WEBVTT 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:17.079 Hello and welcome to Listen.Up.People., a podcast 00:00:17.079 --> 00:00:19.960 of the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:22.899 Work. I'm Dr. Holly Priebe Sotelo, Associate 00:00:22.899 --> 00:00:26.420 Teaching Professor of Practicum Education. According 00:00:26.420 --> 00:00:30.480 to the December 2025 data report published by 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:32.780 the Los Angeles County Department of Children 00:00:32.780 --> 00:00:36.079 and Family Services, also known as LA County 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:41.740 DCFS, there are 18 ,067 children receiving child 00:00:41.740 --> 00:00:45.280 welfare services also referred to as Child Protective 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:48.979 Services throughout LA County. What are these 00:00:48.979 --> 00:00:52.359 services? Who provides them? Why do people have 00:00:52.359 --> 00:00:55.079 such mixed feelings about them? All this and 00:00:55.079 --> 00:00:58.179 much more is what we aim to tackle in this episode. 00:00:59.100 --> 00:01:02.479 Collectively, my guests bring 40 years of experience 00:01:02.479 --> 00:01:06.579 working with LA County DCFS to our discussion 00:01:06.579 --> 00:01:09.560 today. So I am very excited to have them both 00:01:09.560 --> 00:01:12.900 here and to take a deep dive together into the 00:01:12.890 --> 00:01:16.530 one of the most misunderstood areas of social 00:01:16.530 --> 00:01:19.849 work practice, which also tends to generate the 00:01:19.849 --> 00:01:23.109 most publicity. I'd like to welcome my social 00:01:23.109 --> 00:01:25.890 work colleague and friend, Dr. Debra Waters-Roman, 00:01:25.890 --> 00:01:28.650 Associate Teaching Professor and Clinical Psychologist. 00:01:28.650 --> 00:01:33.700 And Richard Carranza, a USC MSW alum 00:01:33.700 --> 00:01:37.659 and a former student of Debra's who is a supervising 00:01:37.659 --> 00:01:40.920 children's social worker with LA County DCFS. 00:01:41.299 --> 00:01:44.239 Thank you so much for joining me today. So I'd 00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:47.159 like to start today by asking a more personal 00:01:47.159 --> 00:01:51.629 question about why each of you became interested 00:01:51.629 --> 00:01:55.209 in public child welfare or child protective services. 00:01:55.969 --> 00:01:59.069 And moving forward, you'll hear me use that term 00:01:59.069 --> 00:02:02.510 public child welfare and child protective services 00:02:02.510 --> 00:02:05.230 interchangeably. So I'm going to start with Debra. 00:02:06.409 --> 00:02:09.110 Why did you become interested in public child 00:02:09.110 --> 00:02:12.330 welfare? And then Richard. Well, thank you, Holly. 00:02:12.389 --> 00:02:14.750 And thank you so much for having me as a guest. 00:02:14.930 --> 00:02:19.000 I'm honored to be here. So I actually was introduced 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:22.659 to the field of child protective services when 00:02:22.659 --> 00:02:27.419 I was an MSW student at USC. And I actually completed 00:02:27.419 --> 00:02:30.599 an internship with the Los Angeles County Department 00:02:30.599 --> 00:02:33.280 of Children and Family Services while I was in 00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:37.400 my MSW program. I was actually working from the 00:02:37.400 --> 00:02:40.379 exposition park, the CFS office, which is no 00:02:40.379 --> 00:02:43.240 longer there, but used to sit right across from 00:02:43.240 --> 00:02:47.680 the LA Coliseum. And once I began my internship, 00:02:47.979 --> 00:02:52.199 I immediately fell in love with the work. I had 00:02:52.199 --> 00:02:56.099 the sense that doing child protective services 00:02:56.099 --> 00:02:59.659 work would be a career that would be meaningful 00:02:59.659 --> 00:03:04.020 for me and would contribute not only to my personal 00:03:04.020 --> 00:03:07.719 growth, but also to my professional development 00:03:07.719 --> 00:03:12.550 as a social worker. I so enjoyed and felt privileged 00:03:12.550 --> 00:03:15.969 to have the opportunity to interact with the 00:03:15.969 --> 00:03:19.969 families that I was working with. I was inspired 00:03:19.969 --> 00:03:25.870 by their resiliency and their commitment to providing 00:03:25.870 --> 00:03:29.569 the best homes possible for their children. So 00:03:29.569 --> 00:03:32.449 I just immediately fell in love with the work 00:03:32.449 --> 00:03:35.629 and decided during my internship that it would 00:03:35.629 --> 00:03:38.770 become my career. Thank you, Debra. And Richard? 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:41.800 Hey, good morning. Thanks for having me. So anytime 00:03:41.800 --> 00:03:44.060 I'm asked this question, I always think back. 00:03:44.699 --> 00:03:49.719 Prior to starting the USC MSW program, I had 00:03:49.719 --> 00:03:51.580 worked in a wraparound program, so a community 00:03:51.580 --> 00:03:53.979 -based mental health organization. I was like 00:03:53.979 --> 00:03:57.419 a brand new to the field. I sat in a meeting. 00:03:58.039 --> 00:04:00.719 At the time, they were called TDNs. So they were 00:04:00.719 --> 00:04:03.180 essentially a decision -making meeting where 00:04:03.180 --> 00:04:06.000 different service providers sat down and, you 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:09.960 know, talked about a family and ultimately made 00:04:09.960 --> 00:04:12.020 a decision as to like what were the next steps 00:04:12.020 --> 00:04:15.870 for that family right and I noticed then that, 00:04:15.870 --> 00:04:18.529 you know, the DCFS social worker had a lot of 00:04:18.529 --> 00:04:21.649 say in what was going to happen next for families. 00:04:21.670 --> 00:04:25.810 So that intrigued me. I ended up at the USC School 00:04:25.810 --> 00:04:27.649 of Social Work and I had a professor who pushed 00:04:27.649 --> 00:04:31.829 me into the internship program. And then once 00:04:31.829 --> 00:04:33.769 I got there, I think the most important part 00:04:33.769 --> 00:04:36.930 is, you know, why I choose to stay. It's because 00:04:36.930 --> 00:04:40.769 I think that we need people who are invested 00:04:40.769 --> 00:04:44.759 in understanding firstly that families that do 00:04:44.759 --> 00:04:47.660 come across the Child Protective Services system, 00:04:47.879 --> 00:04:49.899 they're in a crisis moment, right? And we need 00:04:49.899 --> 00:04:53.740 people working at DCFS and places like DCFS who 00:04:53.740 --> 00:04:56.819 want to support these families, understand that 00:04:56.819 --> 00:05:00.399 it's a difficult moment for them and things can 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:03.240 happen in many different directions, but with 00:05:03.240 --> 00:05:06.459 the support of a social worker and a team and 00:05:06.459 --> 00:05:10.079 their own networks, things can start going in 00:05:10.079 --> 00:05:11.860 the right direction. Thank you, Richard. 00:05:11.860 --> 00:05:15.819 So Debra, I'd like to start off 00:05:15.819 --> 00:05:20.060 with a two -part question. And for the benefit 00:05:20.060 --> 00:05:22.959 of our listeners who may not be as familiar with 00:05:22.959 --> 00:05:26.319 public child welfare or child protective services, 00:05:26.740 --> 00:05:29.579 could you please provide us an overview? And 00:05:29.579 --> 00:05:32.540 then also, people confuse the different types 00:05:32.540 --> 00:05:35.550 of social workers. You know, what are the different 00:05:35.550 --> 00:05:39.389 types, say someone at CPS versus someone in a 00:05:39.389 --> 00:05:42.089 school and then in a community based agency? 00:05:42.529 --> 00:05:45.529 Thank you, Holly. Of course. So I think for the 00:05:45.529 --> 00:05:48.089 first to answer the first part of your question, 00:05:48.310 --> 00:05:52.949 I think child protective services, CPS work has 00:05:52.949 --> 00:05:57.310 shifted dramatically since I started 40 years 00:05:57.310 --> 00:06:01.449 ago. Now. I do believe the one consistent is 00:06:01.449 --> 00:06:05.649 the notion of child safety, that child protective 00:06:05.649 --> 00:06:09.930 services agencies are really mandated given the 00:06:09.930 --> 00:06:14.189 mission of ensuring child safety. And that mission 00:06:14.189 --> 00:06:17.370 has remained consistent over the years. I think 00:06:17.370 --> 00:06:20.790 what has changed, though, is how social workers 00:06:20.790 --> 00:06:25.029 attempt to do that. So when I started, public 00:06:25.029 --> 00:06:28.230 child welfare was really focused on parents just 00:06:28.230 --> 00:06:32.279 completing a list of activities and you know, 00:06:32.279 --> 00:06:34.620 if they did, that was wonderful. And if they 00:06:34.620 --> 00:06:36.839 didn't, then maybe their children were not going 00:06:36.839 --> 00:06:40.839 to come home. And it was more of a cut and dried, 00:06:40.839 --> 00:06:44.420 I think, type of work. And I think it shifted 00:06:44.420 --> 00:06:49.879 to the point now where current DCFS, public child 00:06:49.879 --> 00:06:52.839 welfare workers, child protective workers, really 00:06:52.839 --> 00:06:56.139 look more at engaging with the family and look 00:06:56.139 --> 00:07:00.949 at it more of a team process. So rather than 00:07:00.949 --> 00:07:04.050 us going in and telling families what's wrong 00:07:04.050 --> 00:07:06.209 with them, and this is what you need to fix, 00:07:06.709 --> 00:07:09.709 it's a matter of respecting their stories. They're 00:07:09.709 --> 00:07:13.790 the experts on their lives, their journeys, engaging 00:07:13.790 --> 00:07:17.550 with families to recognize what are their needs, 00:07:17.810 --> 00:07:21.269 what are their challenges, and how as a social 00:07:21.269 --> 00:07:25.910 worker can I assist with those. while ensuring 00:07:25.910 --> 00:07:28.670 child safety because that is still always there, 00:07:29.069 --> 00:07:31.970 but also trying to maintain children in their 00:07:31.970 --> 00:07:35.509 own homes, in their own communities, or getting 00:07:35.509 --> 00:07:39.709 them back to those locations as soon as possible. 00:07:40.269 --> 00:07:45.730 So again, I see a real shift into more of a collaborative 00:07:45.730 --> 00:07:49.410 approach now where I believe clients are more 00:07:49.410 --> 00:07:53.279 respected. I think to answer the second part 00:07:53.279 --> 00:07:56.740 of your question, so child protective services 00:07:56.740 --> 00:08:00.199 agencies have the responsibility of investigating 00:08:00.199 --> 00:08:04.259 reports of potential child abuse or neglect. 00:08:04.680 --> 00:08:08.019 So where a school social worker may call in a 00:08:08.019 --> 00:08:10.459 report because they have a concern about a student 00:08:10.459 --> 00:08:15.579 perhaps, it's going to be a DCFS public child 00:08:15.579 --> 00:08:18.339 welfare worker who goes out and investigates 00:08:18.339 --> 00:08:21.800 that report and they go out and meet with the 00:08:21.800 --> 00:08:25.600 family and try to make an assessment in terms 00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:29.160 of what's going on. Again, there are a lot of 00:08:29.160 --> 00:08:33.840 social workers who will report if they have concerns 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:38.620 about the welfare of a child. And DCFS is the 00:08:38.620 --> 00:08:41.220 agency, Public Child Welfare, is the agency that's 00:08:41.220 --> 00:08:44.799 responsible for investigating those reports and 00:08:44.799 --> 00:08:48.259 determining how best to move forward to ensure 00:08:48.259 --> 00:08:51.080 the safety of the child and also support the 00:08:51.080 --> 00:08:53.600 family. Excellent. Thank you. And Richard, would 00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:55.840 you care to add? Yeah, I think when Deborah was 00:08:55.840 --> 00:08:58.100 speaking, especially partially working with families, 00:08:58.519 --> 00:09:01.440 we were just talking with a group of colleagues 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:05.539 about dignity and families wanting to feel like 00:09:05.539 --> 00:09:08.120 they have dignity in this process. And I think 00:09:08.120 --> 00:09:09.740 that's one of the things that's most important. 00:09:10.029 --> 00:09:12.870 important to highlight is that there's an emphasis 00:09:12.870 --> 00:09:15.049 on that and, you know, hearing families and making 00:09:15.049 --> 00:09:18.629 sure that they're at the center of, you know, 00:09:18.750 --> 00:09:20.830 making sure that we have a safer plan, you know, 00:09:20.889 --> 00:09:25.090 altogether. And I've actually, you know, enjoyed 00:09:25.090 --> 00:09:28.149 learning and putting a focus on that. And I feel 00:09:28.149 --> 00:09:32.389 like if we are able to connect those those things 00:09:32.389 --> 00:09:34.929 and have a family centered approach, like there's 00:09:34.929 --> 00:09:38.070 just better outcomes. Having worked at DCFS myself, 00:09:38.070 --> 00:09:42.120 maybe. 30 years ago, I know, definitely know 00:09:42.120 --> 00:09:44.799 that there's been a shift and there's still some 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:47.200 confusion about different types of social work. 00:09:47.220 --> 00:09:49.360 So thank you so much for clarifying this for 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:52.559 our audience. So I'd like to ask Richard if you 00:09:52.559 --> 00:09:56.279 can, you know, as a supervisor right now at DCFS, 00:09:56.759 --> 00:09:59.879 what are the latest trends that you were noticing 00:09:59.879 --> 00:10:03.019 that are impacting families to become involved 00:10:03.019 --> 00:10:06.299 in CPS? Yeah, in our service area, so what we 00:10:06.299 --> 00:10:08.620 work essentially ends up being South Central 00:10:08.620 --> 00:10:12.600 Los Angeles, a lot of the things that come. across 00:10:12.600 --> 00:10:16.139 our caseloads are either related to us like structural 00:10:16.139 --> 00:10:19.360 issues you know so sometimes neglect leading 00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:22.659 from other complicating factors such as like 00:10:22.659 --> 00:10:25.620 poverty substance use and then one of the big 00:10:25.620 --> 00:10:27.559 ones too is like intimate partner violence which 00:10:27.559 --> 00:10:31.120 also can you know have a lot of other stressors 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:34.000 tied to it you know on both sides of the parent 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:37.419 so whether um that's like some underlying mental 00:10:37.419 --> 00:10:41.139 health needs underlying family stressors like 00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:45.460 economic stressors. I also think that we've sometimes, 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:50.580 because our focus is safety and immediate safety, 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:54.240 there is some dangerous situations where collaborative 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:57.419 approach, for example, with law enforcement would 00:10:57.419 --> 00:11:00.320 be best. However, a lot of our social workers 00:11:00.320 --> 00:11:04.269 and law enforcement officers do at times face 00:11:04.269 --> 00:11:07.450 situations where, although it'd be best to collaborate, 00:11:07.830 --> 00:11:11.389 just the timelines don't work out, and the social 00:11:11.389 --> 00:11:13.809 workers are left with a situation where they 00:11:13.809 --> 00:11:17.149 do need to work with the family to make a safe 00:11:17.149 --> 00:11:21.669 plan, which does entail further involvement with 00:11:21.669 --> 00:11:24.539 the dependency court system. Thank you. And you 00:11:24.539 --> 00:11:28.220 know, you mentioned poverty as one kind of factor. 00:11:28.899 --> 00:11:31.779 Can you clarify just a little bit more? Although 00:11:31.779 --> 00:11:35.620 families may be experiencing poverty, it doesn't 00:11:35.620 --> 00:11:38.899 technically always mean that that would require 00:11:38.899 --> 00:11:43.320 CPS interventions. Definitely. I think I meant 00:11:43.320 --> 00:11:46.100 more so if it gets to, you know, an investigation 00:11:46.100 --> 00:11:49.259 phase and those are things that are handled with 00:11:49.259 --> 00:11:51.120 connecting to community -based organizations. 00:11:51.559 --> 00:11:54.000 We've developed great relationships with local 00:11:54.000 --> 00:11:59.139 agencies who respond even within a day and we 00:11:59.139 --> 00:12:02.960 also have thankfully a lot of faith -based organizations, 00:12:03.100 --> 00:12:06.000 a lot of community resources. There's never enough, 00:12:06.179 --> 00:12:09.960 but that's like always our first option, right? 00:12:10.250 --> 00:12:13.029 However, you know, we do have to acknowledge 00:12:13.029 --> 00:12:17.029 that we still get those families at our desk, 00:12:17.289 --> 00:12:20.370 right, or it still hits one of our workers caseloads. 00:12:20.490 --> 00:12:23.909 The way we're reacting to it and the plans that 00:12:23.909 --> 00:12:28.830 we make are definitely more so like preventative 00:12:28.830 --> 00:12:34.149 and also like propping the family up with supports 00:12:34.149 --> 00:12:37.009 rather than, you know, like maybe in the past 00:12:37.009 --> 00:12:38.690 it could have been like a punitive approach or 00:12:38.690 --> 00:12:41.029 something like that. Thank you for that clarity. 00:12:41.450 --> 00:12:44.490 Appreciate that. And so for the both of you, 00:12:44.549 --> 00:12:46.649 this is a question I'm going to ask Deborah first 00:12:46.649 --> 00:12:51.149 is, I know that social work in public child welfare 00:12:51.149 --> 00:12:56.570 is definitely a high stress work. And what in 00:12:56.570 --> 00:12:59.750 your opinion, Deborah, what needs to happen in 00:12:59.750 --> 00:13:03.929 order to address burnout for social workers who 00:13:03.929 --> 00:13:07.370 may be experiencing you know, some high stress 00:13:07.370 --> 00:13:10.169 and or the high turnover among public child welfare 00:13:10.169 --> 00:13:12.970 workers. So I'd love to hear more about, you 00:13:12.970 --> 00:13:15.429 know, what needs to happen to address that, Debra, 00:13:15.509 --> 00:13:17.690 and then maybe Richard, you could also chime 00:13:17.690 --> 00:13:19.870 in on that one. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you, 00:13:19.889 --> 00:13:23.529 Holly. This is another area where I think change 00:13:23.529 --> 00:13:27.070 has been occurring. So again, I remember not 00:13:27.070 --> 00:13:32.190 too long ago, there were really no structure 00:13:32.190 --> 00:13:36.009 in place to address this within public child 00:13:36.009 --> 00:13:40.169 welfare. And so burnout and turnover rates were 00:13:40.169 --> 00:13:44.299 always very high. And it's understandable because 00:13:44.299 --> 00:13:48.779 it's very emotionally, physically taxing work. 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:53.220 CPS workers are constantly exposed to vicarious 00:13:53.220 --> 00:13:56.720 trauma, secondary trauma, hearing and seeing 00:13:56.720 --> 00:14:03.259 about the effects of child abuse. I think that 00:14:03.259 --> 00:14:07.500 workers themselves, if you're in CPS work, you 00:14:07.500 --> 00:14:11.159 really need to have a good self -care plan in 00:14:11.159 --> 00:14:15.480 place in terms of how are you going to take care 00:14:15.480 --> 00:14:21.340 of yourself when you are exposed to all of these 00:14:21.340 --> 00:14:23.820 difficult dynamics. And as Richard mentioned, 00:14:24.200 --> 00:14:26.779 you're exposed to people in crisis. Sometimes 00:14:26.779 --> 00:14:30.399 they're not happy to see you. and they'll share 00:14:30.399 --> 00:14:34.460 those feelings with you. And so again, how do 00:14:34.460 --> 00:14:37.759 you practice self -care so that doesn't lead 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:42.299 you to becoming indifferent or burning out? I 00:14:42.299 --> 00:14:45.659 always considered it a responsibility to my clients 00:14:45.659 --> 00:14:50.080 to not let that happen to me because if a social 00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:54.980 worker, CPS worker becomes burnt out or maybe 00:14:54.980 --> 00:14:58.399 negative, then it's ultimately going to hurt 00:14:58.399 --> 00:15:02.559 the clients more than it is anybody else. I also 00:15:02.559 --> 00:15:05.539 really quickly think that agencies too have a 00:15:05.539 --> 00:15:10.419 responsibility to try to foster a work environment 00:15:10.419 --> 00:15:15.120 that pays attention to worker self -care. So 00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:18.159 I know, for example, at Los Angeles County DCFS, 00:15:18.179 --> 00:15:21.700 they started a mentor program. So new workers 00:15:21.700 --> 00:15:24.740 are matched with a mentor. Again, that's to help 00:15:24.740 --> 00:15:28.100 them transition. to the work, get support, and 00:15:28.100 --> 00:15:32.000 I think ideas like that are excellent. So I think 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:36.299 a combination of, you know, workers prioritizing 00:15:36.299 --> 00:15:39.919 their self -care and then an agency, public child 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:42.840 welfare agencies, paying attention to that and 00:15:42.840 --> 00:15:46.100 contributing to worker self -care are two important 00:15:46.100 --> 00:15:48.549 things. Excellent. Thank you so much, Debra.. 00:15:48.830 --> 00:15:51.309 Richard, do you have any additional thoughts 00:15:51.309 --> 00:15:54.389 on that? Just was going to share. I feel like 00:15:54.389 --> 00:15:57.450 some pragmatic things have happened. Our caseloads 00:15:57.450 --> 00:16:02.169 are lower than when you all did the work. So 00:16:02.169 --> 00:16:04.289 it's a little bit more manageable now. There's 00:16:04.289 --> 00:16:07.769 still a lot of work to do. And when social workers 00:16:07.769 --> 00:16:09.950 do feel that way and the social workers that 00:16:09.950 --> 00:16:12.809 I work with, I just remind them to definitely 00:16:12.809 --> 00:16:15.919 make sure that they practice self -preservation, 00:16:16.179 --> 00:16:18.840 self -care, that they have a system in place, 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:22.059 right? That they are able to identify what makes 00:16:22.059 --> 00:16:25.340 them their best selves, so to say. And again, 00:16:25.379 --> 00:16:27.820 I love that Deborah shares that ultimately we 00:16:27.820 --> 00:16:31.019 want to be that for our loved ones and also for 00:16:31.019 --> 00:16:32.899 the people that we work with, right? They want, 00:16:32.980 --> 00:16:36.740 you know, we need workers who are out there feeling 00:16:36.740 --> 00:16:39.720 well about the work that they're doing. And then 00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:45.190 just on a personal level, I think that DCFS is 00:16:45.190 --> 00:16:48.990 a huge organization. So there's a multitude of 00:16:48.990 --> 00:16:50.909 opportunity out there to do different things. 00:16:51.409 --> 00:16:53.870 And in my personal experience, I think it's helped 00:16:53.870 --> 00:16:57.850 me to look out for other opportunities and just 00:16:57.850 --> 00:17:00.889 play different roles, work with different people. 00:17:01.210 --> 00:17:04.089 And it kind of makes you feel a little fresh 00:17:04.089 --> 00:17:08.400 and vibrant, and it keeps you engaged. I love 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:10.019 that. Thank you, Richard. Thank you, Debra. 00:17:10.359 --> 00:17:13.759 I know this topic, it comes up a lot in class 00:17:13.759 --> 00:17:18.359 where students sometimes express having a difficult 00:17:18.359 --> 00:17:21.980 time kind of getting images out of their head. 00:17:22.460 --> 00:17:24.759 You know, after experience, you know, going out 00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:28.099 on a home visit and seeing children and families 00:17:28.099 --> 00:17:31.259 suffer, you know, it's very hard for the students. 00:17:31.259 --> 00:17:34.720 And so they they need to be mindful that we know 00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:37.019 that they're human, too. And so one, I'm glad 00:17:37.019 --> 00:17:40.910 to hear. that DCFS is taking those extra steps 00:17:40.910 --> 00:17:43.349 to make sure that we take care of our social 00:17:43.349 --> 00:17:45.609 workers as well, because we need them to be healthy. 00:17:45.990 --> 00:17:48.769 I'd like to just kind of talk a little bit about 00:17:48.769 --> 00:17:52.230 some of the myths that social workers steal children 00:17:52.230 --> 00:17:54.990 from families. I mean, usually when I go out 00:17:54.990 --> 00:17:57.210 and I tell people ask, what do you do for a living? 00:17:57.589 --> 00:17:59.509 Oh, I'm a social worker. Oh, you steal children. 00:18:00.049 --> 00:18:02.890 No, you know, Richard, can you share with us 00:18:02.890 --> 00:18:06.519 a little bit about dispelling the myths that 00:18:06.519 --> 00:18:09.460 social workers steal children from families to 00:18:09.460 --> 00:18:12.420 help change the conversation around what DCFS 00:18:12.420 --> 00:18:15.960 actually accomplishes? Yeah, I definitely try. 00:18:16.579 --> 00:18:20.019 I do definitely. take a transparent approach 00:18:20.019 --> 00:18:22.900 to the work we do, right? But I do want to say 00:18:22.900 --> 00:18:25.420 when removals happen, and they do, you know, 00:18:25.519 --> 00:18:27.700 so sometimes, you know, I always want to be sensitive 00:18:27.700 --> 00:18:30.319 to families, and if they have that perspective, 00:18:30.500 --> 00:18:32.240 it may be like a very personal experience that 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:34.140 they had, and I always want to respect that, 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:37.180 right? But I do want to say that I've been pushed 00:18:37.180 --> 00:18:43.000 in my time to DCFS that, you know, to... emphasize 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:46.440 that removal is the last resort. Social workers, 00:18:46.859 --> 00:18:49.819 like the brunt of the work is trying to avoid 00:18:49.819 --> 00:18:52.680 removal, right? Like those, in my experience, 00:18:52.759 --> 00:18:55.700 like the hardest cases, the most work that we 00:18:55.700 --> 00:18:58.920 do is when we're in a difficult situation where 00:18:58.920 --> 00:19:01.759 it may be unsafe or we just need to be a little 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:06.200 safer and we're just trying to bring collaborators 00:19:06.200 --> 00:19:10.240 together. For example, other relatives, community 00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:14.049 partners. community -based mental health organizations 00:19:14.049 --> 00:19:17.950 to help keep children in the care of their parents 00:19:17.950 --> 00:19:20.750 right and that does take a lot of work and that's 00:19:20.750 --> 00:19:23.210 why social workers are busy because you know 00:19:23.210 --> 00:19:26.130 the the goal is for every investigation that 00:19:26.130 --> 00:19:28.349 we have that we're doing that because we're trying 00:19:28.349 --> 00:19:33.019 to not have to you know, make the decision to 00:19:33.019 --> 00:19:35.099 introduce the family into dependency court, where 00:19:35.099 --> 00:19:37.099 ultimately, like, those are where the decisions 00:19:37.099 --> 00:19:40.140 are made, right? It's a legal decision in court. 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:42.859 I think there's also still some work to do, right? 00:19:42.900 --> 00:19:45.359 Because I always do talk to my colleagues about, 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:48.220 although my experience has been that our goal, 00:19:48.220 --> 00:19:49.880 you know, has, you know, removal of the last 00:19:49.880 --> 00:19:52.700 resort, keeping families together, doing the 00:19:52.700 --> 00:19:55.039 work and, you know, working hard towards it. 00:19:55.339 --> 00:19:57.059 There's still some community members that do 00:19:57.059 --> 00:20:00.329 see the other side of DCFS and that just means 00:20:00.329 --> 00:20:02.369 that we just got to keep working hard to try 00:20:02.369 --> 00:20:05.329 to continue to dispel that myth. Thank you so 00:20:05.329 --> 00:20:09.210 much Richard. Deborah, obviously you know at 00:20:09.210 --> 00:20:13.930 USC we offer incoming graduate students a workforce 00:20:13.930 --> 00:20:16.670 stipend for those interested in pursuing a career 00:20:16.670 --> 00:20:20.150 in public child welfare, specifically at LA County 00:20:20.150 --> 00:20:23.329 DCFS. Can you share with our listeners how is 00:20:23.329 --> 00:20:27.910 the DCFS stipend program preparing our students 00:20:27.910 --> 00:20:31.650 for career and public child welfare? Yeah absolutely 00:20:31.650 --> 00:20:34.470 and so proud that we have Richard here who is 00:20:34.470 --> 00:20:38.150 a graduate of that program and is now paying 00:20:38.150 --> 00:20:43.039 it forward. I believe that the internship program 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:47.920 that USC has with LA County DCFS is so valuable 00:20:47.920 --> 00:20:51.740 in terms of the training that it provides to 00:20:51.740 --> 00:20:54.940 incoming public child welfare workers. Again 00:20:54.940 --> 00:20:57.259 as we were just talking about this can be very 00:20:57.259 --> 00:21:00.539 difficult work and when students are completing 00:21:00.539 --> 00:21:04.700 their internship at DCFS they receive a lot of 00:21:04.700 --> 00:21:08.259 support not only from their practicum instructor 00:21:08.259 --> 00:21:11.680 and their colleagues at DCFS but but they also 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:15.279 receive a great deal of support from their professors 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:20.039 and others at USC. So they're having the opportunity 00:21:20.039 --> 00:21:24.519 to learn what public child welfare work is. Many 00:21:24.519 --> 00:21:27.480 students come in with a somewhat vague idea, 00:21:27.779 --> 00:21:30.039 and some come in and it's like, you know what? 00:21:30.099 --> 00:21:34.319 This isn't quite for me. And that's fine. And 00:21:34.319 --> 00:21:38.220 others come in and it is exactly what they want 00:21:38.220 --> 00:21:42.819 to be doing. I think what is so nice about the 00:21:42.819 --> 00:21:46.539 internship is, again, giving students the opportunity 00:21:46.539 --> 00:21:50.180 to have exposure to what the work is. How does 00:21:50.180 --> 00:21:53.940 it make them feel? They get the opportunity sometimes 00:21:53.940 --> 00:21:57.339 to address difficult ethical questions, you know, 00:21:57.660 --> 00:22:01.720 why was a child removed, not removed, all while 00:22:01.720 --> 00:22:05.819 they're in that learning mode. And so I think 00:22:05.819 --> 00:22:08.700 for students, while they're interning, learning 00:22:08.700 --> 00:22:13.400 about DCFS, they're enhancing their professional 00:22:13.400 --> 00:22:16.339 social work skills, and I think they also grow 00:22:16.339 --> 00:22:19.690 a lot. personally. I think we see students grow 00:22:19.690 --> 00:22:23.210 personally, you know, tremendously over the course 00:22:23.210 --> 00:22:26.130 of the academic year while they're interning 00:22:26.130 --> 00:22:29.190 at DCFS. And then some of the students even find 00:22:29.190 --> 00:22:31.410 a program. They're like, oh, I think emergency 00:22:31.410 --> 00:22:34.309 response, you know, the first responder program 00:22:34.309 --> 00:22:37.230 is more suited for me or something else. But 00:22:37.230 --> 00:22:40.400 I think it just gives them a year. of growth 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:43.880 and learning. And even if they don't make public 00:22:43.880 --> 00:22:46.799 child welfare their lifelong career, they still 00:22:46.799 --> 00:22:50.599 have that knowledge so that whatever area of 00:22:50.599 --> 00:22:53.599 social work they move into, they'll carry that 00:22:53.599 --> 00:22:56.099 knowledge with them. Excellent. Thank you, Debra. 00:22:56.480 --> 00:22:58.599 Richard, would you care to share? I saw you nodding. 00:22:59.480 --> 00:23:01.119 Yeah. A lot of the things that Debra said, 00:23:01.220 --> 00:23:03.509 and just from the student perspective, people 00:23:03.509 --> 00:23:05.230 who are the program right now, it's an excellent 00:23:05.230 --> 00:23:09.589 opportunity to get a peek as to how the work 00:23:09.589 --> 00:23:13.329 is to try things out. I do, you know, train new 00:23:13.329 --> 00:23:17.170 social workers and have had worked with some 00:23:17.170 --> 00:23:19.670 of the USC students. You know, I'm always excited 00:23:19.670 --> 00:23:21.950 because they're at the beginning of their career. 00:23:21.990 --> 00:23:24.210 They're very willing to share their experience. 00:23:24.230 --> 00:23:27.410 I know that they go back to school and have colleagues 00:23:27.410 --> 00:23:29.769 where they learn together, where, you know, one 00:23:29.769 --> 00:23:32.859 person experienced something, felt some certain 00:23:32.859 --> 00:23:35.519 type of way about what they saw in the field. 00:23:36.059 --> 00:23:37.980 And there's a lot of group learning happening. 00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:40.539 And I feel like in my personal experience, like 00:23:40.539 --> 00:23:44.079 it connected the dots, right? To make sure that 00:23:44.079 --> 00:23:46.799 I understand that this is a system, there's multiple 00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:50.460 entities involved. And it gave me the confidence 00:23:50.460 --> 00:23:54.640 and confidence when I started my career at DCFS. 00:23:55.400 --> 00:23:57.440 that it's still a little scary, right? You know, 00:23:57.440 --> 00:23:59.180 you're going out there a little unknown, but 00:23:59.180 --> 00:24:02.039 at least I had a little bit of background and 00:24:02.039 --> 00:24:05.000 some experience. And I always tell the students 00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:07.019 that we're working with, make sure that you interview 00:24:07.019 --> 00:24:09.920 people, make sure that you are transparent with 00:24:09.920 --> 00:24:13.259 your field practical instructor, because it's 00:24:13.259 --> 00:24:16.680 a great learning opportunity, which not a lot 00:24:16.680 --> 00:24:19.599 of people get. You know, I get a lot of new social 00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:22.690 workers who... come off doing a different job, 00:24:22.710 --> 00:24:25.990 sometimes related. And it's just a big change 00:24:25.990 --> 00:24:28.650 for them. And I'm really proud of them being 00:24:28.650 --> 00:24:33.289 able to actually embrace the job and learn. However, 00:24:33.390 --> 00:24:35.470 it's a bigger learning curve for someone that 00:24:35.470 --> 00:24:37.990 doesn't do a program like that. Thank you, Richard. 00:24:38.170 --> 00:24:40.130 I know we bring you back every year, right, for 00:24:40.130 --> 00:24:43.750 our summer orientation to share, right? So it's 00:24:43.750 --> 00:24:45.369 so exciting. Yeah, it's always a great experience. 00:24:45.670 --> 00:24:49.609 Yes, the students love you. So I'd like to shift 00:24:49.609 --> 00:24:53.930 our conversation a little bit towards child fatalities. 00:24:54.410 --> 00:24:58.210 We know that child fatalities are rare, but over 00:24:58.210 --> 00:25:01.170 the past few decades, there have been more attention 00:25:01.170 --> 00:25:05.130 on child abuse, especially a few docuseries 00:25:05.130 --> 00:25:07.700 that were made about child child abuse and what 00:25:07.700 --> 00:25:10.960 appears to be the failure of the system to protect 00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:13.980 children. So Richard, I'd like to start with 00:25:13.980 --> 00:25:17.279 you if you could share what has changed in the 00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:20.380 field of public child welfare or child protective 00:25:20.380 --> 00:25:23.640 services since then and what assurances are in 00:25:23.640 --> 00:25:26.759 place for families. So, you know, I want to start 00:25:26.759 --> 00:25:29.200 by saying that, you know, When that has happened, 00:25:29.599 --> 00:25:32.299 it's a tragedy, right? It impacts, obviously, 00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:35.660 the family and the community, and it has, you 00:25:35.660 --> 00:25:37.819 know, we see that. One of the things that I think 00:25:37.819 --> 00:25:41.019 about when this topic comes up is my first manager 00:25:41.019 --> 00:25:42.859 in one of our early meetings, she acknowledges 00:25:42.859 --> 00:25:46.140 that, you know, although rare. you know, she 00:25:46.140 --> 00:25:49.519 had seen it in her experience. And I really, 00:25:49.579 --> 00:25:51.599 you know, it was a very difficult conversation 00:25:51.599 --> 00:25:55.539 to have with her. But I really appreciated having 00:25:55.539 --> 00:25:58.259 that conversation early on in my career because 00:25:58.259 --> 00:26:01.400 it gave me, like it was just a reminder of the 00:26:01.400 --> 00:26:04.140 weight of the work. I guess it's something that 00:26:04.140 --> 00:26:06.119 doesn't leave you when someone shares that, you 00:26:06.119 --> 00:26:08.180 know, like something that heavy with you. The 00:26:08.180 --> 00:26:10.279 other side of it is, you know, I've been at DCFS 00:26:10.279 --> 00:26:13.700 for 10 years and I've seen a lot of the changes 00:26:13.700 --> 00:26:17.740 that have happened as a result of some of those 00:26:17.740 --> 00:26:20.940 things. So, you know, an example of how DCFS 00:26:20.940 --> 00:26:24.210 has reacted. having a DCFS Academy, you know, 00:26:24.349 --> 00:26:27.650 more extensive training, preparing social workers 00:26:27.650 --> 00:26:31.890 to do the job, to make better assessments, regular. 00:26:33.620 --> 00:26:36.940 practice examples and and data from our risk 00:26:36.940 --> 00:26:39.599 management team reviewing some of these cases 00:26:39.599 --> 00:26:42.779 some of these um rare but severe cases and to 00:26:42.779 --> 00:26:44.440 see like hey what are the trends like what can 00:26:44.440 --> 00:26:46.759 we avoid next time right what can social workers 00:26:46.759 --> 00:26:49.660 here are actual tools here are questions to ask 00:26:49.660 --> 00:26:52.680 this is who to ask and some red flags we can 00:26:52.680 --> 00:26:56.420 identify so then when you are out there investigating 00:26:56.420 --> 00:26:59.099 you can you know point those things out the other 00:26:59.099 --> 00:27:01.000 thing is like the supervision piece right you 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:04.160 know a social worker should have the support 00:27:04.160 --> 00:27:06.680 of their supervisor and the supervisor of the 00:27:06.680 --> 00:27:10.670 manager and we should be We were taught to bring 00:27:10.670 --> 00:27:13.849 in people who also are responsible for the safety 00:27:13.849 --> 00:27:15.869 of the children, for example, relatives, right? 00:27:16.650 --> 00:27:19.430 Because child safety ultimately is not just the 00:27:19.430 --> 00:27:21.130 responsibility of the social worker that goes 00:27:21.130 --> 00:27:22.809 out and meets the family, right? It's a community 00:27:22.809 --> 00:27:25.750 responsibility. So I do appreciate that I've 00:27:25.750 --> 00:27:28.170 had that experience. You know, lessons learned, 00:27:28.329 --> 00:27:31.190 you know, some really hard lessons learned. Initiatives 00:27:31.190 --> 00:27:34.170 to teach social workers to just gather data better. 00:27:34.349 --> 00:27:36.609 For example, a lot of social workers are learning 00:27:36.609 --> 00:27:39.869 motivational interviewing. an exhaustive process 00:27:39.869 --> 00:27:42.670 right now for them. But ultimately, the goal 00:27:42.670 --> 00:27:46.690 is to just team with families better and just 00:27:46.690 --> 00:27:50.690 make safer plans in order to have families going 00:27:50.690 --> 00:27:52.670 in the right direction and keeping them together. 00:27:52.950 --> 00:27:56.690 Excellent. Thank you, Richard. And which is transitioning 00:27:56.690 --> 00:27:59.670 into community, because you said it's not just 00:27:59.670 --> 00:28:02.529 about the social worker. It really is like a 00:28:02.529 --> 00:28:06.349 collaborative response, which I'd love to hear 00:28:06.349 --> 00:28:09.200 from you, Deborah, about how social workers are 00:28:09.200 --> 00:28:11.759 collaborating with other departments and agencies 00:28:11.759 --> 00:28:15.480 to protect children. Yeah, absolutely. So there 00:28:15.480 --> 00:28:20.140 is a lot more collaboration going on now and 00:28:20.140 --> 00:28:23.180 Richard touched with touched base on that. And 00:28:23.180 --> 00:28:27.799 I think the collaboration shows the need for 00:28:27.799 --> 00:28:31.079 social workers to bring in as many partners as 00:28:31.079 --> 00:28:35.220 possible to support families and also giving 00:28:35.220 --> 00:28:39.160 families the agency to identify who their supports 00:28:39.160 --> 00:28:43.500 are. Again, I think collaboration reflects a 00:28:43.500 --> 00:28:47.160 shift in DCFS from moving away from, we're going 00:28:47.160 --> 00:28:49.440 to tell you what's best for you. We're going 00:28:49.440 --> 00:28:52.039 to tell you how to parent. We're going to tell 00:28:52.039 --> 00:28:56.519 you how to manage your life. It's no. We want 00:28:56.519 --> 00:28:59.960 to hear from you what's working, what's not working. 00:29:00.400 --> 00:29:06.369 How can we collaborate in terms of helping you 00:29:06.369 --> 00:29:09.930 reach your goals for your family. And I also 00:29:09.930 --> 00:29:12.690 really appreciated what Richard said about this 00:29:12.690 --> 00:29:16.990 idea of shared responsibility. So I think collaboration 00:29:16.990 --> 00:29:21.569 really requires accountability on the part of 00:29:21.569 --> 00:29:26.170 everyone. Again, we all want to be working hard. 00:29:26.480 --> 00:29:29.880 to make sure that children are safe and families 00:29:29.880 --> 00:29:34.059 are able to provide a safe, nurturing home environment. 00:29:34.359 --> 00:29:38.140 So I think we all have a responsibility to do 00:29:38.140 --> 00:29:41.140 that. And I think the ways we do that, which 00:29:41.140 --> 00:29:44.380 now is including the family, hearing their input, 00:29:44.599 --> 00:29:47.539 hearing their thoughts, including community -based 00:29:47.539 --> 00:29:52.599 partners, is so crucial. And I think results 00:29:52.599 --> 00:29:57.210 in families and agencies having more successful 00:29:57.210 --> 00:30:00.490 collaborations. I think when families feel respected, 00:30:00.930 --> 00:30:03.309 when they feel like they have a seat at the table 00:30:03.309 --> 00:30:05.589 and they feel like their voices are being heard, 00:30:05.930 --> 00:30:09.710 children as well, it makes collaboration all 00:30:09.710 --> 00:30:12.650 the more successful. Thank you, Deborah. Gosh, 00:30:12.750 --> 00:30:15.849 thank you. I really appreciate you framing that 00:30:15.849 --> 00:30:20.230 for our listeners that we want to work with families. 00:30:20.470 --> 00:30:24.069 They are the experts with their children. So 00:30:24.069 --> 00:30:27.849 as we begin to wrap up, are there any final thoughts 00:30:27.849 --> 00:30:30.710 that you'd like our listeners to know about? 00:30:31.329 --> 00:30:32.730 Deborah, I'd like to start with you and then 00:30:32.730 --> 00:30:35.019 Richard, any final thoughts? I would just like 00:30:35.019 --> 00:30:38.680 to share that I think the field of child protective 00:30:38.680 --> 00:30:41.700 services, public child welfare, for me, it has 00:30:41.700 --> 00:30:46.339 been an absolutely amazing career. I have learned 00:30:46.339 --> 00:30:49.240 more from the families and children I have worked 00:30:49.240 --> 00:30:53.299 with than from anyone else, including my wonderful 00:30:53.299 --> 00:30:57.980 professors at USC. But the families and children 00:30:57.980 --> 00:31:01.680 have taught me more than anyone else and have 00:31:01.680 --> 00:31:05.569 so richly contributed to my personal and professional 00:31:05.569 --> 00:31:09.109 development. And I'm sure all areas of social 00:31:09.109 --> 00:31:12.049 work do that. But again, I think there's just 00:31:12.049 --> 00:31:14.509 with public child welfare, social work, there 00:31:14.509 --> 00:31:17.910 is such an opportunity to find meaning in your 00:31:17.910 --> 00:31:21.170 work and that you are making a difference. And 00:31:21.170 --> 00:31:23.730 the difference that you're making is protecting 00:31:23.730 --> 00:31:27.549 children and trying to strengthen and keep families 00:31:27.549 --> 00:31:30.690 together. Excellent. Thank you, Debra. Richard, 00:31:30.769 --> 00:31:33.339 any final thoughts? I feel like Debra always 00:31:33.339 --> 00:31:35.640 wraps everything up really well. I just want 00:31:35.640 --> 00:31:38.380 to say, you know, I agree with everything she's 00:31:38.380 --> 00:31:40.299 saying and, you know, we're doing the work. It's 00:31:40.299 --> 00:31:41.940 tough work. I'm really proud of the work that 00:31:41.940 --> 00:31:45.380 we're doing on a daily basis. But I often say, 00:31:45.460 --> 00:31:48.069 like, I think... that the thing that makes me 00:31:48.069 --> 00:31:51.049 just most excited and wanting to still you know 00:31:51.049 --> 00:31:52.509 stay stay and contribute to this organization 00:31:52.509 --> 00:31:54.950 is that we want to get better right it's always 00:31:54.950 --> 00:31:57.910 about getting better because ultimately that 00:31:57.910 --> 00:32:00.910 means that families are you know staying together 00:32:00.910 --> 00:32:04.349 families are safer we're giving family dignity 00:32:04.349 --> 00:32:07.950 to choose you know which direction like their 00:32:07.950 --> 00:32:10.250 family what's best for their family and um you 00:32:10.250 --> 00:32:13.369 know that's been my experience and that's what 00:32:13.369 --> 00:32:16.480 i you know want to make sure that our our listeners 00:32:16.480 --> 00:32:19.359 here and also here that we're just, we're continuing 00:32:19.359 --> 00:32:22.279 to work hard towards that. Excellent. Thank you 00:32:22.279 --> 00:32:25.279 so much, Debra and Richard for joining us for 00:32:25.279 --> 00:32:28.119 a great discussion on this very important topic. 00:32:28.259 --> 00:32:30.400 If you would like to learn more about public 00:32:30.400 --> 00:32:34.259 child welfare or our DCFS stipend program, please 00:32:34.259 --> 00:32:39.059 visit our website at dworakpeck.usc.edu. And 00:32:39.059 --> 00:32:41.160 if you would like to network with our guests 00:32:41.160 --> 00:32:44.019 regarding their work or want to support our transformative 00:32:44.019 --> 00:32:48.109 research and program. please email us at 00:32:48.109 --> 00:32:52.450 listenuppeople@usc.edu. We would love to hear from you and 00:32:52.450 --> 00:32:53.210 thanks for listening.