Fall 2024 Issue

Letters to the Editor
Social Work Today
Vol. 24 No. 4 P. 5

To the Editor:
I’m responding to some of the questions you posed in your Editor’s Note in the Spring 2024 issue of Social Work Today.

I have the unusual experience and benefit of having entered the social work profession after retiring (at age 55) from my first occupation. I was a field construction boilermaker and retired from the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers after 35 years of active service. I am 67 years old and still working part time, mostly in substance abuse treatment.

When I first entered the social work profession, I worked in a few clinical settings. At each one, I was shocked and angered at how the clinicians were treated. Low pay, long hours, work for no pay—all under considerable stress. At weekly case conferences and staff meetings, upper management would frequently complain of too few billable hours, incomplete documentation, and countless small tasks not completed.

All they ever offered the exhausted staff was “self-care” trainings. I found this infuriating. I felt it to be classic “blaming the victim.” We didn’t need more self-care. What we needed was more support staff, a smaller caseload, and more in-house resources. I would openly discuss this in meetings and with my peers. I was shocked and so disappointed by how many of my fellow clinicians were so quick to blame themselves, to simply work harder, skip meals, double book, and stay late on their own time. Never once did anyone suggest that there was something wrong with the organization (except for me).

I have a long personal and professional understanding and experience of the labor movement. I’m so saddened to say that almost every social worker I’ve had the honor of working with has such a shallow understanding of labor dynamics, worker’s rights, the history of the American Labor Movement, the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board), and what it means to advocate for one’s self, and for each other, within the arena of these issues.

Workers’ rights are at the very heart of social justice, and so often, I have felt that I’m a lone voice.

So, when you ask: “What strategies have you used?” and “What else needs to be done?” my response is to teach social workers, at every level (macro/mezzo/micro) what it means to be a worker and how to advocate and organize for oneself. Undergraduate and master’s level curriculum must include a few courses—or at the very least include in parts of particular syllabi, some of the following: education on US labor history (one of the bloodiest stories ever told), what unions have contributed to every wage earner, workers’ rights, the NLRB, Marxism, capitalism, minimum wage laws, worker organizing, the concepts of worker exploitation and alienation, the power dynamics of the workplace, and so much more.

We never get what we deserve; we only get what we negotiate for.

One final comment on a personal level: I don’t need this job. I sincerely do it because I am mission-driven, especially when it comes to serving all of the stakeholders in the substance abuse treatment field. I fully understand that having retired once already puts me in a unique position. I’m not nearly as vulnerable as a young professional working so hard to eke out a living and perhaps support a family. One of my coworkers would often tease me and remark, “You can say those things; you’ve got takin’ back money.” Sad, but true. But the upside to all this has been that I have often been equipped to speak the truth to power when perhaps my fellow workers could not.

Michael Walters, NYS LMSW, NYS OASAS CASAC-Master
Deposit, New York

To the Editor:
I recently read an article with the headline, “Foster Mom Accused of Killing 10-Year-Old Northwest Indiana Boy by Laying on Him; Warrant Issued.” According to surveillance footage, the foster mom was laying on the boy and saying she did so because “he was acting bad.” Ten-year-old Dakota Levi Stevens died of “mechanical asphyxia.” I began to reflect on the insurmountable tragedies that many kids are facing throughout society. As a student in the Master of Social Work program at Virginia Commonwealth University, I feel led to briefly discuss the topic that has been a social concern for decades: child abuse.

While no child is eliminated from the odds of being exposed to or experiencing horrible acts of abuse, there are risk factors that can cause children to fall prey and become victims of these horrific acts. According to Hunter & Flores, “Poverty, parental educational attainment, housing instability, food insecurity, and uninsurance are associated with child maltreatment.”1 These factors not only determine the risk of a child experiencing abuse but also the likelihood of it being reported. For example, children who live in poverty are most likely living in an environment where they have become accustomed to being exposed to certain acts and behaviors. Unless abuse is suspected by a neighbor, family relative, school official, social worker, or the child themself, it’s likely it would never be reported. Research has also shown that those who have experienced child abuse failed to report it.2 Further studies have revealed the underreporting of child abuse due to systemic concerns, lack of privacy, lack of knowledge, societal pressures, and more.

As mentioned previously, child abuse has been a social concern for decades. However, many policies and acts were put into place as a response to it. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) was originally enacted in 1974 as the “focus for preventing and responding to child abuse and neglect.”3 Over the years, reforms of CAPTA have taken place, ensuring all categories of children are included, as well as the mothers of unborn infants (whose babies had been “born ill” or exposed to substance use in the womb). CAPTA has allocated funds to provide monetary benefits for states to enhance their CPS reporting systems, as well as providing monetary benefits for all categories to assist them with receiving quality education, affordable and stable housing, food security, and more.

In the end, child abuse is inevitable; however, it takes a compassionate and dedicated individual to make a difference in the world by reporting suspected child abuse, regardless of how uncomfortable it will be. For years, social workers advocated against child abuse. Amongst these were Marietta “Etta” Wheeler, Mary Richmond, and Edi Adams, who witnessed some of the most horrific acts and treatment done to children; however, this gave them the strength to speak up and defend vulnerable children more. Social workers are ethically responsible for children’s and family’s well-being. It’s pivotal for health care professionals to continue to raise awareness, train and be trained to recognize and identify child abuse, not be afraid, check biases, and make decisions based on facts and not personal feelings. It is essential to remember that as social workers, we hold a duty to our clients and their families. Our decisions can change a child’s life forever. We cannot be afraid to take a stand on anyone’s behalf. Is it not the social worker’s job to advocate and fight for justice for our children and society as a whole? So, do it! Take a stand, walk with integrity, and be proud of yourself for making a difference in someone’s life.

Shelley Vincent, BSW, MSW
Virginia Commonwealth University

References
1. Hunter AA, Flores G. Social determinants of health and child maltreatment: a systematic review. Pediatr Res. 2021;89(2):269-274.

2. McKinney CM, Harris TR, Caetano R. Reliability of self-reported childhood physical abuse by adults and factors predictive of inconsistent reporting. Violence Vict. 2009;24(5):653-668.

3. Stoltfus E. The child abuse prevention and treatment act (CAPTA): Background, programs and funding. ResearchGate website. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290980392_The_child_abuse_prevention_and_
treatment_act_CAPTA_Background_programs_and_funding. Published 2012.