|
Caseworkers
Hello,
I am a Children's Services ongoing casewoker and a prospective foster parent. (last part of the homestuday is Monday!) I have been reading alot of the posts on this forum and have found them to be quite helpful. This particular thread got me attention and feel compelled to post in response to some of the comments. To directly and simply answer the question, YES, you should get the CW's e-mail address. The papertrail is important and it gives everyone (both foster parent(s) and CW) the opportunity to answer when they have time. I would take it a step further and get the GAL's e-mail and include them as well.
I also wanted to make a general observation/comment about some of the comments made abaout caseworkers. While I understand (and know first hand) that some caseworkers are not as dedicated and quick to respond as we would like them to be, I think it is important to remind everyone of the CW's responsibilities and give you an idea about what an average worker's caseload is composed of and give you an idea of what is reasonable in terms of response time.
To give you an example of workload, I average 20 cases. On average, I am responsible for 80 kids on any given month. Most are court involved. For each of those cases, I get calls/e-mails from foster parents, service providers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, GAL's, schools, relatives, police officers, probation officers....I won't even go into responsibilities or my job description, this just gives you an idea of the volume of calls, letters, and e-mails that I receive on any given day. You might not get a response as quickly as you would like, but hopefully this helps understand why it might take some time to get back with you. Having said that, I feel that it is reasonable to get a response within 2 business days. If you do not get a response, I would encourage you to conatct the supervisor...if the supervisor doesn't call you back, I would go up the chain. You will eventually get someone's attention!
One final note. I saw a comment about the cell phone. Please undersatnd that like most "industries", the government is under tremedous financial constraints due to the economy. Agency cell phones are for emergency purposes only. I do give my foster parents my cell number but ask that they only use it in the event of an emergency. If they abuse it, I will not accept the call or pick up and ask them to leave a message in my office. I am accountable for my cell phone bill - to my employer and frankly, the tax payers.
Hopefully this helps. This journey of becoming a foster parent and working as a caseworker has been an interesting one for me. I think that I have a very unique perspective since I work within the "system" and am in the process of becoming a part of it.
This web site has been an excellent resource for me and have enjoyed learning about everyone's journey/experiences.
|