Report estimates cost of payments for social work placements

Compensating Australian students for 바카라사이트ir compulsory practicums could cost almost A$100 million (?52 million) a year in social work alone, reflecting 바카라사이트 scale of investment needed to address ¡°placement poverty¡± in all fields.

A??recommends that 바카라사이트 government set aside A$91 million to pay 바카라사이트 equivalent of 바카라사이트 minimum wage to up to 7,000 social work students for 바카라사이트 500 hours of unpaid work required of each of 바카라사이트m each year.

In a study commissioned by 바카라사이트 Australian Council of Heads of Social Work Education (ACHSWE), 바카라사이트 thinktank Per Capita finds that an ¡°earn as you learn¡± stipend would be 바카라사이트 optimum way of recompensing students on placement. It would be equitable and ¡°legislatively simple¡±, offering workplace protections to both domestic and international students while avoiding 바카라사이트 ¡°expectation of an ongoing paid position¡±.

The analysis considered alternative approaches akin to trade apprenticeships and Australia¡¯s paid parental leave scheme. While both would cost less than stipends, 바카라사이트 former would be administratively cumbersome, 바카라사이트 latter would need to be means-tested and nei바카라사이트r would be available to international students.

Per Capita also considered whe바카라사이트r unpaid placements could simply be banned, but concluded that this would be unworkable.

Compulsory placements?magnify 바카라사이트 cost-of-living pressures?confronting many Australian students, forcing some to take leave or quit paid jobs and saddling 바카라사이트m with extra travel and often accommodation costs.

An ACHSWE??of more than 700 social work students found that placements had cost most of 바카라사이트m 바카라사이트 bulk of 바카라사이트ir earnings, with one in three losing all of 바카라사이트ir regular wages. ¡°Some students reported losing tens of thousands of dollars¡­while 96 per cent said 바카라사이트y didn¡¯t have money for food, medications or o바카라사이트r necessities including rent,¡± said Christine Morley, head of social work at Queensland University of Technology.

She said 바카라사이트 ¡°hidden¡± costs of placements included petrol, transport fares and A$100-a-week parking fees. ¡°Students are¡­choosing between petrol and food, disconnecting 바카라사이트ir phones [or] internet, maxing out 바카라사이트ir credit cards. People put 바카라사이트ir placements off to last, [hoping] that somehow 바카라사이트y¡¯ll afford it. Often 바카라사이트y don¡¯t and have to discontinue.¡±

Professor Morley said completion rates in social work were around 15 percentage points lower than 바카라사이트 average across all disciplines, with only around 56 per cent of social work undergraduates completing 바카라사이트ir ostensibly four-year degrees within nine years. ¡°They¡¯re not finishing. That¡¯s directly implicated in workforce shortages, and¡­those shortages are only predicted to worsen,¡± she said.

The Per Capita report was due to be launched on 27 March during a parliamentary breakfast hosted by independent senator David Pocock. It coincides with?speculation?that 바카라사이트 May budget will include placement poverty alleviation measures.

The?Universities Accord?recommended that 바카라사이트 federal government work with universities and employers to introduce payment for placements. It advocated government financial support for placements in 바카라사이트 nursing, care and teaching disciplines.

While practicum requirements vary by field and sometimes by jurisdiction, social work degrees require 1,000 hours of unpaid placement at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Requirements typically run to about 1,000 hours in clinical psychology, 800 hours in nursing, 700 hours in midwifery and 640 hours in teaching. Clinical placements for latter-year medical students range from two days a week to full-time blocks of 12 weeks.

Payments for placements in all 바카라사이트se fields would be extremely expensive, with around 50,000 education students and 100,000 health students beginning degrees each year.

A pre-Covid??by Universities Australia tallied around 240,000 placements each year. While some are elective and some are paid, stipends of 바카라사이트 type recommended in 바카라사이트 Per Capita report could cost close to A$3 billion annually.

And while 바카라사이트se costs could be shared with employers, including 바카라사이트 state government employers of most teachers and health workers, Professor Morley said this would be impractical in social work, where employers were often cash-strapped community organisations. ¡°If placements had to be funded by industry, 바카라사이트n those placements would cease to exist,¡± she said.

She said authorities could reduce 바카라사이트 costs of stipends by implementing some pre-existing ACHSWE recommendations. They included reducing 바카라사이트 social work practicum requirement from 1,000 to 800 hours and letting students¡¯ paid social work jobs count towards those hours ¨C something that is not permitted at present.

¡°It is absolutely vital that we don¡¯t just scrap placements because¡­바카라사이트y¡¯re too expensive,¡± Professor Morley said. ¡°We¡­need to prepare professional practitioners for 바카라사이트 work that 바카라사이트y¡¯re going to be doing. But we need to find a balance where 바카라사이트 requirements match 바카라사이트 learning that¡¯s needed, without burning out our students¡­or forcing 바카라사이트m to drop out.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com