Primary Objectives of Position
- To maximize the potential of children with developmental needs by facilitating timely access to child and family-centric early intervention services
- To be an integral part of a collaborative professional team providing holistic assessments and interventions to children and their caregivers to maximize their potential for development, improved quality of life, and smooth transition into special or mainstream schools.
- To provide client and family-centric social work interventions to support families by connecting families to relevant schemes and community resources; safeguarding the safety and welfare of children through case management and counselling services, caregivers education and skills training, support groups, and community participation programmes.
- To work closely with Centre Managers and Clinical Head, Social Work, in driving social work and collaborative team interventions aligned with strategic service direction, and provide guidance and supervision to colleagues in these areas.
- To provide clinical and administrative supervision for Social Work Interns, junior Social Workers and Social Worker Associates in the EIC Team, and play a role in the performance management of assigned
staff under his / her direct supervision.
Job Responsibilities
- Timely access to child-centric and family-centric early intervention services
- Support the Referral to enrolment work processes of EIC, such as outreach activities, centre visits, initial screenings, enrolment of new students, etc.
- Consolidate information and documents necessary for Means Test and Financial Assistance applications, and work with AWWA’s Registry to fulfil documentation and audit requirements of EIC Funding bodies.
2. To implement EIC work processes on the client’s journey with AWWA EIC, i.e. enrolment to withdrawal/discharge as outlined in SOP.
3. To provide leadership to the SW staff team in ensuring the fulfilment of EIC work processes according to the above areas as outlined in the SOP, and carry out induction training, guidance and support to new staff on the team.
4. Case Management
4.1. Collaborative Team approach
- To be an integral part of the EIC’s Collaborative Professional Team, consisting of EI Educators, Allied Health Professionals and Social Workers.
- To pro-actively promote the clients’ holistic learning & development, and attainment of child / family-centric goals through collaborative goal setting, Team discussions, Parent Teacher Conferences, recommendations and implementation of appropriate class placements, in-class and/or home-based support, parents/caregivers engagement and coaching, and referrals to suitable services within/outside AWWA.
- To facilitate a smooth transition of graduating students to suitable special or mainstream schools, i.e. collaborative consultation with professional staff and parents/caregivers on educational pathways, suitable school placement, Special School applications, etc.
4.2. Client and family-centric Social Work Intervention
- To conduct financial assistance assessment and connect needy families to relevant assistance schemes, within and outside AWWA.
- To conduct needs and risk assessments (biological, social, psychosocial, financial) of identified vulnerable families, to manage and mitigate risks related to child safety and welfare, family violence, caregiver stress and well-being through classroom observations, caregivers interviews via various modes of engagement (including home visits).
- To generate and prioritize intervention plans to address the needs of the family, i.e. individual casework, caregiver psycho-education, group work or connecting to community and/or government agencies/resources.
- To liaise with and contribute to case conferences with relevant helping agencies (FSC, HDB, MOH, MSF, and hospitals - KKH, NUH, SCS, Sg Enable etc) to support families in need.
- To work with professional colleagues and caregivers to generate and implement an Individual Caregiver Support Plan (ICSP).
- To maintain updated documentation of work carried out, i.e. case recording, salesforce data management system, SW outputs, etc.
5. Programme Planning
- To carry out needs assessments to identify service gaps and needs of clientele (including caregivers) and apply the information and knowledge to programme planning and design.
- To lead, plan and implement caregiver embed programmes to support and empower caregiving families in AWWA, i.e. workshops, support groups, bonding and respite programmes, community participation programmes, etc.
- To work with relevant EIC and/or AWWA departments and volunteers in planning and implementing the above-mentioned programmes.
- To maintain and update all programme records and documentation.
- To conduct programme evaluation and client satisfaction surveys to evaluate the outputs and outcomes of the programmes.
6. Supervision, Training & development
- To provide clinical and administrative supervision for Social Work interns, Social Work Associates / Assistants, Junior Social Workers and peer support to Social Workers.
- To apply the principles and protocols as guided by SASW professional Code of Ethics.
- To create, conduct and/or coordinate professional sharing and training, case consultations, individual and group supervision, training programmes and continuing education for personal and professional development to stay current and relevant in practice.
- To lead the team of social workers and engage in evidence-based practice, keeping up with research findings on relevant practice areas, and tracking current trends of the disability sector.
7. Any other relevant duties as assigned by the supervisor or Centre Manager, Director, CEO or Management.
Job Requirements
- Minimum Bachelor in Social Work
- Must be registered with SASW as a Registered Social Worker
- Minimum 5 years of relevant work experience
- Experience in Disability social work or experience in working with families of special needs will be an added advantage
- Ability to do Needs Assessments and address the needs using various modes of intervention like groupwork, case management that involves casework and counselling, creating and conducting relevant programmes
- Proficient in MS Office
- Dynamic team player with great interpersonal and presentation skills
- Meticulous and organised
