[IPAC-List] Social Case Worker Testing

[Mark Hammer]

I'm not in social work, so feel free to tell me to blow out it my
orifices, but I would imagine one of the soft skills you'd want to look
for is what might be called "explanatory skill".  My sense is that many
clients can have misunderstandings about what is going to happen and
why, or simply how things work, and what they should realistically
expect.  In some cases (persons with intellectual challenges, like frail
elderly) there can be very real impediments to their understanding, and
achieving transparency is a challenge.
 
As such, I think it would be an asset to any agency providing social
services to have a way of identifying people who are skilled at
explaining things to "regular folks".  This is separate from mere
communication skills, which too often emphasize being captivating or
persuasive.  I'm talking about the sort of explanation that can increase
self-sufficiency in the client, and build trust in the system through
clarity and reduction of discrepancies between what actually happens and
what the client thought was going to happen. Betcha that kind of person
writes clearer case reports too.
 
Now, where you find a pre-existing assessment tool to get at that,
well, that's where I kind of fall down on the job.  Hopefully, someone
else here can fill in those gaps.
 
Mark Hammer
Ottawa


>>> "Maxfield,Susan - Career Service Authority"

<Susan.Maxfield at denvergov.org> 2011/09/08 12:40 PM >>>
Hi IPAC Members,



The City of Denver is reviewing its social case worker job series for
some best practice selection tools.  Creative ideas around job
specific
scenarios, situational judgement, videos would be most helpful.  Gaps
have also been identified by hiring managers for soft skill
components,
i.e., emotional intelligence and assistance with targeting best fit
for
City organization.  I would also be very interested in what others are
doing relative to selection in the area of social case work and what
you
feel worked well as we are also conducting analysis on case management
coordinators (determine eligibility for public assistance programs)
and
the area of child support enforcement.



Thank you in advance for any ideas you can provide.



Susan Maxfield | HR Specialist
Career Service Authority | Recruiting Division
720.913.5616 Phone | 720.913.5992 Fax 
susan.maxfield at denvergov.org <mailto:susan.maxfield at denvergov.org> 

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