19th March 2018
For Foster Care Case Manager Sandra, playing a part for foster kids growing up to live great lives is very rewarding.
Sandra works with infants right up to 18 year olds in foster care, making sure they receive the support they need each day in foster care, as well as supporting foster carers.
There are many different tasks on any given day ranging from helping a foster child move to a new placement, or back to their biological parents to helping a foster carer navigate a foster child’s behaviour. Dealing with many different people on a daily basis is normal, as Sandra and the team aim to help each child and foster carer as best they can.
Sandra decided to work in the field of social welfare after being a foster carer herself, along with her husband. She wanted to make a positive difference for young people in foster care.
Rewards and challenges come with social work. Seeing children grow up and live a good life is gratifying for Sandra and helping children return home to their parents can be very rewarding.
“I’ve been able to work with two girls for ten years. Seeing them grow and do really well is rewarding. It’s a credit to them, it’s a credit to their carers and having the same worker helps.”
Making sure carers are given support and acknowledging them for their fantastic work they do helping kids each day is also key for Sandra.
“Sometimes we forget we need to just tell them ‘you’re doing marvellously,’ and give them more confidence. So just supporting them in that they are doing the best they can.”
The importance of self-care is vital for social workers and can be a challenge at times.
“Some of the stories you hear, you have to work out how to manage that for yourself and not take it home with you. You have to work it out, or you can’t do the job. We use the Anglicare counselling service when we need to.”
At the end of the day, for Sandra it’s about being there for the child and making sure plans are in place for them to have the best chance of a successful future.
“It’s about listening to them. I find driving them places is the best way to chat. It’s about supporting the child and just being there really.”
