The world as we know it has changed and continues to evolve in many ways which are not always positive.  It is sometimes filled with violence and trauma, as evidenced by the recent attacks in Manchester England, but there are things we can do to provide comfort and healing when these events occur.

What do most people think of this time of year? March Madness, The Masters, Spring Training and of course COOKIES! But not just any cookies Girl Scout Cookies. No one can deny these cookies are delicious and are only available once a year but these young girls are doing so much more throughout the year.

https://ww2.pointsoflight.org/nvw

National Volunteer Week, brought to you by Points of Light, is an opportunity to recognize and thank volunteers who lend their time, talent, voice and support to causes they care about in their community. Their stories can serve to inspire others to find ways to take action that creates change.

Wanted to share an inspirational story of foster care that turned into an adoption in Arkansas.  Meet Chase and the Bailey family and watch this short video.  https://vimeo.com/202694305 

The election is over and there are obviously mixed feelings across the board ranging from excitement about the future, devastation about the loss, to just a general level of uncertainty. We talked recently about how social workers can approach their clients during this uncertain time whether they are republicans, democrats, or undecideds. Staying impartial is critical and using the current situation to their advantage are keys to tackling the challenges we are seeing with helping clients. Social workers are able to dig deeper into underlying concerns, mental state, and the real needs of their clients, but what about social workers themselves?

Not only do we need to understand the effect politics has on the people social workers serve but we need to understand what affect is has on those providing these services. Everyone will handle this transition of power from President Obama to President Elect trump differently but the mission remains the same! There are still children and families in this country that need their help.

No matter what side of the political fence you fall on your clients are counting on you to show up! Unfortunately, you don’t get a day off from all the terrible things happening every day in our country to our most vulnerable population, children. That is a luxury not afforded to this field of work. No matter who the Commander in Chief is we still need you to show up and work towards improving our client’s lives and protecting children. Thanks for showing up when times are tough!

As we wrap up the summer and shift to the cooler days of fall, I find myself taking part of an annual tradition…..the mental summer recap.

Reading View. Alt Shift A for Accessibility Help.

 

So often people ask me how I became a Child Protective Services Case Manager and inevitably the next question is why? If I’m being totally honest I kind of just fell into it and I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

Reading View. Alt Shift A for Accessibility Help.

As a former social worker I found this a really interesting idea and I’m still trying to make my mind up?