On the Case: Delta County Caseworker Finds Joy in Serving the Community that Raised Her

This post is part of the CO4Kids ‘On The Case’ blog series that shares insights from Colorado child welfare caseworkers about the important work they do and why they chose a career in social work.  

Megan Sandoval didn’t intend to end up back in the small community she grew up in, and she also didn’t expect to become a child welfare caseworker. “This career truly chose me,” she said about how she got to where she is today. 

It all started when Megan left her hometown for college. She was looking for an extra credit opportunity over the summer and began an internship with Delta County back in her hometown. There, she discovered her passion for working with families and decided to pursue a career in child welfare.  

Megan remembers, “I saw the difference caseworkers could make with children and families —the guidance and the grace they gave them during their hardships. I just fell in love with the work. I decided to stay, and almost three years later, I’m still here!” 

As an Intake Caseworker, Megan is often the first person to meet with a family and evaluate their situation. Her top priority is assessing the safety of children in their home and then working with the families to ensure their needs are being met. This is often done by connecting the families to community resources such as therapeutic services, food security, housing, substance use support and more. 

Megan stays in regular communication with the families for the entirety of their assessment, continuing to check in on the children, which is one of her favorite parts of the job. “Sometimes kids just need to know there’s someone else out there that cares for their safety and wellbeing,” said Megan. “I have kiddos that will call me from school and tell me they passed their math test.” 

When it’s safe for the children, Megan always strives to help keep families together by ensuring parents have their needs met so they can provide a safe and stable home for their children. She says statistics have proven that children succeed emotionally and intellectually if they’re with their parents.  

Megan is also passionate about educating her community about child welfare and dispelling myths about the role of caseworkers. She does this by meeting with school staff and administration, law enforcement, providers in the community and even by being an advocate within her own social circle. 

“There’s sometimes a misconception that caseworkers are coming in to judge families or that we think we’re better than families because they’re having a hard time,” said Megan. “People forget that I’m also human. It’s not about tattling on families or taking their kids away. It’s about showing grace and humanity during the hardest moments of someone’s life and supporting them so they can keep their family together.” 

The work isn’t always easy but Megan finds it incredibly rewarding. And she gets through the harder moments by leaning on her supportive supervisor and teammates. 

“At the end of the day, I love being able to support the community that helped raise me.”