Personal Statement: A Career As A Family Support Worker

When I first came to Columbia College it was with the intention to work with youth in the foster system. However, after almost ten months and a lot of growth in myself I have decided to not just work with youth, but also families. This is because families are where individuals grow, develop, and build their character. In the work I currently am doing as a family support worker I am most often working with families doing supervised visitation for court orders. What this means is that I transport, observe, and am responsible for the supervision of youth during a visitation. In addition, I write reports during these visits that are than used in legal proceedings. These reports often determine custody arrangements in divorces, cases where neglect

3). One being that I am a youth advocate who must protect and speak up for my clients, I am a times a counsellor for my clients who need someone to listen, I am an observer, I am a facilitator for parents who are learning new skills, and lastly a friend to some of the clients I have done youth work with. While wearing any of these hats or taking on any of these roles I do my best to work with my clients using the strengths perspective. Not just in just work, but also in my personal life I believe in the power of individuals and just like individuals families have the ability to alter their outcomes by changing, adapting, and growing (Early & GlenMaye, 2000, p. 2). In using the strengths perspective I acknowledge the pain my clients went through and I use that pain as a platform to say ‘This is where you were and look you survived, now let’s do something here’ (Early & GlenMaye, 2000, p. 2). By approaching it in this manner it reminds the clients of their capabilities, inner strength, and also builds trust between myself and the client (Early & GlenMaye, 2000, p. 2).In practicing this approach there are two ethics that are extremely important; confidentiality, and setting boundaries. Confidentiality is commonly important in all areas of this field and relating fields. However, in my job as a family support worker confidentiality is a balancing act because of all the hats I wear (Lynch, 2006, p. 3). Therefore, I protect all confidential information, but at times I must share information if it is most beneficial for the youth (Lynch, 2006, p. 3). Boundaries are equally important in the work I do. Clients of mine may want to know more about me because we see each other on a reoccurring basis. Furthermore, there may be times where a client is looking for me to self-disclose my own life experiences.