DCP&P Caseworker: Alberta Gillis

DCP&P Caseworker – Alberta Gillis

 

Setting: Phone call

 

I was assigned to this case about a month ago, I’m still getting up to speed. This one seems pretty stable, so honestly I haven’t spent much time on it. The previous social worker moved out of state.

 

I’m honestly wondering about the possibility of having Maria join her aunt in El Salvador. Her aunt wants her there and is asking about the holdup. She says she needs Maria’s help, and it would be a family placement. And this SIJS thing is a complex issue as well as a HUGE risk.

Maria’s diabetes is well controlled. There’s no medical reason to keep her in the United States. I know her brother died in El Salvador due to his diabetes, but that was a long time ago. There’s no reason for Maria to worry about that happening to her. Her aunt lives in a modern city, not out in the sticks. From what I know, she’d get her medical needs met.

 

The Valdez family is not legal in this country. Beyond that I really haven’t learned much about them. They don’t speak English and I don’t speak Spanish.

 

We aren’t going to give custody to undocumented immigrants. We’re already pushing it a bit to let her visit over there, but the Valdez’s checked out okay in combined records and they have no criminal records. On the plus side, it’s free respite care, to give the Becker’s a break.

 

This case has been open way too long. With the state’s budget as it is right now, we’re looking to get resolution on some of these lingering cases. We want to close the Amarillo case as quickly as possible and that’s exactly what I plan to do.

 

I understand that the girl wants to stay in America. I don’t blame her. But she’s just going to have to accept the reality of the situation. To some degree, she’s an innocent victim of a nasty political fight over immigration policy. Even if she did stay in foster care with the Becker’s, she’d be illegal as soon as she turned 18. That’s just not a viable plan.

 

  • What is this DCP&P workers number one priority?
  • What difference does this interview make to the case?
  • What are your follow-up questions?