Gauteng social workers overworked, compromising vulnerable residents' care

25 September 2024

The quality of care provided to vulnerable residents' risks being jeopardised as the Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD) social workers are overburdened with cases due to the department's high vacancy rate, despite the province having many unemployed social workers who should fill these critical positions.

In a written reply to the Democratic Alliance's (DA) questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL), GDSD disclosed that Gauteng only has 1593 social workers providing services. The average caseload per social worker is 119 case files for the Substance Abuse Programme and 47 for field services. Caseloads reportedly range from 1:40 to 1:90.

See reply here.

This exceeds the national norm and standard of 60 cases per social worker. Heavy caseloads significantly contribute to stress for social workers and impede their ability to consistently provide high levels of care and support to vulnerable residents who are dependent on their assistance.

A recent DA oversight inspection brought to light an incident in a shelter where a social worker placed a child who had been sexually abused but could not identify or recall the details of the child upon visiting the shelter a few months later. This is a typical example of how social work is compromised when social workers are overloaded with cases and unable to give full attention to each allocated case.

The shortage of social workers and the resulting strain on the quality of care for vulnerable individuals is worrying. Census data shows a growing Gauteng population, while crime statistics indicate an increase in crimes in our communities. These factors highlight the urgent need to increase the number of social workers.

When asked how many more social workers the department needs to operate, the GDSD stated that this is dependent on the ratio prescribed by the Supervisory Framework for Social Service Professionals and the availability of funds.

This is quite baffling because the same department returned R50,924,000 intended for compensation of employees back to the Treasury by the end of March 2024. Furthermore, the department filled only 461 vacancies from its established structure of 5,536 positions, according to the first quarter report of the 2024/2025 financial year.

A DA government will train and recruit unemployed social work graduates to reduce the caseload per social worker and ensure that social workers who retire are replaced as soon as possible. This would help to reduce Gauteng's high unemployment rates while also improving support for the vulnerable residents of Gauteng.

Issued by Refiloe Nt’sekhe, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development, 25 September 2024