Child Welfare Social Piece of work Guide [Careers, Education & Salaries]

Weeks before a female parent and her two children who have been placed in foster care are set to reunite, she's arrested for getting into a physical altercation. Based on her history, there's a good take chances she could face up jail time, making the reunification impossible. The situation will be heartbreaking for her children but volition ultimately ensure that they remain in the most stable habitation possible. How practice yous intermission the news to them?

These are the kinds of dilemmas child welfare social workers come across every twenty-four hours. While decisions can exist tough, the fulfillment from ensuring that children are safe and given the best possible opportunity to succeed outweighs the challenges of this demanding field of social piece of work.

Table of Contents

  • What is a Child Welfare Social Worker?
  • How to Become a Child Welfare Social Worker
  • Types of Kid Welfare Social Workers
  • What Child Welfare Social Workers Do
  • The Challenges of Child Welfare Social Piece of work
  • Why People Become Child Welfare Social Workers

What is a Child Welfare Social Worker?

Child welfare social workers protect vulnerable youth and help disadvantaged families meet the needs of their children. As the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) explains, they "specialize in building upon the strengths inside a family and their customs to help provide a safe and loving environment for their children," just also "arbitrate to protect children from damage" when necessary.

Due to the complexity and emotionally charged nature of their piece of work (separating families by necessity, sometimes permanently, and balancing the at times conflicting interests of the kid, his/her parents, and the kid dependency courtroom), child welfare social workers may find their daily responsibilities to exist challenging. Despite these difficulties, professionals in this field frequently discover their power to provide compassionate support to parents while protecting children in need to exist rewarding due to its profound impact, on an individual and societal level.

Task Description at a Glance

Some of the child welfare social worker'due south cadre responsibilities include responding to cases of child abuse and neglect; removing children from home settings that are dangerous or do non run into sure standards; working with children and their families on a reunification plan in collaboration with child dependency courts; helping parents encounter the needs of their children past connecting them with resources and helping them navigate programs, therapy and advising; and arranging for brusk- and long-term care of children whose families cannot take care of them.

Instruction Requirements

While child welfare social workers can work in entry level agency positions afterwards receiving their bachelor'southward in social piece of work, many employers prefer individuals who wish to progress to college or more involved roles to accept a master's in social piece of work (MSW) from a CSWE-accredited establishment, with a focus on children and families, according to the NASW Standards for Social Work Practice in Child Welfare (PDF, 138 KB). During their MSW program, students interested in child welfare should seek internships in relevant settings (such as a family unit welfare agency), and have courses in clinical social piece of work methods, family dynamics, child development, poverty, and/or disadvantaged populations. Social workers who want graduate level grooming for kid welfare social work positions should explore state-funded scholarships for MSW students focusing on child welfare.

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Salary

The mean annual wage for child, family and school social workers is $52,370, co-ordinate to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The typical bacon range for professionals in this field is $32,300 to $80,290. Social workers who work for local governments earn a mean annual wage of $58,350 while state government employees earn $52,000 and social workers in individual and family unit services earn $45,360. Height paying states for this occupation include the District of Columbia, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Maryland.

How to Become a Child Welfare Social Worker

According to NASW standards for practice, the requirements for professionals who want to piece of work in child welfare vary past land, only can include:

  1. Complete a bachelor'south or main'southward degree in social work from a CSWE-accredited college or university.
  2. Gain experience through a child welfare-related internship or field placement.
  3. Pass the advisable licensing exams and apply for state licensure.
  4. Consummate continuing teaching requirements to retain licensure.

Sasha Chelsea McGowan, MSW, who works every bit a standing services social worker in Contra Costa Canton, California, advised social work students to take classes that help them sympathise the populations involved in the kid welfare system and how to address their needs. "I highly recommend that MSW students take an elective class on the history of social work in the United states of america, equally the history of racial and socioeconomic oppression withal runs potent in many of our impoverished and marginalized communities," she said. "I too recommend taking any kid welfare-specific classes offered that will go over safety planning, chance assessment, and the convoluted court system. A good basis in risk assessment, defining harm and danger to children, and how to brand impartial decisions on extremely inflammatory subjects is key. We hire many individuals without specific child welfare training if they are able to master these tools."

Field internships in settings that serve vulnerable children and families are also important. "I do recommend that students do an internship at a foster family agency if they are considering this field, because this job is not for everyone. […] If information technology is non possible to get an internship in the field, I would recommend getting feel at a group home, and/or shelter," she said.

"A person interested in the position also needs to understand that they might have to wear different hats at times," she added. "The responsibilities of this job vary from sometimes existence an admin (answering phones and filing paperwork), to being a transporter, supervising visits, counseling clients and families, and writing reports and progress notes."

For MSW students who are not placed in kid welfare agencies during their internships, or for social work professionals who want to transition to this field, volunteer piece of work can provide useful skills and experience. "There are many opportunities to volunteer with foster youth, and many task opportunities at lower levels enable people to piece of work with these youth directly," McGowan said. "Grouping homes are a good look into the intensity of trauma and reactivity that foster children can experience when deprived of stability. Additionally, there are critical county programs that are oftentimes looking for volunteers – the most significant of which is the CASA plan (court appointed special abet)."

An important do good of pursuing child welfare social piece of work during an MSW programme is the opportunity to utilise for government scholarships for people wishing to enter the helping professions. For example, the Title IV E Stipend Plan is a federally funded program equanimous of a national consortium of social work and public service schools that offer financial support to students and working professionals who pursue degrees or training in public child welfare. The corporeality that students can receive through this programme depends on the degree they are pursuing (BSW vs. MSW vs. professional preparation or continuing education) and their land of residence, merely several of the social work students we interviewed highly recommend applying for benefits through this program.

"I would recommend that people be admitted under Title IVE concentration," noted Katie Krause, MSW, who works for Contra Costa County Children and Family Services in California. "This concentration specifically prepares you for work in child welfare. I felt very prepared for my chore as a result of my classes and internships. My 2nd-year internship was basically similar a trial job. A lot of things are the same in each county, and so it is pretty easy to transition between counties and units. In the title IVE concentration you are required to intern in child welfare."

Through solid academic grooming, internships, and volunteer piece of work, child welfare social workers can build a rewarding career devoted to protecting the safety and well-beingness of children while besides giving their parents the support and compassion they demand to brand positive changes. Furthermore, past building strong social and collegial support systems at the beginning of their profession, practicing cocky-care on a regular basis, and maintaining an appreciation for the positive impact they accept on families at the private and larger systemic level, child welfare social workers tin sustain energy and derive deep gratification from their accomplishments.

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Types of Child Welfare Social Workers

Kid welfare social workers tin piece of work for Kid Protective Services and/or kid welfare agencies at the county and land levels. There are often several dissimilar types of child welfare social workers on a given team that interact to place and respond to cases of child abuse and neglect. Some of these are "front-terminate" social workers (likewise known as emergency response social workers), meaning they investigate incidents of child abuse and neglect at the site (often the kid'due south home), and will also return to remove children from abusive or insufficient intendance.

In dissimilarity, "dorsum-cease" social workers (too known as continuing services social workers) piece of work with children and their families after the kid has been removed from his/her original habitation, to address the barriers the parents (or caretakers) are experiencing to provide their kid(ren) with a minimum standard of care at home. Back-end social workers interact with child dependency courts to accommodate for alternative living situations (foster families, adoption, and/or living with family members) for children whose parents are unable to properly treat them, and too set goals, benchmarks and deadlines for parents to meet before their children can be returned to them. Dorsum-cease social workers too work with foster families, adoptive parents and community organizations and resources to create and maintain a support system for vulnerable children.

Due to express resources and staffing, some child welfare social workers may move between emergency/first response duties and continuing services, or fulfill both types of responsibilities simultaneously, depending on their availability and the needs of the agency.

Emergency Start Responder ("Front end-End") Social Workers

Get-go responder social workers, as their championship indicates, are often the first individuals to respond to cases of child abuse and/or neglect. Child welfare agencies volition oft receive notifications from concerned members of the public almost households with children who may not be receiving sufficient care. Showtime responder social workers investigate these allegations of abuse or neglect and evaluate the situation. If maltreatment is discovered, emergency first responder social workers typically open a child welfare case, contact Child Protective Services to have a child removed and placed in the care of the Child Dependency Courtroom, and certificate the evidence of maltreatment in reports for the courts and for back-end social workers who take on the instance after the child'southward removal from his/her home.

McGowan explained the general standards for adequate parental care in the context of child welfare services. "In the child welfare field, nosotros are focused on one matter – minimum sufficient level of care," she explained, "This is the community based (and judicially supported) standard of care that we crave families to provide for their children in regards to their physical, emotional and developmental needs."

McGowan noted that "minimum sufficient" is singled-out from "ideal" or even "expert" parenting – the child welfare social worker's chief concern is to ensure that children are reasonably safe, provided for in all essential areas (food, hygiene, schooling, medical and dental intendance, emotional well-being, etc.). In addition, the definition of minimum sufficient level of intendance can differ from community to community, as different counties will have different regulations around child care and neglect, expectations for school omnipresence, etc.

"To make up one's mind if a family is meeting this minimum standard [of care], we ask three questions," she said. "Is the family providing for their kid's bones needs? Is the parent's parenting practice, such as with physical subject, within our community standard or outside of it? Does the parent'south behavior fall within reasonable limits, as judged past that same customs?" If the response to these questions is no, so first responder social workers typically brainstorm the process of opening a example and seeking to remove the abused or neglected children from their parents' intendance.

Continuing Services ('Back-End') Social Worker

One time a child is placed in the care of the Child Dependency Court, back-end social workers accept over the case. "[Standing services social workers continue] to investigate to clarify the allegations of maltreatment and develop a case plan composed of services and behavioral change necessary to return a child to the intendance of a parent," McGowan told OnlineMSWPrograms.com. Types of behavioral changes social workers might include in a family unit's case program could include parents' cessation of physical and/or verbal abuse; emptying of substance abuse behaviors; addressing of physical, medical/dental, emotional, or bookish fail, and proper supervision behaviors.

Afterward the development of a case plan that incorporates behavioral changes for the parents and means to back up the parents in making these changes, continuing services social workers monitor the family unit'due south instance and provide emotional support, advising, and resource connections throughout the process. Services and support that social workers might recruit to assist children and their parents include counseling and psychotherapy; guidance on how to use for wellness care benefits, nutrient stamps, etc.; and connections to supportive groups within the community (substance corruption therapy groups, educational resources, etc.). Continuing services social workers also report on the family unit'southward progress to the Dependency Courtroom, and update families on the condition of their case in relation to the courtroom.

Damoun Bozorgzadarbab, MSW, who worked every bit a family services social worker and an emergency response children social worker at Los Angeles County Child Protective Services, explained that, while social workers are invested in parents' progress, and in the reunification of the original family, their beginning and foremost priority is the safety of children. "The roles and responsibilities of child welfare social workers is first to keep children safe, then to clinch their well-being and do both of those things while making sure they take a chance at permanent families," she said, "And then while child welfare social workers link parents to all the providers who help address their bug to mitigate rubber and risk (therapists, day care providers, substance use treatment program) they are also reporting to the courts on the progress of the parents." If, after a menstruum of time, parents are unable to meet the standards outlined in the case plan, continuing services social workers likewise kickoff working on a plan for long-term foster care or adoption.

Due to the many responsibilities that back-terminate social workers accept upon the opening of a kid welfare instance (i.due east. in-depth investigation of child maltreatment allegations, evolution of case plan with behavioral changes for parents, connected monitoring of parents' progress, and development of a long-term foster care or adoption plan if necessary), some child welfare agencies accept different units of dorsum-end social workers that focus on a specific surface area of standing services. "[There] are specialized units that address the needs of children who are not able to reunite with their family unit of origin," McGowan said. "In continuing services, I work with children younger than the age of 16 who were not able to reunify with their parents, and at historic period 16 they transfer to 'transitions to permanency' where a social worker with special training will work with them on skills for independence and transitioning to machismo."

What Child Welfare Social Workers Do

As mentioned previously, kid welfare social workers' specific responsibilities depend on whether they are working forepart-finish or dorsum-end roles at their bureau. Nevertheless, in general, the cadre responsibilities of child welfare social workers are:

Investigative Work (in Collaboration with CPS and Dependency Court)

Both outset responder and continuing services social workers investigate instances of child maltreatment and evaluate children'southward situations confronting an established minimum standard. The minimum sufficient level of care (MSLC) (PDF, 85 KB) is typically determined through a combination of state, federal, and customs standards, as well as each family'southward unique circumstances. Specific items that child welfare social workers await at include whether children are rubber; provided for in terms of food, clothing, and shelter; are able to attend school; are not being subjected to physical, emotional/verbal, or sexual abuse; and are not suffering from neglect.

When investigating cases of kid maltreatment, kid welfare social workers collaborate with Child Protective Services and the Juvenile Dependency Court, which is a specialized courtroom that handles solely child welfare cases. "Kid welfare has its own court organisation, the Juvenile Dependency Court," said Krause. "This is completely separate from criminal court. … Social workers in all units volition collaborate with dependency court judges every bit nosotros frequently write reports. Social workers tin can exist called to testify when parents contest the allegations or estimate's decision. Each political party (parents, kids, social worker) is represented by an attorney in court. Our attorneys are called county counsel and they represent all social workers in the county."

Example Plan Development

Once a kid maltreatment is confirmed, child welfare social workers collaborate with Kid Protective Services, behavioral therapists, case managers, agency staff, school administrators and teachers, and other relevant members of the community to develop an individualized example plan for the child and his/her parents. The case program mainly focuses on the changes that parents demand to make to regain custody of their children and can have several different elements.

"A example plan could include things such as: anger management, domestic violence support group and didactics, counseling, couple's counseling, family counseling, parenting classes, drug testing, and in patient or outpatient drug programs," Krause noted, "I refer parents to all of these services. I [also] actually try to explain to families what is going on equally best as I can since the attorneys don't actually practice that. I try to encourage them and draw on their strengths rather than but seeing the problems. I like to see the big picture and really become to know the family."

Instance plans commonly have certain deadlines for behavioral changes that parents must meet, and these deadlines can be stringent. "A huge bulwark for our families is the court timelines. If your child is under three years old, parents accept only six months to address the issues leading to CPS involvement before nosotros move towards an alternative permanency option for the kid such equally adoption. This is also why nosotros meantime plan, and place infants primarily with family members or potentially adoptive parents," McGowan explained. "This is based on the negative outcomes of children spending years in foster intendance without consequent caregivers in early childhood. With children over iii, parents have 12 months."

Counseling and Psychotherapy

Child welfare social workers can provide emotional counseling and, in some cases, targeted but often short-term psychotherapy to children and their parents. The separation of a family unit is a traumatic feel for both kid and parent, and child welfare social workers help both parties manage the difficult emotions around the separation, and to movement toward a program of activeness for reunification. For children in foster homes or adopted children who experience mental, emotional and behavioral issues as a result of their separation from their family, child welfare social workers can offering emotional support and therapy. They might likewise help parents address the mental and emotional reasons backside the behavioral bug that lead to the maltreatment of their kid (substance abuse, neglect, domestic abuse, etc.).

"Every child that comes into contact with our organization is assessed for therapy and boosted mental health services," Krause noted, "Near all of the children who are removed from their parents participate in some sort of therapy. Nosotros likewise accept a number of children with diagnoses that range from PTSD and depression to more than complex diagnoses such as schizophrenia and bipolar."

Coordination of Back up Services for Kid and Parents

In addition to providing individualized advising and therapy to children and their parents, child welfare social workers communicate with other parties that are concerned about and/or involved in a child's well-beingness, including but not limited to school administrators and teachers, behavioral therapists, doctors and nurses, and staff at customs centers. Maggie Olivares, ASW, who works equally an agency social worker at EMQFamiliesFirst in Stockton, California, explained to OnlineMSWPrograms.com the many dissimilar people and organizations she collaborates with to help clients. "[Agency social workers at EMQFF] work with other individuals such as child protective services social workers, probation officers, teachers, therapists, mental wellness resources specialists, family specialists, TBS and WRAP, and mental health workers," she said.

The same service providers meet periodically with the family and independent of the family to create, evaluate, and modify the reunification plan. "When a client has diverse services from dissimilar agencies, we hold meetings to hash out the services and treatment goals and objectives," Olivares explained. "These meetings included Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), kid and family unit team (CFT) meetings, WRAP meetings, and/or team conclusion meetings (TDMs). During these meetings we discuss each person'southward role and job. Each individual meets the needs of the client and family in different ways depending on what role they have." Beneath is a more than detailed description of some of the collaborative services, programs, and meetings that child welfare social workers participate in with other human service providers.

  • Wraparound Services (WRAP): Wraparound services are defined every bit community based, individualized, and comprehensive mental, emotional, behavioral and social services and support for people in need, such as vulnerable children and their parents. Wraparound services encompass an individual'southward social, emotional, health, academic, and (where relevant) occupational needs, and recruit multiple providers from inside the customs (teachers, behavioral therapists, social workers, medical professionals, etc.).
  • Child and Family Squad (CFT) Meetings: CFT meetings are betwixt children, parents, and human service providers, during which both parents and their children set goals for making the necessary changes to successfully reunify, and providers piece of work with the family to construct a plan for coming together these goals. Providers also offer resources and support to assist the family in meeting their goals by established deadlines.
  • Individualized Didactics Programs (IEPs): IEPs are adult primarily by schoolhouse personnel (such as teachers, counselors and school social workers) in response to the needs of specific children who are not performing well at schoolhouse for mental, emotional, behavioral, familial and/or social reasons. Child welfare social workers may participate in the development or maintenance of these plans in cases when child abuse or neglect are factors in a kid not meeting certain bookish standards.
  • Team Decision Meetings (TDMs): These meetings are held between different social service providers before every key determination in a child's case (placing a child in a foster home or with an adopted family, reuniting children with their families, etc.). During these meetings, providers develop an appropriate course of action given the family unit'south circumstances and progress (if applicative), evaluate the benefits and risks of this course of action, and update 1 another on the progress of a family unit.

Resource Connections and Navigation Services

While child welfare social workers tin can provide mental health counseling and therapy, their chief role is as a intendance coordinator and an evaluator of children's mental, emotional, academic, and social needs. Furthermore, though they piece of work closely with families in need, child welfare social workers' interactions with their clients is necessarily limited, and thus office of their job is creating as comprehensive a back up organization equally possible for children and parents by coordinating services from various community resources.

In her interview with OnlineMSWPrograms.com, Krause explained how 1 of her core responsibilities is assessing and and so meeting the needs of children and families through resource coordination. "As a social worker, I assess each child [in the areas of emotional, mental, developmental, and social well-being]. We refer for mental wellness services, behavior support services, tutoring, extracurricular activities to work on social skills, and developmental assessments through the regional center," she said. "I too human action as the 'broker' and brand sure that all service providers are communicating."

Examples of such resource include but are non limited to after-schoolhouse programs and tutoring, parent back up groups, centers that provide subsidized food and wear, individual counseling, customs health clinics, emotional regulation and stress reduction groups, and substance abuse support groups.

The Challenges of Child Welfare Social Piece of work

Child welfare social work is a very challenging field that tin can exist physically draining and emotionally taxing. Child welfare social workers cite limited resource, grueling schedules, the emotional ramifications of witnessing and supporting people through trauma, and the pressure of families' well-beingness resting on their shoulders as being definite challenges in their line of work.

As simultaneous investigators, counselors, child and parent advocates, and intendance coordinators, child welfare social workers may find themselves being pulled in many different directions. Olivares described the varied and intensive responsibilities that child welfare social workers must balance on a daily ground. "This job is not an 8 a.m.-5 p.m. type of job and many times we work after hours and need to be flexible with our schedule. Equally a social worker there are a lot of responsibilities from completing reports and progress notes, transporting clients, coordinating and supervising visits, and collecting and filing all paperwork. Nosotros are responsible for keeping family and client files up to date, and completing walk-throughs and home visits," she explained. "We also have to respond to crises and nourish and coordinate meetings and assure services are being completed."

Managing the interests and feelings of both child(ren) and parents and connecting emotionally with both parties can as well prove difficult for social workers when children are unable to return to their parents. "Information technology is heartbreaking to have to recommend that a child non be returned to their parents. I hate having to tell parents that they are not making enough changes and that I do non experience their child is safe with them. It is also tough to run across what beingness torn apart does to families," Krause said. "I firmly believe that most children vest with their parents in the long run. We regularly deal with challenges related to complicated courtroom timelines, large caseloads, having to communicate with many service providers, and traveling out of county/country to see kids who are placed elsewhere."

Bozorgzadarbab explained how the child welfare system's prioritization of children'due south prophylactic and well-beingness is important, but also means that parents' interests and background do not take precedence when deciding where their child is ultimately placed. "Parents who already accept trauma in their history, mental illness and/or substance utilize and experience disempowered/marginalized, will at present have to prove their power to safely parent to a seemingly impersonal and all-powerful system," she said. "The failures of the parents may be clinically understandable given the complex bug they have to face, but in a system where children have to be protected above all, these failures are non easily forgiven. Children could be well on their fashion to adoption before their parents can successfully remove safety concerns."

Olivares told OnlineMSWPrograms.com how her clients' by and present hardships tin be challenging to witness. "Equally a social worker we work with clients who come from unfortunate and sad circumstances. All the clients accept been taken away from their birth families and most have a lot of needs. Learning near their stories is ever hard to hear," she said. Olivares also noted that placing children in foster homes and/or with adopted families can lead to complicated and at times emotionally difficult situations for all parties involved. "The hardest part of this chore is when clients sabotage good homes because they test limits and can't trust," she said. "It is too hard to see immature children build bonds and good for you attachments with foster families and then they are reunified with their birth family unit. Even though reunification is a positive matter, information technology'southward also hard."

To manage the aforementioned challenges, child welfare social workers urge social work students and professionals interested in this field to commit to cocky-care early and consistently. "[You lot] HAVE TO respect your limitations and engage in self-care," Bozorgzadarbab said. "I tin't emphasize enough that y'all need ways to increase your emotional capacity for your own sake, for the sake of your loved ones and fifty-fifty for the sake of your clients. If your emotional and empathic abilities are depleted, unhappiness and isolation is a likely effect and eventually making poor decisions at work follows–which in the example of CPS work can be devastatingly plush to a child."

Bozorgzadarbab also explained how professionals in this field should work to build and maintain a stiff support system of colleagues across the different disciplines that collaborate on a given family unit's example (i.e. school staff, health care professionals, behavioral therapists, attorneys, etc.). "An attitude of appreciation for teamwork and respect for other professionals outside child welfare tin go a long mode," she said. "The stressed out nurse at the hospital who's brusque with you will also be your savior when the time comes. The law officer you may have just offended is the person you'll need to rely on some other day to safely transport your suicidal minor customer. … I can give endless examples of why teamwork can save your career, but the bottom line is y'all can't do proficient piece of work by yourself so cultivate relationships to help positively impact the outcome for your minor clients and assistance your own sanity as well."

McGowan similarly emphasized the importance of a positive outlook and building a strong community of colleagues in staying motivated and fulfilled at piece of work. "Nosotros set our own tone for our work, and with a supportive supervisor and a county aimed towards the futurity, we take the ability to do an enormous amount of adept for our community."

Why People Get Child Welfare Social Workers

Though their work is frequently stressful, demanding, and fast-paced, many child welfare social workers experience that the challenges are every bit counterbalanced with the rewards, and that the gratification they receive from their daily piece of work is in fact inseparable from the difficulties of their work.

"Overall, my work is incredibly rewarding, Krause said. "Although it is an uphill boxing, I develop pretty good relationships with my families. I get to see the progress they make and see how their lives change for the better. … I also try to exist timely, responsive and compassionate, as I sympathize that my job is incredibly important. Nosotros are dealing with real people and make important recommendations nigh whether or not children can safely be with their parents. That is huge."

Olivares explained to OnlineMSWPrograms.com how seeing the positive progress her clients make has helped her maintain energy in her part. "I've been in my position for over fifteen years and although I have had other chore opportunities to move upward in my position and leave foster care. I've chosen to remain in foster care and stay in my current position," she said. "Although the chore has many challenges, I overall enjoy doing what I practice. This chore does not become wearisome and every day I am doing something different. My favorite function has been seeing the potential of the clients with whom I work. It is too rewarding to meet them thrive and overcome challenges. I have emancipated several youths from foster intendance, and it is very exciting to see them leave the system, get on to college and go successful. I especially enjoy working closely with the clients; assisting them in life-long goals and helping them run into their goals."

Child welfare social workers may also find deep rewards in existence advocates for parents, regardless of whether or not they succeed in their goal of reunification. Bozorgzadarbab explained how her job has given her many opportunities to empower parents and provide them with support, dignity and compassion during a very hard fourth dimension. "There are too many examples to list when I felt honored and humbled, exist it past my coworkers or my clients. Two that stand out are: when a mother who had originally fought me on the removal of her five children thanked me for 'saving' them and told every social worker who came after me about the respect and dignity that I had shown her family," she recalled. "I as well felt rewarded when I stood up for cultural differences in an immigrant family and advocated hard for them to receive the agency's educational resource instead of having to experience the removal of their child from their care."