Agonizing over a decision

annabelle.27

I am in my final year of a social work degree (child welfare specialization) and I have to choose my practicum for the fall by next Friday.

Traditionally, students tend to get hired from their placements, so I wanted my practicum to be with the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD). However, I've been hearing a lot about hiring freezes in the MCFD, and my practicum coordinator confirmed that they are not hiring out right now, but they couldn't say one way or the other about whether or not they'd be hiring in December, when I am eligible to work.

There is another option. There is a delegated Aboriginal child welfare agency in my area, which does child protection cases for First Nations families. They are hiring. I would prefer to work for MCFD over the delegated agency- however, I'd rather work at the delegated agency than not work at all.

So... I am debating where I should do my placement. Doing it at the delegated agency might increase my odds of getting a job at all, but will decrease the odds of me getting a job with MCFD, since they'll most likely hire students who just worked with them.

So...

[Poll]

Melozia

I am not sure which province you are in but I chose option 2. I work with Social Services (and have for the past 9 years indifferent capcities) in Sask and we, too, have a hiring freeze on right now. They ceased hiring last October and the new budget calls for cutting hundreds of department positions over the next 3 years. Mostly, those cuts are through terms and non-perm positions, and I suspect the same is true for other provinces.

I would caution you about the First Nations agencies. I say this as a Metis person and also someone familiar with how the province (at least ours) partners with and oversees those agencies. Many prvinces do not have a central agency to license and police the policies and procedures of First Nations child welfare agencies. As a result, there are huge gaps in services and abuses of the various systems in place. The atonomy that many agencies demand results in inconsistent service and a lack of effective case management and case planning, especially important for those high risk families to whom this type of service is vital. Just something to mull over. The Aboriginal child welfare agenecies are run differently than provincially run deptartments and it can take some real thicvk skin to work with them. There are always exceptions, but this is the feedback I have received from friends working in/with those aganecies in other provinces.

annabelle.27

That's exactly what I was afraid of, Melodie, which is why MCFD is my first choice. But I'm reluctant to put all my eggs in that basket when they're not really hiring.

I'm in BC...

ring_pop

I'm a general believer that you should always take the best opportunity available to you at the time. Even if you take the First Nations agency, which might seem safer NOW, you never know what will happen by December.