What do you do?

I just found out yesterday that one of my coworkers is quitting and changing agencies. She has worked for DCFS for 11 years. Part of me is sad to see her go because she is such a good caseworker and knows a lot and is always happy and willing to help. But then part of me wishes the best for her because DCFS has been dumb for the past few years in turning her down when she applies for a supervisor position. She is more than qualified to be a supervisor (in my opinion) than some of the people they hire who have only worked for DCFS for a year or two. This coworker and her sense of humor will be greatly missed.

When people ask me "What do you do?" it is always an interesting conversation after that. My coworker (who is quitting) tells people that she's a 'butcher' when she is asked. Seriously, she says, "I'm a butcher." and the conversation basically ends at that. The truth is that when I do tell people what I do, it ALWAYS changes the mood of the conversation and people get a serious look on their face. What do I really do? Well, I'm a caseworker for the State (of Utah) for the Division of Child and Family Services. I work with kids in foster care and am on a specialty team that has kids with developmental delays, mental or medical issues, or are just plain tough (think kids that have been in and out of a few 'failed' adoptive homes, or learned very early on to steal, lie, and run away). That's when the stories start and people start talking about how they know someone they know that they are concerned about and start asking questions or ask about the parents I deal with who abuse their kids (in reality most of my parents are good parents and that it is more of the kids being delinquent). My favorite phrases to tell people is that "They hatch them and we (DCFS) snatch them" because people think that kids are in DCFS custody because they were abused and don't understand the full gamut of reasons kids are in custody.

Aside from all of that... what do I actually DO? Well, I have 15 kids on my caseload. All 15 have to be visited in the home at least once a month and are in placements that range from Bountiful to St. George. I attend most school meetings, some doctor appointments, and court hearings. Every case is in front of a judge as little as twice a year or as often as once a week (yeah for juvenile delinquents), most of them go once every 3 months. I complete quarterly court reports, twice yearly service plans, Child and Family Assessments, updated every three months, and I have to log EVERYTHING! Emails, phone calls, incident reports, medical paperwork. "If you didn't log it, it didn't happen" is the motto of DCFS. That's the stuff that I can plan for. The rest of my hours and days are full of things that I didn't plan for. Like when kids don't have a placement, they run and I have to do a pick-up order (yes, that's a warrant for arrest), or search through binder after binder of their case file looking for a medical report from 6 years ago. Every once in a while, when I don't owe anyone a phone call, all of my kids have a home at night, and I'm not overdue on 5 or more service plans... I think that I'm a pretty good caseworker.

It wasn't anything that I dreamed about as a kid (I want to grow up and be the legal guardian for a dozen or more kids who don't have a family to live with) but there are some perks (other than monetary perks - I mean I work for the state and don't get paid enough for what I have to deal with). But I work on an AWESOME team! We don't get a lot of support from anyone else in the division, department, or state offices on up, but we have a GREAT supportive supervisor and team members. I know its the ONLY reason that I'm still here at times. There are also some of my kids that have worked their way into my heart and I truly care for them. And also, every once in a while, you get to hear some much appreciated praise from foster parents, attorneys, teachers and medical professionals. That doesn't happen too often and are few and far in between. It is only after a productive and good day that I feel that it just might be worth returning to work for another day.