Louise is a service coordinator. She is highly dedicated and cares deeply about the people she supports and doing her job effectively. She believes in person centered values and in listening to the person, reflecting their needs, wants, and desires.
Every time Louise turns around, she is given more cases to manage. Part of the reason this happens is because people want her as their service coordinator. She is known by parents to be fair and extremely helpful. “She cares about the people; we just love her.” Mrs. Taylor tells her friend. “Ask for her; she’s the best. Those others never do much to help you.”
The other reason Louise’s case load has grown is the turnover at the agency. Many service coordinators simply feel overworked and leave. But, their case loads have to be managed, especially when the ISP, IEP, or service plans are due, so they are often spread around to the other service coordinators.
At this point, Louise feels overwhelmed. She gets to work early, putting in multiple long days. She meets with individuals and families on the weekend just to keep up. She spends hours writing plans and trying to do assessments to help promote with informed decision making for the people she supports.
Last week, Louise was called into the office of her supervisor, Kim. “Louise, I need to meet with you. You are making multiple errors on the service plans. You are also not keeping up with the paperwork. And, yesterday I received a complaint from the day program saying you didn’t send the extra copy of their plan to them. You know Billy is ready to transition from school at this point. They need the plan so they can apply for funding. This is something I’ve discussed with you before. You have to get your work done on time. At this point, I have no choice but to give you a written warning. I expect you to take this matter seriously and get yourself together.”
Louise just sat there not knowing what to say to Kim. Louise felt tired, discouraged, and saddened. She tries; she truly does. But, at this point, she simply doesn’t know where to turn.
QUESTIONS:
What kind of model do you think Louise uses in terms of her role as a service coordinator? What advice would you give Louise? Do you think she is doing a good job or is she failing to be productive and efficient based on her own expectations and that of her company? What do you think Louise should do in terms of Kim and the write up?
