Seven Oaks will issue optional buyouts to social workers, no layoffs in division

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This article was published 25/04/2023 (899 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Seven Oaks School Division will offer voluntary buyouts to social workers who want to retire or resign instead of adapting to its new support services model in the fall.

“The board of trustees has requested that we slow down the process of shifting the delivery of social work services from a clinical to a school-based approach,” superintendent Brian O’Leary wrote in an email to school administrators Tuesday. “Specifically, this means: There will not be layoffs.”

Eight professionals, the majority of whom manage caseloads across multiple schools, currently fill a total of 7.4 full-time equivalent social worker positions in the north Winnipeg division.

Last week, Seven Oaks announced plans to restructure its clinical services and reassign travelling social workers to full-time posts based in high-needs schools — a development that was met with outrage about possible layoffs and concerns across the community.

Administrators have indicated school needs and budget constraints are behind the changes.

The local teachers’ union, which represents social workers among its upwards of 900 members, applauded the latest development Tuesday.

“This is a better path to be down,” said Jeff Cieszecki, president of the Seven Oaks Teachers’ Association.

At the same time, Cieszecki said he is worried about teacher workloads increasing in buildings that will no longer be frequented by a social worker in 2023-24, since classroom educators and their colleagues will be expected to absorb their duties.

Trustee Richard Sawka acknowledged there will be a “void” in some schools next year, but he said social workers have been stretched far too thin working across multiple buildings in the past and the existing model is not efficient.

“The board did not want to lay off anybody. We need social workers, coming out of COVID…. There’s a lot of catching up to do, and social workers are a part of that,” the trustee said, following a Monday-evening board meeting during which layoffs were discussed.

Sawka said Maples Collegiate and James Nisbet Community School, the latter of which has welcomed a significant number of Ukrainian refugees in recent months, are likely candidates for a full-time social worker. Elwick Community School is the only building that has a staff clinician throughout the week, at present.

The division-wide shift from a clinical social worker model to a school-based support model is anticipated to happen over the next 18 months. Despite the change, leaders have promised students who are currently assigned to social workers will continue receiving direct service.

Sources told the Free Press there were discussions about rebranding social workers in Seven Oaks earlier in the school year due to concerns their job title can be intimidating and spark fears about Child and Family Services experiences.

O’Leary said the division will simply refer to them as “school social workers” to differentiate these employees.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie