Social work vacancies 'still a crisis situation,' as shortages worsen since last year
CSSD had 99 vacancies almost a year ago, but that number has grown to 105
Early career social workers who are resigning in significant numbers from their posts come as no surprise to union leader Jerry Earle.
Vacancies in the work force have worsened from nearly a year ago, when the president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees union (NAPE) called the situation a crisis.
"From what I'm hearing frontline social workers say, I would agree it is a crisis situation," Earle told CBC News on Friday.
"It has gotten a little bit worse. There seems to be a fair number of resignations versus retirements."
Earlier this month, CBC News reported that resignations are outpacing retirements among social workers in Newfoundland and Labrador, where hefty workloads and turnover have been chronic problems.
There were 202 resignations between 2014 and 2021 in the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development alone. Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services — which was formed from four separate health authorities during that time period — had 185 resignations and 72 retirements. Both employ the highest number of social workers in the province.
Many of those quitting the sector tend to be younger — between 25 and 39 years old — and also have the least experience. They often are assigned to work in child protection services.
Earle said the younger demographic have to take on challenging roles because of the staff shortage, and if the system were fully resourced, that wouldn't happen.
"Before a young social worker has a fair chance in the system, they're basically saying 'I can't do this, the supports are not here' and in many cases they feel they're not being heard by frontline management," he said.
In August, there were 99 vacant social work positions in CSSD, according to documents that CBC News obtained through access to information legislation.
Today, there are 105 vacancies in the department, NDP Leader Jim Dinn said.
"That's significant because that means there's an extra workload on the people who are left," he said.
"And we're not talking about the easy to manage cases. We're probably talking about the some of the most difficult cases."
Digging to the root
It's not clear why so many social workers are quitting well before retirement age, as reasons can be specific to the individual. But industry reports suggest burnout, work-life balance and compensation are among the highest concerns for the workforce.
CBC News asked Paul Pike, the minister of the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development, for an interview. Instead, media relations manager Kathryn Summers emailed a statement that outlined initiatives the department is using to recruit and retain social workers.
Summers said the department is "experiencing the same challenges with the recruitment and retention of child welfare social workers" as other provinces and territories across the country, and "the impact of these challenges is particularly evident in rural and remote areas of the province."
Earle and Dinn said supervisors should hold exit interviews to figure out just what's happening.
"It's one thing to talk to the people who are staying, but having those conversations with the people who are leaving, what's driving them from the profession?" said Dinn.
"If they are leaving to go to the private sector, what is it the private sector is giving them that the public sector is not?"
PC Leader Tony Wakeham said the social worker shortage is just another example of a struggling health-care system.
He said recruitment and retention of health-care workers has been a "huge problem" in the province for a number of years.
"There was no human resource plan for health-care professionals by the Liberal government. They didn't have a plan. They said they had one. They didn't have one," Wakeham said.
"So what we're faced with now is another example, of another health-care profession, where we have extreme shortages."
Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
