Abstract

In the Human Development and Family Studies field, there are many career options to choose from, but after I complete this degree from SFA, I could see myself as a Preschool, Daycare director or being an adoption specialist with an adoption agency or foster care agency, or a caseworker with the Adult Protective Services program. Children cannot themselves, they need someone who would defend them. The elderly and Adults with disabilities who cannot protect or defend themselves need someone to teach them skills and how to earn their dignity and self-respect back and can contribute to our society. I would like to help families by educating them with an intervention plan on establishing a healthy family relationship with other family members without CPS intervention so especially, the child can be in a safe and loving home. I also would like to help adults get their independence back, especially when helping them with employment assistance and job training skills, also being there for them when they are going through a crisis in an emergency situation and having compassion for them since a lot of people go through difficult times they will need someone to help them out when they are in need.

Career Investigation Assignment: Adult Protective Services 

The first career that interests me is Preschool and Child Care director. The duties and responsibilities of varies depending on the facility, for instance, directors are in charge of  programs that’s offered; they interview and hire new staff. It’s their responsibility to ensure that the right candidate is hired for the position. They schedule background checks for candidates to ensure that they do not have a criminal record before offering the position to the candidates. Working with children is a serious responsibility and each candidate needs to be a screen thoroughly.

Another responsibility that comes with being a director is the communication with parents. From the start, directors have an interview with the parents; programs that the pre-school offers are explained and questions are answered. They also oversee the preschool teachers, ensuring that they have everything they need for lesson planning daily. Pre-School and daycare, directors are in charge of the finances (budget planning). They have to make sure that they stay in budget. Tours of the facility for potential parents, who are considering enrolling their kids in their pre-school and Day Care programs. Directors of this program work full time and sometimes travel to other facilities for workshop events that the pre-school has need to be approved by the director; for example, fall festivals, and Christmas parties to name a few. “Another responsibility of directors in this profession is providing  professional development for the staff, organizing meetings and communicate with parents along with the teachers on the progress of their child” (BLS.gov, 2019). Directors are usually in the office, most of their day will sometimes make random classroom visits to see if the teachers  and kids to ensure that things are running smoothly. 

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The educational requirements for a childcare or preschool director are usually a bachelor’s degree mostly likely in education or Human Development and Family Studies- but some employers (depending on location or area) will accept a candidate for the position of director with a credential in Child Development (CDA) Child Development Associate. Some employers prefer two years of experience in the preschool or daycare setting before to becoming a director of a Pres-School or daycare. The salary of a Pre-school director and child care director is about is $47,000 up to 47,900 near 48,000 a year. The job outlook for a preschool director and day care director is estimated to be about 7 percentage growth from 2018 to 2028. The preschool and daycare facility have to be licensed in order to operate and provide services to the community.

Link-  BLS U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Preschool and Childcare Center Directors, on the internet at retrieved from: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/preschool-and-childcare-center-directors.htm

Family- Based Safety Services Specialist

The second career that interests me is Family-Based Safety Services Specialist. A family-Based Safety Services Specialist gets involved when suspicion of child abuse or neglect has been reported. They work as part of the team with case workers to help families in crisis, they teach families about healthy relationships, finances, how to manage anger and provide resources and community support for their children. Family-Based Safety Services Specialist are taught to ensure that the child is in a safe home without CPS being involved, thus making changes to preserve the family unit.

The duties and responsibilities of the Family-Based Specialist is also the requirement to visit homes so they can assess the risk of a child being abused or neglected. They have to come up with a plan of intervention to help the family, so CPS will not get involved. Because of their relationship with CPS, Police officers, and court system they are able to provide resources for these families in crisis. To achieve their goals, they need to stay connected with the families in crisis, but on occasions they have to make a difficult decision to remove a child from a dangerous situation to protect the child. As stated before, they work along with a caseworker, documenting activity and working under stressful and constant pressure, and be flexible with working hours. Learning about the diversity of cultures and staying objective and having empathy/compassion for these families, and to determine the safety of the child is of great importance.

The educational requirements are preferably a four- year degree, they also accept  a two- year degree in the field is also accepted; they prefer about 60 college credit hours or 90 college hours. Experience of working in communities with at risk populations is also a preference in order to work as a Family-Based Safety Services Specialist. Candidates will receive training before they start the job, but a driver’s license is required, a criminal background check and a CPS history check is required for all applicants. “The salary is about 3,816.00 to 4,094.00 a month, but that will be determined by experience and qualifications.” (dfps.state.tx.us/jobs).

        Adult Protctective Services Case Worker

The third career choice is Adult Protective Services especially as APS caseworker. The adult population are living longer and with this come health challenges, and many times neglect and abuse to this group of people. The job can be challenging at times, it’s stressful because of the volume of cases, so prioritizing tasks is very important.

The responsibilities and duties are visiting homes to assess if the adult needs any kind of help, assessing the living conditions of the client. Discussing all aspects of life- including finances, health or terminal illness need to be addresses. If the client is angry and does not understand why the APS caseworker is at his home, education needs to be implemented to change the behavior. If there are court or agency directions, they need to be followed and document any caseworker activity to the right department. This population is very vulnerable, so any abusive/ neglectful situation needs to be taken seriously and investigated. Responding on a timely manner in a crisis situation is a responsibility of an Adult Protective Service Worker.  Another duty is being on call sometimes on crisis thus working flexible hours is required for this position. Training is provided for this job, but the home visit is done on your own. Support is provided by co-workers and supervisor when needed.

The education required for this profession is a bachelor’s degree, not necessarily in social work. Good training is provided and support given at any time by supervisors and co-workers. The salary for an adult caseworker is about 2,494.00 to 2,970.00, but it depends on experience and qualifications. A criminal background check is required, a DFPS History Check, a driver’s license for all applicants to be considered for this position.

Link- Working for the Adult Protective Services (APS) Case-Worker  https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Jobs/APS/default.asp

              References

Preschool and childcare center directors. (2018). In U. D. O. L. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational outlook handbook. Washington, DC: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved from http://steenproxy.sfasu.edu:2048/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/blsoccupation/preschool_and_childcare_center_directors/0?institutionId=4986

What is a CPS Family Based Safety Services (FBSS) Caseworker? (2019, September 15). Retrieved from:  https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Jobs/cps/fbss.asp

Working for Adult Protective Services (APS) (2019, September 15).               Retrieved from:   https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Jobs/APS/default.asp