My interview with Teresa Pofahl By Raul Sabalza

Getting to know Teresa… Works for Washington State Department of Social and Health Services as a CPS case manager. Has worked for CPS for the past 7 years. She worked as a CPS investigator and is currently working as a case manager.

Services offered/Job Duties SERVICES OFFERED Help with food Cash assistance Medical help Mental health Treatment for addictions Adoption Child care Child support Foster parenting Child protective services JOB DUTIES Works with families that have lost their children and are trying to get them back Finds resources available for parents and children Appears and testifies at court for and against the right of the children to be at home Investigate the children and parents

Likes & Dislikes What Teresa likes most about her job is the ability to work with the families and ability to work with the community in search of different resources What she likes least about her job is when she has to deal with a family over and over again and knows bad things are going on but cant prove it and cant do anything about it. The politics involved can also be difficult to deal with.

Change If there was one thing Teresa would like to change it would be the burden of proof… She would make it easier to demonstrate that the parent is unfit and end parental rights quicker.

Causes for Child Abuse/Neglect/Domestic Violence Drug abuse Lack of knowledge from the parent or individual Learned behavior Mental Health illness

Essential Elements of Intervention and Prevention. Essential elements in intervention are understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the family and working with what needs improvement. Educating the Community Having the Resources available in the Community

What future social workers need to know… Abuse, neglect, maltreatment can happen anywhere regardless of class or race. The differences between poverty and true neglect, it can be very difficult to determine Keep an open perspective on what is clean and dirty –what may be dirty to you may not be dirty enough to be considered negligent

Other information In my interview with Teresa, she told me that most people think of CPS as the people who take the children away, but that in reality they don’t have that power. In order to take the children there has to be court order, parent notice and/or Law enforcement protective custody. Usually Law enforcement takes the lead on investigations. Finding done by the CPS investigator can not be charged or arrest individuals, police deal with criminal charges and the arrests.

Conclusion I really enjoyed the interview with Teresa, I learned a lot and realized the importance of working with the community and networking. You never know what your going to deal with in this line of work and sometimes just knowing the right person can make things much easier.