With more than three million worldwide, social workers remain an integral part of helping navigate tough life challenges. March is Social Work Month, a time to celebrate the profession of social work and highlight its many positive contributions to society. The theme for this year is The Time is Right for Social Work, emphasizing the importance of these individuals as our nation continues to grapple with crises including the COVID-19 pandemic, systemic racism and economic inequality.
Our dedicated team of social workers at Oaks continue to make a difference every day. Chantelle McCormick, Program Director at Children’s Mobile Response (CMR), leads a team dedicated to responding to youth and families in a self-defined crisis situation. CMR offers in-home services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week designed to deescalate the immediate crisis, stabilize and connect families to community resources.
As a Program Director, Chantelle oversees a weekly, non-mandatory group for social workers within the CMR team, titled Cost of Caring. One-hour group meetings are dedicated to discussing stress levels, trauma relapse, difficult cases and burnout through peer support. “As social workers, our community needs increase every day. My biggest priority is making people feel supported right now,” Chantelle shares.
In addition to working with Oaks, Chantelle is pursuing her Doctorate in Clinical Social Work (DSW) from the University of Pennsylvania. She is studying the impact of trauma informed care with children displaying problematic behaviors while looking at other components such as mental health diagnosis and disability. Chantelle explains, “I think it’s important to understand what is beneath the behaviors and understand why they are happening. I’m finding that this approach helps create empathy, reduces staff turnover and creates situations where children feel seen, heard and validated.”
Social workers are in great need right now. As one of the fastest growing professions in the nation (Bureau of Labor Statistics), social work remains at the forefront of the conversation. “What we do as social workers is important, now more than ever. People are looking to get more involved in professions that allow you to engage in society and contribute to the solution,” Chantelle shares. She adds, “Social workers are community people. This is a profession that allows you to act and make a difference.”
Our nation’s social workers entered the field because they have a strong desire to help people and to make our communities, our nation and our world a better place to live. This year’s theme resonates on multiple levels for Chantelle and social workers throughout our organization. She concludes, “The time is always right for social work. This profession was always engrained in who I am. I enjoy bringing out the best in people.”
