To those who work/have worked for CPS, or know of someone who does, is it worth it? I have an interview for the position next week and while I was initially excited for the job opportunity, a family friend seems to think I’m making a big mistake. I just graduated from college so I really just want to get my foot in the door with experienc
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It’s a good way to get your foot in the door.
If you get the job, do it well. I have run into many workers who do the bare minimum to get their check. Don’t be that person.
Learn all you can, and move on when you have the opportunity.
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I’m a therapist, currently working with adopted children and their families. I’ve worked in education and social service for over 20 years. Any job in social service will have tons of challenges, with state agencies likely having the least supportive environment for workers. The jobs are emotionally exhausting/draining, require long hours, usually have an on-call component, and pay poorly for the education/workload required. If you are lucky, you find a great supervisor and team that understands self-care and work-life balance. I would ask a lot of questions in the interviews and be open. There are a lot of social service positions open and high turnover due to low pay/high stress, so finding a job should not be an issue… finding one that works for YOU is the bigger search.
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I did it for 2 years. It was great experience and gave me a lot more perspective as to what people go through and how to help them. Yes, sometimes the best thing for the child is to remove them, but most of the time, you are helping them family get services
There are many ways to help families and children without joining a giant slow moving bureaucracy, most states have cut back on the benefits and retirement packages to go along with the already ridiculous pay, until things change you should vigorously look at the private sector
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Just know they can call you anytime if your a case manager i have three girls all under the age of seven and the main reason I turned it down was because I knew if I had a crises call I couldn’t just find a babysitter on a whim and up and leave and find childcare in the middle of the night or whatever the situation may be. And I knew I would miss out on my kids lives and activities a lot.
You will see a lot of things you wish you didn’t. Both from the parenting aspect and the poop party CPS/DCF can be. But good people are needed for sure.
Depending on where you live and where you work. Some people may not be pleasant to run into, say at Walmart, because you could be the reason their children were taken away. While CPS is a blessing, it’s not always seen that way to people who have been negatively affected by CPS, when when reasonably so.
ask about turnover, because sometimes there is a big reason for high turnover outside of the actual work.
If you need a job, it’s worth it. Get the experience and move on from there if you don’t like it
I think it would be nice for experience, and then you will learn what your friend is talking about and move on
Go for the experience. If your heart is there, do it.
If your questioning it you shouldn’t do it.
Don’t listen to friends, go for all the experience you can get.
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If you just graduated you should get any job where you can learn and grow
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I think it’s a great opportunity but bc of your position it’s going to be very stressful bc you’ll be the bad guy in most situations! But you can also make such an incredible difference! Just don’t let people bring you down! And remember they hate your Job not you! I think it could be a great experience though!