Absolutely in child welfare in a big city with caseloads so large that some months many of us never saw all the children in our caseloads. Though the law said we needed to see every child at least once a month if they were already in long term placement. And much more frequently if they had just come into the system. The court reporting requirements were onerous as well as the actual hours of waiting to be heard in court for each child’s case.
I hope many departments have been able to revamp their reporting systems to increase worker contacts with every child.
Office solidarity made it possible to actually get the job done many weeks. We shared visits & information from teachers, & other providers of sports & social activities for our children. This helped sometimes, but also complicated things sometimes too.
I sang the words to John Browns body… didn’t think I’d remember… but the 3rd grade we must have begun singing various sings all to same melody!!! Came back instantly after reading your Substack🤗
My union insurance has rebuilt my aging body a number of times since age 62 (1st knee replaced, and was able to continue climbing mountains and returning to base camp on 2 & 3 week trips in Sierras & closer to home in my coastal mountains, until a few years ago when thin air slowed me down! ) Union years still reward in contacts w old coworking friends as well. Though we’ve all shuffled off geographically!
Absolutely in child welfare in a big city with caseloads so large that some months many of us never saw all the children in our caseloads. Though the law said we needed to see every child at least once a month if they were already in long term placement. And much more frequently if they had just come into the system. The court reporting requirements were onerous as well as the actual hours of waiting to be heard in court for each child’s case.
I hope many departments have been able to revamp their reporting systems to increase worker contacts with every child.
Office solidarity made it possible to actually get the job done many weeks. We shared visits & information from teachers, & other providers of sports & social activities for our children. This helped sometimes, but also complicated things sometimes too.
Thank you for your comments, Carol. What kind of work were you doing? Was it a position in social services?
I sang the words to John Browns body… didn’t think I’d remember… but the 3rd grade we must have begun singing various sings all to same melody!!! Came back instantly after reading your Substack🤗
My union insurance has rebuilt my aging body a number of times since age 62 (1st knee replaced, and was able to continue climbing mountains and returning to base camp on 2 & 3 week trips in Sierras & closer to home in my coastal mountains, until a few years ago when thin air slowed me down! ) Union years still reward in contacts w old coworking friends as well. Though we’ve all shuffled off geographically!
Unions have been instrumental in protecting workers’ health and safety. Yay, unions! 🙃