New Foster Care Worker

meticulous records and file keeping - could be important in solving future behavior problems/issues with kids

You would probably get a better response on the Foster Care & Adoption Support forum. You don't say if you are going to be a licensing worker, CPS, intake, or case worker. Depending on where you land, you may do just one of those things or some combination. So these tips would apply to some and all. Read the actual law in your state, not just your training or policy manuals or the words of your colleagues. Much of what "everybody knows" in a ss office, including the lawyers who should know better but often fall back on "local practice," is sometimes just years of "that's how we do it" without regard to the actual law as currently written. Manuals are not law, they are just words written by a bureaucrat (with his/her own agenda) who got someone else higher up (with their own agenda) to approve them. Read ASFA and US Code Title 42. Understand what they mean. Read the old ICPC and the new one. Understand what they mean and the changes. Figure out where what your colleagues say, the policy manual, state law, federal law, ASFA, and ICPC may conflict. In my experience, the pattern has been that if it costs the county/district money, they find a way to either ignore the law or interpret it to their advantage, so--follow the money. Find out what your agency does when there is a conflict. On intake, look for and screen relatives immediately, as if the kids' lives depend on it, because they do. Explain to parents that the longer the children are in care, the more likely they will be adopted by the people caring for them and that the agency does everything possible to minimize moves--now is not the time to be afraid of letting grandma or Auntie Lettie know there is a problem because later will be too late. Explain the same thing to grandma and Auntie Lettie--now is not the time to sit back and see what happens or be afraid to rock the boat with the parents or other family, the boat has already tipped over, it's time to get the kids or take bad odds on losing them to a closed adoption by strangers. On a concurrent plan when RU is not likely, distance is not an issue, go across the country if you have to. Process ICPCs as quickly as possible. It is outrageous that private adoption ICPCs go through in days and weeks while foster care ICPCs languish for months despite expediting orders. Don't let this happen to your kids. Don't be a party to dumping children on anxious, uninformed relatives. Don't talk frightened people into taking simple custody or guardianship of young children without TPR and the permanency of adoption--don't dump open custody cases and years of costly litigation on them and don't dump special needs children on them without the Title IV-E benefits and supports they need for a successful placement. Don't tell relatives that it will be "easy" for them to TPR and adopt privately if they want to a few years down the road. It will be a lie. Encourage relatives to get licensed for both foster and adopt so that they are better prepared for both the child and the system. Understand that every move damages a child although the benefits of some--if to a better permanency situation for example--may outweigh the damage. Understand that children over the age of five or so know that they are not in a secure situation. That knowledge interferes with their attachment development and can cause lifelong damage affecting many areas of adult functioning. Don't let them languish because of the parents' and lawyers' delays or little signs of progress that aren't enough for return. That extra 3, 6, 9, 12 or more months' case extension past the 15/22 rule does damage to the child. Returning a child after that period of time is unthinkable anyway, even if the parents have their ducks in a row by then...the child has moved on and putting them back would be damaging them further. One of the biggest problems in TPRs, a GAL has told me, is that caseworkers and the agency lawyers often don't have actual evidence when they go to court. Read the rules of evidence for your courts, then be sure you have put the mechanisms in place from the outset to credibly document everything you may need later for TPR. Write concrete measures into your case plans and stick to them. If alcohol or drug use is an issue, require periodic tests and be sure it is written in the case plan that noncompliance is counted as failure. Don't just require them to take a class, require them to achieve a satisfactory report on participation from the class instructor. If mental illness is an issue, require two evaluations at intake, another at review, etc., two prior to TPR. Be sure the evals specifically address the parent's ability and likelihood to parent safely. Again, if you can do it in your state, write that noncompliance is counted as failure. Get releases for all appropriate medical/mental health facilities in the area so parents won't go under the radar. Try to get visitation under your discretion but get it written in that parents must comply and noncompliance is considered failure to maintain a bond with the child. Don't make foster parents do your job. Take responsibility for visitation and visitation documentation. Don't force foster parents to open their home or phone lines to parents. Facilitate communication through you. Don't rely on the parents' foster training alone thinking they know what is happening and why. Be sure your foster parents understand the case plan, the need to stick to its structure and that their idea of "helping" the parents (unscheduled visits, actively helping them find a job or place to live, etc.) can backfire and even be considered interfering with their efforts. Set clear visitation rules, in writing, for the parents. I'm sure I'd have more if I kept sitting here, but others will chime in. Good luck in your new career.

Return phone calls & always keep good notes.

Actually talk to the kids and the foster parents, I have had workers that did one or the other, or neither, but only one that did both.

The best social workers quickly burn out because they find it hard to "detach" at the end of the day. Take care of yourself, and be sure you have a "support system" in place to help you maintain balance. Don't depend on other social workers (the burned out ones are part of the problem). Do your best for your clients every day ... but don't get ahead of yourself. You have enough on your plate each day, no need to "borrow" tomorrow's trouble!