The New Social Worker Vol. 19, No. 3, Summer 2012 | Page 23
doing something that mattered. I became
important in someone’s life who needed
the compassion I had to offer. I felt as if I
was working front stage with an important cause. I have felt like an important
asset to the field ever since.
I continued on to receive my
master’s degree in social work. I began
working right away, obtaining a job as
a caseworker. Here, I began to learn
the gut and grit of a social worker. The
training I received in no way taught me
how to do my job, I was thrown to the
wolves, with a degree, a heart, and rent
to pay. I trudged through. I made my
way, learned the ropes, returned phone
calls on my way to and from work,
researched people’s needs, found referral
sources, typed like a speed demon, and
ran multi-tasking circles around my office and around the city of Jacksonville,
FL.
Soon, a position opened up where
I could be a master’s level therapist for
troubled foster kids. I thought I had hit
the jackpot. I put in my one month’s
notice, worked late to properly and
professionally transfer my cases, and off
I went to my next venture. I was now
armed with some real experience and
had a few tricks up my sleeve about the
oh-so-confusing and overwhelming child
welfare and dependency system world.
I kept soaring. I did not stop. Within
one year of being a therapist within a
small, therapeutic foster care agency, I
was promoted to Program Supervisor.
I was two years out of graduate school,
26 years old, and I was sharp as a whip,
creating organization within the entire
program’s systems of managing paperwork, intake, services, and so forth, while
also managing a caseload.
I am now the ripe age of 28 years
old. I have received my license within
the state of Florida, I am a Licensed
Clinical Social Worker. I am fortunate
to be able to be flexible with my time
(single, no children). I am also blessed
with a calling, and I am a bright, fighting
advocate with a heart made for foster
children. I like to think that the agency
that I work for appreciates me, or will
appreciate me, but I can only hope and
believe that if they’re letting me manage my own program without breathing
down my neck too much, I must be doing okay in their eyes.
Sometimes, and quite often, my
relationships, social life, and sleep are affected by my job. I have learned to enjoy
quiet, peaceful nights in and often trade
them for going out. I do still, however,
make sure that I am able to take some
time to unwind and enjoy myself. Most
times, somewhere in my head, or at
any time, a work task lingers, an idea
pops into my head for how I can better
advocate, or my phone rings with an
emergency.
Sometimes, as a social worker, it’s a
question you’ve never heard. Something
you do not know the answer to. You are
learning every day and no day is the
same. Find the answer, figure out what to
do. You’re a social worker. This is your
job.
I enjoy voicing my “social work” or
“child welfare” opinions, but always try
to remain objective, open, and professional. I am still a young social worker,
and there is much to be learned. But
I believe that the foster care system
deserves more funding, more resources,
and better advocates. I do not know if
this will ever be accomplished.
I tell myself I do not wish to ever
burn out of this field. I want to be a foster
care ranger. I want to be remembered.
I want to make a difference. However,
in the dark times, I sometimes wonder,
“How much more can I take?” The
foster care system needs more and better
advocates, maybe smaller caseloads,
more training. I often see things slipping
through the cracks and things not being
handled appropriately or in a timely
manner. There are people working with
these children who do not understand
their need for urgency, their trauma.
Maybe some of these people are burnt
out. Yet, still, these are children’s lives
and needs.
Some foster families are not held to
the standards that they should be. Proper
parenting of our abandoned children is
sometimes not the focus. I’ve seen times
when the risk of a lawsuit trumps the best
interest of a child. Sometimes, it’s like,
God forbid we get in trouble for taking a
risk for the possibility of betterment on a
child’s behalf.
Foster care adoptions are not always
given the attention that they need. The
children (when old enough) are not
involved, the entire team is not always
included in selecting a family, adoptive
families sometimes are not given enough
information, or the prospective parents
lack the knowledge of the sometimes
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