Parents' affirmative ideas about the nature of the working relationship with the caseworker constitute a large part of their trusting thoughts. Parents' belief that a purpose exists in the work in which the caseworker has engaged them and that they and their children will, as a result, be enabled to substantially improve one or more aspects of their lives, is a fundamental building block of this trust. This, combined with the parents' belief that the caseworker possesses kindness, integrity, and compassion as well as intellectual ability and a helpful skill-set, amount to what we consider trust in child welfare casework.
A caseworker whom the parents view as congenial and nice and whose visits are anticipated with pleasure but does little more than engage in chit chat can provide anticipated pleasurable times, but in terms of a developing trustful relationship, can leave the parents wondering about its purpose. A caseworker, though, may need to determine if the situation does call for an initial period of congenial give and take without more substantive work.
Many paths can generate discussion about parenting problems/maltreatment and its connection to larger existential issues, but once the worker and parent touch upon this topic, the caseworker should offer assurance through their discussion that clarifies the rationale behind this broad approach.
Setting forth narrative such as I have done can give the erroneous impression that typical work with parents who have open child welfare cases is mostly obstacle-free. And some situations may even, at first blush, seem intractable. But even seemingly very difficult scenarios can usually, with time, yield to significant improvement, when the approach makes sense.
Approaching child welfare work from a broader perspective, as I have been advocating, raises the question of possible intrusion into family life beyond the scope of child welfare. To side with this perspective, however, would fail to grasp not only the frequent connection between maltreatment and a family's degree of general life satisfaction but also to blatantly ignore child welfare's long history of gross failure to help parents obtain long-term behavioral change. So there needs to be a major change in the approach taken.
The discrete details of any interaction between caseworker and parent must emanate from the nature of that interplay; we therefore can not lay out beforehand exactly what to do and when to do it. Exactly how and when this would transpire would depend on the particulars of each unique situation, but at or toward the beginning of the interaction, the parents should be given, not only an explanation of the work in which they will be engaged, but also a taste of it.
A few simple questions by the caseworker may elicit from the parents an elaborate narrative of wished-for life changes and aspirations for themselves and for their children. If not, it may take more time and discussion to arrive there. But at some point, to get that taste, a combination of discussion, use of literature and DVDs, participation by friends and neighbors who can share their own experiences, and visits by the parents and the caseworker to a variety of venues, such as educational institutions, museums and work venues should be undertaken.
Some parents may believe that the magnitude of obstacles facing them, regardless of their sincere desire to work toward major change, precludes any realistic significant life altering improvements. Helping them identify educational, occupational and cultural goals they wish to attain and then assisting with actual enrollment in the respective programs together with ongoing support and encouragement is a vital and integral part of this work. Also necessary will be the caseworker's skill in helping parents learn to use CBT/REBT strategies along the way. The term support is used frequently but is often not well formulated or explained. As a starting point, discussions with parents can shed light on just what they deem important in the caseworker's forthcoming support. But, it should be a given that the caseworker will need to be an almost steady presence, a phone call away at times, and have the commitment and perseverance to help and support the parents as they work to overcome potential drawbacks.
The caseworker may be called upon to recruit additional sources of help, such as tutors (for children and parents), child care, transportation, nutritional, and legal, to mention just a few.
Child welfare's traditional stance that parents with drug or alcohol addictions must first engage in substance abuse treatment before embarking on educational or occupational pursuits has already shown itself to be wrong, misguided and ineffective. We must differentiate between very long-standing, chronic addictions together with multiple psychiatric problems and those addictions with less serious histories. The very treatment for these addictions would quite likely be the kind of life changes we are advocating here.
Yes, this is not the picture of a child welfare caseworker and the nature of child welfare interaction we've become used to. But it is the picture of what is needed to help parents and their children have better and maltreatment free lives.
A caseworker whom the parents view as congenial and nice and whose visits are anticipated with pleasure but does little more than engage in chit chat can provide anticipated pleasurable times, but in terms of a developing trustful relationship, can leave the parents wondering about its purpose. A caseworker, though, may need to determine if the situation does call for an initial period of congenial give and take without more substantive work.
Many paths can generate discussion about parenting problems/maltreatment and its connection to larger existential issues, but once the worker and parent touch upon this topic, the caseworker should offer assurance through their discussion that clarifies the rationale behind this broad approach.
Setting forth narrative such as I have done can give the erroneous impression that typical work with parents who have open child welfare cases is mostly obstacle-free. And some situations may even, at first blush, seem intractable. But even seemingly very difficult scenarios can usually, with time, yield to significant improvement, when the approach makes sense.
Approaching child welfare work from a broader perspective, as I have been advocating, raises the question of possible intrusion into family life beyond the scope of child welfare. To side with this perspective, however, would fail to grasp not only the frequent connection between maltreatment and a family's degree of general life satisfaction but also to blatantly ignore child welfare's long history of gross failure to help parents obtain long-term behavioral change. So there needs to be a major change in the approach taken.
The discrete details of any interaction between caseworker and parent must emanate from the nature of that interplay; we therefore can not lay out beforehand exactly what to do and when to do it. Exactly how and when this would transpire would depend on the particulars of each unique situation, but at or toward the beginning of the interaction, the parents should be given, not only an explanation of the work in which they will be engaged, but also a taste of it.
A few simple questions by the caseworker may elicit from the parents an elaborate narrative of wished-for life changes and aspirations for themselves and for their children. If not, it may take more time and discussion to arrive there. But at some point, to get that taste, a combination of discussion, use of literature and DVDs, participation by friends and neighbors who can share their own experiences, and visits by the parents and the caseworker to a variety of venues, such as educational institutions, museums and work venues should be undertaken.
Some parents may believe that the magnitude of obstacles facing them, regardless of their sincere desire to work toward major change, precludes any realistic significant life altering improvements. Helping them identify educational, occupational and cultural goals they wish to attain and then assisting with actual enrollment in the respective programs together with ongoing support and encouragement is a vital and integral part of this work. Also necessary will be the caseworker's skill in helping parents learn to use CBT/REBT strategies along the way. The term support is used frequently but is often not well formulated or explained. As a starting point, discussions with parents can shed light on just what they deem important in the caseworker's forthcoming support. But, it should be a given that the caseworker will need to be an almost steady presence, a phone call away at times, and have the commitment and perseverance to help and support the parents as they work to overcome potential drawbacks.
The caseworker may be called upon to recruit additional sources of help, such as tutors (for children and parents), child care, transportation, nutritional, and legal, to mention just a few.
Child welfare's traditional stance that parents with drug or alcohol addictions must first engage in substance abuse treatment before embarking on educational or occupational pursuits has already shown itself to be wrong, misguided and ineffective. We must differentiate between very long-standing, chronic addictions together with multiple psychiatric problems and those addictions with less serious histories. The very treatment for these addictions would quite likely be the kind of life changes we are advocating here.
Yes, this is not the picture of a child welfare caseworker and the nature of child welfare interaction we've become used to. But it is the picture of what is needed to help parents and their children have better and maltreatment free lives.
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