Social Work used to be about the art of relationship.
Using the relationships we made with people living in chaos, we gently or sometimes firmly helped them to clear their chaos and look after their children better.
Now instead of putting the client first, "service users" have to fit into the needs of the computer system-"Protocol", for information that fits its boxes and timescales.
Instead of giving people the time they need , every second is accounted for by some nameless machine that measures information clocking it into an archive that people rarely read because the interface is so un-user friendly.
Yes it is easy to find what was done and when. Yes it is easy to find who is related to who. Yes it is easy to find a very bad assessment of need done too quickly by stressed staff with too much to do. Yes it is easy for distant managers to easily get numbers statistics for uninformed politicians.
But how does this really help children?
How does it really help parents?
How is the quality of service improved or even monitored by this soulless process that sees stressed skilled people,sitting endlessly in front of computer screens instead of making face to face contact with people?
Is it any wonder that so many "service users" turn away from such a service and deny access or just very successfully avoid interference by such a machine in their lives?
Has the Nanny state just become a rather mad OCD "Big brother".
Who are the geeks that we have allowed to take over our services?
Is this not replicated in all areas of government, health services and social care?
Why have we let this happen?
How do we end it?
Some just suggest non conforming to this computerised world, sabotage through lack of data entry,breaking its rules,-but how does that help anyone? How do we bring back human interaction into our services and let go of the dominance of computerised everything?
I love computers but not that much that I want to support the takeover of the world by them.
Its a HUGELY Costly waste of valuable time when we could be talking to people, caring and sharing.
How do we change this dreadful machine?
How
