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Working with Children and Families with Dr. Debbie Rice

© 2016-2020 Walden University 1

Working with Children and Families with Dr. Debbie Rice Program Transcript DR. DEBBIE RICE: When I first started as a social worker, I worked in an alternative sentencing program for at-risk youth. And so, this was youth who had been charged with status offenses, mostly things like running away or truancy or maybe not responding to their parents' instructions.

And that led me to an opportunity to work in England for a while, in a youth development facility, which is similar to our juvenile delinquency facilities. And what happened in the juvenile delinquency facility is that I began to see that the youth had so many different family experiences that had brought them to the behaviors that they were showing today, whether that was domestic violence or abuse, maybe they had parents who were incarcerated or on drugs and alcohol. And it came to me that we've got to do more than just work with the kids. We've got to work with the whole family to change things.

And so my role as a social worker was meeting with the youth, meeting with their families, but then also going out and talking to the schools, talking to community service work agencies where maybe the youth had been sent to do community service or restitution. A big part of my work at that time was writing reports for the court, and so you really have to be prepared to put your thoughts and your impressions in writing and submit those to a judge in open court. And so I did a lot of that.

I want to give the advice that I was given and pass that on, and that was to say yes to every opportunity. Because right now you're at a stage where there are so many options available to you. So say yes, and take those chances. Even if you don't think it's something you would particularly like to do, say yes anyway and give it a try. You've got lots of opportunity to find your passion.

I think the biggest reward is to see the long term progress. Change doesn't happen immediately. One of the youth that I had in the alternative sentencing program comes up and says, I don't know if you remember me, but I was sentenced to whatever, and I just want you to know that this is what I'm doing today. And that's really neat. That's such a great opportunity to see the change that can happen, and to realize that families can heal and lives can be really different.