Last
January, I started working for the State of Alaska as a Children’s Service
Specialist which means that I am doing social work for the state. I wanted to
take some time to reflect on my experience so far and what life is like through
the eyes of a social worker.
The
dictionary defines social work as organized work directed toward the betterment
of social conditions in the community, as by seeking to improve the condition
of the poor, to promote the welfare of children, etc.
Social
work had its beginnings in the social and economic upheaval in the time of the
Industrial Revolution, in particular the struggle of society to deal with
poverty and its problems. Today, you can find social workers in hospitals,
schools, mental health clinics, government agencies, advocacy organizations,
and private or non-profit agencies such as agencies directed towards working
the special needs population or adoption agencies.
I
work for what in other states would be called Child Protective Services (CPS).
In Alaska, it is called the Office of Children’s Services (OCS) and is under
the Department of Health and Social Services. Although I have a teaching degree
and did not get my bachelor’s in social work, Alaska has a more open philosophy
as to who they hire in the field. I work alongside those that have gotten a
social work degree but I am called a “Children’s Service Specialist.”
My Office Building
When
I started working at OCS, I began by starting with about 2 months of training.
Four of those weeks I spent in a building learning about case planning and what
to expect at the job. For the rest of the weeks, I was observing and going out
with other workers to ask questions and being to see how different workers
handled situations and what the job is like.
To
explain my job in even further detail, the Office of Children’s Services in
Alaska is broken down into different departments. The motto of our office is
“Safe Children, Strong Families.” Our intake department takes reports of harm
against children from the community. Concerned citizens can call our office, or
fax or email, reports of harm. Those intake reports are developed into
protective services reports and sent to an “Initial Assessment” worker.
Basically, these workers investigate reports of harm against children (can be
aged 0-18 and after 18 is sent to the Adult Protective Services). Initial
Assessment workers will go out and begin interviewing alleged victims and
alleged “abusers” (or “perpetuators”) and begin to ask questions about the
event or what was reported. Reports often come from police or schools but can
often come from concerned family or friends as well.
Initial
Assessment workers must take the time to get to know the family and find out
whether the allegation is true or not. These workers must gain collateral for
their investigation. They will interview teachers, family members, nurses,
doctors, neighbors, or anyone else that can give information as to an event of
harm. The worker then talks with their supervisor and if they believe a child
has been harmed, they will hold a meeting to discuss this with the family, the
department, and anyone else who wishes to join. A petition for custody of a
child may be developed, or depending on the situation, the worker may refer the
family to our in-home services department which would work with the family and
the child would stay in the home.
After
30 days, the case (cases are families whose children we are working with) will
be transferred to the Family Services Department, which is where I work. As a
Family Services worker, my job is to work with families through the life of a
case. My first job is to do what I can to help a parent reunify with their
child. At the point that I am working with the family, it has been deemed
necessary that a child is unsafe to be in the home of their caretaker and the
child is placed in the home of a foster parent, or if possible, a relative or
family friend. I work with families on a daily basis by referring them to
services to meet their needs and help them overcome what we call “safety
threats” that have made them unsafe parents. Safety threats, for example, could
be that they are unable to control their behavior (possibly substance abuse or
addiction), that the parent is not realistic about the child’s needs, or maybe
that the parents is unable to put the child’s needs above their own. The
important thing about safety threats are that they revolve around a person’s
behavior and not just something you can see on the outside. For example, a
safety threat cannot just be drug or alcohol use. A parent can still be a safe
parent if they find a sober caregiver to care for their child when they use
substances. If a parent cannot overcome the safety threats and change the
behaviors that make them unsafe, part of my job is to plan for a child to be
adopted into another family. The federal government places guidelines on
children who come into the custody of the state. By 18 months, a child must be
in a permanent home. This is so that children do not linger in the system
without a permanent caregiver to meet their needs. By 18 months, a parent must
have changed their behavior and worked a “case plan” or it is my job to ensure
that a child has a permanent home.
So
how does my job break down into daily tasks? This is what I do on a daily
basis:
1)
Home
Visits (with Children and Foster Families)
I am required to see every child on my
“caseload” every month. This means that I call every foster family every month
and schedule a time to see the child. I can also see the child at school. This
can be challenging. Some caseworkers have up to 30 cases (translation: this
means seeing a child a day). Right now, I only have 13 cases which is
manageable but still difficult with all the other tasks we are required to do.
I typically schedule an hour per home visit. This is when I take the time to
talk to the child, if they are old enough, about how they are doing. I will ask
if they feel safe in the home they are in now. Many foster parents can also be
abusive and it is important to maintain that each child is safe. I also take
time to talk to the child or foster parent about the child’s well being: how
are they doing mentally, behaviorally, physically, and in school? I have to
make sure that my kiddos are getting seen by the dentist, doctor, or other specialists
as needed. I have to make sure there mental health needs are taken care of.
Many children that come into custody have emotional trauma and will need to see
a counselor, psychiatrist, or psychologist to ensure that they are diagnosed
properly and are healthy mentally and emotionally. I also take this time to
talk to the foster parents. How are they doing with the child in their home?
Are they bonding? Do they have any reports to give me about the parents? Foster
parents have the option of working with the child’s parents. This means they
can coordinate visits for the child to see their parents, phone calls, etc.
Some foster parents are relatives (for example, a child will sometimes live
with their aunt, uncle, or grandparent). Sometimes these relatives can report
to me how they parents are doing if the parents are not in contact with me.
They may be able to tell me where they are, what they are doing, or whether or
not they have seen the child recently. A big piece of home visits is ensuring
that the foster parent and child are a good fit together. Some foster parents,
while committed to the child, may not be the best fit for a child. I have to
ensure that each child is in the best home possible and in a safe home.
2)
Case
Planning Visits with Parents (or Caretakers)
Another piece of my job is meeting with the
parents (or caretakers) that we have removed the children from. This involves
talking with the parents about the reason that we have decided to take custody
of their child and how we can work together to help them reunify with their
child. Every case is so different, and every family deals with the stress and
trauma of the child being removed in different ways. Some parents are in denial
and do not want to face the issues. Some parents want to put on a good face and
will meet with me but then go out and act completely different. Some parents
work actively on their case plan and want to do anything they can to get their
children back. Case planning meetings typically involve talking about how I can
connect my parents to services that help them meet their needs. For example,
for a parent who struggles with using drugs or alcohol, a referral to a
treatment facility may be needed. There are agencies that work with families on
domestic violence, sexual abuse education, anger management, and more. My job
is talk with parents about what they think needs to change, what I think needs
to change, and talking about agencies that can help them get there if possible.
3)
Family
Contact
Another piece of my job is ensuring that
children are seeing their parents. I have to develop a family contact plan for
each of my children. With 13 families, this can be struggle. We have what is
called “Social Services Associates” who help watch children but we have limited
staff. Often, it is my job to refer to other agencies who can supervises visits
with parents and children or relatives or foster families who can coordinate
those visits as well. At the beginning of a case, we have to supervise visits
with parents and children to ensure a child’s safety. Sometimes, we can move to
a child going out with a parent that we have removed a child from and the visit
can be unsupervised by another.
4)
Court
Proceedings
A big part of my job is being involved with
the court system. This involves attending court hearings or trials, writing
reports to the court in regards to how the families are doing, communicating
with attorneys for the state and for the parents, and testifying in court as to
my work with families. It can be scary at times, but I have found it easier the
longer I am in the job.
The Anchorage Courthouse Building
5)
Administrative
A boring part of my job, but a huge part,
is answering emails and phone calls. We get an endless daily amount of emails
and phone calls from all of the people we work with: biological parents, foster
families, the child (if they are older), schools, doctors, attorneys, agencies
working with the child (such as mental health agencies or special needs
agencies), inter-department calls and emails such as from my supervisors or
upper management, etc. It can be extremely exhausting simply handling emails
and phone calls.
My Desk At Work- Organization is key to making it through the day :)
6)
Documentation
In working for the state, it is important
for me to document EVERYTHING. I have to document every single home visit, case
planning visit, phone call, or work I do towards a case such as calling a
family to search for a relative, etc. It takes much time to type up every
documentation, but it is important for the court to see that a social worker is
documenting their efforts towards working with a family.
7)
Referrals
I also work with other agencies in
Anchorage, AK. For example, in Alaska, the state is able to license foster
families but there are 2 other agencies that license families as well. Denali
Family Services and Alaska Children’s Services are two organizations that are
able to license foster families. We work with those agencies. We also work with
facilities that a child may need to go to because of their mental health needs.
We call these facilities “residential treatment facilities.” Some children need
to be placed in a facility with trained staff that are able to meet their needs
for example, if a child is suicidal, extremely depressed, bi-polar,
self-harming, a runaway, or aggressive. It is hard to find a foster home to
take a child who may have these extreme behaviors and it may also be unsafe for
a child to be in a foster home until they are ready for a home environment. I
spend time talking with these agencies and making referrals on a child’s
behalf. In addition, I will make referrals to agencies to help the parents such
as treatment for drug or alcohol abuse, parenting classes, anger management or
domestic violence classes, etc. Often times, this involves 15-20 page packets
that I have to fill out answering questions about my families. It’s a lot and
its time consuming.
8)
Tribal
Work
Alaska is a very unique place to work in
that we work with a huge population of Alaska Native families. To those that
are unfamiliar with Alaska, these are families that are native Alaskans and can
come from a Native tribal background. It would take much too long to go into
detail about all that we do when we work with Alaska Native families but a huge
part of my work involves working with these tribes to ensure that a child is
staying culturally connected to their tribe or making sure that they tribe is
aware of a family and connected with the families we are working with. Tribes
can intervene on behalf of a family in court and request a hearing or a trial
for a specific reason.
Bonus: the view is beautiful from the courthouse
I
wanted to take some time to talk about my job. Social work is a very often
misunderstood field. People don’t know what it would be like to work for a
place like CPS. This is part 1 of my story: the simple outline of what I do
daily. Part 2 will be my personal beliefs about my work, incorporating my
belief in Jesus Christ as my Savior and how that effects my work with families.
In addition, I’d like to write in the future about the things I see every day
that have affected me personally and have forever changed me.
I hope this gives you more insight as to what I do! Thanks for taking the time to hear about my job.
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