Child welfare professionals have a deep and often quiet impact on children’s lives—working to connect families with resources, determining appropriate placements, and responding around the clock to address emergencies. The complex story of child welfare work is hard to convey to the community; while most people can describe the careers of professionals with whom they interact—police officers or nurses, for example—the day-to-day efforts of child welfare professionals are often invisible from public view.
As a result, some states are choosing to proactively champion the positive impact that child welfare professionals have on children and families, structuring internal systems to support job satisfaction and commitment, and working to engage the public in a deeper and more positive understanding of the child welfare system.
