Foster care caseworkers often feel forgotten, isolated, and alone. From managing stressful workloads to coping with secondary trauma and sometimes facing frustration from families in crisis, it’s not hard to understand why caseworker turnover is so high. But here at The Forgotten Initiative, we believe well-supported caseworkers will more effectively serve children, leading to better outcomes for everyone.
Our guest for this episode is here to give us an inside look at the kinds of struggles caseworkers may be experiencing in your community and how both individuals and churches can come together to give these professionals a network of support.
Brittni Hodges is currently a social worker at Delavan Schools in the same community where she grew up. However, she began her career as a foster care caseworker in Central Illinois.
During her time in this role, Brittni worked tirelessly to support children, biological families, and foster families within the complex demands of the foster care system. Despite heavy caseloads, limited resources, and challenging situations that took a toll on her emotional and physical well-being, her time as a caseworker profoundly shaped her understanding of compassion, resilience, and Christ’s love for all His children.
In this episode, Brittni helps us understand some of the most challenging parts of a caseworker’s role, how big of an impact community support can have on caseworkers, what kinds of resources can make a meaningful difference for local agencies, and much more.
TAKEAWAYS FROM TODAY’S CONVERSATION:
1. Caseworkers have more responsibilities than most people see.
The time a caseworker spends with children, foster parents, and biological parents is only part of their extensive role. In addition to these responsibilities, caseworkers also must fill out paperwork, attend court hearings, work closely with biological parents to help them fulfill the requirements of their case plans, and so much more. In many cases, caseworkers must manage overflowing workloads and work long hours to keep up with the demands of the job.
“There’s a lot of paperwork and not as much one-on-one time as you would love to do.”
2. Emotional support is a crucial resource for caseworkers.
Professionals who work in the foster care system often witness some of the hardest stories and the most hopeless of circumstances. Over time, these experiences can weigh them down—especially if they keep their emotions to themselves. While these workers may not be able to share the confidential details of their cases, it’s important for them to find a supportive community of people who can provide encouragement and understanding.
“You want to talk about it, but instead, it just stays inside. It’s really difficult for anyone to keep emotions or stories or situations that are really hard on your heart.”
3. Allow God to do what only He can.
Caseworkers can easily get discouraged and blame themselves when the outcome of a case doesn’t align with what they feel is best. They may feel like they failed personally or that, somehow, they should have done something more. If you’re involved in the foster care community, even if you aren’t a caseworker, you may be able to relate to these struggles. But underneath these feelings of guilt is an important lesson—our role is provide a helping hand to the best of our ability, not to “rescue” every situation we encounter. There are times when we need to step back, relinquish control, and allow God to do what only He can.
“I need to stop putting all the pressure on myself. I’m not going to change these people. That’s not what I was called to do. What I was called to do is to be a friendly helping face to be able to support them in the best way that I can.”
Meet Our Guest
Brittni Hodges is a social worker at Delavan Schools in Central Illinois. Shortly after earning her degree in Social Work, Brittni began her career as a foster care caseworker. Brittni worked tirelessly to support children, their biological families, and foster families within the demands of the foster care system. These experiences laid the groundwork for her ongoing commitment to serve others and pursue a Master’s Degree in Social Work. Today, Brittni is grateful to work alongside students in the same community where she grew up. She lives in Delavan along with her high school sweetheart, Sam, their 8-month-old daughter, and their dog, Maggie.
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