Assignment task:
As Director of Clinical Services at People First San Diego, you normally have a budget of $300,000 to fund the Therapy Services department. This money pays for salaries, training, and supplies. However, this number has recently been cut to $230,000 due to a grant being pulled. You may no longer be able to support a team of four master's-level social workers (whose salaries range from $60,000 to $66,000) and three interns, so you may have to restructure the department. Even though your budget has decreased, in a perfect world, you would still help a similar number of clients. This new, lower budget is not negotiable. What do you do?
Describe how your department or service delivery would need to be adjusted. For example, would you downsize, bring in more interns (remember the hidden cost), reduce hours, decrease professional development or training, or reconfigure the one-to-one therapy model? Be specific about what you would do and explain why. How would you manage morale through the change? Be specific as to what strategies you would use to keep staff engaged, productive, and motivated. What would you need from your own manager in order to be successful in leading your team through the change?