Windy city workforce

This department spotlights a relatively recent addition to the workforce, focusing on the person’s educational or working background, daily responsibilities, challenges, passions, frustrations and outlook for his or her future in the field.

Name: Debbie Podmore
Age: 31
Occupation: Coordinator for training and admissions at a child welfare service
College Path: Bachelors of Science: Psychology and Biology
Field: Child Welfare/Social Work

How you ended up here: I always knew I wanted to work with people and make an impact on some level, but I wasn’t clear about which population. After graduating college in Ohio, I figured I would jump into the field of social work and quickly realized I needed to be somewhere with more opportunities. After 20 minutes of pondering the thought, and within a week, I packed up my car and moved to Chicago! A little impulsive, I realize, but definitely the right decision…and no regrets!

How long you’ve been at it: I’ve been in field of child welfare for over eight years. I initially started out working with troubled youth in an intense locked residential facility (children with delinquency and/or mental health issues). On my first day, I overheard a teenage girl say (about me) “I’ll get this bitch to quit in two weeks.” Given that the turnover rate averaged about three months, I thought it was likely, but also took it on as a challenge. It was the most intense job I ever had and really physically and mentally exhausting. Someone once said that residential care ages you like dog years, where you multiply each year by seven. He was right. So a year and half later, I switched organizations and remained with the same population, but more on the administrative side of helping the staff work with the children. I figured this was more my niche. So that guided me into an admissions and training department working with abused and neglected children.

Job reputation: I think people pity those in social work/human services because they realize that it isn’t always pretty. The reality is there are many people in the field who work directly with children/families because they care, and don’t get paid enough and don’t receive a great deal of credit. I’m privileged enough to work with and train those angels!

Who you answer to, if anyone: I answer to a great team of people. I’ve been fortunate enough to have amazing supervisors who have guided me professionally and have been amazing friends personally. I also get free therapy!

Hours you expect to be working: Typical day is the 9-5, but because I do trainings and admissions for the organization, that usually means I’ll be there much earlier or much later. It’s definitely not a 40-hour week, especially if you run two departments.

Breakdown of what people anticipate from you: It depends on who I’m dealing with. If it’s a parent who’s having difficulty with their child and wants the child out of their home due to behavioral issues, I had better come up with some good resources…and fast! When it comes to staff/coworkers, I should be giving them the skills they need to work with the population we serve. Every crisis is an opportunity for growth, and every minute the kids are in our care is therapeutic. So the staff needs and deserves the skills to work with children who have lost opportunities early on and have suffered a great deal, with little to no placement stability before coming into our care.

What your friends assume you do all day: I don’t think they really know…and I still don’t.

What you’ve learned from the children you work with: How resilient they are, and despite what they’ve been through, they love their family and where they came from, even if that is the reason they ended up with us. Given the reality that they will return to that same environment one day, it is our job to give them the skills they need to succeed.

Best perk: My team. And also listening to the success stories with the children and adolescents that we serve.

I know it’s a good day when... we’ve admitted a child who I know will get the services he or she needs. It’s also a good day when we do trainings for staff, and they walk out with more tools and confidence to work with the population.

I have trouble dealing with... the reality (and number) of parents who don’t take responsibility for their children and all the unnecessary suffering they put their children though. I also have a problem with someone who has no qualms about having 10 children and not caring for one of them because they assume, and expect, that someone else will.

Things can get tense when… a child has lost, or never learned, the necessary coping skills to deal with a situation, which then produces a crisis. Staff members have to intervene to de-escalate a situation and make sure the child remains safe. A lot of talking and support goes on here.

Why you have a smile when you come to work: I love the philosophy/mission of the organization and its vision. I love sitting in a meeting and listening to the staff whose convictions for the children are so strong, and I admire how they advocate for them and can see that they genuinely care. I also love the team I work with.

Advice for joining the field: Make sure you work in the field before pursing a Masters degree. You want to make sure you really want to invest in this field and your heart and mind are into it. But I guess that’s with anything. More importantly, don’t take it personally. You’ll know what I mean when you get in the field.

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