Tulsa World: Learning in field and office

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Learning in field and office
Child-welfare training consists of five weeks of visits and discussions.

By GINNIE GRAHAM World Staff Writer
Published: 4/13/2009 2:21 AM
Last Modified: 4/13/2009 9:54 AM

Related Story: New DHS child safety plan in use

NORMAN — Julia Partney watched as Tulsa law enforcement agents flooded into the home during a drug raid.

She was there as part of her training to become a child-welfare worker for the state Department of Human Services. Children were believed to be living in the house.

"They went in with guns drawn and it was really tense," Partney said. "How do you deal with that? You go home, have dinner, watch TV and try to have normalcy."

No children were present, but there was a scramble to determine where they were.

"This work can be a little overwhelming at times," she said. "Even though I didn't create this situation, I hope to bring a positive light to a negative situation."

All DHS child welfare investigators complete a five-week training course, called Core, that includes job shadowing, interpersonal skills, assessments, legal liability, safety and an overview of the mountains of documents that must be completed.

About 50 workers a month are trained to work in investigations, foster care placement and adoption. The trainees range from experienced DHS employees to journalism majors.

They swap stories of their experiences. They are former foster children, children of foster parents, volunteers at emergency shelters and other nonprofits for children, parents of adopted children or relatives of a former foster child.

"Most of us here have had a situation that led us to this job," said Carey Smith of Bryan County.

After a layoff and some personal tragedy, Partney took a temporary job helping with DHS' utility assistance program, which led to the child-welfare position. She has a degree in broadcasting, a business work history and volunteer experience as a Court Appointed Special Advocate.

"I did some soul-searching and looked around for something and this seemed like the best fit," Partney said. "I've been thinking about what matters most in life. There is no way you can sit and listen to all of this and be ready to go. A lot of this will be on-the-job training. But I'm ready to get out there."

'No notice'

The trainees are not a quiet group to be spoon-fed policy. They debate, disagree and come to common ground.

"Why take the kids in the middle of the night? It seems like it could've waited," asks Kim Jarvis of Kiowa County.

Her fellow trainees say abuse may be taking place at night, parents may be getting arrested in the wee hours or flight risk might be a concern.

They question trainers on why certain policies are in place. They find out what is in their power and what is set by law.

Jarvis criticized a decision to place a girl in a shelter rather than with a family member, who had a conviction about a decade old.

"It was not one of the crimes for automatic denials," she said. "We all agreed it was unfair and ridiculous, but we couldn't do anything about it."

Discipline is touchy because of differences in generations and cultures, they say. One participant said punishments were "off the Richter scale" among some parents and caregivers while others are so lax that it leads to neglect.

"I've found parents expect more than they should from their children or they want to be best friends with their kids," said Raymond Mobley of Oklahoma County.

Usually, the discussions come back to how a removal affects the child.

"It's an instant change. There's no notice," said Bert Bailey of Oklahoma County. "Even the military gets notification."

It's that child that keeps the workers focused.

"It's a real up-and-down kind of job," said Mobley, who has worked for DHS for two years. "Some days you get tons of messages with families in crisis or backtracking. Other times, you see families making progress and doing the things they should be doing. That's what draws people to this — there really are people out there who need assistance."

'Have it harder than police'

Cleveland County Undersheriff Rhett Burnett told the group about the bust of a methamphetamine lab a few years ago in which the drugmaker was surrounded by dangerous chemicals and his children.

"He wasn't afraid of me," Burnett said. "But when DHS showed up, he immediately said: 'You ain't takin' my kids.'

"That was the first thing he said. That's the mind-set you're going to deal with. People don't like you. You'll find that out.

"But just record it, and work on changing people who need it. Some won't care. But there are people who we want to get services so we don't see them again."

Danger is part of the job. Burnett warns the trainees during a three-hour session on how to deal with it and avoid it.

Some tips are simple: Take a phone and tell a coworker where you are going. Also, don't park and do paperwork in front of the house, don't wear necklaces and don't stand within kicking and hitting distance of your contact.

Others require more planning: Do background checks before you go, and call police for an escort.

"Not all of your contacts will want to kill you. But there might be that one who will," Burnett said. "You are in a position to help a lot of people. But you are also in a position where people can hurt you."

Burnett assured the workers that it is OK not to enter a home. DHS workers do not carry guns or even badges.

"You do have the authority to take away their children," he said. "What do you think that is going to evoke — extreme emotion.

"You have it harder than police working these because you work for an institution. You work for a system. For what you are required to do, it is a system that is going to ask you to do more for less."

Toward the end of the training, Sherry Westmoreland of Oklahoma County was uncertain. She had worked as a paralegal for a U.S. attorney.

"I needed a job, and this was the only opening I found," she said. "As I've gotten more into it, I'm thinking I should have done more research on this."

BY THE NUMBERS

1,077
Total state child-welfare workers in Oklahoma

19
Percentage of turnover among child-welfare workers

14
Average number of investigations assigned per intake worker at any given time

12
Recommended caseload per investigator by Child Welfare League of America

18.7
Average number of children assigned per permanency planning worker (for children in custody) at any given time

15
Recommended foster child caseload per worker by the Child Welfare League of America

$28,572
Average starting salary for child-welfare workers

384
Number of workers who completed child welfare training last year

Source: Oklahoma Department of Human Services

CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH

To recognize April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month, Tulsa World reporter Ginnie Graham spent several days attending training required for DHS child-welfare investigators.

Ginnie Graham 581-8376
ginnie.graham@tulsaworld.com By GINNIE GRAHAM World Staff Writer

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	Report Comment RDM1, Tulsa (4/13/2009 6:47:54 AM) $28,572 LMAOWROTF....and I'm guessing they want you to have a college degree also.
	Report Comment Mrs. Grundy, TULSA (4/13/2009 7:53:59 AM) The workers certainly earn their wages. It sounds like a thankless, no win proposition. But, IT MUST BE DONE, sadly--like ombundsman in a care home. RDM1-Please use ordinary words, not alphabet soup ones. Thank you!!
	Report Comment Angry Citizen!, Bluejacket (4/13/2009 8:50:48 AM) Ask these child welfare workers what they think about the legalization of meth and cocaine. I'll bet the state doesn't pay them time and a half to respond at night either- Tough job~!
	Report Comment mamamany, OKC (4/13/2009 9:08:44 AM) everyone who has a comment about this needs to stop leaving comments and actually become pro active, get off your butt and do something about it. It's pretty easy to sit at home and complain and make nasty comments~ c become a CASA volunteer, become a foster parent( call 298-5059~bair Foundation) volunteer at the laura Dester Shelter, send donations of baby clothing diapers, toys, games to the shelters~~it IS a thankless job for DHS workers and foster parents...but at last they are doing something instead of complaining
	Report Comment Bullhead, Nicut (4/13/2009 2:31:44 PM) mama, I'm not sure any of us (bloggers) would make very good foster parents. Do you think so? I do donate goods to CASA and the Battered Spouse Shelter here. I'm just not sure that with our attitude, we'd make good role models =-\
	Report Comment queenofmyownuniverse, (4/15/2009 1:39:50 PM) One of the reasons people are so resistant to DHS entering their homes is that the caseworkers give the impression that they are the enemy. They're not even polite to people! If you at the least bit defensive about their presence on your property, they label you as uncooperative, threaten you with the police (which by the way is illegal) and basically bully you into waiving your Constitutional rights under threat of arrest. Once they are in the "uncooperative" persons home, they will look for anything they can use against you. And with the vague child abuse laws, anything from a stained carpet to dirty dishes to a scratch on your child's leg is enough to open an investigation. Don't fool yourself into a false sense of security because you know you've done nothing wrong, if you let them in your home, there is a high chance they will find something. Never allow any state offical into your home without a warrant! Even if you are a law biding citizen! If an investigation is opened on your family then you are seen as "guilty until YOU prove yourself innocent." Funding from the Feds is based on the # of children in foster care. There is a huge financial incentive for the state's to take children into foster care. I have learned this from over 10 years of working with and within the broken Child Welfare System. If you would like to learn more about how you can help fix the OKDHS child welfare system, please go to w w w dot sq745 dot org

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