Social workers are playing a vital role in the current crisis, helping to provide resources, assistance and mental health care to individuals and communities impacted by COVID-19.
During this pandemic, many people find themselves in situations they’ve never faced before. Social distancing is the new norm for daily life. Schools have closed, leaving some at-risk children without a safe place to go during the day. Families face a lack of financial resources, a loss of health insurance, limited access to food and increased stress and anxiety.
“People who have been furloughed or laid off from their jobs, who have lost their health insurance, are finding themselves reaching out and asking for things, or in need of things, that might not have been a need before,” said Dr. Bob McKinney, a licensed clinical social worker and director of the Office of Case Management and Social Services at University Medical Center. He said social workers are helping individuals and families get through this challenging time.
What is a social worker?
“What social workers do is meet our clients where they are in whatever state of need or distress they happen to be in, and work with the resources that we have access to in the community to try and help them to get to a better place,” McKinney said. Some social workers are community organizers, some of them work in child welfare, some work in health care, he said.
A lot of time social workers are associated with case or care management. What is that?
McKinney explained that social workers in case or care management positions work with people who have ongoing needs. For example, in a health-related aspect, “You might think about someone who has diabetes. You want to work with that person to make sure that person is checking his or her blood sugar every day, to help make sure that person is adhering to a diabetic diet, and things like that. So, you work with someone on a daily basis in a different way than a physician is able to.”
What does social services look like at University Medical Center?
McKinney said UMC’s Office of Case Management and Social Services provides direct case management for patients in need, counseling and mental health care, works with hospitalized UMC patients as they are being discharged to reduce the possibility that they might have to go back to the hospital, and annually oversees more than a dozen University of Alabama School of Social Work students who are completing internships, or field experience, at UMC.
What is UMC doing in regard to social services during this COVID-19 pandemic?
McKinney said UMC is providing the same array of social services that it always has. The only thing that’s really different is how we interact with patients in providing mental health care and working with patients as they transition from hospital to home, he said. “We’re still providing those services but via telehealth. We’re meeting with those patients over the phone or via Zoom.”
What kind of educational background do you need to become a social worker?
McKinney said the state of Alabama requires social work practitioners to have a degree in social work from an accredited institution, like the UA School of Social Work, and a license to practice.
Social work degrees are offered at the bachelor, master and doctorate levels. He said people with a bachelor’s degree in social work (BSW) tend to serve in case management roles. Those with a master’s degree (MSW) have extra skills and the potential to do clinical social work. The DSW (doctorate in social work) is an advanced practice degree, and the PhD in social work is a teaching and research degree, McKinney said.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, what role does social work play?
McKinney said there are many ways during this time that social workers can help. “One of the big fields of social work practice is child welfare; we take care of children who have unfortunate home situations. Now, many kids are at home all the time and their parents don’t have the respite they had when kids were in school, so nationwide we’re seeing an increase in the occurrence of child abuse.” Parents furloughed or who have lost their jobs, “who had always been able to take care of the needs of their family, now are unable to buy enough groceries, are unable to provide health care. That’s an opportunity for social workers to intercede and work with those families,” McKinney said. In addition, he said the stresses of this new norm are hard for some people. “Some folks do well staying at home, and other folks don’t see it that way and get depressed, get cabin fever, feel like they’re not doing a good job taking care of their children, or maybe have anxiety about the uncertainty of the future related to COVID-19. For social workers who are mental health practitioners, that’s an opportunity to help.”
With COVID-19, what communities are you seeing most affected by this and most in need of social services support?
“Typically, it’s the people who were already in need,” McKinney said. A big concern for people who live in Alabama is access to health care, he said. Access includes the availability of health-care professionals in your area, access to transportation, and the ability to afford health insurance, co-pays and medications. “Patients and community members, maybe with an underlying health condition, and then on top of that had a problem with access to the healthcare system, are further at risk now,” McKinney said. “Many of them who might have had a job that provided health insurance, it’s now compounded by the fact that they don’t have health insurance.” He said access to food is also a concern.
How do people who need it get food?
“It’s a combination of the Food Bank of West Alabama and there are churches and community agencies that have always provided that resource to community members,” McKinney said. Unfortunately, he said some of those agencies are no longer able to provide the service because they rely on volunteers, typically older, retired adults, who are an at-risk group for COVID-19.
Do you interact with local agencies?
McKinney said his department works to keep current a database of available resources and services in the community. “We have to be aware of how community resources are changing. One of the ways people define social workers is that we are a broker of resources. Patients come to us, and we try to find someone in the community who can provide those services. Those providers are changing on almost a daily basis and it’s important for us to know that.” He said his department also interacts regularly with the United Way of West Alabama and Temporary Emergency Services in Tuscaloosa “to talk about what they are doing, the different things they’re seeing from their clients, and the different services they are able to provide.”
Do you see that finances have changed for the community resources?
McKinney said he believes non-profit organizations have probably experienced declining donations during COVID-19. “We do see agencies that are not able to provide services because they don’t have the resources to do it any longer. We haven’t seen a lot but there is some of that out there.”
COVID-19 can create a lot of stress for families. What have been some of the mental health effects on families, and particularly with children?
“It really depends upon the age,” McKinney said. “This is very uncharted territory for grownups but certainly for kids, too.” He said younger children like to be around other children. “They want to be around people their own age. They want to be able to tell silly jokes and play hide-and-seek, and grownups are not quite as into that. The loss of connection with their school communities is real and significant.” He said older children might be able to communicate with their friends via Facebook or an iPad or cell phone “so they are able to stay in contact with their friends. But for younger children, it’s a lot more challenging. And just being cooped up in a house is hard for kids.”
How do you talk to children about COVID-19, about what’s going on in the community and the fact that they’re not in school?
“One of the things that I tell parents is that kids are smarter and more aware of what’s going on in their world than grownups give them credit for,” McKinney said. He encourages parents to initiate the conversation. “Sit down with them and let them know, ‘Hey, I want to talk to you about something important. The way we’re living right now is not normal. So, let’s talk about why.’” McKinney said parents should be honest, provide factual information and expect to get questions from their children. “If they ask a question and you don’t know the answer, just say ‘I don’t know, but we can find out together.’” He said parents should be reassuring with younger children and give them some tools. Tell them “just by washing your hands, you can help fight this. You’ve got some power over this. Kids don’t like to be in situations where they have absolutely no control over what’s going on.” Older children, especially, are going to ask questions, so parents should anticipate that, McKinney said. Again, he said, parents should answer questions if they can, be frank about what’s going, and if they can’t answer questions acknowledge that they can’t and use it as an opportunity for both parent and child to learn. “You asked a question and it’s a great question, but I just don’t know the answer so let’s find out.”
What about rebellious teenagers? How do you get them to go along with the restrictions that are placed on their movement and getting together and hanging out with friends?
McKinney said this situation provides a good opportunity for parents to talk about the seriousness of COVID-19. “Let them understand the consequences,” he said. “It goes back to having that honest conversation.” And offer alternatives. “I understand you want to talk to your best friend, or your boyfriend or your girlfriend. How can we facilitate that? Let’s try to make that happen in a way that we’ve got some control over.”
Do you see COVID-19 bringing families closer together?
Calling himself an optimist, McKinney said he does think the current crisis is bringing people closer together. While you might be finding out some things that you might not like about the people you are stuck in the house with, “there are probably other (good) things that have happened,” he said. “I taught my son to ride a bike. It’s really neat and now he can’t stay off of it.”