New Job for Kelly - December 2015

In August 2015 I applied for a lot of jobs in the Ontario area. Steve and I decided it would be best for me to get a full-time job to bring in some extra money. In September 2015 I started working for Alameda Elementary as a Special Education Instructional Assistant. I always thought I wanted to work for a school because I loved working with kids and the schedule was nice (Christmas breaks, home by 4 pm, etc.) After working with the school the job was a lot harder than I imagined it would be and I questioned why I was working in a school (getting paid minimally and getting beat up most of the day by Kindergartners) when I worked so hard to get my 4 year degree. Fast forward to October, I received an email prompting me to sign up for an interview time for a DHS (Dept. of Human Services) CPS job that I had applied for back in September. I quickly signed up for an interview time not thinking I would actually make it through the first interview. In the middle of October I had my first interview with DHS and it went okay. They asked me a lot of hard questions and I wished it would have gone a little better, or I had been more prepared. I didn't notify the school of this interview because I thought my chances were really low of actually securing the job. DHS told me I would hear back from them within 1-2 weeks. I still hadn't heard so I called and they said they sent an email saying I didn't get the job.

Fast forward two weeks after that phone call from DHS.......one of the kindergarten teachers I work with said...."you're not trying to leave us are you?" Me: no, why?? "we'll I heard DHS called asking about your performance." I immediately talked to my supervisor and questioned her about the phone call and she basically said what the teacher said and someone called asking how I was as an employee. I was really confused because a couple days before this I was told that I didn't get the DHS job. 2 days later I received a call from DHS asking if I wanted the position....they said a series of events have happened over the past few days and the position is now open again. I came to find out that an individual who was a previous supervisor secured an open supervisor position at DHS and that opened the CPS position again. I was appalled and totally not expecting that phone call so I said I would tentatively say yes, but I would like more info regarding the position. I called back the next day received the information I needed and accepted the job offer.

Steve was so confused, as was I to getting the job offer after being rejected the first time, but I couldn't reject the opportunity. Using my degree and doing what I've been wanting to do for quite some time makes me really happy. During my job interview they mentioned that training for the job would be held in Salem, OR for 5-6 weeks. I was really hesitant about this piece because I couldn't imagine being away from my family for that amount of time. After talking with Steve I really thought that I should just go with it and get it done with. So here I am at training in Salem, missing my family and wishing they were with me. Training so far has been really beneficial and I've learned a lot but it's also really overwhelming at the same time. I'm excited to finally use what I've been learning and put it to work in a few weeks! I am moving with the motions and trying to look at the positive side of things. After this Friday I only have 1 1/2 weeks left of training, then I'm done!!! 2 of the weeks of my training goes over the "Life of a Case" basically they walk us through the process and order of things from the start of a case to the closing of the case. 2 more weeks include "Fundamentals of Engaging Families", so it's learning all about the different types of clients we may work with and what kind of situations we may be put in......some areas of focus were: Neglect, Sex Abuse, Physical Abuse, Sex Offenders, Incarcerated Parents, Foster Care, Self Defense, Domestic Violence, and many more areas. Another week of training consisted of Core Values, TIPS (Trauma Informed Practice Strategies), and Cultural Competency.

So you may be wondering what my job actually involves. My official title is a Child Protective Services Caseworker (Social Service Specialist 1). After I am finished with training I will then be able to carry a caseload and help clients. So say our office receives a call of suspected abuse, the call gets answered by a screener and they determines if it's a reasonable allegation of abuse or not (they take into consideration past reports of abuse under their name). If it's not classified as abuse the report doesn't get assigned to a caseworker. If the report is classified as abuse then they assign it to a caseworker (where I come into the picture). Caseworkers then take the report and check out background info of the family (if they've had previous cases with DHS and background checks to see criminal history). After we've gathered this info we talk with the reporter who called in about the case of abuse/neglect and see if they have any additional info they would like to share before we go out. We then will go out to the home and evaluate/investigate the report. We will check the conditions of the home, safety of the home, safety of parents to children, check physical condition of children, and discuss the report. We have an assessment we have to do, so even if we don't see any serious safety threats at the moment, we still have to complete our assessment and go through all the steps to close it out. Cases will be open 30-60 days on the CPS end and by then we hope to either have the case closed out or if not, then we transfer it over to the Ongoing (Permanency) worker. So some of the things I may have to do while being a CPS worker include: going to court, removing kids (if the kids are in immediate danger), lots and lots of paperwork, visit kids routinely while a case is open, observe visitation, visit foster care placements to assess safety/danger, go to reviews, and a lot more. I know my job will keep me busy, but I'm excited to just get started and start helping kids and their families!