TAHLEQUAH —

A rapid decline in the nation’s economy has increased the need for social services, like food stamps and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.

Data indicates the situation is no different here in Cherokee County.

March is Social Work Month, which highlights the need for those in the profession to keep one another motivated in sometimes very stressful situations, according to www.friedsocialworker. com.

This year, the focus is on the future of social work and the need to recruit more  into the profession, although that effort may be difficult. Thanks to the current state budget crisis, workers are experiencing bigger caseloads, with fewer employees to process them.

Conversely, the need for assistance is rising, and with a projected 10 percent funding cut to agencies beginning in July, some area workers are concerned.

Steven Edwards, director of Cherokee County Human Services, said his office has experienced an increase in request for aid that’s almost unbelievable.

“The budget crunch has really hurt us,” he said. “Our case loads are extremely high, and we have fewer case workers. The number of food stamp cases are still very high.”

Cassandra Kietel, of Tahlequah, applied for food stamps after her husband lost his job.

“Before, when he was working, we were scraping by,” she said. “Now it’s almost impossible, but there just is no work. So here I am.”

Her three children were quietly playing in the children’s corner at the CCHSC.

“We just have to take it day by day,” she said. “And hope, somehow, things will be all right again.”

According to CCHSC records, food stamps paid out in 2008 amounted to $646,194, and at the end of 2009, that figure increased to $848,155.

“It’s not going to get better until the economy does,” Edwards said.

He said caseworker positions that are left open at the office aren’t being refilled – a situation that puts many of the remaining workers on overload, especially since they see an increase daily.

“It’s really hectic,” said Diana Velazquez-Paschall, a Temporary Aid for Needy Families specialist.

Another TANF specialist, Shelby Morgan, picked up a stack of thick case files in a large wire basket with some difficulty.

“This is just part of what we’re dealing with this month,” Morgan said.

Sheri Baker, TANF supervisor, said it’s taking a little longer to process paperwork.

“There just aren’t enough workers,” Baker said. “And there is so much more work.”

According to the National Association of Social Workers website, NASW, social workers are the closest to the critical events that shape the quality of lives of many people. They are on the front lines, developing, advocating and delivering special programs helpful to those who are homeless, in poverty, going through a family break-up or mental illness – and the list goes on.

But with the dismal news from the capitol, recruiting new social workers will prove difficult.

Edwards said he’s pretty sure he will get word of furloughs sometime in the future. “I have no doubt that’s what next,” he said. “I’ve worked in this [profession] for over 30 years, and the need for our services is unbelievable. I have never seen it like this before.”

Despite the gloomy outlook, Edwards is confident.

“It’s a wheel, and we’re at the bottom,” he said. “But it will turn, and we will be OK again.”