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March is National Social Work month and the Gauteng Department of Social Development is planning to revitalise the Social Work Profession.

Already, five ‘Social-Work Indabas’ were hosted in all regions around Gauteng with the aim of bringing Social Workers together.

The National three day- Indaba will take place in Durban on the 18th - 20thMarch, which will include all nine provinces.

The Gauteng Provincial Coordinator of Social Work Veterans, Kate Jacobs says the Social Work Indaba will bring together Social Workers   and it will also be used as a platform to address challenges faced by Social Workers on a daily basis.

Jacobs stressed that some of the challenges include a growing concern that social workers are heavily overloaded which creates burnout; there are trends of lack of professional conduct and poor working conditions which compromises ethical provisions.

“The ‘Indaba’ will also be used to attend to issues  such as getting clarity on the Veteran Social Work Forum, creating a conducive working environment for veterans and to assist young Social Workers to have passion in the profession”, says Jacobs.

“The veterans were identified by Minister of Social Development, Bathabile Dlamini by calling on retired Social Workers to form part of the Veteran’s Forum for Gauteng Province which includes unemployed Social Workers in private practice from 55 years onwards”, said Jacobs.

“Some of the retired Social Workers who are still healthy and strong are able to make valuable contributions to the profession and have been employed or engaged in facilities such as the back log in foster care and working with the community as well,” added Jacobs.

She also emphasized that South Africa is faced with major social problems.

According to Jacobs the Department of Social Development is the lead department in the delivery of social welfare services and is the employer of the highest percentage of Social Workers and Social Auxiliary Workers in the province.

Social Work is rooted in a set of core values of social justice, dignity, human relationships and integrity that are unique to the profession and have been embraced by social workers throughout the professions’ history.

Social Workers and Social Auxiliary Workers have been key role players in the development of a caring society for all its citizens through the facilitation of human development and improvement of quality of life and are expected to be at the forefront of service delivery for the most needy individuals and communities.

The profession demands quality individuals who are compassionate, dedicated and committed in helping those in serious need. Government is under continuous pressure to work at an alarming pace to improve the quality of life for all.

There is a need to convene platforms for dialogue with Social Workers and Social Auxiliary Workers both in government and NGO sector with a view at deliberating on issues affecting the social work practice.

The Gauteng Department of Social Development currently employs 884 Social Workers, 142 Social Work Supervisors and 483 Social Auxiliary Workers. The Department received an additional 130+ new Graduate Social Workers (beneficiaries of the Bursary system) in February 2015.

Issued by Gauteng Social Development