Former Social Services worker speaks out about working conditions

Rae Seidel says child-support workers are so overwhelmed by immediate crises that they cannot complete the routine work meant to protect children in Saskatchewan’s care.

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We’re putting out fires, we’re dealing with what’s happening in the moment and we’re not able to do the day-to-day work that we’re supposed to do.

“We’re putting out fires, we’re dealing with what’s happening in the moment and we’re not able to do the day-to-day work that we’re supposed to do,” said Seidel, who left her position as a Child and Caregiver Support Worker just over a year ago because of the working conditions.

She says persistent understaffing, limited mental health support and long delays in reimbursing emergency expenses affected both caregivers and the children they served. Frequent staff changes and vacant positions also meant families sometimes could not reach the right worker, or were not told that their social worker had changed.

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Workers are constantly changing or there’s a vacant position and then those people either cannot contact people in order to get the kids what they need or they just haven’t been communicated to that that is no longer their social worker and it’s just such a mess.

“Workers are constantly changing or there’s a vacant position,” Seidel said, describing a system in which people struggled to contact staff and obtain what children needed. She still works in the field and is urging her former employer to do more to prevent children from falling through the cracks.

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We’re not preparing the kids of Saskatchewan to be like effective contributors back to our society as they grow up.

Seidel applied for a position in another unit but waited seven months for a response before taking a private-sector job. “It’s just crazy like there’s no urgency, clearly, to fix that problem,” she said. The ministry said it has introduced measures to recruit and retain staff, including hiring more Indigenous and northern employees and supporting psychological health and wellness. It also reported more applicants, more filled vacancies and improved retention in Child and Family programs. Seidel says further action is needed to protect children and their caregivers.

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It’s just crazy like there’s no urgency, clearly, to fix that problem.