SAN ANTONIO — Our Saturday night 'Forever Family' segment last week was about celebrating 'Child Welfare Worker Appreciation Week'.
We sat down with three folks from Child Protective Services who put in the work that largely goes unseen helping children and families, but superheroes they are no doubt!
"I feel that my families can call on me at any time and they know that I am there to help," said Ashley Herring, a CPS conservatorship specialist.
Social workers within the child welfare system have quite the hearts for children I've seen over the years. They do whatever it takes to keep the best interest of youth within the foster system safe, and that is to be admired.
They'll never be paid like CEO's or pro athletes, but their dedication and passion are off the charts!
"You may go in and say, 'I'll be off at 5 p.m.,' but you get home at 1 a.m. instead because you want to make sure your children have a safe environment they are going to," Herring said. "You want to make sure they are safe and that they have the things they need."
The goal for foster youth is of course always reunification. And even when that is not possible, simply having them in a safe and protected home is still success.
"Maybe on the outside it might look difficult for some people," said CPS conservatorship worker Gabriel Lugo. "For the people that do work here, it does not. It feels just like a natural thing. It does not feel like we are taking on extra. It just feels like something we want to do."
The social workers we spoke with shared about the calling they felt to do the job.
"I've always been called to make sure we can reduce recidivism," said conservatorship advanced specialist Alexx Renee Salomon. "We can get children into a loving environment. Being on call doesn't bother me because I know I'm helping a parent or a child and that's all that matters."
And unlike teachers, as an example, social workers are unsung heroes that go home feeling the stress of the job.
"But you still feel good," said Lugo. "You feel like you've done good work. If that means you helped the kid that needed clothes, shoes or food, you helped them. You did what you could. You did it to the extreme of your ability. That's enough for me."