The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

NEW Social Services director Anita Maxine Duncombe says existing assistance is not enough to meet the needs of vulnerable Bahamians as the cost of living outpaces wages, and has pledged to cut waiting times while expanding support for children with autism and their families.

Ms Duncombe, who took office on August 5, said people continue to seek help with food, rent, burials, medical expenses, temporary accommodation and other basic needs, with community support services carrying the department’s heaviest caseload.

“The cost of living is just extremely high, and the wages are not increasing in the same way as the cost of living is increasing,” Ms Duncombe said. “And so you have an imbalance there.”

She said the level of assistance currently available is not sufficient to meet the needs confronting some families, who can face choices between necessities such as food and medication.

Ms Duncombe said increasing the minimum wage could provide some relief, although it would not solve every problem.

“I think when we look at the cost of living, and I think once we can balance that out with minimum wage in terms of bringing up the minimum wage, it will help,” she said. “But it's not going to solve all the problems.”

Alongside the pressure from rising living costs, Ms Duncombe said improving support for children diagnosed with autism and their families will be among her chief priorities during her first year.

She said children with autism need access to appropriate therapy and their parents require greater support.

“Parents who have had children or who have children who have been diagnosed with autism,” Ms Duncombe said, “sometimes they don't get the support that they need.”

She said attitudes towards children with autism have changed and argued that they should have the same opportunity to participate fully in society.

“I know in the past they used to tend to hide the children away, but now it is different,” Ms Duncombe said. “Now our children are a part of us, whether they have been diagnosed or otherwise, they are a part of our society, and we need to embrace them and give them all of the opportunities that they need in order to survive in this country.”

The department intends to support the Ministry of Social Services’ direction on autism and develop programmes for affected children and their families.

Ms Duncombe also wants to reduce the time people wait for assistance, acknowledging that the volume and growing complexity of cases have placed significant pressure on social workers.

“There can never be sufficient staff to deal with the number of clients that we have coming and requesting our services,” she said.

She said social workers increasingly encounter cases involving mental health and suicide, requiring additional recruitment and training so staff can recognise risk factors and direct clients towards appropriate professional assistance.

Reducing caseloads, she said, would also give social workers more time with individual clients.

“They are doing it now to the best that they can,” Ms Duncombe said. “They are doing it now, but when you are stretched thin, it sometimes conveys the impression that you are perhaps not doing everything that you ought to do.”

She said compassion and personal engagement remain central to social work.

“Social work is about compassion,” Ms Duncombe said. “It's about that human touch.”

Another immediate priority is improving Promise, the department’s digital platform for applications for food, burial, housing, financial and uniform assistance.

Ms Duncombe said the system has already shortened processing times but wants further improvements.

“If it was two days, can we cut it down to maybe one day?” she said.

Applicants should generally receive a point of contact from the department within 48 hours, she said, although the response depends on the circumstances.

“I would say within 48 hours give and take,” Ms Duncombe said, “and I think in some instances it probably would be less, depending on the nature of the case.”

Emergencies such as fires and storms are treated differently.

“Well, we're not going to wait for 48 hours,” she said. “You know, we're going to get out there, and we are going to assess the critical needs immediately.”

Ms Duncombe said staffing can affect response times and indicated that increasing the number of social workers is being considered.

Children and family services have the department’s second-highest volume of cases after community support services, followed by rehabilitative welfare services.

Ms Duncombe said children and family services remain under pressure from cases involving abandoned, neglected and abused children, while rehabilitative welfare services deal with young people who come before the courts.

She said most applicants seek help because they genuinely need it, noting that Bahamians can be reluctant to ask for assistance.

“I believe that people apply for assistance because they are in need; that's why they apply,” Ms Duncombe said.

She acknowledged, however, that some people may attempt to abuse the system, requiring social workers to investigate applications and establish whether a genuine need exists.

Ms Duncombe also identified better housing opportunities for senior citizens as a priority, saying she wants to help older Bahamians remain independent.

“Senior citizens are also very near and dear to me because at some point we will grow old,” she said, “and we want to make sure that we create opportunities, especially for senior citizens, to live independent lives.”

She said demand for the department’s safety net is unlikely to disappear.

“We would like to see the numbers reduced,” Ms Duncombe said. “But that program will continue to be with us for a long time and in the foreseeable future because we will always have persons out there in need.”

Ms Duncombe said she also intends to strengthen the department internally by identifying staff concerns and addressing issues including mobility within the organisation.

She described the appointment as a return to the area of public service where her career began.

“Social work was my first love in the public service,” she said.

Her aim, she said, is to work with staff to strengthen programmes and improve the country’s social protection system.

“And that's the bottom line,” Ms Duncombe said, “touching lives and creating something that is, or creating programs, creating programs that are going to move the program, the social protection program forward.”