Impact of Closing a Foster Care Agency

Marsha is the director of a small foster care agency, supervising a staff of five. Lisa, the senior staff member, is the survivor of two previous managers. She respects Marsha's ability as a manager and prefers the hands-on experience of casework to administrative challenges. While Diane, the next caseworker, is moderately effective in working with clients, she is short-tempered with other staff members and sloppy in her recordskeeping. Marsha has wanted to fire her but has been unable to do so because she suspects the administration would have used the opportunity to eliminate Diane's position altogether.

Christine joined the staff shortly after Diane. She has been a social worker for more than 15 years, and, although she was quite competent when she began with the agency, Marsha suspects that Christine is suffering from burnout. Beth is the newest caseworker on staff

. . .
one nothing to formally prepare the agency, Marsha had laid the groundwork by her own perceptive observations. Martin and O'Conner observe, "Concern with a group's linkages to the environment . . . emphasizes [its] dependence on the larger social context from which [it obtains] members, legitimacy, and resources" (1989, p. 163); Marsha understood her agency's place in society and had always tried to share this understanding with her staff. John F. Longres writes, "Organizational processes depend on . . . human relations, which can support or undermine the functioning of bureaucracies" (1995, p. 321). Although she felt betrayed by her superiors, Marsha decided that it avoiding blaming and acting in a hostile way would be more productive. She attempted instead to use managerial techniques that had served her well in non-crisis situations. Longres discusses this human relations style, which relies on small-group dynamics: Managers try to minimize the differences between superordinates and subordinates, use democratic leadership techniques to generate group cohesion and individual attachment, and find ways to allow influence to flow from the bottom to the top of the organization . . . The goal is not so much to improve the lot
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Some common words found in the essay are:
, John Longres, Jacobo Varela, Van Biema, Diane Christine, Gerald O'Conner, Martin O'Conner, Surprised Marsha, Lisa Beth, O'Conner G, read memo, 1995 december 4, social environment, martin o'conner, social worker, 1995 december, uncertain future, human relations, positive effects, foster care agency, impact situation, agency marsha,
Approximate Word count = 1598
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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