Sir, – As the academic team who provide professional social work education at University College Dublin, we write to echo the concerns raised by District Court judges John Campbell Campbell, Miriam Walsh Walsh and Conor Fottrell in Mary Carolan’s article “Inside the childcare courts” (July 20th).
The concerns raised relate to the continued failures of the State care system to provide adequate care and protection for our most vulnerable children, particularly those subject to so-called “special emergency arrangements”.
The Sexual Exploitation Research Programme project here at UCD was among those to evidence the deep vulnerability and, in some cases, exploitation of children in State residential care settings. We support the work of the Child Care Law Reporting Project, the Irish Association of Social Workers and other stakeholders in highlighting these deeply concerning issues.
While we support the raising of such concerns, we write here to also add some additional context to the underpinning issues. The retention and recruitment of professional social workers is often, rightly, cited as a critical part of the problem and there have been consistent calls, from all quarters, for the recruitment of more social workers. However, this component of the problem is complex and is often misrepresented in a simple “production-line” manner – more students in, more social workers out. The statement, attributed in the article to Judge Campbell, prompted us to add some context to this debate: “The CFA has to recruit social workers from universities in Ireland which only have so many places despite the demand, he said. ‘If there was more joined-up thinking, they would take on more students. Maybe more engagement instead of silo management would help.’”
While the output of new graduates from higher education institutions (HEIs) across the country is one facet of the issue, the problem has its origins further back in the life course of a social worker, in their early deliberations and decisions to pursue the profession. It is currently the case that many social work programmes offered by HEIs in Ireland do not fill their seats and, while this varies from year to year, this appears to be an increasing trend over recent years. To graduate more students, HEIs need more applicants wishing to become social workers.
This time last year, our school published a Department of Children-commissioned study examining the motivations and barriers for those pursuing and yet to pursue social work education. That report, Pathways to Social Work, gathered the views of current social work students across all HEIs in the country and those of undergraduate students, in a sample of relevant disciplines, yet to decide whether or not to pursue social work as a career. While it supported the international literature, in that people wish to become social workers because of a desire to help people and to promote social justice and human rights, it also found that finances, lack of housing, and the wider cost of living crisis act as significant barriers for those considering social work as a profession.
In terms of finances, participants raised the issue of unpaid placements as a particular deterrent – social work education, regulated by Coru, the Health and Social Care Professionals Council, requires the completion of 1,000 hours of practice education in the field and at present this work is unpaid. In our experience as social work educators, we encounter students under extreme pressure to meet the demands of the programme but also to balance this with care and financial needs. Participants shared the view that the financial burdens of fees, housing, and unpaid placements are going so far as to “price out” those potential applicants from more marginalised and lower socio-economic sections of society from the profession entirely. This leads to a finding that the profession potentially does not represent those it is privileged to serve. Because many students find themselves having to work extensively in “part-time” jobs while also studying and undertaking placements on an intensive full-time programme, we worry that some new graduates are close to burnout prior to taking up their first professional role. When viewed in the context of the concerning situation raised by the judges, this appears to be a recipe for disaster.
While adding this context to the debate, we ultimately support the calls for inter-disciplinary, interdepartmental, and non-siloed solutions to the issue. Some of this is happening already but more is needed, with support from relevant government departments. To respond to the most vulnerable in our society, capital investment is needed in social work at all levels. As one HEI offering a pathway to social work, we would welcome increased investment that supports students and we are ready and willing to play our part. Human rights and social justice lie at the heart of social work practice and education and it is to those most vulnerable whom we must constantly strive to serve and direct our resources. – Yours, etc,
Dr JOSEPH MOONEY,
Dr ELAINE WILSON,
Dr MUIREANN
NÍ RAGHALLAIGH,
Dr SARAH DONNELLY,
Dr MARIE KEENAN,
Ms GRÁINNE MURTAGH,
Prof JIM CAMPBELL
(Emeritus),
DANIEL McFADDEN,
Prof PROSPERA TEDAM,
Dr HILDA LOUGHRAN
(Emeritus),
Dr MARY KENNEDY,
School of Social Policy,
Social Work and
Social Justice,
University College Dublin,
Belfield,
Dublin 4.