TEAMWORK ...CHILD AND YOUTH CARE IN SOUTH AFRICA

The soccer coach was a teacher at the school. Playing for the under 13 team he positioned me as 'centre half,  Every match - "centre half". One day we passed in a passage. "Why do you always put me at centre half? Why not centre forward?" "Because", he said "you don't have a strong enough kick to score goals. It's your job to pass the ball to him". 

It was an aha moment. In my head I said "Why didn't you tell me before?" I had always thought that if you played soccer, the idea was to score goals. Right?...and this was always my game plan.

I could dribble well, but not kick powerfully. It was a lesson for life. In some situations... I had to pass the ball.

 A comment was made on my blog on child and youth care work in private practice. More or less - "Child and youth care workers may find it difficult to work in private practice. They work in teams and in private practice you work on your own"

We are team workers. It has to do with what we do in practice with the children and young people in our programmes... develop potential from strengths. We set goals and tasks with them based on their strengths.

As for them, so for us.

There are very good programmes available designed for adults and for children and young people to identify their individual gifts and strengths and to build up an individual strengths profile. This seems to be the starting point.  "What are my strengths and gifts?" ( I can dribble but I'm not a very  powerful kicker). 
The Dependable Strengths Institute (Seattle, USA) has a really good programme on dependable strengths. There are equally good programmes for the identification of strengths for children and young people.

Self awareness, self honesty, the opinion and observations of colleagues, friends and family, a recollection of what you have done well and felt good doing... these all help when building up a professional strengths practice profile.

There's a teamwork exercise which seems helpful in gaining insights into 'team',... how and what we each contribute. It's called, Build a Tower with Drinking Straws and Pins. The exercise is for a random group of 5 child and youth care workers to be given drinking straws and pins. They are told to build a tower of straws, use the pins tor attach the straws The team with highest unassisted standing tower after a fairly short set time period, wins. They will get a small prize each. "Go!". Usually some towers are sturdy, but short. Others, tall but cant stand unassisted. Some stand for a fraction of time then fall. Discussion follows  "What did the winning team do to make it work? Who did what  ? What did they, we observe about their working together. What happened in your team?"

What I learnt from this exercise is that the team of 5 who spent at least a few minutes before starting on the tower to discuss  who would do what and to plan a basic structure, a foundation, a plan to get hight and strength - these teams invariably did the best or won the chocolate bars. They did encourage each other as the went along .

It had to do with a child and youth care worker volunteering to undertake a particular role and tasks, agreed leadership    ( the visionary), agreed organizer, agreed manager, agreed resource provider, Agreement. They did make suggestions to each other as they went along. One usually volunteered to be a time-keeper. They did give mutual support during the exercise. As a team they achieved more than any one could achieve as an individual.as they recognised each other's strengths.("You're meant to pass the ball to him. He will kick at goal").

"OK, Time's up. Hands off "... they collapsed or could stand only a while.  Competing leadership, taking an unexpected individual initiative almost impulsively to get hight and without team agreement... collapse !,    

It gets more complicated for us because we practice in teams as child and youth care workers, then we work also in multi-disciplinary teams. We, child, young person, social workers, teachers, psychologists, health workers, parents, significant others, sometimes religious leaders, psychometrists, domestic workers, local shopkeeper, neighbour - each with different approaches and expectations, philosophy and  methodology. 

That pre-straw and pin discussion becomes now a critical sharing, each to declare, understand and respect the others role in unity and synergy for the sake of the child or young person.  ( Coach !..Why didn't you tell me before?)

She was of biggish build, not doing that well at school in a class for those who struggle. A psychometrist's  test results showed that she should be fine for employment in a trade.  She had a leaning toward hairdressing and catering. Teacher and principal of the school were sure that she would be retained for at least a further year before ready to enter the secondary occupation and trade school. They had evidence of this based on her school performance in Language and Mathematics. Child and youth care workers reported her strengths and style of relationship building and her resilience. The psychologist added a personality assessment which included a professional psychological opinion on the effect of a further year in the primary school. The social worker gave a comprehensive socio-gram with the quality of her connectedness  and support systems. 

Staying at school for another year was regarded by all including, of course, the young person that staying at primary school for another year was not in her best interest nor her best way forward.

In my position of Director, I asked for an appointment with the Chief Inspector of Education in the city.  On the strength of the evidence of the multi=disciplinary team he granted a year of constructive delay. This was,I believe a first in the country. The social worker arranged that she work at the local hairdresser as an assistant and at the Home for the Elderly as an assistant in the kitchen. The teacher and the principal agreed to give her a time-table to attend classes in Language and Mathematics only until she went to the secondary occupation and trade school.

The multi-disciplinary tower of straws and pins was high and strong. It stood.

This young person is now of middle age, regarded as one of the best hairdressers in the city, sought after and has her own business.

Teamwork build towers. 

Lives: tall and sturdy.  
      





















   

BARGING-IN...CHILD AND YOUTH CARE IN SOUTH AFRICA

It was an early Saturday morning role call required before  boys with weekend leave of absence were allowed off the facility. The six units formed up in groups on the forecourt. Any general announcements were made. The allocated boy took the unit role call and answered "All present and correct"  or the names of those AWOL (absent without leave). 

There was a lot of chatter among the 25 boys in a particular house. 

The formalities ended  with the usual "Enjoy your weekend... Dismiss!"

At that, the whole of that house ran full tilt to another house close by. The large double door was closed and locked from the inside. They gathered in front of the door loudly threatening to break it down to get entry. I got myself there, my back against the door. "OK, guys what's going on. Someone please explain". 

 The story was, they alleged, a boy from that house had stolen one of the other boy's leather jacket and locked himself in the house for safety and protection. They were determined to get in, get him, beat him up and recover the jacket.  

"OK, let's talk. We can sort this out. There are other ways of doing this". The threats continued. "OK, let three of you come and talk........ The sentence went unfinished. A very large male child and youth care worker, an ex security officer, "barged in" in front of me. He stood firmly between me, my back still against the door, and the boys, covering me altogether. "Get to your house" he shouted loudly. "Get to your house". "Get to your house". They slowly dispersed mumbling ,grumbling, gesticulating, angry.

"I was handling this".
"You needed protection".
"If I needed you I would have called you". 

I had not felt the need to be physically protected at that moment. I thought that "negotiation" and problem solving as well as group de-escalation was underway. 

Privately. "Please don't do that again. You can ask if I need help. If I needed you I would have said". 

The intention, I think was probably good. The display of power above my authority and my professionality left me feeling, undermined and disempowered.

I called this "barging-in",

He was 14 years old, highly intelligent, articulate, trying to find himself a direction for his life ahead. It was especially difficult for him as at age 14 he could not read. He was held back at school to be in a grade with children of his reading age. Being a fairly tall boy. he was noticeably out of place which made his situation even worse.

 I cannot remember how this started. It seemed to come out of nowhere. We were sitting side by side on the couch watching a movie in the TV room. Just him and I in the TV lounge. Maybe something in the movie triggered it. He stood up and faced me. I remained seated. "What do you know about us teenagers? You know nothing. You just do this because you get paid. Do you think that you understand us?......

The person who walked into the lounge at this point had been in child and youth care settings longer than I. and... hello... repeat 'barging-in' story. ..She stopped, stood between the 'on the couch' me and the boy. "Don't you talk to the Director like that! You can't talk to the Director like that ".  

He went into the dormitory.

"He was just being a teenager" says I. "He has to do that. I was dealing with it".
"He can't talk to you like that". .. Walks out.

Privately. Same conversation as with the ex security officer child and youth care worker. Power based 'barging -in' making me look professionally ineffective.

The pulling of rank or length of service, the status of the child and youth care worker...auxiliary level or relief worker, does not justify 'barging in' . It's just not professional teamwork

When, in South Africa Child and Youth Care became a recognised, registered profession, we had for the first time a code of ethics and a code of conduct. I thought that this 'barging-in' thing was Supersession. The as yet, uncirculated Policy Guidelines for Child and Youth Care Workers Reggarding Profeaaional Ethics and Behaviour  South African Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP)  defines Supersession.

C6 Supersession and Delegation
In cases where a child/ family is already in receipt of child and youth care services, it would be regarded as Supersession if another child and youth care worker assumed services in that instance.

Sounds as if my 'barging-n'thing could be interpreted within this definition. I was told that in practice it is not. It is in the instances as set out in the Guidelines of where Supersession is permitted that it becomes somewhat clear that Supersession has to do with "taking over a case without multi-disciplinary team agreement or in the unencouraged absence of the allocated child and youth care worker.

In whatever way the definition is interpreted, I'm convinced that 'barging-in' behaviour is unethical.

The SACSSP Act of 110 of 1978 with amendments and the regulations contains the code of conduct and ethics for child and youth care workers. In looking at Behaviour Towards Clients and other Professional Persons. 

Again a direct quote
6(2) The casting of reflection directly or indirectly upon the probity, professional reputation, skill, competence, knowledge of a colleague or of such other person.

Seems to me that 'barging-in' would be a breach of professional child and youth care worker ethical practice. It's not team-work and must not in any way be interpreted as such. 

    

REHEARSAL...CHILD AND YOUTH CARE IN SOUTH AFRICA

It was one of those fairly frequent calls. Dusk and darkening. "Please come and fetch me"  My 'weekend off' had taken a typical turn.

Story was...(I don't know what led up to it)... Mother chased her out saying "Get out. Get back to the Home. ... You're a slut". Daughter's retaliation, "At least I can get it! You can't even get layed"...Deep hurt, pain and degradation. The big put down. 

Critical Incident. What now? The risk? No hope of reconciliation. Permanent no speak. Separation mother and daughter for ever!

What then? Time to breath, time to recover. Not to repress the anger and hurt. Just to gather the courage to, and the wish, to talk. Time to prepare for rationality and possibly the healing between mother and daughter.

In the mind of the child and youth care worker circle the words  " Restorative Justice, Role Play, Role Reversal,  Repetition, What-if?, Confrontation, Carefrontation." 

There will no doubt be some discussion on 'role' at this point. The 'who is to do what' discussion. In South Africa, apart from the child and youth care worker's required practice to be an equal professional member of the multi-disciplinary team (MTD), there is a move toward the Integrated Case Management  (ICM) approach. It means that case management itself is a shared responsibility. In any case, the child and youth care worker cannot but be included in the process that follows an incident like this. 

In the book A Child and Youth Care Approach to Working with Families edited by Thom Garfat (2004) a case is made  for child and youth care workers to have a particular role in the reclaiming of family . In the Introduction (p1) is quoted Carl Carstens ".....When the child comes into  care, the family comes with it. ...By such means reconstructive and recreational work becomes possible, the child does not stay away from her family any longer than is necessary, and there is ample time for her adjustment and follow-up". (italics mine) 

Following the MTD and ICM models, the child and youth care worker and the social worker will visit the mother in her home ...her life-space,.. for a life-space interview (LSI). Child and youth care workers are especially trained to conduct a LSI. It explores the moment by moment detail of the incident and explores possible ways forward. The social worker will explore  the family system and the broader social systems, their impact on life as it is for mother and so for the daughter. There may well be work to be done in the social macrocosm. Child and youth care workers tend to focus on the incident and seeks understanding of its effect on the mother and the daughter. Both work toward "What can and needs to be done now?" Hopefully, through something like the Bronfenbrenner Biocological Model of Development , or some other shared model will provide guidelines for tasks for holistic,    ecological , relational family reclaiming.

Ideally, an agreement is reached to hold a family meeting in the safety of a multi-disciplinary team, all of which is explained. A neutral venue may be chosen if needed.

 Back in the facility the child and youth care worker leads the LSI process with the young person.

Once both parties agree, there is a period of preparation, for what is hoped will be a process of carefrontation rather than confrontation. Carefrontation: "I care too much about you not to tell you that , when you ................... and want change to make it come right".  Carefrontation is, dare I say, ...'love.

This is where rehearsal comes in.

I'll focus on the child and youth care role with the young person. Support to the mother will be provided by the social worker.  The child and youth care worker encourages the young person to explain the  physical arrangement. Where it will happen, who will sit next to whom, who in the MTD supports whom. Then the child and youth care worker explains carefully the purpose of the family meeting and his/her role as the primary care worker.... the child and youth care worker. Things like advocacy, emotional support and if need be, with permission, the occasion to speak what the young person may ask to be said for her.

Now the real rehearsals begin.

"OK, let's pretend we are at the family meeting. Your mother is sitting there, you here and I next to you. Your mother speaks first.The chairperson will ask her to say what happened from the very start of everything until you said what you said and went to the neighbour's house. If mom find it difficult to say the social worker might help her or say it for her. 

 Now its your turn. You have already told me , but pretend you are at the family meeting. What will you say...tell your story, and let me hear."

 The young person relates the details of the incident. She may need help to get things in the right order or issues of time perception, and to express her feelings at each stage of the incident 

"OK< now mom will say what she would like to happen and what would have to change 

Now it's your turn. Say how would you would like things to be after the meeting and what has to change ... even things that you and your mom have to change. If you both want the same things that's good. If not, we will all talk more to try to find agreement.

Tell me, just like you will say to your mother, or to the meeting, what you are prepared to do to make change yourself . Are you prepared to say sorry for anything? Tell me what you will say?

 Oh, oh, it looks like some changes need to be made by you, and some by mom.. Now we will talk about who will do what, who will help who do what and set aims and set agreed times by which we will do them. It's called a FDP...Family Development Plan.

What do you think mom should do or be helped to happen?" Lets practice what you will say to her.

"Now what do you think your mother will say that you need to to be helped to change if it is needed?

The meeting should reach an agreement. It will be written down and we will all agree what each one of us will do and by when.

Now let's go through this again... I'll play to be mom " (role play).

Rehearsals are repeated again before the actual meet. Sometimes child and youth care workers put in a few surprises to deal with the " what-ifs" The young person is rehearsed until we all feel comfortable and reasonably confident.

A family meeting is not the only moment in the child and youth care programme and in our work with children and young people. Rehearsal may be needed in many, many more situations in our work. It is part of our professional practice as child and youth care workers.

Rehearsal is supportive, confidence building and relational. 

Rehearsal is part of what we do. 

     

CORONA SCHOOL ESCAPE...CHILD AND YOUTH CARE IN SOUTH AFRICA

Volumes of text on social media dedicated to the Corona virus, especially when and after the first case was reported in South Africa. A 38 year old man  had returned from Italy, felt the symptoms and went to the doctor in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Province. Both were quarantined in their own homes. The schools of his two children suspended classes as were all extra-mural activities. The search for the other 10 people in the Italy party has been completed and one other is positive.

You know the signs of panic. Straight talk - "we're in trouble", lack of trust in the South African Health system, coupled with jokes. Jokes always accompany deeply felt seriousness and fear.

Corona virus, they say, can mainly affect the elderly and children. As professional carers of children it must be assumed that programmes and facilities are gearing up in case of epidemic. It goes without saying that transmittable conditions and diseases in tightly bedded dormitories and group homes for example are formulas for their spread. 

Experience of young people's attitude to transmittable conditions was to do with their potential to " escape school". Head-lice required a 'no school' period until the district nurse provided a certificate of clearance. Young people with head-lice would collect them in a bottle and sell them to an eager market.  Guaranteed, ..infection and no school. One young person with pink-eye sells rubs on the affected eyes.  The purchaser then rubs on his/her eyes with the contaminated hands.  No school again.

Can Corona become a saleable commodity to escape school?

The approach to German Measles was somewhat different. In childhood it is fairly mild whilst the adult version in pregnancy is said to have an adverse affect on the unborn child. When German Measles appeared, the deliberate spread among the girls was ignored as it provided its own immunity against later contraction. 

Measles itself once brought the facility into quarantine. The local health authorities, once the number of measled young people reached a certain proportion, declared an epidemic and put the whole facility into quarantine. I seem to remember that it lasted 14 days, (similar to the Carona virus quarantine period). The building was ribboned off with warning ribbons, the entry gates similarly. No-one was to enter or leave the except the doctor or the district nurse. Deliveries of food and goods were deposited at the gate. A member of staff went to collect them. We had resident staff, so the problems of quarantined staff wasn't that much of a problem.In a live-out shift system, staffing would have been have been another issue.

If, with the Corona virus, one young person contracts, full quarantine is a given. Could be that now, contingency planning and thinking needs to happen on the " What If " scenarios. Social media shows Europe supermarket shelves to be empty as people make contingency plans. The panic is shifting the usual into the extra ordinary. 

In the early days of the Hiv/AIDS pandemic especially in sub-Saharan Africa and particularly in South Africa, the statistics were and are still, scary.  The number of children and young people with the virus was estimated into the millions. Child-headed households were predicted as young parents died of AIDS related diseases. 

The 'gearing up' then in South Africa was widespread, well strategised, well orchestrated. Prevention was ABC, Abstinence, Be faithful and Condomise. But once born with or contracted the spread through body fluids instituted 'universal precautions'. Child and youth care workers were a target for education and training throughout the country. The community-based national model known as Isibindi was devised and rolled out to provide professional services to the children and young people affected of infected with the virus. It still does. I remember child and youth care workers saying" Hiv/AIDS..Isibindi. Hiv/AIDS..Isibindi,..Hiv/AIDS..Isibindi.. I'm tired of hearing about it".

There was an opinion that education didn't help. I think it did.

Let's talk then the Corona virus on our door-step in South Africa and extensively in some other countries. We are in an early enough position in South Africa to 'gear-up' in child and youth care now.

By now, followers of social media have been exposed to the universal precautionary measures that are said to restrict the spread of CVID-19 and protect ourselves. I saw on set of illustrations showing how to wash the hands with soap for 15-20 seconds. Guess it's like the demonstrations we would give of fitting a condom to which child and youth care workers were exposed and which were made available nation wide. We were trained to teach children and young people the universal precautions in the avoidance and cleaning We taught the young people in our care all that we knew.

The point is that South Africa is forewarned. South Africa is on the launching pad and needs now to prepare for take=off in the world of child and youth care. By "take off", I mean the launching of programmes in our facilities based on what we learnt through Hiv/AIDS . Programmes and facilities are advised to 'gear-up' and make contingency plans just to be on the side of caution.

Child and youth care workers, because of our unique life-space contact with children need now to be educated, trained and supported. Children and young people need to be educated, trained and supported. 

Gear-up... Plan before Corona is yet another school escape plan.  







     

WHO KNOWS? THE GROUND SHIFTS...CHILD AND YOUTH CARE IN SOUTH AFRICA

This was to  have been a stinging blog on the lack of knowing by decision makers in the social services about the serious  situation of child and youth care workers in South Africa and so the serious situation of Child Care. I had two questions. Who knows our plight? The other, who knows what child and youth care IS, what we DO and the importance of our profession. 

But there is good news...and hope. The ground has recently shifted. 

In the first meeting of a delegation of the South African Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP) to the Parliamentary Portfolio committee for the Social Services, I was led to understand that the committee asked "What is this? We know of Social Work , but Child and Youth Care...Whats that? 

This has changed. A meeting directly with the Director General and then with the Minister addressed exactly that. Not only who and what we as child and youth care workers are, but also the seriousness of the situation we are experiencing. 

So it was that at the second meeting with the Portfolio Committee of Parliament attended by the Minister, a full presentation on what is Child and Youth Care, the need to recognise the profession and its plight was given by the National Association of Child Care Workers (NACCW) The SACSSP also made a presentation. Major high level decision makers said.. "A most interesting two days".

Again recently, the National Department of Social Development held talks to develop a National Human Resources Sector Plan. Expressed there was the need to renegotiate the Occupation Specific Dispensation (OSD) and Conditions of Service.

The Registrar of the SACSSP attended a meeting of MINMEC Which is the Minister together with her relevant  Members of the Executive Councils of the Provinces. ..a door opens to an ideal platform for information sharing on the social service professions.

Again recently the Registrar with a team from the registration Department of the SACSSP met with Social Service professionals in the Western Cape. The meeting, I was was very well attended vibrant,and concerns were discussed.

The answer to my first question is that the ground has shifted and will continue to do so.

Now for the second . Who knows what child and youth care workers DO?  What is the national value of the field its professional practice, its knowledge, skills, use of self and its literature. Not in the form of heavy coursework, but in broad strokes with enough to allow a grasp of the professional field. Some of this has been presented in the foundational ground shift but I think we have work to do on a wider scale now.

Let's stay with the high level decision makers for a while. The what do we actually DO and the success of what we do in the reclaiming of young lives would be useful to be heard in forums such as the Provincial Departmental Heads, Heads of Programmes, and Child and Youth Care Facilities. Better perhaps to say Employers, Managers and some Supervisors. All to frequently we see in the advertisements for Child and Youth Care posts, a misunderstanding if what it is we do. Here we cannot rule out the Non-government Organisations. When job descriptions trivialise our practice, the salaries are equally triviaised. I can go so far as to say that I have seen some advertisements for posts where there no clue as to what the child and youth care really is.  

It would be hoped that an awareness campaign would cast its net wide enough to encompass the other social service professions also. And I'm talking about a need to know among all the helping professions Including Education , Justice, Mental Health, Health, Correctional Services and Psychiatric Services.
 I sat next to a stranger in the airport recently. He asked me what I do. He said he had never heard of that. Social workers.. yes, but child and youth care workers..No. A whole spectrum of people with a need to know opened up for me. The public, the parents and even the young people we serve as well.

What I think we have not done well is to publicise ourselves as a profession through the media . We seem to get little coverage in newspapers, on the radio and TV. social media. We have not really made use of  every available resource and every available opportunity to build awareness about what we REALLY DO. 

We obviously need a strategic plan. An awareness campaign
The big question is who will do this. One simple on the ground response is that we must all be involved in some way. It will take a planning and leading and it can and should no longer wait. large scaly awareness about the field and what we Do needs to happen.

The ground has shifted. This is an ideal moment for us to make our work as professional known

Let us grasp the moment.