March is National Professional Social Worker month and here at the Children’s Safety Center we are spotlighting our social workers and the many roles they play on our team.
Casey, how long have you worked at the Children’s Safety Center? What is your job role?
I have worked at the Children’s Safety Center for 13 years. I am the Program Director and I oversee the programs as well as provide child sexual abuse prevention and education to our community. Over the last year I have been fortunate to educate over 1,300 adults right here in Washington County.
Why did you become a social worker?
I always knew I wanted to help people, but I didn’t know what that would look like until I took Introduction to Social Work in college and realized that this was the field I wanted to pursue.
Something that people might not know about social workers…
I think people would be surprised to know how many agencies have social workers on staff. According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for social workers is expected to grow twice as fast as any other occupation.
What is the best thing about being a social worker at the Children’s Safety Center?
I love walking in the door and seeing all of the handprints on the wall from all the children that have been able to receive our services and tell their story. People often ask how I can do this work and hear these kids stories. I always tell them that when the children come to us the abuse has already happened and we can’t take that away, but if we get to be the ones to help them start their journey to healing, that’s pretty amazing.
Any advice for someone going into the social work field?
Try to focus on the small victories. In this work, you often don’t get to see the long term outcomes of your clients, so when you see small successes like when a client makes a breakthrough in therapy or finally feels safe enough to sleep in their bed again…Remember that these are the reasons we do this work and that we are making a difference!
