CPS

So i finished my long 11 hour school day yesterday! it actually wasn't that bad since it was the first day of class, i got a break before my night class and then my night class was only 45 minutes long! but that will probably be the only time that EVER happens! well....my first class was child welfare which im really excited about. i found out i have to fit yet another thing into my crazy schedule. this semester i have to volunteer with a social worker at child protective services. and we'll almost be like an intern. i'll get to help with cases, make house visits, go to court, all of that. i'm REALLY excited about it. i've been thinking that i might start off working at cps when i graduate just so that i can get to know the system really well, plus, there's just such a need for good, solid cps workers who really have a passion for the well being of the children and their families. when the lady from cps was talking to us, she did make me a little nervous about the house visits. she gave us some very graphic stories about the types of places we might be walking into. i won't go into the details become some of it i was thinking "how in the world will i be able to do that and not offend them with my facial expressions?" i show EVERYTHING on my face. and i CANNOT do that. on those days, the girls were instructed to wear closed-toed shoes and and a shirt that has a high neck. Just one example....we have to do that because roaches might be falling from the ceiling. but don't get me wrong, child abuse is everywhere. it does not discriminate against race, gender, or socioeconomic status. i'll be going into some million dollar homes as well. so i'm really excited about it-it's going to be a great experience for me.

For those of you that don't know, i've been volunteering at this place in denton called The Nelson Center. The Nelson Center is a residential treatment center for kids who have been a victim of severe sexual and physical abuse. After CPS removes them from the home situation, they give them an assesment. Levels 4 and 5 are the worst, and only children ages 5-15 on those levels come to the nelson center. Foster families won't take them right off. They can house up to 60 children, and believe me when i say it is ALWAYS full. these sweet children suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, many of them cut themselves, are/were suicidal, have alot of anger management problems, ect. It absolutely breaks my heart because they have these problems against their free will. because of someone else's purely evil actions, they were physically, mentally, and emotionally scarred from some MAJOR trauma. it is not their fault and they could do NOTHING to defend themselves. After i started volunteering there in february of this year, i found that i would love to work at a place like this, or cps to try to cut it off from the start and really deal with the parents as well, because they need help too obviously. and surprisingly, most of the children at the nelson center are boys. these kids stay at the center from 6 months to year depending on how severe the problems and how well they're treatment goes. i mentored a little boy for 6 months and was able to see his transformation. he was able to go back home about a month ago. and yes, because of our lovely court system, some of them are returned home, but most of the parental rights were either taken away or they gave them up freely. so most of the kids are in the state's custody and 9 times out of 10 are adopted after they are placed with a foster family. i am mentoring a young girl now. it is very hard, but i LOVE these kids. and will do anything in my power now and when i become a licensed social worker to fight back against abuse.

On a lighter note, my spanish professor showed us a hilarious you tube video today. it's called the One Semester of Spanish love song. im in my upper level now so it's even funnier...but if you know any spanish...it should be funny to you. so with that said...here you go!