case manager

senior case manager

attorney

staff attorney

internal communications executive

Indiana Department of Child Services

What comes to mind when you think DCS or CPS? "They're going to take my children away!" We've garnered this reputation because of many years of doing just that. We've threatened people. We've gone blindly into the world of trauma and abuse and caused more. We've tried to punish "bad people" or condescend for our piety.

Then, at least in overarching messages internally, we switch. We say "keep families together," despite never having shook the past image. We try to include people who's lives we've shown up in in the process. We respond to the general fear, anger, and backlash of our actions in the past and horror stories that make the news.

Well, everyone didn't get the message. And an ideal not worked at and embodied is an ideal in name only. When your leadership is punitive, you become punitive. When you've a blindspot on how you can empathize or help, it has a direct impact on your families.

More to the point, there is no greater example of a field where worker disposition and "client" disposition are going to more quickly reflect upon one another. A tired, stressed, or angry worker will inevitably take it out on clients who are, almost by definition, tired, angry, and stressed about our very presence if nothing else. How do you address this?

Well, at Indiana DCS, you don't. You hold a meeting, then another meeting next month, maybe. You talk around the issues until the problematic employees quit or get fired, and then carry on like there isn't a festering crack down the center of your organization. This is a "daily grind" in that you genuinely don't know if you're going to get a barrage of insults to start your day or polite and clean homes with nonsense allegations to power through the paperwork with. You're gambling constantly.

This to say nothing of "hopefully" going to "mostly normal" houses with people who aren't going to act out violently or threaten you. Can you rope someone in to going with you? Probably. But you're interrupting their day, which isn't any easier and full of free time than yours.

Management are the people who've been there from double digit years to maybe a year longer than some of the newest employees. The old guard seems to have gotten their positions by not rocking the boat and pretending taking everything in stride doesn't manifest in good or bad ways. As such, if you have something new to try, teach, or organize, you're told...well, nothing. Maybe you'll do better at Central Office.

If you do well, this is the best. You do more. You get assigned more. They track you down to fill in the cracks of those who are worse at organization or moving with purpose. There is no fair distribution, and it's totally random from when you might feel on top of things until you're absolutely overwhelmed. That "mandatory overtime" should ever be a thing in a company that touts "self care" as something paramount testifies to their lack of accountability and clear strategy for executing the process.One FCM has removed 4 different kids in 2 weeks? Pray for them and hope they have a supervisor who fills in enough gaps.

The system is designed to split off into meetings and get nothing done. Some inelegantly named sub-group will come up with recommendations or pick out the 5% they recall from the day they spent with you to then disappear into so many lines of policy which are adopted or ignored per your leaderships' biased and skewed understanding of government and "rights." No clear messages are ever translated that aren't lost in the malaise of a 4 hour meeting, so no one know who/how to organize around.

I didn't know an organization tasked with ensuring the well-being and safety of our children could be so negligent in its duty to bother to define what that looks like and ensure the people working for it NEVER made threats or slung their power around in disingenuous retaliation at difficult clients. I didn't realize that to virtue signal and protect the brand is significantly more powerful and a worthwhile expenditure of time than to reach out and try to prevent the bleedingly obvious things that cause the most stress, expense, and confusion.

Work here for a paycheck and to live the reasons you'll want to operate better at things you move on to. This job will not give you hope for the future or a belief that "well meaning" is synonymous with competent and accountable. When you can help someone and the appreciate you, great, but that will come from YOU, not the organization you work for.

Go into work and likely you won’t know what your day will consist of and you definitely don’t know when or if you will be allowed to go home. 24hr shifts while not the norm are not uncommon. Work on-call is non-negotiable and you can expect to get called at 3am and have to drive 1hr-5hr away, one way and you will not get back-up if you request it.  Management may help you if you are on-call, but that is a hit or miss; some supervisors will drop everything while others may yell at you for interrupting their weekend or night on the town. Approximately 25% of the job is with families while 75% is paperwork. Work and home life balance is difficult to maintain because while you are only allowed to work 37.5 hours it is an expectation that you manage unrealistic work loads under threat of penalties. Many caseworkers eat time to avoid discipline or management discussions. Mileage is reimbursed but the system is almost impossible to navigate and you will likely never get to it as you will have other pressing priorities. A lot of wear and tear on your personal vehicle. 

Due to the harsh working conditions, very high staff turnover, and inept management, the qualifications for case managers was reduced to the point that it is possible to be a caseworker in Indiana with little or no educational background.  If you are at least somewhat competent you will be expected to manage other individual’s duties if they can’t meet their deadlines. 

“DCS lost 739 of its more than 2,100 case managers in fiscal year 2023. Though the agency hired another 890 caseworkers, turnover last fiscal year was more than a third of its statewide staff” 
https://dailyjournal.net/2023/12/07/editorial-case-manager-turnover-remains-a-problem-at-dcs

These turnover rates alone should say enough about working for Indiana Department of Child Services. 

A substantial number of DCS staff with at least a year of experience suffer from mental health conditions. Depression and Anxiety is assured with extreme forms being self harm and suicide. Mental health will likely lead to physical problems, which include high blood pressure and obesity.

Having many supervisors in 20+/- years. Some management is extremely supportive and competent, willing to assist or have your back, but that is not the norm. Many in management leave much to be desired. Having seen MANY  supervisors and office directors resign/terminated, I can truly say some are absolutely inept and mostly keep a chair warm while catching a check and you just hope they aren’t having you do something completely illegal. Many in management have been promoted without real experience or haven’t worked the job in some time.

An experienced, competent caseworker will never be promoted to management because there is a shortage of competent staff. Many in management are not promoted based on their ability to do the job but instead on their willingness to train new workers or take on additional non-duty related roles in the agency. 

Your work performance is highly dependent upon your case load statistics and churning out good numbers for federal funding reasons.  Good numbers are generated through a number of factors some of which are completely outside your control. Unfortunately if you are overworked you will exhaust yourself constantly trying to meet the assigned deadlines. 


Lastly, while you may be told you are not at risk for legal complications through your duties, be advised: One frequently deals with unstable families and at any point something terrible could happen with a case you have been assigned to. Anything that happens on a case that you have been assigned to could find you at fault. While there is no excuse for negligence, negligence can be assigned at will. A DCS caseworker is the first person usually actively involved with the family. If, heaven forbid, a kid is hurt/killed/disabled and you were responsible for the case and you missed one thing….
And this is all coming from many years of experience. 

 

 

It's The State. It's slow. It's convoluted. It's contradictory and scapegoat-y. It's a necessary not-so-evil filled with mostly good people trying in earnest to put out various fires while bound by law and convention.

In one sense, this is the easiest job I've ever had. I'm not particularly emotional, and likely am perfectly dispositionally situated for dealing with other people's drama because I literally feel nothing about it. Note, I've been told I am not normal in this regard, so my perspective on it is heavily shaped by this. 

In practical terms, you drive, maybe 6 or 7 hours round trip on that 5-year aberrant difficult case, but mostly just to schools or houses 5 to 25 minutes away. You ask "difficult" questions insofar as you have to learn the language and tact to properly interview different kinds of people and kids about potentially traumatic experiences. The questions already exist, and if you have the basic capacity for empathy or recognition of people's emotions, you'll know how and what to say when it's appropriate.

In emotional terms, this job rocks the world of people who are "proper feelers." You can scream and cuss and judge my work in your life all day, I don't blink. I've seen coworkers in tears because someone told them, "You're not doing enough." She was, in fact, going above and beyond, but her experience for that level of ignorance and disrespect dumped on her is one I'm never going to have.

The "hardest" part of the job is the down time. Some people, I suspect, find every possible way to take 2 hours for a ten minute task. We're dealing with people, after all. If you make all your calls, do all your paperwork, camp your locations, and conduct your interviews, you're just waiting in the wings for someone to call you back or another fire to get started. The State has nothing else for you to do, even if you ask. I've taken to doing random tasks for my coworkers because I'm just so freaking bored.

On-call can get messy if you don't want to be woken up in the middle of the night, but there are hungry people who are usually happy to trade or take your days. That's also when you have the higher likelihood of bumping into the genuinely serious situations. If you can't handle blood, the possible immediate removal of a child, or 6, or some otherwise "interesting" situation happening in real-time, you're going to feel overwhelmed very quickly.

I hear office cultures differ wildly between counties, so speaking specifically to mine, it's fairly jovial and laid-back, but there are office sharks. It's a world where every "worst" joke is routine conversation, but it's also a world where true-believers get off on thinking they are saving the world. Know your camp and figure out who you can trust before you speak too fast or loose. Bureaucracy is the largest stick pinched between the tightest cheeks with your particular state's flag affixed.

Eventually, either you're psychopathic or mature enough to realize all trauma gets filtered into similar ways, and you're mostly in place to occasionally catch a few things from boiling over into something deadly. Nets have holes, and you can be a patient rung to walk with someone on, but mostly you're a secretary who's attempting to file human trauma and aberration. If you're organized and engaged with your life outside of work, it really doesn't take much to go through the motions.

If you want to grow, and move, and learn, and change...good luck.

Pros:

I have learned so much through being a FCM that has not only helped me become a better person, but has set me up for success in my future careers. You will get to know so many different walks of life, and learn to sympathize with people you never thought you would before. There is nothing more rewarding than helping a child achieve permanency, especially if they have spent years in the system. You also are able to network in this position with contracted providers, LEO's, and attorneys. You have a lot of power over your own schedule for the day, which is very nice.

Cons:

There is a huge lack of support from management. Anything you say to management will be used against you. Even if you try to be proactive with something you are saying to them, it will still be used against you. There is always at least one person that is heavily targeted, and management will punish them until they ultimately transfer, quit, or get fired. This makes it incredibly difficult to be the best FCM you can be, be a support for your families, and it takes a large toll on your mental/physical health. You are given 10 tasks that are all high priority and take a long amount of time, and if you ask for help on which one you should focus on first, management feels like they are babysitting you. But if you don't ask, then it doesn't all get done and you get reprimanded. Incredibly toxic environment that will drain every bit of you until you feel hopeless. It is very unfortunate, because the families get used to caseworkers and view them like family, only for them to ultimately leave due to poor management. This only adds to the trauma for the family, who now have to get to know a new caseworker all over again. In the time I was with DCS, at least 10 FCM's quit or transferred. Each FCM expressed it was due to feeling either unsupported or disliked by management. However, each time a FCM leaves, it is blamed on the FCM's who are still in the office for being "toxic." At one point, management held a meeting and told the seasoned FCM's that if they don't like it there, they are free to leave. 

Overall this job is very rewarding and you will be given so many learning opportunities, but the stress from unsupportive management will make it unbearable. 

Typical day at work: As a family case manager, you will never be bored.  You will always be writing reports to the court, talking on the phone with families/providers, or visiting clients in their homes.  There are constant emergencies that need to be dealt with and sometimes you have to have a 'firefighter' mentality and every day comes with its own set of challenges. 

What I learned: I learned to be fearless at this job.  I picked up excellent communication skills and one becomes somewhat of a salesman doing this job. I learned a lot of organizational skills and how to present myself professionally in court.  Excellent job for a young person right out of college that wants to develop good business skills.  

Management:  There is a hierarchy in place that can be frustrating sometimes.  There is constant politics happening on the higher levels, and generally this manifests itself in making things more difficult for the lower echelon people. There are some great managers, but there are also others that don't really care about anyone but themselves.  It's also hard sometimes to make sense of whats happening because orders come down from Indianapolis that most people aren't aware of. There are also some workers who have been doing the job for a long time and are burnt out.  Some people lose some effectiveness and get numb to the point where they just don't put forth enough effort. 

Workplace culture: The workplace culture at my local office was great.  It was a smaller office and we were like a family.  They were very generous with time off and understanding and flexible with hours. Generally there was a good mix of people in our office and everyone got along fairly well. 

Hardest part of the job:  You will work your behind off to try to keep kids safe.  You will want to give a lot of yourself to make this happen.  Sometimes, the system and its limitations get in your way.  You don't win all the time, you lose quite a bit, and it will break your heart. 

Most enjoyable part of job: When you develop good relationships with families and help them improve themselves. When you have a 'win' that helps you keep a family or children safe. I also fostered a lot of friendships with co-workers that are just genuinely good people.

A Typical Day at Work:
A typical day is busy and engaging, with a wide range of responsibilities that go beyond the job description. Every day brings new challenges and opportunities to learn, which keeps the work meaningful.

What I’ve Learned:
I’ve gained valuable skills in problem-solving, adaptability, and collaboration. My role has also expanded my knowledge of policies, data, and administrative processes, and has strengthened my ability to work across different teams.

Management:
My immediate supervisors are excellent—very supportive, approachable, and invested in professional development. They truly make a difference in employee morale. Upper management has shown some improvement, though there’s still room for growth in communication, long-term planning, and employee recognition.

Workplace Culture:
The culture within my team is one of the best parts of this job. We support each other, work collaboratively, and celebrate each other’s successes. It creates an environment where you feel valued day-to-day, even when larger organizational challenges exist.

The Hardest Part of the Job:
The biggest challenge is compensation. Salaries in this field, especially in Indiana, are not competitive compared to national averages, and additional education or skill sets aren’t reflected in pay. It can be discouraging to see talented employees leave because compensation doesn’t match the value of the work.

The Most Enjoyable Part of the Job:
The people I work with and the nature of the work itself. I truly enjoy making a difference, learning new things, and being part of a team that supports each other.

A typical day at work:
*Answering/Making 20+ phone calls
*Responding/Creating 50+ emails
*Writing Court Reports
*Attending Court Hearings
*Making Referrals for clients
*Travel-Home and School visits for cases
*Staffing with supervisor
*Locating appropriate homes for foster children
*Responding to Crisis
Every day at work is different from the next and there is always a 'to do' list with equally important tasks.

I have learned that organization and detailed documentation is key to providing a successful work expierence. This is a learning experience that I can utilize at any employment.

As there are about 500 employees in the building, it is difficult to converse with others. However, the employees are divided into 'units' with one supervisor per 'team'. The members on my unit are like "family" as we all help eachother out with our cases as well as, ensuring that all unit members are mentally and emotionally supported (as this job can seriously effect ones well-being).

There are multiple hard parts of this job. A few are removing children from their homes, interacting with volital,violent, and criminal parents daily, witnessing severly abused children on a daily basis, and trying to not take your work home (constant worrying about the safety of your kids on your caseloads).

The most enjoyable part of my job is finding a 'forever' home for my children and watching parents turn their lives around for the better.

I loved working for DCS. You can truly make a difference in a child’s life, both for better or worse depending on how you handle things. I loved helping families get the services they need. Seeing people using drugs get clean, parents getting therapy and treatment to address their own trauma and help their kids, nothing beats watching families get better together. The job is emotionally draining at times. You sometimes see things that haunt you and it’s nearly impossible to completely leave work at work. You have to be on call at times and work weekends and holidays as needed. The worst part about the job is the lack of balance. This is not a job I recommend for anyone with young children or families of their own. You frequently work past the 7.5 hours expected and sometimes it’s impossible to get everything done without working late. They have a flexible schedule so you can come in late or leave early but that gets you too far behind on work. Overtime is easier. The pay isn’t bad since we got raises across the state. With overtime it’s nice. But travel gets you significantly less than the federal requirement. Management varies on your office. My office had awful management and drama between supervisors. You will put a lot of wear and tear on your vehicle!!! I added over 45,000 miles to my car in a year just from working. Overall your office can have a big impact on the job but the work itself is very important and I almost always felt like I was helping instead of harming.

I found that working with the families and children that the job could be very rewarding. However, the enormous workload coupled with deadlines created to much of stressful environment.  Meeting deadlines and the top policy of CYA (covering DCS's a**) were shown to be much more of a priority than actually working with families and children proactively. Pressure was on to push drug screening, even when there were no indications of a problem, and taking kids away from their parents. Meeting kids a second time or meeting to many times with the parents were often deemed a waste of time by supervision. Poor management was demonstrated by the lack of respect for families, children and employees. It could be a wonderful job if case managers were allowed to work with families.The case load was ridiculous and the mandatory overtime was a insult to anyone that was forced to comply. Unfortunately, when I resigned I was not even given a chance to discuss my issues with management. To recap, working WITH families and children proactively is far down the list with CYA, taking kids from their homes and be at the top. DCS need supervisors that understand and that want to see positive change instead of being run by fear. 
PS: apparently a** is a terrible word since I was censored. This demonstrates how nitpicky and micromanaged assessment workers are treated. I am sure it is supported all the way to the top. 

Remember RESPECT is always more important than the money (which is ridiculous for what case managers do and what they put up with.

I entered into this position to work with children in the child welfare system. I was disappointed to be spending more time with the parents. It's the nature of the job, but that was not communicated very well when I hired in. There is a lot of reporting, case management, and deadlines you must follow by state regulations. It can be a rewarding job, but it is not for everyone. I figured out very early on that it was not for me and I decided to leave to pursue something that fulfilled my passion more. Starting off out of cohort is pretty slow. They recognize that it is an overwhelming job and slowly add cases to your case load. For me, I was bored in this process as I am more of a sink or swim kind of person. My team was pretty awesome. My supervisor was very competent and passionate, the thing I didn't like about her was her tendency to micromanage her team. I would suggest this job to the right person. Pay is decent, especially for recent college graduates. In addition to your salary, you can expect to enjoy a mileage check, which can get pretty big if your children are placed at a distance from your county. My mileage checks always hit on a non-pay week, so it was like Christmas once very month. Each county is different in terms of culture and county best-practices. I don't think they want the turn over to be as high as it is, but I say if you are interested, give it a try.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Case manager 4 salaries reported	$55,580 per year
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Internal communications executive 3 salaries reported	$40,333 per year

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