, who have a direct responsibility for carrying out some of the agency program plans, are helped by the designated staff member to make the best use of their ability so that they can do their job more effectively and with in...

SUPERVISION – is a dynamic enabling process By which individual workers, who have a direct responsibility for carrying out some of the agency program plans, are helped by the designated staff member to make the best use of their ability so that they can do their job more effectively and with increasing satisfaction to themselves and to the agency (Cordero, et.al) SUPERVISION : Charlotte Towle An administrative process in the conduct of which staff development is a major concern. In this process, the supervisor has three functions: 1. ADMINISTRATIVE, 2. TEACHING (EDUCATIONAL) AND 3. HELPING (SUPPORTIVE) SUPERVISION : Charlotte Towle Regarding Supervision, every agency administrator wants social workers who are “team players “and who respond to supervision in a positive manner rather than becoming defensive when critical comments and suggestions are given. SUPERVISION: ALFRED KADUSHIN An agency administrative staff member to whom the authority is delegated to direct, coordinate, enhance and evaluate the on- the job performance of the supervisees for whose work he is held accountable. SOCIAL WORK SUPERVISION AUTHORITY – Direct – Coordinate – Enhance – Evaluate FUNCTIONS – Administrative – Educational – Supportive SOCIAL WORK SUPERVISION as ART and PROCESS PASWI, 1997 in Pangalangan 2000 Social Work Supervision Enabling workers and students to perform their functions under the guidance of the supervisor Meaningful learning process experienced by supervisor and supervisee Both develop their knowledge, skills and attitudes Process is aimed at development of creativity As supervisee gain competence, better quality of service is achieved OBJECTIVES OF SUPERVISION: 1. To deliver the best possible service (Quantitatively, qualitatively) in accordance with policies and procedures. 2. Supervisor performs indirect service to clients. 3. To implement agency purposes and plans and continually deepen the quality of service 4. Provides opportunity for development of Skills, knowledge and techniques in social work practice. Kadushin Principles: Kadushin Principles 1. They are highly motivated to learn. 2. They can devote most of their energies to learning. 3. Learning is attended by positive satisfaction. 4. Learners are actively involved in the learning process. 5. The contents to be learned is meaningfully presented 6. The uniqueness of the learner is considered. BASIC ASSUMPTIONS on Supervision in the Philippines 1. Supervision aims towards the agency’s control over services and practice. Supervision always involves intellectual teaching All supervision has psychological component which includes emotional support, power or use of authority and self-actualization. 2. Recognizes that supervision is essentially a function of administrative leadership which is aimed at:  accomplishment of the administrative goals of the agency rather than therapeutic for supervisees. fusion of administrative and teaching activities in one dynamic process. judicious use of administrative power and authority. 3. Stresses the supervisory process as a learning process when: There is acceptance of the learner There is an orderly process of integration of materials from simple to complex Giving of specific knowledge to ease anxiety Requires basic knowledge in the social work methods through formal graduate training in social work. ROLE AND FUNCTION OF SUPERVISOR: -Supervisor is a mid-position in a social agency or in a department whose main function is to provide a social work service. Role and Function a member of agency team employed to accomplish the agency’s purpose and functions. Carries responsibilities within allotted segment of the agency. Has a responsibility for a certain number workers and or student. Has the responsibility for seeing to it that the work of the agency gets done and done well. Workers/ students are enabled to improve their skills to the limits of their ability through a combination of administration, teaching and helping functions enhanced throughout by clear communication. Carries mid- management role; responsible to and helping those above and below him in the hierarchy of his agency. Utilizing his knowledge of administration to enhance services to the clients Utilizing knowledge and skills in social work practice to improve agency functioning through teaching and stimulating and enabling staff to carry out their responsibilities most effectively. Ability to form a variety of relationship, patience, enthusiasm, and keep one’s head when all around are losing theirs and blaming him for it. THE 3 FUNCTIONS OF THE SUPERVISOR 1. ADMINISTRATIVE 2. TEACHING (EDUCATIONAL) 3. HELPING (SUPPORTIVE) 1. ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTION OF THE SUPERVISOR: ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTION -The supervisor is a link in the chain of administration—the administrator who is in direct contact with the worker. Even in a turbulent environment, shaped by managed care (Kalous 1996) -The supervisor has responsibility for agency management, and specific, clearly defined, administrative— managerial functions are assigned to him or her. TASK OF ADMINISTRATIVE SUPERVISOR 1. STAFF RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION -the supervisor should invite the work group to generate, test, and refine descriptions of essential job tasks before advising agency management about the position for which recruitment is being suggested. 2. INDUCTING AND PLACING - The Workers need to find their place in the organizational framework. Knowing clearly to whom they report (and who reports to them) enables workers to find their “particular location in the invisible geography” of the agency’s human- relations network. 3. WORK PLANNING - the supervisor has to plan what the agency needs him or her to do. These then need to broken down into specific duties and, ultimately, into specific tasks—a certain unit of work to be completed within a given period of time. 4. WORK ASSIGNMENT -Having planned the overall work of the unit, the supervisor selects tasks for individual workers in line with the total unit work plan. In making task assignments, the supervisor needs to take a variety of factors into consideration. 5. WORK DELEGATION -Task assignment indicates what work needs to be accomplished. Task delegation indicates how it is to be accomplished. Where work is assigned under conditions of maximum worker autonomy and discretion, the objectives of task assignment are clearly stated, and the worker is permitted to initiate any action. 6. MONITORING, REVIEWING, AND EVALUATING WORK -the supervisor has the further responsibility of monitoring the task assignment to see that it gets done in the allotted time and in a way that is in line with agency procedures. 2. TEACHING (EDUCATIONAL) FUNCTION OF THE SUPERVISOR: Teaching (Educational) - The educational function of social work supervision is concerned with teaching the social worker what he needs to know in order to do his job and assisting him to learn it. - Educational supervision is thus concerned with teaching the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for the performance of social work tasks through the detailed analysis of the social worker's interaction with the client. (Kadushin, 1992:135.) Teaching A.) Planning -Supervisor has to plan work experience for a supervisee which will give him the opportunity to learn and to progress as a worker. B.) Providing a climate for learning -Supervisor teaches sensitivity to the needs of the worker at both the intellectual and feeling level which enable the worker to integrate feeling and intellectual functioning in the practice of social work. TEACHING INCLUDES: Helps SUPERVISEES learn what they need to know so that they can do their assignment effectively. Transfers knowledge, stimulates thinking, leads out with new ideas, holds workers to grapple with new ideas, encourages conscious thinking process. Provides workers opportunity to discuss their work and appraise it to arrive at decisions and learn helping skills. Regularly scheduled individual or group supervisory conference is the primary methodology utilized for teaching in supervision; a. The content is the supervisee’s performance b. Pre-planning and preparation are extremely necessary; supervisor and supervisee engage in critical analysis of the work submitted by the supervisee. SOME POINTS OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING: Effective Teaching 1. Start with the familiar and move to the unfamiliar. 2. Start with simple and move on to the complex. 3. Learning should be done in an orderly progression. 4. Repetition reinforces learning. 5. Learning by doing increases motivation and provides opportunities for the correction of misunderstood principles or theories. 6. Recognition of good works stimulates further learning. EDUCATIONAL VS. IN-SERVICE TRAINING VS. STAFF DEVELOPMENT In-service training is a more specific form of staff development. The term refers to planned, formal training provided to a delimited group of agency personnel who have the same job classification or the same job responsibilities. Staff development refers to all of the procedures an agency might employ to enhance the job related knowledge, skills, and attitudes of its total staff, and includes in-service training and educational supervision. Training sessions, lectures, workshops, institutes, information pamphlets, and discussion groups for caseworkers, administrators, clerical staff, and supervisors are staff development activities. Relation of EDUCATION to ADMINISTRATIVE Supervision *Administ rative supervision and educational supervision share the same ultimate objective: to provide the best possible service to the clients. *Administrative supervision provides the organizational structure and the resources directed toward this goal; educational supervision provides the training that enables workers to achieve it. 3.HELPING (SUPPORTIVE) FUNCTION OF THE SUPERVISOR: HELPING (SUPPORTIVE) FUNCTION ✓ The supportive component of supervision primarily is concerned with EXPRESSIVE considerations ✓ Supportive supervision provides the PSYCHOLOGICAL and INTERPERSONAL context that enables the worker to mobilize the emotional energy needed for effective job performance and obtain satisfaction in doing their job. ✓ The HEART of the supervision. ✓ Supportive supervision is concerned with tension management on the job (Itzhaky and Aviad Hiebloom 1998). ✓ If social workers are to do their jobs effectively, they need to feel good about themselves and about the jobs they are doing. However, the reality is that they feel discouraged, disaffected, powerless, frustrated, devalued, inadequate, confused, anxious, guilty, apathetic, alienated, and burdened. Helping Function a. Supporting and sustaining the worker through stressful situations. b. Providing a positive climate for learning c. Managing the supervisory relationship in a helping way. d. Making sure of what he knows about people and their behavior in working with others. e. Helping workers to identify and modify feelings and other obstacles which are impeding their progress. f. Helping the supervisee deal with job- related stress. g. Developing attitudes and feelings in the workers which are conducive to job performance. Focus of the supervisor Support and guidance to the social worker to help him handle work related stress and Management of the work environment to decrease the stress therein and to handle work related. BURNOUT Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by feeling of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job and reduced professional efficacy. (WHO, 2021) Social worker who is struggling to handle stress can progress into a full-blown episode of burnout if support is unavailable Support is the essential element in the handling of work related stresses that cause burnout. It is through support that social workers are guided in setting realistic goals in their work; focusing on. success and not on failure; STRESSORS In The Personal Lives Of Social Workers Holt (1987:644) and Gibson, McGrath & Reid (1989: 1 0) Personal role conflict. Personal injury or illness. Death of a family member. Family disagreements. Dual career marriages. Adult relatives in immediate family. Other personal adult relationships. Other relatives and own children. Financial difficulties. Housing difficulties. Unemployed close relative. Legal difficulties. Sexual difficulties. Fear of not being needed and being retrenched. SupervisoryRelationship (Supervisor-Supervisee Relationship) central to process of working together professional and interactive – not personal for purpose of achieving better service to clients partnership of unequals with authority vested on supervisor democratic and participative guided by organizational goals and professional ethics mutual acceptance of each other’s roles positive interaction 3 Core Elements of Supervision (Kaiser 1997) Core Elements 1. POWER AND AUTHORITY - attitude toward power differential - power that underlie dual roles 2. SHARED MEANING - mutual understanding and agreement in sup process 3. TRUST - honesty - handling of supervisee’s feelings of Vulnerability Ethical Principles of Supervisory Relationship (Levy 1973) 1. Must be in consonance with spec values and judged not by consequence but by its intention. 2. Action is motivated by worth and dignity of supervisee. 3. In involving supervisee in providing agency services and working together in doing expected tasks, ethics demand an unbiased approach in evaluating supervisee’s performance. 3. Provide opportunity for the supervisee’s creative growth and development, even beyond that which is necessary for immediate agency work 4. Provide opportunity for supervisee to realize professional aspirations within and beyond the agency situation. 5. work expectation must be clarified with supervisee and provide bases for evaluating job performance Importance of Good SW Supervision Good Social Work Supervision is the cornerstone of the social work profession Social work is a profession of doing. It is fundamentally the application of knowledge and practice with others. This focus is spelled out right in our name, “Social Work.” We are not “Social Studies,” or “Social Readings,” we are practice based and we are social workers. The function of good social work supervision should be the application of practice. Helping and teaching new social workers how to actually put into place what they know about helping people in the real world. Qualities and Role of Supervisor 1. The Supporter - supervisor should offer support and explore with the supervisee how the act of doing social work effects and influences the supervisee. - Help the supervisee to explore the meaning of the experience of doing social work. -Touch on emotional hurdles faced by a supervisee that relate to issues emanating from his/her immediate work 2. The Case Consultant -Supervisor should offer clear advice on what perspective to take while leaving reasonable options in most situations  – The supervisor offers advice on practice options, clearly articulating the practice expertise of the supervisor and allowing experimentation within reason, provided there is no immediate client/consumer crisis - Offer advice on the situation of the client/consumer and what the client may need rather than solely the nature of the therapist’s work with the client/consumer 3. The Colleague - Supervisors will respect and treat you as a colleague, assisting you to evolve professionally – Where appropriate will shares clinical ideas with the supervisee for an individual or family, and work together collaboratively to help the clients/consumers achieve their goals. - Supervisee and supervisor become more peer-like in their interactions, taking /turns sharing ideas and learning together. 4. The Teacher -Supervisor will offer ideas and information on what has worked in his or her practice, what makes sense clinically, and will share recourses -The supervisor instructs the supervisee about, and how to implement, intervention techniques -The supervsior shares not only his or her own expertise, but also the collective knowledge of the field of practice in which he or she works 5. The Advocate occasionally clients/consumers or perhaps even the supervisee, will need advice on how to advocate for him or herself. In these cases the supervisor can offer advice and assistance in navigating the appropriate system - Encourages the supervisee to take action on behalf of the supervisee or the client/consumer -Assists in planning action to garner the resources necessary to ensure the wellbeing of either the supervisee or the client Encouraging the supervisee him- or herself to become more active in helping clients to negotiate for resources and representation SUPERVISION OF PARAPROFESSIONAL and VOLUNTEERS PARAPROFESSIONAL- a trained aide who assists a professional person (Webster dictionary, 2022). VOLUNTEER- a person who voluntarily undertakes or expresses a willingness to undertake service (webster dictionary, 2022). TYPES OF SUPERVISION 1.INDIVIDUAL- one to one supervision 2. GROUP - orientation, case presentation, sharing of knowledge and experiences 3. CONSULTATION - worker is responsible for the focus 4. TUTORIAL - case accountability, performance evaluation, linkage to rest of agency 5. PEER – GROUP SUPERVISION - case discussion among equals; group leader facilitates - members are experienced enough 6. TANDEM - like peer group supervision to make vital contributions - experienced workers - collaboration, can cover each other’s cases 7. TEAM - consists of varied members of agency - assigned leader not responsible for teaching - meet regularly; team decides in every case presented