What Caseworkers Say and What They Mean

WHAT CASEWORKERS SAY AND WHAT THEY MEAN

WHAT THEY SAY:
He's a very busy little fellow
WHAT THEY MEAN:
He's destroyed my office apart in 20 minutes flat.

WHAT THEY SAY:
She seems to have a little cold.
WHAT THEY MEAN:
Her temp is 102 and she can't breathe for coughing.

WHAT THEY SAY:
The family situation is slightly chaotic.
WHAT THEY MEAN:
They've been living in the family car which has been re-possessed.

WHAT THEY SAY:
Mom needs to get a little more organized.
WHAT THEY MEAN:
Mom doesn't remember where she left the baby.

WHAT THEY SAY:
These children need an organized, consistent atmosphere.
WHAT THEY MEAN:
They've never worn clothes and they eat off the floor.

WHAT THEY SAY:
You're the only one I would trust with this child.
WHAT THEY MEAN:
Everyone else has turned me down

WHAT THEY SAY:
This child is a picky eater.
WHAT THEY MEAN:
He eats only cheetos, twinkies and Mountain Dew.

WHAT THEY SAY:
She has difficulty with peer relationships.
WHAT THEY MEAN:
She tried to kill her foster sister in her last placement.

WHAT THEY SAY:
We may want to talk about counseling in a few weeks.
WHAT THEY MEAN:
She thinks she's a dog and barks constantly

WHAT THEY SAY:
It's a complicated case.
WHAT THEY MEAN:
I think the grandfather is also the father but he may be the uncle.

WHAT THEY SAY:
I know I promised to take the child on the visit but I have an emergency.
WHAT THEY MEAN:
I'm dumping it on you.

WHAT THEY SAY:
Don't you think you are overreacting?
WHAT THEY MEAN:
I don't know what to do either.

WHAT THEY SAY:
He needs a lot of love and understanding
WHAT THEY MEAN:
He's locked himself in a workers car and he has a knife.

WHAT THEY SAY:
The school staff seems fairly unsupportive in his last placement.
WHAT THEY MEAN:
He held the principal hostage.

WHAT THEY SAY:
We're going to move quickly to get the child home
WHAT THEY MEAN:
We can't find his mother

WHAT THEY SAY:
Previous foster mom has switched jobs and can't deal w/ him right now.
WHAT THEY MEAN:
He's 2 months old, weighs only 9 lbs, can't keep anything down, screams constantly cuz he's starving, and nobody can figure out what food he can keep down.

WHAT THEY SAY:
She's very unique.
WHAT THEY MEAN:
She has so many mental and/or medical issues that even the doctors get confused.

WHAT THEY SAY:
It's only temporary...
WHAT THEY MEAN:
...Unless no one else wants a 16 yr old with RAD, ADHD, dislexia, autism, texture sensitivity, eating disorders, anxiety, bi-polar, fascination with fire, a history of acting out violently and sexually towards other children and adults, has been expelled from twelve schools, etc. ad. nauseum.

WHAT THEY SAY:
She's a very easygoing child.
WHAT THEY MEAN:
She's probably RAD, so she doesn't care if you're there or not, or where you take her, or what you feed her, etc.

WHAT THEY SAY:
His hair needs to be washed, and he has a rash around his diaper, but he's a sweet little baby.
WHAT THEY MEAN:
He has lice, so you better wash his hair and clothes and bedding and then repeat the process for everyone else in your home after you discover this.

They say,
You work well with boys like this one.
They mean,
Lock up is full and they have no place to put him.

They say,
It's interim, he's going into a residential program.
They mean,
They haven't found one that will accept him.

They say,
He needs close supervision.
They mean,
He runs away.

They say,
Keep him away from younger children.
They mean,
He has sexually assaulted little boys.

What they say:
I've been meaning to call ______________(pick one or all: the therapist/the attorney/the parole officer/the biomom/you)...
What they mean:
Now that you've left me 15 messages and gotten a hold of me completely by accident....I'll pretend to get right on that thing you've been bugging me about for three weeks now.


WHAT THEY SAY:
You're just wonderful to do this
WHAT THEY MEAN:
It's 5 o'clock and I'm outta here!