As a kinship or foster caregiver, you will enter into a world of new and unexpected relationships. Not only will you be asked to maintain healthful relationships with the children and youth but also the parents and extended family of the children.

As a member of child welfare, you are also asked to maintain good working relationships with various child welfare staff, such as caseworkers, court representatives, and others. After ten years of caring for two young men as a foster parent and seven years of training and engaging with foster and kinship caregivers, I have seen how important the relationship between caregiver and child welfare staff is.

Therefore, I sought the expertise of a longtime Department of Human Services staff member who works diligently to bridge the relationship gap between child welfare staff and foster and kinship caregivers. She offered some valuable advice on how to build relationships with caseworkers.

To keep child welfare staff engaged and helpful

• Be honest and open with staff about your needs, the supports you have or don’t have, your struggles, etc., so they can best align services or supports to help your family. It is okay to not be perfect or to not yet have everything you will need to be successful with a new placement in your home. Let the caseworker know how they can help.
• Ask “When can I expect this to be done?” so you know when you can expect a response and to help the caseworker stay accountable.
• Ask your caseworker to review a Circle of Support or similar tool with you to learn more about your family and the supports you might already have.

If your caseworker is hard to reach

• Ask the caseworker what their preferred method is for communicating (e.g., text, email, phone calls).
• State this is a concern when in family engagement meetings. The concern should be documented and revisited at the next FEM meeting so that there is some follow-up.
• If communication doesn’t improve after sharing your concern, reach out to the supervisor of the caseworker, or ask if a secondary caseworker or a case aide is assigned to your case who could assist you.

If you and your caseworker aren’t getting along

• Ask for a meeting with the caseworker and supervisor to discuss concerns, or request a family engagement meeting.
• Keep in mind the goals of the department (reunification) and ensure you understand the permanency goal and why it is important. If you aren’t sure, ask.
• Consider if the issues are related to cultural differences—if they are, you might provide some information to the caseworker about your culture to encourage understanding.

If you want more voice in the case

• Ensure you are being invited to the family engagement meetings.
• Speak to the GAL, CASA, and other staff through the legal case to allow more of a voice in court.
• Consider consulting an attorney to directly represent you; they can explain your rights and options to become more involved in the court case.