Over the course of her time with DCFS, Victoria has developed her own philosophy on how to be the best social worker she can be.

“I don’t believe in candy coating things. Instead I say ‘you know this is wrong; this is not an appropriate way to respond; we all have accountability; and most importantly – nobody’s perfect,”

One of the earlier cases Victoria received was Fabiana – a great, energetic kid with lots of fire behind her. She was inspired to do things and she was inquisitive about what it meant to be a social worker. With that said, she was not without her fair share of obstacles.

“All our kids have emotional attachments with their parents, and there’s difficulty navigating that. While L.P. harnessed her energy into improving life and being successful, she would fall of the wagon sometimes – as most teens do – and we would have long conversations about how to be appropriate. But, she would listen, she would take heed, and she would implement.”

Victoria had the pleasure of watching Lucia turn into an adult, eager to help, and transition into the life of a social worker.

Her advice: “you cannot do this job as a solo person. You cannot be a lone wolf, there is a team that comes along with it. Finding these matches that work, running things by peers and saying, ‘I’m concerned about that, we need to debrief’ when you run into a kid who’s been sexually abused, you see the pain in their eyes, and taking that stuff home is heavy. So you find new strategies, find ways to support yourself, and let your colleagues support you.”